Whether you're still carrying a Nokia feature-phone or on the hunt for the latest superphone, 2012 played host to plenty of fantastic smartphones.

The year saw Android manufacturers step up to the plate, with loads of powerful devices to be had, while Apple also made some fundamental tweaks to its game-changing iPhone.

So join us as we take a look at our top five smartphones of 2012!

5) HTC ONE X (review)

Taiwanese titan HTC didn't mess around when they showed off their new ONE range of smartphones, with the ONE X leading the charge.

The HTC ONE X has plenty of horsepower, featuring the Tegra 3 quad-core chipset, 1GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch 720p display and a fantastic eight-megapixel camera.

Of course, there's more to a smartphone than pure specs, with the ONE X utilising a slick version of HTC's Sense skin, complete with a few key practical apps in tow.

The HTC ONE X is also the first popular handset with the ability to record HD clips and take snaps simultaneously, a feature now seen on the SIII and iPhone 5.

4) Nokia Lumia 920 (review)

One of our favourite phones this year, Nokia's first Windows Phone 8 handset is a superphone of note.

For one, it has a super-sensitive HD display, allowing you to use the phone while wearing gloves or mittens. Then there's the pentaband LTE connectivity and wireless charging functionality, both being some pretty nifty features. 

However, our favourite Lumia 920 feature has to be the 8.7-megapixel PureView camera, featuring the best low-light performance of any smartphone. The camera also has optical image stabilisation, resulting in less jitter when filming and taking snaps. 

3) Apple iPhone 5

The latest iPhone is a substantial improvement over the iPhone 4S, with the most noticeable addition being a long-awaited bump in screen size, to 4-inches. 

Other than the screen-size increase, the iPhone 5 is also the first iPhone to support high-speed LTE connectivity, although it supports fewer LTE bands than other handsets. 

Under the hood, the iPhone 5 is powered by a custom-designed A6 chipset, in what amounts to an exponential horsepower increase over the 4S.

2) Samsung Galaxy SIII (review)

Was there ever any doubt that Samsung's Galaxy SIII would go on to sell tens of millions of units in the weeks and months following its release? 

Featuring a sharp display, nippy quad-core processor and a much improved TouchWiz user-interface, the SIII is definitely worth considering. 

Samsung has also launched the Android 4.1 update, bringing split-screen multitasking to the fray as well.

1) LG Nexus 4

Featuring a quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GBs of RAM and a 1280x768 display, the Nexus 4 is one of the most powerful handsets we've come across.

What makes the Nexus 4 an even better deal is its starting price, with Google selling an 8GB version for just $299 and a 16GB model for $349. No wonder there's no stock to be had for the rest of the year. 

The Nexus 4 might not be the perfect smartphone, primarily owing to its lack of expandable storage, but at $299, LG and Google have changed our expectations of what a superphone should cost.

It's unclear when or if the handset will be making its way to South Africa, but LG confirmed that its Optimus G, which shares the Nexus 4's DNA, will be hitting SA in March.

Honourable mentions

Sony Xperia S (review)

The Japanese giant came out swinging with its dual-core Xperia S handset, being one of the first phones to do away with the Sony-Ericsson branding.

When it comes to the specs game, the Xperia S is certainly no slouch, featuring a 12MP camera, a 720p screen with 342 pixels per inch and an HDMI-out. 

The only major downside to the Xperia S is that customers waited ages for the Ice Cream Sandwich update, with Jelly Bean only making its way to the device sometime next year. 

Nokia 808 PureView (review)

Forty-one megapixels. Yes, that's the defining feature of the Nokia 808 PureView - a handset designed around a camera. 

The 808 PureView sensor captures more detail than practically every other smartphone on the market, while its innovative zoom ability is also worth noting.

The 808's fatal blow is that it's still running Nokia's ageing Symbian operating system, which has been around for roughly a decade. Throw in a 640x360 display and the 808 looks even more archaic.

Still, with that gargantuan camera and HDMI-out, the 808 is one of the standout smartphones of 2012.

Nokia Lumia 900 (review)

Unveiled at CES 2012, the Nokia Lumia 900 proved to be a head-turner, featuring the Finnish giant's trademark polycarbonate design.

The phone itself made for a great experience too, featuring Windows Phone 7.5, LTE and a pretty capable camera.

However, the fact that Windows Phone 8 won't be coming to the handset is a nail in the Lumia 900's coffin.

Samsung Galaxy Note II

With its imposing list of specifications and good looks, we really like Samsung's Galaxy Note II.

Featuring a 1.6Ghz quad-core processor, 2GBs of RAM and stylus-driven applications, the Galaxy Note II is a unique and powerful device.

However, the Note 2 is slightly larger than the original Note, while also featuring a lower screen resolution than the first-generation handset (although the Note II uses superior screen technology).

So, you might as well get the first Note instead of upgrading to the latest and greatest model, especially now that it has received Android 4.1.