Related
Well.. looks like in the end that the Arc's camera performance is not all that good...
http://www.gsmarena.com/8mp_shootout_2011-review-673p5.php
really bad... maybe some mod on the camera can get a bit more quality out of the device... really a shame to see xperia arc perform like this...
NeoCream said:
Well.. looks like in the end that the Arc's camera performance is not all that good...
http://www.gsmarena.com/8mp_shootout_2011-review-673p5.php
really bad... maybe some mod on the camera can get a bit more quality out of the device... really a shame to see xperia arc perform like this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are take under Auto settings. When we set it to manual it can take great pictures ... Check this out
excuse me,but, there isn`t any developer working on this?
i think if the iphone use the same ccd,our arc can do better fotos.
i believe the compression ratio is very high...
I ma relly disappointed
Sorry to say that those comparsion is a bit of bias towards iphone 4S.
If you guys notice, the issue with the arc is mainly due to the high compression. I don't understand why SE wanted to do this . Be it photo or video arc loose due to the noise level and lack of detail, which are caused due to high compression and bite rate.
Pynzeta said:
excuse me,but, there isn`t any developer working on this?
i think if the iphone use the same ccd,our arc can do better fotos.
i believe the compression ratio is very high...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a CMOS sensor, not CCD. The phone they used to test is the arc S.
I read their review of the arc S and gsmarena commented that the camera output of arc S is somewhat different from the arc. The arc's camera performed better.
You may try checking the reviews of arc and arc S if you want.
The high JPEG compression is one issue here as majority of the pictures ranged from 500KB to 1.80MB (based from my experience and all photos are full 8megapixels)
I tried camera advance and camera fx, you can choose the JPEG compression but when I viewed it on PC at 100% magnification the picture has the same details as the default camera app.
I think the JPEG format processing of the arc itself is the problem. The X10 has more details and larger file size btw.
Perhaps gsmarena used the default settings of the camera (auto scene recognition) during their test. They did not bother at all to choose manual settings imho.
Pynzeta said:
excuse me,but, there isn`t any developer working on this?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, as much as I know no one is working on that... it seems to be pretty complicated to do... :-(
NeoCream said:
Well.. looks like in the end that the Arc's camera performance is not all that good...
http://www.gsmarena.com/8mp_shootout_2011-review-673p5.php
really bad... maybe some mod on the camera can get a bit more quality out of the device... really a shame to see xperia arc perform like this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a real old Daily GSMarena visitor.i must say check their other news about SE.One word:GSM arena only Loves nokia and is totaly biased
Yeah but if you read carefully the summary, every camera there has some problems.
I'm not biased, I use an Arc & compared it to iphone 4.
iphone 4 came out much better except during really low light settings.
So iphone 4s must be be even better.
Shame really due to the high compression rate. Also I own a xperia x1 with a 3.2mp & apart from being extremely slow the quality on pics is almost on par with the Arc.
Sent from my LT15i using xda premium
I have an arc S and my wife has a iphone 4s. Iv done a fair few comparisons and it turns out the iPhone is the winner. In EVERY photo the iphone has sooooo much more detail, has better colour saturation and doesnt blow out highlights like my arc does.
Im extremely disapointed with the arc camera quality. I got way better from my x10 and c905.
When the arc s and 4s have the same sensor it troubles me to think that the sony devs just couldnt give two ****s about competing especially if its going to eat into their camera business but guess what, selling their sensor to apple has pretty much stopped alot of people from going out and buying a point and shoot wether it be sony or another brand.
So all you android die hards that think apple is **** in every way, why dont you go compare the 4s camera to your arc and get a phone full of humiliation. Too the people or said they used auto exposure setting, what do you think the iphone uses, FAIR FIGHT....DONE!!!
harlz said:
I have an arc S and my wife has a iphone 4s. Iv done a fair few comparisons and it turns out the iPhone is the winner. In EVERY photo the iphone has sooooo much more detail, has better colour saturation and doesnt blow out highlights like my arc does.
Im extremely disapointed with the arc camera quality. I got way better from my x10 and c905.
When the arc s and 4s have the same sensor it troubles me to think that the sony devs just couldnt give two ****s about competing especially if its going to eat into their camera business but guess what, selling their sensor to apple has pretty much stopped alot of people from going out and buying a point and shoot wether it be sony or another brand.
So all you android die hards that think apple is **** in every way, why dont you go compare the 4s camera to your arc and get a phone full of humiliation. Too the people or said they used auto exposure setting, what do you think the iphone uses, FAIR FIGHT....DONE!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. But don't forget Apple and Android in general have another way of approaching things. Apple uses a 1-way-fits all approach in which there is very little customization possible. In UI, features, but also in camera this is obvious. This suits most (non-tech) people, but people who want to have control will hate it. In my opinion its too bland, closed and boring. But it works, so that is enough for a lot of people.
In android the user is the king. That means you have to know what you are doing to get the most out of it. Using the auto-setting is not as fine-tuned as it should be. SE and other Android manufacturers have many phones and setups to consider so making perfect auto-settings is out of the question in most cases. Apple had a much easier job with only 1 phone to tune. But most of us won't use auto-settings anyways. Even on normal-mode with middle-of-the-road settings you get better results than auto-settings on the Arc, which is very unpredictable.
I've compared both and they are very similar and subjected to taste. On auto the 4S is definitely better, that has to be said indeed. But if you care about those things and don't care about looking further than your nose than you should be better of with the iPhone experience anyways.
If im not mistaken, when I watched Iphone 4S keynote, I remember when they introduced the 8MP camera sensor, and said that they "have done something to the sensor, we added additional lens to for better picture quality and..."
so same sensor on the Arc, but with a little modifications made by Apple to make it better?
Too much compression on Arc is very irritating
thephilip said:
I'm not biased, I use an Arc & compared it to iphone 4.
iphone 4 came out much better except during really low light settings.
So iphone 4s must be be even better.
Shame really due to the high compression rate. Also I own a xperia x1 with a 3.2mp & apart from being extremely slow the quality on pics is almost on par with the Arc.
Sent from my LT15i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting comment because I also own X1 and also think it has amazing camera, I made amazing shots with it.
But I still think Arc camera is amazing. Also in low light.
It even got camera of the year award. Honestly X10 is a little worse.
The only thing which can spoil the game is compression.
I can't comment about the original arc since I have the arc s but I do know the camera could be much better. Is it possible that the arc s camera may not be as good as the original arc? if it won best camera phone award I don't see how.
Sent from my LT18i using XDA App
harlz said:
I can't comment about the original arc since I have the arc s but I do know the camera could be much better. Is it possible that the arc s camera may not be as good as the original arc? if it won best camera phone award I don't see how.
Sent from my LT18i using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I don't know, the overall quality incl. night shots plus features?!
The funny thing is to go carefully through GSMArena comparative test.
In some areas X10 is the best of all three (X10/Arc/iPhone 4s)
but in some it loses.
iPhone 4s has great detail but - it makes too bright pics! Just look at ISO 12233 chart, which is grey but on iPhone it's white, lol.
P.S. Just compared Arc S/Arc/iPhone 4s and definitely there are spots where Arc S performs better than Arc, and tiny bit better than iPhone.
Arc S and Arc cameras are very similar but not identical.
I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]
My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review
Why I Chose The Xperia Z
I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.
The Beauty Meets The Beast
The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.
Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.
User Interface
Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.
Performance Powerhouse
Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.
Camera, Video and Screen
Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.
Connectivity
No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.
Its Music To My Ears
I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.
Speaker & Microphone Quality
The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.
Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.
The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina
I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?
Prepared For Accidents
The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.
Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.
Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER
Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.
P.s Feedback on my review?
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Great review. I agree with most parts.
Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.
Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.
HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.
I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.
Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :
1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.
2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )
_JT said:
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.
The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.
Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.
I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.
L0cke said:
Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.
I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Then I would recommend the Xperia Z. Its bootloader is easily unlockable. But if you prefer the HTC One, there's the Developer edition that ships with the bootloader unlocked, but its not on contract, so you might have to pay more as there are no Carrier subsidies.
biffsmash said:
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.
The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! When I take an image with the HTC One, details that are in the background isn't very clear and is noisy. Glad to see that someone has the same opinion as me. As for the Xperia Z, I usually use it in Superior Auto and under 9MP. Images are very clear while burst mode are just blurry images.
fookea said:
Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :
1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.
2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but then again, whats the point of buying the particular brand or model then? Why not go for the one that has the best specs. Just my 2 cents.
Gonna try Purexaudio. Thanks
biffsmash said:
Great review. I agree with most parts.
Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.
Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.
HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.
I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mic and speakers are alright to me though. Maybe its just me. About the earphones, yeah, they are kinda soft, but loud enough for me. They output the same volume level as I had set before on the iPhone 5 when I was using it. I don't really like my music loud. About Beats Audio, I did not say anything bad about it? I was trying to explain that the ClearAudio+ is similar to Beats Audio on HTC phones that is just a setting that you enable/disable. Don't get me wrong, Beats audio is great. I agree with the little UI lags on the Xperia Z. Its kinda irritating? I don't know. But it does annoy me a little. About the HTC One, yes, its a fast phone, but Sense 5.0 is not for me and no, I won't use launchers. Period. The screen is better? I don't know. Thats what reviews and people that own it say. It actually doesn't matter to me, at least. As long as the screen looks great, who cares if there are other better ones out there. I like my Xperia Z screen just fine, thank you. Call me dumb, but this is just my opinion. And the above is YOUR opinion, and I respect that. Everyone have different views on different phones.
Thanks for letting me know what you think
_JT said:
Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.
I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Sure, I'll have a look. In my experience, I find the Xperia Z camera to be better then the HTC One. The Xperia Z takes great pictures. Details are present even far in the background, unlike the HTC One, which is just a fuzzy mess. Maybe its the particular model that I tried out. I'm just content with my Xperia Z camera now. Thanks for sharing your view
Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.
Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584
Dead cookies leave no trails...
I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.
biffsmash said:
I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
biffsmash said:
The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.
The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.
One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).
So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2
Dsteppa said:
I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).
So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2
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Click to collapse
After your and biffsmash posts I got curious. Quickly tried my Jamo in-ears and AKG DJ619. Result: Jamo's were VERY loud and max volume on the AKG was just about enough, really wouldn't want any louder than that. Not sure wether I heard distortion but this was streamed, need to listen to good quality recordings first before I can judge sound quality. From what I can remember from my HOX it wasn't really louder.
Dannyada1988 said:
Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.
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Be sure to drop by your local Carrier retail store to check it out!
Cookie Ninja said:
Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584
Dead cookies leave no trails...
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Thanks! I'll take a look at your post as well.
_JT said:
I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
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That is good to hear for HTC One users and potential owners. Its actually pretty bad. I spent 30mins at the store checking it out. But that's before the update though. Maybe its much better now
Well I am using Xperia Z for 4-5 day's now.. It's really beautiful phone and if I can say - something different for me..
After years of using Galaxy ( S, S2, S3, Note 2) I decided to switch to Sony for the first time.. Some things are different, but I was able to do those simple things root/CWM.. (And that all I know how to do, but again those are most important things for me).. I don't want to play with those bootloaders because I don't know what it's doing and I can f..k up my phone - so no ROM's for me now..
What I don't like about phone (or where I am little disappointed) :
SOUND is too low on max volume.. On my Galaxy I could never put it on max volume.. Here on max volume is just - pfff... weak..
(Headphones which come with phone - REALLY STUPID not having volume up/down, so you have to take your phone every time when you want to change volume.. That cord on right earphone sooo long, on the left so short - annoying... )
CAMERA - I did't use it for this couple of day's - but I was looking here on XDA thread with Xpera Z images/photos... VERY disappointing.. Photos are just NOT SHARP at all.. Only thing that I am hoping for is that Sony will fix that with some software update.. Because you can't tell me that one SONY whose sensor has been used by so many other phones - can't make its camera perfect (at least better than competition)..
Those are things for now that I can see.. But as I said I am using this phone only for couple of days now - will see..
_JT said:
Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php
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Might wanna look at this
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_vs_xperia_z-review-917p9.php
Winner: Sony Xperia Z. The color rendering and HDR could have been better, but if Sony tweaks its image processing algorithms, the Xperia Z can put out some pretty good shots. Even as things stand now though, it has an advantage over the HTC One.
The HTC One enjoys a wider FoV, better color accuracy HDR, but the low 4MP resolution limits the resolved detail and image noise eats further into it.
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PokerFaze said:
I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]
My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review
Why I Chose The Xperia Z
I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.
The Beauty Meets The Beast
The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.
Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.
User Interface
Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.
Performance Powerhouse
Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.
Camera, Video and Screen
Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.
Connectivity
No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.
Its Music To My Ears
I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.
Speaker & Microphone Quality
The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.
Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.
The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina
I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?
Prepared For Accidents
The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.
Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.
Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER
Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.
P.s Feedback on my review?
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I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now
I just could not decide so got both One and Z
Water proof, without that, i wouldn't have bought Z .
daniel.nguyen said:
I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now
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hmmm... The battery life on mine is awesome. 8 hours in school and the battery doesn't drop a single percentage. The preloaded apps might be the issue.
mndgz said:
I just could not decide so got both One and Z
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Well, I guess that solves the problem as well
Sent from my Sexy White Xperia Z
I thiink exactly the same, great post
So What you think about your SP camera . is it good, avg or below avg .
comment on this thread and share your views , and also some reasons for your views
for me its good but it needs some fixes like noise reduction and most impotently highly oversaturated colors some time . in macro mode, pictures behind the main object are noisy (not blurry) and pics in low light with flash, are so yellowish
I think photos in low-light cause white objects to turn out greenish. Also, the camera app or something automatically sharpens the image, making it look unnaturally sharp and blotchy when zoomed in. Would like more controls to turn this sharpen on and off, as well as a 'set' mode for the white balance.
The camera button always opens the camera app in a 'default' mode and doesn't remember any previous settings too, so I always have to open from the app drawer to make sure premium auto isn't set.
Does anyone notice any differences with image stabilization turned on or off?
Theres the good:
http://i.imgur.com/jiZ6U0J.jpg
The "pretty decent":
http://i.imgur.com/cND6Yy3.jpg
The alright:
http://i.imgur.com/B0NGRtU.jpg
And the bad:
http://i.imgur.com/1JZYaFA.jpg
Overall i'd say if you value the camera a lot don't buy this, but if you don't take pictures every day this is fine
Sinse Exmor R sensors on iPhone 4s/5, S3 and Note 2 are excellent, the Exmor RS sensor inside SP should be better, but Sony software ruins it.
As long as there's a lot of light the camera is great but when it gets dark the camera captures too much noise
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium
compare my own Xperia Ray & SP.
finding SP sucks.
Views on Xperia SP Camera
Positives:
Vivid colors
good camera UI and lots of effects,options
HD Video recording quality is good
seperate hardware 2-stage shutter key, instant photos from sleep
'Document mode' is wonderful-text in magazine pages/books are captured sharply
Negatives
Noise- all pictures have noise other than those with bright light
Previewing a taken photo and getting back to shooting mode takes long time(lag?)
no Burst mode
HDR mode is overly-artificial
very poor 'Low light' shots
Overall, SP's camera is good for day-to-day use but not exceptional and I will need to carry my digital camera for vacations
.
camera comparison between Xperia L , Galaxy Maga 5.8 and SP . results are so bad for 8mp camera of SP compared to its price
http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=3&idPhone1=5363&idPhone2=5396&idPhone3=5364
xPeRiA_RaVi said:
camera comparison between Xperia L , Galaxy Maga 5.8 and SP . results are so bad for 8mp camera of SP compared to its price
http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=3&idPhone1=5363&idPhone2=5396&idPhone3=5364
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L performing better than SP, lol sony
It's a phone, not a camera.
Sent from my C5303 using Tapatalk 2
technaudio said:
It's a phone, not a camera.
Sent from my C5303 using Tapatalk 2
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Agree with you. Please stop complaining about the camera guys.. If u need a better camera phone go for ZR or Z.
Even Xperia S have 12 MP camera and its sucks. . .
For that price the camera is ok for SP. Pls stop complaining...
And pls dont blame me anyone because of this comment.. If any one do that means i will forget XDA rules...
rajeevxperia said:
Agree with you. Please stop complaining about the camera guys.. If u need a better camera phone go for ZR or Z.
Even Xperia S have 12 MP camera and its sucks. . .
For that price the camera is ok for SP. Pls stop complaining...
And pls dont blame me anyone because of this comment.. If any one do that means i will forget XDA rules...
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The camera is worse than the camera on older devices with the same price and devices with cheaper prices too so I disagree
Sony has a long history with digital cameras AND has also made the Exmor RS sensor, so they should have known what they were doing on the camera
You can see the comparisson here: http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=3&idPhone1=4134&idPhone2=5364&idPhone3=4238
Arc S - old and cheaper
S3 - old and only slightly more expensive
Also, if you just want a "phone" you should really just get a $20 one because that makes calls and sends text messages too, as you don't seem to want extra functionalities
ZakooZ said:
The camera is worse than the camera on older devices with the same price and devices with cheaper prices too so I disagree
Sony has a long history with digital cameras AND has also made the Exmor RS sensor, so they should have known what they were doing on the camera
You can see the comparisson here: http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=3&idPhone1=4134&idPhone2=5364&idPhone3=4238
Arc S - old and cheaper
S3 - old and only slightly more expensive
Also, if you just want a "phone" you should really just get a $20 one because that makes calls and sends text messages too, as you don't seem to want extra functionalities
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Ha ha .. I agree. I dont want to fight here.. Because i am not a photographer. I bought this phone for Gaming and other stuff. Because i am a mad gamer.. And i am not taking photos much. So dont care about it..
May be sony will do a software update for this... I hope so....
And i am not disappointed with the price bro. Because i got it for 19500 Indian Ruppes.. No bill and warrenty..
Any way my wishes for u guys for a better camera update from Sony soon....
The update for the Z made my phone so much better, so I hope the SP will get a similar tweak soon.
I've had one update so far on my SP (review phone from Sony) but can't see any change to the camera, and it still has the grey background.
I am sure the camera can be made good. Stick with it!
Today I went to pay my phone bill and a Sony guy was in the carrer's store (Telcel, MX). We spent about 30 minutes comparing and testing the ZL against the SP.
Both phones feel the same weight on the hand, not too much difference between the 1080P screen on the ZL from the 720P on the SP. And most important: Camera SUCKS on the ZL I know it's software problem, the SP on Superior Auto offered better ilumination on the same picture. I don't use Superior Auto, "Normal" mode works a lot better for me.
ZL wins in IR LED, bigger screen and Quad core performance...but let's keep in mind this: The SP is a mid-range phone that can compete with last year flagships.
As I said, the Z had an update to massively improve the camera. Maybe the ZL you saw hadn't had this update?
But I would say the SP is an excellent phone for the money. SIM free in the UK from Clove, you can get it for £300. Most high end models will be £500-600 so that's a big saving.
My wife thinks the Z is too big and loves the SP, so I expect Sony should sell a fair few of them.
can someone upload SemcCameraUI.apk
levered said:
can someone upload SemcCameraUI.apk
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SemcCameraUI.apk from SP
Average
Though SP's camera does good in good lighting, in low light the images are downright bad. Superior auto is actually the worse performer than the normal mode. All these just don't cut for a device in it's price range. Hope a software update resolves the issue.
I still went for SP due to its Processor & GPU. It blows S3 & One X/X+ in benchmarks, gaming, web browsing etc. And besides one better use a good digicam for nice pics. The indoor party shots would be "ok" at best with any other camera phone unless its Nokia's PureView.
Ok i gave my htc one to my son and will be buying a new phone part of me misses my htc one and have no complaints about it,part of me wants to go with the xz, im in the us on tmobile so both have lte and both are awesome phones just looking for any input, i know its my decision just trying to get some advice from xz owners
Go to a store and play with it for 10 minutes, then decide, no one will tell you what will fit in your hand, which interface will cover your needs and please your eyes. I believe that both phones are incredible, I own an Xperia Z of course.
I really recommend trying the camera of both.
I bought HTC one for my sister, and I saw the camera very bad.
XZ camera is not what you will expect also.
Try S4 our is good also
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app
Jonathan2677 said:
Ok i gave my htc one to my son and will be buying a new phone part of me misses my htc one and have no complaints about it,part of me wants to go with the xz, im in the us on tmobile so both have lte and both are awesome phones just looking for any input, i know its my decision just trying to get some advice from xz owners
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IP75 of Xperia Z
Bigger Screen
if these are important for u so buy xperia z if not just play with coin
I heard T-Mobile is pricing Xperia Z relatively cheap. In you're value caution, I strongly recommend Xperia Z. HTC One's camera isn't impressive and HTC is known to abandon phones after a year.
Sent from my LT28h using xda app-developers app
I think you can go a very, photo taken in low light are very disappointing on the XZ, or you know something I do not know ...
Was in the same situation a month ago. I did what everyone suggested and went to the store to try all of them out. I chose between S4, HTC ONE and XZ... XZ's waterproof feature won me over.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
chefnoob said:
Was in the same situation a month ago. I did what everyone suggested and went to the store to try all of them out. I chose between S4, HTC ONE and XZ... XZ's waterproof feature won me over.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
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I bought the HTC One and sold it after about 2 weeks. I took it on a cruise, and was terrified of taking it anywhere, the pool, the beach, anywhere near the side of the ship.
I found it was extremely sippery. That metal makes it hard to hold. Also, it was incredibly easy to scratch/smudge. Also, the camera really wasn't that great. I really liked the Zoe feature and the autmatic gallery but I've since found some Android apps that do almost the same thing. The Z camera is hands down better overall.
I bought the Xperia Z and have been using it like a real phone. Not afraid to get it dirty or wet. I even took it in the water at the waterpark last week and took some great pictures floating down the lazy river. Can't do that with the HTC One!
stiffi2011 said:
I bought the HTC One and sold it after about 2 weeks. I took it on a cruise, and was terrified of taking it anywhere, the pool, the beach, anywhere near the side of the ship.
I found it was extremely sippery. That metal makes it hard to hold. Also, it was incredibly easy to scratch/smudge. Also, the camera really wasn't that great. I really liked the Zoe feature and the autmatic gallery but I've since found some Android apps that do almost the same thing. The Z camera is hands down better overall.
I bought the Xperia Z and have been using it like a real phone. Not afraid to get it dirty or wet. I even took it in the water at the waterpark last week and took some great pictures floating down the lazy river. Can't do that with the HTC One!
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Which app comes closest to zoe? And do you know any apps that is similar to s4s drama shot?
Sent from my C6603
joejoe23 said:
Which app comes closest to zoe? And do you know any apps that is similar to s4s drama shot?
Sent from my C6603
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+1
I really recommend Xperia Z, the only problem with this phone is its battery life, it's not as long as HTC one, but overall it's better
daniel.nguyen said:
I really recommend Xperia Z, the only problem with this phone is its battery life, it's not as long as HTC one, but overall it's better
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And the battery life really isn't as bad as everyone says. If you know you're gonna need long battery life on a particular day, disable Bluetooth, LTE and GPS, dim the screen down a notch or two and I think you'll find the XZ has really good battery life when you need it. With everything enabled I never have trouble getting it to last a day with about an hour or 2 of screen use and about 10-15% left at the end of the day.
Personally, I'd go with the xperia z
joejoe23 said:
Which app comes closest to zoe? And do you know any apps that is similar to s4s drama shot?
Sent from my C6603
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I wasn't speaking of copying Zoe, but rather the auto clip creator the HTC one Gallery does. Check this link for apps that do a similar thing (though more manually)
http://techbuzzes.com/2013/03/best-video-editing-apps-for-android/
Having owned both the Xz and One, they both have there plus and minus points.
The One has the best external speakers on any smartphone out there, incredible in fact. Zoe is fantastic and since i got rid of my One, that is the main feature i miss along with Blinkfeed, which at first i thought was going to be crap, but once you load it up with Facebook, twitter and your favourite news and television channels, its so handy, also the infra red control of your tv is pretty amazing as well.
The Xz has a larger screen and if you view straight on I would say its clarity is the best on any device, the sound through the headphones with all the sony options is near perfect, also you get to be able to expand the memory with a microSD which the One doesn't have, for me taking my smartphone out for a run, the xz I could simply lob in my running tops pocket and it repels the sweat and rain, where as the one or any other phone you have to put in a sandwich bag or something another minor thing i like about the xs is the power/volume button locations are absolutely spot on, perfectly located for me anyway.
Alas there is one thing that totally lets down the xz in my opinion and that's the WIFI, its totally appalling, Same router at the same time, the One could pick up a signal right at the end of the garden, the iphone lost if half way up the garden yet the xz lost it in the kitchen, didn't even make the sunroom, maybe mine was a faulty unit...I could live with the mediocre battery life and the poor viewing angles, but the weak wifi was a show stopper.
HTC one Boomsound is amazing, compared to Xperia Z speaker ("crap")
but Xperia Z water-resistant, sometimes i like to wash in with water, somewhat fun! lol
Xperia Z camera win in "quantity", 13MP
Both of phone, almost same camera quality.
What i like from xperia z
- Clearbass, is perfectly clear! (get a good headphones, the one included is clear, but not "soul shaking clarity", and low sensitivity, very low volume.)
- 80GB of storage (16GB internal + 64GB microSD)
- Build quality, Glass and polyamide frame (HTC has nice aluminium unibody too!)
- 5inch FHD display (same as HTC one)
I've owned Xperia Z.
As i said i own a htc one but gave it to my son i did go ahead and order the xz tmobile model off sony today if i find i dont like it as much as i did my one ,ill get my son to trade back ,i do like the dev on the htc one and really loved the vipor one rom by team venom but just felt like i really wanted the sony but thanks for everyones input
~iPod~nano~ said:
HTC one Boomsound is amazing, compared to Xperia Z speaker ("crap")
but Xperia Z water-resistant, sometimes i like to wash in with water, somewhat fun! lol
Xperia Z camera win in "quantity", 13MP
Both of phone, almost same camera quality.
What i like from xperia z
- Clearbass, is perfectly clear! (get a good headphones, the one included is clear, but not "soul shaking clarity", and low sensitivity, very low volume.)
- 80GB of storage (16GB internal + 64GB microSD)
- Build quality, Glass and polyamide frame (HTC has nice aluminium unibody too!)
- 5inch FHD display (same as HTC one)
I've owned Xperia Z.
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Click to collapse
For me who really likes listening music hardly listens to music through speaker.
~iPod~nano~ said:
HTC one Boomsound is amazing, compared to Xperia Z speaker ("crap")
but Xperia Z water-resistant, sometimes i like to wash in with water, somewhat fun! lol
Xperia Z camera win in "quantity", 13MP
Both of phone, almost same camera quality.
What i like from xperia z
- Clearbass, is perfectly clear! (get a good headphones, the one included is clear, but not "soul shaking clarity", and low sensitivity, very low volume.)
- 80GB of storage (16GB internal + 64GB microSD)
- Build quality, Glass and polyamide frame (HTC has nice aluminium unibody too!)
- 5inch FHD display (same as HTC one)
I've owned Xperia Z.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say crap... Can you rate I to a scale of one to ten... Considering Htc one is a ten... Currently I have the one. But I want the so y z.
How does speakers compare to let's say the samsung galaxy s4 or iPhone 5?
The reason you don't listen to music through the built in speakers on smartphones is due to the fact that most are pretty poor speakers. Until the htc one came along with its stereo front facing amped speakers. They really are a step above anything else. Alas the Z's speaker as its only one side mounted low quality thing. But thankfully listening through headphones is phenomenal on the z
Scale 1 to 10 external speakers
Htc one.... 10
iPhone 5....6
Xperia z....2
Scale 1 to 10 headphone listening
Htc one....9
iPhone 5....8
Xperia z....9
After my Z ultra screen cracked,the people at service centre are giving me a new Xperia Z as replacement with 1 yr warranty(FREE? ofcourse NOT,i paid 7500 INR for it)..so my question is how is the 2013 flagship phone performing now?
Is it good for daily use(browsing,facebook,whatsapp,small-medium gaming)??
And mainly how's the camera??
As I'm a former z Ultra user, i've become used to with the lag free usage,Will it be the same for Xperia Z?
The camera in z ultra was really very very bad,so i think Z will have a better camera...
Speed, performance on games/apps: 8/10
Tried most of new games and heavy apps... Sometimes its lag, but mostly because I have other apps working on the background
It have problem with heating, and battery is like waterfall when you use it heavy, but for daily use and gaming... I have no idea why people want more powerful hardware if this one in XZ is actually still top of the line...
Of course benchmark people gonna start complaining but real life is not benchmark :] So if someone want to fight for 200 more points in Antu... antutu... that crappy app for people that like numbers... feel free to fight for dead in the name of holy "top10" xD
Camera quality: 3/10
It was always crap, still no matter in what condition m taking pic, my old Xperia Arc S is still taking better pics, other phones also take better but its nice comparison to old=new.
To be honest XZ with android 5.0 taking the same pics as old Xperia Neo V(sometimes even worst)
I can make comparison with arc s and neo V, but I dont see the point, if someone think that XZ have good camera... its probably never used other phones.
Its also not that fast, average it take 3-5sec to open it from lockscreen, and alos 3-4 from homescreen.
Autofocus is not that great in low light conditions, and Automatic mode is good only if you want to snap pic of your coffee or Lunch and post it on Instagram
And to be more funny, like most of new phones, when you try to play with functions(colors mods etc) its stop after few minutes with really nice window: "phone need to cool down", hilarious that instead of fixing it, they spend time to make this window...
Also HDR and stabilization option is worst I'v seen, object that move faster than snail have annoying ghosting effect and colors and shadows are like after nuclear attack when you use HDR.
Screen: 9/10
Still its one of better I used, even compared to new models. And viewing angles? Dont care...
Battery: 3/10
Almost one and half year I have my XZ, still the same battery. Battery on LP is crappy as F. Some fanboys say that its ok... but to be honest I think this people spend most of their time in home or use their phones once per few hours. When you use your phone to work and media, AS MOST OF PHONES ARE ADVERTISING... its dead after 5-6h of usage.
Build quality: 4/10
Mostly because of crappy cover flaps, they are dead after 2-3 months. Also that mat painting on housing can peal off after few months on corners
Is also good to mention that XZ have back panel problems... I actually changed back cover three times, I found out that its mostly because of heat and crappy glue method...
So even if I love my Xperia Z, its really average device with really annoying "small" problems and today with the same price you can buy better phones, few days ago I found in one of market in Spain Xperia Z1 compact that cost less than XZ... :]
I'd have to disagree with you on almost all of the things you just said
Speed - 6.5/10 The device actually does stutter because of the old and "slow"(by today's standards) CPU. But most of all, bad coding and bad software is pissing me off, for example recent apps with smallapps usually takes about 2-5 seconds just to show after pressing the button. I'd say speed is OK, the Z won't piss you off, most of the time but compared to lets say nexus 5 its slow as a ****ing snail.
Camera - 8/10 I really have no idea how can you rate this camera so low. What were your criteria really for grading the camera?
Yes, it's not on par with current flagships, but if you go back to 2013, it was right there with back-then flagships, except for low-light photos.
BTW, you probably got a bad phone, since i never got the overheating message, nor did my friends that have/had the Z.
Screen - 5/10 Out of all the things that are actually good, for the only thing that is really bad on the Z, you say its good.... Seems to me you never held more than a few serious phones in your life but OK...
Screen is OK, but lack of contrast, oversaturated screen which needs to be adjusted so it isnt all yellow on white background, and those ****ing viewing angles.... the screen is just OK, nothing less, nothing more.
i dont even agree with build quality, because it seems to be different for different batches of phones. My phone for example is perfect for almost 2 years now, and material usage is cool for me, because it would be fatter with metal edges(like the Z1).
You can agree or disagree, I really dont care.
Why I say that camera in XZ suck? because I compared it to bunch of other phones, and most important to my older phones, and its not that great.
Someone say that its my model have problem... nope. Getting other xz to compare was first what I do.
And for gods sake of course Im not comparing it to new phones... (Jesus Christ... really you thought that Im compare it to new phones?)
Maybe you dont care about things like HUGE chromatic aberration, about good color balance, about algorithm that F up anything that is green or blurry shoots made in day light condition, or ghosting when HDR is enabled.
Maybe you use your camera to shoot selfies or random stuff when you are in park and after that you add massive amount of instagram effect.... Then you can put any camera n your device and you would say that its amazing... Its good for you, really. But other people actually care about image quality, because when your phone have good camera you can actually use for work.
Also no I dont expect that my phone need to shoot DLSR quality images... but there is a line when you get phone that its after all flagship(back then) its need to make a bit better photos than your older phones(after all that why we pay for evolution of phones?)
Other people can like or dont like my opinion, but they need to know that I speed lots of time with this camera and overall with mobile photography and such things is annoying. Im doing loots of pictures in car show and races(I work in car shop and we travel a loot with our cars) and few years ago I actually stopped using normal camera because no one saw difference between image quality(after small processing them in PC of course) and with xz... its just annoying to use it.
And about CPU... most of problem that you pointed out its more about android update(LP or KK im guessing) and its not because old hardware, I really cant stop laughing because of this saying "old hardware" in most of cases its 99% problem of lazy system and app devs that instead of optimizing their work, they use raw power to hind all crappy coding and after that not only battery is dying but CPU is just pissing it self because it just cant handle of laugh looking at what it need processed...
Its really remind me a bit Unity Engine that I need to use for one of project... Effect-Resource Usage ratio of it is just hilarious.... no matter what you doing...
People like to saying crap about hardware instead of bashing crappy software...
You used iPhone? with half of power that Android have you still get the same or better experience, yes its different platform but dont you thing its funny? especially in games? And IM not talking about new iPhone... I mean old models compared to new Android phones....
PS...
Seems to me you never held more than a few serious phones in your life but OK...
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Click to collapse
I need to say that I didnt expect such childish sentence in xda forum :] You actually understand that we live in world when we can just go to shop or friend... and use for few mnutes other phones? Or just buy them?
Just because I use old xperia Z it doesnt mean that I didnt use other phones... Some people like me dont see the point of bying phone every year... XZ have few annoying bugs but its still good phone... You get that right?
OK since i took the time reading you rubbish kilometer post i gotta answer.
i never saw noticable chromatic abberation.
you do know how proper HDR mode works? it pieces together 2 photos? ofcourse you are gonna see ghosting if you move the ****ing phone while shooting.
BTW blurry day shots are because of superior mode yet again, because it automatically activates HDR if there is high contrast on the picture.
check some tests that professionals did. the camera is GOOD, except low light. colors are oversaturated on superior mode. But 90% of users and reviewers are probably crazy, yeah, the camera on Z is ****
the OP asked if it was better than his previous Z ultra. it is miles better.
I'm selling my Z soon. If I had known I'd have so many problems, I'd never have bough it. I changed USB cover flap 2 times already, changed back cover because it cracked (that was my fault, though, didn't have a case and dropped it on the floor, but still), had to peel off the ASF because it scratched pretty quickly and bought a screen protector to replace it. To top it off, my camera has started to get more and more dead pixels, and it's very noticeable. The quality of photos has gone from good to horrible. It's like I'm not even using what used to be a flagship. Front facing camera is pretty bad as well. Battery life is poor, but it's an old chipset, so not much can be done in that department. Screen is okay, I don't really care about viewing angles. Multitasking is fine, too. A bit slow compared to the new phones, but still fast enough (I don't play any heavy games on phone). Typing is for some reason a nightmare at times. I type more accurately on my old Xperia Arc and my boyfriend's Meizu M1 Note than on XZ.
Xperia Z feels like a heavy test subject for latter Z series. Personally, if I had to choose a phone from this series, it would definitely be Z2. I liked its design the best. But for now, I'm staying away from Sony products. Not only because they have disappointed me again (Xperia Arc had build quality issues to begin with), but are also out of my price range now.
Even though I liked Z in the beginning, I somewhat regret spending so much money on it.
Sent from my eXposed C6603
TorN-d- said:
OK since i took the time reading you rubbish kilometer post i gotta answer.
i never saw noticable chromatic abberation.
you do know how proper HDR mode works? it pieces together 2 photos? ofcourse you are gonna see ghosting if you move the ****ing phone while shooting.
BTW blurry day shots are because of superior mode yet again, because it automatically activates HDR if there is high contrast on the picture.
check some tests that professionals did. the camera is GOOD, except low light. colors are oversaturated on superior mode. But 90% of users and reviewers are probably crazy, yeah, the camera on Z is ****
the OP asked if it was better than his previous Z ultra. it is miles better.
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totaly agree with u about the camera taking good pics outside when its brite and bad pics in low lite condition. i had xperia Z for about a year, now my mother has it still a good phone but those flaps are bad made and yea i also forgot to say that it has very very i mean very bad quality speaker LOL did they make joke with us back then in 2013...my first thing when i got it was, i rooted the phone and flashed sound mod lol eveything else was fine i think.now im using Z2 for more then a year and im so satisfied with the phone that my next will be from Sony again maybe Z5 or whatever it comes. :highfive: