The upcoming Nexus Prime aka Droid Prime aka ICS 4.0 phone has a strong chance of being a hot device. The specs, design, 1280x720 Super AMOLED+ display, 32GB of storage (rumored) 1.2+1.5Ghz processor can and will take on the iP4S and in some cases show case what Apple didn't given the iOS community.
Notice that people are excited about the Prime based mainly on hardware specs and physical form. I lurk in Android Central occasionally and read very little about possible upgrades in useability or functionality. The Prime has a bigger screen, but that won't work well for many people with average or small sized hands. (The higher resolution will bring it to parity with the iPhone.) Aside from a different skin, what do we know about what's different or better in ICS?
Contrast that to all the functional improvements in iOS 5. You could argue that half of those only bring it to parity with Android, but the point is that they're still practical improvements for millions of existing iOS 4 users.
When you jump to iPhone 4S with iOS 5, the list of functional improvements jumps considerably. Here are what I think are the most significant features, the ones that Android phones will be trying to catch up to in the following months...including the Prime.
? Camera. It's not about the megapixels. It's the speed it takes to get to the first shot and the short delay between shots. It's also low light sensitivity of the sensor and video stabilization. This camera (hardware + software) will easily allow the average consumer to take the best photos and videos from any phone camera out there.
? Siri. This goes way beyond voice recognition and Android Voice Actions (simple commands). Wait for the reviews to come in on this. I think Youtube reviews of how this actually works will blow people away.
? iCloud. Photo Stream. iTunes Match. Reminders. AirPlay.
Apple explains these better than I can:
Apple - iOS 5 - See new features included in iOS 5.
And here's where I think Android phones may still have an advantage over the iPhone:
? Navigation/Maps. We'll have to see if Siri does anything to change this, but for now the integrated text-to-speech directions are top notch.
? Google services: Mail, Docs, Calendar, etc. I think Apple has matched this with all of their services, but if you are already fully invested in Google's services or use it for work, the Android version of all these are better than the iOS version. At least for now.