Samsung Galaxy S3: The Next Galaxy Battles Smartphone Heavyweights

Samsung is all set for to announce its next Galaxy smartphone, expected to be called Samsung Galaxy S3, on 3 May in London. The South Korean mobile maker has recently launched a countdown website, followed by a teaser video released by the company which hints at the launch of an up-coming smartphone. If you are wondering if you should wait to buy the new flagship phone from Samsung, we've put it's expected specs up against five of the best phones out there to see how it stacks up.

Trying to decide what the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S3 will be is tough as there are a number of conflicting reports. However a recent video released by a Vietnamese site, Tinhte, throws some light on the specifications of the next Galaxy phone.

The smartphone is expected to feature a 4.6in display with an HD resolution of 720 x 1,184 pixels. One thing we do know is that the smartphone will be powered by the Samsung made Exynos 4 Quad chip, featuring a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and it is almost certain it will run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The smartphone is expected to have an eight megapixel camera, with internal storage of 16GB and a microSD card slot with support for up to another 32GB. The Galaxy S3 will offer Near Field Communication (NFC) and it will run with a 2050mAh battery.

Based on this speculation of the Galaxy S3, we check out how the successor to Galaxy S2 stacks up against the competition in the smartphone market.

Galaxy S3 vs HTC One X

The HTC One X features a 4.7in HD 720p touchscreen with a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels. It measures 134 x 69 x 8.9mm and weighs 130g exactly. The smartphone runs with Android 4.0 overlayed with HTC Sense 4. It is powered by a Tegra 3 chip featuring a quad-core 1.5GHz processor (dual-core 1.5 GHz for LTE version in the USA and selected countries) both of which are backed by 1GB of RAM.

The HTC One X features an 8 megapixel camera with autofocus, smart LED flash and BSI sensor and can record 1080p Full HD video. There is a secondary 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera which offers video chat in 720p. The handset offers Near Field Communications, Bluetooth version 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n. It also supports DLNA, micro-USB v2.0. The HTC One X has internal memory storage capacity of 32GB. The HTC One X is powered with a battery with the capacity of 1800mAh.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Samsung Galaxy S2

The Samsung Galaxy S2 features a 4.3in Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors. The resolution of the display is 800 x 480 pixels. The smartphone measures 125 x 66 8.49mm and weighs 116g. The Galaxy S2 launched with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) but most networks in the UK have now upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich. It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Arm Cortex A9 processor and packs 1GB RAM.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 sports a primary 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus and a secondary front-facing camera of 2 megapixel. It supports GPRS, EDGE, 3G and also supports Bluetooth version 3.0, Wi-Fi and micro USB. The internal memory storage of the smartphone is either 16GB or 32GB and it can be expandable up to 32GB using micro-SD card. It is powered by a 1650mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 4S

The Apple iPhone 4S features a 3.5in Retina Display with a resolution of 640 x 960 pixels. There is a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on the front and back of the phone. It also supports multiple languages and characters. The iPhone 4S measures 115 x 58 x 9.3mm in thickness and weighs 140g. It launched with iOS 5 which has now been upgraded to iOS 5.1. The smartphone is powered by a dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 processor and with an Apple A5 chipset supported by 512MB of RAM.

The iPhone 4S sports an 8 megapixel iSight camera with autofocus, tap to focus, face detection and LED flash. It can capture videos at 1080p resolution. The smartphone also features a secondary, front-facing VGA camera which can record video up to 30 frames per second. Apple's iPhone 4S offers Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth version 4.0 with A2DP. Apple offers the option of 16GB/32GB/ 64GB versions.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Samsung Galaxy Note

The Samsung Galaxy Note features a 5.3in HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. It measures 146 x 83 x 9.65mm and weighs 178g. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) though an update to ICS is expected. The Galaxy Note is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and packs 1GB of RAM. It sports a primary 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and can record video at 1080p. There is a secondary, front-facing 2 megapixels camera.

Samsung Galaxy Note offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Wi-Fi Direct and also supports Bluetooth version 3.0+HS. The internal memory storage capacity is 16GB and can be expanded up to 32GB using microSD card. The Galaxy Note is powered with a standard Li-on whose capacity is 2500mAh.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Motorola Droid Razr Maxx

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx features a 4.3in Super AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. The Droid Razr Maxx measures 31 x 69 x 8.99mm and weighs 145g. It runs with Android OS 2.3.5 and is scheduled for an upgrade to Android 4.0. The smartphone is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 processor and packs 1GB of RAM.

The Droid Razr Maxx sports a primary 8 megapixel camera with autofocus and a 1.3 megapixels front-facing camera that can capture HD video at 720p. The handset offers Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth version 4.0 with A2DP, LE+EDR. The internal memory storage capacity is 16GB and the memory can be expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card. The smartphone carries a Li-on battery with the capacity of 3300mAh which runs to 21.5 hours.

Conclusion

The screen size of the Samsung Galaxy S3 is more or less similar when compared to the other smartphones, except for the Galaxy Note which is the daddy of them all. The HTC One X is the only of the phones which currently features a quad-core processor which.will match whatever smartphone Samsung launches. In order to beat the HTC One X, the South Korean manufacturer will have to rely on the performance of it's own ARM-based chip which is powering the upcoming Galaxy S3.

Furthermore the company will need to include more internal memory. All the above smartphones feature an 8 megapixel primary camera, however in order to lead the world smartphone market, the Galaxy S3 could feature a 12 megapixel camera, similar to the one we saw int eh Sony Xperia S. The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx delivers battery life up to 21.5 hours and to beat the Droid Razr Maxx, the Galaxy S3 would need to feature a pretty large battery which is highly unlikely.

MUST READ:

• Samsung Galaxy S3: Benchmark Results Show a Winner
• Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Huawei Ascend D Quad: Can Underdog Challenge Smartphone Giant? [VIDEO]
• Samsung Galaxy S3 May be Only Minor Update