Best 4G phones 2014: 10 to choose from

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE

Galaxy Note 2

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 review

If you want the biggest AND fastest phone around, Samsung's high-end phone/tablet hybrid is the way to go.

Packed with features, the Note 2 has a massive battery, which helps deal with some of the battery life issues surrounding LTE handsets.

The phone's also a stunner, combining a 5.5-inch HD display with a quad-core processor running at 1.5GHz. And the S Pen stylus. And loads of Samsung software tools to play with. It's a portable activity centre for tech enthusiasts.

HTC One

HTC One

HTC One review

This is HTC's best phone yet, and that's saying something. The HTC One is 4G-ready from the offset, so can be bought and used on any of the Australian networks for fast 4G speeds.

The HTC One earned rave reviews for its metallic chassis, superb low-light camera performance and the general smoothness of HTC's updated user interface, with the new HTC Sense social features also going down a storm. This phone and a 4G data connection would make most people very, very jealous indeed.

Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE

Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Galaxy S3 review

Samsung's 2012 flagship model has also been refreshed to feature 4G capabilities in Australia, with last year's top-spec Android model on a range of 4G contracts across multiple carriers, including some of the MVNOs.

For that you get a phone that's still extremely competitive, offering a quad-core processor, 4.8-inch 1280 x 720 display and a very capable 8MP camera, with the LTE version able to hit the theoretical 3G maximum download speed of 42Mbps and maxing out at a hard-to-comprehend (and unlikely to actually hit in the real world) 100Mbps on a clear 4G link.

Sony Xperia Z

Sony Xperia Z

Sony Xperia Z review

Sony's current highest-end Android model is the Xperia Z, which stuffs a lovely 5-inch display into a slim chassis, into which it's also somehow managed to include a quad-core chipset, 2GB of RAM and a 13MP camera.

It's one of the most impressive Android models around today, and is also ready for your next-gen mobile data connection thanks to featuring the required miniature internal coat hanger needed to pick up an LTE radio signal.

It's the best handset Sony has ever made, and a great reason to upgrade for a 4G connection.

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920 review

Nokia's latest Windows Phone 8 model has been doing some good work in convincing people to give Microsoft's mobile OS a fair go, with its nicely sized 4.5-inch 760 x 1280 display a good option for those not yet ready to accept something up nearer the 5-inch range.

The Lumia 920 also features dual cameras (8.7MP and 1.3MP), a whopping great 32GB of onboard storage space for your photos and media, plus support for all of Australia's 4G networks, although Telstra is the only telco offering the phone on a plan.

It's been beaten now by the Nokia Lumia 925 - so we'll be updating this list as and when we get to compare the two.

BlackBerry Q10

BB Q10

BlackBerry Q10 review

If you want traditional QWERTY BlackBerry hardware to accompany your futuristic 4G data speeds, there's only one choice -- the new Q10.

The phone looks like your usual old BB with its chunky keyboard and landscape display above, but comes with the updated BB10 OS for adding a bit more style to proceedings.

The phone also includes NFC support, for transferring mobile data rather more slowly over distances of a couple of centimetres, should that ever really become a thing people want to do.

Having spent the past decade editing some of Australia's leading technology publications, Nick's passion for the latest gadgetry is matched only by his love of watching Australia beat England in the rugby.