At the top of the list sits Apple's iPhone 5. With its larger Retina display, its ridiculously thin frame, and new aesthetic, it's easily one of the most attractive devices from a hardware perspective. Couple that with iOS 6, and its access to iTunes and the App Store, the software's staleness in its own approach can easily be overlooked. In second place, Samsung's Galaxy Note II, with its huge display, S Pen, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean make it one of the best devices on the market, especially for someone looking for a large display. The iPhone 4S is third simply due to some people wanting a smaller display, but still want access to Apple's exhaustive digital libraries. The Lumia 920 by Nokia is the best Windows Phone 8 device available, with a large, top-tier display, a high-end camera, and a unique hardware design. The One X+ by HTC is the perfect follow-up to the original One X, even if it did come out too early. With a huge, gorgeous display, more memory inside, and a faster chip, the One X+ is a great device for anyone wanting to get their hands on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Hello Apple iPhone 5 and welcome back to the first place spot on the second smartphone ranking of 2012. The iPhone 5 finds itself atop the heap once again thanks to a sudden increase in Google app releases with Gmail 2.0 and Google Maps. Google has found its design groove and created two of the best looking and feature rich experiences on the iPhone. In fact, the presence of both apps has me looking less and less at the Android phones that sit on my desk. 

That's not to say I don't believe the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III don't deserve heaps of credit, they do. The Nexus 4 aside, the two flagship Samsung devices are the best Android devices you can purchase and with two hugely talented communities supporting them, there is little reason to give devices from other manufacturers a look. 

The Lumia 920 is arguably the best Windows Phone 8 device on the market, though I would happen to say that the Windows Phone 8X also deserves as much praise. The Lumia 920 creeps passed the 8X thanks to the Nokia apps preinstalled along with the low-light camera that takes some of the best photos we've ever seen on a mobile device. 

The Nexus 4 follows up in the last place position, though its certainly not because it necessarily deserves a last place finish. If anything, the Nexus 4 is one of the best devices on the market and the knowledge that it will receive timely Android updates should have any die-hard Android fan reason enough to consider purchasing. Still, you have to find one.

This week my number one and number two spots have stayed the same as last week. The Galaxy Note 2 is still bringing the heat in terms of popularity, style, innovation, and function. Any android lover who likes to customize their phone with widgets and live apps is going to love all the screen space to do so, and it still has all the features of the oh so popular Galaxy S 3. Qualities like that give this phone the top spot on my rankings list and a lot of Christmas lists out there. 

The iPhone 5 is still hanging in there at number two. Like I have said before the operating system is the real winner here. iOS 6 is a brilliantly powerful yet simple design. Although it isn't for everyone, anyone who has used iOS devices like an iPod Touch or iPad will feel comfortable with Apple's iPhone almost instantly.

This week I had a chance to spend more time with the HTC DROID DNA. My experience makes this phone my number three pick this week. The display is amazing and the phone feels great in the hand. HTC has always made good premium feeling phones but this is by far my favorite from them. The device offers Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and a great 1.5GHz Quad-core Snapdragon processor to go along with it.

At number four HTC makes a second appearance with their HTC One X+. Once again the overall premium feel of the phone's build gives this device some bonus points. However, the huge 64GB hard drive and amazingly fast 1.7GHz Quad-core make this one of the most impressive phones on the market.