Both HTC and Samsung are being watched closely by people around the world with their two monster flagship devices. HTC One M7 was launched at the recent Mobile World Congress 2013 and amazed many with its unique features such as HTC Zoe, BlinkFeed, dual-speakers with amplifiers, and HTC Voice Sense. Samsung Galaxy S IV will make its own solo performance in New York City tomorrow evening, March 14, 2013.

The rivalry between the two manufacturers are unmatched. HTC is well-known for the One line-up branding, and Samsung dominated the Android population with the Galaxy brand. Should HTC be worried about Samsung's come back?

While HTC brand is not to be underestimated, the company's finances and standing in market share have slipped over the last two years and Samsung's Galaxy devices continues to gain popularity, threatening Google as well.

HTC focused on the concept "less is more" and lost with the incremental One X+, One VX, and One SV. It was a losing gamble between global launch and individual carrier releases. On the other side, Samsung launched Galaxy S3 with only two versions - the international version and the U.S. carrier with LTE exclusive.

The effect was Galaxy S3 gained revenue with more than 40 million units sold worldwide while HTC One X quickly faded behind the curtain.

HTC learned the mistakes and is now back into the fold with a brand new flagship device, carrying 4MP or Ultrapixels that capture better image and videos than other 13MP cameras offered by competitors. HTC One M7 included the latest HTC Sense 5.0 which is much stable, smoother and more reliable than other One devices.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is yet to be seen, and all eyes are on it for its features, package and unique attributes if it can break the upcoming iPhone, HTC One M7 and Sony Xperia Z.

Meanwhile, Google is fixing its eyes on its favoured partner, Samsung. The Android OS made the South Korean tech giant become the dominant smartphone maker in the world with nearly 215 million smartphones in 2012 or 40 per cent of the global market.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Google is concerned about the growing dominance of Samsung among Android devices and the tech company's position could enable it to negotiate more favourable terms from Google for mobile advertising revenue. This will allow Samsung to install more of its custom-built apps on its devices or completely fork Android to cut Google out of the picture.

Samsung may separate from Android to create its own mobile operating system similar with Firefox and Amazon, and this is not impossible. Samsung already has an exclusive mobile OS in South Korea called "Bada" or ocean.

Google's main defense is the upcoming device called the Motorola X Phone which is speculated to run the new Android OS version 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Some enthusiasts view the Motorola X Phone to be under Nexus line and future-proof which would match even newer smartphones in the future. Confirmation about all the speculation surrounding the device is due probably on May 2013.

If Samsung will go stand-alone, the tech giant will be making the four-way battle to five, Android vs. iOS vs. Blackberry vs. Windows Phone vs. Samsung's.

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