Samsung have an excellent reputation as a mobile phone manufacturer. In fact, they’re the producer of what is widely considered by experts to be the best mobile phone currently on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S III. And their reputation is well deserved, they produce sleek, elegant, reliable devices that both look good and function well. HTC on the other hand are kind of the new kid in town. They don’t have quite the reputation that Samsung has, but over the last few years they’ve also produced some pretty high quality devices. We wanted to see if HTC were really ready to compete with Samsung. So we took a mid-range phone from each of the companies and pitted them against each other. For Samsung we choose the Galaxy S II, and for HTC we went with the One XL. These phones are comparable in price, and both run the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android’s operating system. Keep reading to find out how they performed, and which one takes the crown.

Where the HTC One XL is Best…
There were some things that really impressed us about the One XL. First is its speed. The One XL runs a 1500 MHz processor as compared to the 1200 MHz on the Samsung, making it more powerful, snappier and more responsive in general. Plus, its maximum data speeds are around three times faster than the Samsung’s, so you get quicker downloading and faster opening web pages. We also liked its screen, which is larger than the Galaxy’s (4.7 inches versus 4.3 inches on the Galaxy). The display also has around two and a half time higher resolution and forty per cent more PPI (pixels per inch) than the screen on the Samsung. This means a picture that’s clearer, brighter and better defined. Finally, you get a lot more internal storage on the One XL. It comes with 32 GB of internal memory rather than the 16 GB on the Galaxy. That means you can store double the amount of music, photos and data on your phone. And 32 GB is an awful lot of space…

Where the Samsung Galaxy S II is Best…
There’s not much to say, really. The HTC One XL is faster, has the better screen and more internal storage, what could the Galaxy possibly do better? Given Samsung’s reputation for producing sleek phones it’s probably not surprising that the Galaxy comes in thinner, lighter and generally smaller than the One XL, but only by around ten per cent. And that’s pretty much it from the Galaxy…

HTC Can Really Beat Samsung?
In this particular case, yes, it can; mostly because despite making fantastic phones, Samsung does tend to make quite expensive devices. This means that when you compare the HTC to a Samsung model of the same price range, you’re not necessarily getting the best Samsung that you can. However, many of us do make a decision based on price and for that reason, the HTC One XL is definitely the better buy. For around the same amount of money you get more phone with better features and more storage.

Phil Turner is a loyal Tesco phone user; well, loyal as long as they are the cheapest.