Another contender for the 4.+” screen size category has just been unveiled, the Nexus 4 – a smartphone Google made in partnership with LG.  And once again it’s time for your favorite comparison piece that pits devices against each other.

Without further adieu, let the spec-by-spec comparisons begin!

Dimensions

Nexus 4: Height: 133.9mm, Width: 68.7mm, Depth: 9.1 mm, Weight: 139 grams

iPhone 5: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm, 112 grams

Galaxy SIII: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133g

Screen

Nexus 4: Vibrant 1280-by-768 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display supported by Zerogap Touch technology, gently curved glass edges allow your finger to slide smoothly on and off the 320ppi screen, topped with scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 2.

iPhone 5: 4” Retina display with 1136-by-640 resolution and 326 ppi, Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front

Galaxy SIII: 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) display, Corning Gorilla Glass that provides exceptional damage resistance to the drops, bumps, and scrapes of everyday use.

Capacity and Price

Nexus 4: 8GB for $299, 16GB for $349 or $199 for a two-year contract with T-Mobile.

iPhone 5: 16GB $199, 32GB $299, 64GB $399with free 5GB iCloud – with a new two-year contract either on AT&T, Sprint or Verizon

Galaxy SIII: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB user memory – can be upgraded to up to 64GB via MicroSD, $199 with a two-year contract

Cellular and Wireless

Nexus 4: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, NFC Android Beam, Bluetooth, GSM/UMTS/HSPA+, GSM/EDGE/GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 3G (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz) and HSPA+ 21

iPhone 5: GSM model: GSM/EDGE; UMTS/HSPA+; DC-HSDPA; CDMA model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B; LTE; Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n; 802.11n on 2.4GHz and 5GHz); Bluetooth 4.0; GPS and GLONASS

Galaxy SIII: 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz; 3G (HSPA＋ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz; 4G (Dependent on market); WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40; GPS/GLONASS; NFC; Bluetooth 4.0(LE)

Battery

Nexus 4: 2,100mAh Li-Polymer (embedded) / Talk time: 15.3 hours / Standby: 390 hours

iPhone 5: Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G; Browsing time: Up to 8 hours on LTE, Up to 8 hours on 3G, Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; Standby time: Up to 225 hours

Galaxy SIII: 2,100 mAh

Colors and material

Nexus 4: Currently featured color is black, but rumored to have a white version as well, no news yet on the material used

iPhone 5: Black&Slate, White&Silver – The back of iPhone 5 is made of anodized 6000 series aluminum — the same material used in Apple notebooks — with inlays along the top and bottom made of ceramic glass (on the white and silver model) or pigmented glass (on the black and slate model).

Galaxy SIII: Garnet Red, Pebble Blue and Marble White – brushed polycarbonate material

Galaxy Note II: MArble White and Titanium Gray – brushed polycarbonate material

Processor

Nexus 4: Cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 processor, 2GB of RAM

iPhone 5: A6 – Apple engineered chip

Galaxy SIII:  Exynos 4 Quad processor @ 1.4Ghz for HSPA version, and 1GB of RAM.

OS

Nexus 4: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

iPhone 5: iOS 6

Galaxy SIII: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgradable to Jelly Bean

Camera

Nexus 4: High-performance 8MP camera and takes stunning 360° panoramas with Photo Sphere, shoot video in full 1080p and snap still shots while filming, instantly upload photos on Google+, 1.3MP front-facing camera

iPhone 5: 8MP iSight camera that features Autofocus, Tap to focus, LED flash, Backside illumination sensor, Five-element lens, Face detection, Hybrid IR filter, ƒ/2.4 aperture, Panorama and improved video recording feature now with face detection and enhanced image stabilization, 30fps; 1.2MP FaceTime camera with 720p HD video and Backside illumination sensor

Galaxy SIII: Main(Rear): 8 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BSI; Sub (Front): 1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BSI; Best photo

Sensors

Nexus 4: Accelerometer, Ambient light, Compass, Gyroscope, Barometer and GPS.

iPhone 5: Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Compass

Galaxy SIII: Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer

SIM

Nexus 4: Micro SIM

iPhone 5: Nano SIM

Galaxy SIII: Micro SIM

Standout features

Nexus 4: Wireless charging, Google Now, Voice Search, Google Maps, Gesture Typing, Android Beam, Google Wallet,  Music Manager

iPhone 5: Ultrafast Wireless, Maps, EarPods, Lightning connector, enhanced Siri, Passbook

Galaxy SIII: Smart Stay, Direct Call, Smart Alert, Social Tag, S Voice

So which is better?

Of the three devices, the iPhone 5 is the lightest so if you’re looking for something that won’t weigh you down, go for the iPhone 5.  But if you want more color to your life, the Galaxy SIII is available in a variety of colors.  Then again, you can buy a colorful case for any of the devices above.

As for the technical specs, the Android smartphones seem to have better offerings.  And the wireless charging feature of the Nexus 4 makes it more interesting still.  And with all the Google perks crammed onto the phone, it seems like the world is really at your fingertips, with the added benefit of the full Google Maps app.  There’s also NFC that powers Android Beam, so sharing photos or videos is easily done with a quick bump between devices.

But for me, the most interesting feature is the Photo Sphere camera that allows you to take a 360° photo.  I’m not really sure how people will use this, but knowing that you can take a 360° photo is enough to pique interest, especially if that person likes taking a lot of photos.

Here’s a quick note from Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, regarding the Nexus 4, “LG is proud and excited to play this role in helping build the latest Nexus smart-phone.  Users will be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of form and function with the latest generation of Android.”

The Nexus 4 will be available in Google Play on November 13 in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia, while other markets have to wait near the end of November to purchase the device offline.