HDC N9589 vs MIZ Z5 PHABLET WAR

It's been several months since I posted a new article on the new quad core phablets. I these few months I have used these 2 phablets extensively and here are my conclusions...

The HDC N9589 is also known as Star N9589 and I have already reviewed it earlier. MIZ Z5 is made by another independent company which is totally different to the HDC / STAR family. Both uses the MTK 6589 quad core Cortex A7 chip with the Power VR SGX544 GPU so the performances are similar. Both run Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. Both have 5.7 inch screens. Both come with the usual 2 batteries and a removable back cover with front protective flap. Both weigh about the same. This is where the similarities end.

Screen
N9589: Large screen, has a tinge of white brightness when tilted at an angle. The more the tilt, the more obvious the white brightness. This is however quite a minor issue as I don't really view the screen at an extreme angle. Color saturation is vivid and have no problems outdoors. Score: 7.5/10

MIZ Z5: It appears that the MIZ Z5 is using the same screen as the N9589 as viewing from an angle also shows the whitish brightness. Colour saturation is a touch less than the N9589. Also no problems viewing it outdoors. Score: 7.5/10

Screen Responsiveness

N9589: As stated in my previous article, the touch screen is very sensitive to tapping and sometimes the taps send the webpage scrolling downwards instead of a click on a link. This was fixed when I flashed a Star N9589 rom to replace the HDC one. This is probably due to a higher jitter setting when a touch is registered. Note that screen taps and swipes do make use of some jitter to control the movement. This setting was set a little higher which made it a little annoying when making small little taps. Score: 8/10 (9/10 after ROM flash)

MIZ Z5: The caliibration on the screen is good here. Even using wet oily fingers registers my touches properly. Score: 9/10

Build Quality
N9589: Superior build quality. Every bit as good as an original Samsung Galaxy Note 1 & 2 or even better. Button has a slight curve which is a nice touch. Score: 9.5/10

MIZ Z5: Not as good as the N9589. Back cover does not fit in snugly and does creak a bit when pressed at the bottom part. Side metal bezel trim does show a little unevenness when scrutinized upon. No biggie but I have to point it out in a comparison. Score: 7.5/10 (lost points on creaking)

Battery
N9589: Very good battery life. Easily last 2 days on light use. Score: 9/10

MIZ Z5: Also very good battery life but sometimes there is a charging problem. Android shows charging when plugged in but it is not actually charging. I have to remove the battery and replace then charging becomes normal again. I think this is due to a software problem. USB connector is a little wierd. Some micro USB cables does not fit snugly and moving it  while charging causes a break in the charging connection. Only certain USB cables will fit well. Score: 6/10 (points lost due to charging and USB problem)

Audio
N9589: Nice full sound but not very loud in volume for a phone of this size. I even increased the volume in the engineer mode but there is still a limit. Score: 7/10

MIZ Z5: Nice and loud but the sound is much thinner so not as pleasant as the N9589. Score: 7/10

Camera
N9589: Nice usuable images but I can tell that it is 5mp scaled up to 8mp so it is not a true 8mp shooter. Color is average but the flash is quite weak. There is a slight lag when a picture is snapped. Video quality however is above average. Score: 7/10

MIZ Z5: Very fast true 12mp camera which produces detailed images. Very fast camera response when snapping pictures. Panoramic mode works perfectly. Colors are slightly  less vivid as the N9589. Video recording is average. Flash is stronger than the N9589. Score 8/10

Signal and Connectivity
Both are about equal.

GPS and Compass
N9589: GPS detected all 13 satellites and accuracy is 24 feet. No compass hardware  on this phone. Score 8.5/10

MIZ Z5: GPS detected only 6 satellites but accuracy is 10 feet. This phone includes an accurate compass. Score: 9/10


Storage
N9589: 8gb internal storage and 1gb RAM Score: n/a
MIZ Z5: 8gb internal storage and 1gb RAM Score: n/a

The rest of the features I will not compare as they are the same and they all do work properly. The differences are quite a lot but I would still recommend the N9589 over the MIZ Z5 due to the excellent build quality and non-problematic battery and charging system. Compass and picture quality are not important to me. For some of you who want high resolution camera and stronger flash and compass might want to take a look at the MIZ Z5 but I would recommend taking a look at other models as well. Next week I will take a look at the HDC ONE HX9299A and Star Butterfly X920.

UPDATE March 2014: The HDC N9589 now comes with the faster MTK6589T 1.5 ghz quad core processor. This old review was based on the older MTK6589 1.2ghz quad core processor.

Here are the links of the two phones you can view.
HDC N9589
MIZ Z5