PHABLETS When Size Matters: Samsung
Galaxy Mega Vs Huawei Ascend Mate
It’s
the war of the phablets between Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Huawei’s Ascend
Mate
Things are, quite literally, getting
out of hand. If you thought that phablets — genetically mutated progenies of
smartphone and tablets — were simply too large for normal human hands, wait
till you see what Huawei and Samsung have in store for you! With the Ascend
Mate and the Mega 6.3 phablets, both brands have surged past the 6-inch
milestone, and I pit them against each other to figure out which is right for
pocket. That you may need pocket alterations is another matter altogether!
Round 1 - Build/Design: The Mega 6.3 looks a Galaxy through and through and the design is getting a little repetitive. In comparison, the Ascend Mate sports a rather unremarkable look with its stark straight lines, and while it won’t win any design awards, it doesn’t look like the rest of the army of Galaxy devices out there. Be warned though, while the Mate’s curved back manages to disguise some of its thickness, the extra few millimeters over the Mega are noticeable in the hand. Both weigh about the same, but the Mate packs in a non-replaceable 4050 mAh battery compared to the user-replaceable 3200 mAh battery on the Mega 6.3.
Verdict: Draw
Round 2 – Screen: The 720p resolution that both devices sport points to the fact that these are really mid-range devices, and not meant to challenge the 5-inch full-HD-resolution-packing flagship devices. Given these are larger devices meant to be held further away from your eyes, the lower pixel density (pixels per inch) doesn’t noticeably impact the experience, and graphics and text are suitably sharp on both. While viewing angles on the Mega are better, the screen on the Mate is noticeably brighter and offers better contrast levels, plus it ships with Gorilla Glass protection for the screen. One caveat though – Huawei has opted for on-screen buttons instead of hardware keys below the screen as with the Mega, which does reduce the overall usable screen area by a smidgen.
Verdict: Ascend Mate
Performance: Given these are mid-range devices, under the hood hardware was never going to be class leading, to be honest. So, you get a dual core 1.7 GHz processor Snapdragon 400 processor and 1.5 GB of RAM powering the Mega versus Huawei’s proprietary quad-core 1.5 GHz processor and 2GB of RAM on the Mate. You’d think the Mate would run away with it with these specs, but merely running a basic set of performance benchmarks tell a different picture, with the Mega scoring higher on almost all counts. That said, both devices handle duties on the Android Jelly Bean platform with ease. However, if it’s battery life which is paramount, the Huawei Ascend Mate takes the crown.
Verdict: Mega 6.3
Round 1 - Build/Design: The Mega 6.3 looks a Galaxy through and through and the design is getting a little repetitive. In comparison, the Ascend Mate sports a rather unremarkable look with its stark straight lines, and while it won’t win any design awards, it doesn’t look like the rest of the army of Galaxy devices out there. Be warned though, while the Mate’s curved back manages to disguise some of its thickness, the extra few millimeters over the Mega are noticeable in the hand. Both weigh about the same, but the Mate packs in a non-replaceable 4050 mAh battery compared to the user-replaceable 3200 mAh battery on the Mega 6.3.
Verdict: Draw
Round 2 – Screen: The 720p resolution that both devices sport points to the fact that these are really mid-range devices, and not meant to challenge the 5-inch full-HD-resolution-packing flagship devices. Given these are larger devices meant to be held further away from your eyes, the lower pixel density (pixels per inch) doesn’t noticeably impact the experience, and graphics and text are suitably sharp on both. While viewing angles on the Mega are better, the screen on the Mate is noticeably brighter and offers better contrast levels, plus it ships with Gorilla Glass protection for the screen. One caveat though – Huawei has opted for on-screen buttons instead of hardware keys below the screen as with the Mega, which does reduce the overall usable screen area by a smidgen.
Verdict: Ascend Mate
Performance: Given these are mid-range devices, under the hood hardware was never going to be class leading, to be honest. So, you get a dual core 1.7 GHz processor Snapdragon 400 processor and 1.5 GB of RAM powering the Mega versus Huawei’s proprietary quad-core 1.5 GHz processor and 2GB of RAM on the Mate. You’d think the Mate would run away with it with these specs, but merely running a basic set of performance benchmarks tell a different picture, with the Mega scoring higher on almost all counts. That said, both devices handle duties on the Android Jelly Bean platform with ease. However, if it’s battery life which is paramount, the Huawei Ascend Mate takes the crown.
Verdict: Mega 6.3
Software: While both run Jelly Bean, the Mega packs in the latest 4.2.2
version compared to the slightly older 4.1.2. In terms of useful features, the
Mega offers the Multi-window capability that allows two apps to be run at the
same time, which really comes to life on its sizeable 6.3-inch screen. You also
get a lot of the software gimmicks we’ve seen on the SIII and S4 previously. On
the Mate, some might like the Huawei Emotion UI with its theming and custom
icon capabilities.Verdict: Mega 6.3 edges ahead by a small margin
Conclusion: All said and done, while the Mega scores ahead of the Mate on these counts, the Huawei Ascend Mate delivers a better bang for the buck, priced considerably lower than the Mega 6.3. At the Mega’s price, I’d be likely to consider a leading flagship 5-inch device for a little more than settle for a “bigger screen, passable performance” device.
Ascend Mate
Rating: 8/10
Price: Rs 24,900
URL: http://bit.ly/15jFU4r
Mega 6.3
Rating: 8/10
Price: Rs 31,490
URL: http://bit.ly/12tSzig
Tushar
Kanwar- See more at:
http://www.businessworld.in/news/science-and-technology/gadgets/when-size-matters-samsung-galaxy-mega-vs-huawei-ascend-mate/1006711/page-1.html#sthash.7nD75VLZ.dpuf
1 comment:
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