Summer is finally here! Many reasons to rejoice. And adding to those reasons are the slew of Android devices, with each manufacturer trying to outdo the other. This summer, PocketDroid will help you decide which Android beast is worth your hard-earned money.

Samsung Galaxy S3

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is Samsung’s latest flagship device and is one of the best smartphones available. It has already received 9 million pre-orders and is expected to be an absolutely smashing hit. The Galaxy S3 has a 1.5 GHz quad-core CPU in the international variant and a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU in the US variants. The S3 has 1 GB of RAM in the international variant and a hefty 2 GB of RAM in the US variants. The Galaxy S3 also has an 8 megapixel camera for photography aficionados. The S3 is available on all major US carriers and the mean feat that Samsung has achieved that it has convinced all the carriers to have a single model, facilitating faster updates. The huge advantage that the S3 has over its competitors is its removable battery and the microSD card slot.

HTC One X

The HTC One X was amongst the first quad-core phones in the Android market. This phone along its two younger siblings – One S and One V, is HTC’s attempt at unifying their smartphone line-up, to facilitate faster and easier upgrades. The HTC One X has a Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset and a CPU clocked at the same speed as the Galaxy S3- 1.5 GHz. It has 1 GB of RAM, a 4.7 inch IPS LCD screen and a superb 8 megapixel camera alongside Dr. Dre Beats integration. The HTC One X runs the latest version of HTC Sense atop Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The HTC One X’s design is one with the least flaws. It has a polycarbonate unibody which looks simply awesome. The US variants will have a dual-core chipset to accommodate LTE. The disadvantages of the One X are its non-removable battery and lack of micro-SD card support.

HTC One S

The HTC One S is the One X’s brethren. The One S is a dual-core monster with a CPU clocked at 1.7 GHz and a hefty 1 GB of RAM. The One S, though dual-core, has a lot going for it. Firstly, it shares its image sensor and camera wizardry with its more advanced brother – the One X. The One S features an 8 megapixel camera with the same technology which is found in the One X. So, there is hardly any difference between the quality of images. The HTC One S also runs HTC Sense 4 atop Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has Dr. Dre Beats integration. The screen of the HTC One S is 4.3 inches made of AMOLED, the kind found on the Galaxy S2. The HTC One S has the same qualms as the One X- no removable battery and lack of micro-SD card slot.

Sony Xperia S

The Sony Xperia S is one of Sony’s first forays into the world of smartphones after buying out Ericsson’s share. The Sony Xperia S is a phone meant for gaming aficionados and stylish users. This phone comes with PlayStation certification from Sony, which means that users can play PlayStation games on this phone! The Sony Xperia S has a 4.3 inch LED screen, a 12 megapixel camera, a 1.5 Ghz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and Sony’s very own Bravia engine. Sony’s Bravia engine makes images crisper and adds sharpness filters to reduce noise in the images captured. Colors are deeper and more vivid and look absolutely amazing. Sadly, this phone ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. But, fret not! An ICS update is currently rolling out!

LG Optimus 4X HD

The LG Optimus 4X HD is LG’s first quad-core equipped smartphone. The LG Optimus 4X HD, like its other competitors, runs on a Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz and 1 GB of RAM. It has a nice 4.7 inch IPS-LCD screen which offers 720p High Definition video playback. It runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has an almost vanilla feel to it except the little customizations LG (Optimus UI 3.0)has made. A minor advantage that the LG Optimus 4X HD has is that it supports the usage of a normal SIM instead of a micro-SIM. Small advantage but, very convenient. The smartphone has an 8 megapixel camera which has been getting mixed reviews. Apart from the camera gripe, this is an excellent phone which has stellar specs and can give Samsung and HTC a real run for their money. If only they improved their customer support, LG would have a blockbuster on the market!

Huawei Ascend D Quad

The Huawei Ascend D Quad was announced at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year as the “world’s fastest quad-core smartphone”. Huawei was quite proud to announce the smartphone’s brilliant specifications. The Ascend D Quad runs on Huawei’s very own K3V2 quad-core CPU which is clocked at 1.5 GHz. The Ascend D Quad boasts of a 4.5 inch 720p High Definition screen and a special 32-bit true color graphics processor. Like the others, it has an 8 megapixel camera which is capable of capturing 1080p video. The smartphone runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The special thing about Huawei’s smartphone is that it features a proprietary power management technology which can boost the battery life by up to 30%. The chipset also maintains higher efficiency by keeping temperatures as low as possible. With the notoriety that Android has gained for battery life, this could be a godsend!

Do let us know which phone you buy and what you love about it the most! Have a great summer! :)