Samsung's Galaxy S is challenging Apple's iPhone 4 in the smartphone market.
Apple recently unveiled its fourth-generation iPhone, appropriately dubbed the iPhone 4. Boasting a brighter screen, a faster processor and better battery life, the iPhone 4 is expected to maintain Apple's strong foothold in the smartphone market in Australia.
Check out our Samsung Galaxy S review.
However, if you're looking for an iPhone alternative, then you're more than likely going to consider one of the latest Android smartphones — headed by HTC's flagship Desire smartphone and the Samsung Galaxy S. The Galaxy S should definitely grab your attention thanks to a 4in Super AMOLED screen, a 1GHz application processor that enables playback of high-definition video (including DivX and Xvid files), Bluetooth 3.0 support, and up to 16GB of internal memory.
With this in mind, how does the Samsung Galaxy S stack up against the Apple iPhone 4?
Samsung Galaxy S vs iPhone 4: specs
| Feature | Apple iPhone 4 | Samsung Galaxy S | Verdict? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating system (OS) | Apple iOS4 | Google Android 2.1 (upgradeable to 2.2) | Draw |
| Display technology | Capacitive retina IPS | Capacitive Super AMOLED | Draw |
| Display resolution | 640x960 pixels | 480x800 pixels | iPhone 4 |
| Multitouch | Yes | Yes | Draw |
| Camera | 5 megapixels, LED flash, autofocus, geotagging | 5 megapixels, no flash, autofocus, geotagging, face and smile detection | Draw |
| FM radio | No | Yes | Galaxy S |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Draw |
| Internal memory | 16GB or 32GB | 8GB or 16GB | iPhone 4 |
| Expandable memory | No | microSD card slot | Galaxy S |
| Dimensions | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm | 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9mm | iPhone 4 |
| Weight | 137g | 118g | Galaxy S |
| Application store | Apple App Store | Google Android Market | iPhone 4 |
| Processor | Apple A4 | ARM Cortex A8 (1GHz) | Draw |
| 3G networks | HSDPA 850/ 900/1900/2100 | HSDPA 900/1900/2100 | iPhone 4 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n | Draw |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 with A2DP | 3.0 with A2DP | Galaxy S |
| Quoted talk time | Up to 7 hours | Up to 6.5 hours | iPhone 4 |
| Quoted standby time | Up to 300 hours | Up to 576 hours | Galaxy S |
| Adobe Flash support | No | No (Yes after 2.2 update) | Galaxy S |
As you can see, both smartphones stack up reasonably well, with each possessing its own strengths and weaknesses. The Samsung Galaxy S offers TouchWIZ 3 — it's Samsung's alternative to the Sense UI on the HTC Desire and promises a similar user-customisable interface.
Although Samsung's innovations on the software side of Android are impressive, it's the phone's hardware which is getting some serious attention. In particular, the 4in super AMOLED display is one of the largest touchscreens on an Android phone in Australia, alongside the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10. Apple's iPhone 4 uses existing IPS technology (the same used on the iPad, but thanks to its 640x960 pixel resolution it has been described as a "retina" display, due to the human eye being unable to distinguish individual pixels.
