Implicit activity call
With an intent filter you create action for your activity so other apps can call your activity via an action:
<activity android:name=".BrowserActivitiy" android:label="@string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="http"/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
.
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("http://www.example.com"));
startActivity(intent);
Explicit activity call
You make a call that indicates exactly which activity class to use:
Intent intent = new Intent(this, ActivityABC.class);
startActivity(intent);
Here's an additional reference