Before the iPhone, I owned a Samsung BlackJack. At the time, I thought a true qwerty keyboard, replaceable battery, and 3G coverage were must-haves and three of the best features of what I felt was one of the better phones of the time. When the news came out that the first-generation iPhone was going to have none of these, I expected the same disappointing experience so many others before me have had with the “next big thing” in mobile devices.

To my surprise, I discovered that this new style of mobile OS was incredibly fun and easy to use. The idea of swiping your finger across the screen and receiving an immediate and comparable response was unheard of from smartphones at the time. Palm, and to some extent Windows Mobile were on the right track years before, but they dropped the ball by not updating their operating system for extended periods of time. To add to this, the predictive keyboard translated my clumsy taps correctly, at least most of the time.

When it came down to it, the megapixels of the camera, MHz of the processor, capacity of the hard drive, and speed of the data connection took a back seat to the experience a smooth and intuitive interface delivered.

What about two phones running the same OS? Does it matter then? Here’s where it can make a difference. If you have two Android phones with the same version of the OS installed and a similar look and feel, then a difference in processor speed and/or memory can improve your overall experience. Keep in mind though, that better specs means little if you’re using a phone that doesn’t receive regular updates from the manufacturer.

For example, the Samsung Galaxy S series came out with remarkable specs included. They had bigger and higher resolution screens than most of the Android phones out there, and even featured a beefy processor. Unfortunately, updates to the operating system were few and far between, and phones such as the Samsung Captivate were left behind while other Android devices (with less impressive specs) were zipping along on a better optimized update two generations ahead.

In the end, you have to decide which phone works best for you. If you are confident that one has everything you need feature-wise and maintains a reliable update cycle, then whether or not it has the fastest processor isn’t important. Does your phone do what you need it to do? Specs can matter, especially if the differences are extreme, but they’re not nearly as important as your overall experience.