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The smartphones we can't wait for

With tons of phones announced at CES and Mobile World Congress this year, we take a look at the most anticipated handsets coming out in the next few months.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
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1 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Samsung Galaxy S4

Price: AT&T (16GB, $199.99; 32GB, $249.99).

Availability: Q2 on AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon. Preorders for AT&T and U.S. Cellular start April 16.

The outlook: Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, follows the major success of the GS3. It runs the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, has plenty of bumps in hardware (like a bigger 5-inch screen and a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor), and it piles on the software features.

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2 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

LG Optimus G Pro

Price: TBD

Availability: Q2 in North America.

The outlook: Not only does the G Pro boast powerful quad-core specs, it also features the more common 16:9 aspect ratio on a vivid 5.5-inch full-HD IPS touch screen. In both looks and performance, it's the closest any handset comes to rivaling the reigning king of phablets, the Galaxy Note 2.

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3 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

HTC One

Price: AT&T (32GB, $199.99; 64GB, $299.99), Sprint (32GB, $199.99), T-Mobile (32GB, TBD), Developer Edition (64GB, $649).

Availability: For AT&T and Sprint, available April 19. T-Mobile available Spring 2013. Developer Edition available April 18.

The outlook: With a 4.7-inch 1080p LCD display, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, and a 4-megapixel "UltraPixel" camera, the new HTC One is packed to the rafters with top-notch components. But the device isn't just technically advanced, it's also lovingly crafted from premium metals, too.

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4 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Sony Xperia Z

Price: U.S. pricing TBD, currently ~26 pounds (about $40) with contract and ~450 pounds ($683) without.

Availability: Already launched in select countries in February 2013, U.S. availability and carrier info TBD. Sony reports, "coming soon."

The outlook: Our CNET UK colleagues already gave the Xperia Z an Editors' Choice, and it's no wonder. The flagship handset boasts a number of high-end features including quad-core processing, a large 5-inch screen, and a 13-megapixel camera. But the most compelling of all features? Its slick design is also waterproof.

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5 of 7 Sarah Tew/CNET

Nokia Lumia 521

Price: U.S. pricing TBD, currently 139 euros (about $179) without contract.

Availability: May on T-Mobile.

The outlook: As a variant of the Lumia 520 we saw at MWC 2013, the 521 isn't the next signature phone from Nokia by any means. However, it's a budget-friendly handset equipped with a 5-megapixel camera and a 4-inch screen.

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6 of 7 Lynn La/CNET

ZTE Grand S

Price: TBD

Availability: Launched in China Q1, confirmed to come to the U.S. afterward.

The outlook: During CES in January, ZTE made a big fuss over its Grand S and it's easy to understand why. As part of ZTE's high-end line of Grand Series handset, the Grand S sports a 5-inch full HD touch screen, which features 440ppi and is made of Corning Gorilla Glass. It also has a 1.7Ghz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and a 13-megapixel camera.

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7 of 7 Lori Grunin/CNET

Huawei Ascend Mate

Price: U.S. pricing TBD, currently 2,688 yen (about $430) without contract.

Availability: U.S. availability and carrier info TBD.

The outlook: Huawei touts its Ascend Mate as one of the largest smartphones available, and it doesn't take much to see why. It has a whopping 6.1-inch HD display, making it a real handful. Additional features include Android 4.1.1, an 8-megapixel camera, and a huge 4,050mAh battery to power that bright screen.

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