The race is officially on! Samsung announced the Galaxy S3 last week and Apple should be getting nervous. This could be the quarter that Samsung moves ahead of Apple in smartphone sales. The Galaxy S3 release date was scheduled to be announced in May, however it was announced the last week of April. Their strategy has been to release their devices ahead of Apple’s launch as we anticipate seeing Samsung use this same approach. iPhone5 is rumored to be released June or October 2012.

Android OS is a strong rival and ensuring that Apple's products are keeping up with its technological advancement. Samsung's Galaxy S3 is set to pose as a major threat to the iPhone5.

In a recent report, currently Apple’s iPhone line of devices enjoy a 44.9 percent market share lead in the U.S. Android powered smart phones are at a combined 44.8 percent, according to the latest analysis by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

The rumor was that iPhone5 and the new Galaxy S3 would launch around the same time pivoting Apple and Samsung straight into a stiff competition battle. In fact, battle has already begun on various online sites. Comparing and analyzing these two smartphone giants has become sport with speculations on which will be the victor once they hit the market. Apple has the reign today but Samsung in second place, the South Korean company is looking to capture iPhones number one spot.

Although Samsung remain in second place, with rising sales they are fast becoming a real threat for Apple. Samsung reported to have brought in $5 billion, however, it is still only a 1/3 portion of Apple’s total earnings.

If rumors are to be considered, iPhone 5 will come with a 3.5 inch screen featuring LTE '4G' networking speeds powered by a 1.5 GHz quadcore A6 processor. at least 1GB of RAM and groundbreaking retina display of 1280 x 720 resolution on a glass curved face will utilize edge-to-edge display.

If rumors are to be considered, The Galaxy S3 has been designed with new energy-efficient chip exceeding 1.4GHz per core, 4.7 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, a 12-megapixel camera with autofocus, face detection and LED flash, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and 16GB of internal memory, "expandable to 32GB."

"Samsung's next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multi-tasking features, thanks to Exynos 4 Quad's powerful performance and efficient energy management technology," Hankil Yoon, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy Team, Samsung's Mobile Communications Business said in a press statement.

According to the Korea Times, an anonymous Samsung executive said that the company will use its single-chip solutions for the Galaxy S3.

"The Exynos chip is currently built using a 45-nanometer process but the new Exynos chip will be made with 32-nanometer technology, giving better performance quality without using as much power," the report said.

For Apple to remain atop the competition Samsung brings they will have to offer something ground breaking and revolutionary for the upcoming iPhone5.

Regardless of the actual release date battles lines are being drawn, strategies are set and consumers are waiting. Which company becomes the victor will largely depend upon how they address their loyal customer base.