Samsung Galaxy S3 blitzes iPhone 4S

  Samsung Galaxy S3 blitzes iPhone 4S 

The phone that forums around the informed world of internet tech sites are calling the 'iPhone killer'.
It's a tag that Samsung is quick to dismiss, but the Galaxy SIII is as much of a heavyweight in the smartphone market, as Mike Tyson was in professional boxing.
Priced by Samsung at close to Rs 44,000 the SGS3 is now being seen as a premium product in direct competiton with the iPhone 4S; even though in terms of pure hardware specs it's miles ahead of the Apple phone.
And yet, even as the buzz around the phone continues to grow, and experts rain accolades on the nifty gadget, there are some very strong arguments going against it.
In terms of market reality, the SGS3 may not be able to duplicate the success of its predecessor - Samsung Galaxy SII.
Here's why:

Price:

It's the biggest factor going against the S3. Pitched at nearly Rs 44,000 by Samsung; it's retailing at nearly Rs 39,000. Going by initial reactions, that's a bill not many are ready to foot. The common refrain seems to be, 'why not buy the iPhone?'

The Ice Cream Sandwich dilemma

One of the biggest selling points of the Galaxy S3 is that it comes with the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Operating Software.
But the fact that there are phones in the market which are offering the ICS, takes away from the SGS3. The HTC One X priced at about Rs 2000-3000 less is the biggest contender. Then there is the Nexus S. But it's not just about new phones. There are a bunch of phones which are now upgradable to the ICS. Samsung Galaxy S2, and the Galaxy Note are phones from Samsung's stable which have been highly successful and may end up eating away from the SGS3's market share.

Camera

The Galaxy S3 comes packed with an 8mP camera. So does the Galaxy S2, HTC One X, and the iPhone 4S. Many had hoped that Samsung will raise the bar by putting a 10mp camera on its latest release. But Samsung disappointingly stuck to its old camera with a few additional modes over its default SGS2, Galaxy Note camera. But in the present day app-driven world, those are highly path breaking. The pictures I took with it, were a little noisy and the new modes really don't add anything major to the package.

Processor: how fast do you wanna go?

I was never good with figures, but even I know that 1.5>1.4. The HTC One X has a 1.5 Ghz Quad core processor while the Galaxy S3 has a 1.4 Ghz Quad core processor. Not a lot of difference, but when you see that the HTC is actually priced less, it leaves you thinking. While there is more to a processor than numbers, reviews of the HTC One X say that it's lightning fast. My personal experience of both the One X and the Galaxy S3 has been that they are pretty much neck and neck. Question also is- do we really need a Quad core processor? Do we need to spend big on one? well, not really.
For the average user a dual core processor does the job pretty well, in any case net-surfing, browsing and buffering also depends on the data service on your phone. A Quad core processor on one of our 2G data connections is like buying a Ferrari and then tying it on the roof of a Nano.

Apple has the headstart

By introducing the Galaxy S3 before the launch of the next iPhone (will it be 5 or 4GS or 4SS or...) Samsung has actually given Apple a headstart. Rumour has it that Apple will be announcing its new phone around October this year and rumours are that it will be bigger than the 4S. But bigger doesn't always mean better. Although if Apple ups its 8mp 4S camera then it's going to absolutely murder the SGS3.