2013 Holiday Gift Guide: The 10 Best Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

Price: $200 (w/two year contract)
While the Galaxy S4 is the company’s flagship, it’s hard to overlook its waterproof sibling: the S4 Active. Built with IP67 grading, the device remains dust-proof and can be submerged under water for 30 mins at 1 meter when sealed tightly. It loves aqua so much that it offers an “Aqua Mode” for shooting pics and videos courtesy of the physical buttons on the front. Hardware is still strong backed by a 1080P TFT LCD display and Quad Core Snapdragon 600 processor. With it currently running Android 4.2 and set to receive a 4.3 update in the future, the shelf life of this device looks to be floating around for a while.

LG G2

Price: $100 – $200 (w/two year contract)
After the success of the Optimus G, LG decided to take a bold step in recreating the way we use our smartphones by putting all the buttons on the back under the camera. It may sound ridiculous, but don’t knock it till you try it, as it may be hard to convert back. Speaking of knocking, if you “Knock On” the beautiful 5.2-inch IPS LCD display, it’s the best way to wake up the device. In addition, the G2 runs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB RAM, standing out as one of the speediest Android phones out today.