Tuesday 25 September 2012

THE DEFINITIVE iPHONE 5 vs. GALAXY SIII FACE OFF






















iPHONE 5 vs. GALAXY SIII


Yes, you have asked for it! I have been getting some emails asking me for a direct comparison! No rest for the wicked, huh? Ok, here goes… Are you sitting comfortably? Got some tea or coffee? Good! Let the comparision begin…

iPHONE 5 RETINA VS. GALAXY SIII SUPER AMOLED

Lol! Most people (iPhone fanatics) would say that the iPhone wins this one hands down because of the retina display! I would say that technically that the iPhone 5 wins this one hands down. But if you want to talk in strict technical terms then the Galaxy SIII wins it! Why?

If Apple were truly technically on the ball they wouldn’t have ballsed-up the resolution, 640 x 1136! Yes, while the retina boasts a pixel density of 326 ppi to the SIII’s 306 ppi the SIII has a real high definition resolution, 720 x 1280. Unless you are prepared to stare at the iPhone 5 without blinking then you really won’t notice the 20 ppi difference on the SIII! What it comes down to is 4” worth of technically brilliant screen and awkward resolution vs. 4.8” of technically good screen with a proper HD resolution!

WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII

DESIGN
Ooooh! Another area for controversy! Again, let’s take all the emotion out of our brand loyalty for a moment. Good!

We’re not talking about materials, ok? Ok! We are talking about the design.

Believe it or not, I do see where Apple is going with the design. They don’t want to rock the boat with the overall look of the iPhone. Apple wants to keep the iPhone recognizable. But in keeping the iPhone recognizable they have missed out on an opportunity to deliver something out of a Sci-Fi movie – to fulfill the dreams of conceptual artists / designers. I know I have been disrespectful in my other blogs – that’s due to the bloody Tech Litigation Wars! It’s doing my head in! Anyway, respectfully, elongating the handset is not a design in my opinion. Of course, it is now thinner and that comes at the expense of the old connector for the new lightning one that will cost you ultimately – if you are the owner of previous iPhones!

Let’s look at the SIII… The Galaxy SIII is markedly different from the SII, which is still a very, very popular phone that still sells!  It would have been so easy for Samsung to put out another big black block of glass (mainly). But it is very clear that Samsung moved on with the design of the Galaxy S high-end range!

I love design and therefore I have to give it to the SIII! But the materials… …iPhone 5 is better! Let me answer this the best way that I can…

There’s no doubt that the iPhone is made from excellent materials but look at its small size and what you have to pay for it! The SIII is mainly glass incased in advanced plastic. As a result the Galaxy SIII is, I would imagine, is cheaper to produce!

I’ve seen some silly ‘drop test’ where “testers” drop both the iPhone and SIII to see how they fare. Well, if you are extremely clumsy then invest in a protective case for both models. The SIII is mainly glass and therefore it stands to break more easily! Touch wood, I have had my SI and II for a good while and no breakage! I have dropped them a few times too! There’s no denying that the Galaxy SIII looks out of this world like its namesake!

WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII

CAMERA
Jeez, this is a tough one…


Both handsets feature an 8MP camera!

I tested the SIII and I was very, very happy with the results – both photos and video! The SIII takes the smoothest full HD video that I have ever seen!

When I tested the iPhone on video recording I noticed in playback was a little jittery! The pictures seem good. But because of my limited time with the iPhone 5 it is hard to tell if it’s the retina screen or the actual photo! I did like the iPhone 5 pictures that I took!

Because the HD recording on the iPhone 5 was a tad jittery I have to give this one to, yes, the SIII! Plus I do like all the options / scene modes available on the SIII’s camera!

Here’s some SIII video footage: Synapse Circuit YouTube

Here’s some SIII photos: Picasa

WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII

PROCESSOR, RAM & STORAGE
This is pretty easy – thankfully! Y’know? I can’t recall Tim Cook saying specifically what exactly is the A6 processor other than “…twice as fast…”? That’s pretty non-descriptive! Some people say it’s a dual-core and some don’t bother mentioning it – other than to repeat it’s “twice as fast…”. Hmmm…

Galaxy SIII is features an Exynos 4412 Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 and it really shifts anything you put before it! YouTube video with 3G is very, very good when there’s a decent connection, as you can imagine over Wi-FI it’s flawless! Websites pop up instantaneously – even on a good 3G connection! I can’t fault it!

Both handsets feature 1GB of RAM. Both handsets come with storage variants 16 / 32 / 64 GB. What you might find useful is the additional storage via a microSD card on the SIII!

WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII

OPERATING SYSTEM
iOS 6 is an improvement over previous versions but it’s nowhere near as advanced as Android 4.1 Jelly Bean! iPhone users have been duped into thinking that Android is for “computer geeks” but nothing could be further from the truth! Android is the most advanced and easy to use operating system I have ever had the pleasure of working with! iOS is good, but it’s not fluid enough.

However, SIII has Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich and it is being updated to Jelly Bean at the moment. It’s likely that the US SIII will receive the update last. Poland is the first market to get the Jelly Bean upgrade! Other European countries will follow! Furthermore, the SIII features the TouchWiz user interface overlay that really gives the handset more functions such as Direct Call – put the handset to your ear after receiving a text and dial the sender directly without touching the screen!

Ice Cream Sandwich is still a great operating system! Android in general is open to customization!

The iOS comes with Siri and the SIII has the S Voice. Siri can do more than the S Voice in that it has artificial intelligence behind it which can be hit or miss. I have said it before: the S Voice is not put together with the idea to simulate a virtual assistant that talks back at or with you. S Voice is designed to interface with the handset i.e. enter alarms, diary events, get weather information and so on! Both can be hit and miss! You have to speak very, very clearly! However, Jelly Bean comes with Google Now and Voice Search which are so much better than Siri that is still in beta! When the SIII gets Jelly Bean it will be even better!

WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII


4G LTE

Well, the iPhone 5 could very well be the first 4G LTE enabled handset to reach the UK. In the States the SIII is 4G LTE compatible. And at the time of release in the UK there was no hint of 4G! The UK is expecting 4G LTE towards the end of the year! If I am correct, the UK should see 4G LTE by Christmas. It is very likely that there will be a 4G LTE version of the SIII to come later in the year!

When the 4G LTE version of SIII comes out in the UK (and other countries) it will, obviously, be the overall winner!

WINNER: iPhone 5 UK
WINNER: Samsung Galaxy SIII USA

CONCLUSION: OVERALL WINNER SAMSUNG GALAXY SIII

There is no doubt that Apple have produced yet another decent-ish iPhone. However, the iPhone is trailing behind what Android is doing at the moment! I think it is safe to say that most high-end handsets to be released this year will put iPhone 5 further in the shade!

I am sure that you are aware of Apple Maps not being as good as it should have been.

Oh, I stayed away from the battery life because you and I both know that once you start listening to music, watching video, etc that it drains... The battery on the iPhone 5 is Li-Ion 1440 mAh and on the SIII is a 
Li-Ion 2100 mAh! I think the capacity is relative to their respective size! On paper the SIII has the edge!  

Unless you’re a hardcore iPhone fanatic you cannot possibly deny the sheer power of the Galaxy SIII! I love technology and the SIII is the one I’d get!

But, hey, Synapse Circuit doesn’t tell you what to buy! I give you the facts the best that I can! The rest is up to you!


I <3 the GSIII!    

Thank you so much for reading!

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