The Samsung Galaxy S2 Versus The Flagship Smartphones iPhone 4S-Head To Head

Apple has recently launched their new flagship smartphone, the iPhone 4S. With the smartphone market flooded with high end devices, how does it stack up against the offering of other major players such as Samsung? In this article, I will attempt to find out by pitting the iPhone 4S against the Samsung Galaxy S2.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 Versus The Flagship Smartphones iPhone 4S-Head To Head

The Samsung Galaxy S2 Versus The Flagship Smartphones iPhone 4S-Head To Head

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has proven to be a very popular device, as was the original Galaxy S. In fact, the Galaxy S2 was recently crowned "Phone of the Year" by gadget magazine T3. This is no mean feat, considering the fact that it faced competition from impressive some devices, with the Motorola Atrix, HTC, HTC Incredible Sensation S and Apple iPhone 4 all making the shortlist. The Samsung Galaxy S2 came out on top for a numberof reasons.

The handset boasts all the bells and whistles of a high end Android device in terms of software, with access to the Android Market and the Samsung TouchWiz UI. Hardware wise, the device is impressive in pretty much every aspect. To provide all the necessary computing power to hardware and software alike, there is a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor which aids many aspects of the phones, ranging from performance response times of the screen, multitasking, web browsing and many more. The camera boasts 8 megapixels, with 1080p video capture and comes with an LED flash along with a comprehensive package of adjustable settings and image enhancing features. The screen is also another impressive feature of the Galaxy S2. It is large, measuring 4.3 inches, with a pixel resolutionof 800 480x. With Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen technology, Plus it is responsive, and it is renowned for its ability to offer great display quality when in direct sunlight. The handset itself is very slim, at 8.5 mm and weighs just 116 grams.

The iPhone 4S is similar in many respects to the Samsung Galaxy S2, on paper at least. Software wise, the major difference is in the operating system, with iOS running the intuitive and customisable interface. There are many aspects of the hardware which are similar; the camera is 8 megapixels, with 1080p video just like the Samsung device. However, Apple claims that the camera on the new iPhone has many unique features such as the lens technology and the speed at which the camera operates. The latter is thanks largely to theprocessor, which is a 1 GHz dual-core processor Apple A4 processor. Whilst this is slightly less than the 1.2 GHz offered by the Samsung, it will hardly be noticeable during day to day use. One of Apple's advanTAGes over the competition is its multimedia ecosystem, which allows iPhones to integrate with iTunes, iPod and AppStore. Whilst the likes of the Android Market are impressive, and certainly catching up with Apple, it has to be said that the AppStore is superior in terms of both quality and quantity of available Apps. The iPhone 4S has another advanTAGe over the Samsung Galaxy S2; the fact that it is new. Therefore, Apple has had more time to include its latest technology in the handset. The new Siri and iCloud features are good examples of this, and it gives Apple the edge as thiskind of technology was not around when the Samsung Galaxy S2 was released.

Choosing between the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S2 is a close call. Technically, it would be rather unfAir to say that one is better than the other. As the manufacturer's flagship phones, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. I believe that the ultimate deciding factor would be down to the individual's preference for either Android or iOS, but having said that, Apple may have the edge thanks to its all new features like Siri and iCloud, as Samsung currently has nothing similar to offer.