Galaxy Note 3
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and uses a custom UI very similar to that seen in the Galaxy S4. It's called TouchWiz. The Galaxy Note 3 comes with a bunch of additional apps.
Overall, the interface of Note 3 is bright and colourful. You can also mute the Samsung style a little with your own wallpaper and widgets. The Note 3 comes with Multi-view option, which makes working on two apps at the same time. This will enable your multi-view bar on the left side of the screen, and now you'll be able to multi-task like never before. If you don't like the multi-window bar on the left side of the screen, click and hold the pull-out arrow and drag it around; the bar will become detached and let you move it around. However, it only works with select apps, not every single one you've downloaded from the Google Play app store. Thus, you can chat with friends using ChatON while reading emails, scan through two websites at once, have a book/video open while browsing the web
It also offers a new Magazine screen which can be launched by simply flipping the Home screen towards the top. The Note 3 takes a cue from HTC's BlinkFeed notifications screen and allows users to read News across categories, personal content and social network feeds on the Home screen in a magazine like format.
Further, the Note 3 comes with 'one-handed operation' settings allowing users to position not just the keypad and in-call buttons, calculator and screen unlock pattern on the left or right side, as per their convenience, but also shrink the entire interface to one's liking by an awkward left and right swipe gesture.
Besides touchscreen, the Note 3 also responds to fingers lingering above the screen, gestures in the air, palm swipes across the surface of the display and even senses your eyes looking at the screen.
The Galaxy Note 3 comes with a bunch of additional apps, packed into a pair of Samsung folders in the apps menu. Some of them include: S Health (A basic fitness tracker that lets you log what you eat; WatchOn (a TV guide app that also lets you control your TV and various home entertainment boxes using the IR transmitter); S Translator (A solid translation app); S Voice (Samsung's Siri alternative) and Knox (a hardcore security solution).
Sony Xperia Z1
The Z1 comes with Android 4.2.2, but still Sony has completely redesigned every single aspect of the experience to make it altogether different from the stock Android experience. All of Android's key features remain. The lock screen lets you drag a finger up the display to unlock the phone, and by dragging left and right on the clock display, quick access to a suite of lock screen widgets can be gained. These new lock widgets let you open the camera with one drag, or scroll to a Google Now widget, an email widget, your Google+ posts and more.
Overall the user interface is nice, a little more intuitive as compared to the vanilla Android models like the Nexus 4.
Inside, the app drawer, you get Google's glorious Maps app, with the Z1 managing to get a GPS lock within seconds of leaving the house and thinking about going to a place. You also get the Gmail tool, the YouTube app, Google+ and imaging spin-off G+ Photos for auto-uploading of your snaps to Google's social network, and its own media suite of Play Music, Play Books, Play Movies and Play Magazines.
While Play Music supports paid radio streaming of music, Play Books and Magazines both have a huge archive of titles. Similarly, Play Movies recently added support for buying TV shows.
Other than the above mentioned apps, Sony also offers its Socialife app is an attempt at making a Flipboard clone, a sort of feed aggregator. Similarly, Sony has also put its own combined shop and deals portal on the Xperia Z1, which it calls the Xperia Lounge. At the same time Sony is also offering its TV SideView app, which is a TV listings guide.
Moreover, Sony's PlayStation Mobile app gives you the option to pay money for random indie titles you've never heard of. You also have the option of geo-tag your images, which allows the Z1 to display them on a nice, spinning 3D globe.
The Z1 also offers six of the mini notes apps which offers quick access to an Active Clip tool for capturing and editing an image of whatever's on your display. Plus there's a floating Notes widget, timer, calculator, miniature browser tile and audio recorder is also there.
