Xperia Z Ultra Vs. Galaxy Note 3: Sony Battles Samsung for the Phablet Market
The Xperia Z Ultra vs. Galaxy Note 3 battle is sure to shake up Samsung, whose device has not been challenged as aggressively by other competitors yet.
Samsung still has not confirmed any specifications for the upcoming device, however, there have been rumors revealing proposed specifications for the Note 3. So how will the two phablets stack up against one another once they both hit the market? And does Sony have a chance against the already established king of that arena?
Design
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The Sony Xperia Z Ultra features a solid body composed of metal on both the front and back side. It's classy and sports a look that easily bests the former Galaxy Note models composed of cheap plastic. Samsung is rumored to be changing the exterior appearance on the Note 3, but that still has not been confirmed at this time. The Korean company's one weakness with its devices has been its choice of materials to cover all the fancy high-end interior hardware. At this point, Sony wins in this department unless Samsung redesigns the Note line.
Processor
The Xperia Z Ultra boasts Qualcomm's most impressive chipset to date, the Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.2GHz Krait 400 processor with Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. Sony seems to have taken no shortcuts when creating this device. The Galaxy Note 3 will most likely come equipped with Samsung's Exynos octa-core chip that is also found in the international version of the Galaxy S4 smartphone. Judging from these specs, speed will not be an issue on either device, but Samsung might have a slight advantage here.
Display
The Xperia Z Ultra will come with an extremely large display that measures in at 6.4-inches. The Note 3 is rumored to feature either a 5.7-inch or 5.9-inch screen that could be LCD or Super AMOLED. CNET weighed in on the Xperia Z Ultra Z's screen describing its picture as stunning. The screen on the Galaxy Note 3 surely will not disappoint. This is something that will have to be determined after we are able to hold them side to side. The size of the screen on the Xperia Ultra Z seems a bit overwhelming even though CNET claims it's comfortable to hold and carry. The Galaxy Note 2 already intimidates smaller smartphone users in the U.S., so Sony's tactic might only work overseas.
Software
Sony's phablet runs Android 4.2.2, JellyBean out of the box. There is a slim possibility that the Galaxy Note 3 will come with Android 4.3 if it is rolled out when the device launches. However, it will most likely come with close to the same software. Samsung devices also come with a good amount of bloatware. If Sony manages to cut some of its own out, it will surely make Android fans happier. Also, with the hardware on both devices, the latest software is sure to run smoothly and efficiently.
