So HTC has launched its Official Flagship Device for 2013 called the ONE – sounds like a  Jet Li movie, right? HTC has made it clear with this launch, that it wants to take on other manufacturers head-on, no matter what it takes and is presenting pretty serious contenders for the best Flagship device of 2013, HTC One, HTC Butterfly. But does it have enough to beat the Beast from Sony’s stables, the Xperia Z? Lets find out!

Design

The very first thing one looks for in a flagship device is whether its design is worth the moolah, ones going to drop on it just to make him/her stand apart from the crowd. The Xperia Z wins this one hands down. WHY you ask? Here’s why  -

The Xperia Z was dressed to kill no matter which angle you look it up from. Sony believe they have combined the perfect blend of style and elegance and that they have come up with a revolutionary design with this balance – so much so, that they have a name for it – OmniBalance Design. We first thought this was all an over-the-top way of selling the phone, a gimmick, if you may, but when we saw the phone’s launch during CES 2013, we were mesmerized by its beauty!

Just have a look below and decide for yourself -

 

The slim 7.9 mm body has a reflective glass surface and looks and feels slick. The glass on the back is as tough as the one on the front so you needn’t worry about breaking it. Xperia Z’s frame is made from glass fibre polyamide, the same material used in cars.

In Sony’s words -

The design is focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions. Xperia Z has beautiful rounded edges and smooth, reflective surfaces on all sides, which are held together by an innovative skeleton frame.

HTC One comes second in this race, but doesn’t lose by much distance. It’s made out of aluminum and is about 9.3 mm thick. HTC says its design is built to be tough and rugged with a Zero Gap Construction. The outlines look lovely, so does the design on the back but it would still feel like a thin metal slab in your hand. And the HTC unibody is looking a but tired now. And though the Dual Frontal Speakers serve a very good purpose, they aren’t very pleasing to the eye.

Unique Features

This attribute also tops the priority list for many high end phone buyers and is important for those bragging rights that come with owning a new phone. Its 2013 and all smartphone nowadays come with plenty of features, but what is that unique factor about these two and who wins here? Lets see what Sony has to offer first, since it won Round 1, followed by the HTC One. Here’s the straight spec shootout!

Sony Xperia Z

1. Dust Resistant
2. Water Resistant upto 30 min
3. HDR Video Recording : Better in low light conditions and better for backlight videos facing the sun
4. Capturing images and recording videos under water upto 1 meter
5. Battery STAMINA Mode : improves standby time by four times, more applications, bigger the effect

Complete list of Features of  Xperia Z, here

HTC One

1. Ultrapixel Camera Sensor : Captures 300% more light than ordinary camera sensors
2. HTC Zoe Videos : Videos captured one second before the shutter is pressed and three seconds after- for a four second video
3. Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
4. Optical Image Stabilization : Images are stabilised even before they are converted into digital information
5.  468 ppi Display with ultrapixel technology : Bigger size of the pixel than other phones
6. Software/s  : BlinkFeed: A new homescreen interface – Where you pick news that interests you, images, social network feeds, just about anything! And share it with your friends, wherever you are, and the interface is mindblowingly beautiful! HTC Sense 5.0

Complete list of Features of HTC One, here

Clearly, the HTC One won here.

The Verdict

Both phones proved their mettle and could be termed as Galaxy S3 killers (yes we know S4 launch will change that anyway). And they didn’t stop there. Each phone has its flaws in its strengths. For instance, though the Dual Glass body on Sony is amazing to look at, it does attract a lot of finger prints.

The HTC One on the other hand, goes one better against the Xperia Z with its 1.7 GHz Quad core Snapdragon 600 processor instead of a 1.5 GHz Quad core Snapdragon S4 Pro on the Sony, and 32 GB internal Storage instead of 16 GB on the Sony, it lacks in the design department and is no match for Sony’s dust and water resistant features and more Media Connectivity and Sharing options than HTC with One-Touch Mirroring, One-Touch Backup, Smart Connect and Connect and Drive.

So who won the Sony Xperia Z Vs HTC One Challenge?

HTC One! End of Story!