iPhone 4G or Samsung Galaxy S2

With two of the most anticipated handsets launching soon, here are a few points you could consider before buying them.

With the Apple iPhone 4 hitting stores in India, followed by Samsung's announcement to launch its coveted Galaxy S2 smartphone in the country, mobile enthusiasts here will soon have a tricky but pleasant choice to make: Whether to buy the most advanced iPhone or to go for a Samsung Galaxy S2 instead.

Galaxy S2 has seen record sales in some countries; while Apple's iPhone has proven its worth in others. We understand that considering the price of these handsets, it will be tough to decide which one to buy, and an informed recommendation will go a long way.

In order to help you out, we have compared the two devices based on their features and hardware.

Display

Apple, even with the launch of a totally new device, is still sticking to it regular screen size of 3.5 inches, which is small compared to the mighty 4.3 inch screen of the Galaxy S2. So in terms of screen size, the S2 definitely has an edge; but wait.

The retina display of the iPhone 4 comes with a resolution of 640 x 960 pixels, compared to the 480 x 800 pixel resolution of the S2. Hence, the Apple device is capable of showing much more detail than the Samsung handset.

Processor

The iPhone 4 has a 1GHz ARM cortex A8 architecture-based processor; but the Galaxy S2 has the next generation Arm Cortex A9 dual core processor running at 1.2 GHz, giving it the advantage of an extra 200MHz, which will definitely be evident in command execution and overall functioning.

Moreover the Apple iPhone 4 comes with 512 MB of RAM relative to 1GB of RAM on the S2. So even where processing muscle is concerned the S2 scores over iPhone 4.

OS

iOS 4 has received positive reviews across the globe for being the most stable and user friendly smartphone platform. On the other hand, Android, which features in the S2, went on to become the leading operating system in a very short span of time.

Its open source nature might be one of the reasons for its popularity, and Android has an edge over iOS when it comes to the number of applications available to it as well.

Memory capacity

Although Samsung Galaxy S2 is available in two different memory capacity variants around the world, Samsung has confirmed that only the 16GB version will be available in India. Apple iPhone 4, on the other hand, can be had in either 16GB or 32GB versions. Nevertheless, the 16GB S2 has a memory card slot that can support up to 32GB over and above the in-built storage capacity; although, who wants that much memory? The more you store in your phone, the slower it will get. With a 32GB memory card, any phone will lose some speed. Therefore onboard memory wins over expandable memory.

External communications

Both the devices have a quad band mobile radio built in. Galaxy S2 is an HSDPA+ smartphone, which means it can use high speed 3G networks, which the iPhone 4 can't do.

Moreover, unlike S2, the iPhone does not support Near Field Communication technology (NFC). Most importantly, the S2 will also allow users to connect USB drives and HDMI compatible devices with the help of accessories that can be bought directly from Samsung retailers.

Battery backup

Samsung has invested a lot in R&D to optimise the device to use the battery in the best possible way, and that is why the company claims a talk time of almost nine hours, which is an honourable figure for a smartphone.

In contrast, Apple iPhone 4 has seven hours of talktime, which is not bad at all, but considering the long periods that a smartphone is normally used for, longer battery backup will definitely be appreciated by most people.

Price

Apple iPhone 4 16GB is priced at Rs 34,500; whereas the Samsung Galaxy S2 16GB version costs Rs 32,890. Samsung turns out to be marginally cheaper than the iPhone 4, but only marginally.

Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone debuts in India

The Galaxy S2 is based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and has a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) Plus display, which is better than the conventional AMOLED displays in terms of contrast ratio and colour reproduction.

Samsung Mobiles India today unveiled its latest creation, the Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone, which is the upgrade of Samsung Galaxy S announced last year. The phone will be hitting the markets next month and is priced at Rs 32,890 for the 16 GB version.

Although there are both 16GB and 32GB versions available internationally, but for reasons untold, the Galaxy S 2 will only be available in 16GB capacity in India. There is no official word from Samsung on the future availability of the 32 GB version.

The Galaxy S2 is based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and has a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) Plus display, which is better than the conventional AMOLED displays in terms of contrast ratio and colour reproduction.

The S2 also features an ARM cortex A9 based 1.2 GHz dual core processor and a dedicated graphics chip from ARM MALI. A 1 GB RAM has been included for better functioning. The phone comes with HDMI and USB for on the go connectivity as well (Separate accessories needed to be purchased to use these features as they do not come as a part of the handset bundle).

It features an 8 megapixel back camera which is capable of full HD 1080 video recording, and a 2 megapixel front facing camera. S2 will have support for Near Field Communications or NFC as well for mobile transactions.

The Galaxy S2 will be up for prebooking form tomorrow (Thursday) onwards through the Samsung online store for a token amount of Rs 1,000.

Samsung has also tied up with Vodafone to launch this phone in India. Hence, you can also buy this phone from Vodafone stores from June 3 onwards. Vodafone will be offering a complimentary 1GB per month 3Gdata usage for the customers of Samsung Galaxy S2 for the next six months as a part of the deal.

Users can also wait a little further as the Galaxy S2 will go for sale through all Samsung stores starting June 9.

Micromax launches the Bling-2

It comes in a white leather carry case enclosed with a compact mirror and special pouch where ladies can keep their lip gloss, making it easier for them to retouch their make-up anytime, anywhere!

In a move to win the hearts of fashion-savvy women mobile users, Indian handset maker Micromax has launched Bling 2, a successor to Bling Q55.

With its glossy finish frame made with Swarovski Zirconia, Bling 2 has an Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and numerous pre installed apps.

To add to its design and features, it comes in a white leather carry case enclosed with a compact mirror and special pouch where ladies can keep their lip gloss, making it easier for them to retouch their make-up anytime, anywhere!

The phone also comes with interactive apps that would keep today's demanding woman on their toes. Some of which are MiRoamer- Mobile radio, Saavn- Music on Demand, Mosho- Mobile shopping, Mundu Live TV (1 month free trial) and Whatsapp- a messenger that works across platforms (VAS).

With a display of 7.1 cm, and a capacitive screen, Bling2 provides features such as surfing the net, texting, sharing pictures, music, videos and more. The Bling2 also offers a Mi-Fi pocket wireless internet feature, making it personal wireless broadband connection.

The phone works on both 2G and 3G networks. The phone comes with 3.0 MP cameras and the lens is framed in Swaroski Zirconia. The memory of the phone is expandable up to 32GB with micro SD card. The phone comes with 3.5 mm universal jack and Bluetooth connectivity. It also comes with an integrated GPSsystem. It is priced at Rs 9,000.