HTC One versus Sony Xperia Z: Smartphone flagship showdown
Summary: Hands on with HTC and Sony's high end smartphones; which one will have the edge?
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HTC's BlinkFeed app which populates the homescreen with info from websites, the weather app, and social media sources.
As both handsets run the Jelly Bean version of Android the feature lists are very similar, but both manufacturers are known for making modifications to some of the core apps and features. For example, the Sony Xperia Z comes with the Walkman application in addition to the standard music player which provides a better interface and brings features like the Infinity button linking straight to info related to the artist or track that is playing, for example.
Likewise, the HTC One also puts some emphasis on the music, continuing HTC's long tradition of integrating Beats Audio software into its phones.
In a side-by-side comparison, my preference was for the sound produced by the HTC One, which was clearer and louder all round, likely helped by the speakers being placed on the front of the device.
The other major difference between the two devices is software tweaks, with HTC using its new BlinkFeed app to populate the homescreen with updates from things such as Facebook, Twitter, messages, TV favourites currently showing and weather.
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