Samsung Galaxy S3 Headed for Feb. Launch: How Does it Improve on the Galaxy S2?

The Samsung Galaxy S2, which is considered the best Android smartphone yet, received overwhelming responses from around the world. Samsung is expected to extend the version of its flagship range, moving from the Galaxy S2 to the Galaxy S3, which is expected to launch in February. There is speculation suggesting Samsung will announce the phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

The news of the Galaxy S3's release has created quite a stir amongst Samsung enthusiasts.

The general belief is that the Galaxy S3 will carry its predecessor's torch and become the best Android phone on the market. If all the rumored features of the Galaxy S3 are true, it could indeed take a large bite out of market shares for other smartphones and could be considered the industry's benchmark.

Let's take a look at the rumored specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S3, in comparison with Galaxy S2...

Display: The Samsung Galaxy S2 sports a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 pixels Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touch-screen with 217 ppi pixel density, whereas the Galaxy S3 is rumored to have a bigger 4.6-inch HD 1280 x 720 pixels Super AMOLED Plus capacitive TouchWiz screen, with 319 ppi pixel density. The Corning Gorilla Glass, which is used in the Galaxy S2, will also be used in the Galaxy S3.

Input Features: The Galaxy S2 has features like a TouchWiz 4.0 version User Interface (UI), touch-sensitive controls, an Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass. If the rumors are to be believed, the Galaxy S3 will have the same features; the difference is the TouchWiz UI will be updated to version 5.0.

Processor: The Galaxy S2 features a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9, Exynos processor with 1GB RAM. The new Galaxy S3 will feature a quad-core, Exynos 4212/ Exyos 5250, 2GHz/ 1.8GHz processor with 2GB RAM.

Operating System: The Galaxy S2 now runs the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and is expected to receive an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. On the other hand, the Galaxy S3 is expected to come with the Ice Cream Sandwich OS. Android Head of Engineering Mike Claren said the new OS - Ice Cream Sandwich - is Google's most ambitious release to date.

Memory: The Galaxy S2 has internal memory configurations of 16/32GB and an external microSD card that allows it to expand to 32GB. The Galaxy S3 will have 16/32/64GB storage configurations and an external microSD card expandable up to 64GB.

Camera: The Galaxy S2 comes with an 8 megapixel 3264x2448 pixels unit with 1080p video capture capabilities and a secondary 2 megapixel camera for video calling. The S2 camera has features like autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection and image stabilization. The Galaxy S3, according to rumors, will feature a 12 megapixel 4000x3000 pixels, LED flash camera with 1080p video capture and an additional 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chats.

4G LTE and NFC: Near Field Communication technology (NFC) is optional for the Galaxy S2, which has 4G LTE support. However, the Galaxy S3 is rumored to come with both 4G LTE support and NFC.

Battery: The Galaxy S2 sports a standard battery with Li-Ion 1650 mAh, whereas the Galaxy S3 is predicted to come with a 2250mAh battery.

Wireless Charging: The Galaxy S2 doesn't have wireless charging support; the S3 is anticipated to feature the revolutionary wireless charging technology. This technology will help the device to not only charge the battery without the use of cables or plugs but also share, sync or back-up data at the same time.