We are almost done putting HTC’s new Desire 816 5.5-inch Android through some early hands-on comparisons, having already checked it out against HTC’s One lineup, and now we’re switching manufacturers to see hot the 816 looks when compared to the phablet everybody wants to beat, last year’s Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Make no mistake: the Note 3 is going to outshine the 816 at most of the stuff we’d throw at it – these devices are just very much in different classes. That said, it’s not like an open-and-shut-case here, and the 816 can do a few things the Note 3 can’t, like take really high-res front-facing pictures or pump out stereo music.

This time, though, we don’t have the luxury to get too bogged-down with spec comparisons, and really want just want to form some basic opinions about handset size and design. Watch on to see what we learned.