In 2011, Samsung released powerful smartphones designed for different users and for different purposes.

It released the Galaxy Mini, designed for entry-level smartphones users, which is cost-effective yet provides great performance for a starter. For someone who has extra budget, there was the Galaxy Ace, which offers greater capacity than the Mini and has the protective capacity of the Gorilla Glass technology.

Then Galaxy SL was released with an 1GHz processor and big screen which is durable as well. Within the same year, the South Korean electronics giant also released the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus, and Galaxy Note which all offered great performance, durability, latest software and capabilities, which is also a hybrid of a smartphone and tablet PC.

For 2012, there are speculations that the successor of Galaxy S2 will be released - the Galaxy S3. It is expected to be far more superior and powerful than all of its Galaxy relatives especially against the Nexus.

The technical specifications of the new android smartphones are still subject to changes but some of the information has been leaked.

The Galaxy S3 reportedly will have the Exynos 4412 1.8GHz Quadcore processor which would offer 50 per cent more performance but use 30 per cent less power consumption than the Tegra which is being used by other brands. It could also be packed with 2GB of RAM with 32GB internal memory, 12MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing camera with the latest technology, plus the rumoured addition of 3D properties which is growing rapidly in use.

Its operating system is the Android 4.0 or the Ice Cream Sandwich which will provide owners all access to the technology of this Android. However, it is not only Google which will power this new Galaxy model, but Samsung will also add new technologies on this smartphone.

It remains to be seen if the S3 would become a flagship to both Google and Samsung as the Best Smartphone OS and the Best Smartphone carrier, respectively.

For now it can only be compared against its predecessor and but later it could be compared with similar devices from rival phone manufacturers once it has been launched

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The Galaxy Nexus is still its close opponent in the market despite both models being manufactured by Samsung. The Nexus has a 4.65-inch body which is very close to the size of the Galaxy Note, which measures 5.3 inches. It is co-produced with Google and is very compatible with ICS Android.

The Galaxy S3 will be manufactured by Samsung solely. It will be a test if the new model would be capable of delivering more function and capacity than the Nexus.

Next to the Nexus is the Galaxy S2, although by technical specs, this predecessor will not win, but the challenge is would it be worth the price to buy the S3 if owners can get half the function from S2? Galaxy S3 must have significant changes aside from the hardware to have a noticeably different performance versus the S2.

Another one is the Galaxy Note. Distinctively, the Note is a combination of a smartphone function and that of a tablet computer. The Galaxy S3 will be comparable in terms of live editing, crisp picture and video detail, great connectivity and business functions against the Galaxy Note. The two, though, should remain different from each other as the Galaxy Note is the middle line between phones and tablets.

Last is the IOS. The iPhone 4s has threatened the Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus with its popular virtual assistant, the Siri. For phone users who are too busy to search or just like to ask, this virtual assistant may actually help with a lot of topics and in a lot of ways. However, not all countries yet are supported with its full function. One example is the navigation locally, but still Siri has an edge in that area.

Galaxy S3 is not expected to have something that other smartphones won't have, but it could offer a better virtual assistant, better technology in synchronization or a surprise function that the IOS and Windows Mobile cannot do on their systems.

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