Galaxy S3 Vs. Galaxy Nexus: Epic Battle Between Samsung Phones Gets Intense

Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which was released last December on Verizon, is likely to be launched on Sprint on April 15.

While Galaxy Nexus was the first Android smartphone in the US to come with Android's latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, it will now have the LTE support from Sprint. The Nexus, however, will run on 3G for some time now but Sprint is almost geared up to launch its high-speed data network LTE in the six or so cities within a very short period of time.

It looks like it's in order now to dig up the features of this superbly acclaimed phone and compare them with Samsung's other widely rumored phone Galaxy S3, which is expected to hit the market on March 30.

The S3 is perhaps the most anticipated and hyped smartphone in the history of Android phones. The S3 is expected to flaunt the latest version of Samsung's own TouchWiz software that will be blended with Ice Cream Sandwich to enhance the smooth and fluid experience. Although the Nexus comes with Android 4.0 system, it does not have its manufacturer skin.

Let's compare these two big shots to check how they stack up against each other. But features of S3 should be read with a pinch of salt as they are still rumored and might change when the phone actually gets launched.

Display - Leaked specs and images of the phone indicate that the device will sport a stunning 4.8-inch Super AMOLED Plus with 1080p (can be 720p too) full HD screen. If the rumor mill is to be believed, Samsung might launch S3 as its first phone with a 3D screen. The S3 will also receive a revamped light and scratch-resistant ceramic encasing. Rumors about an edge-to-edge display with a minimal bezel are also going strong.

ICS on the Nexus has already given the phone an attractive and rich display. The phone touts a Super AMOLED HD 4.65-inches capacitive touchscreen that comes with 1280 x 720 pixels and 316 ppi pixel density. The slight contour display of the Nexus gives a better viewing angle and increases comfort to hold the phone.

Operating System - The Android 4.0 is the operating system for both the devices.

The Galaxy S3's TouchWiz is most likely to be an upgraded one. And that would include Samsung hubs for music, reading, games and apps. Android 4.0 has a slick multitasking menu that makes it easy to close apps. Just flick them off the screen with a finger. It's an intuitive design that makes the software rather joyous to use.

The Ice Cream Sandwich has always been the selling point for the Galaxy Nexus. The simple and elegant OS with new menu button and menu lists, the redesigned notifications pull-down, the highly organized settings menu, and the photo-editing Gallery app were the main reasons for the magnificent sales of the Nexus.

Processor - The S3 is expected to feature Samsung's quad-core ARM A9-based Exynos 4212 chipset that clocks a powerful 1.8GHz (that mighty come down to 1.5GHz, according to one BGR report) with 2GB RAM. Samsung is also heard to give a hefty speed boosts on graphics and pack in some battery-friendly power-saving features with its latest device.

The Nexus, on the other hand, comes with a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor with TI OMAP 4460 chipset and PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The phone has a full gigabyte of RAM.

Camera - Rumors are rife that the S3 is likely to pack a 12-megapixel rear camera and the phone will also have a 2 megapixel front-facing shooter for video calling.

The Nexus, on the other hand, comes with a reasonable 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for photos and video calls.

While the Nexus shooters perform moderately well, the cameras do not sport an overwhelming set of editing options at the time of taking photos. The obvious camera features include a digital zoom, face detection, white-balance choices, seven exposure settings, and four scene modes (action, night, sunset, and party) and so on.

4G LTE and NFC - Both Samsung smartphones will have integrated 4G LTE support and Near Field Communication feature. Although the Sprint version of the Nexus is yet to fly on 4G, the day is just round the corner, reveals the carrier.

Battery - Galaxy S3 is predicted to come with a 2250 mAh battery while the Nexus comes with a standard Li-Ion 1750 mAh battery. The battery gives stand-by time of up to 290 hours (2G) and up to 270 hours (3G) and talk-time of up to 7 h 40 min (2G) and up to 8 h 20 min (3G).

Samsung offers extended-life battery free with Galaxy Nexus for the Verizon model. As the 4G LTE devices are known to be notorious battery hoggers, a free extended-battery kit can give the Nexus upper hand in the market.

Other features - S3 is expected to come with revolutionary wireless charging, 3D Lenticular image technology and waterproof casing.

Price - The Verizon Galaxy Nexus is going for $300 on contract right now. The Sprint price is still not available. The Galaxy S3 would likely not be much cheaper when it debuts, however.

Apps - While both of the Samsung smartphones will run apps from Google Play, the Galaxy S3 users will also enjoy some more nice apps from Samsung as well.

Galaxy Nexus sports great apps like Face Unlock to unlock your phone without typing password, Android Beam to easily share contacts, websites, apps, maps, directions and YouTube videos to other people close by, Voice typing to use your voice to instantly type your emails, SMS and data tracking to keep from going over on your data plan.

The Galaxy S3, on the other hand, will have Kies air to sync the phone with a laptop to send contacts, the phone log and other content without connecting a USB cable. The phone will also include AllShare app for streaming content to an HDTV using DLNA technology.

Some Special features of the S3 include a revolutionary wireless charging, 3D Lenticular image technology and waterproof casing.