With the Apple iPhone 4 hitting stores in India, followed by Samsung’s announcement to launch its coveted Galaxy S2 smartphone in the country, mobile enthusiasts here will soon have a tricky but pleasant choice to make: Whether to buy the most advanced iPhone or to go for a Samsung Galaxy S2 instead.

Galaxy S2 has seen record sales in some countries; while Apple’s iPhone has proven its worth in others. We understand that considering the price of these handsets, it will be tough to decide which one to buy, and an informed recommendation will go a long way.

In order to help you out, we have compared the two devices based on their features and hardware.

Display

Apple, even with the launch of a totally new device, is still sticking to it regular screen size of 3.5 inches, which is small compared to the mighty 4.3 inch screen of the Galaxy S2. So in terms of screen size, the S2 definitely has an edge; but wait.

The Retina Display of the iPhone 4 comes with a Resolution of 640 x 960 pixels, compared to the 480 x 800 Pixel resolution of the S2. Hence, the Apple device is capable of showing much more detail than the Samsung handset.

Processor

The iPhone 4 has a 1GHz ARM cortex A8 architecture-based processor; but the Galaxy S2 has the next generation Arm Cortex A9 dual core Processor running at 1.2 GHz, giving it the advantage of an extra 200 MHz, which will definitely be evident in command execution and overall functioning.

Moreover the Apple iPhone 4 comes with 512 MB of RAM relative to 1GB of RAM on the S2. So even where processing muscle is concerned the S2 scores over iPhone 4.

OS

iOS 4 has received positive reviews across the globe for being the most stable and user friendly smartphone platform. On the other hand, Android, which features in the S2, went on to become the leading operating system in a very short span of time.

Its open source nature might be one of the reasons for its popularity, and Android has an EDGE over iOS when it comes to the number of applications available to it as well.

Memory capacity

Although Samsung Galaxy S2 is available in two different memory capacity variants around the world, Samsung has confirmed that only the 16GB version will be available in India. Apple iPhone 4, on the other hand, can be had in either 16GB or 32GB versions. Nevertheless, the 16GB S2 has a Memory card slot that can support up to 32GB over and above the in-built storage capacity; although, who wants that much memory? The more you store in your phone, the slower it will get. With a 32GB memory card, any phone will lose some speed. Therefore onboard memory wins over expandable memory.

External communications

Both the devices have a quad Band mobile radio built in. Galaxy S2 is an HSDPA+ smartphone, which means it can use high speed 3G networks, which the iPhone 4 can’t do.

Moreover, unlike S2, the iPhone does not support Near Field Communication technology (NFC). Most importantly, the S2 will also allow users to connect USB drives and HDMI compatible devices with the help of accessories that can be bought directly from Samsung retailers.

Battery backup

Samsung has invested a lot in R&D to optimise the device to use the battery in the best possible way, and that is why the company claims a Talk time of almost nine hours, which is an honourable figure for a smartphone.

In contrast, Apple iPhone 4 has seven hours of talktime, which is not bad at all, but considering the long periods that a smartphone is normally used for, longer battery backup will definitely be appreciated by most people.

Price

Apple iPhone 4 16GB is priced at Rs 34,500; whereas the Samsung Galaxy S2 16GB version costs Rs 32,890. Samsung turns out to be marginally cheaper than the iPhone 4, but only marginally.

Airtel and Aircel today launched the famed Apple iPhone 4 in India, which has been priced at Rs 34,500 and Rs 40,900 for the 16GB and 32GB versions respectively.
Aircel, which made the announcement of the launch a little earlier than Airtel, is offering 100 per cent value back to its iPhone users though two plans. Aircel postpaid customers can avail up to 100 per cent of the value of the iPhone 4 as talktime and data spread over a time period of 24 months.

Under the Advantage Money Back Plan, Aircel is offering up to 50 per cent of the value of the handset to its postpaid customers. While, Premium Money Back plan offers up to 100 per cent money back over a two year period. Both these plans are available for 16 and 32 GB iPhone versions.

Aircel users will also get up to 1GB free 3G data (depending on the plan) usage and after that users will automatically be switched to 2G data plan for which they will be charged at 10 paisa per KB. Aircel has kept the tariffs simple with both local and national call charges at 1 paisa /second.

Airtel Plan

Airtel is offering 50 per cent savings (per month) with plans ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000. A person, using the Rs 2,000 pack, will save Rs 24,000 over a period of two years.

In Rs 2,000, Airtel is giving 1,900 minutes of Airtel to Airtel calls and 1,350 MB of data at 3G speed. You will also get 2,000 local SMS free. If you subscribe for the Rs 600 plan, you will get 550 minutes of Airtel to Airtel local calls, 500 local SMS and 300 MB of 3G data.

The iPhone 4 comes with a sleek, sharp and thinner design than its predecessor. The fourth-generation model of Apple iPhone comes with a 3.5 inch screen with 640 X 960 pixel Resolution known as the Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, and FaceTime for video calling.

The phone has iOS 4 as its operating system, which offers features like multitasking, spell check, folders, iBooks and a host of cool new features.

The phone has a 5 Megapixel camera as compared to the 3 megapixel in the earlier version. The camera has an LED flash also for illumination and it has a front VGA camera to support video calling.

For connectivity, it has WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI and GPS. The device promises seven hours of 3G talk time, six hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video and 40 hours of music playback.

Google has released an update of its map services, which will bring some features of its desktop version to the mobile. The update is platform independent. Hence, Google Maps can now be accessed by all devices irrespective of the operating system such as iOS, Android, Bada, and Symbian.

“You will always get a consistent experience and the latest features without needing to install any updates, no matter what phone you use,” a Google blog post said.

To use it, the users first need to share their location with Google. With Google Maps, users can find out their current locations, nearby attractions as well as addresses of desired businesses. They can also see photographs and reviews of different places submitted by other users.

Out of all Google Maps searches, about 40 per cent are conducted on mobile devices. On weekends, about half of the searches come from smartphones.

Google expects the smartphone searches to lead over the desktops by June this year. The Google vice president Marissa Mayer has also said the same at the Tech Crunch Disrupt conference sometime back.

She said that the Google Maps App is now present in about 200 million mobile devices and is used by people who want to get oriented with their surroundings and be informed about the directions where they wish to reach.

People used Google Maps services earlier also on desktops, but most of the activity has now shifted to mobile phones and tablets, which will help them as they need maps more when they are on the move.

In a move to win the hearts of fashion-savvy women mobile users, Indian handset maker Micromax has launched Bling 2, a successor to Bling Q55.

With its glossy finish frame made with Swarovski Zirconia, Bling 2 has an Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and numerous pre installed apps.

To add to its design and features, it comes in a white leather carry case enclosed with a compact mirror and special pouch where ladies can keep their lip gloss, making it easier for them to retouch their make-up anytime, anywhere!

The phone also comes with interactive apps that would keep today’s demanding woman on their toes. Some of which are MiRoamer- Mobile radio, Saavn- Music on Demand, Mosho- Mobile shopping, Mundu Live TV (1 month free trial) and Whatsapp- a messenger that works across platforms (VAS).

With a display of 7.1 cm, and a capacitive screen, Bling2 provides features such as surfing the net, texting, sharing pictures, music, videos and more. The Bling2 also offers a Mi-Fi pocket wireless internet feature, making it personal wireless Broadband connection.

The phone works on both 2G and 3G networks. The phone comes with 3.0 MP cameras and the lens is framed in Swaroski Zirconia. The memory of the phone is expandable up to 32GB with micro SD card. The phone comes with 3.5 mm universal jack and Bluetooth connectivity. It also comes with an integrated GPS system. It is priced at Rs 9,000.

Nokia, which has always been associated with Bluetooth devices with simpler designs, has now come out with a designer headset named as J Bluetooth headset.

With a simple silver colour tone, this headset looks classy and weighs just 8 grams making it easier to use for longer duration. This headset keeps the user updated with voice based alerts. It can be connected with two handsets simultaneously as well.

Its Active Noise Cancellation feature, which is managed by its internal digital sound Processor or DSP, makes the conversation free of surrounding sounds.

The J bluetooth headset comes with a clip on holder that helps in keeping the device when not in use and it can be clipped on to clothes as well. Also, the headset automatically goes on standby mode when kept in the holder, thereby conserving the battery too.

The battery life is another feature of the ‘J’ that makes it notable. With a charge of five hours, this device can give up to five hours of continuous talktime or up to 90 days of standby time, as claimed by the company.

The ‘J’ is expected to ship during the 3rd quarter this year (September-December) bundled with the new Nokia Oro smartphone. The price and availability details are not revealed by the company and more details are awaited.