One of the most popular sections for Lowyat.NET has always been any post talking about any mobile devices, whether it be a phone, tablet or even phoneablet. 2012 has been quite a good year for mobile devices as a whole; We got amazing Android devices, some killer hybrids and of course some very interesting 7inch devices. As a device we use the most in our daily lives, here’s what the editorial team thinks are the best devices for their use for 2012.
Article continues after the jump!
Read the other parts of the Super Unofficial Best Of 2012!
Part 1: Game Of The Year
Part 2: Super Awesome Random Thing Of The Year
Pang – Nokia Lumia 920
Despite the hoo-ha over the faked videos played during Nokia’s official announcement of the Lumia 920, it did not stop the average consumer from stretching their necks out above the sea of iPhones and Samsungs to look for a perfectly viable alternative. The Lumia 920 is one such phone. Featuring yet another ground-breaking camera with Floating Lens technology (capable of sensational low-light shots such as this) finally paired with powerful hardware, and encased in a stunningly handsome chassis (matte black all the way for me, although Chapree loves the glossy yellow), this smartphone is single-handedly making Nokia relevant again. A phone that is able to do that simply by hardware innovation alone easily takes my vote for LYN’s Mobile Device of the Year.
Huei – Samsung Galaxy Note II
Does size matter? Of course it does, bigger is always better and topped up with a stylus, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is one of the best mobile devices I’ve used…this year. It comes with a complete package – a nice big display, a big battery, one of the fastest mobile processor to date, and it runs on the latest Android version, before Google announced a new update of course.
What makes the Note II stand on top of all the other Android and even other brand phones I’ve used before is its S Pen. The S Pen isn’t your typical stylus, along with a suite of apps and functions made by Samsung, it brings the smartphone experience to a whole new level. Of course, whether you need such functions or whether you’ll use the S Pen or not, is a whole other question.
Chapree – Nexus 7
The Google Nexus 7 by Asus marked the addition of tablet form factor into Google’s Nexus family which represents the company’s line of flagship devices. In general, the original 7-inch tablet is equipped with solid hardware in particularly its 1.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and 1280×800 IPS display but it does come with several limitations such as the absence of 3G connectivity and rear camera.
Apparently, the decision to omit those out of Nexus 7 was done in order to drive its price down. In United States, the 16GB version was launched with an attractive price tag of RM 764 (USD 249) for 16GB version but unfortunately, the tablet arrives into Malaysia with a higher price tag of RM 999 instead. That being said, the Nexus 7’s launch price in Malaysia is not far off from UK and Europe which was listed at RM 985 (GBP 199) and RM 1010 (EUR 249).
Asus Malaysia since lowered down Nexus 7 16GB’s price to RM 899 and has also introduced Nexus 7 32GB with 3G connectivity at RM 1099 but still significantly higher than the US current list price of RM 610 (USD 199) and RM 764 (USD 249).
Outside of the pricing issue, it is hard to deny Nexus 7’s powerful hardware and premium built which is why I choose the tablet as my mobile device of the year. I just wish that it is much more affordable in our shores.
Lucas – Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets Like The ASUS Vivo Tab
I’m an Apple user as most regular readers will know but my pick for mobile device of the year is a catchall for the flurry of Hybrid Windows tablets that were released with Windows 8. I have always been a fan of Windows 8 and what a departure it is from what we know as Windows. While I thought the OS was great, I was curious to see how the experience would translate to the mobile device. When I saw these tablet hybrids come out just like the ASUS Vivo Tab, I couldn’t help but feel extremely jealous. A full Windows 8 experience in a tablet form factor, with optional keyboard and stylus to make it more like a laptop experience.
Granted, there has been the Transformer Prime and of course some iPad Docks to that tune but this is a full on operating system we are talking about, not just a mobile OS. At 11inches, with decent hardware, the Vivo Tab is quite a good option for people on the go such as a tech journalist on a media junket somewhere overseas. It’s light, it’s thin, it has great battery life and it even has a camera or 2.
Personally I think this is the future and unified computing experience done right. Perhaps Apple could take a page out of… Oh wait.. Lawsuits.
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