The clash of the titans! The hottest smartphones of the moment, and probably the two best Android smartphones ever made, meet today in what’s possibly the most exciting Versus article of 2013. But before we dive in, let’s properly introduce our two combatants.

A quick look around the tech blogosphere tells us that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the Android smartphone that gathered the most hype on its announcement date. Obviously, a very good sign for the South Korean manufacturer, as the predecessor of the S4, the Galaxy S3, is the best-selling Android smartphone of all time.

With Samsung’s marketing muscle behind it and a huge base of loyal fans, the Galaxy S4 shapes up to be a hit. If you’re looking for a full review of the Galaxy S4, Joshua Vergara has got you covered with his extensive analysis. The bottom line is that Samsung improved on the Galaxy S3 in all areas with this new iteration, while also adding some very interesting software features.

In the other corner, Taiwanese manufacturer HTC has a lot of hope in the commercial success of the HTC One, regarded as the last chance for a turnaround for the ailing company.

Unlike Samsung, HTC decided to think outside the box with the One, equipping it with several unique features. For a full review of the HTC One, make sure to check out Kristofer Wouk’s article.

But what are the main advantages of the HTC One when pitted against the Samsung Galaxy S4? Where is the Galaxy S4 shinning when compared to the One? Join us for a full comparison. For a hands-on video of the Samsung Galaxy S4 versus the HTC One, jump to the bottom of this article.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S4 uses a 5-inch Super AMOLED panel that runs at full HD (1920 by 1080 pixels) resolution, with a 441 ppi pixel density. Contrast rates and brightness are both excellent with the Samsung Galaxy S4, although the inaccurate color reproduction remains the main flaw of the Super AMOLED panels. Some learn to live with and love the ultra vivid colors that such a panel produces, while others swear by the more true-to-nature colors of LCD screens.

It’s also worth noting that, although Samsung used a PenTile subpixel arrangement matrix on the Samsung Galaxy S4, you cannot notice any pixelation with the naked eye.

The HTC One uses a 4.7-inch Super LCD3 display, one that also works at full HD resolution, but this time at a density of 469 ppi, thanks to the slightly smaller screen. The great contrast and brightness levels are matched by the accurate color reproduction to provide an amazing viewing experience.

Verdict: If you want a more compact display with accurate colors, go for the HTC One. If you prefer deep blacks and richer colors, go for the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Design and build quality

Design-wise, the Galaxy S4 is mostly similar to its predecessor, with its rounded corners and the same button layout (a hardware home button flanked by two capacitive buttons). The only major differences are the introduction of a chromed frame surrounding the sides and the new mesh finish that replaces the old glaze finish.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a polycarbonate (plastic) removable back cover, meaning that it doesn’t feel as premium as other high-end Android smartphones, like the One, the Xperia Z, or the Nexus 4. On the upside, the Galaxy S4 is the most compact 5-inch Android smartphone out there, measuring 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) and weighs just 130 g (4.59 oz).

The HTC One features an aluminum unibody with slightly rounded corners, and bezels that are larger than the average, and definitely larger than those of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The power button rests at the top, while the usual three navigational buttons have been replaced with just two capacitive buttons: one for home and one for back.

One (ahem) feature that’s unique to the HTC One (thus far, at least) is BoomSound, a pair of stereo speakers placed on the sides of the screen when in landscape mode (the “normal” mode for gaming and watching video). Thanks to BoomSound, the One produces significantly more decibels than any other Android smartphone that we recently tested.

Given that the HTC One has a smaller display, you would expect it to be a smaller smartphone than the Galaxy S4, but that’s not the case here. The HTC One measures 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm (5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37 in) and weighs 143 g (5.04 oz).

Verdict: The HTC One has better build quality, but the Samsung Galaxy S4 has a superior screen-to-body ratio.

Internal hardware

CPU, GPU and RAM

The HTC One comes with a Snapdragon 600 SoC, that pairs a 1.7 GHz quad-core Krait processor with an Adreno 320 GPU, alongside 2GB of RAM. According to all benchmark tests, the Snapdragon 600 is a blazing fast platform. However, if raw processing power is what you’re looking for, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the way to go.

The North American version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 SoC as well, but this time the quad-core Krait 300 processor is clocked at 1.9 GHz. As a result, the North American version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is slightly faster than the HTC One.

With the international version of the Galaxy S4, things change a bit in favor of Samsung, as the Exynos 5 Octa SoC (Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU) seems to be the fastest chip that’s currently available on the market.

Storage

The HTC One comes with two internal storage options: 32 GB or 64 GB, but lacks the option to expand that storage via a microSD card, so you better think about how much space you actually need before making a purchase.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available with 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB of internal storage space, and can accept microSD cards of up to 64 GB in size.

Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S4 uses a 13MP primary camera that does a great job if there’s enough light to work with. The HTC One’s 4MP Ultrapixel camera does a very good job at taking photos in low-light conditions, and a decent job in properly lit mediums. Both cameras should suffice for your basic point-and-shoot needs.

Battery

In the battery department, the Samsung Galaxy S4 clearly outperforms the HTC One: a 2600 mAh removable battery on the Galaxy S4 versus a 2300 mAh fixed battery on the One.

Verdict: The Galaxy S4 comes with a microSD card slot and a larger removable battery, while also being slightly faster than the HTC One.

Android and software features

The Samsung Galaxy S4 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, with a new version of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI overlaid on top.

The design of TouchWiz is often criticized, but in all fairness Samsung did manage to add a lot of extra functionality to Android. Besides the Smart Functions that were introduced on the Galaxy S3, the Galaxy S4 gains several new software functions, such as Air Gesture, Air View, S Health, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause and Knox Security. The Samsung camera app also comes with a few interesting features such as Eraser or Drama Mode.

The HTC One runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, with a new version of Sense on top. The design is refined and subtle, but if you’re looking for extra functionality, the only exciting feature is BlinkFeed, a Flipboard-like stream of news and social updates that resides on your home screen.

Verdict: If you’re looking for many tweaks and features that improve the Android experience, you’ll love the Samsung Galaxy S4. If you’re looking for a fresh design, take the HTC One for a spin.

Hands-on video

Conclusion

There’s so much to love about these two smartphones that picking a clear winner is impossible without being subjective. One way to decide who wins the HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 battle is to ask yourself this:

Do you want a compact 5-inch smartphone with the fastest internal hardware around, a microSD card slot, and a removable battery? Go for the Samsung Galaxy S4!

Are color accuracy, great design and a premium build more important for you? Go for the HTC One!

What do you guys think? Which one is better and why: the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One?

Hey, no peeking! (Image credit: Peeking / Shutterstock)

Throughout the last decade, there have been numerous debates regarding the security measures that can be put in place to protect our online identities. But given that our newly found mobile lifestyles can now provide a lot more data to those interested in capturing them, I believe privacy to be one of the bigger technological and ideological concerns of the 21st century.

Given the technology landscape today, I believe we are confronted with four major categories of privacy issues: viruses (spyware to be more exact), Google privacy concerns, Facebook privacy concerns and carrier privacy issues. Throughout this extensive article, I will try to show that while each one of these issues affects a different demographic, together, they have a huge potential to create privacy problems at a global level.

Legal Spyware

When talking about computer viruses, there are few modern examples of malware that is designed to hurt your OS or hardware just for the sake of being evil. Viruses no longer carry payloads that destroy software and hardware, though. Instead, viruses are actually out to turn a profit, with spyware stealing your data.

Spyware is a small piece of code that, once installed on your machine, can send back all the information about how you use the respective machine. And I say machine, because spyware is not just a problem on desktop systems anymore, but also a growing concern on smartphones as well, especially on the Android platform.

The logical explanation is that all of the spyware out there is designed especially to serve data gathering purposes, either with the intention to sell or process it later. However, this kind of information is considered to come from the black market, as designing any type of malware is rightfully considered a crime.

There’s a market for that, sure, as there are markets for iOS and private Android malware, where one can buy exploit information from the hacker who has found them. But what strikes me as an added problem is the fact that there are several apps you can install on your smartphone that actually gathering real-time information about them such as location, SMS data, call details and browsing history.

So spyware is definitely a problem, but given that this type of malware affects fewer people (in theory, real numbers will always be impossible to estimate), it is not the biggest problem. It’s not at all that difficult to install anti-malware or secure our Wi-Fi networks, but ensuring mobile privacy goes beyond defending against overtly malicious applications. Our biggest potential leak actually comes from legitimate companies that know us best.

Google Privacy Concerns

I probably don’t have to tell you this, but Google holds a great deal of information about the world’s population. Google dominates the search engine market, has a tight grip on the smartphone market with Android, owns YouTube and Google News — two of the biggest content delivery channels out there — not to mention that Google+ is now a growing player as a social network.

So what’s Google doing with all this data? Well, it does two things: first they use it to create better products (that’s their pitch line for it), and then they sell it to online marketers through their ad channels: Adsense, Adwords, Adplatform, ad everything.

Arguably, Google does not tell marketers exactly who you are, neither does it make this information available for purchase and processing. It’s all integrated into their product, one that sells ads better like no other platform out there, especially thanks to all this information that Google provides. At least, that’s what we are led to believe.

As you would expect, Google is often under a lot of criticism regarding its privacy concerns. To name just a few:

• The Google Street View team was fined for secretly capturing information over unsecured Wi-Fi connections.
• Google Reader was apparently closed because of the numerous privacy lawsuits it was getting ready to dive in.
• Google Play is raising privacy concerns in Australia over the fact that app developers can receive the full names, email addresses and zip codes of their every single paying customer.
• Google spent $22 million to settle a privacy lawsuit concerning the fact that the company was secretly gathering information from its users by bypassing the security settings on the Apple Safari browser.
• Google Analytics is another one of Google’s services that has raised privacy concerns, this time due to Google’s usage of cookies.
• Google Glass (our most recent Friday Debate topic) is already stirring the privacy issues ocean. Personally, I expect a tsunami once it becomes commercially available, mainly because Google’s databases will now literally own detailed information about one’s life, and it won’t help that Glass can start incessantly recording everything that you see in your everyday life.

Also regarding Google’s database, it should be mentioned that on March 1st 2012, all the user data was linked across all of Google’s services. Google was fined in multiple countries for these changes, and there are early sign that the lawsuits will not stop here.

But how safe is all this data? Given the recent increase in the frequency of important hack attacks, one has to come to this question: what happens if all this data falls into the wrong hands? But more on that a bit later.

Can I get a little privacy, please? (Image credit: Message privacy / Shutterstock)

Facebook Privacy Concerns

The world’s second largest intimate whisper buddy is Facebook, the social networking site that has often  been criticized for the way it handles the personal information of users. As with Google, Facebook is selling this information via targeted ad sales.

Here’s a list of the most recent privacy-related issues that Facebook has been confronted with:

• Back in May 2012, Facebook bought the social discovery app Glancee, containing code that notified users when Facebook friends are near. This was not a popular decision amongst privacy groups.
• In late 2012, Facebook has removed its voting system, a feature that allowed its users to directly influence any policy changes. A vote was used to determine if there are enough Facebook subscribers that want to maintain this influence, but only 700,000 of the over 1 billion Facebook users have expressed their opinion on the matter.
• A Facebook mobile update that launched in late 2012 asked users to opt in to the Photo Sync feature, one that once enabled automatically uploads photos taken with your smartphone to Facebook’s servers for ulterior review. A similar feature is available on Google Plus and Google Drive. Both raise major privacy issues.
• Facebook Partner categories, a new Facebook division that specializes on delivering ads based on the purchase behavior of its users, was met with intense criticism due to the fact that personal data is shared with third parties. Company officials were quick to dismiss such claims, suggesting that the new ads improve on the overall Facebook experience.
• Facebook Graph Search, a feature released in February 2013, was perceived by many as a direct threat to all that personal data that Facebook stores.
• The recently launched Facebook Home is widely regarded amongst Facebook critics as a data gathering app and nothing more. Facebook’s means of collecting even more data from its users.

Despite all these problems, however, one study claims that Facebook users are sharing more and more personal data with the social network. You might be wondering which is the most important data set in this complex package?

Location & Carriers

Given that you’re almost always next to your smartphone/tablet, the GPS system contains valuable, real-time information about where you are. Google obviously collects this data with their Google Now feature in Android, while Facebook knows all those places you have checked into, as well as any posts with geolocation data embedded.

Besides software companies, there is another group of companies that collect your data: carriers. These companies know how you are using your mobile device’s internet connection, and always know where you are by calculating the distance to the nearest cell towers, and even using triangulation to improve accuracy. But the problem isn’t that carriers know stuff about you. From my point of view, the biggest problem we have today is that these carriers are selling this data to anyone that’s interested.

Both Verizon and AT&T, the two biggest carriers in the US, have divisions that occupy specifically in selling data about their users, their data usage and their location. Granted, the carriers claim that they are using very secure systems of passing on this data — ones that will make it impossible to identify one user or another by whoever is buying this data. This data is stripped of any information that could identify you as you, or that’s what carriers want us to know.

It turns out that backtracking all this data to a single, identifiable person is not only possible, but not the world’s toughest computer science problem. In fact, a group of scientists from MIT have managed to identify 95% of the users represented in an European carrier’s data set, all by matching just four data entries with the data set for each of these persons. A couple of Foursquare check-ins, a geolocated tweet, and an item on a credit card slip are all that’s needed to bring up a detailed map with all the locations you’ve been, as well as how you are using your mobile device.

The sad part is that you can not opt to stop sending anonymous data to these carriers. If you want to keep using your mobile device(s), you’re going to have to accept the fact that Big Brother is watching you. Sadly, this Big Brother is not controlled by the government or any security-centric agency, but by anyone with enough money to buy all this data that carriers are selling about their users.

According to The Verge, a US-based data-gathering company has managed to get information about more than half of the carriers users in the US. That’s a lot of people. The worst part is that this company can do anything they want with this data: use it to build Big Brother or sell it (with a profit) to any other company.

Opting Out = Quitting

There is no way to keep using your carrier, Google and Facebook the way you do — or even at all — and stop sending all this data about yourself. And so the only way to really opt out is to stop using all these services, if you believe that your privacy is not respected.

But here is where we come to another major problem, meaning that we do not know specifically how this data is processed and captured by the carriers, Facebook  or Google. Chances are that we will never do — meaning that there’s no way of knowing for sure if certain third parties are allowed backdoor full access to all this data without our knowledge.

Whether we’re talking about government or international agencies, evil masterminds, or just sick bastards that want to get intimate with our virtual identities, do you feel comfortable knowing that the only privacy guarantee is that you “shouldn’t worry about it?”

There is a saying that if the product or service is free, then in all likelihood, you are the product. Sad to say, there are some services that we actually pay for that are also using our personal data for their gain.

An Optimistic Perspective

There are a couple of sides to each coin, so let’s take the time to analyze a few potential advantages of the fact that all our preferences and user patterns are recorded and processed.

For starters, the way platforms and products interpret our patterns can lead to amazing achievements. I, for one, think that we’re heading into an era where software platforms will help us gain more mobility towards achieving the tasks we want to achieve.

Google Now is one concept example with a lot of potential, one that would be impossible without all the data Android users are feeding it. In return for all this data, Google Now provides you with information before you actually look for it. Sure, there’s a lot of tweaking to be done, but personally I’m in love with the idea of having our lifestyles analyzed in the purpose of feeding us information without us having to ask for it.

Should we worry?

From my perspective, yes. As free individuals, we should worry more about our privacy. Only once we start asking enough questions, more accurate answers will have to be provided. We have to let these companies know that this is a subject that matters to us, one that we will not give up any terrain on.

Unfortunately, the only way to achieve this is going through the legal system — one that often seems to be dominated by the richest, in terms of money and influence. Can we get enough noise and influence for those in power to listen to us?

Will the problem with privacy gain too much momentum before we can address it? What needs to be done in order to spark a change in how the big companies handle — or profit from — our data? Should we simply become digital hermits if only to prevent Google, Facebook, carriers or any other company from profiting from our personal information?

The HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z are two of the best Android smartphones out there, so we just had to do a full-on comparison between them. So let’s see what we have here.

In one corner we have the HTC One, the successor to the critically acclaimed HTC One X, launched back in March 2012. The Taiwanese manufacturer has great hopes for the commercial success of the One, at a time when quarterly reports paint an ever darker image of the company’s decline. Is the HTC One enough to avoid bankruptcy?

In the other corner, Sony is probably the Android manufacturer that made the best progress over the past year, beginning with the moment when the Japanese company bought out Ericsson’s stake in Sony-Ericsson. The evolution culminated with the launch of Sony’s latest Android trio: the Xperia Z, the Xperia ZL, and the Xperia Tablet Z. Out of the trio, the Xperia Z is often regarded as the flagship device, though in all honesty, the Xperia ZL is not that far off either.

Now that we have a little background, let’s start pitting the HTC One vs the Xperia Z heads-on in our usual categories: display, design and build quality, hardware, and Android implementation.

For a video comparison between the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC One, jump to the end of this post.

Display

The 4.7-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display on the HTC One might just be the best display that’s currently commercially available. At a 469 ppi density, it surely is the crispest around, but at a closer inspection, you’ll find that the brightness, contrast, and color accuracy are also top-notch. These are all areas where the HTC One outshines the Sony Xperia Z.

While the 5-inch 1080p panel on the Sony Xperia Z is very crisp (441 ppi), it was received with intense criticism (from both media and regular Android users) over the TFT technology it’s based on. The older TFT is no match for the more recent IPS LCD, Super LCD (HTC’s brand) or even Super AMOLED, as it generally offers bad viewing angles and sub-par contrast and color accuracy.

Verdict: The display section is a clear win for the HTC One (the Sony Xperia Z rarely wins in this area anyway).

Design and build quality

The squarish Sony Xperia Z features scratch resistant glass on the front and the back, for an instant slab-like look and feel. The Xperia Z is also the only high-end Android smartphone that can be safely used in the tub, thanks to its dust and water resistance.

Button design and placement is an aspect where Sony engineers really did a great job with the Xperia Z, with the three on-screen navigational buttons and volume rocker on the lower right side being perfectly complemented by a large silver power button.

The Xperia Z measures 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm (5.47 x 2.80 x 0.31 in) and weighs 146 g (5.15 oz), so it is not one of the most compact 5-inch Android smartphones out there. Another downside of the Xperia Z is the fact that it only has a tiny speaker that really doesn’t perform well, especially when playing video content without headphones.

In the other corner, the HTC One lacks any sharp angles by using rounded corners and a rounded back. The aluminum body gives off a premium feel, while also making the phone seem a bit more durable than the Sony Xperia Z.

As far as buttons go, HTC has opted for two navigational on-screen buttons instead of the usual three. The volume rocker is on the right side, while the power button is located on the left top side of the device.

Despite the fact that the HTC One has a smaller display, it is not proportionally more compact. The One measures 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 mm (5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37 in) and weighs 143 g (5.04 oz).

HTC One’s larger-than-expected footprint is due to the fact that the Taiwanese manufacturer has equipped its latest flagship with two stereo speakers at the bottom and the top of the display (a system that’s marketed as BoomSound). While audiophiles are not likely to be impressed, BoomSound does pump out more decibels than the tiny speakers on the Sony Xperia Z. For the matter, the HTC One has some of the loudest and best sounding speakers on any smartphone.

Verdict: Both the HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z boast a premium design and excellent build quality. Tie!

Internal hardware

CPU, GPU and RAM

The Sony Xperia Z is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, a chipset that can be found at the heart of some amazing smartphones (the Nexus 4 and the Droid DNA are just a couple of examples). Inside, you’ll find a 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait processor, an Adreno 320 GPU, and 2 GB of RAM, and that’s more than enough for most Android users.

The HTC One uses the Qualcomm Snadpragon 600 SoC, basically an upgraded version of the S4 Pro. Alongside 2 GB of RAM memory, the Snapdragon 600 uses an overclocked Adreno 320 GPU, and a 1.7GHz quad-core GPU.

Benchmark numbers tell the story accordingly: the HTC One scores notably higher than the Sony Xperia Z.

Storage

The HTC One lacks a microSD card slot, but comes in two variants of internal storage space: 32 and 64 GB.

The Sony Xperia Z comes with just 16GB of internal storage, but that can be expanded via microSD cards of up to 64 GB in size.

Cameras

For the trigger-happy amateur photographer in you, both the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC One are great choices.

The primary camera used on the Sony Xperia Z is a Sony Exmor RS sensor, which, paired with Sony’s Superior Auto mode, can take pictures that are appropriately balanced to the subject and lighting conditions.

At a first look, the 4 MP camera on the HTC One may seem like a joke for 2013, but that’s only because we were accustomed to judge the quality of a camera by the size of the photos it takes. Which is wrong! Four megapixels (or better said ultrapixels in the One’s case) actually translate into 2312 x 1736 photos, which is more than most displays can show without downsizing.

Unless you want to print the photos you take (in which case you’re going to need a DSLR and not a smartphone), the HTC One generally provides better pictures than the Sony Xperia Z, especially in low-light environments.

Battery

Our contenders are equally matched in the battery department: the HTC One comes with a 2300 mAh unity, while the Sony Xperia Z features a 2300 mAh unit. Neither is removable, but they do provide enough energy to get users through a day of moderate use.

Verdict: The HTC One wins this round thanks to its faster processor and better camera.

Android implementation

While both the HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the custom Android UIs that were implemented by each manufacturer are quite different.

On the Xperia Z, the design seems to be inspired by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, although all the functionality of Jelly Bean is there. Sony’s media-centered apps are placed front and center in a decent, although unimpressive, proprietary Android UI.

In the other corner, the HTC One comes with a new version of HTC Sense that, along a cleaner design, comes with an interesting feature called BlinkScreen. What BlinkScreen does is take FlipBoard to your home screen, meaning that all your news and social updates will be just a swipe away on your homescreen. Some will dislike having a constantly changing wall of news as a homescreen, but we’re sure many will love it.

Verdict: In my opinion, the new HTC Sense is better looking and more feature-rich than Sony’s Xperia UI, and thus wins this round.

Hands-on video

Wrap up

So at the end of the day, what can be said about these two smartphones? Which one is preferable in which situation?

If you’re looking for the best full HD display out there, the fastest processor around, a better than average camera, and an interesting user interface, the HTC One is the sure pick.

On the other hand, if you just can’t live without a microSD card slot, or are impressed by the dust and water resistance that the Sony Xperia Z features, the latter is still a well rounded package on its own.

But what do you think? Which one is the better 1080p smartphone? The Sony Xperia Z or the HTC One? Let us know which way you swing in the comment section below!

The HTC Droid DNA and its Japanese cousin, the HTC J Butterfly, were the first smartphones to use a 5-inch full HD display. But the Oppo Find 5 was the first full HD smartphone announced, which, we have to admit, is an impressive performance for a relatively little known Chinese manufacturer.

Oppo Find 5′s competitor today, the Sony Xperia Z is a smartphone that plenty have learned to love, for reasons both subjective and objective. But is Sony’s flagship smartphone for 2013 comparable to the product of a less reputable Chinese company? Or do brands become meaningless when it comes to modern Android smartphones?

Read on for a more thorough comparison between the Sony Xperia Z and the Oppo Find 5, or jump to the end of this article, for Johua Vergara’s hands-on video comparison.

Display

Both the Sony Xperia Z and the Oppo Find 5 feature 5-inch displays of 1920 by 1080 resolution (full HD) and 441 pixels per inch pixel density.

As you’d expect, there is no way to tell these two panels apart judging solely from their pixel density. Both are incredibly crisp and leave nothing to be desired in this area. But there are some differences in other aspects.

The Oppo Find 5 display is an IPS LCD that renders vivid colors, without distorting them, and offers excellent brightness and contrast levels.

The story is different with the Xperia Z, due to the different TFT technology that Sony employed for its display. While the brightness is comparable to that of the Oppo Find 5, viewing angles are just not as good. Some other, less visible problems are the color reproduction and contrast rates, which are below what we’d call optimal.

Verdict: The Oppo Find 5 features what many consider to be the best 5-inch display currently available on a smartphone.

Design and build quality

The Xperia Z looks and feels like a slab, due to its straight edges and the glass backcover (that is prone to collect fingerprints and smudges). As far as button placement is concerned, you’ll find a set of on-screen navigational buttons, a large metallic home button on its right side, and a volume rocker below that.

The Sony Xperia Z is the only high-end Android smartphone to feature dust and water resistance (for thirty minutes at a depth of up to one meter). The build quality is excellent, although we can’t gloss over the fact that the Xperia Z isn’t a phone that anyone would call compact. It’s a problem that is only slightly alleviated by the placement of the buttons. The Xperia Z weighs 146 g (5.15 oz) and measures 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm (5.47 x 2.80 x 0.31 in).

The Oppo Find 5 is not easy to maneuver with one hand either, despite it being slightly narrower than the Xperia. The device measures 141.8 x 68.8 x 8.9 mm (5.58 x 2.71 x 0.35 in) and weighs 165 g (5.82 oz).

The Find 5 combines high quality white plastic with steel accents to achieve a premium feel. The button placement is pretty standard: a power button on the right side and the volume rocker on the left. Our subjective opinion here is that the Find 5 is not as much of a looker as the Xperia Z, mainly due to its capacitive buttons, which we aren’t really fond off.

Verdict: The Sony Xperia Z wins this round thanks to its dust and water resistance, as well as inspired button placement.

Internal hardware

CPU, GPU & RAM

Both the Oppo Find 5 and the Sony Xperia Z feature 2GB of RAM and are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, a SoC that features a 1.5GHz quad-core Krait processor  and an Adreno 320 GPU.

In terms of sheer performance, this is about as high-end as you can currently go, although the new Snapdragon 600 SoC (which powers the HTC One and some versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4) is a bit faster.

Internal Storage

The Sony Xperia Z comes with 16GB of internal storage, and the option to expand that storage via a microSD card. In the other corner, the Oppo Find 5 comes in two versions: a 16GB model and a 32GB model, neither of which can accept microSD cards.

Cameras

The Xperia Z uses a 13.1MP Sony Exmor RS primary sensor, that provides roughly the same picture quality as the 13MP camera on the Oppo Find 5. As far as secondary cameras are concerned, the 2.2 MP camera on the Sony Xperia Z and the 1.9 MP camera on the Oppo Find 5 are also evenly matched.

Battery

Neither of these two smartphones come with a user removable battery, meaning that you’ll have to make due with what you’ve got, namely a 2330 mAh battery on the Sony Xperia Z and a slightly larger 2500 mAh battery on the Oppo Find. As expected given that both of them are based on the same SoC and have roughly the same specifications, the Oppo Find 5 provides a slightly longer battery life.

Verdict: Draw – while the Oppo Find 5 comes with better battery life, the Xperia Z’s storage can be extended via microSD.

Android implementation

Both the Oppo Find 5 and the Sony Xperia Z run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, although both manufacturer has decided to implement their own custom skin.

The new Sony Xperia UI slightly resembles Ice Cream Sandwich in terms of design, but retains all the functionality of Jelly Bean. As far as included apps are concerned, the Xperia Z comes with an array of proprietary Sony multimedia apps. The Small Apps is also a welcomed addition, although in all honesty, it’s only a poor imitation of multitasking.

The Oppo Find 5 uses a MIUI-like interface, with all the blocks and blobby widgets that characterize it. There’s really nothing to brag about here.

Verdict: The Sony Xperia Z is a bit more appealing on the software side than the Oppo Find 5, although the difference is not that substantial.

Price

Without taking into account carrier subsidies, the Oppo Find 5 is considerably cheaper than the Sony Xperia Z. While the Find 5 can be had for roughly $500, you’ll have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets to meet the $700 price tag of the Sony Xperia Z.

Hands-on video

Conclusion

Although Sony is a much bigger brand than Oppo, the Find 5 is in many ways better than the Xperia Z: it has a better display, a larger battery, and is significantly cheaper.

The Xperia Z, in contrast (obviously not a pun related to the quality of its display), features a slightly better user interface, can accept microSD cards, and is dust and water resistant.

Other than that, these are two mostly similar smartphones, although their price tags are definitely not in the same league. Which one would you choose: the Oppo Find 5 or the Sony Xperia Z? Share your opinions using the comment section below!

Is desktop computing dead? (Image credit: Shutterstock)

As a tech blogger as well as an Android user, mobile is a big part of my life. Smartphones and tablets have irremediably shaped the way we think of, and the way we use technology to serve our various purposes. But although mobile is here to stay, I feel like too many tech bloggers advertise the death of the PC. To me, nothing could be farther from the truth!

As mobile devices are being mostly used to do light stuff such as browsing the web or consuming content, there is no sign that the PC is now obsolete. Sure, the PC industry took a major blow and will have to adapt to the new circumstances and trends before it fully recovers, but it is my opinion that the PC will never become obsolete.

Consumption vs. Production

For starters, when you compare a PC against an equally priced tablet, the difference in computing power is huge, and more and more people now need this extra power: can you render graphics on your tablet? Can you edit videos? Can you edit/produce music at a decent level? Can you play graphically intensive games? How much data can your mobile device store? To illustrate, my desktop currently holds 2TB of data, and while the cloud may be an interesting solution, there are some files that are just too large to be instantly uploaded and downloaded from the Internet.

As tablets will undoubtedly continue to carry more and more processing horsepower, modern PCs will still continue to be much faster than their mobile competitors, mainly due to the cost of miniaturization. In addition, the PC supports true, real-time multi-tasking, which is a must for a lot of professionals.

Why am I putting so much emphasis on the professional side of the PC? Because more and more people do their job on a PC, that’s why! And as all companies struggle to keep costs down, most employed people will continue to have a PC in front of them at work for a couple of reasons: first of all, it is much more comfortable to type on a keyboard and follow data on a 24 inch display (as compared to a tablet + keyboard combo), and it is also cheaper.

Are hybrids good enough?

I am aware that keyboard accessories can turn your tablet into a netbook, but the price of an Apple iPad + keyboard dock is exactly the price of a much more powerful PC opponent. The keyboard dock only extends a tablet’s functionality, but it is a long way before I consider that combination as a nemesis for my amazing Lenovo Thinkpad L530.

Additionally, it is my opinion that desktop PCs will continue to remain the “go-to” solution when you need as much performance as you can get, because they can suck out all the energy they want from a power plug. This advantage will never go away and might lead to the adoption of static data-centers in tomorrow’s homes, where all the data is held and processed on the PC, and just streamed to other devices around the house, in a way that could be very similar to a router allowing access to the Internet.

And for as long as desktop PCs will have a place at home or at the office, the laptop PC market will always be there to provide a mobile version of the same experience. In addition, just look at how compact these new Ultrabooks are. In my eyes, the extra power and cross compatibility that they offer is worth the ever tinier price to pay for their extra volume.

Obsolescence might just be a trend

But if the PC is not becoming obsolete, what’s going on with the poor PC sales for the past couple of years? My guess is that the huge amount of tablets sales bitten from that of PCs is largely due to the fact that plenty customers are willing to get a new (and trendy) device rather than update their desktop / laptop. But that does not mean they have or will stop using it. In fact, some recent reports already claim that the PC industry will rebound during the second quarter of 2013.

As tech advancements in the PC universe reach unprecedented levels, expect a lot of people to consider getting a new, extremely powerful PC in the next three to four years.

Without trying to send out any criticism of my own, I found that plenty of tech bloggers were a bit quick to forget that Facebook is the biggest social network out there, and despite the fact that Google Plus is now an important player in the market, Facebook is currently showing no sign of decline.

To me, Facebook and Android make for one hell of a combination if, somehow, these two tech giants could collaborate for a single, unified experience that encapsulates both the Facebook philosophy on mobile social networking, but Google Play compatibility as well. Oh wait, they just did!

Throughout this article, I will try to analyze the potential impact Facebook Home could make in the Android ecosystem, and not enter any discussion about the product or its features. I will also avoid talking about the security related concerns that Facebook Home has raised.

I will also intentionally avoid discussing the HTC First, the only smartphone announced this far to come with Facebook Home preinstalled, mainly because I believe Facebook Home’s potential success or failure has absolutely nothing to do with what appears to be a mid-range Android smartphone at best. I may be going off the limb here a bit, but could it be that the only reason why the HTC First exists is because Facebook needed to heed pre-launch rumors? Could it be that Facebook had to tap into the hype such rumors have created around a potential Facebook phone?

In consequence, the purpose of this opinion piece is to point out a few factors that might change in the smartphone ecosystem now that Facebook has specifically targeted Google’s ecosystem with Home on Android. If you’re looking to find out what the rest of the team here at Android Authority thinks of Facebook Home, you can read our more recent Friday Debate on the matter.

On how Android just dodged a bullet

The possibility of a Facebook smartphone has been so intensely debated and rumored over the past couple of years that everyone seemed to agree that if Facebook were to release a smartphone, it would be running a forked version of Android, much like the Amazon Kindle Fire.

In addition to that, one train of thought that’s popular amongst online pundits is that more and more device manufacturers will start looking into the possibility of forking Android so that they’re able to stand out in the crowd.

But following the Facebook Home announcement, it is my opinion that the Android ecosystem has not only eliminated this theoretical threat, but it has further cemented its position at the top of the mobile ecosystem.

Were Facebook to fork Android, I believe it would have been a clear sign for the rest of the industry that forking is the only way to go if you wanted to stand out. Fortunately for the market as a whole, Facebook Home is clear proof that unneeded fragmentation can be avoided by creating software that works on top of Android, instead of eliminating all compatibility for the sake of being unique.

Android vs iOS: a Facebook Timeline

For as long as the Facebook app has been an important component of any smartphone, Android users found themselves envying iPhone users for the quality and responsiveness of their Facebook implementation. The basic interface was roughly the same on both iOS and Android, but it is just that the dedicated app for Android were not as smooth. As a consequence, Facebook was not a major factor when deciding to go for an iPhone or for an Android smartphone.

Now that Facebook has unveiled Facebook Home for Android, the situation has dramatically changed, as Android now offers a much more immersive — and hopefully much smoother — implementation. This might not matter a lot to those of us who are not exactly complete Facebook addicts, but you’ve got to admit that there are a lot of people who use Facebook as the primary function of their smartphone. In my opinion, all those people will now have one extra reason to choose Android over iOS.

In addition, due to the closed nature of iOS, Facebook Home will not be coming to the iPhone or iPad anytime soon, as iOS does not support custom launchers. Bottom line: Facebook has just become one (if not the most) powerful Android ally.

Facebook Home on Windows Phone, Blackberry 10

When talking about the reason Facebook opted for a custom launcher instead of a forked version of Android, Mark Zuckerberg wanted traction. He argued that targeting just a few million users is of no importance for Facebook on the long run. To me, this speaks clearly about the fact that Facebook Home is unlikely to arrive on either Windows Phone or BlackBerry 10 — two mobile operating systems that together amount for only a fraction of the Android user base.

Custom launchers

Custom launchers have been one of the main reasons why more tech-savvy users prefer Android. But as it turns out, the vast majority of Android users are complete strangers to the notion of a custom launcher, mainly due to the fact that these custom launchers are more of an enthusiast thing instead of a profitable niche at this point.

Now, the huge fan base that Facebook has, combined with the tight grip Android has over the smartphone market, will eventually translate into a large number of users who will install Facebook Home as their first custom launcher for Android. And once users start understanding the awesome concept of a custom launcher, I believe that custom launcher developers will start writing more and better custom launchers since they will soon have a larger users base to target.

What I’m really trying to say here is that custom launchers will become much more popular, and thus a real advantage in the market for Google, and not just another paragraph in “top 10 reasons Android is better than iOS” articles.

Home Run!

Android already has a lot of inertia, although it also seemed like there was a lack of impact-making software that’s available exclusively for Google’s mobile platform. I’m not saying that Home is the best thing that happened to Android in the past year, but love it or hate it, the concept will surely make a lot of impact on the market.

Is Facebook Home just another custom launcher for Android? Will be a success, or will it flop? We are aware that the prevailing opinion on Facebook as a social network is not entirely positive. But wouldn’t you agree that Facebook Home makes for a great synergy between Android and Facebook?

Judge Thomas Pender from the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that Samsung devices infringe on a text selection patent owned by Apple, a feature that’s available on iPhones and iPads. Another Apple claim, one that sought injunction for Samsung’s use of a patented technology for detecting microphones when they are inserted in the headphone jack, has been rejected.

The decision is appealable, but if Samsung is to lose the appeal in front of the full commission as well, Apple is entitled to requesting an US import ban for most smartphones and tablets in the Samsung Galaxy and Samsung Nexus lines.

The final decision is expected to arrive at some point during August and it is yet unknown if Samsung can avoid the potential import ban via a software update that would change the way text selection is made. We’ll keep you up to date with any further developments!

In this context, we look at the benefits and drawbacks that a third strong mobile platform would bring to the average Android user.

Meet the Challengers

By now, it’s clear that Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS are the only two major players in the mobile platform game. Recent reports indicate that nine out of ten smartphones sold globally are running one of these two operating systems.

In the tablet market, after a long period of almost complete Apple iPad domination, Android made some great progress, mostly thanks to the excellent Nexus 7.

We should note that Amazon’s Kindle Fire line-up, which is especially successful in the United States, is running a forked version of Android. Technically speaking, Amazon has created a new platform, although its roots are still with Android.

BlackBerry has recently launched the BlackBerry 10 platform, probably the last chance the Canadian company has to regain its lost relevance. However, it remains to be seen if the new features introduced with BB10 are enough to draw customers in.

One company that you can never rule out in the mobile sector is Microsoft. No matter how many times it fails, Steve Ballmer’s team will still have enough resources to go at it again. With all the resources and money the Redmond-based company has been splurging, there’s a chance Microsoft will gain some relevance in the mobile industry at some point.

One new competitor in the mobile platform wars is Ubuntu for phones (not to be confused with Ubuntu for Android). The Linux-based operating system promises to bring all the things people love about the Ubuntu desktop OS on your smartphone.

And just when you thought that the mobile platform market couldn’t become any more crowded, the Mozilla Foundation announced that they’ve already signed partnerships with hardware manufacturers that should soon materialize in the first batch of budget-friendly Firefox smartphones.

Analyzing the chances that each of these platforms has to gain real traction would require an inordinate amount of time. For the time being, we’re more interested in answering a different, but related question: will the rise of a third powerful player benefit Android users?

More Competition

The first thing that comes to mind when discussing the possibility of a third powerful platform is increased competition. Just as with any other markets and products, quality is driven by the number and competence of the big players in that market.

This could translate to more features and content being added to each one of the platforms, as the parent company needs to find more ways of topping its competitors. In addition, adding a third player would automatically motivate both Apple and Google to focus on being more creative and innovative.

Unfortunately, I believe that an enhanced competition would also mean that exclusive content availability will become a major focus point for the platform owners. From an end-user perspective, this could mean that an increasing percentage of movies, shows and music tracks will be available on one platform and one platform only, contrary to the principles of an ideal world where all the content is available on all platforms.

The App Factor

Currently, a mobile app developer really needs to focus on developing for iOS and Android only, but if a third popular platform would bite off the combined market share of the dominant players we have at the present, app developers would have to develop a native app for the third platform as well.

So you see, the rise of a third major mobile platform would mean that companies that specialize in mobile app development will have to invest more time, effort and money into their apps. Users will experience this phenomenon working against them in one of several ways: an increasing number of apps of paid apps will arise, the average price for paid apps will increase, while the average quality will decrease.

This whole app problem could be avoided by focusing more on cross-platform HTML5 apps instead of native apps, but although the new standard will surely gain traction amongst app developers who want to keep their costs down, I believe that it will take a few years before HTML5-based apps will start yielding a quality level justly comparable to that of native apps.

When it comes to app availability and quality, users of both Android and iOS will have to lose once a third platform eventually appears with a double-digit market share.

A Premature Conclusion

Unfortunately, I find that it is yet too early to draw the line and say for sure that the rise of a third major platform would be profitable for the Android platform and for end-users. I’m sure many will disagree, but there’s a voice in the back of my head screaming “app quality” when analyzing this scenario. Sure, with increased competition, new and cooler features will surely be rolled out by Google. But the reality is that the most important component of a mobile platform is comprised by the apps that are available and properly optimized for the respective platform.

What could this scenario bring about? If, for instance, BlackBerry 10 would take off, will Android users have more to benefit from this than they will have to lose?

The Samsung Galaxy Win features a 4.7 inch TFT display that works at a pixel resolution of 480 by 800 pixels at a 199 PPI density. Other specs include a 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A5 CPU, an Adreno 205 GPU and 1GB of RAM. You can download the kernel source cod for the Samsung Galaxy Win at the following link.

As the (unnecessary complicated) name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Trend Duos II is an Android smartphone with dual-sim functionality. The 4 inch TFT screen runs a pixel resolution of 480 by 800 at a 233 PPI, meaning that it should be a great option if you’re on the lookout for a compact, entry-level Android smartphone with a decent display. You can download the kernel source cod for the Samsung Galaxy trend Duos II at the following location.

On Thursday, the Samsung Galaxy S4 was finally unveiled by Samsung in New York, putting an end to months of rumors and speculations about the new member of the insanely popular Galaxy S line of smartphones.

Arguably one of the highlights of the device is the use of a 5-inch 1080p display. With the Galaxy S4, Samsung has made its fashionably late entrance in the already crowded club of full HD phone makers. At this point, the full HD invasion is complete, with nearly every Android device maker boasting at least on full HD phone in its portfolio.

The fast adoption of full HD displays is so much more impressive when you think that just a few months back, the HTC J Butterfly, and its American doppelganger the Droid DNA were making the headlines with their new ultra crisp panels.

Has Samsung managed to define what a modern smartphone should be like? Has HTC struck a better balance between specs and design, functionality and appearance? Let’s find out together.

You can jump to the bottom of this article for a video review, or join us as we pit the Samsung Galaxy S4 against the HTC Droid DNA in four rounds: display, design and build quality, internal hardware, and software.

Specs

Display

The HTC Droid DNA features a 5-inch full HD Super LCD 3 display that clocks in an impressive 441ppi pixel density. This Super LCD 3 display is a joy to gaze at, as it not only offers great contrast levels and pixel-free crispness, but also accurate color reproduction.

In the Samsung corner, the 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is equally crisp, has better brightness, but (as all SAMOLED panels) less accurate color reproduction.

Verdict: The HTC Droid DNA has more accurate color reproduction, thus has a small advantage in this round, although SAMOLED fans will surely want to go for the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Design and build quality

The Samsung Galaxy S4 borrows a lot from the design of its predecessor, featuring a very similar home button flanked by two capacitive buttons. The corners are less rounded on GS4 than they are on the GS3, making the phone look like a cross between last years Galaxy S and the Note.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 measures 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) and weighs in at 130 g (4.59 oz), while the HTC Droid DNA measures 141 x 70.5 x 9.7 mm (5.55 x 2.78 x 0.38 in). As the numbers dictate, the Galaxy S4 is the more compact of these two smartphones.

The HTC Droid DNA features an aggressive design, with bold red aluminum accents in line with Verizon’s branding. HTC has applied a rubbery texture to the back plate,  making the DNA a bit easier to use with one hand.

Verdict: Feel free to disagree in the comment section below, but even though the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a bit more compact, the Droid DNA is the better looking device.

Internal Hardware

CPU, GPU, and RAM

The HTC Droid DNA uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro system on a chip (SoC), meaning that under its hood hums a 1.5GHz quad-core Krait CPU and a Adreno 320 GPU, coupled with 2 GB of RAM.

The recently unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in two versions: an international version that uses an Exynos 5 Octa, a brand new chipset (rocking a quad-core A15 CPU plus a quad-core A7 CPU in big.LITTLE configuration, a GPU), and a North American version that will make use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 CPU (a 1.9 GHz Krait CPU, an Adreno 320 GPU). Both versions will feature 2GB of RAM.

As preliminary benchmark tests demonstrate, the Exynos 5 Octa proves itself faster than the Snapdragon S4 Pro.

Internal and Expandable Storage

The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions and can work with microSD cards, while the HTC Droid DNA comes with 16GB of internal space and no microSD card slot.

Cameras

The HTC Droid DNA features an 8MP primary camera and a 2.1MP secondary camera for video calling, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 seems to be a bit better endowed in this department, with its 13MP primary camera and a 2MP secondary shooter. Besides the larger sensor (and probably better optics), the Galaxy S4 also integrates a number of new little feature, that some might find gimmicky, but I am sure that many users will appreciate.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S4 uses a 2600 mAh user-removable battery, which is obviously preferable to the 2020 mAh non-removable battery that’s inside the HTC Droid DNA.

Verdict: The hardware specs round clearly goes to the Samsung Galaxy S4

Android implementation and software 

Verizon’s HTC Droid DNA runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Naturally, both the carrier and HTC have promised a timely update to Android 4.2, but don’t hold your breath.

The Droid DNA uses the HTC Sense 4+ interface, which is arguably better designed than the Samsung Galaxy S4’s TouchWiz interface, albeit the latter comes with a number of useful software features such as: Air View, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, and a number of others that you can learn all about in the article here.

Verdict: The TouchWiz interface on the Samsung Galaxy S4 wins this round thanks to its array of software features.

Hands-on video

Verdict

Both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC Droid DNA are great Android smartphones, but the Galaxy S4 is not only faster, but also the more complete and versatile device.

The Droid DNA features one of the best displays on any phone (especially if you want true-to-life colors) and features a snazzy design, it does have a couple of flaws that could have been easily avoided by HTC. Yes, I’m talking about that smallish battery and lack of microSD card support.

What do you guys think: is the Samsung Galaxy S4 the new king of full HD smartphones ? Has the Super LCD 3 display on the HTC Droid DNA charmed you? Let us know in the comments!