which smartphone to use

so there are no rumoured
specifications or features that
we’re assuming will/won’t be
there.
The five chosen ones, in no
particular order, are:
* Samsung Galaxy S4: This is
the latest stallion from the
Samsung stable, one that we
believe has the potential to run
away with the No. 1 spot if left
unchallenged for too long. Click
here for the official Galaxy S4
microsite for more details and
images.
* Apple iPhone 5: This, of
course, is the favourite if fans
and critics alike. Those who love
it are, indeed, passionate about
it. But those who hate it seem to
be display even more passion.
Click here for the official iPhone
5 microsite for more details and
images.
* BlackBerry Z10: The latest
and the best smartphone yet
from the recently renamed
BlackBerry, the Z10 is indeed the
Canadian comany's wild card
entry into the Top 5
smartphones. Click here for the
official BlackBerry Z10
microsite for more details and
images.
* HTC One: In a way, HTC is the
poorest cousin among the Top 5
smartphone siblings, with the
least marketing muscle and
hype-creating abilities. Still, the
HTC One is not underprivileged in
the features department, and
has a reasonable shot at the top
spot. Click here for the official
HTC One microsite for more
details and images.
* Sony Xperia Z: Last, but not
the least, this phone marks Sony
Mobile's re-entry into the big
league. Somehow, during the
Ericsson era, the company
seemed to lack passion in its
phones. With the Xperia Z, that
passion is definitely back. Click
here for the official Xperia Z
microsite for more details and
images.
Without further ado, then,
here goes the comparison of
our top 5 smartphones on
various parameters:
Operating System
Galaxy S4: The latest phone to
be launched, the Samsung
Galaxy S4 will come bundled with
the latest Android OS, version
4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Some of the
upgraded features in this version
of the immensely popular
Android system include a new
Gallery app animation that
allows faster loading, long-
pressing the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
icons in Quick Settings now
toggles the on/off state, new
download notifications, which
now shows the percentage and
estimated time remaining for
active app downloads, and a
handful of bug fixes and
performance enhancements.
Android’s USP remains the
hundreds of thousands of freely
downloadable apps, and the fact
that it is a ‘customisable’
platform, allowing phone
manufacturers a free hand in
hand-picking features that they
want to add to their devuces.
iPhone 5: Apple’s spearhead
smartphone runs on its patented
iOS 6 platform, which integrates
Facebook throughout the various
other apps on the iPhone 5, such
as Camera, Maps or Game
Center. The latest OS from Apple
did, however, come under a fair
bit of criticism from users when
they found the upgraded Apple
Maps app wanting (Apple ditched
the Google Maps app in this
latest OS upgrade), in addition to
issues with a less-than-
responsive Siri (voice-activated
online personal assistant).
Besides, it is a ‘closed’ platform,
and any changes made to the
software by ‘jailbreaking’ the
phone results in the Apple
warranty being nullified. But if
anything has the potential to
beat Android in the apps
department, it’s iOS. Apple fans
continue to swear by it, even as
there remain those that still
swear at it.
BlackBerry Z10: Early adapters
of the latest BlackBerry Z10
smartphone seem to love the
new BB10 OS in that it has
catapulted BlackBerry right
among the top players – after
being relegated to ‘also-ran’ in
the past few years. But even as
BlackBerry has added a
reasonable number of features
and apps to the latest OS, it
visibly lags behind leaders iOS
and Android. And it isn’t
customisable either (the
‘freedom’ to move around icons
doesn’t qualify). BB10 is also late
in the race, and will have to play
catch-up (it released an update
within a month of the launch of
the Z10) if it is to give the
leaders any real competition.
HTC One: The new smartphone
from HTC runs on Android OS,
v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), and is
upgradable to v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
– the same as the Galaxy S4. So,
there isn’t much to choose
between those two in the OS
department.
Sony Xperia Z: The new water-
and dust-resistant smartphone
from the Sony stables is also
powered by Android OS, v4.1.2
(Jelly Bean), with a planned
upgrade to v4.2 (Jelly Bean).
Planned but not yet executed
means that it will lag a bit in the
most recent upgrades although
rumours suggest that an upgrade
‘very shortly’ is imminent. Stop
holding your breath, please.
Dimensions
This is a bit straightforward. The
HTC One offers the biggest
screen in the category, at 5.41
inches, which makes it the
heaviest after the Sony Xperia Z.
On the other hand, the iPhone 5
is the lightest (not on the
pocket) at 3.95oz although that
means a compromise in screen
size, which is the smallest at 4.87
inches.
Display
Straightforward again. The
Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Sony
Xperia Z offer a full5-inch
experience; the iPhone offers a
full 1-inch less. Pixel-wise, the
HTC One is the densest although
the iPhone will here want to talk
about its retina display and
Samsung will want to highlight
the Galaxy S4’s AMOLED /
PHOLED screen and stuff. When
it comes to display, seeing is
believing – so have a look at the
screens in real-life to make up
your mind if display is what tilts
your scales.
Galaxy S4: 5-inch full HD Super
AMOLED; 1,920x1,080 pixels,
441ppi
iPhone 5: 4-inch IPS LCD;
1,136x640 pixels, 326ppi
BlackBerry Z10: 4.2-inch LCD;
1,280x768 pixels, 355ppi
HTC One: 4.7-inch LCD;
1,920x1,080 pixels, 468ppi
Sony Xperia Z: 5-inch TFT
captive; 1,920x1,080 pixels,
441ppi
Connectivity
Each of the five phones we’re
comparing has 4G LTE
connectivity – so let’s swiftly
move on to NFC. That’s where
even as there are no real
winners, Apple’s iPhone 5 is the
only loser – in that it doesn’t
support NFC, or nearfield
communications (tap-and-
transfer of content and cash)
while the rest of the four brands
do. Wake-up call for Apple here.
Cameras
This is one of the domains where
the battle is heating up. The
Sony Xperia Z and the Galaxy S4
are the clear winners in this
department, both offering 13MP
rear cameras. On the front, the
iPhone 5 really looks archaic now
with its 1.2MP front-facing
camera even as every other
phone offers 2MP or slightly
more. In addition, the Galaxy S4
comes with a picture-in-picture
concept wherein the
photographer can have his ‘live’
image inserted into a photograph
or video, thus making picture-
taking more interesting (think of
how clumsy it was to click
yourself with the Eifel Tower in
the background… now, think
again with you clicking the Eifel
Tower with the rear camera
while the front camera clicks you
and inserts it in the image).
Galaxy S4: 13MP, 1080p HD
video (rear); 2MP (front)
iPhone 5: 8MP, 1080p HD video
(rear); 1.2MP (front)
BlackBerry Z10: 8MP, 1080p HD
video (rear); 2MP (front)
HTC One: 4MP (Ultrapixel),
1080p HD video (rear); 2.1MP
(front)
Sony Xperia Z: 13.1MP, 1080p
HD video (rear); 2.2MP (front)
Processor
Frankly, we need to compare
oranges with oranges here and
leave Apple out as it has its
proprietary A6 chip. Among the
rest, the latest entrant – the
Galaxy S4 – has the bragging
rights to a 1.9GHz chip, followed
by HTC One (1.7 GHz). Has to be
said, though, the iPhone’s
processing speed is great too.
Galaxy S4: 1.9GHz, quad-core
Snapdragon 600; or proprietary
1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 Octa
iPhone 5: Proprietary A6
BlackBerry Z10: 1.5GHz, dual-
core Snapdragon S4 Plus
HTC One: 1.7GHz, quad-core
Snapdragon 600
Sony Xperia Z: 1.5GHz quad-
core Snapdragon S4
Capacity
Samsung has finally decided to
come up with a 64GB version of
the Galaxy S4, bringing it right
on a par with the iPhone’s
offering. It does better by
offering the 16GB and 32GB
variants the option of expanding
to 64GB at any stage, while the
iPhone mandates you stick to
the initial allocation. HTC One
doesn’t offer the expansion
either, and does not come in the
basic 16GB version.
Galaxy S4: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
(expandable up to 64GB)
iPhone 5: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
BlackBerry Z10: 16GB
(expandable up to 64GB)
HTC One: 32GB, 64GB
Sony Xperia Z: 16GB
(expandable up to 64GB)
Battery
On the face of it, the Galaxy S4
has the most powerful battery
although the Xperia Z boasts a
Stamina mode that it claims gets
more bang from the buck, and
BlackBerry swears it has
improved battery performance by
eons. And Apple wouldn’t say
how powerful its battery is – in
the event of a lack of user
complaints on that front, we’ll
assume it’s fairly decent for its
screen-size.
Galaxy S4: 2,600mAh
iPhone 5: Not disclosed
BlackBerry Z10: 1,800mAh
HTC One: 2,300mAh
Sony Xperia Z: 2,330mAh
Pricing
Galaxy S4: Not announced yet
iPhone 5: Dh2,599 (16GB);
Dh2,999 (32GB); Dh3,399 (64GB)
BlackBerry Z10: Dh2,599
HTC One: Starting Dh2,399
Sony Xperia Z: Dh2,499
So that’s then, there. Hopefully,
this will make your job of
choosing a smartphone easier
(we sincerely hope we haven’t
confused you any more than
what you already were) and you
are closer to buying your dream
device now. We’ll update this
when Apple unveils its next – or
one of the other manufacturers
launches a really cool phone
worthy of inclusion here.