Dec 11, 2011 11:07 PM
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An Indian Eye To The iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S II War
The month of November was a particularly frustrating one. The Apple iPhone 4S was launched in India with so much of the fruity fanfare that we are accustomed to. My wife wanted to buy me the ‘best’ smartphone in the market and here I was – completely undecided on whether to go for the brand new iPhone or that much decorated knight in Android armour – the Samsung Galaxy S II.
There were head-to-head shoot outs galore on the Net but none of them appealed to my ‘desi’ senses. Finding nothing meaty enough I decided to write one of my own. I am sharing it for all who are in similar phono-dilemma.
The S II has now been around since the last 8 months; in fact, I was congratulating the Samsung guys for launching it in India a full half year before touching the American shores. But then post 6 months a phone is almost as fresh as a box of eggs in your fridge after the same period. Will it be able to hold a candle to the mint fresh 4S? Let us see.
Build– The 4S is a snooty old Apple after all. No defects at all. The aluminium band adds both the sheen of class as well as the super strength you traditionally associate with iPhones. The almost translucent feel of the plastics make the iPhone a very desirable tool either in the board room or in that pool side party. The S II is no slouch in this game either. Even though the back cover is a flimsy sheet of plastic, yet you will admire the solid feel in your grip. No creaks whatsoever given its minimal thickness(8.49 mm) compared to the iPhone(9.3 mm). It is also the lighter of the two – 116 gm to 140 gm. The large 4.3 inch display also makes it ideal for watching hi-res videos as well as reading ebooks. The 3.5 inch display of the 4S is the brighter of the two because of the 640x960 pix density and sunlight viewing is no issue at all. The scratch resistant front panel of the 4S is an even match to the gorilla glass display of the S II. Round even.
UI – The Samsung TouchWiz 4.0 is a fantastic app on its own built over the Android platform, but the Apple UI beats it hollow in terms of plain sensitivity and sensibility. Steve Jobbs had not only introduced the planet to scrolling, zooming and multi touch but he still manages to teach a thing or two to his Californian neighbours. RIP. Round to iPhone. KO.
OS – It is really unfair to compare on this feature because both have their own strengths. The iOS5 has been a fresh whiff of air with improvements all around. Still, the much touted Siri did not impress me at all. The problem, of course, was with my NDTV inspired modern Indian English accent. Sorry, but Siri will not really understand any accent except the very pronounced Hollywood drawl. The other improvements, like PC Free and Wi-Fi sync appeals a lot. The improvements on the camera software plus the work done on the Organizer is also relevant. The 4S will be looking at the sunrise of the Icecream Sandwich(Android 4.0) and Samsung has already promised that the Galaxy users will get a quick upgrade. Round to iPhone.
Camera – The S II shines with its brilliant camera with a cool video recording at 1080p. The super Amoled screen ensures that the results are breathtaking. With this gadget in your pocket, you will not need a point-and-shoot . The 4S has significantly upgraded its camera as well and the results speak for themselves. Its CMOS illuminated sensor also renders the camera into a powerhouse performer. But the front 2 MP camera of the S II is definitely much better than the VGA one on the 4S. So, video calls on 3G networks is definitely a better experience on the Samsung. Round to S II.
Hardware – The S II runs on a dual core 1.2 GHz Cortex A-9. The world has never seen a cell phone with so much computing power before and even though the 4S has employed a dual core 1 GHz core, yet the Android is a clear winner in sheer terms of CPU power. Even a standard netbook fails to deliver this performance. Round clearly to the S II.
Memory – My old grouse against the Apple. And for a long time now. We Indians are clearly not satisfied with the ‘as is’. We are always looking for that extra mile. Though logic explains that a standard 16 GB(upgradable to 64 GB) will manage your entire collection of Sachin’s tons, yet the very thought of a limit puts me off. The S II with its initial internal memory of 16 GB(again expandable to 32 Gigs more) gives me that good feel. But just. The RAM of the Android device is also a whopping 1 GB against the 512 MB of the 4S. More RAM means more freedom to run apps in parallel. Round to S II
Apps – Here the iPhone is the king. With almost 3 times the number of applications available in the Appstore as compare to the Android Market, the 4S is a long way ahead. Still, the Android world is catching fast and you will not really miss a necessary app on the S II. iPhone ahead in this round.
Battery Life – This feature is almost comparable but since we Indians still believe in religiously charging our phones once every night by the bedside, the S II with its 18 hrs of talk-time will be a safer bet than the 14 hrs of the 4S. My personal experience on an average mixed usage of Wi-fi surfing, regular calls, watching a movie with some gaming thrown in, the Android stands with a stronger posture. Round to the S II, but only marginally.
Call Quality – Well, aren’t we comparing phones after all! Both smart phones do not give any reasons to complain on this point. No death grips on any of the devices. With the abysmal call networks in urban India, both phones manage to live up to the network ads shown on TV. Round shared.
SAR Rates – This is not a point of comparison, rather that of information. We Indians are still not very aware of the impacts of RF radiation on the human body. Nor is this a scientifically proven fact. Still the S II has a very low SAR footprint of 0.34 W/Kg(Head) to the 0.99 W/Kg(Head) of the iPhone.
Price – Now, finally the ‘kitna deti hai’ point. At 42 K the 4S asks for a serious premium over the S II at 28 K. Sure, Apple never cared about the numbers sold in India, but price is a point to be reckoned with in the sub-continent. Round clearly to the open source S II.
Verdict – Even though the Apple iPhone 4S is an all-beater in its own rights but here in India, the Samsung Galaxy S II still manages to nose ahead. Today the gap is very narrow but the promise of Icecream Sandwich will surely help the Korean giant to build on the lead.
