Instead of buying an mp3 player the way forward could be to buy a smartphone which has the same functions and many more, here are some of the specs of the latest phones.

Although they have been producing mobile phones for a long time, Samsung were long seen as unable to compete with the major players in the smartphone universe like HTC and Apple. However, the Samsung Galaxy II looks set to change this perception. Selling over 3 million units in less than 2 months, it has outperformed most of its major rivals. But how does it compare with the current king of the smartphone world; the iPhone 4?

• Size

Although the Galaxy S II packs a punch features-wise, it does so in an incredibly neat and lightweight package. Weighing in at a tiny 115g and coming in at only 8.49mm thick, it’s noticeably thinner and lighter than the already slender iPhone 4.

• Display

The Galaxy II’s touchscreen, measuring in at over 0.8-inches larger than the iPhone’s screen, boasts Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology. This makes the screen incredibly bright, showing off pictures and videos perfectly.

Despite Samsung’s strong showing, Apple is right to pride themselves on the quality of the iPhone 4’s retina display. Enjoying the highest resolution currently available on Smartphones, text can be read comfortable on the iPhone 4, and even zoomed pages don’t show any deterioration in quality.

• Hardware

Both phones are packed with some incredibly powerful hardware. The iPhone 4’s A4 chip allows for multitasking without any noticeable slowdown, and can even cope with graphics intensive 3D games. Similarly, the Galaxy S II’s 1.2GHz processor creates one of the smoothest smartphone experiences around.

Both phones have excellent cameras, with the iPhone having a 5-megapixels and the Samsung having 8. Despite having the megapixel advantage, the pictures taken by the Galaxy S II cannot match the iPhone for contrast, colour and clarity. It is, however, able to shoot 1080p video, easily beating the iPhone’s 720p camcorder.

To view the best deals on cheap mobile phones visit www.dialaphone.co.uk.