Gadgetory

the Apple iPhone 5s is a powerful fast phone but it's not for everyone fortunately there are a ton of smartphone competitors out there who are eager to turn the iPhones off year to their advantage I'm Donnell Bell and then this top five we're counting down the best smartphone alternatives to the iPhone 5s picked by CNET senior editor Jessica dull court starting things off at number five the LG g2 released in September on AT&T and t-mobile the g2 delivers a whopping 5.2 inch screen and runs the latest flavor of android jelly bean behind it all you have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor which received high marks from CNET labs on the downside the volume buttons are oddly located on the back of the phone and LG didn't include a memory card slot but if you want something big and speedy the g2 is a great choice coming in at number four the HTC One oh man do we love this phone in my humble opinion this is the best-looking smartphone on the market including the iPhone if you're a sucker for Apple's knack for design and materials the HTC One carries that spirit through to a bigger Android powered phone but you also get Beats Audio some killer camera features and a skinning of Android that actually gets it right and unlike that LG g2 there's a version of this phone on every carrier now the only real downside here is that like the iphone the case is sealed so that means no memory expansion and no replaceable battery but if you want the beauty of the iPhone but without all the Apple baggage that's the HTC One or maybe you want this one at number three the samsung galaxy s4 and maybe in the middle of this list but when it comes to Android phones nothing gets out unqualified recommendation more than the galaxy s4 you get a 5-inch screen 13 megapixel camera a replaceable battery and something that none of the other phones so far I've included a micro SD card slot for extra storage now it's not the sexiest phone or the fastest or the biggest I'm not personally thrilled with the way that Samsung handles Android but this is a very popular phone that is easy to recommend but why dish the iPhone just to go with something obvious for maximum Android smugness go with number two the Droid Maxx you want to stop an Apple fanboy in their tracks show them a phone that can handle 48 hours of use without a recharge even under our most stressful HD video playback test the Droid Maxx HD flew in at nearly 16 hours on top of that we've got a fast processor a separate dedicated graphics chip two gigs of RAM and 32 gigs of storage now the downside is it's not cheap at around $300 on contracts and that contract belongs to Verizon since this phone is exclusive but that battery life might be worth it now before we get to our number one iPhone 5s alternative I should take a moment to acknowledge that the iPhone 5s is a great phone it's a 4 star review from us it has some truly groundbreaking features such as that 64-bit processor and the touch ID fingerprint sensor so for all of you Android fans that have found your way here out of some knee-jerk reaction for Apple bashing do yourself a favor and just check out our iPhone 5s review to see what all the fuss is about alright and now the number-one iPhone 5s alternative for smartphone fans truly looking for something powerful and different the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 now here's a phone that will get you noticed a 5.7 inch screen backed by a 2.3 gigahertz processor and three gigs of RAM this isn't a smart phone this is a computer for your pocket it even comes with a built-in stylus hence the whole note thing is it for everyone hell no half of you can't even hold this thing but if you're looking for speed and power and something very different from what Apple is offering the note 3 takes you to the extreme so there you have it 5 phones that will help you scratch the itch for something new and interesting and a year where Apple is basically serving iPhone leftovers for all the latest phone reviews head over to phones dot cnet.com and for more top 5s from me top 5 cnet.com I'm Donald Bell thanks for watching you