Various smartphones

Once upon a time, the height of mobile gaming was playing Slippery Sid on a screen no bigger than a postage stamp.

Today, mobile gaming and apps are changing the way we play games.

With bigger screens, better resolutions and faster processing power, smartphones can be used to play games wherever you are without the need to squint at a line of pixels racing round a monochrome screen no bigger than a….well, you get the idea.

The mobile casino revolution
The gaming industry has been quick to notice the new developments, and as such mobile casinos, poker and slots are springing up daily, and it’s not just the iPhone and iPad that are getting first dibs: Android/Google phones, Windows and even Blackberry smartphones and tablets can be used to play slots (who’d have thought Blackberry were up to that a couple of years ago?).

So, if you’re sick of using your phone for ‘selfies’ and throwing angry birds in the general direction of a bunch of green pigs, get off the laptop and start putting your phone to the test.

But what are the best ways to enjoy new mobile slots on your phone, and what should you be buying? Here’s a quick Idiot’s Guide to finding the best phone for mobile slots.

A pocket full of dynamite
Today’s best smartphones are powerhouses of gaming, packed with multi-core processors and sophisticated graphics chips, plus tonnes of memory and hi-res touch-screens, meaning you can get even more spins in at the touch of a button.
With slots getting more and more sophisticated, therefore, you’ll want something that’s going to make that Sheriff Gaming 3D slot look as slick as it does on your PC.

Best for processing power
Built for power-hungry gaming, the Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 1.9GHz quad-core processor and a 5-inch 1080p Full HD super AMOLED display. I have absolutely no idea what that means, but I tried out Thunderstruck II on it recently and it looked pretty damn good to me.

The Samsung Note 3 is a superb ‘in between’ phone for those not wanting to go the full tablet route. With 3GB of RAM and a huge screen it’s great for slots fans but a bit cumbersome for general phone users. However it has a 5.7” AMOLED display and a long battery. At £600 (US$950) it’s not cheap, but it’s certainly being talked about as the Daddy of smartphones.

Best for graphics
Sony’s Xperia Z Android handset has an meaty quad-core 1.5GHz processor with an Adreno 320 graphics unit for lightning-fast gaming performance. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 5 has a dual-core 1.3GHz processor with a PowerVR graphics unit that runs even really demanding mobile casino games at high frame rates (I am aware the iPhone 6 is out now, but at the time of writing it wasn’t unfortunately). Amazingly, Apple’s iPhone –for so long the most expensive brand out there – comes in cheaper than the Samsung or Sony, showing how far Apple’s rivals have come.

Best for battery stamina
You should also look for a phone with long battery life, as playing slots or any game usually maxes out both the processor and graphics unit with the result that they draw more power. If you own or have ever owned an Apple iPhone you’ll know the batteries are pretty meh, and in tests even the new iPhone 5 comes bottom of tests for battery life. Again here, the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes out tops, with Motorola’s DROID RAZR MAXX coming a close 2nd. Not only that – Motorola’s phone works on the Android system so you should be sorted for compatible mobile casino games.

Best Overall
So, it seems as though the Samsung Galaxy S4 (now trumped by the S5) is the first choice for the discerning mobile slots gamer. It doesn’t come cheap – I was quoted £549 ($825) on the phone today – but check for good contract deals where you live or second-hand units online.

Which casino has the most slots?
With more and more online casinos launching mobile versions of their games (William Hill are the latest big name to move into the smartphone casino world) the scope for mobile slots is huge. While most mobile casinos currently offer a relatively limited range of mobile slots for phones and tablets, that will surely change in the coming months. If you’re serious about getting into mobile slots the most important thing is to get your kit sorted first before taking the plunge with a mobile casino.

and finally….
Just bagged that progressive jackpot in Mega Moolah? Wallet a little full after a few spins of Big Kahuna? Why not invest some of that jackpot loot on one of these – an 18ct solid gold HTC One, worth just shy of £3,000 ($4500) according to this article.

Thanks to the very helpful bloke down Carphone Warehouse for helping me with some of the technical stuff.