Since its debut in May this year, Samsung's latest Galaxy S3 has revolutionised the smartphone market, setting the standards higher for every other rival smartphone to achieve.

State of the art features such as a massive Super AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel camera and a 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor coupled with a powerful Mali-400 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), still have fans reeling with fascination over the third generation device.

However, tech enthusiasts who yet to make a purchase are still mulling over the decision whether to buy the super smart device that's attached to an expensive price tag of around INR 38,900.

While most smartphones are deemed unworthy to hold a candle to the Galaxy S3, several existing devices host quite a few notable features that prospective buyers may consider worth checking out as cheaper alternatives.

So if you're among those who can't afford a power-packed Galaxy S3, check out five other smartphones that come with a plethora of striking features and are relatively lighter on the pocket.

1. HTC One X

HTC's new One X has drawn a fair amount of attention given several industry leading specifications the Android running smartphone has arrived with. Amongst the features are a 4.7 Super IPS capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, an 8 megapixel camera with flash, and support for a host of other features.

The device runs on Android's current 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and an inbuilt memory of 32GB that's backed by the all-powerful Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-core processor that's clocked to 1.5 GHz. The HTC One X costs about INR 34,000.

2. Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia's yet to be launched Lumia 900 is perhaps one of the best looking smartphones out there and is expected to cost around INR 28,000 once launched later this year.

Amongst the specifications the Lumia 900 sports is an impressive 4.3″ WVGA AMOLED display with ClearBlack technology, a 1.4GHz CPU with 16GB of internal memory, an 8 megapixel LED flash camera with Carl Zeiss optics lens, plus a secondary 1 megapixel camera that's apparently lacking in its predecessor the Lumia 800.

The device runs on Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS and will be available in several eye catching colors of cyan, white and magenta besides black.

3. Sony Xperia S

Sony Xperia S is certainly a showstopper in terms of looks and futuristic features. The sleek smartphone sports a 4.3 LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution that's powered by a dual core Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon 1.5 GHz processor. Perhaps the best feature it has is its massive12 megapixel camera that gives a resolution of 4000x3000 pixels with 1080p of video capture.

 The device also sports a secondary 1.3 megapixel camera on its front and runs on Android's Gingerbread OS that can be upgraded to ICS. The Xperia S comes with a price tag of around INR 30,000.

4. Motorola Droid Razr Maxx

Soon to be released in India at an initial price of around INR 31,590, the super thin Droid Razr Maxx is expected to arrive with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, that's upgradable to ICS and a 4.3-inch 540x960 pixels Super AMOLED Advanced capacitive touch screen that will be powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor with 16GB of internal memory.

Other features will include an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture capabilities plus a powerful 3300 mAh battery that promises to give over 21 hours of talk-time.

5. iPhone 4S

Samsung's greatest rival Apple has long had a faithful fan base for its iPhone devices that set the standards for many smartphones to come. The current iPhone 4S continues to remain a hot item on every tech geek's wish list and still enthralls fans with a spate of revolutionary features that include an A5 dual-core 1GHz chip and an 8 megapixel snapper with 3264x2448 pixel resolution.

It has the most popular features including Siri's language commands and dictation service. Known for keeping the prices on the higher side, Apple has tagged iPhone 4S at INR 40,000 onwards.