Some reviews mislead me to believe there was something wrong with this phone, I nearly regretted buying it due to the rumors of "bad" screen, low sound, bugs, performance, lag, battery life, and other concerns, but after several days of usage I must say:
1.- I am very pleased with the screen, my fears are gone. Comming from an Xperia S, this screen looks sharp, bright and the colours are beautiful. AMAZING. Viewing angles are not the best but they were OK enough to impress me and my Samsung/Apple-fanboy friends. The Barvia engine does an incredible job making pics and vids look vivid and alive. Cool. My sammy/apple-loving friends will never put me to shame again over screen quality: the screen made them drool ("is that really a Sony phone?").
- Not the "best" screen out there but at least adequate for a high-end phone, and a GREAT improvement over my previous Xperias.
2.- Bugs and lag. WiFi bug? What WiFi bug? Mine works flawlessly ( :fingers-crossed: fingers crossed). Lag? Camera does have some lag when starting, but nothing to die for (and it makes way better pics than any of my previous phones). I miss the "pinch to see al the widgets floting" screen but I apprecite the fact that Sony didn't change the new ICS/JB buttons layout and functions. I can make folders in my app drawer and many other goodies. The Album app shines and it's a plleasure to use it.
- Polished minimal Sony skin over the vanilla Android UI.
3.- Despite the bigger screen and the quad core, battery life is WAY BETTER than the Xperia S and SGSIII; no charges required during the day for me, and I am a moderate-to-heavy user. I have not messed with Stamina mode yet. My previous phones needed a charge by noon, this one goes all the way to about 6 pm.
- Nice battery life for such a big HD screen. A bigger battery would ruin the slim profile.
4.- I was very affraid of the sound level, but despite being waterproof the loudspeaker sound is OK, not as good as my Xperia S or the SGSIII but good enough, good enough for the alarm to wake me up (and that's a lot :cyclops: ) and good enough to be heard when in my pants pocket or to watch some youtube videos with my friends around in not-so-noisy environments. In-call sound is clear and it has some goodies to enhance the sound, be sure to check them in settings.
- The loudspeaker sound volume takes some sacrifices for being waterproof, but it's still enough for me. I'm not a DJ.
5.- WATERPROOF !!! (or splashproof or water resistant or whatever you want to call it). Boy I should have made some pics of my friends' faces when I submerged this baby in my glass of beer Take that SGS and Apple fanboys! Your phone is rubbish; mine is a shiny piece of waterproof polished cool looking purple glass
- Having a waterproof phone is definitively a BIG plus, especially in a rainy environment.
6.- Build quality is Sony-grade.I made a bet with my fanboy friends: let's drop your iPhone5s, your SGSIIIs, and my Xperia Z from only one foot high. They declined I did it just to show off. From two feet.
- Just what I expected from Sony: it not only looks but feels premium.
7.- Finally, the looks and cool factor. This phone is a chick magnet! They love it in purple. Ice-breaker, conversation starter (Lucky enough I'm not that kind of guy :angel: ). The WOW factor is assured with this phone, not ubiquitous but exclusive.
- I don't know if the SGS5 will come out with a rocket-fuel propelled chip or a mind-controled UI, but this phone is simply the best-looking-phone.
CONS?
Well, I found that the loudspeaker volume went very low after the phone got submerged in water.
At first I was shocked, I thought I may have forgotten to close the seals properly and I thought I could have got some water damage, but after double-checking I realized the reason was very simple: the loudspeaker gets soaked in water.
To recover full sound level I had to:
a) suck the water out of the speaker or
b) warm the phone through a charge.
Now let me put my flame-retardant suit on and let's wait for your oppinions. Your mileage may vary, but mine has been great to date. Just my oppinions. Have fun.
.
amazing phone I felt the same way with all those negative reviews and if truth be told I did cancel my order but felt like I make the biggest mistake, had bad feeling in gut when I cancelled order and found myself taking it out on mates so I called back the next day and re ordered.
I am so happy now I love the phone its amazing. all this bull crap about screen people are missing the point in having a reality display it means the most true to life experience you can get and the xperia z delivers colours are real and they are awesome.
I can see it now samdung galaxy users replacing handsets because of water damage while wishing they opted for the xperia z lol
---------- Post added at 06:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
to clarify I have had no issues with the phone apart for the camera everything else is great. the speaker however is another story its not as good as the sony xperia s but its definitely nothing to be worried about its adequate, but im sure there is a mod floating around that sorts it out but since that's the case then im sure sony will tweak that in next update just don't hold your breath lol
I agree.
I've had a long list of phones android blackberry and iPhone and this puts them all to shame.
Most recently I had an sgs3 4g, battery was so bad.
This phone is big but very good
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
Ta
Thanks for your clear, concise, real-word opinion. I'm getting mine today and I've read a number of the niggle this, niggle that reviews so was getting a little worried but now I'm excited all over again.
First thing I'm planning on doing is putting the camera on timer then dunking it in my beer (actually probably someone else’s, don't want to waste my pint). My first ever bubble eye view from a pint!
EXACLTY
The reviews actually scared me off this phone for a while slamming the ports, the screen the battery life and "buggy" software. I was all set to buy and HTC One and then they got delayed in my country and the price they quoted was more than the Z so I bought the Z and I do not regret the purchase.
I love the screen, way nicer than the cartoony AMOLED of my Gnex, and Battery is amazing, Stamina mode when used correctly literally means when the screen is off 0% is used. its amazing, my phone uses about 30-40% per normal day!!!
I have loaded it up with triple the amount of music that I had on my Gnex (thanks to expandable SD) and my only issue was music quality which was quickly remedied by the ACID mod but my Gnex had **** music quality and i used a mod to remedy that also.
Camera is good, better than the Gnex and better then the HTC one was going to be but i dont use cameras and I have come accross no bugs, also its hacker friendly something the S4 and the One are not
LOVE IT
Agree with all of you guys.. Great phone great materials it feels so premium, good sound and battery.. Love it
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
I totally agree. It's the best phone I've ever had, and there isn't anything on the market that I'd rather have.
The screen is amazing. Not overly saturated like Samsung. I don't understand why anybody is complaining about the viewing angles — it's absolutely fine for me. Foreshortening becomes a problem before the "washed-out" colours do. And 5" is just the right size. It's big, but still easy to handle.
The battery life is great, even without stamina mode (which I haven't played with yet). It's better than my Xperia S, or the Samsung Galaxy R I had before that.
The sound is ample enough for me. I don't put it at 100% volume, and it's loud enough. I don't know what I would do with more...
My only complaints are minor:
1) the gray background for the navigation buttons should be black and not as high (but this is fixable with a mod, I know) and
2) the camera seems to have high-quality hardware but Sony messed up the software side with over-processing (but burst mode gives better results) — hopefully they fix this in the 4.2 update.
All I wanna say......
The smartphone I've always dreamt of. Thank you Sony for giving us this master piece!!!!
Sent from my C6602 using xda premium
Great review, I also love my Z. I Soak the phone in water to show my coworkers also and they were all amazed :laugh:.
But I don't dare to drop it like you did hahah.
gtrab said:
Some reviews mislead me to believe there was something wrong with this phone, I nearly regretted buying it due to the rumors of "bad" screen, low sound, bugs, performance, lag, battery life, and other concerns, but after several days of usage I must say:
1.- I am very pleased with the screen, my fears are gone. Comming from an Xperia S, this screen looks sharp, bright and the colours are beautiful. AMAZING. Viewing angles are not the best but they were OK enough to impress me and my Samsung/Apple-fanboy friends. The Barvia engine does an incredible job making pics and vids look vivid and alive. Cool. My sammy/apple-loving friends will never put me to shame again over screen quality: the screen made them drool ("is that really a Sony phone?").
- Not the "best" screen out there but at least adequate for a high-end phone, and a GREAT improvement over my previous Xperias.
2.- Bugs and lag. WiFi bug? What WiFi bug? Mine works flawlessly ( :fingers-crossed: fingers crossed). Lag? Camera does have some lag when starting, but nothing to die for (and it makes way better pics than any of my previous phones). I miss the "pinch to see al the widgets floting" screen but I apprecite the fact that Sony didn't change the new ICS/JB buttons layout and functions. I can make folders in my app drawer and many other goodies. The Album app shines and it's a plleasure to use it.
- Polished minimal Sony skin over the vanilla Android UI.
3.- Despite the bigger screen and the quad core, battery life is WAY BETTER than the Xperia S and SGSIII; no charges required during the day for me, and I am a moderate-to-heavy user. I have not messed with Stamina mode yet. My previous phones needed a charge by noon, this one goes all the way to about 6 pm.
- Nice battery life for such a big HD screen. A bigger battery would ruin the slim profile.
4.- I was very affraid of the sound level, but despite being waterproof the loudspeaker sound is OK, not as good as my Xperia S or the SGSIII but good enough, good enough for the alarm to wake me up (and that's a lot :cyclops: ) and good enough to be heard when in my pants pocket or to watch some youtube videos with my friends around in not-so-noisy environments. In-call sound is clear and it has some goodies to enhance the sound, be sure to check them in settings.
- The loudspeaker sound volume takes some sacrifices for being waterproof, but it's still enough for me. I'm not a DJ.
5.- WATERPROOF !!! (or splashproof or water resistant or whatever you want to call it). Boy I should have made some pics of my friends' faces when I submerged this baby in my glass of beer Take that SGS and Apple fanboys! Your phone is rubbish; mine is a shiny piece of waterproof polished cool looking purple glass
- Having a waterproof phone is definitively a BIG plus, especially in a rainy environment.
6.- Build quality is Sony-grade.I made a bet with my fanboy friends: let's drop your iPhone5s, your SGSIIIs, and my Xperia Z from only one foot high. They declined I did it just to show off. From two feet.
- Just what I expected from Sony: it not only looks but feels premium.
7.- Finally, the looks and cool factor. This phone is a chick magnet! They love it in purple. Ice-breaker, conversation starter (Lucky enough I'm not that kind of guy :angel: ). The WOW factor is assured with this phone, not ubiquitous but exclusive.
- I don't know if the SGS5 will come out with a rocket-fuel propelled chip or a mind-controled UI, but this phone is simply the best-looking-phone.
CONS?
Well, I found that the loudspeaker volume went very low after the phone got submerged in water.
At first I was shocked, I thought I may have forgotten to close the seals properly and I thought I could have got some water damage, but after double-checking I realized the reason was very simple: the loudspeaker gets soaked in water.
To recover full sound level I had to:
a) suck the water out of the speaker or
b) warm the phone through a charge.
Now let me put my flame-retardant suit on and let's wait for your oppinions. Your mileage may vary, but mine has been great to date. Just my oppinions. Have fun.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks for your opinion!
Can you post wath is your device settings for optimal battery life..
I newbee in android word i've XZ from 2 days..
What i've to do?
bluetooth can still always on or is drain battery?
wifi can i use the gps option or is better to turn off manualy?
i don't use stamina because i need the led notification..
i've disable the google now..
Can you give me some tricks to expand my battery life.. thank you so much.. and excuse me for my poor english..
andrewx said:
Hi thanks for your opinion!
Can you post wath is your device settings for optimal battery life..
I newbee in android word i've XZ from 2 days..
What i've to do?
bluetooth can still always on or is drain battery?
wifi can i use the gps option or is better to turn off manualy?
i don't use stamina because i need the led notification..
i've disable the google now..
Can you give me some tricks to expand my battery life.. thank you so much.. and excuse me for my poor english..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your battery stats to see what's draining your juice. To me, it was the screen and my mail apps. I stay in 2g (EDGE) unless I want to navigate the web, and I disabled google+ auto pic upload. Also, I changed to auto bright screen. I keep GPS on. BT goes on when I'm driving (smart tag) and WiFi turns on at home & office (another smart tag).
Happy.
Yep I think it knocks the socks off my Razr i for the quality of its wi-fi and fm radio reception. Screen absolutely fine, and camera too when I get to grips with it. Little annoyances are the caps over every orifice that make it look like it's held together with string (it's actually very sturdy) and fingermarks, fingermarks, everywhere. (And I can never get the last few key-location bubbles out from under the screen protector). Unfortunately mine is on a contract with the mickey mouse Three UK's stupidly named One Plan so mobile data and phone is pretty much a waste of space, but since it seems everyone in the overpopulated UK is falling over themselves to provide wi-fi services I can live with their let-down.
First, I love this Xperia!
I'm on stock 350 and rooted. Most of the time the phone works perfectly. However, 2 or 3 times already the phone gets a bit hot, and consuming a lot of juice, for instance using xda app on lte network. SetCPU identified 41 deg Celsius. I was checking battery usage and it gave me a good share for app Devices.
I was looking for info about this app (has the same icon as Movies) but nothing. I blocked it now with Titanium, will I miss it?
Sent from my Xperia Z
How to replace battery on xpwria Z???
Sent from my ST26i using xda premium
The only problem I have is Socialife.
This is unreliable software which has basic problems with fetching updates from Twitter etc.
Shame SONY! And the previous software worked like a charm (Timescape)
The phone is average at best. Already can pick one up for £270 used on ebay
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
You could get it for free and still be an awesome piece of technology, which it is!
Sent from my Xperia Z
akuma2012 said:
The phone is average at best. Already can pick one up for £270 used on ebay
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me guess, s4 will knock your socks off? Lol
Sent from my LT29i using Tapatalk 2
Obvious troll is a troll
Don't feed 'em
.
.
Why is anyone who rightly critcises a medicore device a troll? What does the z have that the n2 doesnt other than a water gimmick?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Related
Hi guys,
Lets share your personal reviews/first imprrssion about Xperia Z. Below is mine..
Finally I got my Xperia Z - Black Beauty.
Overall its good phone, seriously best from Sony but it could have been more better.
Anyways, I will share more details by tomorrow as I still didnt spent much time with XZ.
UPDATED:
As I am coming from Galaxy Note 2, I want to compare XZ & Note2.
Pros:
-Beautiful Design
-Waterproof
-Good Camera (Rear only)
Cons:
-Speaker position is horrible
-Poor Battery Life
-Front Camera not so good
-Overheating Issues (can tolerate as its waterproof)
-Cannot use Default Launcher with Xperia Widgets: Lags like anything
WHAT I AM MISSING COMING FROM NOTE 2:
-MultiWindow
-Large Screen
-Customizable Notification Bar
sent from Xperia Z
I played with a retail model this afternoon got to take it outside to take some outdoor pics and videos.
Pics are good, video I was less than impressed they were not as sharp as pics and colours were off.
For example I took a pic of a bus at the bus stop the camera replicated with good colour accuracy whilst video made the bus a darker reddish/purple and there was loss of detail and man the slow auto focusing at times that has plagued all previous sony devices was raising it's ugly head again.
Loud speaker is hopeless in evena slightly noisy environment, audio is loud outdoors but bass could have been better.
Also the Z seriously feels a bit boxy imo.
i read in some review that camera app take 2 or 3 second to open up when it not running at background
is true?
r_you168 said:
i read in some review that camera app take 2 or 3 second to open up when it not running at background
is true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Can't say more than wauw. Im very impressed by the quality and quantity of this device
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
I tried an xperia z in a "3" shop recently. There was a bit of background noise from shoppers and staff talking while I tested the speaker and ringtone volume. This was enough to drown out the sound from the xperia z. Pre-order cancelled, HTC One on order. Shame as I got quite excited about this phone. Good effort though Sony. Must try harder next time!
my mini review
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=38586217&postcount=355
mwatson said:
I tried an xperia z in a "3" shop recently. There was a bit of background noise from shoppers and staff talking while I tested the speaker and ringtone volume. This was enough to drown out the sound from the xperia z. Pre-order cancelled, HTC One on order. Shame as I got quite excited about this phone. Good effort though Sony. Must try harder next time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its a phone, what the hell are you expecting from the speaker?
Its a phone, not a boom box you fool!
samxool said:
its a phone, what the hell are you expecting from the speaker?
Its a phone, not a boom box you fool!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ability to hear the ringtone while out and about I imagine, hardly an unreasonable expectation or reason to be called a fool.
Im in case 5% in 5 minutes(mkv movie 3.5gb 1080p mp4 4mbps birate in bestplayer HD accelation so i was not able to finish film before i run out of juice streaming wifi) , At work i got 150mbps but at home i got 72mbps can not get 150 :silly:
except that every thing is alright I dont have any problem
ahh and manage to warm my hand to the point when they sweaty ! ) 67-70
mwatson said:
I tried an xperia z in a "3" shop recently. There was a bit of background noise from shoppers and staff talking while I tested the speaker and ringtone volume. This was enough to drown out the sound from the xperia z. Pre-order cancelled, HTC One on order. Shame as I got quite excited about this phone. Good effort though Sony. Must try harder next time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what really bothers me: low ringtone volume. I don't want to lose notifications or incoming calls because of it.
How's the vibration? Can you feel it properly if the phone is in your pocket?
TheKingOfPain said:
This is what really bothers me: low ringtone volume. I don't want to lose notifications or incoming calls because of it.
How's the vibration? Can you feel it properly if the phone is in your pocket?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vibration is rather strong, im yet to miss a call or text. I always have sound off on my phones.
mwatson said:
I tried an xperia z in a "3" shop recently. There was a bit of background noise from shoppers and staff talking while I tested the speaker and ringtone volume. This was enough to drown out the sound from the xperia z. Pre-order cancelled, HTC One on order. Shame as I got quite excited about this phone. Good effort though Sony. Must try harder next time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems harsh just to cancel a phone just because the ringtone wasn't loud enough. Did you even try it with the xLoud etc on?
And who really uses the sound, you really only have a use for it when the phone is somewhere else but your pocket. (which is where it should be)
Either way. See ya.
I just finished up my review today.
http://geektech.ie/index.php/review-sony-xperia-z/
This is NOT good !!!
Battery draining like anything
sent from Xperia Z
xperiax10.awesome said:
This is NOT good !!!
Battery draining like anything
sent from Xperia Z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give it a chance too settle, after about 4-5 full charges; battery will reach full working capacity and also Rom will have built up dalvic cache. So you will certainly get better performance after a few days use.
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda premium
My first impression were very good: I posted them in many threads here.
Though I have some new info:
- Battery lasted for 11h42m yesterday, standby time. Screen on time: 3h22m (auto brightness). I have screenshots to back it up. I was always connected to wifi or mobile network. I didn't play games, mostly chatting, facebook, some youtube videos, listned to some music and internet browsing. It's not horrible, but not very good either. I got home with 1% left at 23:00 in the evening.
Today, I had worse results. Mostly at home all day, so wifi. Had a total of sub 3hours of screenon time! This is already my third charging cycle so I don't expect things to get any better. At the moment I am not impressed by the battery life of the XZ, but it's not horrible either.
- Phone's size and design: beautiful, though it's already not so "WOW" anymore (got used to it I guess). The phone atracts a lot of duts and fingerprints. But what I am starting to see is that the XZ is not so good looking at ergonomic aspects! It just doesn't feel nice in my hand because it isn't curved at the sides/back. I picked up my S3 again today and wow, it felt like a total different kind of thing. It was so comfortable in my hand compared to the XZ, while the S3 is almost as big as the XZ. And because the S3 has no onscreen buttons, the screen actually showed more info then the XZ.
- Screen: I'm getting more and more used to it, it looks really nice and sharp. Viewing angles are starting to bother me less and less, but sometimes I still see them.
- Speaker quality: seems very loud, but quality wise it seems bad. And I cover it up with my right hand a lot without wanting too.
I'm thinking about returning the XZ.... yeah. Didn't expect it myself. But the main problem is: it doesn't feel like a big leap from my S3. So basicly, I bought a new phone (the XZ) which feels much worse in my hand (ergnomic wise, it's not comfortable) then my S3, the screen is bigger but I actually see less content on it because of the software buttons, and while the screen is sharper a bit the viewing angles and contrast are worse. It also isn't a lot faster then my S3, it doens't do anything my S3 couldn't till now (yes HDR video, I tried it once and that's it).
My biggest problem is the size and design: without the curved sides/back the phone is hard to use for me with one hand. Really didn't expect this. This together with what I said above, make me consider returning the XZ and wait for a few more months. I saw (again) an article on a big Ducht newssite about the XZ's succesor and that it will come in summer 2013. It should have a 1080p 4.8 screen and the S600 chipset. This off course also doens't really help my feeling of returning the XZ...
I still have till next week to think about my XZ, but I might return it. No offence to Sony, the XZ is really a good phone, but the fact that I can't use it comfortable in my hand is something important to me. I do have small hands, but I can use the S3 perfectly and the XZ not so much.
EDIT: The other problem is, there isn't anything at the moment which I would consider buying. I have looked again at the HTC One and still don't want it. Maybe I will return my XZ and wait for Samsung to reveal the S4 and hope that it's build quality/design is a step up from the S3. If not, I can get the XZ (or the succesor of the XZ) beginning of the summer. Really bummed out..
XDA mark said:
My first impression were very good: I posted them in many threads here.
Though I have some new info:
- Battery lasted for 11h42m yesterday, standby time. Screen on time: 3h22m (auto brightness). I have screenshots to back it up. I was always connected to wifi or mobile network. I didn't play games, mostly chatting, facebook, some youtube videos, listned to some music and internet browsing. It's not horrible, but not very good either. I got home with 1% left at 23:00 in the evening.
Today, I had worse results. Mostly at home all day, so wifi. Had a total of sub 3hours of screenon time! This is already my third charging cycle so I don't expect things to get any better. At the moment I am not impressed by the battery life of the XZ, but it's not horrible either.
- Phone's size and design: beautiful, though it's already not so "WOW" anymore (got used to it I guess). The phone atracts a lot of duts and fingerprints. But what I am starting to see is that the XZ is not so good looking at ergonomic aspects! It just doesn't feel nice in my hand because it isn't curved at the sides/back. I picked up my S3 again today and wow, it felt like a total different kind of thing. It was so comfortable in my hand compared to the XZ, while the S3 is almost as big as the XZ. And because the S3 has no onscreen buttons, the screen actually showed more info then the XZ.
- Screen: I'm getting more and more used to it, it looks really nice and sharp. Viewing angles are starting to bother me less and less, but sometimes I still see them.
- Speaker quality: seems very loud, but quality wise it seems bad. And I cover it up with my right hand a lot without wanting too.
I'm thinking about returning the XZ.... yeah. Didn't expect it myself. But the main problem is: it doesn't feel like a big leap from my S3. So basicly, I bought a new phone (the XZ) which feels much worse in my hand (ergnomic wise, it's not comfortable) then my S3, the screen is bigger but I actually see less content on it because of the software buttons, and while the screen is sharper a bit the viewing angles and contrast are worse. It also isn't a lot faster then my S3, it doens't do anything my S3 couldn't till now (yes HDR video, I tried it once and that's it).
My biggest problem is the size and design: without the curved sides/back the phone is hard to use for me with one hand. Really didn't expect this. This together with what I said above, make me consider returning the XZ and wait for a few more months. I saw (again) an article on a big Ducht newssite about the XZ's succesor and that it will come in summer 2013. It should have a 1080p 4.8 screen and the S600 chipset. This off course also doens't really help my feeling of returning the XZ...
I still have till next week to think about my XZ, but I might return it. No offence to Sony, the XZ is really a good phone, but the fact that I can't use it comfortable in my hand is something important to me. I do have small hands, but I can use the S3 perfectly and the XZ not so much.
EDIT: The other problem is, there isn't anything at the moment which I would consider buying. I have looked again at the HTC One and still don't want it. Maybe I will return my XZ and wait for Samsung to reveal the S4 and hope that it's build quality/design is a step up from the S3. If not, I can get the XZ (or the succesor of the XZ) beginning of the summer. Really bummed out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oho, than you should try ZL if it ever released soon in your country, it has smaller form factor with that curved back. Same spec of course, minus the waterproof
arcwindz said:
Oho, than you should try ZL if it ever released soon in your country, it has smaller form factor with that curved back. Same spec of course, minus the waterproof
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XDA mark said:
My first impression were very good: I posted them in many threads here.
EDIT: The other problem is, there isn't anything at the moment which I would consider buying. I have looked again at the HTC One and still don't want it. Maybe I will return my XZ and wait for Samsung to reveal the S4 and hope that it's build quality/design is a step up from the S3. If not, I can get the XZ (or the succesor of the XZ) beginning of the summer. Really bummed out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my problem exactly! I ditched my Galaxy Note 1 because I kept hearing of all the earth shattering flagships coming out. The Oppo Find 5, the Xperia Z, the HTC One. I got a Note 2, and I have the same feelings. Sure its a little faster, but I feel like I am wasting my upgrade (I know that's a uniquely USA problem) on this phone. The Note 1 could do everything nearly as well, especially with custom ROMs.
I can still return my Note 2 but I honestly don't even know what I would use instead. There is nothing that really stands out. I was holding out hope for the Nokia EOS/Lumia 1000 but who knows if that will even deliver anything new.
XDA mark said:
My first impression were very good: I posted them in many threads here.
Though I have some new info:
- Battery lasted for 11h42m yesterday, standby time. Screen on time: 3h22m (auto brightness). I have screenshots to back it up. I was always connected to wifi or mobile network. I didn't play games, mostly chatting, facebook, some youtube videos, listned to some music and internet browsing. It's not horrible, but not very good either. I got home with 1% left at 23:00 in the evening.
Today, I had worse results. Mostly at home all day, so wifi. Had a total of sub 3hours of screenon time! This is already my third charging cycle so I don't expect things to get any better. At the moment I am not impressed by the battery life of the XZ, but it's not horrible either.
- Phone's size and design: beautiful, though it's already not so "WOW" anymore (got used to it I guess). The phone atracts a lot of duts and fingerprints. But what I am starting to see is that the XZ is not so good looking at ergonomic aspects! It just doesn't feel nice in my hand because it isn't curved at the sides/back. I picked up my S3 again today and wow, it felt like a total different kind of thing. It was so comfortable in my hand compared to the XZ, while the S3 is almost as big as the XZ. And because the S3 has no onscreen buttons, the screen actually showed more info then the XZ.
- Screen: I'm getting more and more used to it, it looks really nice and sharp. Viewing angles are starting to bother me less and less, but sometimes I still see them.
- Speaker quality: seems very loud, but quality wise it seems bad. And I cover it up with my right hand a lot without wanting too.
I'm thinking about returning the XZ.... yeah. Didn't expect it myself. But the main problem is: it doesn't feel like a big leap from my S3. So basicly, I bought a new phone (the XZ) which feels much worse in my hand (ergnomic wise, it's not comfortable) then my S3, the screen is bigger but I actually see less content on it because of the software buttons, and while the screen is sharper a bit the viewing angles and contrast are worse. It also isn't a lot faster then my S3, it doens't do anything my S3 couldn't till now (yes HDR video, I tried it once and that's it).
My biggest problem is the size and design: without the curved sides/back the phone is hard to use for me with one hand. Really didn't expect this. This together with what I said above, make me consider returning the XZ and wait for a few more months. I saw (again) an article on a big Ducht newssite about the XZ's succesor and that it will come in summer 2013. It should have a 1080p 4.8 screen and the S600 chipset. This off course also doens't really help my feeling of returning the XZ...
I still have till next week to think about my XZ, but I might return it. No offence to Sony, the XZ is really a good phone, but the fact that I can't use it comfortable in my hand is something important to me. I do have small hands, but I can use the S3 perfectly and the XZ not so much.
EDIT: The other problem is, there isn't anything at the moment which I would consider buying. I have looked again at the HTC One and still don't want it. Maybe I will return my XZ and wait for Samsung to reveal the S4 and hope that it's build quality/design is a step up from the S3. If not, I can get the XZ (or the succesor of the XZ) beginning of the summer. Really bummed out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I think it isn't worth will upgrading a high end 2012 phone, maybe if Google releases an android version that has something crazy cool and that needs a ridiculous amount of horsepower. Otherwise I think you can hang on to your phone until the end of 2014 or so
Over the past week or two. All I have seen is people destroying the Z for a lot of things from the screen to the camera and the battery.
So why don't we talk about what we like about our Z's, as at this point in time I feel a little of buyers remorse
So what do I like, not based on other's reviews just my own experience
Screen - I do actually like the screen, when I had the phone in my hand, head down walking around sitting it's a great screen compared to my Nexus 4 it may not be as saturated but I can definitely tell it is a higher res screen, stuff does look beautiful , even people who have the IP5 etc have said to me wow its a nice display (not even know it had the issues with saturation). Only when I lay down in bed and put my phone on my bed do I notice the angle issues but its not a pain.
Camera - The camera is a pretty decent in low light I have found, compared to my N4 it seems to get a lot more out of an image in terms of low light, the BE engine does do a lot to an image too. It may not be pin sharp but the images are most certainly 100% usable for FB/Instagram - Sending around the web etc. After all for me that's all I do
Speed - No issues, blazing fast. I don't do a lot of gaming, mainly e-mails, twitter, instagram. Using a lot of camera based app when I'm on a set. It boots up quickly, nice smooth transitions, only a little bit of slow loading when I open the camera app. But in terms of bench marks, it's miles ahead of my n4 and sgs III.
I love the design, so much better than my SGS III, which was a great phone it was built to take drops, but it is nice to have a sexy phone in my hands! It's the first phone I pulled out and someone asked me what it was because it looked cool
Launcher - Very nice and simple it kinda stock androidish which I like very minimalistic to a certain extent (looking forward to 4.2.2) I do still have a soft spot for Touch Wiz but it's nice to change it up!
Updates ? - Not 100% sure about this but I thought I would bring it up, it seems sony is helping the community alot, and you guys seem like your doing alot of work on the device so hopefully I will at least get the next major update for android some time this year or next year (4.3 or 5.0)
Overall for what I use it for I dout I could tell a difference between the S4 and the Z apart from the screen as my SGS III seems super saturated in comparison to the N4 and Z.
What do you guys think, why do you love your Z ? Go Zeeee
The camera is my favourite feature, it knocks the socks off my old note 2 and my wife's galaxy s3, indoor pics actually look great.
hdr mode video and the ability to take stills while filming is also really cool.
I also like it's looks, it's minimalist, sleek and turns heads.
Also goes without saying, it's waterproof, which having dropped 2 expensive phone in water in the past, gives me some piece of mind, though I haven't tested the water resistance yet!
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
I love the phone, most of the screen chatter IMO is mostly rubbish, two different SZ I have seen were fine as good as any other LCD I have seen for off angle fall off of colours. Everyone I have showed the phone have been wowed by the screen (Samsung,HTC,Nokia & Iphone), it is also very good outside in bright light. This screen is better than any 3 of my HTC phones by a long shot.
The phone is fast and snappy, should be stunning on Linux 3.6, hopefully this comes very soon. The navigation, install, launching of applications I have previously run, again blows away any of my other phones.
Very elegant looking phone, nice design lines, I got the white model . It is pretty light this was my biggest surprise. The power/lock button location is in a fantastic position, the position on most other phones has caused me to loose grip on the phone and drop them on occasion.
I love the throw feature, where I can select My TV, Laptops to display my photos or play my phones contents, and then I can also send the media from any of these devices back to play on the phone, it works great, will be better once they fix the wifi issue.
5 inch in car GPS running Sygic, yeah that rocks!!!
The ability to play Playstation games is pretty cool, although I haven’t tried.
For me one of the best things is being able to back up your entire phone, and sync pretty much everything to your computer, something HTC does not have, nor does most other phone vendors.
Sound quality for audio playback through Walkman app is stunning through my beats headset, no digital encoding artifacts, custom EQ, all the instruments and voices are clearly reproduced, very little hissing noise if any. All of these things mentioned here, are far superior to the HTC Sensation XE, the first phone with Beats Audio.
Having root already just rocks, thanks guys for providing this method Goroh_kun, Bin4ry, Team FreeXperia
I just tried taking pics under water by XZ, it was fantastic.
Also I can't live without walkman.
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app
Tech.radar on viewing angles:
"The only thing that lets it down is viewing angles - if you look at the Sony Xperia Z's screen, dead on, it's sharp enough. If you look at it from the side, it has a strange ability to look incredibly washed out. It's no huge problem though - unless you like to look at things side on. In which case, see a doctor."
LoL! Totally agree!
The only very small thing that really annoys me is the 4x4 grid.
A display of this size and quality could be 6x5.
Everything else is spot on. Display is awesome, sound is superb, phone is fast and smooth at everything I throw at it.
And it looks great!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
All good here . Still under impression how much faster this thing is than my XS . Loving almost everything about it . We got bug free OS , amazing speed , great camera, great screen , lovely build quality ,battery life above my expectations,fast development by users ..etc. Sound with stock headphones is good ,but connect it with sennheiser ie8 and they give almost perfect combo. The only letdown is loudspeaker ,but i can easily live with that one
noj78 said:
The only very small thing that really annoys me is the 4x4 grid.
A display of this size and quality could be 6x5.
Everything else is spot on. Display is awesome, sound is superb, phone is fast and smooth at everything I throw at it.
And it looks great!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't like the 4x4 grid I'd recommend installing a third party launcher, I prefer the Apex one.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
Think this phone is fantastic.
Buid quality is one of the best I've ever felt on a phone.
The screen is top notch and all those moaning about viewing angles really are disturbed in my opinion. I look at my screen as intended, straight on, not look at it tilted or from the side, I never understood why you would.
The fact I can text in the shower or bath and not have to worry is great. I also had issues in the past with other devices letting dust in under the screen (HTC I'm looking at you), with this phone no need to worry.
Camera suits me for my needs.
Speed of the phone is never an issue, not had any lags or anything, smooth as butter. I know we have the SGS4 being released soon but do we really need octa core processors? Quad core is not even fully utilized so to have octa core just seems silly in my opinion.
Anyway love the phone and think it's a gem
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
I have got nothing but good things to say about this handset. Great screen, great camera, loads of other great features. The only thing for me to be improved is battery life but it's far from bad it's just not good
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 2
A phone is a personal device, as long as it looks beautiful in terms if it's design and makes you stand out from the others when you holding your phone, I think it is already doing its job!
Not to mention the Z is one of the top spec devices for now.
Sent from my Sony Xperia Z using xda premium
The screen is the best...the screen is calibrated perfectly for true colours...just compared a same photo on the iphone 5's retina display and there were no difference...just switch the bravia engine off and look...i dont why every reviews say the display is not good while when reading the iphone 5 reviews they say its the best display in the market.
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 07:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------
And the camera is fantadtic in day light or good light...just in indoors the detail is little less but no ugly at all...it performs toe to toe with the iphone 5 in indoor photos in amount of detail..
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app
reptile64 said:
Tech.radar on viewing angles:
"The only thing that lets it down is viewing angles - if you look at the Sony Xperia Z's screen, dead on, it's sharp enough. If you look at it from the side, it has a strange ability to look incredibly washed out. It's no huge problem though - unless you like to look at things side on. In which case, see a doctor."
LoL! Totally agree!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, got myself a new signature
water resistance!!!
battery life is awful.
still can't get past the 3.5hour on screen time!
Sv: Lets give some praise to the Z
Had the Z for 24 hours. Love everything about it. Just got to adjust to the size, coming from a iphone 4s. Battery is great, all things considered. Got 5 hours screen time on first cycle. And it wasn't Even fully charged. 83% I think
Sent from my Xperia Z using xda app-developers app
Let's go around the whole XDA forum and encourage people to buy Xperia Z
I have to say, Ive just tried the Z and am just loving it. Was waiting for the s4 announcement to decide but im def going for the z now. Just a bloody gorgeous device.
Just for those who say that lack of oleophobic coating is a deal breaker - who needs oleophobic coating when you can just put your phone under the tap and rinse it with water - clean as new
I don't know why so many people are having a go at the battery. I held both the XZ and the HTC One up, both screens look fantastic and have similar viewing angle issues, can get to around 40 degrees before the words start to get a bit blurry on both screens.
I'm a satisfied owner of the Xperia Z for the last 2 months. Its an excellent device! IMO its the best Android smartphone at the moment that has managed to incorporate a good balance between design, performance and software in an excellent package. I won't go into the details about the Z as I'm sure owners of the device already know it well.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to get my hands on the new Samsung S4 (LTE version). My wife was due for a free upgrade but she didn't want it (as she loves her Note 2 too much!) so I jumped at the chance! After getting home last night I put the S4 on charge and managed to get half of my setup done. Anyway, I'm going to be comparing real life use on both devices for around 2 weeks before deciding which device works better for me and that would be the one I will keep (right now my choice is still the Z :victory.
Here are my initial thoughts after a little feel and play with the S4:
Design & Feel:
Essentially, this is an S3 upgrade, period! I know hardcore fans of Samsung will disagree. Sorry, but its much like the iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 story, its NOT a revolution but an evolution. Samsung touts a premium finish, again sorry but these words do not apply to the S4. Its still plastic but this time round the finish on the plastic, like a high gloss piano finish, is much better than all of the other Samsung devices I've seen. The metallic like rim is plastic with a brushed metal finish. One would not mistake it for metal, it definitely looks plastic. On the 4 corners of the metallic rim are lines which makes it look as if it was 4 pieces joined together but actually I am assuming its due to injection moulding process used to make the part. This is present on the Z also but Sony has done a much better job as its much cleaner and barely noticeable. The addition of the checkered pattern does gives the appearance quite a nice look, though not exactly a premium one. The front of the S4 looks OK, its basically a Samsung look, nothing special but acceptable for me with the exception of the ugly earpiece grill which has never appealed to me. The back is where I have always felt Samsung has failed and need to improve in the design department. The camera design is big, ugly and always protrude, meaning it will be more susceptible to damage and scratches. A slightly recessed and smaller camera design would have made it safer for the camera and improved the looks. A good looking case would be a solution but I prefer to use my devices butt naked.
In the hand, the S4 feels slippery, very slippery, like a fish that will jump out of your hand if you don't hold it tight enough. Definitely needs a case or something on the back to reduce the risk of dropping it. It does however, have quite a nice form factor and feels more comfortable to hold than the Z, I think the curves do a bit of justice here. The placement of the volume and power buttons on the S4 needs improvement, having them on opposite sides just allows for frequent accidental pressing of the unintended button, the guy that designed/approved it should be shot! The volume and power button placement on the Z is just perfect.
Theres nothing really premium about the design and feel of the S4 when compared to the Z. In the hand, the Z gives the feeling of a high quality and solidly built product. The S4 despite the improved plastic finishes, feels a little more comfortable to hold in the hand but does not justify a price tag of $800 in terms of design and finish. Theres no squeaking from the plastic at the moment but hey, I've had it less than a day and time will tell.
Screen
Right now I can't provide my detailed thoughts on the screen as I have not had enough screen time yet. At first sight the screen looks sharp but colours are quite over saturated and less natural compared to my Z. One aspect I can confirm is that the viewing angles of the S4's screen is pretty good.
Update May 2:
Both screens are of different technologies and has its pros and cons. After comparing them both through typical web browsing, reading text, emails, use of same apps and viewing photos:
1. I like the natural colours of the Z more. The S4, no matter what display mode you set it in, the colours are still a little over saturated. The reflections are less on the Z and brightness is higher, thus making it more comfortable to use outdoor. That said, the screen on the S4 is still gorgeous, if not comparing them side by side, you'll get comfortable and used to the colours quite quickly.
2. Both screens display superb sharpness and clarity. You'll have to look hard to notice the difference and I find that the Z has the edge when it comes to sharpness and clarity. Thats obvious given the LCD technology advantage over AMOLED in this respect. However, the screen on the S4 is certainly no loser.
3. I mentioned viewing angles earlier and theres nothing to debate about this one. The S4 is a clear winner. I know that there are Z owners who say things like "who uses their phone and look at the screen from an angle, stupid!" or "I always look at the screen face on, so it doesn't matter anyway". I raise a practical example: in the office my phone is on my desk most of the time, when I check messages I do it with the phone on the desk and a good viewing angle is welcomed here. The fact is, the Z is Sony's flagship: a premium product with a premium price, which IMO should have came with better viewing angles. However, IMO we got a slightly sub-par display.
In terms of personal preference, I'd choose the display on the Z because I prefer the more natural colours. If I had to make an objective judgment, I'd have to give the S4 display the heads-up. In addition to that, you'll get a little more real screen estate because the S4 doesn't use soft buttons.
Update May 3:
As request by member 'thelittleidiot', I did a movie test on both screens. I downloaded and used the latest Superman trailer 3 (HD mov format) because it had a mixture of dark and bright scenes and close-up on characters so as to be able to compare how skin tones rendered. I used MX Player Pro on both phones to make the test as fair as possible and had both screens at maximum brightness with auto adapt off, Bravia engine was on. Before starting the comparison, I watched the trailer on my Macbook just to familiarise with the colours and details. Here's what I found:
S4 in movie mode: Movie mode is supposed to be closest to natural colours but this was not what I saw. Colours were pale as if a little washed out. Seriously I wouldn't chose this option for watching movies.
S4 in professional photo mode: Colours were better and closer to the Z but still not natural when comparing both side by side. The viewing experience is still better on the Z.
S4 in standard mode: Colours are now looking over saturated. Its still the Z that give a better viewing experience.
I didn't test dynamic mode or adaptive mode because these modes would have been even more saturated. The S4 screen is very contrasty and blacks are very good but this is not necessarily a good thing for movies IMO. In dark scenes I could not see all the details on Russell Crowe's face whereas on the Z it was not a problem. On all of the modes on the S4, the blues had a tint of green, whites often not enough and skin colours were either not accurate or way off.
My opinions above are obviously due to the fact that I prefer more natural looking colours, though this may not apply to everyone. Nevertheless, the S4's screen has started to grow on me. I have an almost identical setup on both phones to help with my comparison: the same wallpaper, widgets, app icons on home screen etc. When I have them both side by side, I can't help but notice that the S4's vibrancy and colours just seems as if they want to jump out at you, like theres so much life in the screen. On the Z, despite that colours are more natural and whites are whiter, it just doesn't give me that feeling. I had Galaxy Note 2 before and didn't feel that way but I suppose its because the S4's is a FHD screen.
Performance and Software
OK, so the S4 is a step ahead of the Z with JB 4.2.2 out of the box. Its heavily Touchwiz with UI improvements. It feels smooth so far with no lags or micro lags whatsoever. I ran Antutu benchmark and it scored over 23K compared to 20K that my Z got.
Update May 2:
I don't run intensive apps or do heavy gaming, so my findings are from general use and also based on software out of the box.
I've never been particularly fond of the Touchwiz interface but don't hate it either. The S4's Touchwiz is the latest and comes with some UI improvements and changes. It works well and feels fluid. Though theres been a couple of times when I exit an app to the home screen and theres been a bit of a micro lag or stutter. Not sure what caused it but overall the S4 is very smooth. Samsung's added a host of features and software to the S4, air view, air gestures, smart gestures, S Health etc. They all work most of the time but will add loading on the power consumption. I prefer a little more interaction so I keep most of these features off. To be honest, most of these are a gimmick thing rather than being a real productive feature. The new settings menu is now categorised into 4 tabs which is a nice idea but could have been better if sliding to switch tabs was possible (like the how its possible switch to tabs by sliding left or right in the Z's phone app). The notification panel of toggles are extremely convenient for turning on or off a list of features/functions and can be pulled down by sliding 2 fingers from the top of the screen. I get the feeling that Samsung is trying hard to add/create value to its flagship model with additions of software and features, which is a good thing, but not all of it will appeal to everyone and a lot of it we probably wouldn't use 90% of the time anyway.
The S4 has newer hardware, hence a higher benchmark score over the Z. In standard daily usage though, theres really no noticeable difference. Both phones are very capable of handling almost any task thrown at it and feels very fluid. BTW both get pretty hot on the backside when the CPU is pushed. Overall, performance wise, both phones will satisfy the majority of users day in day out. In respect of the software side, its more of a subjective thing. I like the Z's clean, crisp and minimalist skin. I love its Walkman app (top sound reproduction and 2nd to none!) and Album app & widgets. I also like and use the small apps feature quite often. With the S4, multi window is great and I like being able to continuously scroll through desktops or the app & widget drawers. Microsoft Exchange Active sync works and integrates better on the S4 than it does on the Z. Its hard to a make a decision on the software comparison. However, the good thing is that Android is highly customisable so we can always tune it to work our way. I'd like to have a mixture of both the Z & S4 if I can!
Update May 3:
A small but important update on the software side. Some apps and games that I have been using on the Z which on the screen was not scaled properly (part of the interface goes outside of the screen are) is perfect on the S4. On top of that, certain widgets that not working/displaying properly on the Z works perfectly on the S4. I have to give Samsung a +1 for that.
Update May 2:
Battery Performance
Now that I've completely setup my S4 and managed to fully discharged the battery once, I will get the first battery performance results tonight. Will update then.
Update May 3:
The battery on my S4 won't be fully conditioned until after a few more full charges and discharges. Anyway attached results of the first battery performance after one discharge and then full charge. Now, I have read that other owners of the Z and S4 get amazing battery performance and on screen time of 5 - 6 hours. Honestly, it sounds a bit abnormal for me. I have never got that kind of battery performance on my Z, around 3 hours of screen time is probably the max I get. Are those who get 4+ hours simply turning off the majority of functions? Reduce screen brightness to 25%? Stop every process they can in the background? If thats the case, then we're really not getting most out of our smartphones during normal daily usage. I understand that its important to get the most of out the battery, especially if you are not near a charge port during the day but for me, its most essential to utilise the device for its abilities. Smartphones are really state of the art things nowadays which are simultaneously multifunctional and should be used that way.
Here are the parameters affecting the battery performance of my S4:
- wifi, gps, all sync features on, exchange active sync set on push so constant connection to the server.
- was on wifi network about 70% of the time, the rest was on LTE for data.
- screen brightness adaptive and set at 0.
- vibration, sound and haptic feedback on.
- led on with light flow.
- samsung's smart features/guestures off with exception of smart stay.
- around 25 mins of phone calls and 10 sms
- lots of whatsapp, medium google+, little wechat voice messaging, medium facebook, light browsing on chrome, some youtube, a few emails, some app updates via playstore, some instagram, some news reading, 30 mins or so of gaming.
I'm pretty happy with the results (I consider my usage pattern being medium to heavy) and as the battery gets more conditioned, coupled with further fine tuning of the S4, I'm confident that the battery performance will further improve. For me, its very clear that the S4 battery performance bypasses that of the Z. I use my Z the same way and don't get that kind of battery performance. Note though, the S4 does have the advantage of a larger 2600mah battery and the power efficient AMOLED, so its not like comparing apples to apples here. I have an external battery for my Z and don't mind carrying it when needed, it may not be so convenient when charging the Z but it does the job. As for the S4, I can see myself getting a day's usage on a single charge and if needed a spare battery can be changed easily, a plus point for the S4.
Update May 3:
Call Quality & Signal
In general, when in an area with good signal the call quality on the Z was good. The audio quality is also good. Where I have experienced problems with the Z are:
- When outside or in relatively noisy places its hard to hear the call from the earpiece on the Z. I have to resort to plugging in my hands free to solve the problem.
- In areas where signal is unstable or patchy whether its 3G or 4G, I sometimes find that the Z have difficulties in locking onto the network. It just jumps back and forth between 3G & 4G. This is not good because the phone constantly drains power by trying to lock itself onto a signal and your data connection is also on and off, again draining battery. One time I was outside in a patchy area and data connection was pretty unstable, it ended up that Kaiten Mail was responsible for 50% of the battery consumption because it was trying to sync my mails but couldn't get connected and just forced the phone to boost the radio and try get data connected.
- On a few occasions, where I have made or received a call, I can hear the opposite party but they cannot hear me. Even after hanging up and then redialing it still happens. I have to restart the phone to solve it.
So far the call quality and signal from the S4 have been good and stable, the audio quality of the call is quite a rich experience. Most important of all, the earpiece volume is loud enough that I don't need the hands free in relatively noisy environments. On top of that, the speaker on the S4 is much louder and clearer which is good for me because sometimes I like to hear voice chat messages via the speaker for convenience. I'll need to have used the phone in similar areas as the Z before concluding its signal and call quality. I expect to round this part up in a week.
Camera
Not had time to play and compare the cameras yet. Something for the weekend I think. Stay tuned!
Update May 5
Build Quality
6 days into using the S4 and build quality issues are beginning to show. The first is the slight squeaking of the back cover in certain places. It’s not really bad but enough to be noticeable. The second is the issue of vibration, which I believe may be related to the camera module, as this also happens with the Note 2. When using the phone on a flat surface you’ll hear vibration sounds when tapping the screen. Also, tapping around the camera area on the back of the phone will also emit vibration sounds. Don’t have these problems with the Xperia Z.
Performance & Software
Here are some new findings:
1.Out of the box you get just over 50% of the available storage for use on the S4 whereas on the Z you get closer to 65% of available storage for use. Samsung’s obviously bloated out its S4 a little too much.
2.After boot up the S4 consumed 854MB of RAM, in comparison the Z used less than 600MB. Open a host of apps and soon the S4 will start to show a bit of lag and stutter. Not something to expect considering the faster CPU and RAM the S4 has over the Z.
3.The more I look at Touchwiz the more I think ugly. The appearance of the phone dialer, contacts, notification and toggles, settings menus and pop up settings/menu all look ugly and outdated. The Z beats the S4’s interface design by miles.
4.Tried all of the gimmicky features of the S4 and only found Air View to be the only feature that I could make use of frequently and it works quite well. Its obviously nice to have the other features of S4 and show people what the phone is capable of but I certainly don’t see myself using it 90% of the time.
Call Quality & Signal
So, I’ve managed to use the S4 for calls in most of the areas I have been using the Z and the call quality is good with no dropped call, network signal holds well, though in patchy areas the phone does switch between 3G and 4G constantly. I don’t see this as an issue with the phone but more a network problem as it happens on the Z also. The S4’s voice calls are loud and clear, the Z does have a bit more depth in the call audio department though. Overall, I think both phones hold up pretty well in this area with the only exception that the earpiece volume on the Z is under average thus making it difficult to hear in noisy environments.
Just a note on the wifi. The S4 holds the wifi better than the Z. Where the Z dropped the connection the S4 stays connected.
Music Audio Quality & Headphone Compatibility
The sound quality produced by the Z’s Walkman app is the best. I have not used another app that can produce audiophiles as clean and as original as the Walkman app. Sony must have also used a very good DAC in addition to excellent software. Even music with Poweramp app sounded better on the Z than it did on the S4. The S4’s music app is no match. My only complaint with the Z is that the volume level is a little low but it’s still sufficient for me. Those who like their music loud will not be happy with the highest volume level on the Z.
Now comes the BIG problem with the S4. There are headphone compatibility issues. There is already a thread in the XDA Samsung S4 forum about this, so those who want to know more should give it a read. Basically, there are serious amounts of crackling and distortion with certain headphones when used on the S4 with the volume 50% or above. I was shocked when I plugged my Sony XBA-2VP into the S4. I thought they had failed on me but it turns out the problem was the S4. They work perfectly well on the Z. Now to me, this is a serious problem and one not to be forgiven for. How Samsung failed on this one I don't know. Surprisingly, a lot of the expensive premium headphones have this problem on the S4 and the cheaper (including stock) ones aren’t affected. To me this issue is really a big minus for the S4 and especially to people who crave for excellent audiophiles. On top of that, I don't think we want to splash out more money just buy a good compatible pair of headphones.
Camera
So, I was supposed to do some comparison on the camera over the weekend but sadly the speaker on my Z had some problems and had to go to Sony service center. I did manage to take a couple of shots (attached) for a quick comparison. Here are my thoughts on both cameras:
1.The S4 fires up the camera fast, in a second or so and your good to start snapping away. The Z is slow and takes a few seconds.
2.From EXIF data, I noticed that the S4 has a larger aperture of f2.2 compared to f2.4 for the Z. It’s not a big difference but still means the S4 will capture more light.
3.Burst rates on the S4 are simply breath taking, hold the shutter and you’ll be snapping away at 20 frames per second!
4.Autofocus is fast on both cameras.
5.From the samples, you can see that the photos from the S4 are sharper, more detailed, better exposed and white balance more accurate. The Z simply has too much compression and the photos end up losing detail and sharpness.
I like photography but I’m not a big fan of smartphone photography. To me, cameras on smartphones play a point and shoot role. It needs to fire up quick and get the shot done. Its supposed to be sophisticated (by todays standards) yet is simple to operate and have an easy to use interface. The S4 fits the job very well. I like the S4’s new camera UI, very intuitive and easy to use. The new addition of drama shot and eraser mode on the S4 sounds appealing but in practice it’s quite difficult to get it to work. With drama shot you have to keep a good distance away from the subject so it can be captured throughout the frame to make it work and it wasn’t working for me all the time. In respect to eraser mode, I have had no success with it yet.
Overall, the S4’s camera is a pleasure to use and gives you the feeling of wanting to shoot more pictures. The Z’s camera is not so bad and I’m sure the Z has good camera hardware but Sony needs to improve on the software. Hopefully, this will come soon with the next update.
May 11 – Round Up
Design & Feel
Xperia Z:
-Excellently crafted industrial design: from the details and precision of the power button, to the neatly recessed camera lens and the excellent fit & finish.
-Feels premium in hand. Nicely built and solid yet oozes a very distinctive sleek look.
-IMO the most beautifully designed Android smartphone to date, period! The HTC One is also very nice but I see a bit of following Apple’s suit. The Z shows that Sony really went back to the drawing board and gave us a new and unique product.
-It’s relatively comfortable in the hands but the straight edges may be of discomfort for some when holding it for prolong periods.
-Excellent placement of the power and volume buttons. The speaker is better on the side than on the back but I would have preferred it to be at the bottom to avoid accidentally covering it up when holding the phone.
S4:
-Having closely compared it with my wife’s Note 2, the S4’s design seems more of a downsized Note 2 with a slight facelift. Basically, it’s still that typical Samsung design, look and finish.
-Though I consider it a slight facelift, the changes and finishes does make it Samsung’s best looking phone to date. I kind of liked the diamond-checkered pattern and also found that the buttons are now nicely tapered and beveled. A nice touch.
-The form factor is very comfortable in the hand but feels a lot less solid compared to the Z.
-The home and capacitive button design will increase your usable screen estate by 0.5 inches.
Screen
Xperia Z:
-LCD technology, excellent clarity and details.
-Colors natural and closer to real life. Brava Engine 2 makes viewing photos and videos a pleasure and adds the pop back in the colors.
-Excellent visibility outdoors and in bright sunlight. Less reflective.
-Poor viewing angles and blacks & contrast may not be enough for some.
-I see a bit a of backlight bleeding and this does make the screen appear a little washed out at high brightness levels.
-IMO, kind of feel that Sony used a slightly sub-par display. I checked out the Z tablet yesterday and the screen does not exhibit similar issues.
S4:
-Samsung’s best Super AMOLED yet. Clarity and details par with the LCD. It’s hard to see the difference and I’d say 99% of people wouldn’t notice it.
-Excellent viewing angles and colors pop on this screen, it may be too saturated for some but the S4 provides the option of 4 screen modes to cater for different tastes.
-I’ve noticed that auto brightness allows higher brighter levels compared to manual setting. This is excellent as when in sunlight, the viewing experience was still comfortable.
-I prefer the natural colors of the Z more but the S4 screen has really grown on me. It is simply a superb screen and there is not much I can fault about it.
Performance & OS
-The S4 has the newer tech but in daily use both are just as capable of performing 99% of the tasks you throw at it.
-Power does not necessarily translate into speed. The S4 is well bloated out and consumes a massive 900mb of ram after boot up, whereas the Z is less than 600mb. Open up a few more apps and my S4 lags more than my Z. Your hardware is as good as your software and it’s evident that the software on the S4 is not fully optimized yet.
-Interface wise, the Z is refreshing, clean and minimal with some really nice touches and widgets, there’s also the excellent Walkman and Album (gallery) app that's second to none. If you like stock android, the Z is the closest you’ll get.
-The S4 has a lot of bells and whistles, some work well and others not, and that's all wrapped up in a dated Touchwiz interface. With 4.2.2 comes some nice UI improvements but it could have been better. The dull interface design just does not compliment the wonderful screen.
-Overall, despite a dated interface, Touchwiz does provide a fuller user experience. It’s not just a skin; it’s more of an eco-system which Samsung has put a lot of thought and effort into building.
Battery Performance
-There’s no argument on this one, the S4 has the better battery life. A slightly larger capacity and power efficient screen gives it the edge. Having used the S4 in the same way I have used my Z, the battery lasts well into the evening whereas with the Z it would have died on me by then.
-Another advantage is the option to be able to replace the S4 with a spare battery and this is definitely a convenience as well as a must for power users.
Call quality, Signal & Wi-Fi
-Both phones flared well with call quality and strength of signal.
-The in call audio on the Z has a lot of body but volume level low, whereas the on the S4 it’s crisp, loud and clear.
-The S4 has an adaptive sound capability which works very well as it tunes the audio to fit the listening capabilities of the left and right ears. Note this function works only in stock apps.
-The Z’s Wi-Fi capabilities are one of its weaknesses. Where I lost connection with the Z, the S4 stayed well connected.
Camera
-Despite the similar hardware, the S4 is a clear winner for me. The camera interface, ease of use and host of features make it hard to beat. It does what a smartphone camera is supposed to do but does it better.
-The Z is not a bad performer overall. All that is required is some tuning in its digital processing to improve clarity and sharpness in the photos.
Other Issues
-If you love listening to music on your phone, the Z and its Walkman provides the best audiophile I have ever heard on a smartphone.
-You won’t have headphone compatibility issues on the Z. There is a widespread problem with the S4, I don’t know if its software or hardware, but the audio clipping is frustrating and a nightmare! I had to resort to downgrading the headphone audiophile to avoid the problem.
Final Thoughts
The S4 and Z are excellent flagship smartphones. In the last 2 weeks, I’ve found the S4 to better the Z in some areas, but that should not put you off the Z. Why is that? Design, plastic, build quality and Touchwiz. If these factors bother you, then the S4 might not be the smartphone for you. The Xperia Z, on the other hand, is anything but cheap and plastic, while the interface is much more clean, simple and understated than Samsung’s Touchwiz.
I love the design of the Xperia Z, IMO it has the best balance in design, performance and software. That said, the Z isn’t perfect, the screen should have been better for a flagship and there are issues that need ironing out which hopefully will be fixed in the next software update not too distant away. The S4 has grown on me more than I expected. The plastic and its design doesn’t bother me anymore, I don’t even notice it. The screen looks more beautiful day by day and my work and productivity needs are handled better on the S4. I have also found that I prefer the home and capacitive touch buttons and enjoy the extra screen estate in the absence of the navigation bar. The software isn’t fully optimized, there is lag and Samsung seriously needs to do some work on it. Surprisingly though, at the start of the thread my choice was the Z but after 2 weeks, it appears the situation has changed and the truth is, the S4 suits my needs more. So, the S4 stays and the Z goes back for a refund. I wish I could have a mixture of both though! I highly recommend both devices, my top picks for 2013.
right now i'm holding both of them surely S4 is a winner
I can't agree with your comment until I have really had the chance to get to a complete usage and a thorough run through on the S4. At the end of day, whichever is the winner is purely a personal preference for me and may not be the case for others. If it wasn't for the free upgrade I would have never gone and bought the S4 because the design factor was the first thing that put me off. Now that I am fortunate enough to have both devices, I thought I'll make a thread to let others know how both compare in daily use. My intention is not to make a public judgement of which device is the winner but rather to express my findings on both devices, how well they work for me in a daily use and give members of the forum some factual experiences on both smartphones. Since you say S4 is a winner, perhaps you could share some of your thoughts with us?
I'm sure S4 is a very phone and will outsell XZ for sure, but I'm just sick of this brand (Yes, Samsung, is you!!), I had been using my SGS2 for a year until the emmc brickbug killed it. The thing get me so furious is Samsung said it's my fault and they would not provide any help unless I pay the maintenance fee, which cost about half of a new unit. How dare are they!?
Thanks for the review, I love it how you are accurate, keep it up dude!
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
When I saw s4 I thought it will be exactly like s3 design like what most website said.
But not, it was nice and better than s3.
S4 is a good phone for everything.
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app
cosinav said:
I can't agree with your comment until I have really had the chance to get to a complete usage and a thorough run through on the S4. At the end of day, whichever is the winner is purely a personal preference for me and may not be the case for others. If it wasn't for the free upgrade I would have never gone and bought the S4 because the design factor was the first thing that put me off. Now that I am fortunate enough to have both devices, I thought I'll make a thread to let others know how both compare in daily use. My intention is not to make a public judgement of which device is the winner but rather to express my findings on both devices, how well they work for me in a daily use and give members of the forum some factual experiences on both smartphones. Since you say S4 is a winner, perhaps you could share some of your thoughts with us?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find your 'professional' attitude a breath of fresh air. Congratulations in making an objective set of points rather than a fan boy rant.
I am finding it such a bore to come to the Sony Xperia Z forum to find more posts regarding other brands than the one we own? The more we negatively persist in comparing then rubbishing other brands the more we appear a group of losers. At least your comparison is written fairly with open eyes and not biased.
To date it appears the biggest enemy of the SXZ is its owners by bashing other brands?
Keep up the professional attitude and thanks for sharing your thoughts in a palatable fashion.
Bet wishes..
i very agree this. I'm also sick of Samsung now
Can you please compare battery life of these 2 monsters
Thanks for the post, it's the one I expected to see. I have a Xperia Z and I hesitate to buy a Galaxy S4 to replace it.
For the screen could you test to change the mode natural in mode video. According to the tests, it's the mode to have the best color next to the natural one. And after that, can you tell us, what you think about the screen and compare it to the Xperia Z.
brutal_noise said:
Can you please compare battery life of these 2 monsters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this please!
Ryland Johnson said:
I find your 'professional' attitude a breath of fresh air. Congratulations in making an objective set of points rather than a fan boy rant.
I am finding it such a bore to come to the Sony Xperia Z forum to find more posts regarding other brands than the one we own? The more we negatively persist in comparing then rubbishing other brands the more we appear a group of losers. At least your comparison is written fairly with open eyes and not biased.
To date it appears the biggest enemy of the SXZ is its owners by bashing other brands?
Keep up the professional attitude and thanks for sharing your thoughts in a palatable fashion.
Bet wishes..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think you've spent time anywhere else then because from what I've seen and heard, the Xperia has been the most bashed brand out there. Don't know what world you're living in if you think the bashing of other brands is worse in the Sony forums. You can't have spent any meaningful time in the Samsung forums or htc ones. Or YouTube or the web. To say that Sony fans are in some way more guilty of such things is strange to me indeed.
Fanboys are everywhere, human beings form needles emotional connections with things.
I too got some hands on time with the s4 today in store and first impressions, the black version looks ok. It doesn't scream plastic at you in the same way that the white one does and if Samsung keep putting out black phones, I could see myself owning one. I didn't mind so much the s2 like I did the s3 and I don't mind the s4 too. The ui was silky smooth. It just made want to seek out the Sony developers and scream "enough with all the transparency and animated widgets". It just causes ui glitches and stutters here and there. It may look nice but it's not, in my view, worth compromising on performance for eye candy.
It terms of daily usage, I seriously doubt that you'll notice much of a difference in performance than you'd get with any other quad core phone. 2011 line up included. In graphics intensive games perhaps but what percentage of users play such games on phones.
Its also worth noting that although, certain content might have a slightly bluish tint about them, the s4 doesn't suffer the same yellow screen problem suffered by a lot of high contrast LCD phones e.g. Htc one, iPhone 5, Xperia s etc.
It seems LCD displays cannot compete with amoled displays for vibrancy and contrast without this yellow tint problem. Perhaps that's why Sony walked away from that battle.
The S4's display is almost as clean and clear as the Zs but has more vibrancy. Too much still for me but others may love it. The bluish whites are the only real criticism.
To avoid mumbling on and to put it simply, the S4 is a phone I'd happily recommend.
Also the size and dimensions of the thing show the advantage of plastic for use in construction.
No on screen buttons but still smaller than the Z and equally as thin. It may not offer a premium feel buy there's still much value in its construction. I was thoroughly impressed with it as phone just as I am with the Sony. My two picks for 2013
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
Don't think you've spent time anywhere else then because from what I've seen and heard, the Xperia has been the most bashed brand out there. Don't know what world you're living in if you think the bashing of other brands is worse in the Sony forums. You can't have spent any meaningful time in the Samsung forums or htc ones. Or YouTube or the web. To say that Sony fans are in some way more guilty of such things is strange to me indeed.
Fanboys are everywhere, human beings form needles emotional connections with things.
theSent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not a sheep and don't follow the crowd. The SXZ is a rather exceptional device and perhaps I expect those who own them to be exceptional and act accordingly? They say there is no such thing as bad publicity and to that end those who criticise the XZ at every opportunity and I agree they are out there, do us a favour? It should not be an excuse for us to write that other brands are poor.
Regards.
brutal_noise said:
Can you please compare battery life of these 2 monsters
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Click to collapse
I got my S4 today. Battery was at 52% when i turned it on. Used it till the Battery was down to 1%. 10 Hours with 3 Hours Screen on time. I call that pretty good for even no first charging cycle and during the first setup process
brutal_noise said:
Can you please compare battery life of these 2 monsters
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be providing the first battery performance results tonight!
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
thelittleidiot said:
Thanks for the post, it's the one I expected to see. I have a Xperia Z and I hesitate to buy a Galaxy S4 to replace it.
For the screen could you test to change the mode natural in mode video. According to the tests, it's the mode to have the best color next to the natural one. And after that, can you tell us, what you think about the screen and compare it to the Xperia Z.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I will do it tonight and update.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Higgins12 said:
I got my S4 today. Battery was at 52% when i turned it on. Used it till the Battery was down to 1%. 10 Hours with 3 Hours Screen on time. I call that pretty good for even no first charging cycle and during the first setup process
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now i'm at 7 hours with 1 hour 30 mins screen time, 58% battery left from full charge.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
This is really making for a good read, I must say, wish we had more reviewers like you.
I've got a I9500, wish I could get hold of the Htc One or Xperia Z and do a comparison, seems to be a lack of comparisons with it.
Anyway, keep up the great work!
Hi OP! Very nice & unbiased comparison of the two imo :good: ! Having played with the GS4, I mostly agree with your comparison/review.
However, I want you to comment upon the call signal/quality & "in call" volume of the two, if possible. Thanks.
I have the Xperia Z since 2 month. I've just bought the Galaxy S4, for several reasons : want to test it, the lack of update of the Xperia Z and the fact that my followers on my blog would like to have my point of view.
I change fastly the screen selection in video because i wanted to compare the best I can my two phones. The screen of the S4 is definitely better than the Xperia Z. The color are more next to the reality, but the more important is that the contrast is really really awesome in comparaison. The screen of the Z seems to be dull. I didn't test outdoor with sunlight (unfortunatly, the weather is rainy theses days where I live). But when I compared my Z with my iPhone 5, i couldn't use the Z on sunlight at the opposite of the iPhone.
With the Galaxy S4 in my hands, I find 3 defaults on the Z. The screen is definitely not good enough for the best smartphone of Sony. And more when we now the quality of the TV Sony, and the result we have when the bravia engine is activated (even if the colors become less natural). The second one is the form factor. The size of both phones are nearly the same. But the corner of the Xperia are not curve like the S4. So when we have both phones on the hand, the Z seems to be harder to use, less confortable. The last point is the camera (i didn't test yet the one of the S4, but i see many comparison). The camera of the Xperia Z is really worse than the one of the S4 even if it's normally the same cameramade by Sony.
The first and the third point could be correct by an update.
There's no bad point on the Galaxy S4 because i just received it, so i didn't find its defaults and consequently the better point on the Z.
It's just my point of view with my first with the S4.
Sorry for my english, I'm french. I just hope you understand what i mean in my sentences
So many negative threads about how the screen sucks, the camera sucks etc etc. Would be nice to hear from the people who actually like the Z1. Write down your experience with the phone. It doesn't have to be all rosy but hopefully it will give a little bit more nuance.
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
The screen 'dead-on' is also nice the viewing angles people are talking about is something I don't really see as a problem. I just held the phone in an angle and when the colours start to wash out it's an angle I would never use my phone at. Other than that the camera does have noise issues, although it's not too bad IMHO. (do bear in mind I come from the Gnex so pretty much every new device is a big upgrade) I don't think the noise issues aren't too bad though, as Sony can easily fix the noise issues with a software update. Speaking of updates, the Z1 already had 3 updates. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to you, but to me it sounds like it's well supported by Sony.
Battery... I feel mixed about it. It's better than my Gnex, but again, pretty much every device is. I did expect a lot more from a 3000 mAh battery though. I had about 23 hours of standby and roughly 4 hours of screen on time. That is with 3G on all the time, wifi on most of the time and applications like Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook running in the background. It's a weird thing though, the xperia ZR gets 11:30 (11 hours and 30 minutes) of browsing in the GSMarena test. While the Z1 gets about half of that. I have the feeling Sony has to do some software optimization, since they can pull it off. (note: the ZR battery is 2300 mAh) How long this will take, and if Sony will even do it, I have no idea. If the problem is related to Qualcomm it may take a long time though since they're not very keen on doing things in a different way. (look at the Nexus 7 2013 and binaries)
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
Positve
Got mine yesterday.
S/W: problems yet
Performance: Extremely quick 9/10
Screen Quality: 8/10 but too early to say if I'm just being jaded by all the moaning.
Camera seems pretty good to me, what a blessing a proper camera button makes.
Shame I can't upload samples of photos / videos etc. I will find a way if request. Anyone wanna buy a Galaxy 3? ho ho..
Oh one thing I don't like, is having to uncover the charger port to charge it up (i know its re waterproofing).
My options are :-
Cut the cover flap off or buy a magnetic charger unit £30.00 !!!!! (I probably will.)
So far pretty dam good phone.
Paul
I've had my XZ1 since Saturday 21st sept, and so far I love it, the camera is good but has issues like the grain and noise which prevent it from being a great one.
Love the sharpness and colours of the screen and it's resolution makes browsing the Web or forums so easy.
I've gotten used to the waterproof tabs after having my Xtz before I got the z1 but at least if you don't like having to keep opening the flap you can use a magnetic charger cable or dock.
That's all I can think of at lol
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium HD app
screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
jos_031 said:
screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it's this above plus
Weird touch screen issues where it goes a bit bonkers when doing the pattern unlock.
Wow a positive thread about the Z1, do my eyes deceive me?
Seriously it's nice to see positive in all the threads of doom and gloom.
Nice
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My showers have become a lot less of a chore and more of a pleasure;
https://vine.co/v/hvY5MVFTLXd?fb_action_ids=10151847100714799
Just add 2 hooks with a little bit of sugru
So I got mine yesterday.
Hardware: I can't tell you how gorgeous this phone is if you haven't seen it yet, the blend of pure vanilla white with the aluminium frame is a spot on direct hit in my eyes. Under the hood HW is even better. The S800 chip seriously flies and it's been a long time but Android is now becoming just as fluid as iOS and WP and it's great to see that.
Software: I am a big fan of the Sony UI simply because it's easy and it looks pretty vanilla, I haven't installed a Homescreen in 2 years now ever since I got a Xperia S and I am not changing that now. There is some minor SW bugs where some dialouges just doesn't show up but I can still press them(if I know their real position)
Camera: The camera is a serious SW mess because I know and I see that Sony has a good camera HW-wise BUT their SW and esspecially Auto mode is seriously one complete mess. Other than the major problems with the noise the camera app is fluid and it's quite promosing to have some nice options like AR and the Livestream mode.
Sound: THe loudspeaker is decent and nothing you would cheer about but it's better than my old XS of course. The headphone jack for me is perfect and I hear absolutely no difference when playing the same song on my XS or my Z1
Screen: THe screen for me is supersharp, I can only see a little difference in sharpness between my XS and Z1 but that is expected but still it's a nice feature. The colours are almost accurate(I had to increase my blue level by +3 to +4), viewing angles aren't the best but they are clearly better than my XS besides head on is the way to go in my world.
Battery: Battery is a mixed bag; Standby is EXCELLENT hours can go and the phone is still on the same percentage. However and this is a big one the battery during Web browsing or other minor things is seriously underperforming. Clearly this is also something wrong with the SW because other Sony phones does not have the same problem.
I hope this gives a good view on the phone, clearly Sony needs to fix the battery and the Camera and for some swap out faulty screens. Other than that my money was well put!
I got my XZ1 on monday and I love it so far! Yeah the viewing angles aren't the best but who is gonna use their phone from those angles? The camera is good, yes it needs some improvements but it isn't unusable.
The waterproof tabs take some getting used to after coming from a Nexus 4 but my battery lasts me about a day and a half almost 2; so I don't have to undo the tab to often.
I like the speaker, it isn't as loud as the one on the Note 2 I had but it is WAY better than the Nexus 4. I really like the notification LED also, its in a really discrete location and its pretty visible; and paired with light manager it is really useful for me.
Wifi has also been good for me, at least compared to my old N4. The overall speed of the phone is awesome! This thing rips!
Coming from the Nexus 4 this was a SOLID upgrade for me. SD card slot, better camera, Snapdragon 800, better speakers (ear piece also), and its waterproof? I can't really complain on my end!
I think people are just being a little too picky. I mean come on the phone has only been out for almost a week now. What else can you expect? Sony has been releasing updates pretty frequently so hopefully everything will get better soon.
So i will do that short: Sony Xperia Z1 is just good. Not perfect. but good and defently better as my old Xperia S. (Whiches i aso not so bad if i compare to to other cellphone from this timewindow)
Mine is good so far, only got it for 2days will test camera etc some more
One thing I can say about the screen:
I went to local store and compared to ZU screen, both on full brightness and my Z1 screen definitely has better colors and details then Z1. I tried the Sony sample pics and compared those.
Better details is due to 5" vs 6.4" I guess. But colors are really better on Z1, also in video I noticed the same result
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Love the z1
Got the Z1 on pre-order, arrived the 17th.
- First thing i notice, phone is not bulky (in oposition to what reviewers say). Second thing, sony actually provides screen protect (Awsome)
- Phone turns on great and continues to perform great, Loving 4g and the speed and smoothness of the whole system.
- Screen contrast is not superb, lost in comparison to the s4, but during video streaming/playback, it performed amazingly as being hit directly by sunlight it was still very clear.
- Overall The phone is amazing, everyone says constantly i can't stop playing around with it (so true).
The only negative i have is battery life. Due to my constant use it drains very very quickly. But i think i'll be able to fix that.
B1nny said:
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
....
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
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I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
bramgg said:
I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
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I am. I can confirm I didn't get any updates on my unlocked Z1. I updated to 534 manually via flashtool though. (doesn't void warranty) I have no idea why we don't get the updates pushed to our phones.
thought i'd give my 2 cents here as i have been seeing a lot of negative comments, especially from people who judge way too quickly. Back when the Z came out i followed it madly and already had it on pre-order but i ended up getting a htc one. Ive had this phone for 2 days now and compared to my htc one it is a definite improvement. The only thing im getting used to is the size of the phone, i have small hands so you can imagine its not a 1 handed affair, but you cant fault the build quality, i love the fact that sony puts its own screen and back panel protector on (remember the x10). Call quality is amazing i have to say, loud and clear. performance is amazing, i can see the improvements in the chipset s800 has over s600 (was in my htc one), in real life you wont notice it too much but its defo there, games run amazing no lags and hits a very good fps (wild blood, real racing 3 in particular looks and plays amazingly). I've not really played with the camera much but its better than my htc one, that was the only thing i was disappointed with that phone. Now i have been constantly messing about with the phone so cant really give an accurate example of battery life, but what are you supposed to expect from a phone specc'd like this, yes it has a bigger capacity battery, it also has a big screen and a powerful cpu too, if i get a full days use out of it il be happy.
The Z1 is easily the best phone ever built. Its so nice to hold and use. Definitely my favourite phone to date and I have owned nearly all the previous flagship phones from most companies.
Absolutely blown away by this phone it's just amazing for me.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Xperia Z1 music video
Hi,
I'm totally new to android and the Z1 is my first personal android phone. My expectations where so high coming from many years of All iPhones.
I don't want to start a flame but yes I think android is a little behind (in some aspects) to ios7 BUT this device is actually freaking awesome and looks to me the only one that can beat the iPhone quality.
- High quality. When you touch it you feel that your money are well spent.
- The camera (if we consider is a phone) Is just super good.
- The Sony rom doesn't make me sad as and in a hurry to grab a random 3th party rom
- Display is super good colors looks real and rich. Yes view angles are not awesome but only crazy people use the phone in that way. One thing that NO ONE MENTION is that any phone is close to the iPhone under the sun. Surprise surprise according to phone arena the Z1 is in 2 place. That's for me means A LOT more than insane view angles. The only difect so far is the black. The display show (only in some circumstances) one of the lightest black on the market. You'll may notice it watching a movie (a dark one) in a dark room.
- screen protector: isn't so fragile as many said but yes isn't olephobic
Am I satisfied? A lot!!!!
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
So, after two weeks of use, I am still loving the phone overall. I do however have some nitpicks that I would like to share here, just for edification.
(1) The automation software that Sony has written is buggy and I mean really buggy. My main issue is that the state changes don't return the phone back to the way it was before the automated state went into effect. For example, NIGHT silences everything, but if I was silent before and I take the phone off the charger in the middle of the night, it turns sounds back on.
(2) Bluetooth - My bluetooth module crashes EVERY time I am in the car and connected. If I'm on a call, it goes in and out at least once. I would say it is the car's bluetooth, but I've never had this happen with other phones.
(3) Wi-Fi - My wifi connection at work has been spotty, but now I sit directly under an access point. The Z2 contines to go in and out of service for no reason. It still may be the connection at work, as it doesn't happen on my home network. But, I find it quite strange.
(4) Docked - The wake-up screen doesn't switch to vertical when the phone is docked. The home screen does.
(5) Phone screen - Not sure who laid the screen out, but it is too easy to engage the phone pad screen, which in turn starts dialing numbers. The sensor doesn't seem to recognize my big face on it, so it doesn't turn off while in a call. DO NOT LIKE.
(6) Autodimming Feature - doesn't really work as advertised. If I'm in a dark room, I don't need the screen to be full on. And yet, it does.
(7) 4K camera recording shut off AND manual camera (20MP) gets an over heating after a few pictures.
now, the good part...
(1) Screen is great for everything, I don't know what people are complaining about. No it isn't flame on strong like a Galaxy S5, but it works and very well, for whatever I need.
(2) Battery life and performance are phenomenal
(3) Simple Android skin.
(4) Camera quality is fantastic. Even in a dark room I got great pictures.
Thanks for info. Looking at bright side, most of your problems should be solved with software update.
I love everything about this phone except one thing :
I have T-Mobile and before this I had Nexus 5 and mostly I had LTE almost ever where but with this phone that percentage is lowered now and rather than having 90% of LTE everywhere I have like 50% LTE everywhere and mostly H+, I don't know why or maybe that's how's this phone or maybe if they release a better radio or firmware if fix the problem, I hope for it.
Thanks for the info/initial impressions. As already mentioned, most of your problems seem to be due to software issues that could well be fixed in the future. However, the overheating issue concerns me a lot. What if it's a design fault and no ROM updates are going to fully solve it... Idk...
vctrdnl said:
Thanks for the info/initial impressions. As already mentioned, most of your problems seem to be due to software issues that could well be fixed in the future. However, the overheating issue concerns me a lot. What if it's a design fault and no ROM updates are going to fully solve it... Idk...
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I have had the phone for more than a week and I have to say I love it. I can confirm a few niggles here and there, but nothing deal breaking and I can see myself living with the phone for the next few years. I agree with many that the real killer issue here is overheating. While initially restricted to 4k recording, it seems that the issue is more widespread than this, and today it happened to me recording 1080p at 60fps as well as 4k recording. Only a few minutes in each time. No each time the phone did not feel particularly hot, so I suspect this is predominenty related to the threshold set for the software to go in safe mode so that could be fixed if that was inadequate calibration.
Saying that, I find it difficult to believe that an issue like this could not have been picked up during testing... Certainly makes it looked like they did fry up a few phones during development for them to be so overly (?) cautious on this...
I have the same problem with the spotty wifi. It can drop and go back to LTE all of a sudden with no apparent reason. And it has the tendency to lose mobile connection while I'm traveling on the train, I don't get this with my S3. Fortunately I'm sure Sony can fix these issues buy upgrading the radio and software updates. It's just a matter of whether they will take notice.
Sent from my non-Apple device via XDA App
You know I think Sony makes bad radio antenna. cause Xperia SP is also having issues of dropping signals right now with it's latest update.
Once I went out for skiing and I was using Xperia Z and my two friends had HTC Evo 3D and GS3, they both got h+ yet I only got edge which kinda sucked.
Well, Ive had the phone for a week today
I haven't had the same issues as the OP,
the automation software I do have issues with as in night mode it does not turn off notifications and the picture viewer starts, but the way I have got round this is to go to flight mode at night
No problems whatsoever with Bluetooth connections in my S-0max, Freelander or Jag XF, all working perfectly
no problems with wifi, but I did have to uncheck the "Avoid Poor Connections" in advanced wifi setting
no issues with phone pad random dialling or catching it
agree with camera quality, screen quality and noise cancelling headphones are great (but are awful in my ipad, terrible quality on that)
would agree the sound levels are too low, needs an update to increase volume choices
Warkman said:
Well, Ive had the phone for a week today
I haven't had the same issues as the OP,
the automation software I do have issues with as in night mode it does not turn off notifications and the picture viewer starts, but the way I have got round this is to go to flight mode at night
No problems whatsoever with Bluetooth connections in my S-0max, Freelander or Jag XF, all working perfectly
no problems with wifi, but I did have to uncheck the "Avoid Poor Connections" in advanced wifi setting
no issues with phone pad random dialling or catching it
agree with camera quality, screen quality and noise cancelling headphones are great (but are awful in my ipad, terrible quality on that)
would agree the sound levels are too low, needs an update to increase volume choices
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Click to collapse
Glad I get to pick mine up today. I will say that when I had the z1 that it had low signal issues where it would cycle between LTE, HSPA and no signal in areas where other att phones stay locked on one or two bars of LTE. I'm hopeful this one will be a bit better, but we'll see.
Had my Z2 since Tuesday, It's going back!! Only for a replacement though as I love it.
Reason for going back, the gap is present on the top right on the phone.
other problems I have is the camera. Amazing results but I keep getting overheating message and shutdowns, and the keyboard is a nightmare, keep missing the space bar, but this is no big issue.
The good things, well just about everything else. The speakers are amazing, the screen is absolutely gorgeous, and it is not dim, I spend most of the day with it on auto with slider at the lowest setting. The mrs says it's ugly and looks old, I do not agree with this, it's gorgeous, and looks sleek and elegant.
Would I recommend, hell yeah!!
One further note, when you place it on the stand at night and go sleep, don't leave the bloody vibrate on, man, I sh*t myself and so did the Mrs, followed by me getting a bit of verbal!!!
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
jayc1980 said:
Had my Z2 since Tuesday, It's going back!! Only for a replacement though as I love it.
Reason for going back, the gap is present on the top right on the phone.
other problems I have is the camera. Amazing results but I keep getting overheating message and shutdowns, and the keyboard is a nightmare, keep missing the space bar, but this is no big issue.
The good things, well just about everything else. The speakers are amazing, the screen is absolutely gorgeous, and it is not dim, I spend most of the day with it on auto with slider at the lowest setting. The mrs says it's ugly and looks old, I do not agree with this, it's gorgeous, and looks sleek and elegant.
Would I recommend, hell yeah!!
One further note, when you place it on the stand at night and go sleep, don't leave the bloody vibrate on, man, I sh*t myself and so did the Mrs, followed by me getting a bit of verbal!!!
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
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Iam thinking of buying this phone asap
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paras said:
Iam thinking of buying this phone asap
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i would too, but the overheating issues are a turn off. hoping the second batch of Z2s would not have such problems
SexyIceCream said:
i would too, but the overheating issues are a turn off. hoping the second batch of Z2s would not have such problems
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But then z3 would be announced
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paras said:
But then z3 would be announced
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lol..perhaps a s5 would be the better choice then...but i am really tired of the design language being used by them come on, sony! lets hope the overheating can be solved through a software update
I've had mine since the 17th of April and I haven't experienced most of the problems the OP listed. I've had the 4k over heating force closing camera app but that was only on the first day because I was already using the camera for ages before testing 4k. Since then it's never happened again. Never happened with 1080p video at any point even 60fps.
No problems with lte or wifi. Don't use bluetooth much so can't comment there. Automodes work OK for me. Well it's just the night mode I used so no extensive testing done there.
Z2 rocks, put it this way, I've spent a lot of time criticising most of the Sony Ericsson and Sony devices I've owned but the z2 ain't gonna join that list.
The display is class leading, whites may not be the whitest but they're white enough. The colour reproduction is spot on despite the vibrancy unlike you know who. Performance is boss too. Only notice frame drops in games when the phone gets very hot after prolonged periods.
Sound quality is great too and I for one don't have any problems with notifications. I hear them from the living room when I'm outside. I also like the fact that it automatically adjusts the sound volume depending on what you're doing. It's loudest during gaming. I think that's good because I can just leave the phone on full volume and it automatically takes care of everything. No need to keep adjusting the volume. Another thing I discovered is that you can zoom in on any video you record with the device, not just 4k. Obviously not as much detail is preserved but it's great nonetheless.
The camera for me is the real star of the show. Not really a superior auto man because historically that produced the worst results possible especially with the Z. Not this time though. Manual for me is still king but superior auto has been greatly improved and you can be happy using it. It actually does a better job at white balance under artificial lighting. Something I hope is addressed in manual mode with software updates.
As for photo quality, it's fantastic at 8mp. Sure you can't zoom in as much as with 20.7mp but the quality is much better in ever respect. Detail preservation, colour reproduction, dynamic range etc. Fantastic job done here by Sony. They've certainly joined Nokia in the premier league of smartphone cams. If the lumia 1020 is an incredible 5mp camera, think of the z2 as an incredible 8mp camera.
Took me a while to get used to the size of the phone though but I'm over that now. Z starting to look an feel small now lol!
All in all, it's not only by far and away the best effort from Sony, it's the best smartphone ever built. It's monolithic rectangular design might not be everyone's cup of tea especial those who like to grip their phones but I love it and hope Sony never changes it. To give you some perspective, I absolutely hated the xperia arc design. That's just me I know. The m8 might feel more premium but I think it's butt ugly with those juvenile speaker grills. I actually prefer the s5's look if not feel.
There's more to talk about especially the noise cancelling genius. Works like a charm and does exactly what it claims to do.
It's also pretty solid and rugged. I've dropped mine a few times and it's shown no damage at all. I'm glad Sony went back to the original z design and put a plastic edge around the aluminum frame. My mates z1 is already showing signs of age but the z still looks fab. I think z2 will stand the test of time much like the z did.
For the bad, the phone is way too slippery hence why I've dropped it a lot. It even slides off surfaces on its own lol.
The camera also tries to force the bokeh effect on you. If you have anything that remotely looks dominant and central to the scene, the camera tends to blur out a bit objects in the background. IPhone 5s does this too but is sort of annoying especially when the z2 has a dedicated shooting mode for this. Admittedly one that's not the most accurate. Well even m8 with its secondary depth sensor is inaccurate so let's not take the high ground here.
To avoid rambling on, this is one phone I'll gladly recommend to anyone who isn't worried about size. For those of you that are, just wait for the z2 compact.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
I've had mine since the 17th of April and I haven't experienced most of the problems the OP listed. I've had the 4k over heating force closing camera app but that was only on the first day because I was already using the camera for ages before testing 4k. Since then it's never happened again. Never happened with 1080p video at any point even 60fps.
No problems with lte or wifi. Don't use bluetooth much so can't comment there. Automodes work OK for me. Well it's just the night mode I used so no extensive testing done there.
Z2 rocks, put it this way, I've spent a lot of time criticising most of the Sony Ericsson and Sony devices I've owned but the z2 ain't gonna join that list.
The display is class leading, whites may not be the whitest but they're white enough. The colour reproduction is spot on despite the vibrancy unlike you know who. Performance is boss too. Only notice frame drops in games when the phone gets very hot after prolonged periods.
Sound quality is great too and I for one don't have any problems with notifications. I hear them from the living room when I'm outside. I also like the fact that it automatically adjusts the sound volume depending on what you're doing. It's loudest during gaming. I think that's good because I can just leave the phone on full volume and it automatically takes care of everything. No need to keep adjusting the volume. Another thing I discovered is that you can zoom in on any video you record with the device, not just 4k. Obviously not as much detail is preserved but it's great nonetheless.
The camera for me is the real star of the show. Not really a superior auto man because historically that produced the worst results possible especially with the Z. Not this time though. Manual for me is still king but superior auto has been greatly improved and you can be happy using it. It actually does a better job at white balance under artificial lighting. Something I hope is addressed in manual mode with software updates.
As for photo quality, it's fantastic at 8mp. Sure you can't zoom in as much as with 20.7mp but the quality is much better in ever respect. Detail preservation, colour reproduction, dynamic range etc. Fantastic job done here by Sony. They've certainly joined Nokia in the premier league of smartphone cams. If the lumia 1020 is an incredible 5mp camera, think of the z2 as an incredible 8mp camera.
Took me a while to get used to the size of the phone though but I'm over that now. Z starting to look an feel small now lol!
All in all, it's not only by far and away the best effort from Sony, it's the best smartphone ever built. It's monolithic rectangular design might not be everyone's cup of tea especial those who like to grip their phones but I love it and hope Sony never changes it. To give you some perspective, I absolutely hated the xperia arc design. That's just me I know. The m8 might feel more premium but I think it's butt ugly with those juvenile speaker grills. I actually prefer the s5's look if not feel.
There's more to talk about especially the noise cancelling genius. Works like a charm and does exactly what it claims to do.
It's also pretty solid and rugged. I've dropped mine a few times and it's shown no damage at all. I'm glad Sony went back to the original z design and put a plastic edge around the aluminum frame. My mates z1 is already showing signs of age but the z still looks fab. I think z2 will stand the test of time much like the z did.
For the bad, the phone is way too slippery hence why I've dropped it a lot. It even slides off surfaces on its own lol.
The camera also tries to force the bokeh effect on you. If you have anything that remotely looks dominant and central to the scene, the camera tends to blur out a bit objects in the background. IPhone 5s does this too but is sort of annoying especially when the z2 has a dedicated shooting mode for this. Admittedly one that's not the most accurate. Well even m8 with its secondary depth sensor is inaccurate so let's not take the high ground here.
To avoid rambling on, this is one phone I'll gladly recommend to anyone who isn't worried about size. For those of you that are, just wait for the z2 compact.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
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thanks for your input! but btw, when you mean you haven't faced the overheating for 4k, was it at least 5 minutes? i fully intend to use the z2 for an upcoming concert, so at least 5 mins of 4k would be awesome(for cropping/zooming in) :good:
SexyIceCream said:
thanks for your input! but btw, when you mean you haven't faced the overheating for 4k, was it at least 5 minutes? i fully intend to use the z2 for an upcoming concert, so at least 5 mins of 4k would be awesome(for cropping/zooming in) :good:
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Click to collapse
Before replying, I started another 4k video to see what happened. It recorded for 5mins 22 seconds and then forced closed. Mind you I've been using the phone all morning so was already a bit hot. I think it all depends on the temperature of the phone. If cool, you can probably record for longer. You can though zoom into any video you record. I would suggest using 1080 at 60fps at the concert or just make sure your device is cool before recording in 4k.
I think it's a threshold Sony set for it. If that's correct then removing or increasing this threshold may result in people pushing it too far and damaging their devices.
If it's not a threshold then who knows, there maybe a fix released at some point. Don't forget, the z2 really hasn't got going yet. Sony is still struggling to make it widely available so we may have to wait a few months for any fixes.
I'll wait for the device to cool down completely and retry. I'll come back to you then.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
Before replying, I started another 4k video to see what happened. It recorded for 5mins 22 seconds and then forced closed. Mind you I've been using the phone all morning so was already a bit hot. I think it all depends on the temperature of the phone. If cool, you can probably record for longer. You can though zoom into any video you record. I would suggest using 1080 at 60fps at the concert or just make sure your device is cool before recording in 4k.
I think it's a threshold Sony set for it. If that's correct then removing or increasing this threshold may result in people pushing it too far and damaging their devices.
If it's not a threshold then who knows, there maybe a fix released at some point. Don't forget, the z2 really hasn't got going yet. Sony is still struggling to make it widely available so we may have to wait a few months for any fixes.
I'll wait for the device to cool down completely and retry. I'll come back to you then.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
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thanks loads! haha if it would really take months, the Z3 would be out already(as said by another member above) i still think their 6 months refresh rate is a tad too fast but oh well
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------
SexyIceCream said:
thanks loads! haha if it would really take months, the Z3 would be out already(as said by another member above) i still think their 6 months refresh rate is a tad too fast but oh well
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I think the 6 month cycle is disgusting. Nobody benefits from this. Not consumers and not Sony. With all the delays I doubt we'll see z3 until next year. I think z2 compact and possibly z2 ultra are more likely later this year. Sony would just have absolutely no justification for pushing the z3 in September. Even if they do, it'll just be another rough sketch phone like the z1 was. One which I'll surely be skipping and would advise others to do so as well. 6 months is way too short a time to develop a phone. You'll end up with another unrefined rough sketch. Let's be honest, the z1 looks now like an early prototype of the z2. If it was a proper construct, they would have called it the z2. The z1 was the original z. The z1 was a child of pure greed on Sony's part. I'm sure most z1 users will be wishing they'd skipped that device. Doing think there were that many z users who wished they'd waited for the z1 though. We've seen what Sony has to offer for 2014 and you'll realistically have to wait at least a year to any meaningful improvements. Case in point, z2 and z1 have similar camera specs but z2 produces infinitely better results. Why? The z1's camera was just the hardware without the refinements needed. Like I said, it was a rough sketch of what Sony had to come. In my opinion h2 flagships from Sony are nothing but dishonest devices. Sony's basically selling early prototypes to consumers.
Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
Are you guys on the 2.55 or 2.69 firmware? Maybe the 2.69 has some changes to help with the overheating.