Database Develop

Quick answers needed!

Thinking about going to go pick a vivid up right now, im currently using the captivate and i hate it more then life. If anyone already has complaints about it please list them i wanna know if this phone is another captivate. Thanks

Other than being slightly awkward as in a little bit heavy and the volume button nothing bad to say about it.

malickie said:
Other than being slightly awkward as in a little bit heavy and the volume button nothing bad to say about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
volume button? o0

Its thick and will be even thicker with a case on it. It has terrible stutter pretty much everywhere especially in tapatalk app. My biggest gripe is that it records 1080p in 3gp format and at least my phone, records with a very choppy quality (not sure why).
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk

snorkle said:
volume button? o0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The volume button is way too easy to press by accident. Seems to take up too much space on the side of the phone. As far as stuttering every where that nohcho is talking about I have never experienced a stutter once and None of my videos recorder where choppy.

I came from a Captivate.. I'll tell you, it's a step up. It's quick, and is actually proportioned rather well, and I have kind of smaller hands. The volume key is large and user friendly and no, it's not like you'll be hitting it all the time when you don't mean to. It is heavier than most other phones including the Captivate, but it's a weight you will easily adjust to. the construction is excellent, it feels like it's made out of rock.

malickie said:
The volume button is way too easy to press by accident. Seems to take up too much space on the side of the phone. As far as stuttering every where that nohcho is talking about I have never experienced a stutter once and None of my videos recorder where choppy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a good chance that i may have a faulty device. Ill go to att store and check one of theirs.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk

i see, well alright guys! thanks i just picked up a white one.. liking it so far =P

You won't be sorry. I came from an SE X10, and it's a massive step forward. It's a great phone, other than it gets a little warm and the battery life is less than stellar.

hehehe well this is why i have a car charger =P

I came from an atrix, to an atrix 2, to the vivid. If it hadn't come out that day I was going for the focus a. I wasn't going back to a Samsung device. Had a captivate, had an infuse, and had an international sgs2. Liked the captivate the most to be honest. Now I have the vivid and the only way I'm giving it back is if a better htc device comes very soon. I have an upgrade coming in march and another in July so I should be set with hi end toys for the year hopefully.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

I came from a Hero & Incredible S. I have to say I love the Vivid. I know some people complain about stutter, but I've noticed this in only one place: my Gmail label list, and I have about 50 or 60 labels... Everywhere else, things are soooo smooth! It does get a bit warm, and the battery life isn't exceptional, but it doesn't seem too bad. I've pretty much been playing with it nonstop, so I'm sure battery life will improve when I stop using it 24/7!

Although a little different, I really like the design of this phone. Can't believe people complain about it after they actually bought the phone? I really like the screen on it, the qHD looks awsome, also the thin bezels on sides, top and bottom. Looking at it, the device is pretty much only screen. It getting a little warm but honestly not warmer than my old Atrix. My only complaint is: (edit for later, I didn't find one yet)
Sent from my HTC Vivid via Tapatalk

The only things I can complain about is lack of data speed (I'm looking at you ATT) and no unlocked bootloader. Very thing else is great for me.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium

I feel like the odd guy out.....I came from an iPhone 4! This is my first Android phone, and so far it is awesome. I haven't had any issues with it. The screen is so nice on it. It was closer to the res of the iPhone than the Skyrocket was.
I also live in a 4G LTE area......makes the web and youtube very fast.

nohcho said:
Its thick and will be even thicker with a case on it. It has terrible stutter pretty much everywhere especially in tapatalk app. My biggest gripe is that it records 1080p in 3gp format and at least my phone, records with a very choppy quality (not sure why).
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds like you got a bad unit...
Mine is buttery smooth everywhere... I have seen no stutter or FCs on any apps since purchse.
Only mainstream issue I have is with the (expectantly) poor battery life.
Other more technical issues:
The underclocked CPU and the Locked Bootloader (yes, I know... the CPU at 1.5 would hurt battery more... but I LOVE power!!!)

Yeah I don't like it that it record 1080 video in 3gp mode. But clarity is there.
Sent from my HTC Vivid

Video recording is better than my former iPhone 4. I think it is no different than SGS2.

I don't like how video records in 3GP. That to me is just absurd... don't see any logic behind it, maybe it's to conserve space.
Otherwise, I love it. Patiently awaiting bootloader unlock, root, and then some ROMs. But it has only been a few days, we have plenty of time.
I love the data speeds. Although I don't live in an LTE area (I am about 25 miles West of NYC), the mobile data is blazingly fast. I haven't bothered doing any "speed tests" or any of that bull**** - if it feels and is fast enough to satisfy its user, then it is fast.
The build quality is crazy. I've never held a phone - especially one you must remind yourself is made mostly of plastic - and thought it to be so sturdy. The weight at first is a downer, but you quickly get used to it. It actually adds a lot of solidity to the device. Compared to the Vivid.. Samsungs, particularly the Galaxy devices, are made of paper. Seriously. The screen is a beauty as well, and you can't beat the resolution.
Only thing I don't like is the ear piece. On my phone at least, it's staticy and just overall not the best, although it's not bad either. Battery life I am fine with - I can squeeze around 12 hours out of it with moderate-heavy use, and although that's less than my Captivate, I consider primarily the fact that this is an LTE phone to justify it.

markjo said:
I don't like how video records in 3GP. That to me is just absurd... don't see any logic behind it, maybe it's to conserve space.
Otherwise, I love it. Patiently awaiting bootloader unlock, root, and then some ROMs. But it has only been a few days, we have plenty of time.
I love the data speeds. Although I don't live in an LTE area (I am about 25 miles West of NYC), the mobile data is blazingly fast. I haven't bothered doing any "speed tests" or any of that bull**** - if it feels and is fast enough to satisfy its user, then it is fast.
The build quality is crazy. I've never held a phone - especially one you must remind yourself is made mostly of plastic - and thought it to be so sturdy. The weight at first is a downer, but you quickly get used to it. It actually adds a lot of solidity to the device. Compared to the Vivid.. Samsungs, particularly the Galaxy devices, are made of paper. Seriously. The screen is a beauty as well, and you can't beat the resolution.
Only thing I don't like is the ear piece. On my phone at least, it's staticy and just overall not the best, although it's not bad either. Battery life I am fine with - I can squeeze around 12 hours out of it with moderate-heavy use, and although that's less than my Captivate, I consider primarily the fact that this is an LTE phone to justify it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
been reading a lot of negative comments about the ear piece. mine is the same way, but its not so bad to pass up the phone in my opinion. I hardly talk on the phone since I am primarily a texter so it really doesnt bother me. Mine doesnt seem so staticy.. to me it makes the other person sound like the car talking through a tube or something. its weird but its clear.

Personal Verdicts?

What are the verdicts so far from y'all lucky ones that have the phone already? I have seen lots of reviewers out there talk well about it but I'd like to know from the real life users who have been using the phone for days or more now!
I really want this phone and plan to get it when it drops in the US but what is everyones' personal review?

Of all the phones I've had I might just be the best. Battery life is good. I unplugged it 10 hours ago (8:15 am to 18:15) and I'm down to 70% in that time I've sent a few texts, emails, listen to podcast in my car over Bluetooth for half an hour. Taken a few pictures and listened to 20 mins of music. Not bad really. It's been on wifi for most of the day which is less taxing than 3G.
The screen is very sharp and colours are good. The screen looked a bit washed out for the first day or so, but that's because I've been using amoled for the last two years. Anyone thought the same? I'm already used to the new screen now though.
Still not sure about the camera? Stills really are hit and miss and when it misses its really not good. 1080p video is good, but only in standard mode. Use the 60fps or slow motion and there are some horrible artefacts which make it unusable for me.
The speakers are amazing! Listening to music on this just blows everything else away. Call quality is again a bit hit and miss. I've heard the odd hissing, popping and sometimes the caller sounding muffled, but in fairness the muffle could have been the caller's end.
So far I've not seen the slightest hint of any lag. This phone is very snappy and looking at the used and available RAM, the management looks good. Whenever I've checked there has always been over a gig of RAM free. Why do I keep looking? Because I've come from a Galaxy S3 which was crippled by its measly RAM. This is nothing like that I'm please to say. It looks premium and feels premium too. I can't think of anything else to trump it at the moment. Go get it!

A step forward
MrSteez said:
What are the verdicts so far from y'all lucky ones that have the phone already? I have seen lots of reviewers out there talk well about it but I'd like to know from the real life users who have been using the phone for days or more now!
I really want this phone and plan to get it when it drops in the US but what is everyones' personal review?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One is a Smartphone and not a phablet like the Note 2. If you want a top end Smartphone this is the One to get. Love the screen clarity and music playback. Will be using the my One a lot for music playback. Battery life so far better than I expected. Got through a work day with 60% left. I replaced the standard launcher with Nova and I am much happier now.

Read the stickied thread about reviews to see what users have to say. Mine is on the last page aswell.
Sent via my HTC One using XDA Premium

mwatson said:
Still not sure about the camera? Stills really are hit and miss and when it misses its really not good. 1080p video is good, but only in standard mode. Use the 60fps or slow motion and there are some horrible artefacts which make it unusable for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hit and miss? you never showed us your hits

hamdir said:
hit and miss? you never showed us your hits
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true! optimism, denial on my part maybe maybe?...

My personal verdict: From a scale from 0 to 10 I give a 10000
Superfast, beautiful design, good materials used, best-looking user interface (I even like it more than vanilla android), awesome stereo speakers, perfect screensize for me. Also important is 2GB Ram (1GB is out of date, apps get closed in the background too fast) and LTE...yes, there are some phones also with 2GB Ram and LTE but for me the HTC One is the best one of them, so I chose it as my next phone ^^ Never have been so satisfied by a phone

Screen: In a word, stunning. Once or twice in the past 2 weeks I have almost gone into a daydream like state looking at this thing.
Audio: I have never heard audio of such a quality from any mobile device. It literally makes people ask "what is that". If I had one small complaint, it would be that the lowest volume level is not low enough. The granularity of the incremental volume levels is too coarse. Maybe 24 levels and not just 10-12.
Battery: I have been pleasantly surprised by the battery life. I get through a day fine with it. If you play Real Racer a lot or wish to make a blockbuster movie with the thing then battery will not last as long.
Camera: Superb for a phone. If you wish to print out your shots then you will not be able to get higher resolution images out of it. This is not the job of a camera though. The video and snaps are fantastic I have found. HDR is pretty good also.
Speed: It's fast. Yep.
If you are getting this thing soon... if you have it on order... you will really like it. It just oozes quality. It just feels like a supremely well made piece of hardware. Oh... it looks amazing also.
Ok, they are having some trouble getting this thing out of the factories to the stores... but when they do... people will forget the frustration. It is superb.

Beautiful, lag free, awesome speakers - nuff said.

How is the overall UI experience? is it TRULY smooth/lag free? not smooth like people claim EVERY Android phone is (ok thats a stretch). I have yet to own a 100% lag free Android phone. Some pretty close, some smooth in many places, but not a single one would I call "lag free". That includes the Nexus 4, Note II, S3, etc... AOSP/TW/didnt matter.
Aosp on Note II was probably the closest but it had its bugs .

Had mine for a week now, I am a heavy user (not games, but lots of music /Internet/twitter /texts.
No lag at all yet.
I have had the nexus 4 and it even beats that and that was quick.
As someone said earlier, this is the nearest to the ios lag free feeling from any android phone. (even ios lags sometimes)
For me the only thing is the camera which I have not made my mind up about yet, I have had some amazing results but also some poor (probably more good than bad though) I need more time with the camera but overall I think it will be acceptable.
I have had a lot of phones and I have to say this is in the top 3 and I think it will be my number 1 but need more time with it before it gains that honour

crawlgsx said:
How is the overall UI experience? is it TRULY smooth/lag free? not smooth like people claim EVERY Android phone is (ok thats a stretch). I have yet to own a 100% lag free Android phone. Some pretty close, some smooth in many places, but not a single one would I call "lag free". That includes the Nexus 4, Note II, S3, etc... AOSP/TW/didnt matter.
Aosp on Note II was probably the closest but it had its bugs .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One is smooth. But lack of smoothness is Google issue as the first version of Butter was better but they changed for some reason. It is also faster than the Note 2.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium

This phone marks the end of the race in terms of screen quality. The camera is excellent if you have the time to make a quick couple of adjustments before you shoot. Blinkfeed is a consumer orientated gimmik aimed at users who have never heard of flip board. Lag is a thing of the past. Battery life is about what you expect from a top end smart phone, you'll see the day out with average use.
Speakers are the best of any device yet, just don't expect HiFi. Sense and indeed the initial stock and custom ROMs are very embryonic. I.e. when paranoid android breaks for this device it will open up a whole new world.
From a phone enthusiast who started with a Phillips savvy and one day traded a sony Z for a HTC canary.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

As a One X owner who intended to keep his phone for the full 2 years, I originally didn't have much interest in this phone...but the build quality is striking, and my One X is definitely feeling the limitations of its 1 GB of RAM.
Really looking forward to trying this out when it finally gets released in the US.

Here's my review after five days of ownership. Please remember where I make a statement below like 'x is better than y' it is purely my subjective opinion and i understand and realise others will not echo my thoughts. This is a reworked and updated review from the one I posted on Phandroid a few days ago.
This is my first HTC phone, having currently got an iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S2 which has been replaced by the HTC. I did have a Galaxy S3 but thought it was a POS.
Battery
Wow, i'm impressed. I ran it alongside my iPhone 5 and both had emails pushed to it at the same time. I received and replied to about five sms messages on the iPhone and about fifteen on the HTC and had maybe twenty emails to both devices over that time. I took them both off charge on Monday morning at about midday and the iPhone died at 11pm on the Tuesday night. The HTC didn't die until approximately 5pm on the Wednesday although it did have power saver on for the last fifteen percent. I am a light to moderate user of any phone and I am truly impressed that the battery on the HTC is a real stormer. For instance, I took the phone off charge one hour and twenty two minutes ago and it is still sitting on 100%. This battery is way better than my iPhone and that was impressive in itself. I couod not be happier with this result. I don't care what any of the reviews say, for me this battery is brilliant and that's what matters.
Build materials and Build quality
It's spot on. No gaps, no dead pixels, no dents, dings or scratches. Perfect. It feels great in the hand, has a pleasing weight to it; not too light, not too heavy. It looks and feels a million dollars. The aluminium is beautifully designed and the volume buttons sit flush with the side of the phone and have been cut in a concentric circle pattern, which is one of those little touches that shows that someone has really thought about this phone when they designed it. Sometimes I miss the power button with my huge spade-claw hands but that is more to do with me getting used to the power button being on that side (remember, I am an iPhone user so the power button on the top is perfectly natural to me).
Screen
Dear god! The best screen I have ever seen on a smartphone! No ghosting, no bleed, no tears and videos are crisp, clear and extremely high quality. I am very very impressed with the screen. The finger glide action is crystal smooth and the viewing angles are actually very good indeed. At the moment, colours seem vivid. I gather from other reviews that the screen colours look slightly washed out against other phones. If that is the case, you will not notice unless you are looking for it. For me, they are perfectly fine. Darks are dark and lights are light and all the colours in between seem rich and vivid; so I can't complain.
Beats Audio
Loud or what? Incredibly clear and distortion-free no matter whether you are playing Mussorgsky or Megadeth (I tried). Forget about booting up that phone in a quiet room like a bedroom at night or a library though! Try as I might, I couldn't get it to distort at all, no matter what I played through it.
Sense 5
Very good indeed. Easily better than my experiences with stock Touchwiz on my Samsung S3 and S2. Very smooth scrolling and the icons look sharp and have obviously had a rework for the new high-def screen. I thought I would dislike the vertically scrolling App drawer but it feels fine to use. I wish I could put more icons on my homescreen though but that will require a launcher. Maybe i'll do that in the not too distant future. Blinkfeed was interesting for a while but I found it very cluttered so I have removed all feeds from it. I will try it out again in a few days once the initial small-child-at-Christmas feeling has subsided a bit. As I mentioned in another post somewhere, Blinkfeed would be miles better if we could add in our own feeds or mail accounts. I would have no issues in having that as my home screen then. Until that time, it has been relegated to another screen and emptied of feeds.
The stock UI has some great touches and the various inbuilt apps are lovely and uncluttered to use. there isn't the sense that HTC have tried to cram as much in whether it will fit or not. Again, to me it looks like real thought has been given to the apps they have in the UI and they haven't tried to dazzle users with a function that looks cool but will never practically be used by 95% of the populace (i'm looking at you Samsung 'Popup Play' feature).
Camera
I am not David Bailey, so I don't care if my photos are not the best in the world. I have an expensive DSLR if I want to take exceptional quality pictures anyway. The camera on the HTC is perfectly adequate for my needs. It's not the best out there for a smartphone, sure, but it is perfectly serviceable and it is far from the worst. Low light photos are great and they easily capture more light than my naked eye can see. Zoe is fun to use and I have already found it useful for capturing 'that perfect shot' and discarding the rest. The time from tapping the camera app icon to taking an auto-focus shot is approximately one second, which is astonishing and way quicker than I was expecting.
Afterthoughts: - HTC Sync Manager
I'm new to the HTC and found this to be a very crappy piece of software that tries to be smart and immediately started trying to add in over twelve terabytes of movies and music (yes you read right). I imagine I would probably have had to come back sometime late next week once it had finished. I dislike the way it tries to intelligently scan for all your media. I have a lot of media across my RAID and NAS and so I have had to manually delete everything from HTC Sync Manager as there was no easy way that I could find to do it en masse. It does however allow you to port an iPhone backup straight to your HTC which for me was an absolute godsend.

constructorx said:
Speed: It's fast. Yep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it faster than pure android though?. Looking at N4, that also seems instant & fast imho.

I give it 500 out of 10 it's awesome
Only let down my video recording has hissing on it new phone from 3 coming today
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Scootmien said:
Here's my review after five days of ownership. Please remember where I make a statement below like 'x is better than y' it is purely my subjective opinion and i understand and realise others will not echo my thoughts. This is a reworked and updated review from the one I posted on Phandroid a few days ago.
This is my first HTC phone, having currently got an iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S2 which has been replaced by the HTC. I did have a Galaxy S3 but thought it was a POS.
Battery
Wow, i'm impressed. I ran it alongside my iPhone 5 and both had emails pushed to it at the same time. I received and replied to about five sms messages on the iPhone and about fifteen on the HTC and had maybe twenty emails to both devices over that time. I took them both off charge on Monday morning at about midday and the iPhone died at 11pm on the Tuesday night. The HTC didn't die until approximately 5pm on the Wednesday although it did have power saver on for the last fifteen percent. I am a light to moderate user of any phone and I am truly impressed that the battery on the HTC is a real stormer. For instance, I took the phone off charge one hour and twenty two minutes ago and it is still sitting on 100%. This battery is way better than my iPhone and that was impressive in itself. I couod not be happier with this result. I don't care what any of the reviews say, for me this battery is brilliant and that's what matters.
Build materials and Build quality
It's spot on. No gaps, no dead pixels, no dents, dings or scratches. Perfect. It feels great in the hand, has a pleasing weight to it; not too light, not too heavy. It looks and feels a million dollars. The aluminium is beautifully designed and the volume buttons sit flush with the side of the phone and have been cut in a concentric circle pattern, which is one of those little touches that shows that someone has really thought about this phone when they designed it. Sometimes I miss the power button with my huge spade-claw hands but that is more to do with me getting used to the power button being on that side (remember, I am an iPhone user so the power button on the top is perfectly natural to me).
Screen
Dear god! The best screen I have ever seen on a smartphone! No ghosting, no bleed, no tears and videos are crisp, clear and extremely high quality. I am very very impressed with the screen. The finger glide action is crystal smooth and the viewing angles are actually very good indeed. At the moment, colours seem vivid. I gather from other reviews that the screen colours look slightly washed out against other phones. If that is the case, you will not notice unless you are looking for it. For me, they are perfectly fine. Darks are dark and lights are light and all the colours in between seem rich and vivid; so I can't complain.
Beats Audio
Loud or what? Incredibly clear and distortion-free no matter whether you are playing Mussorgsky or Megadeth (I tried). Forget about booting up that phone in a quiet room like a bedroom at night or a library though! Try as I might, I couldn't get it to distort at all, no matter what I played through it.
Sense 5
Very good indeed. Easily better than my experiences with stock Touchwiz on my Samsung S3 and S2. Very smooth scrolling and the icons look sharp and have obviously had a rework for the new high-def screen. I thought I would dislike the vertically scrolling App drawer but it feels fine to use. I wish I could put more icons on my homescreen though but that will require a launcher. Maybe i'll do that in the not too distant future. Blinkfeed was interesting for a while but I found it very cluttered so I have removed all feeds from it. I will try it out again in a few days once the initial small-child-at-Christmas feeling has subsided a bit. As I mentioned in another post somewhere, Blinkfeed would be miles better if we could add in our own feeds or mail accounts. I would have no issues in having that as my home screen then. Until that time, it has been relegated to another screen and emptied of feeds.
The stock UI has some great touches and the various inbuilt apps are lovely and uncluttered to use. there isn't the sense that HTC have tried to cram as much in whether it will fit or not. Again, to me it looks like real thought has been given to the apps they have in the UI and they haven't tried to dazzle users with a function that looks cool but will never practically be used by 95% of the populace (i'm looking at you Samsung 'Popup Play' feature).
Camera
I am not David Bailey, so I don't care if my photos are not the best in the world. I have an expensive DSLR if I want to take exceptional quality pictures anyway. The camera on the HTC is perfectly adequate for my needs. It's not the best out there for a smartphone, sure, but it is perfectly serviceable and it is far from the worst. Low light photos are great and they easily capture more light than my naked eye can see. Zoe is fun to use and I have already found it useful for capturing 'that perfect shot' and discarding the rest. The time from tapping the camera app icon to taking an auto-focus shot is approximately one second, which is astonishing and way quicker than I was expecting.
Afterthoughts: - HTC Sync Manager
I'm new to the HTC and found this to be a very crappy piece of software that tries to be smart and immediately started trying to add in over twelve terabytes of movies and music (yes you read right). I imagine I would probably have had to come back sometime late next week once it had finished. I dislike the way it tries to intelligently scan for all your media. I have a lot of media across my RAID and NAS and so I have had to manually delete everything from HTC Sync Manager as there was no easy way that I could find to do it en masse. It does however allow you to port an iPhone backup straight to your HTC which for me was an absolute godsend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any lag with live wallpaper?

msterner123 said:
Any lag with live wallpaper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to report that no, there is no lag on my device with live wallpaper enabled.

Wow! So this phone basically sounds about as amazing as I keep reading online. But the one thing I keep hearing about is the camera.. I'm going from an EVO 4G LTE (so basically a One X)... Is the camera quality going to be better or worse? From what I hear it's hit or miss but on average would you say it's an improvement?
I mean I really only use my camera for Instagram pics so I'm not really expecting 100% professional quality but I just want to make sure it's not a decrease in quality from my phone.
I just want a release date for Sprint now

Xperia Z compared to HTC One

Okay first off, I hate to start one of these threads, since it's basically an opinionated question. The GS4 is a no go for me, really don't like physical buttons. Currently looking for a gsm replacement on tmobile for my Galaxy Nexus. The only thing holding me back from getting the Xperia Z is the lack of a huge development community (and possibly reports of poor screen performance). Just curious if anyone who's used these devices could weigh in with their experience. I'd prefer to hear first hand accounts than continue to read expert reviews.
Thanks everyone!
Also, mods if this kind of post isn't allowed on xda anymore, my apologies, please remove it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

crimson12 said:
Okay first off, I hate to start one of these threads, since it's basically an opinionated question. The GS4 is a no go for me, really don't like physical buttons. Currently looking for a gsm replacement on tmobile for my Galaxy Nexus. The only thing holding me back from getting the Xperia Z is the lack of a huge development community (and possibly reports of poor screen performance). Just curious if anyone who's used these devices could weigh in with their experience. I'd prefer to hear first hand accounts than continue to read expert reviews.
Thanks everyone!
Also, mods if this kind of post isn't allowed on xda anymore, my apologies, please remove it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from a Galaxy Nexus to a Nexus 4, then had the same decision as you.
In terms of screen, the HTC One's has better viewing angles, no doubt about it, so does the Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus. In actual usage, on the latest firmware that improves blacks, it doesn't really matter that much. When actually looking at images, I compared the screens side by side and the Xperia Z seems to have a sharpness or vibrancy that the HTC One's doesnt. I really think the reviews overcook the view angle issue, it nearly put me off.
If you're used to the on screen buttons of AOSP, then I think the HTC one would be really irritating. That was a major factor for me, the quick swipe up from the middle launch of google now is also retained on the Xperia Z.
I found the HTC One difficult to hold, the edges seemed really sharp and hard, and the phone was quite slippery. At the same time the Xperia Z is also quite uncomfortable, but it doesn't feel like it is going to slide out of your hand. The power button placement is also much better on the Xperia Z.
The speaker is definitely much better on the HTC One, that said, the Nexus 4 is much better than the Galaxy Nexus, and the Xperia Z's speaker sounds better than the Nexus 4. So the Xperia Z isn't bad. I hold my phone with my left hand so it doesn't block the speaker, but if you hold your phone with your right hand and play music, then you will muffle the speaker.
I'm sure the HTC One is slightly faster due to newer processor but I don't think this matters that much, both will be fast.
I disliked sense 5 coming from AOSP, hated not being able to remove blink feed (find it really frustrating even though you can move it to a different home screen). The Sony customisations are actually an improvement on AOSP, things which frustrate me are fixed and also there are some other nice additions like location based wifi, bravia engine, wifi syncing with media go. The Sony Gallery called Albums is much much better than AOSP, the Walkman app is really good as is the Movies app. I never used built in apps before but I do here, I haven't installed MX Player.
The better camera in good light is undoubtedly the Xperia Z. I'm an amateur photographer (although street photographer so not much of a pixel peeper) and I'm impressed with the Xperia Z. Again the Nexus 4 is a step up from the Galaxy Nexus and the Xperia Z is much better. I haven't taken many pictures low light but I won't argue that the HTC One will provide better photos, the HTC also takes better videos and has Zoe which is cool (was one of the reasons the HTC One was attractive to me). Front camera is better on the Xperia Z than either the Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 4, the HTC One's is wider than the Z's if that matters to you.
The battery life I've been seeing has been pretty good, eg, if you're playing an mp4 film, I was seeing about 25% drop for 2 hours of watching the film. It's much better than the Nexus 4 which is a bit better than the Galaxy Nexus. Apparently the HTC One has a better battery life, I've never tested it though.
The Xperia Z has Micro SD slot which is great for music and films, I missed that owning the recent Nexus phones.
The last major point is the Xperia Z is water resistant, which is priceless, not because I want to take it under water but because it's nice having a life proof phone that you don't have to worry touching when you have wet hands or worried that rain will get into etc. It's a relaxing phone to own.
I only got the phone last weekend, the HTC One was the same price and I'm very happy with the phone and that I made the right choice for me.

Well thanks for that really in depth review. The more I think about it, the more I really want the Xperia. The water resistance factor hit me today while missing several calls walking through a downpour. I'm sure no matter what I end up getting, it will still be a step up from the gnex (which isn't actually in need of replacing, I'd just like something new). Hopefully T-Mobile releases the phone soon as the leaks suggest. I think I'd rather pay monthly for it than fork over the 500+ now. Thanks again
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

crimson12 said:
Well thanks for that really in depth review. The more I think about it, the more I really want the Xperia. The water resistance factor hit me today while missing several calls walking through a downpour. I'm sure no matter what I end up getting, it will still be a step up from the gnex (which isn't actually in need of replacing, I'd just like something new). Hopefully T-Mobile releases the phone soon as the leaks suggest. I think I'd rather pay monthly for it than fork over the 500+ now. Thanks again
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best you could do is to actually go to a shop and play with those two phones for some time and then decide.
Sent from my C6603

crimson12 said:
Okay first off, I hate to start one of these threads, since it's basically an opinionated question. The GS4 is a no go for me, really don't like physical buttons. Currently looking for a gsm replacement on tmobile for my Galaxy Nexus. The only thing holding me back from getting the Xperia Z is the lack of a huge development community (and possibly reports of poor screen performance). Just curious if anyone who's used these devices could weigh in with their experience. I'd prefer to hear first hand accounts than continue to read expert reviews.
Thanks everyone!
Also, mods if this kind of post isn't allowed on xda anymore, my apologies, please remove it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expect the development community that it will continue to develop and grow larger with more mods.
This is one good things about the Z.
The screen on my Xperia Z is completely fine and I don't notice any problems with it

crimson12 said:
...The only thing holding me back from getting the Xperia Z is the lack of a huge development community...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree completely with uberlaggydarwin.
Fact is, compared to most (non-Nexus perhaps) phones. Much more actual development gets done such as actual "fixes" for problems and not just hacky workarounds. We still have a way to go towards complete AOSP, theres one or two driver blobs still required for example, and a few minor bugs. But with (almost) every day that passes there are new platform-specific patches submitted to the CyanogenMod device repo on github and if I'm reading them correctly we have already, or will very soon, have a blob-less driver powering WiFi.
I must say, coming from a non-Nexus device it is a relief to see this much actual development and not just WinZip-wielding 10yr olds mashing together ROMs with 10,000 unnecessary hacks that make them laggy and/or unstable.
...a little torn on the screen though. As everyone is saying it is beautiful to look at from the front and probably (from this angle) the best mobile screen I have used, but again, as mentioned, the viewing angles are sub-optimal.

Too add my egg to the basket... I too am coming from a Gnex, which i loved. Been owning the XZ for roughly 3 months now. The screen angle thingy is definitely exaggerated. The colours and the viewing angles will take some getting used to, coming from an amoled screen, but the sharpness and clarity definitely make the transition much more pleasant.
The camera is undoubtedly much much better then on the Gnex, which was my only gripe with it. As to the HTC, I would wager the XZ one better for my taste, but thats only based on reviews, no hands on :/
The battery life has been stable enough for me, for my use... they both lasted about 2 days, Gnex maybe a bit better, HTC again cannot comment.
As far as the build quality... there have been some issues if u read the forms and from my case - the flap on the charging port doesn't wanna stay closed anymore In this case I would say HTC is better. It also prefers on your design preferences.
For me, leaving my Gnex behind for the XZ was actually not that hard of a step. U will have to get used to less development as compared to the nexus devices but that doesn't mean there isn't any. Free xperia team are awesome and CM is coming along nicely and with it a whole bunch of other roms, from PAC, PA, AOKP and independent AOSP projects, so no fear there
In any case, ull get a wonderfull new phone, whichever u choose and I hope u enjoy it!

I guess in terms of development, I definitely prefer actual dev work over tons of roms that are almost the same. Out of curiosity, any soft key mods yet? I have mine set to RECENTS HOME BACK and having been like this for almost 2 years I'd rather not have to relearn default (honestly minor issue I'm just being picky).
I would love to go to the store and compare them as someone has said, but I can't find anywhere local that sells the Xperia Z.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Even since the update the screen on the z has been great and really great to see in bright sunlight how I noticed today using it in sunlight yeah Germany didn't had the best weather as of late lol anyway I also don't think the viewing angle are a huge deal. I still see just fine what is on the display and actually Sony here in Berlin told me that the viewing angle is extra made a little darker so not everyone just can look and see stuff that easy on the screen if u don't want them too. Even so I think the viewing angle o's fine. Never had any issues seeing anything. Battery has been great as long as not being used with mobile data. All phones seem to get sucked dry in no time using Mobile data. At home with WiFi I can easily get 2 days.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Any idea what kind of battery life you guys get with mobile data enabled? I currently get about 16 hours with 2.5ish hours of screen on time with my gnex.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

With my Gnex I get about the same as you. 2,5-3 hours of screen on time per day on auto-brightness. With my Xperia Z I can get 4-5 hours of screen time per day, depending on brightness (0%) and usage. With auto-brightness I get like 3 hours per day. But with light usage I can easily make it trough 2 days with my Z. My Gnex never lasts that long, even when I almost don't use it.

crimson12 said:
Any idea what kind of battery life you guys get with mobile data enabled? I currently get about 16 hours with 2.5ish hours of screen on time with my gnex.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42716310&postcount=1196
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

crimson12 said:
Okay first off, I hate to start one of these threads, since it's basically an opinionated question. The GS4 is a no go for me, really don't like physical buttons. Currently looking for a gsm replacement on tmobile for my Galaxy Nexus. The only thing holding me back from getting the Xperia Z is the lack of a huge development community (and possibly reports of poor screen performance). Just curious if anyone who's used these devices could weigh in with their experience. I'd prefer to hear first hand accounts than continue to read expert reviews.
Thanks everyone!
Also, mods if this kind of post isn't allowed on xda anymore, my apologies, please remove it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XZ and HTC one is neck and neck for me, I dont like sense one bit, havent touch the device but i had prior HTC devices and I can tell ya sense really suck other wise i think the HTC one won in every aspect. if you looking to go CM10.1 then i would go HTC one if you looking to stay stock i would choose XZ.
P.S I dont like the physical key either damn samsung for starting that in the S3

I am kind of new to android, and just got my Z. But one thing i can say is: Phoning while showering is so chilled.

Why haven't I thought of this?! You're a genius mate, gonna do that tonight! Lols
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Battery life on data is not that good actually. Well I would say when listening music. Somehow the mediaserver always comes with on and even after turning off music it still drains the battery. Just a reboot fixes that. Listen barely to music on the phone anymore.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

dante501 said:
Battery life on data is not that good actually. Well I would say when listening music. Somehow the mediaserver always comes with on and even after turning off music it still drains the battery. Just a reboot fixes that. Listen barely to music on the phone anymore.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really unfortunate. I primarily use Spotify on my phone for several hours a day.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I'm having a blast with my Xperia Z.
Lots of fantastic ROMS in development...
Never noticed anything with regards to "viewing angles" i'm one of these freaks that tends to look at my phone head on.
With my own custom setup and settings i'm getting a full days use out of my phone.
I'm getting a whole day's battery life with heavy usage. Internet, Web, Whatsapp, Youtube, Camera etc.
Some people submerse their phones and have no problem, but i'm happy jsut treating my phone as resistant not proof.
I can reply to text messages in the bath with wet hands etc.
Build quality is fantastic. The best out at the minute i feel. Feels like a slab of glass! :fingers-crossed:
If you get one, buy a dock straight away, saves wear and tear on your charging ports.flaps.

I did that right away with my XZ when i bought it dock to charge,back n front glas protection this baby is amazing especially the White one my friend asked me to traid it for his Htc One,guess what,nop i said
Sent from my C6603

Really worth it?

I just wanna ask the people who have run out and bought this phone if its really all that? I have read reviews watched them talk about it on android central and looked at the specs and compared it to the other phones that are out. I just want to know expierences so far

Well the scary thing to me is... I don't feel the need to root at the moment... It's smooth, battery life is amazing, active notifications are AWWWWESOME. once bootloader is figured out I may change my tune but my phone is in a very comfortable state. I LOVE IT!
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

This phone changes the game. The spec sheet race is kind of silly when you think about it. I've never held a phone in my hands that feels as good as this one. I'm very happy with it

Simple answer. Yes. X8 core processors system is the way of the future.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

totally worth it
i truly prefer this over my year old s3

Love it! Switched from my S4GE and love the smaller size and feel in hand. Im only looking forward to root for tethering capabilities.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 2

What is the call quality and speakerphone like?

I picked this phone over my s4 and I think I've made the right choice.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4

re
kstone2274 said:
I just wanna ask the people who have run out and bought this phone if its really all that? I have read reviews watched them talk about it on android central and looked at the specs and compared it to the other phones that are out. I just want to know expierences so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i went to the att store today and played with this phone and i can say im definately not impressed at all. i compared the screen side by side and the difference in the 2 screens is really noticable. Also it so reminds me of a iphone i dont know why but it just does. i know alot of people are gonna argue my opinion but as for a phone guru as myself i can pretty much say its not any kind of a flagship device. only thing that may be good about it more than my HTC One is battery life. I al really hoping the hanami is gonna be a great phone and be my next purchase

i think you meant to start a new post that said "i saw this phone for 5 minutes, i'll answer all my own questions!"

I think the more you use this phone the more you will appreciate the innovation and little things. I now love this phone.
Sent from my AT&T Moto X

lensgrabber said:
What is the call quality and speakerphone like?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from the N4, which totally sucked. I had to strain to hear people. The X has excellent call quality, earpiece and speaker volume.

Well worth the cash:beer:
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 2

People crying over the dual-core processor...Motorola decided to choose what mattered more, which is battery life over "raw computing power". without increasing the size or the weight of the phone by adding a bigger and bulkier battery. Our phones just need to be fast and smooth enough for our every day tasks such as watching videos, playing games, browsing etc. We're not using these things for high end computing or folding proteins etc. Just like a computer with a 12 core processor won't matter if you're still using HDD and not SSD. Or people who only care about the "horses" on a car and disregard the weight of the vehicle or its transmission etc. I don't think people understand the software possibilities of having hardware designed for "always-on" mode besides the touchless google now feature. I've tried installing a voice assistant like the one on Moto X from the play store and my battery died within a couple hours with the screen off. The X8 system is really redefining how conventional smartphones would work in the future once people realize the possibilities that can bring. Now whether or not you agree that your smartphone should always be on and listening/aware is a different debate.

Droyyd said:
People crying over the dual-core processor...Motorola decided to choose what mattered more, which is battery life over "raw computing power". without increasing the size or the weight of the phone by adding a bigger and bulkier battery. Our phones just need to be fast and smooth enough for our every day ta"qsks such as watching videos, playing games, browsing etc. We're not using these things for high end computing or folding proteins etc. Just like a computer with a 12 core processor won't matter if you're still using HDD and not SSD. Or people who only care about the "horses" on a car and disregard the weight of the vehicle or its transmission etc. I don't think people understand the software possibilities of having hardware designed for "always-on" mode besides the touchless google now feature. I've tried installing a voice assistant like the one on Moto X from the play store and my battery died within a couple hours with the screen off. The X8 system is really redefining how conventional smartphones would work in the future once people realize the possibilities that can bring. Now whether or not you agree that your smartphone should always be on and listening/aware is a different debate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone isn't underpowered. Its GLBenchmark results are better than the SGS4 and HTC One. The CPU is two Krait 300 cores (which is the same as what's in the Snapdragon 600). With two cores disabled on the Nexus 4, the device runs just fine. If I can get this device for a good price, it will be my next phone.

I'll be the first to admit I wrong (there I said it). When I first heard the specs and price point, I figured Moto was doomed and their marketing gurus priced them right out of a comeback. Again, I was wrong.
Friday I picked up a Galaxy Mega 6.3 from AT&T and I took it back on Saturday afternoon. Very laggy (not as much as the S4 though), it was huge (and I'm a big guy at 6'3" 330lbs), the only thing I can say was good was the typing experience because I had so much room on the screen. But the phone was just too big, probably a great device in the end but just not for me.
Saturday afternoon I picked up the Black AT&T Moto X and this phone is fantastic and I don't say that about a lot of phones at all (I think the last time I said it was in 2007 when the first iPhone came out (yes I've used and respect all of the OS's, each has their own pluses and minuses) and before that, when the Moto Razr came out.
The phone feels perfect (IMO) in the hand, like Moto took the time to actually do the research with actual customers and see what they liked and didn't like and made change until they got it right. The 4.7" screen, in the same space as the iPhone 5 claims to only be able to fit 4", is great. Battery life is phenomenal (I'm not a heavy user but I never charged it out of the box and the charge that came on it lasted until it hit 4% this morning (Monday) when I got to the office at 6:30am. Build quality is great and believe me I have a mild case of OCD so I checked it out, buttons are nice with a definite tactile click to them (unlike the HTC One's power button that's almost always sunken in), buttons don't rattle (like they do on the S4 and the i5), soft touch material is great, screen is bright and not quite as SAMOLED'y as the S4 (again IMO) but marginally less impressive than the Super LCD3 on the HTC One. Focusing on day-to-day use and user experience, I have to admit I think it was the right way to go for a change.
There's more but I'm sure those of you that have one know what I'm talking about and those that don't, go try one out (at least if you're on AT&T for the moment here in the US), if you don't like it, return it but you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I've only had it for two days but as right now, barring anything major popping up before the end of the next 10 days, I think this one is a keeper. And if this one develops an issue, I don't think I'd be getting anything else, I'd have this one DOA'ed and get another, it is really that good.
Excellent Job Google and Motorola on this one; very, very impressed.

A-Gon said:
I came from the N4, which totally sucked. I had to strain to hear people. The X has excellent call quality, earpiece and speaker volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really good to know. I had a N4 for a week and absolutely loved it. I had the ticking sound in the earpiece when on a call and buzzing whenever the screen was on. I couldn't justify the money for such obvious design flaws. It is comforting knowing the X is better in this regards.

Jeff199 said:
I'll be the first to admit I wrong (there I said it). When I first heard the specs and price point, I figured Moto was doomed and their marketing gurus priced them right out of a comeback. Again, I was wrong.
Friday I picked up a Galaxy Mega 6.3 from AT&T and I took it back on Saturday afternoon. Very laggy (not as much as the S4 though), it was huge (and I'm a big guy at 6'3" 330lbs), the only thing I can say was good was the typing experience because I had so much room on the screen. But the phone was just too big, probably a great device in the end but just not for me.
Saturday afternoon I picked up the Black AT&T Moto X and this phone is fantastic and I don't say that about a lot of phones at all (I think the last time I said it was in 2007 when the first iPhone came out (yes I've used and respect all of the OS's, each has their own pluses and minuses) and before that, when the Moto Razr came out.
The phone feels perfect (IMO) in the hand, like Moto took the time to actually do the research with actual customers and see what they liked and didn't like and made change until they got it right. The 4.7" screen, in the same space as the iPhone 5 claims to only be able to fit 4", is great. Battery life is phenomenal (I'm not a heavy user but I never charged it out of the box and the charge that came on it lasted until it hit 4% this morning (Monday) when I got to the office at 6:30am. Build quality is great and believe me I have a mild case of OCD so I checked it out, buttons are nice with a definite tactile click to them (unlike the HTC One's power button that's almost always sunken in), buttons don't rattle (like they do on the S4 and the i5), soft touch material is great, screen is bright and not quite as SAMOLED'y as the S4 (again IMO) but marginally less impressive than the Super LCD3 on the HTC One. Focusing on day-to-day use and user experience, I have to admit I think it was the right way to go for a change.
There's more but I'm sure those of you that have one know what I'm talking about and those that don't, go try one out (at least if you're on AT&T for the moment here in the US), if you don't like it, return it but you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I've only had it for two days but as right now, barring anything major popping up before the end of the next 10 days, I think this one is a keeper. And if this one develops an issue, I don't think I'd be getting anything else, I'd have this one DOA'ed and get another, it is really that good.
Excellent Job Google and Motorola on this one; very, very impressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device were you originally coming from? I'm coming from the HTC Vivid (I'm torn between trading it in for cash and shooting it out of a cannon)

ShamanicEnzan said:
What device were you originally coming from? I'm coming from the HTC Vivid (I'm torn between trading it in for cash and shooting it out of a cannon)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recently I've had the SGS4, HTC One, iPhone 5 and the Optimus G Pro. User experience and build quality, the X wins and like I said in my post, I was not a believer of the X when I first heard about it but after trying it I'm am very pleasantly surprised. My suggestion again would be to try it and if after a week you aren't at least partially sold on it, take it back. There are definitely a lot of good choices out there right now, it's all about what works for you.

Jeff199 said:
Recently I've had the SGS4, HTC One, iPhone 5 and the Optimus G Pro. User experience and build quality, the X wins and like I said in my post, I was not a believer of the X when I first heard about it but after trying it I'm am very pleasantly surprised. My suggestion again would be to try it and if after a week you aren't at least partially sold on it, take it back. There are definitely a lot of good choices out there right now, it's all about what works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I plan on going motomaker, doubt there are refunds on that one.

Planning on buying a xperia z.

I'm planning on buying a xperia z, but with all upgrades there's a few things I have to check before I can commit on buying a new phone.
1 - how stable are the cm10.2 builds ? Such as battery performance ?
2 - battery performance on stock firmware ?
Screenshots would be great...
Sent from my One S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

i got the phone for like 5 months and battery life is like 2.5 - 4 hours of screen time and 18 hours - 1.5 day of stand by
without stamina i dont use it
on stock

Cm 10.2 quite stable, battery is ok.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Buy it! The phone is very good! Very snappy!
Battery Life is much much better than my Samsung...

i come from an s4... i get at least the same battery usage from the z...
it even performs better in games than the s4.. at least better than the one i had.

HellRoot said:
i come from an s4... i get at least the same battery usage from the z...
it even performs better in games than the s4.. at least better than the one i had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe this at all lol
The battery life is pretty bad OP to answer your question honesty. Also the screen is poor, which may bother you. (very bad contrast and viewing angles). Aside from that it is good. Great design, definitely turns heads
Go look at battery tests, S4 sits as one of the top.
Also op, if you get one without an unlockable bootloder (like myself), you'll never even get to try cm

Well I had 7 h screen on time, and one day < battery. Way better than my sgs2 had.
Skickat från min C6603 via Tapatalk 2

TheHawk002 said:
Well I had 7 h screen on time, and one day < battery. Way better than my sgs2 had.
Skickat från min C6603 via Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, two people on this site get battery life like this...
Seems legit.
Go check any battery tests on gsmarena, etc.. Did not fare especially well.
I mean it isn't horrid, but 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of screen on time isn't anything to write home about

Depends
Depends on how you intend on using it.
If you're a avid gamer, then I probably would not recommend it. Battery life when gaming is average or below average.
However if you're not, and gaming is reserved for the tablet, then I highly recommend it.
Aside from being one of the most beautiful phones out there, you can get it for quite a good price now. Performance is, honestly, all you really need at the moment.
Despite what people say, the screen is very sharp (admittedly viewing angles are not the best, but it's not a concern for me as I pretty much always view it front on. Also when you think about it, you get more privacy).
Battery life is not bad at all (if you don't run heavy games all the time). On screen time varies and can be between 3.5 - 5 hours or so, but don't be obsessed with the times though, just enjoy it. Unless you have nothing to do all day then it's quite hard to run out of battery during the day. Talk times and quality are pretty good.
Loving my Z, I can't say that this phone is the best at anything, but all together as a package it's quite awesome. Waterproofing is a bonus.
Give it a 0.2 mm thick back cover, custom rom, maybe a sound mod and I guarantee you won't regret buying one!

Coming from my beloved ville, I'm just looking at phones with 2gigs of ram and a quad cpu, and good dev support. its between these 4 phones at the moment
-nexus 4 (mainly for support and xda support)
-s3 i9305 ( better then the s3 as it was an extra gig of ram)
-note 2 (big ass screen)
-Sony xperia z (1080 screen)
Im not the hugest phone gamer, i mainly use my device for Instagram, tumblr, and other networking apps. Iv watched a few reviews on all 4 phones and I'm kinda leaning towards the s3 and the sony ATM. Its just the screen problems (battery drain, and poor viewing angles)
Sent from my One S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

My advice is not to be overly fussy about what you're looking at. By the time you decide, a bunch of new phones will be released and you'll have to start all over again.
IMO all 4 phones have all the goods you need to do what you want. For what you want to do, battery life on all 4 would be sufficient for a whole day.
They are really not all that different unless you go into the tiny details. Honestly, in my experience, being overly focused on the details will make you regret your purchase no matter what you buy.
I understand why iPhone lovers can be much less stressed with their phone choice because there is really no choice for them. I prevents them from feeling bad about making the wrong decision We all know that the iPhone is not the best but it's owners are happy. For android lovers there is a paradox of choice........ which in this case is a bad thing.
So try to look at it a different way.
Since it will be with you everyday, think about which phone matches you as a person, just like when you're choosing clothes, or a car. E.g if your practical or stylish. Reckless or careful etc.
I got the Z because I like style. You may think it may be a bit superficial but the viewing angles are really irrelevant when you think about it. When would you ever need wide viewing angles anyway? It's not like you have a group of 4-5 friends watching a movie on it all the time (if at all). I don't see anyone tilting their phones at an angle to use it. TV, yes, but phone, no. Everything is pretty much on par with the rest of them (except for maybe battery life on the Note 2, but it's too big IMO)
Trust me. Thinking about it this way will allow you to enjoy your phone more and not regret buying it.
If you ask me, I would recommend the XZ, S3, Nexus 4, Note 2 in that order.

adielee said:
My advice is not to be overly fussy about what you're looking at. By the time you decide, a bunch of new phones will be released and you'll have to start all over again.
IMO all 4 phones have all the goods you need to do what you want. For what you want to do, battery life on all 4 would be sufficient for a whole day.
They are really not all that different unless you go into the tiny details. Honestly, in my experience, being overly focused on the details will make you regret your purchase no matter what you buy.
I understand why iPhone lovers can be much less stressed with their phone choice because there is really no choice for them. I prevents them from feeling bad about making the wrong decision We all know that the iPhone is not the best but it's owners are happy. For android lovers there is a paradox of choice........ which in this case is a bad thing.
So try to look at it a different way.
Since it will be with you everyday, think about which phone matches you as a person, just like when you're choosing clothes, or a car. E.g if your practical or stylish. Reckless or careful etc.
I got the Z because I like style. You may think it may be a bit superficial but the viewing angles are really irrelevant when you think about it. When would you ever need wide viewing angles anyway? It's not like you have a group of 4-5 friends watching a movie on it all the time (if at all). I don't see anyone tilting their phones at an angle to use it. TV, yes, but phone, no. Everything is pretty much on par with the rest of them (except for maybe battery life on the Note 2, but it's too big IMO)
Trust me. Thinking about it this way will allow you to enjoy your phone more and not regret buying it.
If you ask me, I would recommend the XZ, S3, Nexus 4, Note 2 in that order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't just viewing angles though, the screen is extremely washed out looking with bad contrast.
But view angles matter if, for example, your phone is laying down on your desk and you turn it on to glance at the time, a text message, etc.. It isn\t extreme angles, it is unreadable if you aren't looking at it directly on.
I own a note 2 and this phone, I wish I could have the two make a baby.
I love the design of this phone, but the screen really gets me down :/
Spending that much money, you shouldn't have to "settle"
---------- Post added at 05:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:45 AM ----------
blackcell1 said:
Coming from my beloved ville, I'm just looking at phones with 2gigs of ram and a quad cpu, and good dev support. its between these 4 phones at the moment
-nexus 4 (mainly for support and xda support)
-s3 i9305 ( better then the s3 as it was an extra gig of ram)
-note 2 (big ass screen)
-Sony xperia z (1080 screen)
Im not the hugest phone gamer, i mainly use my device for Instagram, tumblr, and other networking apps. Iv watched a few reviews on all 4 phones and I'm kinda leaning towards the s3 and the sony ATM. Its just the screen problems (battery drain, and poor viewing angles)
Sent from my One S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any of those will preform better than the z, and will have much nicer screens.
Get the z only if fashion over function is your thought process (you want a nice looking phone, until you turn it on)

crixley said:
I don't believe this at all lol
The battery life is pretty bad OP to answer your question honesty. Also the screen is poor, which may bother you. (very bad contrast and viewing angles). Aside from that it is good. Great design, definitely turns heads
Go look at battery tests, S4 sits as one of the top.
Also op, if you get one without an unlockable bootloder (like myself), you'll never even get to try cm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well... at first my s4 got 4 hours of screen time (set on low brightness) after a couple of months it was 2,5.. the samsung batteries are very bad..
the screen is poor... yes... but i like it better, the screen is more visible in the sun compared to the s4... i dont really like the oversaturated screen of the s4 anyway... so win win
great design... that is one of the things.. and waterproof... that was actually why i wanted to change... on my s4 i always ended up hitting the screen when touching the damn buttons and it made me angry in the end.
what amazes me.. is that the camera is the same but samsung has made a better firmware.. the camera works very well on s4.. and the z has a very poor camera compared... focus is not great, black dots etc, low light grain and such... EXMOR surely is just a name.. not worth anything imo

HellRoot said:
well... at first my s4 got 4 hours of screen time (set on low brightness) after a couple of months it was 2,5.. the samsung batteries are very bad..
the screen is poor... yes... but i like it better, the screen is more visible in the sun compared to the s4... i dont really like the oversaturated screen of the s4 anyway... so win win
great design... that is one of the things.. and waterproof... that was actually why i wanted to change... on my s4 i always ended up hitting the screen when touching the damn buttons and it made me angry in the end.
what amazes me.. is that the camera is the same but samsung has made a better firmware.. the camera works very well on s4.. and the z has a very poor camera compared... focus is not great, black dots etc, low light grain and such... EXMOR surely is just a name.. not worth anything imo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange must have been a rogue app, I've had my note since it came out and battery life is the same as it was.
You can change to natural mode in screen settings to completely get rid of the oversaturation.
I definitely agree the z's design is amazing. Easily one of the nicest, if not the nicest, looking android phones there is.
What I don't get is why there is macro mode on Samsung but not Sony :/

blackcell1 said:
I'm planning on buying a xperia z, but with all upgrades there's a few things I have to check before I can commit on buying a new phone.
1 - how stable are the cm10.2 builds ? Such as battery performance ?
2 - battery performance on stock firmware ?
Screenshots would be great...
Sent from my One S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a good phone for the price. It's got a sd slot which is always appreciated. Performance is fine and it's got 2gb ram, that will make it last at least 2 years.
The screen is fine for me. Yes, viewing angles aren't great but nothing to worry about, unless you watch very dark movies at night.
Battery is average, standby time is quite good, screen time goes from 2h - 5h depending on what you do.
Haven't tried cm10.2 but Sony stock firmware is quite vanilla.
It all depends on what do you want, how much do you want to spend, etc.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

crixley said:
Strange must have been a rogue app, I've had my note since it came out and battery life is the same as it was.
You can change to natural mode in screen settings to completely get rid of the oversaturation.
I definitely agree the z's design is amazing. Easily one of the nicest, if not the nicest, looking android phones there is.
What I don't get is why there is macro mode on Samsung but not Sony :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
macro mode? in what way?
well... the phone was deep sleeping properly... so i dont know why the battery was that bad... at least now i can say that my phone has used 60% for 2 hours 10 minutes screen time, 1 hour of calls, sms and web usage... with 2 days of standby... i am not unhappy with that.
all stock.. no root or anything.. i have relocked as i need to get the camera fixed... as i have quite a few black dots... when i get it back.. i will root and unlock the bootloader..

HellRoot said:
macro mode? in what way?
well... the phone was deep sleeping properly... so i dont know why the battery was that bad... at least now i can say that my phone has used 60% for 2 hours 10 minutes screen time, 1 hour of calls, sms and web usage... with 2 days of standby... i am not unhappy with that.
all stock.. no root or anything.. i have relocked as i need to get the camera fixed... as i have quite a few black dots... when i get it back.. i will root and unlock the bootloader..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get about 8 hours of screen on time on my note over 2 days or so. Best battery life I've ever had by far.
By macro mode I mean in the camera, you cannot take true macro pics.
I can't unlock bootloader, I have a bell z :/

crixley said:
I don't believe this at all lol
The battery life is pretty bad OP to answer your question honesty. Also the screen is poor, which may bother you. (very bad contrast and viewing angles). Aside from that it is good. Great design, definitely turns heads
Go look at battery tests, S4 sits as one of the top.
Also op, if you get one without an unlockable bootloder (like myself), you'll never even get to try cm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, just one thing to contrast. Even the xperia s has a "numberous" higher contrast, in real life it is another story. The display is quite bright and colours are natural. Contrast is good enough for meh.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Tommy-Geenexus said:
Well, just one thing to contrast. Even the xperia s has a "numberous" higher contrast, in real life it is another story. The display is quite bright and colours are natural. Contrast is good enough for meh.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I traded it for a htc one anyway,,,
I'd like to say I'll miss it, but I won't

Well its looking that I'll be buying the phone on the weekend, iv been looking more into the stock ROM and it does look rather aosp. Does anyone know any details on if Sony's planning on releasing a 4.3 update ? And any info on the phone getting an official cm10.2 build ?
Sent from my One S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app