Samsung Galaxy S3 Vs. LG Nexus 4: If You Want LTE, You'll Have To Get The Galaxy S3

The time has never been better to be on the hunt for a solid Android smartphone that won't make all your iPhone buddies giggle. The most popular one of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S3, will be facing stiffer competition from Google's recently-announced LG Nexus 4 smartphone. Shoppers will definitely be looking at these two handsets, so here's how they stack up against each other. 

Before we delve into the smartphones' specs, one thing needs to be made very clear: the Samsung Galaxy S3 has LTE, and the LG Nexus 4 doesn't. This, of course, won't matter much to T-Mobile customers who won't have LTE access until next year, but for those on other networks, LTE coverage is important given our growing data demands. 

For the sake of the comparison, we will be looking at the U.S. Galaxy S3 (which is slightly different than its quad-core international version). 

The Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display that has a resolution of 1280X720. Its 1.5GHz dual-core processor currently runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich on most carriers, although if you're on Sprint's network, then an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is currently available. Jelly Bean should be coming to the other networks soon. 

The phone also sports an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. 

The Galaxy S3 will run you around $200 with a standard two-year contract. 

The LG Nexus 4, on the other hand, has a 4.7-inch display that puts out a resolution of 1280X768. Unlike the Galaxy S3, the Nexus 4 has a quad-core processor (but remember, no LTE!) and will be running Android 4.2 as soon as its released. The Nexus 4 has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. 

The LG Nexus 4 will release on November 13, for $199.99.Update**This price is meant to reflect a two-year contract with T-Mobile. An unlocked Nexus 4 will cost $299.99 for the 8GB model and $349.99 for t he 16GB model.

Both phones are quite similar, and both will deliver a solid smartphone experience. The only deal-breaking differences are that the Galaxy S3 has LTE, while the Nexus 4 will receive Android updates more timely due to the fact it is an unlocked Google-branded device. 

If you're purchasing an Android smartphone, which one of these two would you go with?