High Performance Computing

The smartphone wars are heating up by the day, and with the release of the iPhone 4S–as opposed to the as-yet nonexistent iPhone 5–buyers and spectators are looking to see how its competitors stack up. The biggest challenge seems to be coming from the Samsung Galaxy S2, arguably the most powerful and feature-packed Android phone to date.

Until recently, the iPhone lorded over the smartphone market, leaps ahead of the competition in terms of style, features, and processing power. Two things have created a more level playing field: first, Google came out with the Android operating system, making smartphone technology much more accessible, and more recently, the iPhone 4S missed a few features that onlookers were certain it would have.

So how’s the Samsung Galaxy S2 vs iPhone 4s contest looking? Here’s a look at some of the phones’ main features.

Operating system: Most experts agree that iOS 5 remains the leader in the mobile OS wars, so those looking for a steady, feature-packed operating system should go for the iPhone. But Gingerbread, the latest version of Android, is great at multitasking and isn’t far behind.

Size and style: Both phones take pride in their sleek design, but the Samsung is lighter and thinner. Even the heavier version from Spring, which weighs 129 grams compared to AT&T’s 116-gram version, wins over the 140-gram iPhone. Thickness is about the same, the Samsung is slightly bulkier from Sprint.

Screen: The game seems to be even on this one, except that Sprint and T-Mobile have added a wider 4.52″ display to the Samsung. With AT&T and worldwide, the phone comes with a 4.3″screen. Both phones boast sharp graphics and crystal-clear displays, perfectly matching the user-friendly interface.

Processing power: The iPhone 4S has an A5 chipset and runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor. The Samsung again varies according to the provider, but both are more powerful than the iPhone–Sprint and AT&T sell it with a 1.2GHz ARM processor, while T-Mobile’s version comes with a 1.5GHz.

Networking: What surprised most onlookers is that the iPhone 4S lacked 4G support, as opposed to the Samsung. Both are capable of excellent speeds, however, and the differences are minor. Bluetooth, WLAN, and USB connectivity are also supported.

Battery life: The iPhone 4S offers 8 to 14 hours of talk time depending on the network (2G or 3G), while the Samsung averages at about 10 hours. So the game is more or less even on this level–it’s a matter of what you plan to do with your phone.

Other features: Both phones have an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of taking HD video. Samsung has a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video calls, whereas the iPhone provides a smaller VGA camera for this purpose. The iPhone has a larger range for internal storage–up to 64 GB, compared to the Samsung which peaks at 32GB.

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