The critical reception following the iPhone 5's announcement wasn't exactly mindblowing, but who cares when it's already crossed the two-million pre-order mark?

Nevertheless, Apple is entering a market crowded with competitors, so we take a look at how the iPhone 5 compares to a few other rivals.

 

Display

The screen is the biggest change to Apple's new smartphone, featuring a larger 4-inch display. A 1136x640 resolution and 326 pixels per inch makes the iPhone 5 stand out even more.

If it's size you're after, then the Galaxy S3's screen is what you should be opting for, measuring 4.8-inches across. The S3's display has a 1280x720 resolution, but the larger screen size means the pixel density is 306 pixels per inch, slightly lower than Apple's effort.

Nokia's upcoming Lumia 920 manages to combine the best of both worlds, with a 4.5-inch touchscreen and 1280x768 resolution. As a result, the phone has the sharpest display of the lot, with a PPI of 332. However, the display is super-sensitive, even letting people make use of gloved hands to interact with the device.

 

Internals

The iPhone 5 packs a cutting-edge A6 processor, with Apple claiming it's twice as fast as the A5 in both general usage and graphical grunt. To drive their point home, a demo of Real Racing 3 was shown off at the Apple event, demonstrating some nifty visuals.

Whatever the case may be, developers will certainly put the A6 to the test, as Apple's platform plays host to a variety of graphically intense games already.

The iPhone 5 doesn't support storage expansion, coming in 16, 32 and 64GB models though.

For the international version of the Galaxy SIII, the device is powered by a 1.4Ghz Exynos quad-core processor. According to Samsung, it delivers double the performance of the SII while using less power.

For the Japanese and American versions, the Galaxy SIII uses a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip. At first glance, the quad-core variant should outmuscle the dual-core chip (four is better than two, right?), but benchmarks show the two to be pretty evenly matched.

The Galaxy SIII is available in 16 and 32GB options, with storage expansion via microSD cards.

Traditionally, Windows Phones haven't been the most powerful devices, as Microsoft's platform only supported single-core chips. However, this restriction has been lifted with Windows Phone 8, with the Lumia 920 possessing a Snapdragon S4 processor.

Nokia's smartphone is available with 32GBs of storage, but if you want microSD expansion, you'll want the lower-end Lumia 820.

 

Camera

The iPhone 5 features a revised eight-megapixel camera, with improved low-light performance and a panorama mode included.

One great feature that managed to sneak in unnoticed is the ability to record HD clips and take photos at the same time, a feature first seen on the HTC One X.

Samsung's handset is no slouch in the camera department either, with an eight-megapixel camera capable of taking some great snaps.

The SIII's shooter might have the most features of the lot, including a panorama mode, Best Shot option, burst mode and the ability to record while taking snaps.

Nokia may have tarnished the Lumia 920 with its ad trickery, but the 8.7-megapixel "PureView" camera is still shaping up to be something special.

The Lumia 920's camera features optical image stabilisation, improved low-light technology as well as a feature to remove objects/people from photos.

 

Apps

Buying an iPhone 5 will grant users access to well over 600 000 applications and games, provided that you're not using a South African account. In fact, there are plenty of exclusive apps, making Apple's platform stand out even more.

The Android-toting Galaxy SIII is no slouch in the app department either, with the Google Play Store hosting over 400 000 apps.

The Windows Phone marketplace may be growing at a good pace but it's still small compared to the big two, with just over 100 000 applications. Although you can find many big-name apps or alternatives, there are thousands more only available on iOS and Android, as developers tend to target those two first.

 

Maps

Apple has ditched Google for mapping and navigation, opting to go with its own in-house solution instead. And it's looking pretty promising, with 3D mapping and turn-by-turn navigation available, albeit not in South Africa yet.

As for the Galaxy SIII, it's running Google's mapping service, featuring limited offline mapping, turn-by-turn navigation and navigation by voice.

The Lumia 920 features a pretty capable solution in the form of Nokia's own critically acclaimed mapping service. Users are able to download entire country maps for offline navigation, ideal when taking into account data costs.

 

So, what to choose?

The iPhone 5 stacks up pretty well to the competition, but when looking at new additions, they all seem to be features that other handsets have already.

Nonetheless, the new iPhone is looking like an excellent purchase for those wanting a well-rounded handset with a ton of apps and a smooth interface.

The Galaxy SIII is another fantastic choice, featuring a gigantic screen, expandable storage and loads of apps too.

The Lumia 920 is yet another phone worth a look when it comes out later this year, thanks to a highly capable camera, simple interface and great social integration.

So, depending on what you're looking for in a handset, all three are well worth considering.