Last month, Twitter revealed that it was going to close the TweetDeck app on both the Android and Apple app stores. Well, the app doesn’t have long left, as Twitter confirmed that the program will be shut down for good on May 7th.
4/20/2013
TweetDeck’s mobile apps set to shut down on May 7th
Download 04/14/2013 - 04/21/2013 Android News by theandroidthemes.com to your cell phone or PC for free.Last month, Twitter revealed that it was going to close the TweetDeck app on both the Android and Apple app stores. Well, the app doesn’t have long left, as Twitter confirmed that the program will be shut down for good on May 7th.
Verizon Galaxy S4 registration page up, phone labeled as ‘coming soon’
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Verizon’s Galaxy S4 registration page is now online, letting interested buyers sign up to receive more details about the handset but not revealing any availability dates.
The page says the phone is “coming soon” but doesn’t mention pre-order or shipping details at this time. It’s just the regular sign up page many mobile operators set up for popular upcoming smartphones.
Some AT&T Galaxy S4 units could be shipping on April 23
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A new report reveals that some AT&T Galaxy S4 pre-orders could be shipped earlier than expected, on April 23 instead of April 30 or later.
AT&T started taking pre-orders a few days ago, listing an April 30 ship date for the handset. At the same time, some of the early buyers received notices saying their units will be delivered by May 3.
Why is everyone making a smartwatch?
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News has come to light recently that Microsoft is working on a smartwatch. If you’re keeping tabs, that’s Apple, Samsung, Google, and now Microsoft… all working on a smartwatch, or we at least have strong indicators that they are. This would make sense if the smartwatch had a proven history of success… but they don’t.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 arrives in Canada
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Last week the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 arrived to the U.S. market, and now it is Canada’s turn to get the 8-inch slate.
So what does the Samsung Note 8.0 bring to the table? The tablet features a 1280×800 8-inch display, an Exynos 4412 quad-core processor, 16GB storage, 2GB RAM, a stylus and a camera on both the front and the back of the tablet. As for the OS, you get the power of Android 4.1 with TouchWiz and stylus-optimized apps.
Jelly Bean update in final stages of testing for several Xperia handsets, Sony promises more details next week
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Have a Sony smartphone from last year and still patiently awaiting the upgrade to Jelly Bean? Sony took to Twitter today to reveal that several of their Xperia handsets should be seeing Android 4.1 very soon, as work on the updates have now reached the final stage.
HTC Mini: a glorified Bluetooth headset or the answer to all our phablet woes?
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In the year 2013 a smartphone is many things. It is a camera, gaming console, social media hub, television set, internet browser, planner and an all out miniature computer that fits in your pocket. However, it’s all too easy to forget that a smartphone is at heart still a PHONE.
First Google Glass users share their experiences
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We’re all pretty excited for Google Glass… but all this non-disclosure stuff is annoying! We want the details. What’s it like? Do people freak out when you’re wearing them? Are they comfortable? So many questions, and the only people with the answers haven’t been able to talk.
Next-gen keyboard Minuum raises over $87,000
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Maybe you’ve heard of Minuum, the mobile keyboard
that condenses all letters into a single row, allowing you more
precious screen real estate. Now, almost 10,000 Indiegogo supporters
later, it has raised over $87,000. Originally, the goal was to raise
$10,000, which was almost quadrupled in two days. From there, they added
a stretch goal of $60,000. After another few days, that goal was also met.
The Friday Debate: Do you even want a smartwatch?
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We are all mobile geeks, here at Android Authority. We love everything with a power button. We like to comment the latest news and endlessly argue over which phone is better. On the Friday Debate, we pick a hot issue and proceed to discuss it. Join us!
Nexus 4 and HTC One now available at TELUS
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Get ready, Canada… two of the best smartphones on the planet have landed. Word today from TELUS is that both the HTC One and Nexus 4 are currently available, ready for purchase. TELUS has some pretty great deals to celebrate, too!
OUYA hits 10,000 developer mark, continues to attract new developers
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The idea behind the OUYA is a simple one: to bring great game experiences to the living room without costing costumers a fortune.
Unfortunately, making that idea a reality is a lot more complicated. In order to succeed at its goal, OUYA needs to win over both developers and customers. The good news on the developer front is that the OUYA now has more than 10,000 developers signed on for the micro-console.
HTC Desire L is a low-end device for the Taiwanese market
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HTC Desire L is proof that the company has all segments of the market in mind when designing devices, not only users with high demands and budgets to support those demands.
While the U.S. is getting a nationwide launch of the company’s flagship device, the HTC One, the Android device maker is launching a budget model called the HTC Desire L at home in Taiwan. The handset, which has appeared on HTC’s Taiwan site, is very similar, or, better said, almost identical, to the HTC SU the company has launched in China last year.
The Best Movie and TV Streaming Apps for Android
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Movie and TV streaming apps for Android can be a difficult thing to judge. There are just so many variables to consider. Some apps aren’t compatible with some devices. The quality of the streaming is hugely affected by the speed of your internet connection. Does a lack of new content lower the value of a streaming service? These are all questions we’ll be answering below as we check out some of the best movie and tv streaming apps for Android. As always, if you’d rather watch than read, we’ve posted a video at the bottom.
Alleged photos of new Samsung design language are really old prototype images
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Last weekend a new rumor surfaced claiming that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 would not follow the Galaxy S4′s design language. Just a few days after that, images popped up supposedly showing off this new look. Now we hear word that the images do in fact show a prototype device, just not a new one.
Should you worry about your online and mobile privacy?
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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.
Unlocked HTC One and developer editions delayed
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While the HTC One is available in the USA nationwide from three of the Big Four carriers and plenty of other retailers, some buyers will be disappointed to hear that the unlocked model as well as the developer edition version have been delayed until a later date.
HTC One available in the U.S. starting today
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HTC One, the company’s flagship smartphone and the device it counts on to get out of the current rough patch, is now available nationwide in the U.S., at AT&T, Sprint, as well as a variety of other retailers.
In an e-mail to the press, HTC rounds up some essential details about the HTC One’s availability, starting with the operators.
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini delayed
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We all know that Samsung loves to cover virtually every phone size they can think of, and I’m sure many of you have been looking forward to the more traditionally sized Galaxy S4 Mini. Unfortunately, it appears that Samsung has delayed the launch of the Galaxy S4 Mini until mid July.
The not so small Galaxy S4 Mini had been supposedly scheduled to launch a few weeks after the Galaxy S4, around May 20th, but instead it has been delayed until week 29, which would put the release date between July 15th and July 21st.
Give a little charity with Google’s One Today app
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Android users now have a simple and social way to help charity. Developed by Google, the new app known as One Today is official and is part of the search giant’s charity projects, as it encourages Android users to help nonprofit organizations: “Do a little. Change a lot.”
Intel pushing convertible notebooks running Android, notebook vendor sources say
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Intel plans to push convertible notebooks running Android, notebook vendor sources say, quoted by DigiTimes. The company will reportedly be working with its partners to put Android tablet-convertible notebooks on the market, with the first manufacturer to launch a product said to be Lenovo.
Samsung set to ship 10 million Galaxy S4’s in first month, 30 million by the end of June
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With the Galaxy S4 set to ship out to 50 countries at the end of this month, the bets are rolling in as to just how many smartphones Samsung will be able to sell. If you’re looking for some insider knowledge it makes sense to ask supply chain insiders who, according to Digitimes sources, are predicting that the Galaxy S4 will ship close to 10 million units in its first month on the market.
T-Mobile HTC One available to pre-order, comes with free car dock
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T-Mobile has started taking HTC One pre-orders via its online store and buyers that purchase the handset will also receive a free car dock.
We’re looking at the Glacial Silver 32GB version of the handset, which retails for $99 upfront followed by 24 monthly installments of $20 each, or for $579.99 outright. Whatever route you choose, you’ll pay the same amount of money for the handset, $579.99, without being forced to ink a two-year agreement with the carrier.
Fruity Loops Studio Android app is here to turn you into the next hit-maker
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A Fruity Loops Studio Android app should constitute very good news for you if you think you have what it takes to create the next big hit (just in time for when Twitter Music gets to Android), or if you just want to have fun making your own songs.
Either way, Fruity Loops is a household name in the field of music creation software, with the desktop version being used by Afrojack, among other DJs and musicians.
New Iron Man 3 trailer released, up to 18 armors playable in-game
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In less than a week, the official tie-in game to the Iron Man 3 movie will finally become available on Android. In anticipation of its release, developer Gameloft has uploaded another trailer video, showing off more features of the game.
ZTE N988 rumored to be first Android handset with NVIDIA Tegra 4 inside
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It has been more than three whole months now since the NVIDIA Tegra 4 SoC was first announced, and we still don’t have any clear information on what the first Tegra 4-powered smartphone will be like. Unless you count rumors circulating about a new China-based ZTE handset called the ZTE N988, that is. Its existence has been revealed — albeit unofficially — and its photos have been posted online for all the world to see.
4/19/2013
iOS leads Android in engagement and monetization, says Opera State of Mobile Advertising report
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These mobile ads are so engaging, we can’t take our eyes off of them. (Image credit: Girls reading on smartphone / Shutterstock)
The mobile industry is an interesting ecosystem, in that there are
various mechanisms and trends at work. On one hand, you have volume and
scale, which Android currently leads, having the biggest share of the market today. However, there are also other factors that come to play, such as engagement, monetization and revenue.
HTC’s BoomSound
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HTC has always been big on audio, going so far as to purchase a controlling interest in Beats a few years back. With that purchase, they hoped that mobile audio performance was a big deal to us, and were hedging bets on the future. Well, it really wasn’t as important as HTC hoped. Sure, we like a good sound coming from our device, but it just wasn’t paramount, as HTC found with their failed Rezound device.
Verizon confirms the Samsung Galaxy S4 will arrive in May
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While Sprint and T-Mobile were the first of the major U.S. networks to confirm details about when the Galaxy S4 was landing on their networks, Verizon had yet to give us the skinny. The good news is that they have finally taken to Twitter to give us launch details.
Google Glass runs on Android, Larry Page says
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Google CEO Larry Page revealed during Google’s Q1 2013 conference call that the operating system for Google Glass is Android:
In response to a question about how much people can expect to see engagement increment with new products like Glass, he said that “obviously, Glass runs on Android, so [Android] has been pretty transportable across devices, and I think that will continue.”
Google’s Larry Page praises Motorola’s upcoming products
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In the last few days Motorola has spoken up a little about their design philosophy for their next-gen phones, and Google’s Eric Schmidt has even publicly praised what Motorola is working on, calling it “phenomenal”. Now Larry Page is weighing in as well, throwing more praise Motorola’s way.
Galaxy S4 to feature sound from Wolfson, now ‘primary audio partner’ for Galaxy family
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The Galaxy S4 will come with Wolfson sound on board, as the company announced it has become the “primary audio partner for Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets,” including Samsung’s latest flagship handset.
Archos officially announces its new budget smartphone line
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Late last night we reported that Archos was preparing to launch a new smartphone line for the European market. The news is now official. The three budget-oriented handsets are the 35 Carbon, 50 Platinum and 53 Platinum. The phones are priced outright at $100, $220 and $250, respectively.
Verizon has a special announcement to make on May 22nd, what could it be?
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Verizon Wireless has just started sending out emails to the press with a “save the date” invitation for May 22nd, during this year’s CTIA. Verizon’s email simply says that a “special announcement” will be made, but what could it be?
The invite doesn’t give us much to go on, but we can certainly put on our thinking caps and speculate a bit here.
Sprint launches 4G LTE in 21 locations, announces more locations to get it in the future
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Sprint CEO Dan Hesse today revealed that the mobile operator has launched 4G LTE connectivity in 21 more markets. The new locations include:
Google+ Comments available on Blogger
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If you are a Blogger user, you can now add Google+ Comments
to your blog. Google announced the new commenting system today, which
brings an experience Google+ users should be familiar with. Google+ Comments offer deep integration with the social network, and some nifty features.
Clues about upcoming Google games service revealed in MyGlass app teardown
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The guys over at Android Police did a nifty little teardown of the MyGlass APK, and it yielded some interesting results. In case you’re not familiar, MyGlass is the companion app for Google Glass, and only for those who are in the program. If you or I download it… it would be useless. You need Glass, and Glass needs the app.
Will Evernote launch an innovative Android device?
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Pictured: Evernote Smart Notebook by Moleskine
Evernote is supposedly the app that remembers everything, even across
platforms. But with a slew of alternative applications — many of which
are free — Evernote might be finding itself increasingly playing second fiddle to the likes of Google Keep.
But Evernote is not resting on its laurels. CEO Phil Libin said in an
interview that the company is looking into producing its own hardware.
Galaxy S4 release date set for May 3 for WIND and Mobilicity
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The Galaxy S4 will be available in WIND and Mobilicity stores starting with May 3, although early Mobilicity Galaxy S4 buyers would receive the handset starting with April 27.
Chrome extension puts Google Keep at your fingertips
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Google Keep, the company’s simple and well-designed note-taking app, is even easier to use with an unofficial extension that maintains it at your fingertips.
Once you’ve added the extension to Google Chrome from the download link you can find below, you’ll be able to access Google Keep directly, just by clicking “Open Keep” in Chrome’s context menu (as seen in the screenshot below).
Google Babel source code leaked in Gmail
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Google Babel is an upcoming unified messaging system set to replace Talk. We’ve covered many stories on the chat service, and some leaked source code reveals an “Upgrade” to Babel. Labeled as “DOGFOOD CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL ONLY”, a screenshot of source code posted by the unofficial Google Operating System blog spills the beans.
Galaxy S4 hits Romania in style
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Whatever your opinion is on Samsung, one thing can be said for them: they do it big. From a 6.3” phone to a Broadway show announcing the “next big thing”, Samsung is intent on making an impact. Romania is not immune to their effect, either.
Yahoo launches Mail app for tablets, offers magazine-like reading experience
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Yahoo today released a new Mail app for both iOS and Android tablets.
A Yahoo Mail app has already been available for the iPhone and Android smartphones, but this new version offers a full-screen experience by taking advantage of the larger screen size on tablets. Claiming that most mail apps make you feel “boxed in”, the new Yahoo Mail app will allow you to sift through e-mail messages with a magazine-like interface.
HTC One vs Sony Xperia Z (video)
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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!
Source: Androidauthority
