The best smartphone is in the hand of the beholder. During 2010, however, the 11 pictured here were all notable competitors for the title, highlighting emerging technologies and managing to stand out during a year that saw a flood of devices, all competing for consumer and enterprise attention. This year also saw smartphone adoption blaze upward even as the economy continued to keep many down. Subsidies from carriers were partly to thank, but so were features such as 4G compatibility, dual cameras, gorgeous displays, high-end cameras, super-fast processors, HDMI support, the ability to act as a hotspot to a handful of other devices, NFC (near-field communications) technology, and the arrival of new mobile operating systems that finally got people as excited as theyve been about Apples iOS namely, Googles Android, Microsofts Windows Phone 7 and even Samsungs Bada. – …