The days of waiting have ended for Samsung fanboys in Europe as the much-awaited Galaxy S3 has hit 28 countries today, including the UK and Germany. The device has been delivered to those who pre-ordered the product earlier, while it will go on sales publicly on Wednesday, May 30. The U.S. release date is still officially unannounced, though the recent reports indicate a June 20 release date.

We are used to comparing every new flagship Android model to Apple iPhone. Surprisingly, however, iPhone 4S is not the strongest competitor to Galaxy S3 at the moment. HTC One X is the one that is eligible to challenge Samsung's new flagship model. Could it take on Galaxy S3 in the battle of the Android super phones? Let's find out in this review.

Design

The body of both HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3 are made of plastic. HTC One X is wrapped in a finely tailored polycarbonate unibody casing. The design is top notch and the phones give a premium feel in hands. Galaxy S3 also uses polycarbonate, but Samsung has adopted a traditional design. Of course, it feels premium in the hands, but the design is not as mind-blowing as HTC One X.

Winner: HTC One X

Display

Both HTC and Samsung - both have upped the display size in their flagship smartphones. The One X sports 4.7-inch IPS LCD2 display with 720p resolution @312ppi. On the other hand, Galaxy S3 features 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with 720 resolution @306ppi.

Winner: Tie

Processor

HTC One X has a powerful quad-core 1.5 GHz Tegra 3 processor, while Galaxy S3 packs quad-core 1.4 GHz Exynos processor. You will get 1GB of RAM on both these smartphones. Both the phones have fared almost equally in benchmark test. In some test, Galaxy S3 has advantage, while in others HTC One X turns out to be faster.

Winner: Tie

Storage

HTC One X comes in two models with 16GB and 32GB of internal storage. Unfortunately, the One X does not have a microSD card slot. In comparison, Galaxy S3 comes with 16/32/64GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot that support memory card up to 64GB.

Winner: Galaxy S3

Connectivity

Connectivity wise, both these smartphones are identical. You will find the regular connectivity features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NFC in both.

Result: Tie

User Interface

Both these phones run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but there is nothing similar in user interface.

HTC One X has HTC Sense UI 4.0 overlay, which looks similar to the older versions but with some improvements and customizations. There are plenty of widgets and apps that come pre-loaded on the device, including the 25GB free Dropbox storage for 2 years and Beats Audio integration.

Turning to Galaxy S3, the TouchWiz experience has totally changed. Holding Galaxy S3 in one hand and the ICS updated Galaxy S2 in another, you will find nothing similar in both these Samsung smartphones. The Korean tech giant promotes the new user interface as "inspired by nature" due to some nature sound and water animations given to the phone. Galaxy S3 is loaded with some innovative software features too, including Smart Stay eye tracking, S Voice and Pop-up Play. Additionally, every Galaxy S3 user gets 50GB of free Dropbox storage.

Winner: Galaxy S3

Camera

Camera systems in both the smartphones perform equally. HTC One X sports 8-megapixel rear camera, which records 1080p videos @30fps. It shoots excellent quality pictures with low shutter lag. Users can record HD videos and take still shots at the same time. HTC One X also packs a secondary 1.3-megapixel camera for self-portrait and video calling.

Samsung Galaxy S3 is also loaded with similar camera tech. The 8-megapixel camera offers nearly zero shutter lag. With the new burst mode, you can take up to 20 continuous shots with zero shutter lag speed with Galaxy S3. Out of these 20 pictures, the best shot is selected and saved in the memory. It can also take still shots while recording HD videos. There is also a front facing 2-megapixel camera on the device.

Winner: Tie

Battery

Samsung Galaxy S3 boasts of better battery performance thanks to its 2100 mAh battery. On the other hand, HTC One X features 1800 mAh battery, which is also a good performer.

Winner: Galaxy S3

Conclusion

HTC One X is a well-endowed smartphone. However, compared to Galaxy S3, either it is on par with the Samsung phone or lags behind it. Extras like microSD card slot, bigger battery, voice assistant give Galaxy S3 an advantage over HTC One X. Also, Galaxy S3 is blessed with the revolutionary wireless charging technology. Samsung is due to release the wireless charging kit later this year.