4. Motorola.
Google is no longer just a provider of operating systems, it has become a smartphone vendor itself with its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Although the primary motive of the purchase was to take Motorola's wide portfolio of patents in order to fend off litigation against the Android, Google's execs are saying that Google's venturing into hardware. Verizon

The Droid Bionic, Motorola's latest entry into the smartphone sector, has been released on the Verizon network.

The phone was hyped for months when it was originally announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. in January. The 4G LTE, dual-chip phone had been delayed for months as Motorola gave it numerous changes, allowing it to compete with the high-end phones of the industry.

Specs on the Droid Bionic are impressive. The phone comes with a 4.3-inch HD screen featuring the Corning Gorilla scratch-free screen, two cameras: front-facing for video chat and 8-megapixel back camera, Adobe Flash preloaded, 32 GB of memory and a slim frame. It has a dual-core 1 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM and runs on the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread operating system.

It comes with a cloud-friendly app Zumocast, which lets users bring videos, music, pictures and documents stored on their computers to their handset via remote access.

The $299.99 priced phone comes with connectivity to the Motorola Lapdock. The Lapdock, which was packaged initially with the Motorola Atrix for AT&T, connects to the phone and puts its content on a laptop computer and its 11.6-inch display.

The reviews are coming and for the most part, people are impressed with the phone. Here's a look at a few.

USA Today: Mark W. Smith says the phone is a winner. He says the 4G allows people to use more data, the web browser is snappy and the battery tests well. He says the presentation leaves a little to be desired but overall it's undeniably a great phone.

The Washington Post: Joshua Topolsky says the network, the dual-core processor -- almost everything about the phone is fast. He says it was even faster than downloading on Verizon's standard wired Internet connection. He says the phone has a sturdy build. Topolsky does not like the high price, saying it is too steep.

CNET: Nicole Lee says the design is sleek. She's a fan of the speed that comes from the 4G network and the dual core processor, calling it a double whammy. She also notes the high price and says how the accessories aren't cheap either. However, CNET liked the phone so much they gave it the Editor's Choice award.

Engadget: Tim Stevens says the Bionic is the best combination of wireless and device speed that they have seen right now. However, he says the phone isn't world conquering and could be topped shortly.

Time: Harry McCracken also raves about the phone's speed. He says it doesn't matter where you live, the phone's speed is impressive. He also likes the Zumocast app. McCracken says the Bionic is the most potent smartphone on the market in terms of raw horsepower and bountiful features. But he also notes it will probably get topped soon.

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