If you're looking to purchase a smartphone this fall , more likely than not, there will be two key devices vying for your attention: the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Apple iPhone 5. Here's how they stack up against each other.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 was released in the United States in June, and met with high consumer demand. Initial supplies were short, and Samsung has stated that it has sold 20 million units so far, and that it expects to hit 30 million sales by the end of the year.The Samsung handset comes with a 4.8-inch 1280X720 Super AMOLED display that has 306 pixels per inch (ppi), 4G connectivity, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It also has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. The handset should be getting an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean upgrade soon.
The device is currently available in 16 and 32GB models, although Samsung states that a 64GB model is coming soon. Beginning at under $199 through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile, the Galaxy S3 has been the reigning king of the smartphone market, surpassing the older iPhone 4S in sales over the last couple months.
The iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch Retina display that will display at a resolution of 1136X640 and 326 ppi. This will allow the iPhone to finally support 16:9 viewing. Apple's next-gen handset will be running Apple's new iOS 6 and be available in 16, 32, or 64GB models. With an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and front-facing 720p camera, and a new A6 CPU, Apple promises almost eight hours of talk time on a 3G network.
Starting at $199 with a two-year contract as well, the iPhone 5 will be offered by AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. Pre-orders will begin on September 14, with a launch date of September 21.The iPhone 5 is thinner by 0.04 inches and is also lighter by 0.75 ounces.
Samsung's handset offers more colors, coming in white, blue, red, gray, black, and brown, and one more carrier option, T-Mobile. The iPhone 5, meanwhile, will be coming out in black and white, much like the iPhone 4S.
The Galaxy S3 is a solid handset, and we all can pretty much expect the same from Apple. In the end, your choice may come down to one main thing: size (the Galaxy S3 is bigger) and operating system (iOS 6 vs. Android).