Google's Nexus 5 - a premium smartphone for just £300.
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Looking over this year's smartphones the accolades for the most powerful, fastest and coolest go to Apple for its iPhone 5s – arguably the best smartphone yet built - although it is perhaps a shame that the Apple did not reach for a lower price point with the 5c, instead choosing to simply repackage the 4s in eye-catching plastic.
Moving away from Apple's offerings, the best value handsets undoubtedly came from Google. At the lower end is the Motorola Moto G; starting at £135 without contract it's a phone that offers tremendous capabilities including a high-resolution display to a good camera and powerful processor.
For around £150 more you can get the Nexus 5, with a 5-inch 1080p screen, a 2.3GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. Google still took some flack for not offering expandable storage on top of the 16GB/32GB memory options, but at £300, the price is certainly right.
Away from the Google vs Apple fracas Samsung continue to produce phablets, with the Galaxy Note 3 arriving this year: a 5.9in-screened phone/tablet hybrid that is blazingly fast and big enough to make you feel you can do without a tablet.
Other stand out devices include Nokia’s Lumia 1020 (its 41MP camera remains a stunning choice for anyone who likes taking photos) and the company's Asha 503 (it's £80 and you don't get many apps, but with a tough case and a battery that lasts weeks, you have other features to crow about).
