Database Users

With the reviews getting in are you still getting your XZ?

I'm curious if there is an affect on your buying decision after reading the reviews.

I so want this phone but all this talk about the display not being up to par has put some doubt in my mind now as to whether I go through with purchasing the Z. GSM arena and Phone Arena share similar views regarding the display, which I wasn't expecting.
I will be taking a look at the device at my local phones4u, and if I find the screen to be disappointing I will unfortunately cancel my order. I really really really hope this wont be the case though.

Yeah wavering here...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

stefanve said:
I'm curious if there is an affect on your buying decision after reading the reviews.
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Click to collapse
What is there in those reviews that would put me off from buying one?
Problems with camera images? Not that big of a deal, I don't make photos with my phone for a living. Lag? I doubt there is any. Battery life? People report a whole day of medium to heavy usage, which is what I get from my Galaxy S3 anyway. Build quality? It's waterproof, I don't mind having to open flaps every time I want to plug in my headset.
What else is there?

Where is the option "i dont care about reviews, i want it and im gonna get it regardless" ?
I dont trust reviews. Note 2 and S3 were reviewed as the best phones even - and i'm really disappointed by those two. It's funny how reviewers sometimes ignore obvious flaws about one phone, but riot about a tiny detail in another. Reviews are not objective - so i don't really care about them. It's nice to read and compare opinions, but i always prefer to just get the phone and decide for myself.
So unless at least 5-10 review say something really bad about the battery ( like not lasting a full day even on light use, which is not the case ) i'm not going to even think about cancelling.

robogo1982 said:
What is there in those reviews that would put me off from buying one?
Problems with camera images? Not that big of a deal, I don't make photos with my phone for a living. Lag? I doubt there is any. Battery life? People report a whole day of medium to heavy usage, which is what I get from my Galaxy S3 anyway. Build quality? It's waterproof, I don't mind having to open flaps every time I want to plug in my headset.
What else is there?
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I think most are worried about the screen, every thing else seems okay/perfect (some may not like the camera)

I have a pre-order for mine but I am a little worried.. The camera from what I've seen looks perfectly decent, and it's bound to be better than my HOX which kinda sucks compared to my last iPhone. My one concern is the display which is a pretty big deal breaker, I actually had a quick play with one in a Three store yesterday and the display was very wishy washy (Even after I had turned it down from max brightness). Originally everyone had said this was purely an issue with pre-production panels, but after the reviews claiming to be on retail devices this had worried me even more.
Think I'm going to pop into a P4U store as well to have a play, maybe there is more chance of those being full retail units seeing as they're available a little after.. Who knows!

I'm still getting it, I've seen the phone in a couple of three stores and didn't see any problems with the display, but then I'm not particularly picky.

I'm still getting it, my main reasons are:
Camera. I know Sony make decent camera phones, I have a Note 2 which is fairly decent, not brill in low light scenarios, not as good as my HOX was.
Build quality. My last two phones, S3 and Note 2...enough said!
Screen. I miss my HOX LCD screen, AMOLEDS are just a bit too false!
Size. My current phone is the Note 2, it's the only negative side of it, it's too big for one handed use nothing else. Looking forward to getting a phone that I can use with one hand comfortably again.
So I'm still getting it!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Screen aside I am getting concerned about the camera performance, I don't expect it to completely match up to the 920 but I was hoping it would be reasonably close.

Reviews are irrelevant. Go play with the phone at a Sony store once it becomes available and decide for yourself.
Reviewers have their own agendas...

I was planning on getting the ZL if it came out before the end of February or first week of March..... However Sony announced that Canada isn't getting the ZL till April.... And on top of that all of the issues with the inconsistent screen reviews have made me decide to just wait . Since Sony decided to force me to wait till April the logical thing to do is wait for info on the s4/Optimus g pro/ m7 / xphone, and reevaluate the market at that time
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app

I am still getting it. Lets hear reviews of international version first aT feb 28, and lets see.

Really wanted to get this phone, but it's not coming to Canada until April. That's just too far away and sadly I am forced to go another route. I really did want this phone though...

the display doesn't look bad in this vid(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFEzXilA8B8) IMO, but why is bottom bar gray instead of black (where the home, and back button are)?

Was quite iffy since anything that offers a fHD resolution and no 3000mA+ battery doesn't get me interested much. But I guess this is a dealbreaker for me. Anywho, good luck to those who've ordered this!

I will wait for a full GSMarena review, then wait for it to appear in stores here and go test it myself and compare. The only problem for me could be bad color contrast.
Not amazing camera? - No problem for me, digital cameras are not amazing even if you stuck 9999 megapixels in them and super xmrozksda sensors. I take maybe 3 pics a month and those usually go to instagram where horrible filters and compression will make it look like a picture from 2006 anyway. If I want to make good pics I'll take my camera (or a friend will).
Bad viewing angles? - Again, the only time it will be a problem is when I let my mates to play games on it and will want to see how they are doing.
I just need a new phone kinda ASAP and Sony is releasing soon. The new HTC could be interesting for me but I'm not sure when it's coming out. I hate Samsung phones so GS4 is not an option either.

^Why do you 'hate' Samsung? Color contrast of SAMLOED I'm guessing

Getting the ZL, but it's more or less the same phone for the most part. Reviews aren't affecting my excitement to get it one bit. Can't wait for it to finally hit Canada!

Getting the ZL also. I know our country was one of the mentioned ones to get this device on the 1st quarter but if it would reach till april then mostlikely HTC M7 would prolly steal 50% of my decision to go back to sony. I love Sense UI and not Sony UI but I decided to ditch HTC Butterfly and go with sony but if they let HTC M7 pass them again then bye2 and I'll stick with HTC. Sad because Sony was my 1st android phone coming from nokia when they ditched maemo OS over microsoft.

General thoughts so far....

For those of you that now have this phone, what are your thoughts? I'm liking this phone more and more but do I need it, well, not really. I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4 running PA but there's something about this that has me wanting it. I think part of it is the fact that it's kind of the underdog. It will be exciting to see what the dev's come up with, ROM wise. Anyway, my brain is just spinning as usual, haha.

davela72 said:
For those of you that now have this phone, what are your thoughts? I'm liking this phone more and more but do I need it, well, not really. I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4 running PA but there's something about this that has me wanting it. I think part of it is the fact that it's kind of the underdog. It will be exciting to see what the dev's come up with, ROM wise. Anyway, my brain is just spinning as usual, haha.
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I'm coming from a sony X10 but the oppo find 5 is working good, I had no dead pixels everything worked out of the box.
I have some problems with contact syncing and gmail updates. Photographs are beautiful, but HDR is not really good on dark spots. (lots of noise because of ISO value's)
I did not wanted the nexus 4 because of the glass back. But I think I would also be happy with the nexus 4. But it is overpriced in the Netherlands, my oppo is cheaper then the nexus 4.
It is super fast compared to my X10. No idea how fast the nexus 4 is.
I think you can better donate some money to charity instead of buying yet another high-end phone

nice
previous phone: HTC Sensation
+ Display: WOW! youtube trailer in HD and people start peeping their eyes out!
+ Sound: I never heard a phone playing it sounds like this
+ Speed: I changed the default (ugly) launcher to APEX, this give's the phone a better feel
+ Camera: Although my previous phone was already 2 year old hence i cannot compare it to recent in-phone-camera's it looks great
+ Desgin: It is sharp but not too sharp edged, it's light and thin. the phone is big in size but because its slim dimensions you will not notice it in your jeans (unless you wear skinny jeans i guess, but who does that )
- Temperature when under load, i feel the device is getting pretty warm, your hands start being sweatty.
- Stock UI

Display
Simply Amazing. Bright & Crisp.
However, the screen responsiveness to your touch isn't very good. I find myself having to tap many things twice or three times to get it registered.​Battery
Terrible. It seems to be draining even while sleeping.
My usual morning routine, I unplugged the phone from the charger. It's charged to 100% over night. I do a few light tasks like replying to text messages, flipping through Flipboard, see one 30 sec YouTube video, brightness setting at 50%.
After 20 minutes of usage, my battery gotten down from 100% to 78%.​Speaker
Nice and loud. Best, I have ever heard. But, when you lay it on its back, the speaker will be completely muffled.​Camera
Sucks. 13MP only in spirit. Colors are over saturated. And, the balance isn't there. Lots of graininess in images, even in ample light. Also, don't use the LED flash. Your pictures will be almost all blown white. Absolutely no setting like macro, scene mode, white balance, panaroma, etc.. Just point and shoot and hope for the best...and often times, it isn't.
My 8MP Nexus and 5MP iPad Mini can take picture and video much better.​Stock Launcher
The widgets are fugly. Period.​Build Quality
Strong like my unibody Macbook Pro. However, the power and volume rockers shifts around. The micro USB port is weak. I feel like I'm gonna break that port anytime soon.​Software
Random reboots at least twice or three times a day. No idea why. I feel like I'm using Windows 95 all over again. Oh, and Gmail doesn't open up. Yeah, seriously, Gmail DOES NOT work on this phone. I have to use the other mail app instead. Latest firmware & Gmail update.
Software is actually 4.1, not 4.2. Coming from Nexus 4, that was a let down. I miss the swype style keyboard on 4.2.​ROM
Currently, as of late March, no ROMs​Side Note
USB wall charger & headphones look EXACTLY like the ones for iPhones. Apple will be calling them soon, if not already.​
Conclusion
Beauty & the Beast.......okay, maybe just the Beauty and not much else.​

Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. Hopefully a lot of these things can be fixed with future updates. What's the deal with the Gmail not working and is this something that OPPO is aware of?

I really am happy with the phone. Looks great and stands out in the crowd. Screen is fabulous. It's a new kid on the block, so there are a few things that are not quite there yet. But it seems Oppo are really working hard to make a proper go at this. So far weekly updates and regular fixes. I attached a simple benchmark to give you an idea of the spec. I'm sure there are better performers out there, but it seems to hold it's own!

It seems that my take is a lot different than other peoples on the board, or maybe I got really lucky and got the perfect unit, My Droid DNA is in my drawer and my Oppo Find 5 is sitting on my coffee table right now. All I have to say is wow I am really quite surprised with the device, and I have a Droid DNA now, and my previous device was HTC One X International Version. So I have saw some very nice displays lately, and the Oppo Find 5 is right up there with the best of them, it handles its own. The only fault was that I got my Oppo Find 5 with 1 stuck pixel, you don't even notice it only if you look for it when it’s on the black part while its booting up, once the screen comes on you can’t even see it.
+ Display is really NICE! 1 pixel stuck, on par with Droid DNA SLCD3 and just as bright so you don't have to turn it up that far and waste battery.
+ Build Quality I can’t say enough about this, this thing feels like I could Drop it off the roof and it would last.
+ The All black front display looks so good just as nice or better than the One X, and it has that nice curve in the glass that makes it nice to use.
+ I haven't tried the stock ear buds, but with my Sony ear buds, this thing sounds great, no distortion at all, with bass high, all amps sound good.
+ The stock speaker is also a pleasant surprise, it sounds really good at high volume levels also, when set right, no distortion and it gets loud
+ I stuck with the default launcher to give it a try and it is pretty smooth, has a really nice settings layout. I may switch, it reminds me of MIUI
+ The camera is just as good as my HTC DNA, I don't remember which review said it was about like about like an 8MP LG, It shots fine pictures.
+ The white matte finish does not leave any fingerprints and the screen must have that stuff to keep fingerprints off it also, it barley gets fingerprints
+ I have ran plenty of benchmarks and my unit did not get hot at all as someone said, maybe I wasn't holding it where it was getting hot at on their device?
+ The complete design is what really shines on this phone on the outside, it looks so sleek, and I have already caught people glancing and looking at it, and I have only owned it for one day, if that says anything at all?
+ or - Don't know enough about battery life yet but so far mine seems to be holding up better today, now that it is on its second charge, With a full HD Display you have got to know how to manage your battery, turn things off that you are not using at the time, it worked on my One X and that thing was a nightmare. On my One X I also disabled all my apps that I didn't ever use. At least until we get Roms that will take out all the bloat junk. Today my battery is doing really well almost 2 hours screen time and 76% left.
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-- I would have to say that the launcher would have been better stock, but I like trying new things out. I really hope Paranoid Android comes to this phone that will be my rom of choice. I already know CM and MIUI are coming soon.
-- The Ugly widgets, Oppo have so many better widgets on their other phones (Oppo Finder, Oppo Way, Oppo 3?) all those widgets look better IMO. I wish I could replace them somehow by switching APKs; maybe someone knows how and could let me know?
-- Contrast I like the over saturated look we have a developer that is working on a kernel or app to set your display just how you like it, at least I think so anyway?- hopefully we can get this fixed soon I know it’s being worked on by paperweistage and his kernel hopefully he gets it figures out, but if you want to help he is looking for some help in his kernel thread, He is looking for JDI Display white-sheets. So help out if you can
And support our developer, that’s how we eventually get more custom Kernel Roms and Apps. Donate to them a couple dollars for a cold one or a coffee.
-- or + It is a little bit on the heavy side but look how it’s made! Some could call this a negative but I left it neutral because it is well balanced and with a full metal frame inside around it, I don't really mind it weighing 20 extra grams, at least hopefully my phone won’t shatter into a thousand pieces if it falls on the ground.
Add more later after I use it awhile longer.
Stock Find 5 Score
[/IMG]
BELOW MY DROID DNA with a custom kernel, once we get a custom kernel for the Find 5, I think it will do better than the DNA I couldn't get the scores I'm getting with the Find 5 with my DNA when it was stock maybe 18900 or 19500.
[/IMG]
[/IMG]

drvsbsm, awesome review! I was checking the OPPO forums earlier and was really getting mixed thoughts on the phone. I know this phone is new and things are just getting started and I think that is some of what's driving me to it. I remember when the Nokia N9 came out with it's Hartmann/Meego OS, I fell in love with that thing and it was pretty much a dead platform when released. It looks like OPPO is keeping up with bug fixes and putting out updates so that's a good sign. Most of all though, I think the thing is SEXY, a beautiful device.
I'm guessing the vendor on Amazon is the place to get it from, the one located in HK?
Thanks again guys!

Very , very good rewiew !
knite75 said:
Display
Simply Amazing​Battery
Terrible. It seems to be draining even while sleeping​Speaker
Nice and loud.​Camera
Sucks. My 8MP Nexus and 5MP iPad Mini can take picture and video much better. Absolutely no setting like scene mode, white balance, panaroma, etc in stock camera app​Stock Launcher
The widgets are fugly. Period.​Build Quality
Strong like my unibody Macbook Pro. However, the power and volume rockers shifts around. The micro USB port is weak. I feel like I'm gonna break that port anytime soon.​Software
Random reboots at least twice or three times a day. No idea why. I feel like I'm using Windows 95 all over again. Oh, and Gmail doesn't open up. Yeah, seriously, Gmail DOES NOT work on this phone. I have to use the other mail app instead.​ROM
Currently, as of late March, no ROMs​Side Note
USB wall charger & headphones look EXACTLY like the ones for iPhones. Apple will be calling them soon, if not already.​
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Click to collapse
+1...... The good think is that the almost everything can be repaired (soft related )

Video camera isn't that very good.
Video is okay if the subject stands still. However, when subject runs or any fast moments, then video gets blurry or ghosting.
For example, here's a video of my daughter at her Taekwondo practice. Notice how she gets blurry when she starts running?
http://youtu.be/ln_2YvN6f78

knite75 said:
Video camera isn't that very good.
Video is okay if the subject stands still. However, when subject runs or any fast moments, then video gets blurry or ghosting.
For example, here's a video of my daughter at her Taekwondo practice. Notice how she gets blurry when she starts running?
http://youtu.be/ln_2YvN6f78
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Click to collapse
Hopefully this will be addressed as OPPO is releasing an update within a few days for camera related issues.

I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.

From what I've gathered, the screen is made by JDI?

katamari201 said:
I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.
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Click to collapse
The screen is from JDI. seems pretty sturdy to me. They seem to be keeping on top of things. But they have a very good reputation in the high end Av community. It's also not their 1st phone. Just their first soiree in the international market.

I have had my Find 5 for more than a week now sans screen protector. Unfortunately, there are lots of micro scratches already. And, I'm very conscious about where I put and use my phone.
Same practice, my Nexus 4 fair much better even after six months of usage.
All in all, have screen protector or don't have too long of finger nails.
katamari201 said:
I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

New firmware 328,it has camera fixes...

No marked improvement or fixes to camera with latest firmware.
Just new feature: panorama.
Oppo should focus on fixing all the basic camera problems, rather than, adding gimmick useless feature.

knite75 said:
No marked improvement or fixes to camera with latest firmware.
Just new feature: panorama.
Oppo should focus on fixing all the basic camera problems, rather than, adding gimmick useless feature.
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Click to collapse
Wow knite please get back to your iphone.
They tweaked a bit around with the iso settings. But not something really spectaculair.
At least they did something. Most companies will be like :"DEAL WITH IT!"

Haas8 said:
Wow knite please get back to your iphone.
They tweaked a bit around with the iso settings. But not something really spectaculair.
At least they did something. Most companies will be like :"DEAL WITH IT!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most company would release software when it's ready and in decent condition for general public consumption... Not beta....or alpha in this case.
Check the camera... Aside from poor image quality.... Do see any basic features like:
Macro
White Balance
Scene Mode
As a matter of fact, on Oppo forums, lots of threads and discussion on how poor the pictures and video are turning out... Oppo just ignore them...basically, saying "DEAL WITH IT!"
Instead, they spent their finite limited development resources in adding useless Panorama feature. When is the last time you took a panorama picture, aside from just wanting to see how it works?

I took a panorama earlier at dinner actually. I did the update out of the box and didn't know it added that so that's cool lol.
Sent from my X909 using xda premium

Tempted to buy this phone

Hey guys my nexus 4 was recently stolen :crying: and now its time to start looking for a new phone
This is probably the best option i've found so far in my price range but... I have a few questions I'd like to ask to people who actually own the phone, not biased internet reviewers
First of all, I will not ask about benchmarks or specs as we all know they mean nothing if the software is not optimized... but here are a few doubts I have before I buy it
1- How is the overall user experience, I mean, are the transitions smooth and do apps open fairly quick?
2- What do you think from the display? Ive read that its pretty good for a mid/almost high-end smartphone but viewing angles aren´t the best
3- Should i be worried about ram? On my fist android phone, apps crashed because there wasnt enough ram, for example if I was playing a ram intensive game, while listening to music, the music suddenly stoped playing
4- How is sony's support, has anyone had any problems with their phone?
5- What are the most popular roms arround here? and kernels? This is a big one for me, as i consider my self a flashoholic hehehe I ask because after a quick look at the android development forum in here i haven´t found much althrough Im happy to see DoomLord around (remember him, and his awesome kernels for the Xperia play)
6- Is there any specific thing you hate about this phone? Anything?
7- How is the wifi reception? Ive read somewhere that it was terrible but that seems unlikely, so what do you think about it?
8- Camera... How is it? And how does the front facing camera perform? I use it a lot in low light situations, and my nexus camera was kind of terrible
9- Finally, would you recommend a different phone (in a similar price range of course) over this one? How do you think it compares to the s4 mini, or an lg L7 as those are probably the only other options available in my country

1- How is the overall user experience, I mean, are the transitions smooth and do apps open fairly quick?
Yes - it's a fast phone. A high clock speed and the fact it renders to 720p rather than 1080 means it's very snappy
2- What do you think from the display? Ive read that its pretty good for a mid/almost high-end smartphone but viewing angles aren´t the best
A good screen, not great like flagship devices. Viewing angles are fine IMO - Sony has a bad rep for this but the SP's viewing angles are a vast improvement on their older xperia phones
3- Should i be worried about ram? On my fist android phone, apps crashed because there wasnt enough ram, for example if I was playing a ram intensive game, while listening to music, the music suddenly stoped playing
I don't think you should be worried, this is improving with each update, but people have complained about this.
4- How is sony's support, has anyone had any problems with their phone?
Sony have a good support network, but there are some issues they seem unwilling/unable to address with this phone. Wifi is clearly a problem
5- What are the most popular roms arround here? and kernels? This is a big one for me, as i consider my self a flashoholic hehehe I ask because after a quick look at the android development forum in here i haven´t found much althrough Im happy to see DoomLord around (remember him, and his awesome kernels for the Xperia play)
A relatively new device and not especially common IMO, but development is steady, a rom a week maybe. I don't know which are popular, but stripped back ROMS and ones attempting to give the feel and look of flagship Xperia devices dominate. Kernels are all stock based at the moment, but FreeXperia and some independent developers are planning to bring CM10.1 and CM10.2 to the phone. After that I expect things to gather pace - MIUI and AOSP roms should follow on pretty quickly I imagine. There are a decent amount of mods as well
6- Is there any specific thing you hate about this phone? Anything?
The internal storage - around 5gb is available for the user, this is just about adequate, coming from a 2011 device I thought it would be enough, but because you can't move apps to an external SD, it get's used up quickly. I'm not a power user and it doesn't feel like enough. There are ways around it if you're rooted, but you wish Sony would do what Samsung have done and mod their builds to allow this
7- How is the wifi reception? Ive read somewhere that it was terrible but that seems unlikely, so what do you think about it?
I think it helps if you've got a newish router, but my experience isn't great and this is echoed by many others here and on Sony's support forums. There are ways to improve it, but out of the box performance for some users is unacceptable IMO. However with the tweaks in place I now get reception in parts of my house where none of my other devices (laptop, netbook, old phone) get reception - for me range has always been excellent, but connecting in the first place sometimes took several attempts or needed a phone reboot
8- Camera... How is it? And how does the front facing camera perform? I use it a lot in low light situations, and my nexus camera was kind of terrible
The camera is average, don't know whether this is a hardware issue or Sony's image processing - but the fact that people complain about the cameras on better Xperia devices suggests that Sony's software may be at fault. They definitely cut costs with the front camera - fine for video calls and basic snaps but not suitable for photography. Ultimately, whoever the manufacturer, people complain about cameras
9- Finally, would you recommend a different phone (in a similar price range of course) over this one? How do you think it compares to the s4 mini, or an lg L7 as those are probably the only other options available in my country
The S4 mini has a smaller screen (lower resolution too?), but more RAM, I think it's a better device if you want a more compact phone. The SP feels better in the hand IMO, it is somewhat chunky and heavy but feels solid and well made. If you've come from an N4 going to a smaller screen may be difficult. The SP is almost flagship standard - the corners cut aren't that important to sensible users, do mobiles really need 4 core processors, 1080p and 2gb of ram? I don't think you can do much better for the price - so it's really about the screen size when it comes to choosing between this and the S4 mini. I don't know about the L7

Parkside said:
1- How is the overall user experience, I mean, are the transitions smooth and do apps open fairly quick?
Yes - it's a fast phone. A high clock speed and the fact it renders to 720p rather than 1080 means it's very snappy
2- What do you think from the display? Ive read that its pretty good for a mid/almost high-end smartphone but viewing angles aren´t the best
A good screen, not great like flagship devices. Viewing angles are fine IMO - Sony has a bad rep for this but the SP's viewing angles are a vast improvement on their older xperia phones
3- Should i be worried about ram? On my fist android phone, apps crashed because there wasnt enough ram, for example if I was playing a ram intensive game, while listening to music, the music suddenly stoped playing
I don't think you should be worried, this is improving with each update, but people have complained about this.
4- How is sony's support, has anyone had any problems with their phone?
Sony have a good support network, but there are some issues they seem unwilling/unable to address with this phone. Wifi is clearly a problem
5- What are the most popular roms arround here? and kernels? This is a big one for me, as i consider my self a flashoholic hehehe I ask because after a quick look at the android development forum in here i haven´t found much althrough Im happy to see DoomLord around (remember him, and his awesome kernels for the Xperia play)
A relatively new device and not especially common IMO, but development is steady, a rom a week maybe. I don't know which are popular, but stripped back ROMS and ones attempting to give the feel and look of flagship Xperia devices dominate. Kernels are all stock based at the moment, but FreeXperia and some independent developers are planning to bring CM10.1 and CM10.2 to the phone. After that I expect things to gather pace - MIUI and AOSP roms should follow on pretty quickly I imagine. There are a decent amount of mods as well
6- Is there any specific thing you hate about this phone? Anything?
The internal storage - around 5gb is available for the user, this is just about adequate, coming from a 2011 device I thought it would be enough, but because you can't move apps to an external SD, it get's used up quickly. I'm not a power user and it doesn't feel like enough. There are ways around it if you're rooted, but you wish Sony would do what Samsung have done and mod their builds to allow this
7- How is the wifi reception? Ive read somewhere that it was terrible but that seems unlikely, so what do you think about it?
I think it helps if you've got a newish router, but my experience isn't great and this is echoed by many others here and on Sony's support forums. There are ways to improve it, but out of the box performance for some users is unacceptable IMO. However with the tweaks in place I now get reception in parts of my house where none of my other devices (laptop, netbook, old phone) get reception - for me range has always been excellent, but connecting in the first place sometimes took several attempts or needed a phone reboot
8- Camera... How is it? And how does the front facing camera perform? I use it a lot in low light situations, and my nexus camera was kind of terrible
The camera is average, don't know whether this is a hardware issue or Sony's image processing - but the fact that people complain about the cameras on better Xperia devices suggests that Sony's software may be at fault. They definitely cut costs with the front camera - fine for video calls and basic snaps but not suitable for photography. Ultimately, whoever the manufacturer, people complain about cameras
9- Finally, would you recommend a different phone (in a similar price range of course) over this one? How do you think it compares to the s4 mini, or an lg L7 as those are probably the only other options available in my country
The S4 mini has a smaller screen (lower resolution too?), but more RAM, I think it's a better device if you want a more compact phone. The SP feels better in the hand IMO, it is somewhat chunky and heavy but feels solid and well made. If you've come from an N4 going to a smaller screen may be difficult. The SP is almost flagship standard - the corners cut aren't that important to sensible users, do mobiles really need 4 core processors, 1080p and 2gb of ram? I don't think you can do much better for the price - so it's really about the screen size when it comes to choosing between this and the S4 mini. I don't know about the L7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer everything I asked!!!
This really seems like a good phone, specially for the price. Regarding the screen size, thats why im interested in this phone more than any other "budget" phone, I know it will be hard to go any smaller than 4.5" and 720p. Anyways thanks a lot for your time, guess Ill try to go to a store where I can use it for a while and compare it with others

fcb-1899 said:
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer everything I asked!!!
This really seems like a good phone, specially for the price. Regarding the screen size, thats why im interested in this phone more than any other "budget" phone, I know it will be hard to go any smaller than 4.5" and 720p. Anyways thanks a lot for your time, guess Ill try to go to a store where I can use it for a while and compare it with others
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus... If you're a gamer, then this is it! Amazing performance!
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

Go for it mate.. Using it since 3 months.. Amazing performance.. With the latest Update all bugs are solved for me.. Camera is not great but not bad.. And u will get upcoming android 4.3 and 4.4 ( may be)

Rajeev said:
Go for it mate.. Using it since 3 months.. Amazing performance.. With the latest Update all bugs are solved for me.. Camera is not great but not bad.. And u will get upcoming android 4.3 and 4.4 ( may be)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I will! thanks a lot man, I've seen you around a lot on this forum, glad to know we have people like you guys helping the community!
I have one more question, do I have to unlock my bootloader in order to intall custom roms and kernels, or iin order to make them perform better? If so , I hope any of you can guide me on how to unlock the bootloader without loosing any features as I've read that you'll loose bravia engine and some other stuff... Please excuse my ignorance but the method to do this on the N4 was pretty straight forward and Im a little confused right now lol
Btw: I know I don't even have the phone yet but usually the first thing I do is rooting and unlocking the bootloader and installing a rom so I really want to know a bit more before doing anything stupid :silly:
Thanks again

To open the bootloader it is easy but not like n4, if you open bootloader then you will loose be2 etc.
You can root and install cwm without opening bootloader.
Many Sony xda members use software called flash tools to install ftf files these contain all the stock ROM files.
To install custom stock ROMs you generally can use on locked bootloader, for some custom ROMs like cm 10.xx you will need to unlock bootloader to use kernels(this applies to all kernels)
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium

zolaisugly said:
To open the bootloader it is easy but not like n4, if you open bootloader then you will loose be2 etc.
You can root and install cwm without opening bootloader.
Many Sony xda members use software called flash tools to install ftf files these contain all the stock ROM files.
To install custom stock ROMs you generally can use on locked bootloader, for some custom ROMs like cm 10.xx you will need to unlock bootloader to use kernels(this applies to all kernels)
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thats what I thought, but I think ill install a "stock enhanced" rom or something similar, Xperia pureness seems to be a good rom with a bit of customization while keeping all Sony features. No custom kernel for me, although I was kind of exited to try doomlodr's
Once again, I appreciate your quick response and support. Think ill buy this little guy today

fcb-1899 said:
Hey guys my nexus 4 was recently stolen :crying: and now its time to start looking for a new phone
This is probably the best option i've found so far in my price range but... I have a few questions I'd like to ask to people who actually own the phone, not biased internet reviewers
First of all, I will not ask about benchmarks or specs as we all know they mean nothing if the software is not optimized... but here are a few doubts I have before I buy it
1- How is the overall user experience, I mean, are the transitions smooth and do apps open fairly quick?
2- What do you think from the display? Ive read that its pretty good for a mid/almost high-end smartphone but viewing angles aren´t the best
3- Should i be worried about ram? On my fist android phone, apps crashed because there wasnt enough ram, for example if I was playing a ram intensive game, while listening to music, the music suddenly stoped playing
4- How is sony's support, has anyone had any problems with their phone?
5- What are the most popular roms arround here? and kernels? This is a big one for me, as i consider my self a flashoholic hehehe I ask because after a quick look at the android development forum in here i haven´t found much althrough Im happy to see DoomLord around (remember him, and his awesome kernels for the Xperia play)
6- Is there any specific thing you hate about this phone? Anything?
7- How is the wifi reception? Ive read somewhere that it was terrible but that seems unlikely, so what do you think about it?
8- Camera... How is it? And how does the front facing camera perform? I use it a lot in low light situations, and my nexus camera was kind of terrible
9- Finally, would you recommend a different phone (in a similar price range of course) over this one? How do you think it compares to the s4 mini, or an lg L7 as those are probably the only other options available in my country
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1- So far very smooth and great experience. I have around 50 apps installed and so far no noticeable lag or performance issues.
2- The display is pretty good, the viewing angles are not very good but it doesn't bother my much as I'm usually holding my phone straight or have it propped up against something. Other than that the screen is very crisp and beautiful.
3- Like in point #1, no ram issues so far but I haven't tried any resource intensive apps to test it to it's limit yet.
4- Haven't needed to contact Sony so far hope it stays that way. Bear in mind their support services might change from one region to another.
5- Personally I'm really enjoying the stock rom so I didn't feel like I need to install any custom ones. There are a few custom roms out there though including Cyanogen Mod
6- There is something that bothers me about this phone but I don't hate it, it's just an annoyance. The phone feels a bit fragile and if you're clumsy or paranoid like me you'll want to get a case for it. The problem is this model doesn't have that much accessories out for it (and no official accessories) so you might have a hard time finding something. I had to order stuff for it online and it was quite costly.
7- WiFi reception is pretty bad, especially when I use it side to side with my other devices. There is a couple of WiFi fix threads on this forum, I haven't read them yet but you should definitely check them out.
8- Camera isn't amazing but it's not bad either. In low light conditions you have to fiddle around the settings a bit first to get a decent shot. Again there's a thread on this forum with users' camera shots to give you a good idea on how good or bad the camera is
9- The Galaxy S4 mini is a decent competitor for this phone, it has a better camera and better viewing angles if that's important for you, but it has a smaller screen.
The Sony Xperia ZR is slightly more expensive than this phone but has higher specs and some extra features. Mind that the water proof models have all their ports covered with water tight flaps and the sound on the speakers sound a bit muffled probably also because they are made water proof. (http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_zr-5421.php)
There are some nice mid-range HTC phones but the new HTCs often have internal battery and memory (no SD card slot).
Overall I'm absolutely in love with this phone. I love the battery life, the screen and the sound (loud speakers included). If you're into gaming this phone performs good and it also supports Sony Playstation's Dual Shock 3 controller which is a nice little bonus. (Hook it up to your TV and play with the controller :victory: )
fcb-1899 said:
I think I will! thanks a lot man, I've seen you around a lot on this forum, glad to know we have people like you guys helping the community!
I have one more question, do I have to unlock my bootloader in order to intall custom roms and kernels, or iin order to make them perform better? If so , I hope any of you can guide me on how to unlock the bootloader without loosing any features as I've read that you'll loose bravia engine and some other stuff... Please excuse my ignorance but the method to do this on the N4 was pretty straight forward and Im a little confused right now lol
Btw: I know I don't even have the phone yet but usually the first thing I do is rooting and unlocking the bootloader and installing a rom so I really want to know a bit more before doing anything stupid :silly:
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thing you asked this because I stupidly unlocked my bootloader without paying attention and I permanently gimped my phone in the process. Xperia devices have a hidden partition that contains DRM keys. Without them the Bravia Engine and certain non-essential features in the Walkman app won't work. There is a way to back up and restore that partition before unlocking the bootloader. This will keep your phone's full features and warranty intact if you need them.
Check this thread here before unlocking the bootloader :
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292598

ByteFalcon said:
1- So far very smooth and great experience. I have around 50 apps installed and so far no noticeable lag or performance issues.
2- The display is pretty good, the viewing angles are not very good but it doesn't bother my much as I'm usually holding my phone straight or have it propped up against something. Other than that the screen is very crisp and beautiful.
3- Like in point #1, no ram issues so far but I haven't tried any resource intensive apps to test it to it's limit yet.
4- Haven't needed to contact Sony so far hope it stays that way. Bear in mind their support services might change from one region to another.
5- Personally I'm really enjoying the stock rom so I didn't feel like I need to install any custom ones. There are a few custom roms out there though including Cyanogen Mod
6- There is something that bothers me about this phone but I don't hate it, it's just an annoyance. The phone feels a bit fragile and if you're clumsy or paranoid like me you'll want to get a case for it. The problem is this model doesn't have that much accessories out for it (and no official accessories) so you might have a hard time finding something. I had to order stuff for it online and it was quite costly.
7- WiFi reception is pretty bad, especially when I use it side to side with my other devices. There is a couple of WiFi fix threads on this forum, I haven't read them yet but you should definitely check them out.
8- Camera isn't amazing but it's not bad either. In low light conditions you have to fiddle around the settings a bit first to get a decent shot. Again there's a thread on this forum with users' camera shots to give you a good idea on how good or bad the camera is
9- The Galaxy S4 mini is a decent competitor for this phone, it has a better camera and better viewing angles if that's important for you, but it has a smaller screen.
The Sony Xperia ZR is slightly more expensive than this phone but has higher specs and some extra features. Mind that the water proof models have all their ports covered with water tight flaps and the sound on the speakers sound a bit muffled probably also because they are made water proof. (http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_zr-5421.php)
There are some nice mid-range HTC phones but the new HTCs often have internal battery and memory (no SD card slot).
Overall I'm absolutely in love with this phone. I love the battery life, the screen and the sound (loud speakers included). If you're into gaming this phone performs good and it also supports Sony Playstation's Dual Shock 3 controller which is a nice little bonus. (Hook it up to your TV and play with the controller :victory: )
Good thing you asked this because I stupidly unlocked my bootloader without paying attention and I permanently gimped my phone in the process. Xperia devices have a hidden partition that contains DRM keys. Without them the Bravia Engine and certain non-essential features in the Walkman app won't work. There is a way to back up and restore that partition before unlocking the bootloader. This will keep your phone's full features and warranty intact if you need them.
Check this thread here before unlocking the bootloader :
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292598
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about the TA partition? Just curious...i did back it up before i unlocked bootloader..so if i restore it, will my "features" be back? Also..any special procedure for restoring the backup? By the way i am on .254 ..i made the backup while on .245 . So will restoring, in any way, harm the device? And also. Does restoring TA wipe data of the phone? ..sorry for so many questions.
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

That was quick! Congrats on your new phone
Yep, I mean the TA partition. What did you use to back it up? Either FlashTool or TA_Backup script (the .bat file) should give you the option to restore, so use the same one you used in the first place. Yes, it should restore all your features back. I haven't tried restoring before since I lost mine, but I would assume it would wipe your phone since it also re-locks your Bootloader.
As for firmwares, I'm not sure. You can check this thread (use the "search this thread" box) or maybe even ask them directly. If you're feeling brave you can go ahead and try it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292598
Edit: Sorry, my internet is a bit slow today. I did a quick search and it seems it's safe to restore to any firmware. I still highly recommend you check the thread for yourself first. Don't take my word for it.

That was quick! Congrats on your new phone <br />
<br />
Yep, I mean the TA partition. What did you use to back it up? Either FlashTool or TA_Backup script (the .bat file) should give you the option to restore, so use the same one you used in the first place. Yes, it should restore all your features back. I haven't tried restoring before since I lost mine, but I would assume it would wipe your phone since it also re-locks your Bootloader.<br />
<br />
As for firmwares, I'm not sure. You can check this thread (use the "search this thread" box) or maybe even ask them directly. If you're feeling brave you can go ahead and try it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2292598<br />
<br />
Edit: Sorry, my internet is a bit slow today. I did a quick search and it seems it's safe to restore to any firmware. I still highly recommend you check the thread for yourself first. Don't take my word for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh thanks man and i'm not the one who made this thread XD i just wanna restore to stock completely
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

Sadman Khan said:
Oh thanks man and i'm not the one who made this thread XD i just wanna restore to stock completely
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops! Looks like my internet isn't the only thing that's slow today xD
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

ByteFalcon said:
Oops! Looks like my internet isn't the only thing that's slow today xD
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha XD and just letting you know, i did a full wipe and returned to .245 , then rooted it and THEN restored TA partition. Afterwards i clean flashed 245 and updated to 254 via OTA.everything's fine now and i finally feel the effects of Bravia Engine
Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

Very Very good phone.
Hi,
I'll try to give you my most honest feedback, unbiased as much as possible. I'd like to state that XSP is my 1st droid phone ever, my last phone was nokia E52 (which had a high velocity encounter with a wall) so it is quite a change so my opinion might be and prolly is influenced by that. Ofc i played around with other droid phones like my brother's HTC wildfire S so i have some minor comparison to the inferior phones. Lest get started...
fcb-1899 said:
Hey guys my nexus 4 was recently stolen :crying: and now its time to start looking for a new phone
This is probably the best option i've found so far in my price range but... I have a few questions I'd like to ask to people who actually own the phone, not biased internet reviewers
First of all, I will not ask about benchmarks or specs as we all know they mean nothing if the software is not optimized... but here are a few doubts I have before I buy it
1- How is the overall user experience, I mean, are the transitions smooth and do apps open fairly quick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The overall Xperia'ence is very good if not great. I would say that 99% of apps you will find run flawlessly, the one i remember that manages to stutter having influent scrolling is A1 SD bench (it also doesnt recognize SD card as a external card). Every game i installed and toyed with ran beautifully be it Osmos, PvZ or nearly anything else. The most extreme fps drop i've managed to get is in (this is the "nearly") arcane legends where there is like 30 people at once on the screen. i think that fps might drop there to like ~25 fps, personally i find it a very secluded and specific case and i am not bothered with it. For crying out loud this little gadget runs full HD 1080p mkv movies like its nothing... The processing power is insane and you really have to find/do some crazy stuff to encounter any kind of unsmooth transition. The only other situation i can think of when things get a bit jerky is the first few seconds after boot up. But i guess it's normal when there is a crapload of things to load up at once.
fcb-1899 said:
2- What do you think from the display? Ive read that its pretty good for a mid/almost high-end smartphone but viewing angles aren´t the best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first when i got the phone i was in 3 days awe, things looked insane. When i started to read reviews there is indeed some truth to it but lets face it... why would anyone need some sick viewing angles on a 4.6" display? Its not a display large enough to view from to great distance to get in the bad angle range. When you are looking at it straight or even on some minor angle, like 3 people looking at the display at once things look great. So... angles aren't THE best, true but are really really great. Not only for this price, but in general they display is performing great. You also have to be aware that you (you as eye-brain) get used to things. So if you are using a very high end IPS display day to day with 120 Hz+ refresh rate you are likely to be not satisfied ONLY due the fact are used to something so much better. I use S27B350 Samsung display daily so my eye is used to similar class or quality and i am very satisfied with XSP display. I am sorry i cant give you any angle values but i didnt measure it so i can only give some examples from practice.
fcb-1899 said:
3- Should i be worried about ram? On my fist android phone, apps crashed because there wasnt enough ram, for example if I was playing a ram intensive game, while listening to music, the music suddenly stoped playing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think you should be worried about that. I very rarely seen app crash but i did nonetheless. I cant even recall what were the apps to crash since it was so rare. At some point i used Google navigation, music and had a browser opened in the back - no problem, phone not breaking a sweat (apart from insane battery drainage and some heat).
fcb-1899 said:
4- How is sony's support, has anyone had any problems with their phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be influenced a little by your country. I once called polish support, since i am polish, and the lady i talked to... god id rip her throat out, quite a b*tch she was. The one problem i encountered is the LTE. Let me explain, when my phone is set to LTE (preffered) / WCDMA / GSM the gsm reception (signal) is often lost - i get 0 bars and red x for few seconds. This goes away when i set to WCDMA (preffered) / GSM.
fcb-1899 said:
5- What are the most popular roms arround here? and kernels? This is a big one for me, as i consider my self a flashoholic hehehe I ask because after a quick look at the android development forum in here i haven´t found much althrough Im happy to see DoomLord around (remember him, and his awesome kernels for the Xperia play)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant help on this one i use stock, rooted, locked bootloader (btw rooting with DoomLord's method nearly always generate an offline charging bug - fixable but needs some work). Isnt Cyanomod an option?
fcb-1899 said:
6- Is there any specific thing you hate about this phone? Anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes in fact there is but minor. I hate the color inconsistency of apps. I would shoot in the head the one responsible for not making black/dark gui (only white) as a stock option for sms phonebook etc. I love that smartconnect in stock is black but hate with passion that updates are white and no longer support gps toggle. Last one is more about 4.1.2 not XSP, i hate that i cant get a popup when i connect to PC via USB asking which mode to connect in. The option to choose either Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) or Mass Storage mode (MSC) is only manual and "hidden" very deep in options (settings > Xperia > USB connectivity > USB connction mode).
fcb-1899 said:
7- How is the wifi reception? Ive read somewhere that it was terrible but that seems unlikely, so what do you think about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That one might be true. Prolly one of the biggest if not the biggest issue of this phone - quite bad wifi antenna. It really works bad with weak signals, where laptops or other devices have like ~30% wifi strength the XSP might not have it at all. Where my silly old E52 had 100% the XSP has 50-75%... It is also very likely to lose wifi connection on very weak signals. Some people claim that the 2.254 soft fixed the issue but the only fix i noticed, compared to 1.257, is that i dont need to wait few seconds after unlocking the phone to connect to wifi (at home situation). Sadly I cant see the signal strength to be one bit better.
fcb-1899 said:
8- Camera... How is it? And how does the front facing camera perform? I use it a lot in low light situations, and my nexus camera was kind of terrible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i am not too satisfied with the camera, neither of the 2.[Rear] I think that compression of images is way to great. I wouldnt mind having 4 MB photos from 8 Mpix camera and not 2-2.2 MB like now. I cant compare to your nexus but i feel that camera could have been a tiny bit better. However, many/most people say it is very good and are happy with it. I dont do too many photos so i am living with that but if you really like or need to do good photos... you might wanna think twice. [Front] And front facing? It's a tiny, little thing in VGA, let's not expect miracles from 640x480 resolution form optics that are the size of a needle (?). Although, I dont know if you would get anything better in that price range...
fcb-1899 said:
9- Finally, would you recommend a different phone (in a similar price range of course) over this one? How do you think it compares to the s4 mini, or an lg L7 as those are probably the only other options available in my country
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i hate samsung phones mostly cos they **** them out like they had a diarrhea which leaves little time to introduce updates. Only because like 50% of the market is samsung doesnt mean its good. The LG L7 i dont know... literally i have no opinion. I for one am very happy with XSP. It has one of the highest capacity batteries out there: 2370 mAh, compared to high end considered Xperia Z's 2330 mAh it looks darn good. Beaten by far afaik only by Xperia's Z ultra's 3050 mAh battery. With moderate and reasonable usage the battery can last even 2 days which is quite a feat for any new generation smartphone with a display of that size. XSP to this day has one of the best dual core CPUs and GPU which performs superbly in practice. It is also made quite well, u dont see any "cheapness" in the material. If i were to chose again from the three S4 mini vs LG L7 vs XSP id still go for the Xperia. One more good thing is that we are expecting the 4.3 JB update soon, which gives hope that this phone won't be disregarded and leaves hope for upgrades in foreseeable future. The phone seems optimized dead on in terms of software efficiency which perhaps why many people on XDA are quite glad with stock rom - simply it really is good and well made, not perfect simply because there is are no perfect things in this world.
Personally i think it is the best choice it its class.:good:

Any Front camera samples?
Not expecting any miracles tbh just want to see how it looks.
They should'v ereally put a 1.3 on the front tbh

I can vouch for Sony Support, a few drops of water were in my screen and the aluminum casing was totally messed up(scratched and chipped) from an awful fall, I sent it in using warranty, saying that the display was acting up, and they replaced the screen and the aluminum casing ^_^

it seems that there are fairly decent reviews for SP in this thread.
Actually, I cant decide between a N4 and a SP since I can get either one for the exact same price
I am an average user who tends to do some light gaming, browsing and whatsap
I just wish to have a smooth user experience. Personally I am inclined to have a sony sp, given that the various bugs (wifi, touch screen sensitivity) are actually solved by the recent updates.
Are they major differences between the two handsets ( apart from 3g and 4g) or I would be happy with either one of them?
Thank you.

Main issue for me is the lack of internal storage on the n4. The n5 is rumored to only be a month away and its supposed to be quite competitively priced. Only a rumour though.
Sent from my C5303 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Im between several phones tbh.
Been looking at the HTC One X, not brand new but used, better camera and what not but I heard the battery lifes horrible.

Alternatives with decent camera and great battery?

Hi guys,
currently im looking for a new device to replace my old Nexus5.
I'm often on the road and use the phone for music and navigation and
the device should last one whole day with heavy usage. Also the camera
should produce decent pictures at daylight (and at night if possible).
I dont play any games on my phone but use many apps. The gps
should work quite good cause I'd use my phone for bike trips etc. as well
and need the tracking of my route.
Budget
- 200€ +-
Must Haves
- 5"-6"
- EU-LTE frequences with B20
- 64GB
- fast fingerprint sensor
- good camera (day n night)
- quality processing
Nice2Have
- USB-C
- protection against splash water
- micro-sim slot
- bezel-less design
Not rly important
- headphone jack
My favorites
1. Elephone S8
2. Vernee Mix 2
3. Doogee Mix 2
4. Umidigi S2
5. Xiaomi Mi A1
There would be no problem if the MiA1 would have the battery of the umidigi and the design of the elephone. But at the moment I have no idea which phone to take.
there isnt much information about the doogee mix2 but if this device would have a decent camera sensor with a functional bouquet mode I'd take this.
Are there any alternatives in this price range (+50€ maybe)?
If you have to decide between those phones, which one you would take and why?
Are there any points of criticism for those brands or phones?
Hope this is the correct forum.
Thanks for your help,
Cheerio

I have had an elephone p6000 and a umi super in the past, I can not really recommend some of these companies (also based on some of your requirements)
Elephone: This company has not been providing good software support in the past. They provided a few updates then abandoned the device in favour of the next one. The camera wasn't too great either despite being advertised as a quality sensor with decent resolution for the time (not top tier, but higher than other phones in the same budget range) - but it made acceptable shots. So I had about 6 months of software support and during that time the low build quality showed itself as the volume rocker started to get flakey. When I was looking to get a new phone, the Elephone S8 was also in my list of possible candidates but for me imediatelly lost out due to it not sporting a 3.5mm headphone jack (you don't mind, though) or a microSD card slot (I am not entirely sure if that's what you meant when you said micro-sim as pretty much every device nowadays will sport a micro or nano sim slot anyways)
UMIDIGI: Now, the build quality of my phone wasn't perfect from the beginning, there were rough edges around the antenna lines but all in all the device felt solid. They supported the device for about 12 months with updates which didn't seem too bad to me. However, the phone had a major drawback: Despite allegedly sporting a 13Mp panasonic sensor, the camera was *horrible*. All over the review sites you found people claiming the camera was decent, but it was not., it would only work in bright light and if it wasn't ideal you could not actually make out anything on the pictures. And, as it turned out, the build quality of the device was not only mediocre on the outside, but obviously even worse on the inside as my screen failed electronically after about 12 months. I have seen a few other people with the same issue on the Super and I have already seen one report on the UMIDIGI S2 forums with people having the exact same fault after 2 weeks with their S2. So be careful if you decide to get one of those. Reports on the internet also mention that the camera on the S2 is horrible. Now I can't confirm this, but to me it seems that UMIDIGI is always hyping their cameras and can't deliver.
Either way, I'd recommend to get a device with a Qualcomm chipset (snapdragon) over a Mediatek chipset (Helio) as Mediatek doesn't release their sourcecode most of the time which results in little to no support for custom roms but that's something you have to decide.
I can't really say much about the Vernee or Dogee devices but on german forums I have found a few mentions that Vernee quality can be hit and miss as well.

wow thank you very much for your interesting and helpflu answer. I also read realy bad reviews about the brands especially about the early products but cherished the hope that they improved the quality of the newer devices.
Localhorst86 said:
microSD card slot (I am not entirely sure if that's what you meant when you said micro-sim as pretty much every device nowadays will sport a micro or nano sim slot anyways).
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Oh sure, I thought about the microSD-slot.
Localhorst86 said:
When I was looking to get a new phone, the Elephone S8 was also in my list of possible candidates but for me imediatelly lost out due to it not sporting a 3.5mm headphone jack (you don't mind, though) or a microSD card slot
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So if you could ignore these points would you still mention to buy the phone or did the company lost all his credit with you?
Localhorst86 said:
UMIDIGI [....] Despite allegedly sporting a 13Mp panasonic sensor, the camera was *horrible*. All over the review sites you found people claiming the camera was decent, but it was not., it would only work in bright light and if it wasn't ideal you could not actually make out anything on the pictures. [...] Reports on the internet also mention that the camera on the S2 is horrible. Now I can't confirm this, but to me it seems that UMIDIGI is always hyping their cameras and can't deliver.
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I guess it's the same with the S2. I've watched several reviews on youtube or elsewhere and the pictures don't impress me much. The IMX268 is way better than the sensor in the Super but still not as good as the sensor of the Mi A1 (in my opinion).
Localhorst86 said:
And, as it turned out, the build quality of the device was not only mediocre on the outside, but obviously even worse on the inside as my screen failed electronically after about 12 months. I have seen a few other people with the same issue on the Super and I have already seen one report on the UMIDIGI S2 forums with people having the exact same fault after 2 weeks with their S2. So be careful if you decide to get one of those.
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Thanks for that point. I havn't heard about this yet.
Localhorst86 said:
Either way, I'd recommend to get a device with a Qualcomm chipset (snapdragon) over a Mediatek chipset (Helio) as Mediatek doesn't release their sourcecode most of the time which results in little to no support for custom roms but that's something you have to decide.
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Can you recommend a device? The Mi A1 or something else?

I would definitely go with Mi A1 because of the support (either official ones or custom ROMs when kernel source gets released to public) and it has everything you listed it should have.

aeHmmm said:
So if you could ignore these points would you still mention to buy the phone or did the company lost all his credit with you?
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If the Mi A1 hadn't been announced around the same time for the price that it did I might have given the Elephone brand another chance to see if they treat their flagships a bit better than their "budget" line.
aeHmmm said:
I guess it's the same with the S2. I've watched several reviews on youtube or elsewhere and the pictures don't impress me much. The IMX268 is way better than the sensor in the Super but still not as good as the sensor of the Mi A1 (in my opinion).
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Comparing the Mi A1 to my Super is a difference like day and night. The Mi A1 makes really good pictures, particularly compared to the UMI Super
aeHmmm said:
Can you recommend a device? The Mi A1 or something else?
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Obviously, the Mi A1 would be the one I'd recommend but I might be biased since that's the one my decission fell to. I was looking for one of the "tri-bezeless" phones as well, but none fit my needs. To me the A1 was pretty much the perfect fit for my needs.
Here's the points that drove me towards the Mi A1:
-I have had good experiences with other xiaomi branded products in the past, from my mi band to the xiaomi piston headphones and powebanks. Their build quality seems solid so I figured I'd try one of their "more pricey" product ranges
-USB Type C Connection
-Micro SD Slot
-Full HD Display (a few of the phones with slim to no bezels only had a 720p display like, for example, the UMIDIGI S2)
-Snapdragon Chipset
-Android One UI (prefer that over MIUI, which I tried on my Elephone in the past)
-Promised support for 18 months which, given the xiaomi brand, I feel confident will actually come to fruition
-3.5mm headphone jack without a clunky, losable adapter.
-decent camera that takes good pictures
Based on your list, the Mi A1 seems like a very good fit, too. It has all your must-haves and two of your "nice-to-haves" (USB C and Micro SD). The camera quality might be subjective, but I find the camera to be rather good, particularly at the price point the device sells for.

Localhorst86 said:
Obviously, the Mi A1 would be the one I'd recommend but I might be biased since that's the one my decission fell to. I was looking for one of the "tri-bezeless" phones as well, but none fit my needs. To me the A1 was pretty much the perfect fit for my needs.
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I guess I will wait for some reviews of the Doogee but if a good offer for the MiA1 will occure in this period I'll buy this phone as well.
How long lasts the battery with heavy usage?

aeHmmm said:
I guess I will wait for some reviews of the Doogee but if a good offer for the MiA1 will occure in this period I'll buy this phone as well.
How long lasts the battery with heavy usage?
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As usage always varies from user to user, you might want to check the "real life reviews" part of the mi a1 forums, there's a topic about battery life. Now for me, I have taken the device off the charger about 6 hours ago and my battery is down to 88%. I am not a heavy user, bluetooth is enabled permanently, and I was checking emails and messages a few times per hour. No huge screen-on-time, though.
The battery was the one thing I was worried about (coming from the 4000mAh in my UMI device), but it turns out the 3000mAh battery of the A1 performs about the same as my previous phone due to the chipset seemingly being more power efficient.

Localhorst86 said:
As usage always varies from user to user, you might want to check the "real life reviews" part of the mi a1 forums, there's a topic about battery life. Now for me, I have taken the device off the charger about 6 hours ago and my battery is down to 88%. I am not a heavy user, bluetooth is enabled permanently, and I was checking emails and messages a few times per hour. No huge screen-on-time, though.The battery was the one thing I was worried about (coming from the 4000mAh in my UMI device), but it turns out the 3000mAh battery of the A1 performs about the same as my previous phone due to the chipset seemingly being more power efficient.
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Sounds really nice. Did you read something about the Meizu M6? I guess its nearly as good as the MiA1 with a bigger battery.
Nevertheless I tend to buy the MiA1 and a small powerbank because it seems to be superior to the M6 in nearly every other point.
Thank you very much for your qualified help, I really appreciate that.

aeHmmm said:
Sounds really nice. Did you read something about the Meizu M6? I guess its nearly as good as the MiA1 with a bigger battery.
Nevertheless I tend to buy the MiA1 and a small powerbank because it seems to be superior to the M6 in nearly every other point.
Thank you very much for your qualified help, I really appreciate that.
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I just checked the Meizu M6, doesn't really seem like a comparison to the Mi A1. The devices are very similar in terms of performance but the 4Gb/64Gb version of the Meizu seems to run well above $300, only the 3/32Gb version seems to be in the price range you mentioned. A short review I found in german mentions that the cameras are pretty much on par with the A1 actually the review notes that the A1 has a better daylight perfomance on the camera, with night shots on the Meizu are apparently a lot better. Also the larger battery capacity sounds interesting.
Overall it sounds like a possible alternative, but it wouldn't convince me. The Flyme UI looks similarly clunky to MIUI, judging from screenshots and I can't understand why they decided to go with a weird camera setup (12Mp + 5Mp dual rear camera, 16Mp front camera). I guess it's intended for selfie lovers. Again, it depends on your use case apparently

Would you buy again?

Hey guys,
I am seriously tempted by the one plus 8 pro but all the screen issues scare me. Would you guys but it again given your time over our would you avoid it? I am also looking at the oppo find X2 pro but I don't know much about oppo and how good they are at updating their phones

Me, along with 3 friends, got the BA version at release. None of us have the screen issue though. Even if I would have had it, and RMA:d the phone, I would do it again. the phone is too amazing to miss out on! I am rooted however, and none of my friends root their devices. I run Omega kernel and have 0 issues, but all of my 3 friends get the "overheated" message several times a day (I haven't gotten it even once). I would draw the conclusion - If you root and are willing to use custom kernels, go for it! If you want to keep stock, you might aswell want to check for alternatives.

Thanks for that. I have rooted with past phones but Google pay is important to me so haven't been able to root anymore. Saw a few posts in standard 8 forum complaining about NFC payments not working properly. Anyone else seen that?

Difficult question It is a great device with nearly all features I like in a top smartphone, especially the addition of wireless charging suits me fine.
My major gripe is actually with the size of the device, while its thin it feels very large (both in width and height) and I'm not sure I like it for an everyday-carry device.
Plus I sorely feel a lack of communication from OP with regard to some of the initial issues and their status when it comes to OOS - screen, fingerprint....
Presently I am very torn between the OP8Pro and a Mi 10 Pro - both great in their own way, its quite possible the form factor and size will lean towards the Xiaomi in the end.....
To answer directly: no, I most probably wouldn't buy such a large device again..... Would I buy the 8 Pro again, aside from its size but rather its features: yes, anytime !

skoobee said:
Thanks for that. I have rooted with past phones but Google pay is important to me so haven't been able to root anymore. Saw a few posts in standard 8 forum complaining about NFC payments not working properly. Anyone else seen that?
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I use GPay several times a day. All you need to do is enable Magisk Hide and it's all good. If someone has other issues with it, it's probably not root/Magisk-related but something else they tinkered with... My assumption.
On my 6T some public betas weren't CTS verified, thos times I had to use the MagiskHide Props Config module to get it working, but no such issues on 8Pro. But I assume, if they start releaseing betas, this would be the solution once again.

I'd buy again.
Coming from 4 google devices in a row. 6P, 2xl, 3xl and 4xl.
I enjoyed them all and there is definitely something about getting all that google offers first but the 8 pro is far and away a better phone and phone experience.
And, so far, updates have come right on the heels of when google updates their line of phones so that's a great thing so far.
And, as someone said above, you can still have google pay while being rooted.
Also, I've had zero screen issues but there is something going on with wifi that I can't quite put my finger on.

Big yes. the phone is the best of the best and the screen day after day all the green tint and black crush gone.
---------- Post added at 01:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 PM ----------
azooooooooo said:
Big yes. the phone is the best of the best and the screen day after day all the green tint and black crush are gone.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

In a heratbeat! IMO, this is one of the best Android devices to come down the pike in a long time.

Thanks for the replies guys. I have gone ahead and ordered one from Amazon, arrives tomorrow. Chose Amazon as they don't question any returns

Short answer - no.
Longer answer - I've had one for a few days and I've already decided to either return it or sell it on Swappa. My main gripe is the camera. I had seen so many reviews saying Oneplus had finally nailed the camera so I decided to give it a try. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but my camera experience has been hot garbage. Every time I try taking a picture, no matter what the lighting conditions are or the camera mode I'm in, the pictures come out looking awful. I'll tap the shutter button, get the haptic feedback, and then the camera will just hang for a full second before it finally takes the picture. If I'm taking a picture of a still object, in bright lighting, and I make an extra effort to hold my hands as still as possible while all that goes on, then the end result will be about 60% as good as what I can get by just quickly pointing and shooting with my Pixel 4 XL. If the situation is anything less than that absolute ideal, the end result is a blurry smeary overexposed mess.
Before anyone asks, I am updated to the most recent software, I've tried rebooting the phone, doing a factory reset, shooting in all the different camera modes, and adjusting every camera setting there is - none of it has made the quality anything better than mediocre at best to lousy in general.

Yes, this is my daily driver and no looking back! Cheers

I'd do it again. I still go back and forth with my Note 10+ and S20 Ultra, but this is definitely a more bloat free and smoother experience overall. I don't have the green tint issue or the horrible grey's when the screen is super dim but I do have that trailing shadow line that runs next to the camera. But I hardly notice that so no big deal.

Kevin-DC said:
..... Maybe I'm just unlucky, but my camera experience has been hot garbage.....
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Your description sounds as if something is defective with the camera, at least it doesn't fit at all to my experience with the 8 Pro camera ! I did a lot of comparisons between the 8 Pro, an P40 Pro and a Mi 10 Pro - with the main camera all of the three are very comparable, with slight advantages to one or the other in some scenarios....
Now images are always subjective in interpretation, but IMHO the 8 Pro is definitely capable of taking very nice shots in all situations and that without much fiddling ....

I'm not sure I would buy it again, mainly because of the price.
The OP8 Pro is a fantastic device but 900 euros is a lot of money.
OnePlus is gonna release in July a device which is way more affordable, I think it's gonna be a better buy (even if it lacks features)

Yeah I would buy again. I have no blind loyalty to any brand but when I apply my "filters" to the huge list of current phones on the market, only this one remained. When I shop for a phone, I look for the right balance of top specs & mod friendliness, features, parts and price. This time around, the balance wasn't quite as good (price/wireless charging/IP68 rating) and a few other, cheaper phones came close to being the top choice for me.

skoobee said:
Hey guys,
I am seriously tempted by the one plus 8 pro but all the screen issues scare me. Would you guys but it again given your time over our would you avoid it? I am also looking at the oppo find X2 pro but I don't know much about oppo and how good they are at updating their phones
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Most people don't have this issue, problems tend to make more noise than benefits.
The benefits I can assure you completely outweigh the bad on a huge scale..
I have zero issues, I've also never had any issues ever reported, on any of my devices since the G1.
The chances of having these reported problems whilst possible remains extremely small..
Seeing one person getting a couple of dodgy devices in a row does not mean everyone else's devices are the same.
My advice, by it from somewhere where they have a quick swap out capability. A shop, a reputable reseller.
So the timeout if your get that unlucky will be minimal.
You'll have this same problem with any of the other devices you ever decide to buy

No, because it is not a big upgrade or difference from my op7p...

Got my one plus 8 pro today. Screen is lovely. Not seen any issues with it but I haven't gone looking as I am using it like a phone and not at minimum brightness etc. But disappointed to see WiFi calling doesn't work on Vodafone UK, just as well I get great signal anyway

I probably would buy again but the no dual-sim is annoying me more as time passes.

How do you mean, no dual SIM?