The Most Popular Android Phone You Can Not Missing

The last time we surveyed the landscape of Google Android phones in October 2009 was a bit like scanning the New York City skyline in 1929: Gorgeous, but clearly, much better things were right around the corner. The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street – some of New York’s most iconic buildings – all sprung up in the next two years, and Google Android has seen much the same flurry of virtual bricklaying in the past eight months. Ready to sign a new lease for some office space with a view? Take a look at some of these newcomers that now tower above many former competitors.

Motorola Droid X

After seeing its original Droid take the backseat to hype over HTC phones like the Incredible and EVO 4G, Motorola struck back with the Droid X. It follows closely in the footsteps of those competitors with a 4.3-inch screen, 8-megapixel camera that captures 720p high-def video, and even a hotspot mode that lets you share our your 3G connection over Wi-Fi. For folks who can never seem to find enough room for their ever-expanding digital baggage, the Droid X’s storage might be its most desirable feature. It comes with 8GB on built-in storage plus a 16GB microSD card for 24GB of total storage, and the ability to expand it up to 40GB with larger cards.

HTC EVO 4G

“The first 4G phone in America” nearly tells you all you need to know about this unique handset. As the name implies, the EVO 4G leverages Sprint’s still-expanding 4G network for speeds well above the ho-hum 3G performance of other phones. As we found out in our own tests here in Portland, Sprint’s claims of 10 times 3G performance definitely exaggerate the next-gen network’s prowess, but heavy YouTubers, music streamers, and other bandwidth hogs will definitely appreciate the extra breathing room. You can even turn it into a roaming hotspot for up to eight devices to share the love. And speaking of breathing room, the 4.3-inch LCD and 8-megapixel camera that shoots 720p high-def video are nothing to scoff at.

HTC Droid Incredible

Overcoming the hype of both the Droid and Nexus One has been a tall order, but HTC managed to do it with raw specs with the HTC Incredible. Snapdragon processor? Check. 3.7-inch OLED screen? Check. Five-megapixel camera? Nope, this guy’s shooting eight. Most reviews have chalked it up to the fastest Android phone to date and possibly the sleekest, too, with its slim body and sculpted back panel. HTC’s Sense user interface even puts a spit shine on the already gleaming Android UI. Unfortunately, our own time with it revealed battery life and voice quality on Verizon’s NYC network were lacking, but neither is egregious enough to overlook this otherwise very capable phone.

Google Nexus One

The long-rumored “Google Phone” finally became reality in January when Google lifted the veil on the Nexus One. The Android superphone made waves with an incredibly vibrant OLED screen, multi-touch support, and perhaps most importantly, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, making it among the first mainstream phones to find room for Qualcomm’s supercharged V8 of a processor under the hood. Google adopted the unusual strategy of selling the Nexus One both through T-Mobile for $179 with a contract, and unlocked for $529. Although the phone was supposed to show up on Verizon and Sprint, both carriers have axed plans to carry it. Don’t let that scare you: We suspect the decision had more to do with sluggish sales than the quality of the hardware.

Motorola Droid

The phone that we could only see the scaffolding around in October has since finished construction, clipped its opening ribbon and become one of the most prominent Android phones on the market. It’s easy to see why. The Motorola Droid managed to permanently cement “Google Android” into the mainstream zeitgeist with a razor-sharp 3.7-inch screen, five-megapixel camera, and slim metallic chassis. A huge slide-out QWERTY keyboard, although far from perfect, also managed to satisfy many holdouts waiting for a killer smartphone with keys. The $100 million marketing budget from Verizon and Motorola probably didn’t hurt, either, rubbing salt in the iPhone’s wounds – like its lack of multitasking. Motorola’s comeback phone even managed to beat the first-generation iPhone to 1 million units sold.

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