With the holiday season underway, we will look at some of the top gift options on the market.
The mobile market saw an exponential growth in 2012 with every major company pitching in with a number of new devices. Apple brought out its new iPhone 5, a new iPad, and an iPad mini while Samsung countered with the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2. LG brought out the Nexus 4 while the Windows Surface Tablet and Windows 8 phones made their long awaited debut. So which is the best product on the market? Who is the gift great for?
We have chosen to compare the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, and the LG Nexus 4. All of them are comparable in a number of ways, but they are the arguably representative mobile products on the market right now.
Size
Size is a major component of the debate between the three products as there are clear differences between the three. The Galaxy note 2 is by far the largest with a 5.5 inch screen. The Nexus 4 has a screen size of 4.7 inches while the iPhone 5 comes in at just four inches. It also weighs 6.42 ounces and measures 5.94 x 3.17 x .037. The LG Nexus 4 measure 5.27 x 2.70 x 0.36 inches and weighs 4.9 ounces. As expected the iPhone comes in with the smallest figures of all at iPhone 5 with dimensions of 4.87 x 2.31 0.30 inches and a weight of 3.95 ounces.
The Nexus offers the best of both worlds with a larger screen than the iPhone, but not a significant difference in weight. Those interested in the Galaxy Note 2 should try it out in their hand first because it makes for a large and heavier phone.
Functionality
The iPhone 5 is a slight improvement over the iPhone 4S with a larger screen size and faster processor. Those who enjoy what the iPhone 4S has to offer will enjoy this phone just as much, but those not in the Apple camp already will likely not be swayed as the phone does not offer any revolutionary innovations. Nonetheless, it has the best camera out there and the largest number of applications. From a technical standpoint it only has two cores and a RAM size of 1 GB.
The Note 2 has four cores and 2 GB of RAM Size. It also has the fastest clock speed, coming in at 1.6 GHz in comparison to the iPhone's 1.0 GHz and the Nexus 4's 1.5 GHz. Like the iPhone it comes in 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB hard drive, but unlike its competitors, it also has capabilities for up to 64 GB of external memory. The S Stylus allows users new options in utilizing the apps on the phone.For those looking for more than a phone, then this could be the ideal present. Mobile Gyaan notes that this phone offers the greatest diversity in experience.
The Nexus runs on the Jelly Bean 4.2 and also has four cores and 2 GB of RAM. It does not however have more than 16 GB of Internal Memory.
Price
The Nexus is far and away the cheapest of the phones as it comes in at $300 for the 8GB version and $349.99 for the 16 GB version at the Google Play store. This price is for an unlocked phone with no need for contract, making it a virtual steal. The main issue is that they are currently hard to come by and could potentially make for a tough present to obtain.
That compares extremely well with the price for an unlocked 64 GB version of the iPhone 5 which will rise around $849.00*.
The Note 2 is far more considerable ranging at around $600 plus for its unlocked version.
Carriers
For those looking to buy the phones with a plan, the three phones are available at a number of carriers. The iPhone 5 is available with AT &T, Sprint, and Verizon; so is the Galaxy Note 2. The Nexus 4 is available with AT &T and T-Mobile.
Reviews and Ratings from Pundits and Consumers
CNET gave the iPhone 5 and Note 2 4 out of 5 stars while giving the Nexus 4 just 3.5 stars. However, the consumers have been more complementary and have given the phone 4.5 out of 5 stars to date. The iPhone 5 has a 3.5 out of five star rating on CNET from users while the Note 2 has a 4.5 rating from users. The sample size on Amazon is rather small for the iPhone with 20 users giving it a three out of five star rating. The Note 2 does overwhelmingly better with 100 users giving it just under five stars. The Nexus 4 has a small sample size of just 15 ratings, but averages about four stars.
Conclusion: The Nexus is for those looking for a solid smart phone that is also a cheap alternative to the other two. In terms of price, the Nexus 4 is unbeatable. The Note 2 is for those who like big objects and want the most radical experience of all. The iPhone 5 is the priciest option, unless there is a mobile plan attached, but it has a solid interface that is tried and true. It's tech specs may not be on par with the other two, but it offers a compact package.
*Correction: The $1,000 pricing previously mentioned for the unlocked iPhone 5 was based on sales of the device in 3rd party electronics websites.
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