Never mind the fact that Apple is selling iPhone 4S handsets as fast as they can manufacture them: There is still a lot of competition out there from other companies who are working hard to knock Cupertino out of the game -- and here are a trio we think actually come pretty close to doing just that.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
The current cream of the Android crop, Samsung's Galaxy Nexus marked the debut of Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" -- the version that finally united the tablet-only Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" and smartphones. Unfortunately for Google, the latest and greatest version of Android has been dripping into the marketplace far slower than its vanilla and chocolate namesake, with only 2.9 percent devices now running ICS.
Be that as it may, the Galaxy Nexus features a 1280x720 HD Super AMOLED display packed inside a healthy 4.65-inch screen and only slightly lower pixel density than Apple's iPhone 4/4S Retina Display (315 ppi vs. 326 ppi). The entire handset has a subtle curve to it and actually matches the thickness of the current iPhone at 0.37 inches -- even though it feels thinner in the hand.
Where It Falls Short: The camera is no match for the iPhone 4S -- heck, it's no match for the iPhone 4, for that matter. Despite a reasonable five megapixels on the rear camera (1.3MP at front), images shot with the Galaxy Nexus are grainy and less sharp than those from the last two generations of iPhone. While the high definition Super AMOLED screen is a sight to behold, colors tend to be oversaturated and a bit higher in contrast -- so what you shoot may look deceptively better on the handset. Storage may also be an issue -- Verizon's Galaxy Nexus only comes with 32GB, and the unlocked international GSM model cuts that in half.
Where It Excels: Almost all Android handsets feature a removable battery and support Adobe Flash -- assuming those mean anything to anyone in the year 2012. But where the Samsung Galaxy Nexus really has the advantage is with Verizon's 4G LTE network -- it absolutely smokes the "faux G" being foisted on AT&T iPhone 4S owners. Then again, if you own a new iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G LTE from Verizon, you could just flip on Personal Hotspot and get kind of the same thing from your iPhone.
HTC Titan (HTC Titan II)
We didn't want to make this entirely an Android affair, so we poked around the Windows Phone world to see which handset might be capable of smoking the iPhone. As we write this, that would be last year's massive HTC Titan -- but next week, two new promising contenders arrive in the form of the Nokia Lumia 900 and a sequel to the Titan. All three are exclusive to AT&T, who seems to be betting the farm on the Lumia's debut over Easter weekend.
The HTC Titan is another gargantuan handset and it's even bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Nexus at 4.7 inches and a hair thicker than the iPhone 4S at 0.39 inches -- and the Titan II is even thicker at 0.50 inches. In both cases, the HTC models feature 480 x 800 S-LCD displays at 199 ppi, so they're not exactly beating the iPhone's Retina Display. HTC is kicking things up a notch with the Titan II's 16 megapixel camera (compared to the original model's 8MP), but neither handset is capable of recording video above 720p.
Where It Falls Short: Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has come a long way over the last two years, but there are still a whole lot of key apps missing from its Marketplace (nearly 70,000 and counting). A big display with low pixel density isn't going to please most iPhone 4/4S lovers, and 16GB of storage will also be considered too little now that the 4S can be purchased with a beefy 64GB.
Where It Excels: While Windows Phone may not have the apps, for social butterflies, the platform is quite inviting. Facebook and Twitter are baked right in, and thanks to the live tiles on the home screen, you'll be able to keep in closer touch than ever before since it beats the pants off iOS 5's Notification Center. Not everyone may prefer a big screen, but for those who do, either HTC Titan aims to please -- and the sequel even taps into AT&T's new 4G LTE for faster data speeds as a bonus.
Samsung Galaxy S II
Yeah, if it were up to us we'd avoid listing two Samsung handsets here, but let's face it: They're the company offering the best Android-based alternatives to the iPhone, which is probably why Apple has been pursuing them so intensely in their patent disputes. Aside from the Galaxy Nexus, the company's Galaxy S II is the handset to beat -- although it's still behind the times with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but this is changing rapidly as Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich began rolling out a couple weeks ago.
One advantage the Galaxy S II does have over the Nexus is its display, with a 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen -- offering 50 percent more sub-pixels in a thinner, brighter and more efficient display, despite kicking the resolution down to 800x480. It matches both the Nexus and the iPhone 4S in thickness, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor is clocked at 1.5GHz, which certainly bests the Galaxy Nexus at 1.2GHz and keeps up nicely with the iPhone 4S.
Where It Falls Short: T-Mobile promises 4G speeds on their network, but don't be deceived: We're talking about HSPA+ "faux G" on the Samsung Galaxy S II. Once again, Super AMOLED Plus is nice, but it's still not quite up to par with the Retina Display on the iPhone 4S.
Where It Excels: On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S II matches the iPhone 4S when it comes to 1080p HD video recording from its 8MP camera -- but Samsung kicks things up a notch for video chatters with a 2MP front-facing camera which runs circles around the VGA quality of FaceTime on the 4S. The Galaxy S II may only come with 16GB storage on board, but it can be beefed up with another 32GB with a micro-SD card. Last but not least, Chatty Kathy owners can tap into T-Mo's Wi-Fi Calling, which is baked right into the Samsung Galaxy S II -- potentially saving a bundle in additional minutes each month.
Follow this article's author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
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