Best Phones of MWC

Best Phones of MWC 2012: HTC One X

The flagship member of HTC's One Series range, the One X sports a large 4.7-inch screen with a Super LCD 2 display that is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. With Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 4.0 on board, there's built-in Beats Audio now with third party app support (Spotify, YouTube), NFC tech, the brand new HTC Image Chip offering a 0.7-second boot-up time for the camera, along with a 0.2-second autofocus and the ability to take pictures while filming. There's an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1080p video, 32GB internal storage and if that's not enough, 25GB of free Dropbox storage over two years.

Review: HTC One X

Best Phones of MWC 2012: HTC One S

Arriving as HTC's slimmest handset yet at just 7.8mm thick, the 4.3-inch AMOLED qHD screen device features Gorilla Glass and comes in a ceramic or metal finish, making it durable enough to take on the odd scratch from keys and any loose change in your pocket. Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the One S features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, Beats Audio technology, the new HTC Image Chip, 16GB internal storage and like the One X, 25GB free Dropbox storage over two years.

Review: HTC One S

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Huawei Ascend D Quad

Having given us the world's thinnest smartphone by way of the P1 S, Huawei then claimed controversially that the D Quad was the world's most powerful smartphone. Hosting its own K3V2 chip processor technology, the handset certainly is speedy, and also comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a 4.5-inch 720p HD touchscreen which combined with Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound makes it ideal for consuming all your multimedia. There's an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megaxpiel front-facing snapper, 1080p recording and playback and a 180mAH battery which should get you about two days of battery life before you need to juice it up the power again.

Review: Huawei Ascend D Quad

Best Phones of MWC 2012: HTC One V

With HTC Legend-inspired looks, the One V is the budget mobile in HTC's One Series, sporting a 3.7-inch WVGA screen with Gorilla Glass protection. Running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, there's a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and single LED flash in tow and a 1GHz single core chip powering the device. Unlike the One X and One S which use micro SIM technology, HTC opted to maintain a standard SIM card slot for its wallet-friendly model in the One range.

Review: HTC One V

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Lumigon T2

We had to wait some time for the Danish mobile-makers to truly get in on the Android phone action. Aimed at the high end smartphone market, the T2 sports a stainless steel and Gorilla glass design and features a 3.8-inch screen which is all powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm TM Snapdragon processor. Bang & Olufsen ICEpower will take care of your tunes and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera to shoot great pictures. Last but by no means least, the T2 also hosts an infrared remote control so you can change the channels on your TV or skip the tracks on your music system.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Orange Santa Clara

Intel announced that it would be making a foray into the smartphone market last year, and the Santa Clara was the lucky handset to pack the Intel CPU first. As well as the 1.6GHz Intel Z2460 processor, the mid-range Santa Clara hosts a 4.03-inch 1024 x 600p display and runs Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. On the multimedia front, there's an 8-megapixel rear--facing camera which boasts a 10fps photo burst mode, full HD 1080p video recording capabilities, 16GB of internal storage and integrated NFC tech.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Asus Padfone

The elusive Padfone still isn't available in the UK after being unveiled last year - though a Padfone 2 is rumoured for this years Mobile World Congress. The device combines a tablet body with the hardware grunt of an Asus smartphone runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by Qualcomm's 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. The smartphone has a 4.3-inch qHD screen which grows to 1280x800 pixels when it's in tablet form. There's an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and it also comes with a keyboard dock that supports a SIM card for phone, tablet and netbook.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: ZTE Era

Joining in on the quad-core party, ZTE unveiled its Era smartphone in 2012, claiming that - at just 7.8mm thick - it was one of the thinnest quad core devices on the market. Nvidia's Tegra 3 is the quad-core chip processor of choice delivering significant zip to a smartphone that hosts a 4.3-inch qHD screen and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. There's an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera on board, 1080p HD video recording capabilities and a 8GB of internal memory that can be expanded by a MicroSD card to take care of storing your multimedia content.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Sony Xperia U

The Xperia U joined the Xperia S as Sony's second branded handset. Boasting a 1GHz dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, the Xperia U uniquely hosts a 3.5-inch Reality Display and a transparent strip that allows users to set themes and colours which also changes based on images on the screen.

Review: Sony Xperia U

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Samsung Galaxy Beam

Remember Samsung's world's first projector phone from 2010? Well, it made a return last year, running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and beaming your videos, pics and digital content up to 50-inches in size courtesy of a built-in ultra-bright 15 lumens projector. Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, the 4.7-inch 800 x 480p WVGA TFT touchscreen display also has 8GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. Throw in a 5-megapixel rear-mounted camera with integrated flash and video recording and a 1.3-megapixel snapper on the front of the device which altogether made it another very desirable Galaxy handset.

Review: Samsung Galaxy Beam

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Sony Xperia P

Another new addition to the Xperia family, the Xperia P featured a sleek aluminium unibody and a 4-inch Reality Display. Sony claims that White Magic Display screen technology will make the display viewable in even the sunniest of conditions and is the brightest display on the market. Like the Motorola Atrix, the Xperia P comes with a smart dock to offer a laptop computing experience and can be hooked up to peripherals like a keyboard or a mouse. Compatibility with Sony Smart tags means the handset will also be customisable with NFC tags.

Review: Sony Xperia P

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Viewsonic 4S

Sent to solve that business and personal phone dilemma, Viewsonic announced a trio of handsets that all boast dual-SIM card slots with the 4S the pick of the bunch. Sharing strikingly similar specs to its iPhone namesake, the 4S has a 3.5-inch Super Clear IPS LCD display putting it on par with Apple's Retina Display, and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It also has a 1GHz chip processor technology, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front-facing snapper.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Acer Liquid Glow

Designed with the 'social networking youth' very much in mind, the Glow is a curvaceous handset number that features a 3.7-inch screen and runs on Android 4.0 ice Cream Sandwich. There's a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash on board and NFC tech built in. What's more, the Liquid Glow comes in three imaginatively-named colour designs: Sakura Pink, Alpine White, and Cat's-eye Black.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: LG Optimus 3D Max

LG Optimus 3D Max

LG wasn't giving up on the third dimension last year, as proved by the unveiling of the LG Optimus 3D Max. Brandishing a 4.3-inch WVGA 3D screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 for protection, it packs a 1.2GHz dual core processor, and 1GB RAM to take care of your multi-tasking. Running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, NFC support is also on board so you can buy your groceries with it.

Review: LG Optimus 3D Max

Best Phones of MWC 2012: LG Optimus Vu

LG Optimus Vu

This hybrid tablet/smartphone came toting a 5-inch screen and that all important stylus. Sporting a 4x3 aspect ratio with 1024x768 resolution LCD screen it promised a greater viewing experience for movies, books, multimedia and internet content. In the engine room there's a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, backed up by a larger-than-usual 2080mAh battery.

Review: LG Optimus Vu

Best Phones of MWC 2012: LG Optimus 4X HD

LG Optimus 4X HD

After leading the dual-core charge at MWC 2011, the 4X HD was the first quad-core to be announced in 2012 and also featured Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. As well as the mammoth 1.5GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor under the hood, there's 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Displaying all this power is a 4.7-inch 1280x720p IPS True HD screen, while an 8-Megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel also featured. LG's Companion Core technology reduces the processing power for smaller tasks and then uses the quad core power for HD video playback to help save your juice.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Panasonic Eluga

Panasonic Eluga

Panasonic's first smartphone in Europe came touting a 4.3-inch OLED qHD screen and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Calling itself a “lifeproof” smartphone, the super slim D-shaped handset is dust-proof, waterproof and equipped with a dual-core 1Ghz processor accompanied by 8GB of onboard memory. The Eluga runs on Android 2.3 Gingebread out of the box but upgraded to tastier Ice Cream Sandwich on launch.

Review: Panasonic Eluga

Best Phones of MWC 2012: ZTE N910

ZTE N910

The ZTE N910 sports a WVGA (800 x 480) capacitive touch screen and features a 5MP autofocus and flash camera but with a 1080p front facing camera for video calling. You can also expect to find Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and DLNA support on board as well.

Best Phones of MWC 2012: Nokia 808 Pureview

Symbian was already on it's last legs when the 808 Pureview arrived last year. With a mammoth 41-megapixel image sensor, the 808 had obvious snapping prowess, along with a 4-inch high-resolution screen, 1.3GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM and 16GB of storage for all those high-res images. Full HD recording in 1080p is covered as is 4x lossless zoom which will be a welcome addition considering smartphone cameras often suffer when zooming.

Review: Nokia 808 PureView

Best Phones of MWC 2012: ZTE PF200

ZTE PF200

Completing the trio of ZTE smartphones already unveiled, the PF200 features a 4.3 inch QHD capacitive touch screen, and also follows the N910 with a 1080p front-facing camera while upping the camera sensor ranks with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. As well as NFC support, DLNA and mobile high definition link means you can hook it up to your TV and sound system sans wires.

Best Phones of MWC 2011: Samsung Galaxy S2

Samsung Galaxy S2

After marvelling the world with the Galaxy, Samsung served up this gorgeous looking handset that was worthy of the 'iPhone rival' tag. It looked beautiful and is one of the lightest and slimmest smartphones to lay your hands on, and with Android 2.3 Gingerbread a 1.2Ghz dual-core Qualcomm processor, and a gorgeous AMOLED Plus screens we had finally got the Android blower great we had been waiting for.

Best Phones of MWC 2011: Sony Xperia Play

Sony Xperia Play

It was the PlayStation phone we had been waiting for so long, and in 2011 it arrived in the shape of the Xperia Play which packed a 1GHz processor, an Android 2.3 underbelly and a full compliment of official PlayStation controls.It also launched the Android PlayStation Suite – a one-stop shop for games bordering between PSOne and PS2 quality.

Best Phones of MWC 2011: HTC ChaCha

HTC ChaCha

The first step towards a true “Facebook phone” – one that monitors and broadcasts just about everything you do to your friends – the ChaCha joined the Salsa by hosting a dedicated button to send photos and videos direct to your profile and a QWERTY keyboard to pen updates.

Best Phones of MWC 2011: LG Optimus 3D

LG Optimus 3D

3D mobile anyone? LG's effort used dual-core architecture throughout to produce glasses-free 3D on its massive 4.3-inch display, and is able to capture and process content through the twin 5-Megapixel cameras. Its 1GHz processor was blazing fast and it had four times as many video codecs as any of its current competitors, meaning it had no problems with either displaying 3D on screen, or recording it.

Best Phones of MWC 2010: HTC Desire

HTC Desire

Winner of T3's prestigious 2010 Phone of the Year award, the HTC Desire stood out of the crowd with its 3.7-inch AMOLED multi-touch display, speedy 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and sleek overall look. We loved it, you loved it, and HTC no doubt loved the attention too.

Best Phones of MWC 2010: HTC Legend

HTC Legend

Joining the Desire, the HTC Legend shimmered in all its aluminium unibody glory. Also hosting a 3.7inch AMOLED touchscreen display, an optical joystick and Android 2.1, the Legend rightfully earned a top 20 place in T3's Hot 100 in 2010

Best Phones of MWC 2010: Motorola Backflip

Motorola Backflip

Yet more evidence that Motorola was back on the road to recovery, the unconventional Backflip opened up like a book. Throw in Android 1.5 OS ( upgradeable to Android 2.1) and the social networking-friendly MotoBlur OS, and the former RAZR had another Android great on their hands.

Best Phones of MWC 2010: Sagem Puma phone

Sagem Puma phone

Throwing something of a curve ball at the T3 team in Barcelona, this solar-powered, GPS-enabled phone was a surprising hit. Sporting a 2.8-inch touchscreen a pedometer and GPS for tracking your runs, it also let you download Puma apps, and swap photos easily to another Puma Phone.

Best Phones of MWC 2010: Samsung Wave

Samsung Wave

Remember Bada? Well before Samsung struck gold with the Galaxy S and S2, the Wave introduced Samsung's Bada open source mobile platform. Sporting a sizeable 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen with WVGA (800x400) resolution the Wave was definitely a MWC 2010 headline-grabber.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: LG GD910 Watch Phone

LG GD910 Watch Phone

At T3, we are never ones to pass up the opportunity to pretend like we're Dick Tracy, and with the GD910 we finally had a reason to run around the office wearing a hat and long overcoat and talk into a watch. It let you make voice and video calls, but it cost £500 and you couldn't get on the internet. Our enthusiasm soon waned after that.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: Nokia N86

Nokia N86

The Finns' first eight meg phone was a fine debut effort, with excellent shots via a Carl Zeiss lens. The 8GB of storage is augmented with a microSD slot. We loved the crisp, detailed photos , speedy start-up and acres of storage, but would have liked to have seen a Xenon Flash.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: Samsung M7600 Beats DJ

Samsung M7600 Beats DJ

For those who always wanted to carry a pair of decks in their pocket, the touchscreen only Beats DJ was powered by Bang and Olufsen's ICEpower audio tech, had microSD support and crucially the ability to drag your tracks onto the screen to scratch and mix and add samples for hours on end.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: Samsung Omnia HD

Samsung Omnia HD

Announced as the world's first phone to offer 720p video recording, the Omnia HD also featured a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive display, an 8-megapixel camera with Autofocus and LED flash and despite running on Symbian S60 was still one of 2009's best phones.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: Sony Ericsson Idou (Satio)

Sony Ericsson Idou (Satio)

It was renamed the Satio when it eventually hit the market, but the 3.5-inch screen toting smartphone had serious snapping credentials. Running on Symbian OS the Satio had a 12.1-megapixel camera with Xenon flash and a front-facing camera for video calling as well.

Best Phones of MWC 2009: Toshiba TG01

Toshiba TG01

When giant smartphone screens were in their infancy, the TG01 landed with a 4.1-inch touchscreen. It also crammed in HSDPA, HSUPA, WiFi, GPS, a microSD slot, DivX and Flash support into a phone that was just 9.9mm thick. Powered by Qualcomm's state-of-the-art 1GHz Snapdragon processor, this was a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone at heart.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Motorola Rokr E8

Motorola Rokr E8

Before the smartphone iPhone entered our lives, Apple decided to test the waters with a Motorola by delivering a candybar handset boasting full support for iTunes. By the time the E8 turned up Moto had ditched iTunes opting for access to online music stores to download music and with up to 6GB storage there was plenty of room to keep your tunes.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Samsung U900 Soul

Samsung U900 Soul

The nifty 5-megapixel camera phone with customisable touchscreen controls had a tasty design and bright screen but we weren't fans of the nasty screen lag we experienced when we first played with it.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Sony Ericsson C902

Sony Ericsson C902

The five megapixel camera-phone with the pocket-friendly design and generous mobile features, had a gorgeous, slender build, delivered high quality pictures and had HSDPA support. We would have liked to have seen a Xenon flash and a larger, less pokey screen though.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Marking the arrival of its Xperia series of phones, the X1 ran on Windows Mobile 6.1 and hosted an 800x480 pixel WVGA touchscreen. If you didn't want to smudge your screen, there was also a full QWERTY keyboard all housed in a metal-finish body.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Nokia N96

Nokia N96

The latest addition to Nokia's premium N-range, the N96 was the follow up to the feature-packed N95 adding a dual-LED camera flash, an FM radio with RDS while music playback was ramped up making the S60 smartphone another multimedia powerhouse.

Best Phones of MWC 2008: Sony Walkman W980

Sony Walkman W980

Promising to get the most of your music, Sony claimed that the Walkman phone had 'unique audio enhancing technology' and hosted 8GM of internal memory which let you store up to 8,000 songs. On the snapping front it had a 3.2-megapixel camera with 3.2x digital zoom and also supported video recording with a 4x digital zoom.