For the last three or so weekends, I have been accompanying a friend in SM North Edsa Cyberzone to check if his dream smartphone, Samsung Galaxy S2, is already out in the market. It is said to be iPhone’s toughest contender and really got some technical overhaul starting with its processor which is a dual core. My friend searched almost everywhere on the web and found consistent positive feedback on Galaxy S2’s technical specifications. Here are some key items and my thoughts on them:
Display:
Galaxy S2: 4.27 inch, 800x480px, Super AMOLED Plus
iPhone 4: 3.5-inch, 960x640px, Retina Display
Samsung is known for superb LCD screens and I will not be surprised to experience excellent readability and vibrant colors while maintaining lower battery consumption as promised by Galaxy S2. However, the also famous Retina display starting with iPhone 4 is something not to neglect with its high pixel density. The tie breaker is probably just the display size which is 0.77-inch difference in favor of Galaxy S2.

Performance:
Galaxy S2: 1GHz Tegra 2 dual core, 1GB RAM / 1.2GHz Dual Core Exynos chip, 1GB RAM
iPhone 4: Apple A4 1GHz, 512MB
The winner for this round is pretty obvious. Galaxy S2 definitely can support more complex multitasking with its dual core processor and double the number of iPhone 4’s RAM.

Camera:
Galaxy S2: 8MP rear, 2MP front, 1080p video capture
iPhone 4: 5MP rear, VGA front, 720p video capture
Again, it’s very simple to determine the superior for this round. Galaxy S2’s front camera is something to appreciate considering that a resolution of that range is very uncommon even on today's laptops. Not many people are a fan of video calling though (at least here in the Philippines).

Storage:
Galaxy S2: 16/32GB, microSD up to 32GB
iPhone 4: 16/32GB
The microSD slot of Galaxy S2 is one big hit against iPhone 4. With this expansion, users can store up to twice as much files. A very useful one especially that Galaxy S2 is capable of capturing 8MP photos and 1080p videos which may require a lot of space.

Connectivity:
Galaxy S2: Wi-Fi, NFC, 4G, BT 3.0, DLNA, Wi-Fi tethering, HDMI
iPhone 4: Wi-Fi, BT 2.1, 3G
Never mind NFC for now which could allow me to do contactless credit card payments. What I’m really looking at is 4G which iPhone 4 hasn’t. Nevertheless, I usually connect through Wi-Fi so iPhone is still good. But technically, Galaxy wins this round.

Battery Life:
Galaxy S2: 1650mAh
iPhone 4: 1420mAh
At first glance, it can be assumed that the 1650mAh battery will last longer. However, it must be put into consideration that Galaxy S2 uses a dual core processor and has a bigger display which is the common culprit when it comes to battery drain. Remember though that Samsung claims their Super AMOLED display is power-efficient. There’s no much battery consumption statistics for the Galaxy S2 yet so we’ll leave this category draw for today.

Operating System:
Galaxy S2: Google’s Android 2.3
iPhone 4: iOS 4
iOS 4 appears to us to be more user friendly than Android. It’s also more matured, established and tested. But Android, being open source, has lots of potential to unleash. IOS 4 is my choice for the moment as we wait for Android to further be developed.

Price:
Galaxy S2: less than iPhone 4
iPhone 4: more than any other smartphone
Probably one of the biggest catch is the price. Given Galaxy S2’s higher hardware specifications, it is still priced a bit lower than the almost a year old iPhone 4. This probably one of Galaxy S2’s advantage against iPhone 4. Galaxy S2's retail price in the Philippines is approximately P29,000-30,000 for cash payments while iPhone 4 is P32,000-33,000.

So you probably now have an idea on which smartphone did my friend bought last Saturday given the criteria above. And no yes, he got himself…

After more than three weeks of waiting for Samsung Galaxy S2 to arrive, he ended up with an Apple iPhone 4. Why? iPhone has already proven itself on what it can offer since its first generation. We know that Galaxy S2 and Android OS have so much potential to show but maybe we’ll wait for those to unleash and prove themselves more before turning into them. This is a personal preference of getting what has been tested by time so far. Besides, iPhone is still the winner in terms of sales in the smartphone category (as of this writing). We are not closing doors to Galaxy S2. I'm actually monitoring it in the market as I plan to buy a new smartphone by end of the year and replace my trusty Nokia N82.