Top 10 Android Smartphones

Android has matured a lot as a platform since it arrived a few years ago. It has been gaining market share steadily and now holds a dominant position in the US. Thousands of new Android devices are getting activated each day; with this kind of growth, it was inevitable that Android would become the number one smartphone OS.

Here's a list of the top ten Android powered smartphones for 2011 which have been released or are about to hit the market.

The original Samsung Galaxy S was a smash hit and it catapulted Samsung into pole position as an Android smartphone manufacturer. The follow up, the Samsung Galaxy S II is unbeatable. It is packing a dual core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A-9 processor with 1 GB of RAM. The Super AMOLED Plus display is 4.3 inches at a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and it looks amazing. It comes in 16 GB or 32 GB varieties and with the option to add another 32 GB via a microSD card no phone offers more storage. The camera is 8 MP and it offers 1080p video recording. It runs on Android 2.3 with the TouchWiz 4.0 overlay. It is thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4 and right now there is no better Android smartphone available.

The Motorola Atrix represents an attempt to innovate in the smartphone market. This device can dock with a laptop or media station peripheral and double up as your hub for both. Unfortunately the optional extras are expensive and it remains to be seen whether this kind of functionality is really in demand. Even setting that aside this is an awesomely powerful phone. You've got a dual core 1 GHz Tegra 2 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4 inch touch screen display with a resolution of 950 x 540 pixels and a 5 MP camera with 720p video capture. There is 16 GB of internal memory and you can add another 32 GB with a microSD card. It runs on Android 2.2 with the MotoBLUR overlay.

The HTC Thunderbolt was the first big release from HTC on Verizon's 4G LTE network. Launched after a massive advertising campaign the Thunderbolt is a formidable smartphone. It features a second generation 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 768 MB of RAM, a 4.3 inch capactive touch screen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and an 8 MP camera capable of 720p video recording. It has 8 GB internal memory, expandable to 32 GB with a microSD card and it runs on Android 2.2 with the Sense UI overlay. It is fast, attractive and powerful.

Here is another entry trying to innovate in the smartphone market and the unique selling point here is the ability to display and record 3D footage. It works without special glasses but the 3D effect is mild and requires you to view the display head on. It has a dual core 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 4.3 inch touch screen display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and a 5 MP camera which can record 1080p footage and 3D. It has 8 GB of internal memory which is expandable to 32 GB with a microSD card and it runs on Android 2.2 with LG's 3D UI.