5. Samsung Galaxy S4
Make no mistake - the Samsung Galaxy S4 is far, far more than a Galaxy S3 'S' - Samsung may be copying Apple according to some people, but it's not as brazen as the Cupertino brand in flogging the exact same design with a slightly updated processor and calling it a new phone.
The Galaxy S4 is a great, great device in its own right, re-inventing what it means to own a brilliant smartphone in a number of ways. The gestures are cool, the touch-less experience amazing at times - in short, it's a wonderful phone you want to pull out of your pocket again and again and again.
6. LG Optimus G
With its beefy stats, beautiful display and 4G capabilities, the Optimus G is easily the most capable phone LG has ever produced. Still, as a $200 for two-year contract device on Sprint, it falls in with serious competition from the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 and the HTC Evo 4G LTE.
Then there's the matter of Sprint's small 4G coverage area in the U.S., and the approach of the Google Nexus 4 by LG, which is rumored to have specs very similar to the Optimus G. Is now the right time to go 4G on Sprint with the LG Optimus G? For the most part, we'd say yes.
Thanks to powerful hardware and (some) 4G service, the Optimus G is most capable smartphone LG has ever produced. Media, games, web browsing and even Google Maps all benefit from that large and ever-so sharp display.
7. HTC Evo 4G LTE
We were already huge fans of the HTC One X, but the Evo delivers on many of the fronts that the One X simply fell flat. The expandable memory makes it a boon for delivering quality media content with limited restrictions. And then there's the matter of the battery, which has been chiefly resolved by just (somehow) managing to fit a larger battery inside.
Simply put, the HTC Evo 4G LTE is the best phone on Sprint. If it takes Sprint a year to roll out LTE in your city, then you'll have LTE on your phone as soon as anyone else on Sprint's network does - and while those yet unfulfilled promises might make it a risky purchase, it's simply too good of a phone to really care.
From snapping photos to Dropbox integration, to a very sleek and very sexy chassis, this is a phone you have every right to brag about, and should be proud of - promises yet fulfilled or no.
8. LG G2
The LG G2 is a beast of a phone packed with monstrously good specs that is LG's answer to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.
You'll first notice a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080 display, which gives us a 424 PPI density. The chipset inside is a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800, with a 2.26GHz quad-core Krait 400. In terms of processing power, it seems that the G2 is in no short supply.
It comes in 16GB and 32GB variants, with 2GB RAM. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, Infrared port and 4G LTE.
9. Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is looking to continue in the same vein as the original Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2, offering you a phone which could almost be mistaken for a tablet and wants you to believe it's both.
The Galaxy Note 3 has a heftier price tag than other phones on the carrier but if phablets are your thing, Sprint's got you covered.
The display has grown again since the 5.5-inch offering on the Note 2 to a palm busting 5.7 inches complete with a full HD, 1080 x 1920 Super AMOLED display.
You also get 3GB of RAM and the option of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, while the latest version of Google's operating system - Android 4.3 Jelly Bean - runs merrily on top of all this.
10. iPhone 5C
The iPhone is a decidedly divisive mobile device with people either clamoring for it or brazenly bashing it, especially when it comes to the iPhone 5C.
Touted as the "affordable iPhone" or less nicely, the "cheap iPhone," it really isn't all that different from the iPhone 5 considering it has the same 1136 x 640 Retina display, A6 processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.9 MP front camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
However, if you really, really want a newer Apple device and the iPhone 5S's price point is out of range, you can't go wrong picking up a 5C.
