Apple iPhone 4S vs Motorola DROID BIONIC vs Samsung Galaxy S II T-Mobile

Introduction:

Summer is obviously behind us, but surprisingly enough, this fall season is already bustling with heavy activity as it lays claim to the release of some of the year’s most anticipated smartphones. All launched relatively close to one another, the Motorola DROID BIONIC, Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile, and Apple iPhone 4S are all vying for supremacy in being proclaimed as the best of the best. We’ve all waited long enough this year to finally see these quality smartphones, so which one will ultimately outgun the rest in finding itself home in your hands?

Design:

Even though it’s sporting a rehashed design, the Apple iPhone 4S is clearly the more premium looking and feeling handset out of the bunch thanks to its glass like surfaces that are held on together by its stainless steel brushed band. On top of that, it’s a fine piece of art that simply is capable of attracting our attention from afar. In comparison, the Motorola DROID BIONIC and Samsung Galaxy S II are decent in their own right with their plastic construction, but we’re not as mesmerized by them. However, it’s undeniably obvious that the two Android smartphones would fare better than the iPhone 4S in the offset chance that they’re dropped from a lengthy height.

Placing all three smartphones next to one another in the dark, there’s no question about it, but the 4.52” WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display of the Samsung Galaxy S II is easily the one to capture our attention the most. Granted its resolution is the lowest out of the bunch, we’re able to overlook it due to the fact that it produces the most vibrant and distinctive colors. Of course, it shines brightly in the dark, but in reality, the Retina Display of the iPhone 4S produces the most accurate looking colors – while dishing up the highest resolution as well. Lastly, the 4.3” qHD display of the Motorola DROID BIONIC is nice, but it’s not as sharp looking.


Accidental presses rarely occur with the Apple iPhone 4S since it boasts a single home button that’s extremely tactile, whereas, the capacitive Android buttons found with the competition are more prone to them. Also, the clearly defined dedicated power button of the iPhone 4S is by far the most distinguishable and responsive out of the three devices.

It might not be a big thing for some people, but we have to give some kudos to the Motorola DROID BIONIC for offering a microHDMI out port to easily present users with a mirrored experience. With the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II, we’re required to purchased additional adapters that unlock the feature for us – so yeah, it’s nice to see the DROID BIONIC having the feature available with it right from the start.

Interface and Functionality:

Fortunately, all three devices are at the cutting edge of technology thanks to the speedy dual-core processors running inside of them. Without a doubt though, the iPhone 4S provides us with the most responsive performance – albeit, it’s not as tested as the Android devices with its simplistic platform experience. On the other hand, the two Android powered smartphones are undoubtedly fast with their executions too, especially when some of the more graphically intensive live wallpapers out there test them. In any event, they’re all very peppy with their movement and barely exhibit bouts of lag or slowdown.

In the never-ending quest of finding out which platform experience is valued the most, it’s always going to come down to what is most important to you – since each one has their own unique characteristics. Clearly, the beauty about the iOS 5 experience found on the iPhone 4S is the fact that it’s simplistic, uncomplicated, and absolutely responsive. For all of its finesse, there’s no running away from its extremely limited personalization. Conversely, that’s not much of a problem with the Android smartphones seeing they offer plenty of it with their live wallpapers and useful widgets. Between the TouchWiz UI on the Samsung Galaxy S II and the customized MOTOBLUR experience of the Motorola DROID BIONIC, we’re digging the polished look of Motorola’s offering – mainly because of its eye-catching presentation.

When it comes to typing up messages, all three smartphones offer a wonderful and hassle-free experience with their wickedly responsive keyboards. However, considering that Samsung Galaxy S II has the largest display, its on-screen keyboard is more spacious with its layout – thus, reducing any mistakes as we type. Nevertheless, they’re all more than usable in typing up long passages of text.

Internet and Connectivity:

Nowadays, we’ve been spoiled to the notion of experiencing top-notch quality web browsing with these modern marvels – making it very difficult to differentiate the good from the great. Even though the iPhone 4S continues to excel in offering us a sensual web browsing experience, which has been a staple since the first iPhone, both the Samsung Galaxy S II and Motorola DROID BIONIC are able to exhibit a similar joyful experience. Adding to their prowess, both Android smartphones offer Adobe Flash support – enabling us to get that desktop-like experience in the palm of our hands.

Unlike the world phone capabilities of the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II, the Motorola DROID BIONIC is only limited to domestic usage. However, what separates it apart from the rest is that it’s equipped with 4G LTE connectivity to literally knock the socks off its competitors in the data speed department. If web browsing and data speeds are most important on your list, you won’t be disappointed by the lightning fast speeds being pumped out by the DROID BIONIC – it’s significantly faster in every way.

Camera:

After snapping quite a few photos, it’s remarkably difficult for us to proclaim a clean-cut winner between the three devices, simply because they all take some fantastic looking pictures. Ultimately, we have to give the slight edge to the iPhone 4S with its f2.4 lens, which allows it to excel in low lighting situations. Specifically, we’re enthralled by the abundance of fine details captured by the iPhone 4S, which is further complemented by its realistic and spot-on color production. Actually, the Samsung Galaxy S II comes very close in producing the same visuals, but doesn’t quite pack the same sharp visuals in low lighting. And even though it’s more than agreeable with our tastes, the Motorola DROID BIONIC doesn’t deliver the same high-level visuals as its rivals.

Again, we find ourselves in a pickle, as both the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II are toe-to-toe in capturing the best-looking 1080p high definition videos. Thankfully, all three capture video at the smooth rate of 29 frames per second, but with the DROID BIONIC, details are rather dull and muddy looking. In contrast, the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II produce videos that are filled to the brim with plenty of details – while maintaining gradual exposures that adapt to the shooting conditions. However, we still have to hand it to the iPhone 4S in the end with its sparkling high quality and crystal-clear audio recording.

Apple iPhone 4S Sample Video:



Motorola DROID BIONIC Sample Video:



Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile Sample Video:



Multimedia:

When playing some tunes in portrait, there’s nothing visually appealing with any of the music players on board with the handsets since they’re conventional looking – displaying things like the album cover and on-screen controls. But when we place the iPhone 4S and DROID BIONIC to landscape, we’re presented with a 3D-like carousel for browsing through content. Between the two though, we still prefer the iPhone’s coverflow mode as it’s better able to capture our attention. Surprisingly, their respective speakers are very commanding with their output when they’re set to the loudest setting. However, the Motorola DROID BIOINIC appears to be the most well rounded as it’s able to produce the most robust tones without sounding distorted.



Namely because of its gorgeous and large Super AMOLED Plus display, we find the Samsung Galaxy S II to be the ideal device for watching high-definition videos. It’s not to say that the iPhone 4S and Motorola DROID BIONIC can’t provide a smooth experience, but when you’re packing a sizable display that’s radiating iridescent colors all around, it’s very hard for our eyes to not take notice of it.

Variety is obviously a great thing to have, and it’s especially nice to find the iPhone 4S available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. However, both the Motorola DROID BIONIC and Samsung Galaxy S II offer removable storage via microSD cards to easily transfer data from them to a computer.

Software:

Previously, when an app was made available for iOS and Android, the iOS version of the app generally received more love with their polished form. Nowadays, the two are normally given the same level of quality – so there isn’t much of a discrepancy with them. However, there’s no kidding that Google’s apps are more clearly defined and detailed than their iOS counterparts. For example, both YouTube and Google Maps for Android are astoundingly superior in both functionality and performance than what’s offered by the iPhone. But if there’s one trump card that the iPhone 4S is hiding beneath its sleeve, it has to be the venerable feature of Siri – Apple’s personal digital assistant. Google managed to incorporate voice recognition services to various parts of Android, but Apple has managed to deepen the functionality with Siri.

Performance:

No question about it, but the Motorola DROID BIONIC is the clear-cut winner in the calling quality department as it’s able to provide us with an experience that’s free of any background noise or static – while producing audible voices on both ends of the line that are clear in tone. Furthermore, its speakerphone is abundantly superior with its strong output versus the competition.

Packing 4G LTE connectivity definitely has its drawbacks as well, which is evident by the poor battery life we’re able to get out of a single charge on the Motorola DROID BIONIC – in fact, we’re greeted with 10 hours of normal usage. Strangely, the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II is also rather paltry with its battery life as well seeing we’re only getting 11 hours of juice on normal usage. Even though we don’t see any improvement over its predecessor, the iPhone 4S is indeed the more forgiving handset in terms of battery life. Specifically, we’re getting at least a solid one day of normal usage.

Conclusion:

If you somehow don’t mind paying a huge premium right now, or simply have an unlimited cash flow, we definitely recommend checking out the Motorola DROID BIONIC because it’s seriously the most future-proof device out of the three. Yes, it’s priced significantly higher, but you’re going to be presented with a device that’s packing lightning fast 4G LTE speeds and the additional functionality of Motorola’s Webtop experience – while offering all of the lovable aspects of Android in general. However, it doesn’t mean that the other two aren’t great alternatives, but rather, they’re reasonably priced high-end smartphones that will appease people with their performance. With the iPhone 4S, it isn’t necessarily classified as a next-generation iPhone, since it’s nothing more than an incremental upgrade. And with the Samsung Galaxy S II, it doesn’t quite behold the same blinding aura as it did when it first launched overseas back in the spring. In any event, they both have their strengths in offering an exceptional experience, but the Motorola DROID BIONIC simply IS the epitome of a cutting edge smartphone – plus, it helps when it performs handsomely in a variety of departments.

Apple iPhone 4S vs Motorola DROID BIONIC vs Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile Video Comparison: