I would recommend the iPhone 5 over the Samsung Galaxy SIII for various reasons.
1. The iPhone 5 is more durable. It is made of glass and aluminum unlike the Samsung Galaxy SIII which is composed of plastic. Also, the design on the iPhone 5 is great. It fits in your hand perfectly. Personally, I think that the Galaxy SIII is just too big to be a phone, and that's not even the biggest phone from Samsung.
Video comparison here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5q5TRuAsY
2. The iPhone 5 is a phone that will last. Since it's the latest iPhone from Apple, it will get the latest and greatest software for at least 3 years. Also, you'll have the latest phone from Apple for one year until Apple releases the next iPhone.
The Samsung Galaxy SIII is running android so it surely WON'T get the latest OS for the next 3 years. Most likely, it will only get up to android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" since most android phones never get updated past their pre-loaded OS. Also, your phone will be outdated within a month since Samsung releases hundreds of phones a year.
3. The iPhone 5 has the best operating system in the market with over 700,000 QUALITY apps. Other operating systems are catching up, but the majority of them are full of spam, or not even worth your space.
4. Lastly, even though the SIII beats the iPhone 5 in terms of specs, what matters in the end is how the phone handles it, and the iPhone 5 handles it REALLY good. (Sort of how the megapixel count can only matter up to a certain point. What really matters is how the camera utilizes it) So yes, the battery life on the iPhone 5 is pretty good.
