With access to games, reading material, personal assistants and thousands of apps, people are spending a lot of times with their phones nowadays. So why not give the gift that keeps on giving? Here are our top smartphone picks for the big four U.S. carriers so you can make sure that special someone has the ultimate handset.
On the outside, the iPhone 4S looks identical to the iPhone 4, but it’s vastly improved on the inside. A dual-core A5 processor nearly doubles performance and lets you play eye-popping games that take advantage of the chip’s enhanced graphics. You also get a sharper 8-megapixel camera that takes brighter photos faster and records 1080p video. But the most talked-about feature is Siri, a voice controlled personal assistant. $199 (with two-year contract on AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless); www.apple.com