Samsung Galaxy S3 Vs Apple iPhone5 Vs LG Optimus G

The iPhone 5 has failed to make as big a mark as its predecessors, and there’s possibly worse news in store for Apple. 2013 has seen a host of brand new smartphones being launched, even though the year has barely begun. The LG Optimus G, LG’s latest flagship phone, is one such device that could also steal away some of the iPhone 5’s spotlight. So we decided to pit the Optimus G against the iPhone 5 and the current favorite flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S3, to see if it stood a chance in the market.

From the outside: The iPhone 5’s design might get a tad boring, considering it’s been the same since iPhone 4. At first glance, you might not even notice anything different – with its familiar brushed aluminum casing. But, we have to agree, it does give the iPhone a classy and expensive look. We love the Galaxy S3’s rounded pebble-like exterior – it gives it a different look. On the other hand, the Optimus G manages to make its mark even though it doesn’t look as classy as the iPhone – we especially love its Crystal Reflection rear panel.

The iPhone 5 has a 4-inch Retina LCD display with a resolution of 1136X640 pixels. We’ve obviously found the screen size far too small, especially in the age of 5-inch phablets. The Optimus G has a larger 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 768X1280 pixels. The Galaxy S3 has the largest 4.8-inch display among these three, but it has the least resolution of just 306 ppi, which negates the beauty of the large screen. LG seems to have struck a good balance between screen size and resolution on the Optimus G.

On the inside: The iPhone 5 is powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core Apple A6 processor and 1 GB of RAM. The Galaxy S3 has a slightly more powerful 1.4 GHz processor but only 1 GB of RAM. The Optimus G’s got more power, with its 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 2 GB of RAM. Both the Galaxy S3 and Optimus G have 32 GB of internal storage as well as a microSD card slot for those who need more storage space – a big disappointment in the iPhone 5.

The OS: We can’t say anything bad about the iOS 6 that’s running the iPhone 5, which has the largest number of apps to choose from. Samsung’s Galaxy S3 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is a massive improvement over the previous ICS version. A major disappointment with the Optimus G is that it runs on Android 4.0. We wonder why LG couldn’t put in the Jelly Bean version instead.

Camera: In terms of front-facing cameras, there isn’t much difference between the iPhone 5 and the Optimus G – the iPhone 5 has a 1.2 MP camera while the Optimus G has a 1.3 MP camera. But the Galaxy S3 has a 1.9 MP front-facing camera, the best among these three. When it comes to the main camera, we love the Optimus G’s13 MP camera over the iPhone 5’s and the Galaxy S3’s 8 MP offering.

Battery: The iPhone 5 has a 1440 mAh camera which gives it a talktime of about 8 hours. The Optimus G and the Galaxy S3 are the winners in this category with their 2100 mAh battery and 15 hours of talktime.

Connectivity: All these phones offering LTE as well as 3G connectivity. The Optimus G and the Galaxy S3, in addition to WiFi and Bluetooth, also have NFC capabilities – an important feature missing in the iPhone 5. - source

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LG: Google Nexus 4 at $200 Limited Supply

Google made a bold move late last year by announcing its flagship Nexus smartphone for an unsubsidized price starting at $300. That's a big deal when comparable devices are selling for twice as much and the upfront cost for most last generation phones with a two year contract is only slightly cheaper at $200. But ultimately Google failed to deliver -- both figuratively and literally -- as it missed shipping deadlines and had to pull the device from sale due to problems with supplies.

Last month, the company pinned the blame on "scarce and erratic" supplies from manufacturer LG, while also admitting that their communication had been flawed.

But LG has a different story to tell. In an interview with French website Challenges, Cathy Robin, director LG Mobile France said they built precisely the number of phones that Google requested, it's just that the Internet giant's sales forecasts were wildly inaccurate. Estimates were based on sales of the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus, which meant there were too few handsets available and too many shipped to the wrong regions.

Robin noted that despite the setbacks, the partnership between Google and LG is still going well, and in fact they expect to ramp up production of the Nexus 4 by mid-February to address the shortage.

Last week, LG's senior vice president James Fisher also said that the Nexus 4 was "the first of many" products the Korean firm had planned with Google, sparking rumors that the firm could be in charge of its successor. - source

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LG Optimus Vu 5inch Phablet

Not content simply waiting for their chance to shine at Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona, LG has sent out some official press shots and confirmed the spec sheet for the Optimus Vu superphone. With the Optimus Vu, LG hopes to steal some of the spotlight away from Samsung’s Galaxy Note, as the Optimus Vu will be the next device to blur the line between smartphone and tablet.

Specs on the Optimus Vu include:

• 5″ IPS LCD display, with 1024 x 768 resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio
• 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread (though, we suspect this may be running Android 4.0 soon after officially launching – LG promises within 3 months)
• Stylus-input capable with stylus-friendly applications built in
• 8 megapixel rear-camera likely to come with 1080p HD video capture
• 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera
• 650 nits brightness on the display, mirroring the super-bright display found in the ASUS Transformer Prime
• 32 GB built-in storage (no word on microSD slot)

While we like that LG has decided to go with the potentially more svelte 5″ display (vs. the 5.3″ monster that is the Galaxy Note), the press shots in LG’s press release reveal a device that’s none too pleasing on the eyes. While the Galaxy Note brought us more of what we love, looking exactly like a bigger Galaxy S II, the LG Optimus Vu looks like a big, boring rectangle. It’s sad, really, as the LG G2x/Optimus 2X was one of my favorite looking phones with the chrome accent on the back of a gray-ish slab.

Hopefully we’ll see the Optimus Vu get a bit of a facelift before it launches to the masses later this year. Anyone out there interested in the Optimus Vu? We’ll have some hands-on time with the Vu in Barcelona next week. To hold you over, check out the video LG leaked a few weeks ago below. - source

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