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2298754

Cancelled
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
You try the latest update .253? Improves the screen dramatically and adds a white balance calibration setting too.

For some reason, the OTA option isn't working for my phone. Going to just download it off XDA once I get home. Glad to hear it actually helps!
 

Throw Out

macrumors regular
May 12, 2012
105
0
Germany/Brazil
had an S3, and that was a love-hate game...
On January I decided to sell the S3 and buy the iP5... That was my first iOS run, only lasted 04 months... I got bored quick enough.
So now I just bought a Xperia Z... So far, no complains.
I don't think this phone is better or worst then its competition.

The design is what I really liked, so I got it :)
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Just removed Sony's stupid Front and Back Anti-shatter Film.
I must say, the phone feels even better.

Sadly the anti-shatter protector is also the part that has at least some oleophobic coating. Without it your device has no protection from finger grease and its bad enough as is...

I recommend getting a glas.t or spigen ultra crystal on there.
 

Throw Out

macrumors regular
May 12, 2012
105
0
Germany/Brazil
Sadly the anti-shatter protector is also the part that has at least some oleophobic coating. Without it your device has no protection from finger grease and its bad enough as is...

I recommend getting a glas.t or spigen ultra crystal on there.

True, however, I cleaned the finger grease pretty easily.
I mean, I'm using my phone all-day, I don't have time to clean it.
But, everyday before going to bed I give it a nice wipe, and It's ready for the next day.

I don't like screen protectors, they annoy me. The glas.t might be interesting, but at 35 EUR, I'll pass!
 

otismotive77

macrumors 6502
May 18, 2013
467
0
great device!
was very happy with that device but after 2 weeks of getting it a thief stole my phone:(. sony has done a great job, surely the best phone made by sony.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
It may be the best phone by Sony but it's still not a particularly good phone.

It feels mid-range.
 

2298754

Cancelled
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
It may be the best phone by Sony but it's still not a particularly good phone.

It feels mid-range.

Yup. I got lucky. Traded it on CL for a HTC One. If it wasn't for the waterproofing, it wouldn't be anything special.

I wish Sony luck (I grew up around Playstation/Sony), but Samsung has completely run them over.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
It may be the best phone by Sony but it's still not a particularly good phone.

It feels mid-range.

That's your personal opinion clearly, I've used an HTC One and a S4 and feel the Sony is just as good as both of them, if not better.

Of course, thats my personal opinion...

----------

Yup. I got lucky. Traded it on CL for a HTC One. If it wasn't for the waterproofing, it wouldn't be anything special.

I wish Sony luck (I grew up around Playstation/Sony), but Samsung has completely run them over.

How have they run over them? Take our marketing etc and just look at the features.

The washed out screen was basically a calibration issue that now has been fixed.
 

2298754

Cancelled
Original poster
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
How have they run over them? Take our marketing etc and just look at the features.

The washed out screen was basically a calibration issue that now has been fixed.

Besides the water proofing what makes the Z so special?

The S4 has a better screen (more vibrant, better viewing angles, etc), much much better battery life, better RF performance, removable battery, larger dev community, louder speakers, and to top it off, comes with USA LTE bands for AT&T.

The HTC One? build quality, screen, boom sound, etc.

Not to mention, the Z is hampered with an outdated Snapdragon processor, graphics chip, etc. Doesn't hold a candle to the S4/One performance wise either.

I wanted to like it (I started this thread BTW), but it's a huge let down
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
.

The washed out screen was basically a calibration issue that now has been fixed.

That was probably the only thing that stopped me getting the Xperia Z at the time, even though I had pre-ordered it. :)

Glad to see it has been fixed. I really like Sony's skin on Android and their music player / Walkman app is always very good.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
Besides the water proofing what makes the Z so special?

The S4 has a better screen (more vibrant, better viewing angles, etc), much much better battery life, better RF performance, removable battery, larger dev community, louder speakers, and to top it off, comes with USA LTE bands for AT&T.

The HTC One? build quality, screen, boom sound, etc.

Not to mention, the Z is hampered with an outdated Snapdragon processor, graphics chip, etc. Doesn't hold a candle to the S4/One performance wise either.

I wanted to like it (I started this thread BTW), but it's a huge let down

My thoughts:

Has SD Card over the One.
Bigger screen over the One.
Battery life has been fine for me but I cannot compare to either of the devices above.
Sony skinning of Android and their apps are far superior to the HTC or Samsung, in my opinion.
Build quality is as good or better than both of them. The HTC seems to be suffering from quality control issues.

Many of these things are personal preferences and depends on how you use the phone. Making comments like the Sony is a "mid range phone" is just stupid though (not directed at you).

----------

That was probably the only thing that stopped me getting the Xperia Z at the time, even though I had pre-ordered it. :)

Glad to see it has been fixed. I really like Sony's skin on Android and their music player / Walkman app is always very good.

Yes, it has made a world of difference. Not sure how it ever shipped like that in the first place....someone should be fired for that.

I prefer Sony's skinning of all the Android vendors. The themes on the Samsung and HTC make them look like a cartoon toy to me.

Even the older versions of Sense looked better in my opinion. Touchwiz has always looked cartoonish, to me.
 

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
17
Silicon Valley
I'd take the Z and One over S4 any day. Sure I give up a little performance but seriously, what do I do with my phone today that requires a faster/more core processor? Anything different than yesterday? Plus, it's Samsung. That is synonymous for ghastly design and stupendously awful build quality (and materials). Not to mention features (Smart Stay and the like) that every single review site has said "does not work half the time". AND TouchWiz. God the horror. Samsung over-engineered the relatively unimportant parts of a smartphone (CPU) and ignored important parts like display (AMOLED is objectively inferior to IPS LCD), build quality, build materials, camera, software. No one gives half a **** you have 8 cores over 4 cores. It won't make surfing the web faster (that depends on your network connection). It won't make consuming media better or faster. What it will do is potentially consume more battery. It's not like Samsung's new 8-core processor significantly increases battery life.
 

Peterg2

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2008
818
15
Montreal, Canada
Over half the threads here now are phone wars or OS wars, "X phone against Y phone" etc, etc. We really need a better solution here.

Edit: Not the *titles* of the threads but what ends up in the threads.
 
Last edited:

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Over half the threads here now are phone wars or OS wars, "X phone against Y phone" etc, etc. We really need a better solution here.

Edit: Not the *titles* of the threads but what ends up in the threads.

Yep agreed.

Makes me laugh when folks say that 'Android is not fragmented'.....

When its patently clear there is fragmentation in Android users, let alone the devices.

Its not so much Android v iOS. Its Android A v Android B v Android C v Android D.... All very tiresome.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
The Z doesn't have an IPS screen and looks washed out viewing it at an angle; this isn't a calibration issue - it's a poor screen, and there is little point in having 1080p in such a shoddy display..

When I wrote that the Z feels mid-range, I meant that it does feel mid-range to me compared with the iPhone (way better screen), the HTC One (far better design) and other phones.

Of course it was a mid-range price I paid, but still feel let down by the Z. But, as I said, it's a beater and will suffice 'til I get the next iPhone.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
The Z doesn't have an IPS screen and looks washed out viewing it at an angle; this isn't a calibration issue - it's a poor screen, and there is little point in having 1080p in such a shoddy display..

When I wrote that the Z feels mid-range, I meant that it does feel mid-range to me compared with the iPhone (way better screen), the HTC One (far better design) and other phones.

Of course it was a mid-range price I paid, but still feel let down by the Z. But, as I said, it's a beater and will suffice 'til I get the next iPhone.

Sounds like the iPhone is the best choice for you then. Good luck!
 

Throw Out

macrumors regular
May 12, 2012
105
0
Germany/Brazil
I had an S3 > iPhone 5 now Xperia Z.

The iPhone was by far my least favorite.
iOS did not feel "easy" or "simple out of the box" as users here claim.

Also, I'm very OSD about my electronics. I dislike having dint's and scratches all over my phone. In two weeks, my iPhone was in bad shape.

I do not agree when users here say that the iPhone is a premium device.
Out of the box, the device is beautiful, but unfortunately that only lasts days if you dislike cases as much as I do.

The Z is much more premium then the Galaxy's and to my opinion more then the iPhone as well.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
I had an S3 > iPhone 5 now Xperia Z.

The iPhone was by far my least favorite.
iOS did not feel "easy" or "simple out of the box" as users here claim.

Also, I'm very OSD about my electronics. I dislike having dint's and scratches all over my phone. In two weeks, my iPhone was in bad shape.

I do not agree when users here say that the iPhone is a premium device.
Out of the box, the device is beautiful, but unfortunately that only lasts days if you dislike cases as much as I do.

The Z is much more premium then the Galaxy's and to my opinion more then the iPhone as well.

I was looking at a co-workers black iPhone 5 the other day and the paint had chipped off edges all over the bottom. He even had a case on it too.
 

Throw Out

macrumors regular
May 12, 2012
105
0
Germany/Brazil
I was looking at a co-workers black iPhone 5 the other day and the paint had chipped off edges all over the bottom. He even had a case on it too.

Exactly, I have yet to see a "perfect iPhone 5"...

a high end phone that looks cheap in a short period.

Hopefully, the iPhone 5S will have a stronger coating.
 

Dr. McKay

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2010
820
112
Belgium, Europe
I have an iPhone 4s now, but could be persuaded to Android (I'm heavily into linux right now and there's a chance I might be switching from OS X in the not too distant future). Unfortunately, I'm only interested in stock Android, without any sort of skin.
My only option is the Nexus 4 at the moment (although the galaxy S4 is said to be released without Touch wizz).

So I'm certainly not against Android, or Samsung, or HTC, I just would never buy a phone that has a skin on top of Android, no matter how impressive the hardware is...
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
I have an iPhone 4s now, but could be persuaded to Android (I'm heavily into linux right now and there's a chance I might be switching from OS X in the not too distant future). Unfortunately, I'm only interested in stock Android, without any sort of skin.
My only option is the Nexus 4 at the moment (although the galaxy S4 is said to be released without Touch wizz).

So I'm certainly not against Android, or Samsung, or HTC, I just would never buy a phone that has a skin on top of Android, no matter how impressive the hardware is...

You post in the wrong thread? Your post has nothing to do with the Xperia Z.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
I had an S3 > iPhone 5 now Xperia Z.

The iPhone was by far my least favorite.
iOS did not feel "easy" or "simple out of the box" as users here claim.

Also, I'm very OSD about my electronics. I dislike having dint's and scratches all over my phone. In two weeks, my iPhone was in bad shape.

I do not agree when users here say that the iPhone is a premium device.
Out of the box, the device is beautiful, but unfortunately that only lasts days if you dislike cases as much as I do.

The Z is much more premium then the Galaxy's and to my opinion more then the iPhone as well.


If your OSD about your electronics how did you have dints and scratches on your iPhone after two weeks? The two statements are an oxymoron.

The Xperia Z is also a bit of a finger print magnet unfortunately, often looking very greasy after short period of time (that's why I was going to get a white one), so how does that appease anyone with OSD about their electronics?

Again the statement just doesn't seem to correlate with fact.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
If your OSD about your electronics how did you have dints and scratches on your iPhone after two weeks? The two statements are an oxymoron.

The Xperia Z is also a bit of a finger print magnet unfortunately, often looking very greasy after short period of time (that's why I was going to get a white one), so how does that appease anyone with OSD about their electronics?

Again the statement just doesn't seem to correlate with fact.

Fingerprints are a lot easier to get rid of than chipped coating on aluminium :) You're right though, it is a fingerprint magnet.
 
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