Samsung Galaxy S3
Samsung Galaxy S3 was announced on 3 May Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the world's first smartphone to run on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, was announced in October. With support for Near Field Communication like the latest Galaxy S3, the Galaxy Nexus features a Super AMOLED display and is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The Galaxy Nexus is equipped with a software navigation button, which is first for an Android smartphone. The handset features a redesigned camera that introduces panorama mode, zero-shutter lag and background replacement effect.

Samsung's third generation Galaxy S series smartphone will hit the shelves across the UK on 30 May. The retail price of the Galaxy S3 has not yet been revealed but it will go on sale in 296 countries with 145 carriers.

Take a look at the feature comparison of the two Android smartphones:

Display

Samsung Galaxy S3 features a 4.8in HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels.

Galaxy Nexus CDMA, on the other hand, features a 4.65in Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The display is protected by an Oleophobic coating.

Dimension

The Galaxy S3 measures 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm in thickness and weighs 133g. The smartphone is both light weight and thin. The dimension of the Galaxy Nexus is 135.5 x 67.9 x 9.5mm and the handset weighs more than the Galaxy S3 at 150g.

Operating System

The Galaxy S3 will run on the Android operating system (OS) 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung claims the smartphone will deliver a uniquely personalised mobile experience.

The Nexus also runs on Android OS 4.0.

Processor

The Galaxy S3 will be powered by 1.4GHz Exynos 4 quad-core processor which is the company's first quad-core application processor. The processor is in production and the company claims that it possesses twice the processing capability of its predecessor and consumes 20 per cent less energy. The smartphone packs 1GBof RAM.

The Galaxy Nexus is powered by a TI OMAP 4460 chip with dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 processor and houses 1GB of RAM.

Camera

The Galaxy S3 sports an eight megapixel primary camera with auto-focus, LED flash and zero shutter lag. The handset is also equipped with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera which can record HD video at 30 frames per second. The camera features a technology called Smart Stay with the help of which the smartphone is capable of recognising when the user is using the phone and lock when the user is looking away.

The Galaxy Nexus, in contrast, sports a five megapixel camera with auto-focus, LED flash, touch focus, geo-tagging and face detection. It can capture video in 1080p at 30 frames per second (fps). The handset is equipped with 1.3 megapixel secondary camera and is capable of recording video in 720p at 30 fps.

Connectivity

The Galaxy S3 offers Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi HT40, GPS/GLONASS, Bluetooth version 4.0 and Near Field Communication (NFC) which will enable users to make mobile payment.

The Galaxy Nexus offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP and also supports NFC.

Storage

The Galaxy S3 has a storage capacity of 16GB and 32GB and the 64GB version will be available soon. The smartphone supports microSD card.

The Galaxy Nexus offers an internal storage option of 32GB but does not support microSD card.

Battery

The Galaxy S3 is powered by a 2,100mAh battery whereas the Galaxy Nexus has a Li-ion battery of 1850mAh capacity and delivers talk time up to 12 hours.