best phone of the year by far

 Samsung Galaxy S2 (£400)

With a massive 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, dual-core processor and an excellent camera, the Samsung Galaxy S2 was the phone to beat in 2011. Despite the best efforts of rival Android manufacturers -- and Apple, of course -- Samsung's phone remains the best blower that money can buy.

It has it all -- super-fast performance, a great screen, a wonderful camera (with 1080p resolution video recording), plenty of internal storage and an ultra-thin case design. And while the Nexus offers tasty Ice Cream Sandwich, the S2 will soon be updated. It's hard to see any phone topping this phenomenal effort until the Galaxy S3 is released in 2012.