All the hottest handsets
compared
So, it's finally here. Momentum
has been building for the
Samsung Galaxy S4 almost since
the week after the Galaxy S3
arrived last summer!
It's been one of the most
anticipated handsets in a while -
that explained by the world's
obsession with seeing every leak
possible. And they came thick
and fast, thanks to our friends in
China, as the hours counted
down to launch.
The Galaxy S4 arrives at a time
when the competition has
moved up a notch. Here's how
Samsung's latest flagship chalks
up against the other big boys in
school.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: size and
weight
Big is beautiful. That's the
message we've been getting
over the last few years as
smartphone manufacturers
seem to try to outdo each other
on the scales. The Galaxy S2 had
a decent enough footprint, the
S3 was even bigger.
The S4 continues that tradition,
coming in at 5.38 x 2.34 x
0.5/16-inches which makes it
exactly the same, height wise,
but fairly thinner by width, as its
predecessor. It's also a whole
three grams lighter at 130g.
And it's in good company. Let's
not forger the Sony Xperia Z is
fairy big in the mitts at 5.47 x
2.80 x 0.31 in and weighing in
at 146g, making it fairly similar
and only marginally heavier than
the HTC One which is delivered
at 5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37 in.
That's not a million miles off the
Nokia Lumia 920 which clocks in
at 5.13 x 2.79 x 0.42 in, though
the Lumia is heavy enough to
give you cramp at 185g.
In fact, the only one that is out
of its depth here is Apple's
offering which provides the real
alternative to anyone who wants
a smaller, yet premium device.
The iPhone 5 is minuscule by
comparison at 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30
in and with a weight of 112g.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: screens
One of the most contentious
issues when a smartphone is
announced these days. Since
Apple spoiled many of us with
its Retina offering, we've all
become more nitpicky than ever,
because we know what can be
achieved. The Galaxy S2 gave us
Super AMOLED Plus and although
it didn't have a resolution you'd
kill yourself for, the colours really
were beautiful.
The S3 was, in some eyes, not
the step forward that had been
hoped for because Samsung
opted for just Super AMOLED 4.8-
inch panel with a density that
could be marginally picked apart
by a very trained eye. It also
employed a Pen Tile Matrix here.
The S4 goes for a slightly larger
5-inch display (still Super
AMOLED) of 4.99-inches with full
HD 1920 x 1920 and a far higher
pixel density of 441ppi. It's,
again, a pen-tile matrix with very
high pixel density.The gap
between pixels has been
reduced so we're expecting
something that looks far
punchier in the real world.
Competition is fierce - the
iPhone 5 goes for an LED-backlit
IPS LCD flavour. It's only 4.0-
inches which is great for some,
yet too small for others and
giving off 326 ppi.
Similarly, the Nokia Lumia 920
has a pretty great display with a
slightly higher ppi of 332 but
that's split over a larger 4.5-inch
display. It too is an IPS LCD
flavour. The Sony Xperia Z holds
its own - this has an amazing
display which is TFT and an
amazing 441ppi spread over five
inches, but as we explained in
our review, it can appear
washed out from different
angles.
The one to beat here is the HTC
One display panel - we're big
fans of that Super LCD3 offering
with its 4.7-inch screen and 469
ppi, though, as our review
explained, we're not massively
sold on it when watching video.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: camera
The S3 was one of the best
mobile cameras out there - and
the S4 goes one further with a
13MP offering. Plus a 2MP front
facing snapper, which is pretty
run of the mill nowadays.
This is one of the main aspects
people go for when purchasing
a new handset, so a very
important consideration.
Apple reckons its 8MP offering is
the best camera it has ever
offered, but this at a time when
the numbers are creeping into
the double digits, much to the
humiliation of the Lumia 920
which also offers an 8MP
snapper. For example, the Xperia
Z is in 13.MP territory as well.
But size isn't everything - as we
noted that pictures didn't always
look great once shot. Compare
that to the paltry sounding 4MP
of the HTC One, but a camera
that has the Ultrapixel
technology, and you see that the
number of pixels has barely any
relevance compared to other
aspects.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: processor
and memory
Of course, none of this makes
any difference in the slightest if
there is not enough 'oooft'
inside to power it all. The S3 was
super smooth - although we did
notice it go a bit sluggish at
times, before the arrival of
Project Butter.
As for the S4, forget dual-core.
Forget quad core. We have a
staggering EIGHT CORE Exynos
1.6GHz processor here. That's
bigger than the quad-core
1.6GHz Exynos offering of the
Galaxy Note 8 but is obviously of
the same DNA!
2GB of ram completes the set,
which is the going rate right
now. That's double the 1GB RAM
you'll find in the iPhone 5 and a
real boost to the Dual-Core
1.2GHz processor it holds, but as
any Apple fan will gleefully tell
you, they rarely experience lag,
which goes to show that the OS
has just as much responsibility
for smoothness.
The S4's specs really blow away
what we've seen in the rest of
the competition - at least on
paper. Sony offers us a Quad-
Core 1.5GHz Krait chip and a
comparable 2GB RAM which is
double that of the Nokia Lumia
920's 1GB, while the Krait
processor the Finns give us is
dual-core, like the iPhone.
In fact, the highest level after the
S4 is the recently announced
(and reviewed by us) HTC One
which is quad-core 1.7 Krait and,
again, has 2GB of RAM.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: battery
size
We've long passed the days
when batteries would last all
week and now, one day is the
most you'll get from a modern
smartphone. The problem is
when that phone doesn't last
even a full day, with tame use.
The S4 packs a fairly huge
2,600MAH pack, up from the
2,100 offering we got on the S3.
It makes the iPhone 5's
1400MAH battery look paltry,
though again, iPhone owners
will tell you that they have a
decent enough time which
again, highlights how much the
OS plays a part. Compare that to
our thoughts on the HTC One a
couple of days back when we
struggled to make that 2300MAH
battery last, and you'll see what
we mean.
As for the Lumia 920, that comes
with a 2000MAH pack which we
bemoaned in our review, whilst
the Xperia Z puts in a stellar
effort with the 2330MAH pack
powering it, thanks to stamina
mode. Similar to our point about
the camera, it's more than just
sheer numbers that you'll find
makes a difference here.
Galaxy S4 vs the rest: OS
Did you think Smart Stay was
gimmicky on the S3? Will you
care about the screen scrolling
to follow your eyes on the S4? If
you do, you're in for a treat
because despite some claims it
wouldn't appear on the final
build, it is now official that it will.
Whats more, Smart Pause will
know to hold things when you
look away. And Air Gestures
mean you'll be able to jump to
the top of lists, skip music and
flick through pictures/answer
calls without even touching the
screen.
The iPhone is obviously the only
Apple device - so has exclusive
access to the Cupertino stable of
goodies as far as this rabble is
concerned. Similarly, if you want
a Windows device, you won't
find any other offerings in this
comparison. But the other three
are all Android handsets and
have their own unique selling
points. Sony is bigging up how
the Xperia Z is both resistant to
dust and water, which is great if
you're an off-roader swimmer.
Meanwhile, HTC bangs on about
its Zoe photos being unique and
how the blink-feed home screen
will change the world. However,
its IR blaster on the newly
released HTC One (which we
have noted works well) has
been fitted on the S4 as well.
That unique selling point is no
longer unique.
Samsung's TouchWiz overlay,
meanwhile, always looks a bit
more colourful and less
conservative. Yet, it has, in the
past, also been a very solid
iteration of Android - which is
what these final three run on.
The question is - will it be the
first to ditch Jelly Bean for Key
Lime Pie? And will that make a
difference to you? If it does, the
S4 will be available April 26th.

The Galaxy S4

IPHONE5 AND LUMIA 920, SHLDNT B DERE

Nice! I like the Sony Xperia Z but my Oga at the top might like another one...

Xperia Z!!!!!yu need to see the fone...

galaxy s4 on top ...perfect choice for my boss ...I mean oga at d top