HTC Desire Z vs Motorola Droid 3
A spec-by-spec comparison of the HTC Desire Z and the Motorola Droid 3, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Price | $5,999 | $40 |
| Our rating | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Battery | 1,300 mAh | 1,540 mAh |
| Storage (max) | — | 32 GB |
| Screen size | 3.7 in | 4 in |
| Main camera | 5 MP | 8 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 180 g | 169 g |
| Released | Nov 2010 | Jul 2011 |
Summary: HTC Desire Z is ahead on our rating. Motorola Droid 3 is ahead on battery, screen size, main camera, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Motorola Droid 3 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Type | S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | TFT capacitive touchscreen |
| Size | 3.7 inches | 4.0 inches |
| Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA) | 540 x 960 pixels (qHD) |
| Protection | Gorilla Glass (reported by some sources) | — |
| Pixel Density | ~252 ppi | — |
Platform
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| OS | Android 2.2.1 (Froyo), upgradable to 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) with HTC Sense 2.1 UI | Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), upgradable to 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7230 (Snapdragon S2) | TI OMAP 4430 |
| CPU | 800 MHz Scorpion ARMv7 | Dual-core 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 |
| GPU | Adreno 205 | PowerVR SGX540 @ 304 MHz |
Memory
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Internal | 1.5 GB Flash | 16 GB, 512 MB RAM |
| RAM | 512 MB | — |
| Card slot | microSD (SD 2.0 compatible), microSDHC | microSDHC (dedicated slot), up to 32 GB |
Main Camera
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Single | 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash | 8 MP, autofocus |
| Features | Face detection, geotagging | — |
| Video | 720p | 1080p@30fps |
Selfie Camera
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Single | None | VGA |
| Video | — | Yes |
Battery
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Type | Removable Li-Ion | Removable Li-Ion 1540 mAh |
| Capacity | 1300 mAh | — |
| Talk time | Up to 9 h 50 min (2G) / 6 h 40 min (3G) | Up to 9 h 20 min (3G) |
| Stand-by | Up to 430 h (2G) / 420 h (3G) | Up to 300 h (3G) |
Body
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 119 x 60.4 x 14.16 mm (4.685 x 2.378 x 0.557 in) | 124 x 64 x 13 mm (4.88 x 2.52 x 0.51 in) |
| Weight | 180 g (6 oz) | 169 g (5.96 oz) |
| Build | Aluminum shell | — |
| SIM | Mini-SIM | Mini-SIM |
| Keyboard | Physical QWERTY slider keyboard | 5-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard |
Comms
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 with A2DP | — |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS | — |
| USB | micro-USB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0 |
| Radio | FM radio with RDS | — |
| Positioning | — | GPS, A-GPS |
Launch
| HTC Desire Z | Motorola Droid 3 |
|---|
| Announced | 2010, September 15 | 2011, July |
| Status | Released 2010, November | Discontinued |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, HTC Desire Z or Motorola Droid 3?
Motorola Droid 3 — 1,300 mAh for the HTC Desire Z versus 1,540 mAh for the Motorola Droid 3.
Which is lighter, HTC Desire Z or Motorola Droid 3?
Motorola Droid 3 — 180 g for the HTC Desire Z versus 169 g for the Motorola Droid 3.
Which is newer, HTC Desire Z or Motorola Droid 3?
Motorola Droid 3 — Nov 2010 for the HTC Desire Z versus Jul 2011 for the Motorola Droid 3.
Is the HTC Desire Z or the Motorola Droid 3 rated higher?
We rate the HTC Desire Z 7/10 and the Motorola Droid 3 6/10.
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