2012 Holiday Gift Guide: The 10 Best Smartphones $300 and Under

iPhone 5

Carrier: AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon
Price: $200 (16GB) and $300 (32GB) (w/two-year contract)
Aside from the iOS Maps catastrophe, the next-gen iPhone still stands as one of the elite smartphones on the market. Apple’s increased the screen size to a moderate 4 inches and its latest Retina Display delivers one of the best viewing experiences at 1136 x 640 resolution and 326 ppi. LTE support finally comes through and pushes solid data speeds, plus benchmarks remain sharp under the A6 processor. It’s new slimmer and lightweight design makes for one sexy-looking piece of mobile hardware, too. Improved camera quality and surprisingly better battery life round out the iPhone 5’s best traits.

HTC 8X

Carrier: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon
Price: $100 (8GB), $200 (16GB) (w/two-year contract)
Microsoft’s WP8 devices have gone on to impressive both mobilephiles and tech experts, but only one really stands out most from the crowd: the HTC 8X. Boosting an awesome feature set, alluring UI, sexy ergonomics, a next-gen spec sheet (finally!) and great call quality—what’s not to love about HTC’s handset? Built-in dual amps and Beats Audio technology boost sound quality and the 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 display generates vibrant visuals. If you take a shot at the WP8 platform, make sure the 8X is priority.