As I pointed out Monday, I really think the HTC One and the BlackBerry Z10 are two of the most innovative smartphones currently available. Both smartphones have been a pleasure to review, and now it's time to take a look at how the HTC One and BlackBerry Z10 battle it out when it comes to specs and design.
Specs:
The HTC One features an anodized aluminum unibody enclosure, 4.7-inch SuperLCD 3 Full HD 1080p, 468 ppi (pixels per inch) display, 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, Android 4.1.2 with HTC Sense 5, 32GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, HTC UltraPixel rear camera with dedicated HTC ImageChip, 88 wide-angle lens with HDR capability front camera, 1080p video recording on front and rear cameras, dual front stereo speakers with HTC BoomSound and built-in amplifiers, 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC (near field communications), infrared remote control and a 2,300mAh battery.
The BlackBerry Z10 features BlackBerry 10 OS, a 4.2-inch 356ppi (pixels per inch) 1280 x 768 IPS display, 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, Adreno 225 GPU, 16GB internal storage, 2GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera, 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC (near field communications), A-GPS w/ geo-tagging, microSD expansion slot with support for up to 64GB cards and a removable 1,800mAh battery.
The HTC One and the BlackBerry Z10 have impressive specs, while the BlackBerry Z10 has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor compared to the 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor; it is by no means a slow phone. BlackBerry was wise to include 2GB of RAM in the Z10; it certainly makes up for the fact that the smartphone is using a dual-core processor. The speed is also possible due to the fact that just like Apple, BlackBerry can better optimize the software and hardware, since it builds both and provides a faster experience instead of focusing on processor speed.
The HTC One, with its quad-core processor, certainly makes things open and happen very fast. Opening apps is pretty instantaneous; switching apps is also fast; the Z10's slower processor and animated UI slow things down a little when opening apps at times. It's not very noticeable, but in this comparison, the HTC One wins hands down. It's an insanely fast smartphone.
Build:
The HTC One really needs to be held in the hand to truly appreciate the design process that's going on at HTC and translates to the HTC One. The HTC One looks and feels like a very high-end, solid, beautiful smartphone. Smartphone design is one of the most important traits I focus on when choosing to upgrade to a smartphone. I currently have an iPhone 5 on Verizon and would consider possibly moving to the HTC One if Verizon offered it. The HTC One is really that well designed, something that has been missing from Android. The HTC One also ships with a universal remote control infrared blaster located in its power button to control TV, stereos and more. You can also set up your home screen to activate remote control buttons when the smartphone is picked up. Very nice touch!
The BlackBerry Z10 has a plastic, brick-like design that does not make it feel like a high-end smartphone. BlackBerry built a solid phone out of plastic; it definitely feels on par with other plastic smartphone manufacturers: I'm talking about you, Samsung. BlackBerry added some nice touches to the volume rocker on the BlackBerry Z10. There is a pause button in the middle of the rocker to allow you to pause music without touching the screen, and also allows you to activate voice recognition to make phone calls. BlackBerry 10 is gesture-driven and one of the coolest, yet simplest touches BlackBerry added is that you don't need to press any kind of button to turn the smartphone on. You can just swipe up on the screen to see any notifications, time and more, or swipe all the way up and jump into the Z10.
I've really enjoyed trying out the HTC One and the BlackBerry Z10; they each offer some amazing features. As far as specs and design goes, the clear winner in my opinion is the HTC One. It is bringing Apple-style quality and design to Android, the best Android smartphone ever released. You'll understand this when you pick one up; it's that well-built and designed.
The BlackBerry Z10 offers great and innovative features, but it lacks any real focus as to design. It looks just like the Alpha Developments units BlackBerry had developers test apps on before the BlackBerry Z10 was announced. Some advice to BlackBerry: you've got a great operating system, give consumers some high quality smartphones like the HTC One or Apple iPhone 5, and your smartphones will be even more impressive.
