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Three: 2014 smartphone race will be between HTC and Samsung

Following last week’s Samsung Galaxy S5 unveiling, UK network provider Three has suggested the 2014 smartphone race will be contested between Samsung and HTC.

Further escalating last year’s battle between the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, the network has predicted that the Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers will again be the industry’s biggest players over the coming 12 months. Despite little change at the top, Three conceded that Sony had closed the gap in third.

If I was betting on who will have the nicest experience on hardware, it would have to be between HTC and Samsung,” Brendan Arndt, Three’s Product Portfolio Manager said while discussing the 2014 smartphone space.

Speaking exclusive with TrustedReviews he added: “I think Sony will trot along, they’ve got a really good brand now, but I think 2014 will absolutely be between HTC and Samsung in the first half at least.”

Delving deeper into Sony’s potential downfall, Arndt predicted that the new Sony Xperia Z2 will be held back by its visual similarities to the preceding Sony Xperia Z1.

“I’m using the Sony Z2 at the moment and I love it but I think their difficulty will be when people see it outright it looks exactly like a Z1,” he told us.

“After you use it though you realise it is much better. It’s lighter, it’s got a way better battery life, they’ve optimised the camera and the display is finally a really good Sony display.”

Although the Samsung Galaxy S5 was announced last week as part of the manufacturer’s MWC 2014 press conference, the phone has been seen as a largely underwhelming offering.

Moving to a 5.1-inch Full HD display from last year’s 5-inch panel, the Samsung Galaxy S5 specs sheet has added a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM and Google’s Android 4.4 KitKat OS. The phone’s main new feature is the home button incorporated fingerprint scanner.

Although currently unconfirmed, the HTC One 2 will be formally unveiled on March 25, with the phone widely expected to add an innovative dual-sensor rear camera.

Teasing the upcoming HTC One follow-on, Arndt stated: “What HTC has got is quite unique. I think people will like it for what they have done with the experience, not just the hardware.”

Which phone are you most looking forward to in 2014, the Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One 2? Let us know via the comment section below.

Read More:
Samsung Galaxy S5 vs HTC One 2

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