HTC Butterfly vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2: Android Phablet Shootout Begins

With the increasing demand for large displays on smartphones, several manufacturers including Samsung, HTC, LG and more others have started launching phablets, devices with screen size of 5 inch and above.

As per a recent study by ABIResearch, phablets are devices with displays in the range of 4.6 inches to 5.5 inches. The firm has predicted that these devices will reach a sales figure of 208 million within 2015. Moreover, according to the firm, the phablets shipped in 2012 will account for 10 times the number that was shipped in 2011.

Recently, the Galaxy Note successor was in the headlines as it reached a sales of 5 million in two months of its release. In order to compete with the hottest selling phablet, the Taiwanese vendor - HTC has come up with HTC Butterfly, which is awaiting its global release.

Based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, both the phablets with their massive displays could be potential rivals soon as the HTC offering enters the market.

Below is an elaborative spec comparison of HTC Butterfly and Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Read it and decide which one is worth buying.

Dimensions & Weight: Butterfly boasts a dimension of 143 x 70.5 x 9.08 mm and weighs around 140 grams as compared to the thicker and heavier Galaxy Note 2 with a dimension of 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm and weighing in at 180 grams.

Display: When it comes to the display, Butterfly packs a full HD 1080p 5 inch LCD 3 capacitive touchscreen display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.

In comparison, Galaxy Note 2 houses a larger 5.5 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. Further, Galaxy Note 2 comes with an enhanced S-Pen stylus support, which has a revamped rubber tip for better touch response making it convenient for consumers to operate the larger display.

Processor: In this segment, Butterfly is equipped with a 1.5GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and Galaxy Note 2 is equipped with a Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad chipset.

Operating System: When it comes to OS, both the phablets head against each other with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS.

Camera: On the camera optics front, both the devices have an 8MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash features. Further, Butterfly has a better 2.1MP front camera as compared to the 1.9MP front camera in Galaxy Note 2.

Memory: On the storage front, Galaxy Note 2 comes in three configurations - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage, while Butterfly has 16GB internal storage. However, both the phablets come with 2GB RAM and a micro SD card slot supporting up to 32GB expandable memory.

Connectivity: When it comes to data connectivity, Butterfly and Galaxy Note 2 have features including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0, NFC and micro USB 2.0.

Battery: Butterfly is powered by a 2,020 mAh battery and and Galaxy Note 2 is loaded by a mammoth 3,100 mAh Li-ion battery.

Price: On the pricing front, there is no word regarding the price and availability of HTC Butterfly in India, whereas, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is priced starting at Rs 39,990 for the 16GB version.

Verdict

Both Galaxy Note 2 and Butterfly are phablets with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and hence, they will have similar software features including Project Butter for faster, smoother and more responsive performance, expandable and contractible notifications, resizble app widgets, simplified task navigation, live wallpaper preview, high resolution contact photos and many more.

However, Galaxy Note 2, which is designed on the lines of Galaxy S3 comes packed with additional and exclusive software features such as S Voice - voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri, Direct Call - allowing users to instantly call a contact on screen simply by taking the device near to the ear and Smart Stay - an eye tracking software. There are several others like S Beam, Pop-Up Play and more.

At the same time, Butterfly comes with Beats audio integration similar to any other HTC smartphone. This feature is a boon for music enthusiasts as it offers outstanding audio quality with extraordinary bass.

If the concern is on faster processor, full HD 1080p display, better front camera for video chatting and improved low light photography with BSI sensor, HTC Butterfly should be the right choice.

However, for those concerned on a larger display real estate, plethora of software features, stylus support for easy operation of touchscreen display and a better battery backup, Galaxy Note 2 could be a better option.