Have any of you come from the Samsung galaxy S3 what are your thoughts and opinions on the Sony TL phone? I am looking to get something different.
Well, the TL is only an American release for ATT, and it's the only one (of the Xperia T series) that hasn't had its bootloader unlocked. Root is possible though. There's tons of development for the T, but very little for the TL. I came to the Xperia TL from an Xperia X10, and once I had my hands on that first Xperia, I haven't felt the need to switch brands.I feel like from now on, I'm only going to buy Sony android devices.
Custom roms for the TL can be a little tricky. Roms for locked bootloaders work fine but you have to be careful with the baseband. A lot of these custom roms are built from European builds, so they say to flash the original stock rom (ATT) with only allowing the baseband to flash onto the device to try to keep LTE connectivity. ATT's 4G LTE network is very specific for the US and I've had signal issues with custom roms where I lose connectivity (data and voice) briefly at random times.
On a final note, very nice phone in my opinion. The stock JB firmware on the TL is plenty fast for me. I've basically just put the stock JB back on my phone, then rooted it to get rid of ATT bloatware and to allow tethering (without having to pay extra). Badass phone for only having to pay 50 bucks to ATT to get it. If you happen to get it and it has ICS on it (which had a lot of bugs on the TL), get the JB update on it ASAP.
Sorry to be so wordy, but I've spent hours on this forum figuring all this out. Just trying to save you some time...
jonchance_84 said:
Well, the TL is only an American release for ATT, and it's the only one (of the Xperia T series) that hasn't had its bootloader unlocked. Root is possible though. There's tons of development for the T, but very little for the TL. I came to the Xperia TL from an Xperia X10, and once I had my hands on that first Xperia, I haven't felt the need to switch brands.I feel like from now on, I'm only going to buy Sony android devices.
Custom roms for the TL can be a little tricky. Roms for locked bootloaders work fine but you have to be careful with the baseband. A lot of these custom roms are built from European builds, so they say to flash the original stock rom (ATT) with only allowing the baseband to flash onto the device to try to keep LTE connectivity. ATT's 4G LTE network is very specific for the US and I've had signal issues with custom roms where I lose connectivity (data and voice) briefly at random times.
On a final note, very nice phone in my opinion. The stock JB firmware on the TL is plenty fast for me. I've basically just put the stock JB back on my phone, then rooted it to get rid of ATT bloatware and to allow tethering (without having to pay extra). Badass phone for only having to pay 50 bucks to ATT to get it. If you happen to get it and it has ICS on it (which had a lot of bugs on the TL), get the JB update on it ASAP.
Sorry to be so wordy, but I've spent hours on this forum figuring all this out. Just trying to save you some time...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a great device and acts like the very popular Xperia T, (If you flash the European .140 firmware with flashtool excluding the baseband to keep 4GLTE
I can't say I came from the 3, but I came from an HTC Amaze and the T just blows it away.
Also, I sent you a PM
I purchased the sg s3 to replace my water-damaged Ion and I hated it. I have to take 3 or 4 pictures everytime to make sure I got a good one. I also didn't like the way notifications still come through the phone speaker instead of the earphones when you are using them and I didn't use any of the gimmicky features of the s3. So I bought a TL on Ebay and sold the S3. The camera on the Xperia TL is much better. I plan to stay with Sony next time I upgrade.
I ilke my Xperia T more than my previous phone (S3). Sony's launcher kills Sammy's TouchWiz... and the S3 had some pretty silly rules, like when using the volume button to turn down the ringtone, the notification volume didn't follow automatically. Also it had this annoying volume escalation in the ringtone when getting a phone call. Had to use a 3rd party app to silence it (but some custom roms had this 'feature' fixed so that was good.). I enjoy the size of the Xperia T more than the S3 also.
Things I don't like about the Xperia T that the S3 handled fine were 1) Removing the battery... I like to know I can replace the battery at any time. 2) When I plug my Sony PS3 controller into the S3, it can instantly use it as an input device... when I plug the controller into my Xperia T, it whines about how it can't power it.
I came from the Samsung Captivate, this phone is way better than that device.
The only thing I miss is dsp manager from cm10. The bass and volume were absolutely killer.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
Much happier with this than my old s3 had it for 3 days and found it to plastic. No doubting that it's a half tidy phone, just feel that the t is way better made and considering that the s3 is meant to have a better processor. This performs awesome.
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Sony's phones are design for speed despite their low CPUs unlike other brands which hogs their phones with useless tweaks, thus reducing speed.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
low CPUs?are you kidding me?american SG3 has the same dual core and remember 28nm dual core krait is on almost on par with exonos and better than tegra3 45nm
josephnero said:
low CPUs?are you kidding me?american SG3 has the same dual core and remember 28nm dual core krait is on almost on par with exonos and better than tegra3 45nm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I said low CPUs I meant for their older device. Also I meant it as lower CPUs. Sony having a lower CPUs than others.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
The PS3 power consumption problem doesn't exist if you use Sony Ericsson Livedock DK25 (even though it was for SE2011 devices) as I use an Xbox wired controller on my 3 out of my 4 android devices without a problem
Sent from my LT30p using xda premium
I came from a very similar model, the HTC One XL (only difference between the SGS3 is the extra 1GB of RAM). I was a little skeptical at first but I picked up the TL at walmart for 10 cents. Having not seen them anywhere else I thought it was quite the find. The camera is what sold me on it for sure.
As I got to using it, I realized what a smart move it was. All of my favorite mods for the One XL were native to this device. Bravia engine, clear audio+, xloud, etc. I had pretty much all of the Sony stuff installed on my HTC so it made the stock ROM very much usable; A slightly embellished AOSP. This is the first Android device I have EVER owned that I had no desire to flash a new ROM to get away from the stock software, which is typically clunky and slow, managing memory very poorly. Not with the TL. It takes full advantage of the identical hardware that my old phone had, proving to me that there really isn't any need for quad/octa core power-hungy beasts yet.
At first I didn't like the screen, but after playing with the settings a bit, I love it. The limited viewing angle ensures privacy, though some people do not like it. Colors are very true to life, as opposed to the One XL which is vivid and bright, but colors would look washed out. My wife had the S III and I absolutely hated the power-hungy super AMOLED. screen, everything looked so artificial. What amazes me most about the TL display is how functional it is with the backlight turned way down. Reproduces colors very well and is very readable in indoor and outdoor situations. Makes for a very battery-efficient device.
Yes the bootloader can't be unlocked, and flashing ROMS is limited compared to Samdung or HTC, but when you can theme and mod the device with a locked bootloader why bother? I have CM10 themes and cybershot camera, themed SMS and dialer, with the docomo status bar and task switcher. Debloated and greenified this has been the best stock experience I have had with any device. I'm sold on Sony I think I will stick with them.
I'd say I'd love a unlocked bootloader for the sake of a ported Ubuntu
Anyways, I came from a Motorola Defy+. Whilst the phone was "dumber", there was one single thing it made better than my current Xperia T: Audio playback. Never complained about that. On my Sony, however, it's quite problematic. As I really like to skip audio, it's a issue for me. I also dislike the audio bloatware Sony gives me. I flashed a different .FTF, no difference at all. Waiting for 4.2./4.3 (although I could flash a ROM).
However, this is not the entire story.
The Walkman music player rocks with one single dumb thing: search. I can search an album/artist/song/genre/whatever, and access everything really fast (I've got 20 GBs of music on my phone). And that's nice.
I also like the hardware and the lack of bloatware. The camera, which is good. The screen size is perfect IMO.
I like the fact that it feels mine, and only mine. That I can mod it, if I want to, and that I can.
I really am waiting for Ubuntu for this, and maybe I'll even flash MIUI some day.
I'm thinking of getting an xperia t mainly because of the camera. Should be in my hands by the end of the week. I know that it seems like a downgrade from my nexus 4 but it's not gonna stop me from trying it.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Camera especially fv from market is really good
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i came to Xperia V from SGS3. i must say i hated the S3 because of it's size and i got frustrated when i tried to operate the phone with one hand and couldn't reach the screen and the phone often fell from my hand trying.
however, i miss the screen, the samsung roms, the plethora of choices and mods to use (not forgetting a super cool CM 10.1 build which i loved)
and one thing i just constantly mind about Xperia V is that doesn't give separate volumes for the ring and notification. as you know we use our smartphones a lot for chatting and i want to be able to have a low volume for the notifications, while not risking to miss a phone call.
apart from this, i love the V. it's water resistant and the camera is cool.
oh yes, and the last thing is the battery. i think that the V should also have stamina mode and try to make the device last throughout the day while using it extensively. when i say this, i always compare the usage time and the battery juice we get from both phones, i have a feeling that the S3 lasted me a good 2 hours longer than the V with about similar amount of usage
I came from a Galaxy Note.
The main thing for me is the camera. The Samsung cameras are rubbish - my note and my friends' S3s and even the recent S4 can't touch the Xperia for camera quality. I don't even take my point and shoot instant camera out anymore!
I guess the thing you will probably notice more than anything initially though it's the screen. LCD isn't so bright and vibrant as Samsung's LED ones, but I find them more natural and the Bravia engine is good.
My only other comment is that I was never really happy with my Samsung phone. I was constantly wanting to flash new custom or leaked firmware for a better experience. Don't really feel like that with the Sony device - it just works and doesn't have the garish TouchWiz interface either!
Im coming from a S3, and my first impression was the build of the entire phone, the quality is amazing and than S3, I'm really happy with my new phone
Enviado desde mi LT30p usando Tapatalk 4
I had a s3 before. Then changed to the Xperia Ion then just bought the Xperia T tonight.
So far love it. And yes alot more than the S3.
Related
Hi everyone,
For months I am eagerly waiting for the Xperia V to be released in France (it will be this week, with JB on board). But this morning I found a review from a quite serious blog (in French) and it sort of discouraged me :
- They had major 3G connectivity issues, which is a huge turn-off for me
- They say the screen is not that great after all (too yellow-ish, despite BRAVIAEngine 2)
- They found lots of non-uninstallable bloatware (Adobe Reader, McAfee, some games, etc.)
- They found lots of bugs (camera focus, SOD when using GPS and music player), despite the JB ROM !
Now I'm wavering :
- Is this Xperia V a good choice ? From what I can read on XDA forums, owners of this V seem happy with their choice, but for example, has someone experienced any 3G connectivity issues since the JB upgrade ? Are the other bugs really annoying ?
- I was planning to wait a few months before getting rid of Sony software and get CyanogenMod on this Xperia V ; now that I see the bugs I want to get CM as soon as possible, but is it safe to avoid the warranty of a smartphone right after spending €500 for it ?
- In a nutshell : is the Xperia V a good choice ? (I want a phone that runs JB smoothly on a minimum-300dpi screen, with a micro-SD slot, a removable battery, LTE-compliant, and that I can handle with one of my small hands )
Thanks to anyone who can help me decide whether to buy it or not...
David Guillot said:
Hi everyone,
For months I am eagerly waiting for the Xperia V to be released in France (it will be this week, with JB on board). But this morning I found a review from a quite serious blog (in French) and it sort of discouraged me :
- They had major 3G connectivity issues, which is a huge turn-off for me
- They say the screen is not that great after all (too yellow-ish, despite BRAVIAEngine 2)
- They found lots of non-uninstallable bloatware (Adobe Reader, McAfee, some games, etc.)
- They found lots of bugs (camera focus, SOD when using GPS and music player), despite the JB ROM !
Now I'm wavering :
- Is this Xperia V a good choice ? From what I can read on XDA forums, owners of this V seem happy with their choice, but for example, has someone experienced any 3G connectivity issues since the JB upgrade ? Are the other bugs really annoying ?
- I was planning to wait a few months before getting rid of Sony software and get CyanogenMod on this Xperia V ; now that I see the bugs I want to get CM as soon as possible, but is it safe to avoid the warranty of a smartphone right after spending €500 for it ?
- In a nutshell : is the Xperia V a good choice ? (I want a phone that runs JB smoothly on a minimum-300dpi screen, with a micro-SD slot, a removable battery, LTE-compliant, and that I can handle with one of my small hands )
Thanks to anyone who can help me decide whether to buy it or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The points you list at the end overlap quite a bit with my criteria for picking the V, and I don't regret it at all. I was hoping Sony would push this model more than they have and that it would get strong sales so that "smaller" phones might not end up in a low-spec ghetto. Anyway, to address your points:
- The 3G connectivity issues may very well have to do with the network settings being set by default to connect to LTE. I had major issues until I changed the settings (my contract doesn't include LTE). Since then, no problems. If the review unit had this setting on, that's probably what happened.
- The display quality seems ok to me. This isn't honestly that huge a thing for me, so maybe somebody else has a stronger opinion on it than I do.
- There's no such thing as "uninstallable" . There is a (somewhat complicated) method for rooting the V without unlocking the bootloader, so as not to void your warranty. I didn't have any of the bloatware that you listed on mine, so it must be carrier-added bloat. I'm new to Xperia and I unlocked mine after about a week, so I may be wrong about this, but I think you can flash .ftf's with a locked bootloader, and just use a generic version of the firmware and voilà - no more bloat!
- I've never had a SOD. The only bug I've dealt with since upgrading to JB is long pauses between tracks when using the Walkman app. Admittedly a pretty big deal for me, I can only hope that since "Walkman" is pretty much synonymous with "Sony", they'll get this one sorted sooner rather than later.
Satisfied with everything except for the battery consumption while on data. Came from Galaxy Nexus. I leave data on for the whole day with my Nexus and it lasts. With this Xperia V, i turn off the data and switch to GSM when not in use.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
Carriers are well-known to add in lots of bloatwares. Nothing to do with the phone. But currently there's no working version of CM10.1 (JB 4.2.x), though.
The FreeXperiaProject are on it, albeit not high in their priority list.
Those who tested the current testing version of CM10.1 reported that the ROM is too damn smooth. xD
So for us to have a working version of CM10.1, it will take some time...
Disclaimer: I don't personally own a V, but a T instead.
- Among all the phones I have used, I personally haven't ran into any phone with connectivity issue. Most of the times, it's due to either telco bad signals or half-baked ported roms (i.e. CM10.1), which is probably the less of your concern. However, I heard that V was equipped with 4G (whereas T was not), so you might want to explore this more.
- V screen is far superior compared to T (and maybe Z as well), according to comparison videos and videos I have seen so far. I'd love to have the V display screen.
- From what I saw, V and T shared the same bloatwares. Most of the bloatwares on T are Sony media connection utilities, which are not that annoying. EA Games, OfficeSuite and other stuff I don't really use can be deleted. Coming from a Nexus, I'm surprised that bloatwares did not annoy me at all.
- T suffers from a Walkman bug, that's all. I'm not sure about V.
Yes, you should buy it. It's the only phone with 720p resolution and ergonomic screen size, yet maintain a decent performance, and better yet, an SDCard slot.
David Guillot said:
Hi everyone,
For months I am eagerly waiting for the Xperia V to be released in France (it will be this week, with JB on board). But this morning I found a review from a quite serious blog (in French) and it sort of discouraged me :
- They had major 3G connectivity issues, which is a huge turn-off for me
- They say the screen is not that great after all (too yellow-ish, despite BRAVIAEngine 2)
- They found lots of non-uninstallable bloatware (Adobe Reader, McAfee, some games, etc.)
- They found lots of bugs (camera focus, SOD when using GPS and music player), despite the JB ROM !
Now I'm wavering :
- Is this Xperia V a good choice ? From what I can read on XDA forums, owners of this V seem happy with their choice, but for example, has someone experienced any 3G connectivity issues since the JB upgrade ? Are the other bugs really annoying ?
- I was planning to wait a few months before getting rid of Sony software and get CyanogenMod on this Xperia V ; now that I see the bugs I want to get CM as soon as possible, but is it safe to avoid the warranty of a smartphone right after spending €500 for it ?
- In a nutshell : is the Xperia V a good choice ? (I want a phone that runs JB smoothly on a minimum-300dpi screen, with a micro-SD slot, a removable battery, LTE-compliant, and that I can handle with one of my small hands )
Thanks to anyone who can help me decide whether to buy it or not...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I love my Xperia V, there is no phone I would have rather bought. Well maybe Z. It just feels awesome in my hands, looks awesome, is really snappy, the camera is a beast in my opinion and the waterproofig is a plus too.
There are some disadvantages of course, the main one being the lack of developers. I know, I shouldn't "whine" about it, they do it for free and because they want to and I should start deving my self if I'm not satisfied. But I won't. Coming from HTC Desire I was a bit disappointed (shouldn't use that word) to see the lack of roms and mods etc. The battery is a bit too small too, I thought that smartphones would last longer nowadays, but nah, it's a minor upgrade to HTC Desire for example.
Another problem is that my phone seemed a bit bugged right out of the box, orientation sensor would sometimes get stuck and not rotate the screen. I took it to Sony care, let's see what they can do about it. Probably nothing, since the it happens very randomly.
vokkE said:
...Coming from HTC Desire I was a bit disappointed (shouldn't use that word) to see the lack of roms and mods etc. The battery is a bit too small too, I thought that smartphones would last longer nowadays, but nah, it's a minor upgrade to HTC Desire...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved my old HTC Desire. What a great phone it was.
I'm hoping to buy an Xperia V this weekend, too. I'm worried about battery life; has anyone bought an extended one?
I'm using an Xperia V, and I have rooted, added cwm, debloat the wares, still locked bootloader.
I heard that V have two kinds of screen too. And my screen's black color is truly black, not gray like T .
I've tested a film on my phone and my laptop, I just have to say that BE2 is great, it enhances the colors on the film, which is very nice, I've made a comparison with my friend's Xperia T, the BE2 sometimes enhances the colors too much which makes it a little bit unreal, but to tell the truth, most of the time, it makes u feel that the image is greater than the original xD
I'm from Vietnam, we only have 3G. But the connection speed is great, it doesn't take me long to download apps from Play Store . I think it may depends on your signal and the network provider speed . Cuz it depends in my country, if you have full signal, you will got speed around 6-7.2 mbps, but I usually got around 3-5mbps .
About Sony apps, Walkman has some bugs with playing, soon it will be fixed. SoD appears suddenly, I don't know if it just with GPS ). But this is a serious problem, it will be fixed soon either. And about the camera, I myself love the main camera with it's great speed of shoot, but the front camera sucks :|, I love the front camera of Xperia S more
One little thing I want to say that I love the water proof of this phone ). My friends' iPhone can't do that, and that's the way I troll them with my Xperia :laugh:
Thank you all for your feedbacks, just bought my Xperia V this morning for €429 (great deal on Sony France e-shop, due to the loooong wait) !
I'll receive it next week, will root it as soon as possible to get rid of bloatware, change the networking settings since my contract isn't 4G, and wait for CM 10.1
I'm eagerly waiting for Xperia SP, or should I buy this Xperia V?
Plus of Xperia V : water/dust resistant, 13 MP camera
Plus of Xperia SP : bigger screen and battery capacity, higher CPU and GPU
Any suggestions?
mewtwo68d said:
I'm eagerly waiting for Xperia SP, or should I buy this Xperia V?
Plus of Xperia V : water/dust resistant, 13 MP camera
Plus of Xperia SP : bigger screen and battery capacity, higher CPU and GPU
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy the SP. The V's flaps will soon fall out. Mine is already sticking out. If you want a waterproof one get the Z as they use a different and stronger material for their flaps. However if you're on a budget get the SP. It's high CPU ans GPU makes up for not having waterproof.
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Slender watches what you do...
There are two things I hate about the Xperia V: 1) Disappointing battery performance on data connection (WiFi is significantly better), 2) Lack of development.
Came from a Galaxy Nexus.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
help
blackcat510 said:
And about the camera, I myself love the main camera with it's great speed of shoot, but the front camera sucks :|, I love the front camera of Xperia S more
One little thing I want to say that I love the water proof of this phone ). My friends' iPhone can't do that, and that's the way I troll them with my Xperia :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how is the front camera compare to the iphone 4s front camera ? is it worst or kind of the same? and i guess the main camera it's much better than the main camera of the iphone 4S... right?
and i bit off topic does it have usb otg ? and what about the hdmi have you tried it?
PS: im going crazy trying to decide which phone to buy :silly: (i own a 4S right now )
sdam87 said:
how is the front camera compare to the iphone 4s front camera ? is it worst or kind of the same? and i guess the main camera it's much better than the main camera of the iphone 4S... right?
and i bit off topic does it have usb otg ? and what about the hdmi have you tried it?
PS: im going crazy trying to decide which phone to buy :silly: (i own a 4S right now )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy the Xperia SL
Sent from your backyard...
Slender watches what you do...
xperia v
-SlenderMan- said:
Buy the Xperia SL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i thought about it but missing sd card, no water resistant and the old s3 snap dragon processor, made me look for another device :\
sdam87 said:
i thought about it but missing sd card, no water resistant and the old s3 snap dragon processor, made me look for another device :\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The LED strip and GPU is good. I mean it has an old processor but it's 1.7Ghz Dual Core. It's fine for me. It's also faster than the V. I have the V and overtime you'll lose water resistance as the flaps will fall off. Mine is already sticking out.
Sent from your backyard...
Slender watches what you do...
-SlenderMan- said:
The V's flaps will soon fall out. Mine is already sticking out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long did it take for the flaps to fall out ? I have mine for 3 weeks now and despite the fact that they feel a bit fragile, I think if I take care of them they will hold on...
I am really fond of my V, it feels great in the hand, it is quite smooth, the battery life is acceptable, the camera is pretty good, and I dropped a pint of beer on it without any damage !
-SlenderMan- said:
The LED strip and GPU is good. I mean it has an old processor but it's 1.7Ghz Dual Core. It's fine for me. It's also faster than the V. I have the V and overtime you'll lose water resistance as the flaps will fall off. Mine is already sticking out.
Sent from your backyard...
Slender watches what you do...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm no. The SL is NOT faster than the V either CPU or GPU wise.
Sent from my Xperia T using Tapatalk 2
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
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
I guess thread title says it all...
In next few days I'm about to sell my dear Arc S, and I'm undecided between three phones:
Ion, T and V, with T being the most probable option.
Now, this might sound as a newbie question, which I'm not, but I would appreciate as many opinions as I can get.
Regarding choices, I'm in love with Ion's build quality, but on the other hand T and V are more recent phones, and therefore will probably have a bit longer life regarding updates. I love Xperia T design much more than V, but on the other side, removable battery and water resistance, heh...
This is really a tough call.
(Xperia SP was also a choice, but I will rather buy older flagship device than newer mid-ranger).
So, any word will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I'm from Arc S to TX. After i just bought my TX I feel Wow! don't need to suffer for internal memory and I still remember everytime I jump out from apps to homescreen, it takes time to load the icon and content. Mmm.. So far I'm satisfied with my TX. Nowadays 1GB of ram consider just enough for average user like me so couldn't expect that much on your Xperia T too.
you coming from arc s? so i guess you like the arc design? you want a good relation smartphonesize-displaysize? and a low prize phone (how much in sarajevo? Germany around 270euro) ?
you like flashing custom roms, you like play around? check the forum sections
maybe then go with xperia T (CM Support, PAC Support, some other Port Roms, Miui v5, some stock based Roms, many Mods)
how save is the V waterproof feature? is it necessary to have that?
thats some questions i would ask myself if i want buy a new phone. (by the way theres a guessing around the net XT can maybe get 4.3 directly, skippin 4.2.2, but not 100%sure)
by the way i not have that icon loading problem joonlin write about. it would be a decent update
a little subjective end note from myself:
you want handgasms? then take the T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love arc(h) design, that's the main reason I bought Arc S in the first place.
Yes, I care a lot about display size (and bezel size corelation), as I don't want a chocolade in my hands.
The price is basically the same then. It's about 520-540KM in sarajevo, which is about 270 Euros.
Of course the V's water-proof is not a killer feature to me, but removable battery is. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid, I don't know.
Like I said, Xperia T is the most probable option, and I already even ordered Nillkin case for it, from eBay.
I will report in next few days what I have bought. If I decide to go with T, then white one would be my preference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BtXZiVLtWc
maybe video like this help with the paranoid thoughts?
in worst case scenario you can change or let change the battery, also its possible to change backcover (there some shops in internet who sell custom backcovers)
heres a video with ion/T comparison (german, but you can see it in hands then )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_yJnAP9DEk
I'm not afraid of disassembling the phone. I disassembled probably every piece of electronics/phones I ever had.
I just thought it's a bit easier to deal with all kinds of bricking and freezings of phone, when you have a removable battery, but I guess thats's part of paranoia too.
I guess it's clear then. T it's gonna be, 99%.
And one more thing to ask. Some reviews are mentioning that flap covering microSD and microSIM is a bit messy.
Like, once you open it, you never really get to close it ideally again. I guess this is not entirely true?
Aso, based on video comparison above, Ion seems to have a bit brighter display, with better viewing angles. But ok, this is not a dealbraker to me.
I upgraded to the T from the arc (not s). Arc was a awesome phone, with a fast and fluid ui (on gb) and a great camera. Ive used the arc for almost 2 years and i've had my T for 5 months now.
The T is a worthy upgrade, the phone is faster, i like the jellybean firmware and the screen is a big upgrade from arc. Also the 1gb ram is a big relieve since my arc would always run low on ram. The batterylife is also quite a lot better.
When i first got the T i thought it was pretty thick but thats actually kind of nice. The T feels more stable in your hand because of its thickness and rubber back. The arc felt a little fragile (which it wasn't, i must have dropped that phone like a million times and its still alive)
The only thing which is not an upgrade in my opinion is the camera. It's a good camera but the arc camera was simply amazing.
I didnt go for the latest flagship because it was to expensive. My friends have the htc one, xperia z and lumia 920 and this phone doesnt feel outdated compared to those phones. I also think sony has the best looking no nonsense smartphone software.
So yes, upgrade to T
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
spromper said:
I upgraded to the T from the arc (not s). Arc was a awesome phone... The T is a worthy upgrade, the phone is faster, i like the jellybean firmware and the screen is a big upgrade from arc... The T feels more stable in your hand because of its thickness and rubber back. The arc felt a little fragile... The arc camera was simply amazing.
I didnt go for the latest flagship because it was to expensive... I also think sony has the best looking no nonsense smartphone software.
So yes, upgrade to T...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is basically the sum up of my current thoughts too.
Yes, Arc S was an amazing, and beautiful phone before anything else. And yes, it's having a great camera. And yes, it feels fragile, but it's not actually. Back cover is lame quality though.
And yes, the T (and Ion) feels heavier but it's a good thing. And I love T's design also, more than Ion's or V's.
And the same thing, I don't have enough money for Z or ZR now, and if I happen to have, I would question myself about buying Z. It's too big and too slippery, and too fingerprintable for my taste.
mr_torture said:
This is basically the sum up of my current thoughts too.
Yes, Arc S was an amazing, and beautiful phone before anything else. And yes, it's having a great camera. And yes, it feels fragile, but it's not actually. Back cover is lame quality though.
And yes, the T (and Ion) feels heavier but it's a good thing. And I love T's design also, more than Ion's or V's.
And the same thing, I don't have enough money for Z or ZR now, and if I happen to have, I would question myself about buying Z. It's too big and too slippery, and too fingerprintable for my taste.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z is pretty awesome, my friend is really liking the waterproof feature. but its pretty big indeed and my friends Z just broke(probably his own fault, he was throwing his phone around while he was drunk). But ive dropped my T quite a few times and i barely have a scratch. If i had to choose again i would take T again with no doubt. Ive seen a lot of people crying about sony and the jb firmwares on this forum but i dont share their opinion at all. Samsung and htc also aren't that good with upgrades. Samsungs arc comparable phone(galaxy s plus) didnt get a ics upgrade, my gf has the plus and shes stuck with some crappy unstable touchwiz firmware.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
spromper said:
Ive seen a lot of people crying about sony and the jb firmwares on this forum but i dont share their opinion at all. Samsung and htc also aren't that good with upgrades.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh, as 2011 Xperia flagship user, I'm quite familiar with all kind of whinings, cries, swears to never buy Sony again, etc...
To be honest, I was never obsessed with updates. My priorities were fast, functional, and bug-free firmware, so I spent most of my time with Xperia Arc S using stock GingerBread firmware (rooted and debloated).
But it should be said that ICS update for 2011 Xperia line was quite horrible. Creepy slow and full of bugs.
Now, what I don't get from your post is, why are people still crying about JB here? Isn't Xperia T already provided with JB update?
I didn't have time to read these forums throughly, so I don't know what is the feedback about JB yet, but shouldn't it be better than ICS in every way?
mr_torture said:
Heh, as 2011 Xperia flagship user, I'm quite familiar with all kind of whinings, cries, swears to never buy Sony again, etc...
To be honest, I was never obsessed with updates. My priorities were fast, functional, and bug-free firmware, so I spent most of my time with Xperia Arc S using stock GingerBread firmware (rooted and debloated).
But it should be said that ICS update for 2011 Xperia line was quite horrible. Creepy slow and full of bugs.
Now, what I don't get from your post is, why are people still crying about JB here? Isn't Xperia T already provided with JB update?
I didn't have time to read these forums throughly, so I don't know what is the feedback about JB yet, but shouldn't it be better than ICS in every way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me everything works great except auto brightness. So for me it is in every way better than ics. But people are whining about batterydrains, slow phones, gaming performance. I havent had any of these problems but i do have to say that i dont use a lot of heavy apps. Mainly whatsapp, chrome, dropbox, 9gag and facebook.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
i upgraded from ARC S to XPERIA TX , and am feeling satisfied , TX has the arc design , it has bigger screen than xperia V , check this comparison from the GSM arena website
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4959&idPhone2=4958
I bought it! :victory:
About hour ago I bought my new beastie boy...
My first impressions are... WOW, just WOW!
Display is huge huge improvement over Arc S, in terms of everything. Colors are amazing, as well as sharpness. UI is beautiful too, probably the best Android skin among all big players, at least for me. Also, build quality seems amazing, and it feels rock solid in hands.
Also, JB came out of the box, version 9.1.A.0.489, and also it already popped me with mesage that new update is available, 9.1.A.1.141.
I guess I should update it, it's only 20-something MBs?
since I'am too considering to switch to one of these xperias i'm in doubt whether T is better than V. V's got a 4G support and is kind of weatherproof. it's also got newer chipset and isn't that alone enough for V to work faster that T? though usb otg is not listed among features this chipset natively supports it and I see no reason for it to be not enabled at least in a custom rom. another thing, the price of SP these days is closing down to that of V or T and it might be even better deal to go for with some 50-60 KM's (~$40) of difference between these models. I was considering even Z but decided to put it on hold until that issue with back glass "ungluing" has been resolved. I do not know how serious that is and do not want to become a victim of a pore design and lack of engineering common sense. i like all three models though, and it seems to be a tough choice what to go for.
As phone design plays a huge role in my decisions when purchasing a new phone, this time Xperia T won for obvious reasons (well, at least to me).
I never liked Xperia V design, not on pictures, and not in real when I compare it with T (or with Ion for that matter).
Yes, Xperia SP is having very close price range, to those of T and V, but still it's a mid-ranger, and somehow I would always choose older flagship over newer mid-ranger, with the same/similar price. But it's just me...
mr_torture said:
As phone design plays a huge role in my decisions when purchasing a new phone, this time Xperia T won for obvious reasons (well, at least to me).
I never liked Xperia V design, not on pictures, and not in real when I compare it with T (or with Ion for that matter).
Yes, Xperia SP is having very close price range, to those of T and V, but still it's a mid-ranger, and somehow I would always choose older flagship over newer mid-ranger, with the same/similar price. But it's just me...
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Click to collapse
I came from the Arc and got the T, my missus just took delivery of the SP last week. I can catagorically say that the T is a most excellent upgrade to the Arc, but I like the additional items and functionality like the LED bar, slightly sleeker shape of the SP and faster processor. I'd go for the SP in hindsight but would definitely not be disappointed with the T.
Regarding pure aesthetics, I definitely don't regret buying a T and not an SP. Yes, I too like illumination bar of SP, and marginally better hardware specs (what is there to not like about that), but all in all, I think Xperia T is an amazing package, with very affordable price (maybe even underrated compared to some other OEMs devices), and generally an device with much more character to it, than Xperia SP. Like I said, design is beautiful, elegant with some nice accents, and probably the whole world is recognising it as a "Bond phone". While SP is bound to be a mid-ranger for the time being, and will never gain any significant attention probably.
And yeah, T feels rock-solid regarding build quality, something that my last phone, Arc S, was lacking badly (while still being an beautiful device).
Simply, I love my new phone, after merely two days of usage...
Dude, you sound like you're convincing yourself that you made a right choice. Praising a generaly older piece of hardware and crithisizing a new one, just because of your personal affection is not correct. I considered T as well, but opted for SP simply because is a new generation hardware. And even that is to become obsolete quite soon. There are some advantages of T, i agree it's got better camera and more storage, but anyone who want anything resembling a quality photo would go for a real point and shot or even a real dslr device, and storage can be expanded. I already put in a 32gb sdhc clas 10, fast memory with sufficient storage. And design of sp might not be striking, but sure is elegant and atractive. There are those like I am who do not want their phone to look like bannana. No offence ment. It' just personal taste. The rest of the the hardware inside SP is near flagship phones of not just sony, but of sumsung and htc as well. Go and check several tests and reviews, they can't all be wrong. So enjoy your phone but be realistic. While it is a mid-ranger, SP is a device with a lot of potential and if it had 2gb of ram it would be a absolut winner. Still, it has plenty to offer to any kind of user, even the heavy ones, and because being newer generation device it will enjoy longer support, so it was a logical chice for me. While the looks is somewhat conservative it is longlasting, plus i'm not going to take it to bad with me, at least not to make love to it. I'm going to root it and make it do it's job. It is supposed so serve my needs, connectionwise speaking, and it is supposed to do that for some time and i will need that support that SP will have. So good luck andhave a good time
---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 PM ----------
And yeah, i'm not getting a hard-on watching bond movies.
skojevac said:
Dude, you sound like you're convincing yourself that you made a right choice. Praising a generaly older piece of hardware and crithisizing a new one, just because of your personal affection is not correct.
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And your reply sounded like...? You made my post very laid back and relaxed alike, with this kind of even more biased reply.
I'm not trying to convince anybody anything. I'm simply telling why I made the choice I made. I could have easily gone with your choice if I wanted to, but I didn't wanted (not couldn't).
And yeah, I'm not "getting hard on" watching Bond movies as well, I even don't like them.
I'm just telling that Bond colored marketing campaign helped this phone being desirable and recognisable piece of hardware, a bit more than an "usual" phone, and that's it.
Take it easy friend... SP is great device as well, I might even suggest it to my friend tonight (who's migrating from iPhone soon).
Thats all subjective reasons to choose a phone, of both of you two. its some sort of personal taste. for me mr_torture taste matches also my personal taste.
I believe noone can choose a phone just from objective point of view. because we humans and not robots
And just because a phone is generaly older piece of hardware, means nothing skojevac. Just wanne say :highfive:
If i would buy a phone with your arguments, then i also would not choose the SP, i wouldnt choose any phone with 1GB Ram.:good:
love the banana
the older, the sweeter ahahahaha
Has anyone else made the jump? And what are your thoughts on the Z1?
Been a new owner of a Z1 for the past two hours now
Lee
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk 2
gibbo82 said:
Has anyone else made the jump? And what are your thoughts on the Z1?
Been a new owner of a Z1 for the past two hours now
Lee
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My last phone was the iPhone 5. I generally love Android over iOS so on the software side of things the Z1 is a win for me. Besides me wishing the speaker was louder (which I don't mind because it is waterproof and I listen to music in the shower), this phone is the perfect Android phone to me. It is very fast so people who people that generally iPhones move more fluid than Android devices can't really make that argument with devices like the Z1, LG G2 and Galaxy Note 3 out there.
OMEiAM said:
My last phone was the iPhone 5. I generally love Android over iOS so on the software side of things the Z1 is a win for me. Besides me wishing the speaker was louder (which I don't mind because it is waterproof and I listen to music in the shower), this phone is the perfect Android phone to me. It is very fast so people who people that generally iPhones move more fluid than Android devices can't really make that argument with devices like the Z1, LG G2 and Galaxy Note 3 out there.
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Click to collapse
I swapped from iPhone 5 and agree
Will I'm not sure of the Z1 tbh. Dont get me wrong, it's a beast of a phone.
But I think prefer the simplicity of the iPhone. Not liking the long charging times. And the quick battery drain even in standby mode.
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk 4
OMEiAM said:
My last phone was the iPhone 5. I generally love Android over iOS so on the software side of things the Z1 is a win for me. Besides me wishing the speaker was louder (which I don't mind because it is waterproof and I listen to music in the shower), this phone is the perfect Android phone to me. It is very fast so people who people that generally iPhones move more fluid than Android devices can't really make that argument with devices like the Z1, LG G2 and Galaxy Note 3 out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I have no issues with the speaker! Its pretty loud IMO but the sound quality can be better!
gibbo82 said:
Will I'm not sure of the Z1 tbh. Dont get me wrong, it's a beast of a phone.
But I think prefer the simplicity of the iPhone. Not liking the long charging times. And the quick battery drain even in standby mode.
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn on Stanima mode! Its turn off Wifi and mobile data while in standby so reduces battery drain! Sony have been releasing updates that have improved battery life but none have hit the Z1 here in the UK yet except for the O2 branded phones... If you have an unlocked one, you can flash the Central Europe update which is in the general discussion section.. It won't void your warranty as it is a proper Sony ROM... Otherwise, you might have to wait 1-2 weeks!
I've just made the move from an iPhone 4, and I have to say that I'm not enjoying it much.
The phone is amazingly fast, and has lovely industrial design and construction, but the software is just dreadful (at least for the things I want).
Things I've found don't work properly are:
1) Camera is dreadful in low light, and crashes regularly when I'm using burst mode.
2) Bluetooth is fundamentally broken in several areas.
- I use the phone a lot in the car in conjunction with a Pioneer AVH-X8500BT. This is a great multimedia head unit, and has Parrot bluetooth and AppRadio features. With the iPhone, you simply pair the phone, connect the dock cable, and it just works. With the Z1, the contact book is completely messed up, as any contact that just has a company name only shows the telephone number. It's impossible to work out who you are dialling. Bluetooth audio playback is also broken with pops and breakups. You also get no track information showing on the display, which the iPhone and other Android phones I've used do.
3) AppRadio features don't work. The unit connects, and you see an image on the head unit, but can't control anything. I've spoken to Pioneer, and they claim the fault lies with Sony, but Sony aren't interested. I'm told that ARLiberator might fix this, but I'm not sure I want to drop £25 and then find it's still broken.
4) Poor battery life.
I really like Android for it's extra flexibility over iOS, but all I want is a stable software platform, and Sony just aren't delivering this on the Z1 at the moment. I'm acutally wishing I'd gone for another iPhone, as I know all of the above features just work.
I'm also really irritated that Sony haven't pushed out any updates to unbranded, unlocked handsets. I can't begin to fathom the reason when other carriers (O2, for example) are pushing out these updates.
If I was you, then I'd stick with your iPhone 5, and wait to see if Apple really change things with the iPhone 6 next year.
Bagpuss.
Sean473 said:
Personally, I have no issues with the speaker! Its pretty loud IMO but the sound quality can be better!
Turn on Stanima mode! Its turn off Wifi and mobile data while in standby so reduces battery drain! Sony have been releasing updates that have improved battery life but none have hit the Z1 here in the UK yet except for the O2 branded phones... If you have an unlocked one, you can flash the Central Europe update which is in the general discussion section.. It won't void your warranty as it is a proper Sony ROM... Otherwise, you might have to wait 1-2 weeks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't rooting break the camera?
Sent using my Sony Xperia Z1
gibbo82 said:
Doesn't rooting break the camera?
Sent using my Sony Xperia Z1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting doesn't break the camera, but unlocking the bootloader does.
Rooting the phone is a bit like jailbreaking on the iPhone. It gives you full access to the Android filesystem, and allows you to run applications that you couldn't otherwise (Titanium backup etc.).
Unlocking the bootloader allows you to install custom roms and new kernels. Doing this brings along new ROM features that Sony wouldn't deliver part of a stock ROM, such as the ability to overclock the CPU and GPU (although a new kernel is probably enough for this).