Remembering 2013's best and worst phones

With 2014 approaching, we at Bloggergamer would like to take this time and reflect. Reflect on our family and friends, our personal accomplishments, and of course, the smartphone highs and lows of 2013 (this is a tech site after all, what were you expecting?).

Unsurprisingly, the top handsets of this year were dominated by much of the same key players we consistently see from year to year. That includes updated iterations of popular phones such as the fingerprint-scanning Apple iPhone 5S, the powerful Samsung Galaxy S4, and the ultra-juiced up Motorola Droid Maxx.

Others were flagships from familiar manufacturers, but some companies took measures to start afresh in order to elevate and differentiate their chief handsets for 2013.

This includes going back to minimalistic names like HTC's simplistic One and LG dropping the "Optimus" moniker from its G2 device, as well as opting for a novel design, with the former smartphone sporting a stylish all-aluminum construction, and the latter relocating its power buttons to the rear.

Then there were the curveballs. The ones that brought unique but well-executed new features to the market, like Nokia's Lumia 1020 that's equipped with a 41-megapixel camera, and the highly customizable Motorola Moto X.

Of course, not everything came up roses this year. There were a handful of devices that were less than stellar. Some were simple feature phones (like the LG Envoy II and the Huawei Pal) that got docked not because they were too basic, but because they couldn't even perform the simplest tasks reliably.

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