Galaxy S3 vs. ATIV S: And The Winner Is...

By Anu Passary | Nov 01, 2012 01:13 PM EDT

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Samsung is the undisputed market leader when it comes to smartphones, and its Galaxy S3 has largely contributed to the company's market success. The Korean company recently launched the ATIV S, a Windows-based smartphone, in partnership with Microsoft.

The ATIV S was unveiled in Aug. 2012 as the world's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone. The device is similar in design to the Galaxy S3 and packs in some powerful features under the hood.

With two robust devices on offer from Samsung, which is the better Samsung smartphone? Here's a look at how the ATIV S and Galaxy S3 stack up against each other.

Processor

The Galaxy S3 packs in a powerful 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor, whereas the ATIV S has a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, which is clocked at 1.5GHz.

Display

Both the smartphones, the ATIV S and the Galaxy S3 feature a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display. Both smartphones have the same pixels resolution of 1280 x 720 and a pixel density of 306ppi.

Weight, Thickness, and Body

The ATIV S measures 5.40 x 2.78 x 0.34 inches, making it fractionally taller than the Galaxy S3 which measures 5.38 x 2.78 x 0.35 inches. Both devices have nearly the same thickness. Weight wise, at 4.69oz, the Galaxy S3 is a little lighter than the 4.76oz of the ATIV S.

Storage and Memory

The Galaxy S3 has a slight edge over the ATIV S when it comes to storage. It is available in 16/32/64 GB on-board storage options, whereas the ATIV S will be available only in 16/32GB variants. Both the smartphones have an expandable memory option via a microSD card.

Both smartphones have 1GB of RAM.

Software

The Galaxy S3 comes pre-loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). However, Samsung has started to roll out the Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S3 in many countries. The ATIV S, on the other hand, comes with the latest Windows Phone 8 (WP8) OS.

Battery

A 2100mAh battery fuels the Galaxy S3 vis-a-vis the ATIV S' slightly more powerful 2300mAh battery. The Galaxy S3 supports 10.8 hours of talk time on 3G. The talk time supported by ATIV S is currently not known.

Connectivity and Multimedia

Both the smartphones are Wi-Fi enabled and offer Bluetooth support. However, the Galaxy S3 has Bluetooth 4.0 versus the ATIV S' Bluetooth 3.0. Additionally, the Galaxy S3 offers multimedia support for MMS, instant messaging, voice recording, and voice commands. The ATIV S only offers MMS and instant messaging.

Camera

Both the smartphones sport an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a front-facing camera with 1.9 megapixels. However, the Galaxy S3's camera offers face detection, geo tagging, and panorama, unlike the ATIV S which only has geo tagging support.

Availability and Colors

The ATIV S will be available in gray, whereas the Galaxy S3 is available in a wide variety of colors: red, gray, black, pink, white, and brown. The ATIV S is expected to hit the shelves in the first week of November.