Both Sony and ZTE took to the CES 2013 platform to take the wraps off their flagship devices for 2013 - the Xperia Z and the Grand S. Both the smartphones are set to release in Q1 2013, challenging the likes of HTC, Samsung, and Huawei to name a few.

The 5-inch 1080p smartphones with their whopping 13-megapixel primary cameras seem geared up to take the consumer market by storm. Both the devices pack a mean punch under the hood and are strong contenders for the best smartphone of 2013 title.

Here's a look at how two Android-powered flagships, the Xperia Z and Grand S, measure up against each other.

Processor

The Xperia Z features a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with Adreno 320GPU, which is asynchronous. This means that each core is "powered independently" and does not waste power.  

The Grand S, on the other hand, packs in a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor that is clocked at a faster 1.7GHz.

Display

Both the smartphones have a similar screen size. The Grand S sports a 5-inch full HD display with 1920 x 1080 pixels with 441ppi, whereas the Xperia Z sports a 5-inch full HD Reality Display (1920 x 1080 pixels) with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 and 443ppi.

A key difference between the two smartphones is that the Sony offering is water and dust resistant, whereas the ZTE smartphone is not.

Form Factor 

The Xperia Z measures 5.47 x 2.79 x 0.31 inches versus 5.59 x 2.72 x 0.27 inches of the Grand S. This means that the Grand S is taller and thinner than the Xperia Z but less wide. What's more, ZTE has been touting the Grand S as the world's thinnest 5-inch 1080p smartphone on the market.

The Xperia Z weighs 146gms; however, the weight of the Grand S is currently not known.

Storage and Memory

Both the smartphones will be available with 16GB of on-board storage with an expandable memory option (of up to 32GB) via a microSD card. Both devices also offer 2GB of RAM.

Software

Both the Xperia Z and the Grand S will come with Android 4.1 and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, respectively, but Sony mentioned at the launch that its offering would soon be upgraded to Android 4.2 post release.

Camera

The Xperia Z has a 13.1-megapixel rear-facing Fast Capture camera with Exmor RS that is capable of shooting HDR videos. The Grand S also packs in a 13-megapixel primary camera that can record 1080p videos.

Additionally, the Xperia Z's 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera has a marginally higher resolution than the 2-megapixel one on the Grand S.

Battery

The Xperia Z packs in a non-removable 2330mAh battery that features a Battery STAMINA mode, which saves battery drain. The Xperia Z's battery supports up to 11 hours of talk time and 550 hours of standby time.

The Grand S' svelte looks come at a price, as the device packs in a puny non-removable 1780mAh battery. The talk time and standby time supported are not yet known.

Availability and Colors

The Xperia Z will release in Q1 2013, whereas the Grand S will go on sale in China in Q1 2013. Both the companies have not disclosed the pricing of their respective offerings.

The Xperia Z will be available in three colors - black, white, and purple. The Grand S will come in several hues like light pink, dark pink (nearly red), mint green, gray, yellow, black, and white.

With both the Xperia Z and Grand S going neck to neck when it comes to specs and features, the pricing will be an important factor which may well tilt the scales in the favor of one device over the other. It remains to be seen which smartphone will strike a chord with the consumers in the long run and claim the mantle of the better 2013 flagship.