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Anyone try the Nexus 4?

I've had my Note since November 2011 (well a Note as I lost one and proceeded to buy another one). I still love the phone, the screen size is great and the white Note still gets a lot of attention over a year later (most people call it or actually think it's the mini ipad). Well I just successfully ordered a 16gb Nexus 4, now I am trying to decide if I will give it as a gift and keep the note or try something new. Does anyone have both and can tell me the pros and cons?
I like the Notes screen size, sd card slot, TW and honestly that it's still a unique device however I like the specs on the Nexus 4, NFC, wireless charging, and LED light. I feel the note is actually better looking than the Nexus and although I heard the Nexus has great build quality it will just got lost in the sea of black phones versus my white Note. I am not too concerned with the 16gb, I used to have a 16gb iphone and never ran out of space. I honestly am torn, I am not sure if some of the new features outweigh the screen size, uniqueness, and TW? Any other opinions? I realize they will be bias in the Note section.
Also any comparison on cameras, I love how great the pictures come out on my Note in the dark. My friends with iphone 4 and iphone 4s always want me to use my camera since it takes such better pictures than their phones when the flash is on, I wonder how the nexus 4 camera compares to the original Note camera?
BTW don't care about removeable battery or the spen, I barely ever use it.

I suffer from a severe upgradeitis, and since Nexus 4 is actually affordable (which couldn't be said about the GNex), I am jumping ship and getting myself one. I will probably suffer because of the smaller screen (I really got fond of Note's size), and I loathe the lack of microSD slot, but I love everything else about the N4.

I am with the N4...
You'll suffer for:
smaller screen
less vivid colors
lower quality of the camera
spen (if you use it frequently)
You'll like:
Google updates
smaller screen (will let you use it with one hand)
your wallet
led notifications
project butter full compliancy
impressive response
PolishDude said:
I've had my Note since November 2011 (well a Note as I lost one and proceeded to buy another one). I still love the phone, the screen size is great and the white Note still gets a lot of attention over a year later (most people call it or actually think it's the mini ipad). Well I just successfully ordered a 16gb Nexus 4, now I am trying to decide if I will give it as a gift and keep the note or try something new. Does anyone have both and can tell me the pros and cons?
I like the Notes screen size, sd card slot, TW and honestly that it's still a unique device however I like the specs on the Nexus 4, NFC, wireless charging, and LED light. I feel the note is actually better looking than the Nexus and although I heard the Nexus has great build quality it will just got lost in the sea of black phones versus my white Note. I am not too concerned with the 16gb, I used to have a 16gb iphone and never ran out of space. I honestly am torn, I am not sure if some of the new features outweigh the screen size, uniqueness, and TW? Any other opinions? I realize they will be bias in the Note section.
Also any comparison on cameras, I love how great the pictures come out on my Note in the dark. My friends with iphone 4 and iphone 4s always want me to use my camera since it takes such better pictures than their phones when the flash is on, I wonder how the nexus 4 camera compares to the original Note camera?
BTW don't care about removeable battery or the spen, I barely ever use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I was thinking about getting one, but i don't like the hardware. Smaller screen and it's actually thinner than the Note, but it looks like a damn brick. Most of you don't care about these things, but i do

My Nexus 4 arrives December 10th. For me, I'm going to miss the screen the most on the Note which I still think is one of the nicest to look at. My wife has the One X which everyone tells me is the best display on a phone, but we both prefer the colours and general impression of the Note, even if they are unnatural.
Biggest reason for the purchase is that I'm tired of Samsung's BS with software updates and closed-source platform. I want the latest version of Android when it's released, not months later. I use aosp anyway, have never liked TW.
Things I expect to like about the Nexus are the smaller size (I don't know why but after a year of having the Note I'm starting to find its size prohibitive more often than I used to) , LED notification, proper Butter, software updates and general speed.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

None of you is bothered by the lack of an SD card slot? To me, this is definitely a showstopper along with the non-removable battery (iPhone style for the lose).

My main concern about the Nexus 4 is that it is just generic Android. I don't like the bloat around the other implementations such as TouchWiz, but there's a couple of dealbreaker bugs in stock Android that Samsung, HTC etc have fixed. I don't know why Google haven't.
In particular the Email client can't work with Exchange when offline. Deleting emails on the device leaves them all on the server still, even after connection is established and sync run. Makes it pretty useless for managing emails on a commute. Samsung, HTC and even Motorola have fixed this problem, but it's still in the base Android and has been since at least ICS and possibly HC. Google don't seem interested.
It gets even worse with Imap, where it puts all the emails you've deleted back on the device once you sync. Again HTC and Motorola have fixed this, although Samsung has this problem.
Seems a basic issue, but means I won't recommend these devices for corporate use until it is fixed.
Nick

I don't care about non-removable battery, I only take out my battery if I need to access my SIM or SD card, so not a big deal for me.
Lack of SD slot and puny internal memory is a bummer for sure, but I've decided I can live with that. In return, I get stock android experience without the need of using custom ROMs (and let's face it - while CM10 for the Note is awesome, it has its issues), I'm always up to speed with new Android releases (instead of waiting for CM to catch up), awesome hjardware, and great looks. Fair tradeoff in my opinion. I will mourn the lack of SD slot and lack of FM Radio, but I'll deal with it. I got my Note last year only because it was carrier-subsided, and I couldn't afford to buy an unlocked GNex.

Got the phone in, so far I rooted it. I need to play around with it for a bit before I decide which phone I want to keep.

Yes I bought 3 nexus 4 mobile phones really amazing phones hyper fast feels good gonna rom it rip it root it to the max.... This baby will blast off!!!!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

I too have the nexus 4
Sold my galaxy note
And yes there's a difference in size but you get use to it
It's amazingly fast and already with 4.2.1

I'm rented by the price but lack of micro sd ruins it. Out of the 16 gig you will be lucky to have access to 11gig, as with other phones. I love my music and have a lot of roms on board so 11g is nothing.
From the man in your attic...

Can I just ask around a question, real quick. What's all that speed for? (casual) gaming?

Nexus 4 for me is the Android version of an iPhone, and unfortunately I am not meaning it as a compliment. As someone already stated in this topic, no sd card, no removable battery just means that if you want to take lots of pictures, videos, get your off-line Navigation with the entire Europe Maps (about 3.7GB) on your device there is not much left for anything else. I have seen a review where they state that only 12,3GB are available for the end user. That might be OK for some people, but I am not one of them.
Another thing is that if you want to use it a gamers phone, with this storage and HD games now available you will be able to get 3, maybe 4 big games in it, which is not something I would call ground breaking.
Last but not least, the battery in the phone will loose its charge over time. I am not a type of person to carry with me extra batteries and swap them around, but after some time everyone notices that their battery is not what it used to be. Specially when you want to buy / sell a second hand phone, being able to change the battery for a new one and enjoy your phone as when it was unpacked is something that Nexus 4 users will not be able to experience without getting their hands dirty and probably voiding the warranty of the device.

Sound Problems?
Does anyone here suffer from the Earpiece Defect in Nexus 4 that got mentioned in Mashable?
http://mashable.com/2012/11/25/google-nexus-4-defect/

Kortxero said:
None of you is bothered by the lack of an SD card slot? To me, this is definitely a showstopper along with the non-removable battery (iPhone style for the lose).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the OP doesn't care, but for me this is the showstopper (which would only change if a reasonably priced 64gb model came out). As others have said, this is the iPhone of Androids, and not in a good way. The lack of removable battery gets me as well as I use my phone so much that I need either two batteries or an extended battery.
But the pros are Butter, good updates etc. But personally ill stick with the Note until the Note 3 (or something better arrives), mainly through choice than cost.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

iyousif said:
Does anyone here suffer from the Earpiece Defect in Nexus 4 that got mentioned in Mashable?
http://mashable.com/2012/11/25/google-nexus-4-defect/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have a the distortion going on. Like, for the quality of the speaker to be good and not have any type of audio artifact, I need to keep the volume at 30% at all times. Anything higher, and certain pitches starts distorting/cracking. I guess one "fix" for this would be to change the kernel code to restrict the volume range of the speaker so that the maximum would be much lower. It could be the case that the kernel is actually overdriving the speaker module which results in the distortion. Whatever it is, it is definitely annoying to hear the edges of a person's voice gets distorted.
It's like they opted to use the cheapest POS speaker module they could find with an extremely limited range. The speaker on the Galaxy Note is a world better.
I have both....the screen size is something to get used to without a doubt. It is so tiny, but it is bearable. The constant updates from Google makes this phone worth it seeing how Samsung is a POS when it comes to releasing sources.
I'm also seeing some banding on the screen. Not sure if it's because of the screen or due to the image used (low bit).
I have an RMA on the way soon and will compare how the newer unit fares.

As NickC42 pointed out, I don't like stock Google android for few of these nitpicking stuffs -
1. Does not support speed dial? Hello Google!!??
2. Email/Calendar clients are white background black text. Why can't they have optional reverse color?
3. Oh I didn't know about those Exchange Email annoyances - total dealbreaker.
Sent from GNote.

willstay said:
As NickC42 pointed out, I don't like stock Google android for few of these nitpicking stuffs -
1. Does not support speed dial? Hello Google!!??
2. Email/Calendar clients are white background black text. Why can't they have optional reverse color?
3. Oh I didn't know about those Exchange Email annoyances - total dealbreaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.Install custom rom/mod
2.Install inverted gapps
3.No single issue with exchange.
All this can be solved in 10 mniutes. This is Android. Want everything out of the box? Buy iPhone.

My reasoning was why I do not like stock Android aka Nexus. If I have to install custom ROM, it defeats purpose of buying a Nexus device.
Edited: Ask yourself ahalford why do people buy Nexus device? Because they get update from God Google on day one. What is use of that update if it never fixes few of the basic things?
Edited 2: Maybe you have iPhone hidden inside your secret stash and know it enough to recommend to other people. How about giving us out of the box experience one gets from iPhone?
Sent from GNote.

Xperia SP alternatives?

Short version:
Before you bought the Xperia SP, which other mobiles were you taking into consideration and what made you choose (or not) the SP?
Long version:
Here's the thing: today I was ready - I finally went to a shop and proudly said "I want to buy the Xperia SP". Unfortunately they only had the white version so I'll have to wait one more week. This was quite disappointing because I really, really wanted it so badly and since I now have another week to decide maybe there are other/better alternatives among midrange smartphones?
Thanks!

Tons of others phones.
Optimus G, but no card slot. Nexus 4, same problem.
Galaxy S4, unfortunately far too expensive.
MI2-A, no SD slot, again.
Motorola Razr HD, CPU sucks. Same with the HTC One X+.
HTC One? No way to get a 64gb here in ****ty Europe.
So, well, the SP is the only 720p phone with a microSD slot, and a good built quality that I can afford.
Only big problem: devs support. We have DoomLord, but no one else. I'm afraid we will never get CyanogenMod.

Some time ago I've spoken with fxp. They said they need to buy phone to start development.
This device is fresh so don't expect development will start from day of release.
BTW. XSP is middle range device... This is next reason to start development later then e.g. XZ relatively.
I was considering buy N4 or XSP or wait for some time and collect more money and buy SGN2 or XZ.
C5303 is great device, powerfull, supported LTE, nice looking, with 'big' screen, made from good quality materials, with usefull transparent iluminated bar, with good quality camera and other hardware and released with 4.1.2 (Google said that phones need to be upgraded for 18 mounths from release so we can expect something above then 4.2.2 with this specs).
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium

Fealakwen said:
Tons of others phones.
Optimus G, but no card slot. Nexus 4, same problem.
Galaxy S4, unfortunately far too expensive.
MI2-A, no SD slot, again.
Motorola Razr HD, CPU sucks. Same with the HTC One X+.
HTC One? No way to get a 64gb here in ****ty Europe.
So, well, the SP is the only 720p phone with a microSD slot, and a good built quality that I can afford.
Only big problem: devs support. We have DoomLord, but no one else. I'm afraid we will never get CyanogenMod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reaper61616 said:
Some time ago I've spoken with fxp. They said they need to buy phone to start development.
This device is fresh so don't expect development will start from day of release.
BTW. XSP is middle range device... This is next reason to start development later then e.g. XZ relatively.
I was considering buy N4 or XSP or wait for some time and collect more money and buy SGN2 or XZ.
C5303 is great device, powerfull, supported LTE, nice looking, with 'big' screen, made from good quality materials, with usefull transparent iluminated bar, with good quality camera and other hardware and released with 4.1.2 (Google said that phones need to be upgraded for 18 mounths from release so we can expect something above then 4.2.2 with this specs).
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I am thinking of getting this one. And I see no existing PA or CM support. But I used to compile my own ROMs for my Nexus (which is dead and the reason why I am getting this one) so I think I can compile for this ROM too, the only difficulty being the illumination bar API, on which I have never wrked till date.
Plus its a relatively new phone, so we will see more action once other devs buy the device too!
Cheers mates!

charliebigpot said:
Short version:
Before you bought the Xperia SP, which other mobiles were you taking into consideration and what made you choose (or not) the SP?
Long version:
Here's the thing: today I was ready - I finally went to a shop and proudly said "I want to buy the Xperia SP". Unfortunately they only had the white version so I'll have to wait one more week. This was quite disappointing because I really, really wanted it so badly and since I now have another week to decide maybe there are other/better alternatives among midrange smartphones?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you really going to recant about buying an XPERIA™ SP just for waiting a week to get the color you want? Really? I must wait another half year to get mine and it isn't available here in Mexico still. I don't want to be mean but don't be like that. I'd wish to have your luck, about being in your situation.
There aren't better options for a midrange smartphone with the potential of this XSP, really, it'll be very worthy to wait for it.
Sent from my GT-I9070 using xda app-developers app

sarkar1990 said:
Well I am thinking of getting this one. And I see no existing PA or CM support. But I used to compile my own ROMs for my Nexus (which is dead and the reason why I am getting this one) so I think I can compile for this ROM too, the only difficulty being the illumination bar API, on which I have never wrked till date.
Plus its a relatively new phone, so we will see more action once other devs buy the device too!
Cheers mates!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... But there is no need to implement illumination api in apps/system in begin stage. First we need fully working cm then we can think about transparent bar and it's lights Think this is not so hard to implement it. Sony release api and documentation also great will be see floating touch working like in stock rom (gloves mode).
Sent from my C5303 using xda premium

As of now, Best mid range phone is still SP. S3 is a bit more expensive, but SP is better than it (except for camera and if you like amoled). If you want you can wait for HTC one mini, although its only 4.3 inches and price is not yet revealed.

Not this thread. Sorry. Please Delete.

cidane said:
As of now, Best mid range phone is still SP. S3 is a bit more expensive, but SP is better than it (except for camera and if you like amoled). If you want you can wait for HTC one mini, although its only 4.3 inches and price is not yet revealed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the HTC to be far more expensive, without any expansion port, and with a huge bezel.
S3 is a good choice, yea. But the S4 mini is a complete joke. No HD, and the worst pricing ever.
Maybe, for someone that is not in a hurry, waiting for the X Phone could be a good idea. But for now, SP (and S3) rules.

Hmmm, I 1st look at N4, but it cost as much as a XZL, not worth it I guess, but getting either one will blow my budget. so I then get an XV, after three weeks a member of my local Facebook group is interested to swap his SP with My V.. He is a mobile seller who get the SP for free, but he need a waterproof phone as he ride a bike. So that how I get the SP.
Sent from my C5302 using xda app-developers app

well, today I bought the SP - I like it a lot, the only downsides are:
- WIFI signal
- Camera is quite weak
- can't connect it to my Mac?! the option to access the storage in order to transfer files isn't there.. (tg there's airdroid)
I'll try it over the weekend but if the wifi is still an issue (intermittent signal 5m from the router with no walls in between!) I'll give it back and will look for an alternative.. we'll see

charliebigpot said:
well, today I bought the SP - I like it a lot, the only downsides are:
- WIFI signal
- Camera is quite weak
- can't connect it to my Mac?! the option to access the storage in order to transfer files isn't there.. (tg there's airdroid)
I'll try it over the weekend but if the wifi is still an issue (intermittent signal 5m from the router with no walls in between!) I'll give it back and will look for an alternative.. we'll see
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... Wait for update.

Battery: ok, I installed plenty of apps and had exactly 70% left. Oddly enough this morning I had 71% left so there's a calibration issue. Now after 5 hours of occasional 3g, 20 min of offline music and some messaging it's at 29%.
Photos : not impressed
Wifi and 3g: connectivity is very poor.. my old Desire was a lot better and reliable
Screen: it's on auto brightness and honestly note while typing this message the luminosity changed about 10 times, pretty annoying.
Audio: excellent!
Overheating: no
(While writing this message the battery dropped to 26%)
I am seriously considering to give it back, I like the phone but the connectivity issue seems to be h hardware related.. I'm a moment of madness I even thought about buying an iPhone5 instead..

charliebigpot said:
Battery: ok, I installed plenty of apps and had exactly 70% left. Oddly enough this morning I had 71% left so there's a calibration issue. Now after 5 hours of occasional 3g, 20 min of offline music and some messaging it's at 29%.
Photos : not impressed
Wifi and 3g: connectivity is very poor.. my old Desire was a lot better and reliable
Screen: it's on auto brightness and honestly note while typing this message the luminosity changed about 10 times, pretty annoying.
Audio: excellent!
Overheating: no
(While writing this message the battery dropped to 26%)
I am seriously considering to give it back, I like the phone but the connectivity issue seems to be h hardware related.. I'm a moment of madness I even thought about buying an iPhone5 instead..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About battery... Battery live is good - 2+ days standard usage: sms, calling, 3g always on, about 50 minutes wifi activity, stamina on, some photos and movies.
And when I got my phone first 2 days was waring... Battery was very week. I have charged my phone about 3-4 times. And on third day battery is ok strange but I'm happy it now working correctly.
Mobile signal is ok. Like in my previous Xperia S.
Wifi is week - waiting for SW update.
Autobrightness must be improved, this is not working properly.
Camera is not so good, waiting for SW update.
Usefull transparent illumination bar. VERY VERY GOOD IDEA TO PLACE IT IN THIS PHONE!!!!

Umm. XPERIA ZR would be a perfect alternative

Phillip Wu said:
Umm. XPERIA ZR would be a perfect alternative
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, indeed. Only that it's slightly bigger, heavier and more expensive. But apart from that it looks like the waterproof twin of the SP Actually, if the wifi problems still hold on I might go back to the store and try to get the ZR instead.

Well, today I gave my SP back and fetched a S4 Mini instead.
I'm not saying all SPs have the same issues as mine had, but the ones that I had (below) were pretty severe and after talking twice to the Xperia customer service and 2 factory resets they were like "just return it". I guess I was unlucky but here's what went wrong and what I really liked:
What I liked:
- Battery: after 2 full days I still had 12% left
- Screen: it's simply wonderful
- Call quality: The sound was really really good
What went wrong:
- WiFI was just horrible as I often lost signal even with the router being 3 meters away. I tried changing the router's channel/frequency but that didn't help, even my old HTC Desire has much better WiFI signal.
- Multitasking: Couldn't use 3g with Chrome (2-3 tabs open) and listen to Google Music (playing music from the SD card) at the same time as it always closed Google Music. I guess I should have seen that one coming with 1gb RAM only.
- Call issues: today all of a sudden I could only hear the other person speaking when using headphones or by activating the speaker

Anyone return their Z1?

I was debating and then I was like "what was I thinking" though the camera is mediocre, and speakers are Ok, everything else is fantastic.
I was going to wait for the HTC one2, and realized that more than likely no other phone soon will be able to last as long as the z1 with their battery saving software.

to be honest with you, as much as I complain about my Z1, overall there isnt one device out there for me that tops it. Just hope that the new update will do something to the Camera and 4K vid recording is something I really really wanted, but not enough to move be back to Samsung.

I have Z1, SGS4 and used the nexus 5 for a day and a half, I will compare them below
Nexus 5 best performance but lack features
SGS4 worst performance (too much lag and stuttering) but has lots of features (most of which are useless and no-one actually uses them except to show off)
Z1 excellent performance (almost identical to the nexus 5) and has some useful features like camera apps, small apps ...etc
Although the Z1 is not perfect (nothing is perfect), but it is the best overall phone out there. I will get chance to play with the HTC ONE for few days in a week or two then I will probably be able to say what is the best phone currently available (apart from the LG G2 which I haven't had the chance to play with).

Not even considered it, got it sim free and I'm happy with it

I returned mine because I spotted a dead (or maybe stuck) pixel on the screen. I hope I'll have better luck next time.

I am very very disappointed in the camera, the speaker is actually close to top considering its a tiny waterproof speaker but I love every thing else about the Z1 so no, I didn't return my device and I wont be doing so.

Gitaroo said:
to be honest with you, as much as I complain about my Z1, overall there isnt one device out there for me that tops it. Just hope that the new update will do something to the Camera and 4K vid recording is something I really really wanted, but not enough to move be back to Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested in knowing why since I was thinking about getting the Note 3.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

DAddYE said:
I'm interested in knowing why since I was thinking about getting the Note 3.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I had the Note 3, it is the worst mistake that I made up until now!
now the problems I had with it are more philosophical than fair, so to make it fair I'll only point out the problems that "others" consider worthy!
1. Not so great looking even though its an improvement over the S4 and Note 2
2. Has A LOT of bloat ware
3. Cheap looking/feeling device (like all Samsungs)
4. Depending on what you do with it scales form lagging a couple of times a day to constantly lagging (I couldn't handle the lag so...)
5. Bigger than most people would want it to be (I actually where okay with it mainly because I didn't called anyone with it)
6. You would look Very-Very stupid talking with it on the street or anywhere else for that matter!

DAddYE said:
I'm interested in knowing why since I was thinking about getting the Note 3.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mostly personally preference but Im coming from a S3 owner, but here are some of the reasons
-touchwiz, hate it with a passion, actually got to play with a real note 3 today at the store and it actually still lag a little bit like seriously lol?! Checked the ram consumption it always over 1.2+ gigs after I clear everything it goes back up quickly no wonder why they keep added more rams for all the galaxy phones. My Z1 has to be on for a couple of weeks to hit over 1 gig and generally around 0.9.
-hate OLED colors, it has gotten a lot better with the pentile problem but still not enough to bring me back. Triluminos looks better to me straight on even if you have to sacrifice the wash out colors in extreme angles which I never look at my phone that way. Plus I see color shifting problems on Note 3, like yellow would turn green in a angle, so viewing angle is not a clear victory on the note 3 neither (same with Nexus 5 and G2 which have their own problems in extreme angle when I played with them today). Didn't get to do out door test with the note 3 not sure if it become unreadable under the sun.
-Built quality, I dont think I need to say much here, just personally when I pay hundreds of dollars for a flashship device I want it to actually feel like a flagship device.
the only features in the Note 3 that I want in the Z1 is the 4K video recording, downsampling 4K video to play on 1080p screen is a huge difference. You don't need a 4K display to take advantage of it. I used to think that the multi screen features from note2 and S3 is going to make me happy with my S3 again, but after the update came out I've never use it once.... Its all personal preference so those my not apply to others.

ahomad said:
I have Z1, SGS4 and used the nexus 5 for a day and a half, I will compare them below
Nexus 5 best performance but lack features
SGS4 worst performance (too much lag and stuttering) but has lots of features (most of which are useless and no-one actually uses them except to show off)
Z1 excellent performance (almost identical to the nexus 5) and has some useful features like camera apps, small apps ...etc
Although the Z1 is not perfect (nothing is perfect), but it is the best overall phone out there. I will get chance to play with the HTC ONE for few days in a week or two then I will probably be able to say what is the best phone currently available (apart from the LG G2 which I haven't had the chance to play with).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm coming from Note 2, Galaxy s4 and HTC one to Sony Z1, apart from note 2 (which I liked) the other's are disappointing s4 has lag and loads of stupid features you turn off, HTC One was boring and battery life was rubbish plus I was scared to scrape or dent the metal (best sound though) . I was wanting Note 3 but too expensive and cant believe it still has lag, plus Knox! (which totally put me off s4)
Sony Z1 feels premium has a decent enough camera and battery is probably the best with the note 2 I've had.
Before I had Z1 I was waiting for Nexus 5 and was going to sell s4, but after seeing it, Z1 is much better.

Thank you all guys you opened (again) my eyes. There are just few things that make me sad about the Z1.
- camera is not so fantastic. Unless you have the stone hand just pressing the hw button from focus to shoot makes the phone shaking and the picture a little blurry. This is almost not noticeable with high lights but as soon start to be a little darker things gets worse. Thus in low lights this camera is totally incapable to take decent pictures, what you see 'good' in your screen will be post processed and 'destroyed'. No manual mode could help ATM.
- freaking hardware buttons
I can't believe that my 5" real estate triluminus 400+ DPI 1080 **** should have a damn waste of space: soft keys IMHO are the android cancer. Now I'm using a pie (after gtm) it's okay but still annoying and uncomfortable. I'll be happy to pay one dollar more and have at least a central hw button. Note that I compared twitter, Google+ and Chrome with the iPhone and on the smaller 4" there is much more space!!! This piss me off!!!!
- unlock the boot loader. I used to pay the retail price in order to not increase the US mafia of carriers. After more than a month this phone isn't really unlockable. No official words from Sony about the fact they are working for a fix or a date. This scares me.
- 2013 and our display is not oleophobic. This makes me sad even more when a friend tell me: cool phone can I see it? And my screen is a finger print fest. Tried almost any good screen protector antifinger print. None of them really works without decrease the screen quality.
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Just one tip.
Don't compare N5 and Z1 now.
Wait until Z1 gets 4.4 then you'll see what Z1 is capable to do.
As I said few times, it's better to have great camera (hardware) which is fixable than great software without hardware support.
Z1 has great camera and with 4.4 update we will have the best device money can buy...
Everyone compares N5 and Z1 now and all of them are unique in conclusion - these two devices are similar but remember we are comparing 4.2.2 with 4.4 - so you can just imagine Z1 with a KitKat under the hood
It will fly
Sent from my Z1

[Q] Whether it is worth to buy xperia z in 2015

Hi to all.
I'm planing to by another phone. Budget is limited so there is not to much to pick.
Xperia seems good option because of big screen, LTE connectivity, premium design, important to me a very good camera and at the end is a flagship, but an old one, and that is my only concern.
So, my question is, should i by some newer(new) budget mid ranger or should give a try to Xperia Z? What is your experience with XZ?
Thanks

Ive had mine for a year now and do not intend to replace it any time soon. It runs all the current apps and games!

If your budget is tight, then get a Moto G, or OnePlus One or Nexus 5. Plenty of well specced devices around.

xperia u20i said:
Hi to all.
I'm planing to by another phone. Budget is limited so there is not to much to pick.
Xperia seems good option because of big screen, LTE connectivity, premium design, important to me a very good camera and at the end is a flagship, but an old one, and that is my only concern.
So, my question is, should i by some newer(new) budget mid ranger or should give a try to Xperia Z? What is your experience with XZ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine 1 year and a half ago, and I can't be happier.
It's an excellent phone, great processor, ram, camera, water proof, design, development ( I had Lollipop from 1st day like a Nexus ), fullhd, 5"...
No need to spend 500€ to get a "rocket" smartphone.
Sent from my Xperia Z using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks guys for the reply, for now is tight.
I would like to hear more opinions of owners.
What about screen on time? Now when is for example more then one year old? I don't play heavy games, mostly surfing, taking pictures, little facebook, and a lot texting and calling. And flashing roms of course
For me everything over 3 hours is good.

U can get maximum of 4.5 hours if u r not a gamer ( my experience with games 4 hour screen on time).. May b u will get around 5 hours screen on time if u play with some tweaks..

I bought my XZ this last year in November and I couldn't be happier. Ok, screen on time is not the best out there but, at least for me, it's enough. SOT performance goes between 3-4,5 h, which IMHO I think isn't bad. You could also underclock/undervolt it in case you want to expand its autonomy a bit else.

It depends on the price you are getting at, I would say go for z1 if the price difference is minimal. I've used both, choose the one in your budget

dont buy a Sony phone, they about to go out of business lol

I suggest no.
Xperia Z has following cons:
- Back glas went off due to bad glue.
- CPU throtthling while gaming due to thermal problems, games start to stutter. Device is getting hot while gaming. On 4.4.4 it a little bit better.
- Wifi and Bluettooth disconnects. Search for forums with this problem. You will hate that problem when you decide to get a Smartband. There i no fix for that.
- Weak Battery. I heavily modified my stock rom with tweaks for longer lasting battery, i reduced wakelocks, etc, but still only 1,5 days only with normal use (i dont use LTE). It loses too much battery on standby.

G1_enthusiast said:
dont buy a Sony phone, they about to go out of business lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you came here from the HTC forum, proud of that you succeeded in unlocking the achievement? I find this behaviour a tiny bit bizarre, wondering what are you trying to prove? I mean, if you worship HTC, please remain in your little temple there. There's plenty of terrorist everywhere and nobody needs another one to come, terrorise Xperia or potential Xperia users.
Back on topic:
If you like Sony, just get another Xperia. They're not going out of business anytime soon as if anyone bothered to read, they're exploring (highly unlikely though) to start a jv or selling the business to another company. Of course if that happens, which have a remote chance, you're probably still be receiving smartphone support in the new business arrangement.
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app

jayp57 said:
I suggest no.
Xperia Z has following cons:
- Back glas went off due to bad glue.
- CPU throtthling while gaming due to thermal problems, games start to stutter. Device is getting hot while gaming. On 4.4.4 it a little bit better.
- Wifi and Bluettooth disconnects. Search for forums with this problem. You will hate that problem when you decide to get a Smartband. There i no fix for that.
- Weak Battery. I heavily modified my stock rom with tweaks for longer lasting battery, i reduced wakelocks, etc, but still only 1,5 days only with normal use (i dont use LTE). It loses too much battery on standby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Back glass just fine, over 1.5 years old
- Name one device that doesn't throttle (and doesn't stutter while throttled)
- Wifi and Bluetooth fine as long as you don't use a smartband
- Battery life is average, not really bad but nothing special either, standy is great with the right kernel
Thats my Xperience, no major problems so far.
But really better deals for the money out there.

I guess it depends on the price..
But in today's terms the XZ really isn't great. Like others have said, newer mid-range phones have overtaken the XZ.
Battery life has always been the only major drawback for me using the XZ. In this day and age you should be able to use your phone as much as you like, not holding off reading emails / replying to tweets otherwise it'll die before you get home
You're lucky to get 4 hours screen on time, it's not exactly efficient in standby mode either.

the amount of money you are going to spent just get One Plus One or if you are on budget cost wait till you got abit more money to get a better device

Well, it's a wonderful phone, the main issue with it is the battery
As others said if your gaming is at minimum (1 hour Max a day) you can actually get it to work 8 hours, even more if no gaming and used the stamina mode
Other than that, it's easy to root at all times and relatively easy to flash and customize.
And it will be officially update to lollipop.
I say if z1 is in your range get it only for the battery issue.. If not the XZ is great

Z is a great device.. But u can also buy 1+1 since it has Z2 specs and a better front cam.. It lacks Water resistance like XZ though and the multimedia features won't be like a SONY.. So choose ur needs first and then select the one suitable.. Although i haven't experienced any of the issues which are mentioned in the thread yet.. I hope i won't too.. But still my XZ can beat the s**t outta One M7 & all their desire phones, any iPhone, any S**tsung.. If you are a rough handler of the phone, i suggest u to buy XZ coz its built better and 1+1 seems kinda delicate compared to Sony..

G1_enthusiast said:
dont buy a Sony phone, they about to go out of business lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weren't you the one telling me I don't know what I'm talking about because of spelling mistakes?
G1_enthusiast has quoted you on xda-developers!
I'll believe you once you learn how to spell and put in some correct punctuation.
lol what company hire this moron? he cant even finished a sentence correctly.

I most probably will take XZ if i get good offer. But also maybe wait for month or two to see what will came out.
I also considering to buy SGS4 but i prefer Sony over Samsung. Only reason to take S4 will be the battery life. But like i said before i can live with 3+ hours of sot. Currently i'm using LG O4X which have vary bad sot. 2:30 is max that i can get. And all kind of problems with RIL, it's really "demanding" device, thanks to developers i still using him, but i think not for long.
Thanks

Azurren said:
I guess it depends on the price..
But in today's terms the XZ really isn't great. Like others have said, newer mid-range phones have overtaken the XZ.
Battery life has always been the only major drawback for me using the XZ. In this day and age you should be able to use your phone as much as you like, not holding off reading emails / replying to tweets otherwise it'll die before you get home
You're lucky to get 4 hours screen on time, it's not exactly efficient in standby mode either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you spell out some of those mid-range phones that are better than the XZ? my GF wants a new phone, and i cant seem to find a device thats as thin as the Z, has a fullHD 5" screen and 2gigs RAM and a 5.0 update for similar money...
this really isnt a sarcastic question. I just want to know what are those mid-range devices with these specs, so i can buy her a better phone and save some cash?
btw with heavy usage my Z never died on me until i came home(which means the whole day). im sorry if you use battery hogging apps that dont let your device sleep when you turn off the screen...

@Tommy-Geenexus
Do you really suggest that old spec phone to buy someone, with known not solved software problems on top of serious casing and thermal design flaws?
There are better options on the market. For that money you can have a LG G2 or a Galaxy S4 or a Honor 6 or One+ One.

Planning to buy this device. Thoughts will be appreciated.

Hello fello xda users.
I'm in this forum since i've bought xperia u. Now i'm thinking of buying xperia zr. Why? It is old, right? Then why?
I'm buying this device because it is low budget with great specifications phone. But before going further, I want to know what's the actual deal with this phone. Is it really worth buying? How is the 8GB rom memory divided into? In xperia u it is 8GB with no memory card slot. 4GB internal sd card, 2GB for installing apps and hidden 2GB for system. Is it the exact way of division in this phone also? Give me your thoughts please.
Other options are also appreciated.

Well I won't and can't tell should you buy this phone. What I can tell you is that it has battery that can be changed and trust me it can be great plus. Also it's specification is of a very good and powerfull phone, and it is story for it self.
From those 8 gb I had 4.59 free to use as I like. Also you have SD slot for 32 Gb card, honestly I have seen somewhere that someone is using 64 Gb card (I can't confirm this so better don't do it)...so with no apps to sd, without rooting your phone, it is enough for normal use, but for serious gaming it is not enough. Now I would recomend PS4, Xbox One or PC for gaming but that is me (no offence). If you root your phone other possibilities open to you.
Also word of advice-be very carefull with sim card slot as it is very easy to brake as it is like tray. Also buy screen protector right away as ASF(anti shater film) can be scratched by looking at it:cyclops: Really buy it as fast as you can.
Few days ago I had over 25k in antutu benchmark with stock 4.4.4 Xperia ZR and people here tell me that with root and "better" kernel and rom I could get over 30k. Those are very good results...as I understand
Camera is 13.1 Mpx and it is really good. My opinion is that if you need better you can buy digital photoaparat and use that
It's price is also something to think about but shouldn't be crucial moment in choosing as there is other phones in this price range with specification lile Xperia ZR.
So my opinion very good phone that has few things I wanted so I picked it.
Anyway I hope I helped and good luck in your choice.

phone is good but lack some features of its elder sibling Z and ZL. it should have been given 16GB of internal memory like other two.
Also front camera is very poor quality VGA whereas Z has 2.2 MP.
Z and ZL have almost identical features except one is so called "waterproof" and dust proof and one is not.
The only negative that I have seen with ZL is its camera performance is below average though lenses are same on all three. dont know why

I agree with the first reply, the most important benefit of this phone is replaceable battery.
As this phone is over 2 years old, most buy it now because of custom rom possibilities, and be able to easily reverse is valuable for beginners of flashing.

Vtrendzzy said:
Hello fello xda users.
I'm in this forum since i've bought xperia u. Now i'm thinking of buying xperia zr. Why? It is old, right? Then why?
I'm buying this device because it is low budget with great specifications phone. But before going further, I want to know what's the actual deal with this phone. Is it really worth buying? How is the 8GB rom memory divided into? In xperia u it is 8GB with no memory card slot. 4GB internal sd card, 2GB for installing apps and hidden 2GB for system. Is it the exact way of division in this phone also? Give me your thoughts please.
Other options are also appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also bought this phone just a few months back due to it being cheap. There is about 4.6GB available for use for the 8gb rom.
The problem is without root you cannot put apps on the sd-card so that might be an issue if you plan on having a lot of apps and heavy games.
This phone is great, just that issue, the front camera ain't great but it's fine for me. Battery life is okay but can be greatly improved with root. Otherwise this phone is really good.

and, it MIGHT be able to upgrade to 5.0!,

I wish Sony had given 16GB internal memory to ZR also and at least 2MP front cam

paulson881 said:
and, it MIGHT be able to upgrade to 5.0!,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it will get lollipop update.Whole Z line will get android 5.0
Last news was that Z3,Z2,Z1 are getting it officialy in first part of february, so I guess Z,ZL and us will get it in the second part or march.