Apple iPhone 4S Vs. Samsung Nexus Prime: Will Ice Cream Sandwich be Tastier Than iOS 5?

Google Inc. and Samsung have decided to postpone the scheduled launch of the new Nexus Prime on Tuesday because of the recent death of Apple Inc. co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs.

Samsung and Google decide to postpone the new product announcement at CTIA Fall. We agree that it is just not the right time to announce a new product. New date and venue will be shortly announced, Samsung said in a statement.

According to The Guardian, sources close to the companies have confirmed that they didn't feel it was right to hold a product launch so close to Jobs' death. Although Apple is the biggest rival for Samsung, Jobs was customarily treated with great respect in the business world.

Reports also indicate the companies may have delayed the unveiling of the imminent Android phone to avoid clash between Jobs' funeral service and the product launch.

Meanwhile, analysts are comparing the Samsung Nexus Prime with the Apple iPhone 4S as the looming Android device is the only other flagship device on the horizon that people are eagerly anticipating.

Here is a comparison between Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung Nexus Prime, also known as the Galaxy Nexus.

Operating System: The iPhone 4S is loaded with the latest Apple operating system iOS 5. It is a free software update bringing over 200 new features to the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod touch, including a location-aware reminders app, Newsstand, wireless syncing, Twitter integration, iMessage, a notification bar, and widgets. For its part, the Nexus Prime will be the first phone to run Android 4.0, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. The latest version of the Android OS is a hybrid of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Unlike Gingerbread and Honeycomb -- exclusively for phones and tablets, respectively -- the Ice Cream Sandwich is a single build for both phones and tablets.

Power and Connectivity: The iPhone 4S comes with iPad 2's A5 chipset, which is expected to deliver two times faster CPU performance and up to seven times faster graphics performance. With high-speed download packet access (HSDPA) technology, the device is claimed to have data download speed that is nearly twice as fast as iPhone 4 -- 14.4Mbps compared with 7.2Mbps. The phone will be powered by a 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU with NEON SIMD accelerator and a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU. Samsung Nexus Prime is expected to sport a dual-core 1.2 Ghz TI OMAP 4460 mobile processor, coupled with PowerVR SGX540 graphics and 1 GB RAM, according to a BGR report. The phone will have LTE/HSPA support depending on carrier.

Storage and Battery: While iPhone 4S is available in three storage capacities -- 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB -- Samsung Nexus Prime is coming only with 32GB of built-in storage. The iPhone 4S, which has a Li-Po 1,420 mAh battery, gets up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G and up to 14 hours on 2G (GSM). In contrast, Nexus Prime sports a 1,750 mAh battery.

Camera: The iPhone 4S camera has an 8-megapixel sensor that takes 3,264-by-2,448-pixel pictures. It will capture vibrant photos, especially in low light. The camera is claimed to be 30 percent sharper than its predecessor. It comes with an aperture of f/2.4. The video camera will be able to capture video in 1080p high definition. The Nexus Prime will have a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3 megapixel front camera. It can also record video at up to 1080p HD resolution.

Display: Similar to iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S is coming with a 3.5-inch TFT Retina multi-touch display, with 960 x 640 resolutions. The 9mm thin Samsung Nexus Prime will have a 4.65-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED HD curved glass display. The Super AMOLED Plus display delivers superior color, enhanced readability, a slimmer form, and better battery consumption than the previous generation.

The Nexus Prime also has near-field communications support, which Apple hasn't embraced in its iPhone 4S. NFC allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. A smartphone or tablet with an NFC chip could make a credit-card payment or serve as keycard or ID card. It is said that Apple has disclosed in some meetings that NFC won't be on the feature list of the next iPhone. The Independent, citing some of the largest mobile carriers in the UK, said that Apple would forgo NFC in its next iPhone due to lack of industry standards about the technology.

According to the BGR report, [T]he Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be a pure Google Experience device without any third-party UI or modifications. Speculations are rife that coming Android device will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive in the U.S., the report added.

Can this be the smartphone that resolutely outshines Apple iPhone 4S, or will it be the other way around?

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