Hate the iPhone 4S? Unimpressed by the Windows Phone 7 crew? Looks like you need to bag an Android. If so, you're faced with a mighty tough choice, one that we feel obliged to try and make easier.

The HTC One X is the new top boy on the block, swaggering around Android-ville like it owns the place with its all-powerful quad-core processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and built-in Beats Audio. Genuine contenders such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Nokia Lumia 900 and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus have been beaten into submission by the Taiwanese bruiser, but now a new combatant has entered the ring - and we suspect the Samsung Galaxy S3 is here to fight.

Reading time? About 10 minutes. Deliberating time saved in the phone shop? Limitless. Read on, Android pioneer...

HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy S3: Build

HTC One X

It’s a highly tactile phone that you want to stroke and roll round your hand like a worry stone, it’s perhaps the most touchable handset since the iPhone 3GS. That’s partly because there are no visible seams apart from the power and volume buttons, the micro USB charging slot and a tiny cover for the micro SIM.

It’s under 9mm thick and this makes it manageable in all but the smallest hands. There’s a sealed battery, so no removable back to spoil the look, and more space to squeeze in more battery with less cladding; vital with such a big screen in such a thin body.

The One X is made from polycarbonate – posh plastic, basically – making it light in spite of its size. The unibody frame means it all holds together effortlessly, with no creaking, no matter how much you try and flex it.

Look closely and you’ll see the white back is matt but the edge and front are gloss. Matching these different finishes so smoothly is further proof of HTC’s forensic attention to detail.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Available in 'Marble White' and 'Pebble Blue' (pebble... blue?!), the Galaxy S3 is sporting a curvier look than the iPhone 4S and sits in the hand nicely. It actually looks far less like it's older brother, and actually is more resemblant of the Galaxy Nexus, both in size and contours.

Like the HTC One X and many other premium smartphones, the S3 is also just under 9mm thick (8.6mm to be precise). But it's still a pretty large handset in all, measuring in at 136.6mm x 70.6mm. "That's almost the same size as the Galaxy S2!" we hear you cry. It's slightly bigger actually, good try though. But to fit the new screen, which is 0.5-inches bigger than the old S2 one, the bezel has been made much smaller.

You'll remember that one of our major gripes with the Samsung Galaxy S2 was the tacky feel of the plastic body. Not everyone was so bothered, it's a subjective point but if you, like us, didn't like the S2's lightweight plastic body, you'll be equally disappointed with the S3's. Then again, even with a lightweight, plastic body, the handset already tips the scales at 133g, so you can hardly blame them. But it doesn't really compare to the premium feel of the One X's polycarbonate.

T3 Verdict: HTC One X

HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy S3: Screen

HTC One X

About that screen: turn the phone on and you can’t miss the remarkable display. At 4.7 inches, it’s massive, sure, but actually it’s the resolution that stands out. This measures 312 pixels per inch, almost as high-definition as the iPhone 4S, and the larger size means it looks arguably more impressive.

It’s sharp, colourful and deeply attractive, looking as detailed as a printed photograph. It’s especially good with video or showing off photographs.

Samsung Galaxy S3

The S3 one-ups the One X on screen size, with an enormous 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, which displays at a maximum resolution of 720 x 1280.

At 306 pixels per inch, the screen is slightly below the quality of the HTC One X and the iPhone 4S but frankly, 306ppi is still eye-searing stuff. Everything that we said about the HTC looking great because of it's size is even more true of the Samsung Galaxy S3.

T3 Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S3