Hello guys,what's up?
Im new to the forum,and i would really appreciate it if you help me make up my mind about buying the Z1,I've been reading about it and its features,watching videos and everything but still can't make up my mind as I have never met someone who has been using it and though I don't know how it works in real life.Is it really worth it?What kind of troubles can I face while using it? and the most important question,do you guys think that it's better than the Samsung Galaxy s4? in what way?
You have no idea how much i need your help guys,I ll be so greatful !
Peace
In my opinion it is a very good phone, it has amazing performance, good battery life, beatiful and structured ui, with good light the camera performs well (whit less light only in manuall mode), in my opinion beatiful design and in case of brightness and witheness the Display is fantastic, also the viewing angles are good but not perfect
Another aspect is that Sony has a good relationship with the dev. comunity (I Think) !!!
A littlebit annoying is the sensitive screen in case of scratches, but it is not that bad with some screen protectors xD
All in all it is a good phone with much better software than the sgs 4 ,in my opinion, also the metal frame feels very nice in comparrison to sgs 4´s platic and fake metal Frame More over it is water resistant (Very nice Feature)
All in all I can recommend it to you
Lakerma said:
In my opinion it is a very good phone, it has amazing performance, good battery life, beatiful and structured ui, with good light the camera performs well (whit less light only in manuall mode), in my opinion beatiful design and in case of brightness and witheness the Display is fantastic, also the viewing angles are good but not perfect
Another aspect is that Sony has a good relationship with the dev. comunity (I Think) !!!
A littlebit annoying is the sensitive screen in case of scratches, but it is not that bad with some screen protectors xD
All in all it is a good phone with much better software than the sgs 4 ,in my opinion, also the metal frame feels very nice in comparrison to sgs 4´s platic and fake metal Frame More over it is water resistant (Very nice Feature)
All in all I can recommend it to you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply,I agree with what you said,but do you think that what Sony offers can top some of the exclusive features of the sgs4?such as the air gesture,air view,eye control and the built in barometre and thermometre? Honnestly that s what standing in my way to get the z1,thinking that i ll miss all these exclisivities from the s4 not to mention that the s4 is rated to be a lot more reparable than Sony!
I can unserstand what you are saying, but I think these features aren´t necessary !!! I know a lot people using sgs 4 and simply nobody is using most of Samsungs special features !! In addition most of them aren´t working fine so you won´t be able to use the correctly xD oreover all those fetures are using battery so you are loosing a lot of (truly it is changable) !!!
Hopfully I could help you and don´t forget to hit the ´´Thanks´´ button
Lakerma said:
I can unserstand what you are saying, but I think these features aren´t necessary !!! I know a lot people using sgs 4 and simply nobody is using most of Samsungs special features !! In addition most of them aren´t working fine so you won´t be able to use the correctly xD oreover all those fetures are using battery so you are loosing a lot of (truly it is changable) !!!
Hopfully I could help you and don´t forget to hit the ´´Thanks´´ button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah,you've been so helpful thank's a lot,and because of that i'll annoy you more with my questions XD , tell me plz about the battery,if one day it gets ruined after a long while of excessive use,how can that be fixed?
MakaMika said:
Hello guys,what's up?
Im new to the forum,and i would really appreciate it if you help me make up my mind about buying the Z1,I've been reading about it and its features,watching videos and everything but still can't make up my mind as I have never met someone who has been using it and though I don't know how it works in real life.Is it really worth it?What kind of troubles can I face while using it? and the most important question,do you guys think that it's better than the Samsung Galaxy s4? in what way?
You have no idea how much i need your help guys,I ll be so greatful !
Peace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S4 isn't a bad phone but compared to the Z1, the S4 has a slower Snapdragon 600 processor and GPU, smaller battery, poor build quality (plastic back and frame)
All depends on your Budget though,
I've had Samsung phones for over 3 years now, let me tell you that most of the Samsung features are just gimmicks. You wont even use %75 of those things in your cell, unless you want to show off in front of your Iphone friends
MakaMika said:
Yeah,you've been so helpful thank's a lot,and because of that i'll annoy you more with my questions XD , tell me plz about the battery,if one day it gets ruined after a long while of excessive use,how can that be fixed?[/QUO)
I think, but i´am not sure, you will get two years of battery warranty by Sony, but only phones with bulit in battery like the z1 !!! And I heard that modern batteries will loose only 15 % of their capacity after a bit more than 1000 times of complet charging xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
raziel123 said:
The S4 isn't a bad phone but compared to the Z1, the S4 has a slower Snapdragon 600 processor and GPU, smaller battery, poor build quality (plastic back and frame)
All depends on your Budget though,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say that the S4 is "poor build quality" just because it's made out of plastic. It's a less desirable material, but it's still selling well.
If you're getting a phone now, it would be foolish to get an S4 when its replacement is just around the corner. I wouldn't choose this phone unless you don't care about keeping up with the latest and greatest.
I would personally be stuck between the Z1, Nexus 5, and the Note 3.
Everyone knows that the Nexus 5 is the best bang for the buck. It's not a fancy phone, but it has some top-line specs at a low price point which makes this compelling to everyone.
The Note 3 is actually not much bigger physically against the Z1, but the screen size is a good .5 inches larger. You might not use the stylus as much as you think you would, but 3rd party development as well as accessory availability is much higher than any of the 3.
The Z1's selling point is the camera and body. Megapixels mean nothing, but it's got one of the best specs. Aluminum and glass body for the iPhone-like feel.
Sent from my C6906 using xda app-developers app
I prefer the Sony Xperia Z1
MakaMika said:
Hello guys,what's up?
Im new to the forum,and i would really appreciate it if you help me make up my mind about buying the Z1,I've been reading about it and its features,watching videos and everything but still can't make up my mind as I have never met someone who has been using it and though I don't know how it works in real life.Is it really worth it?What kind of troubles can I face while using it? and the most important question,do you guys think that it's better than the Samsung G
alaxy s4? in what way?
You have no idea how much i need your help guys,I ll be so greatful !
Peace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery of Xperia Z1 is so nice. I watched video with maximum voice.And I turned on the flashlight then take photos. The capacity of the z1 battery reduced slowly. The color of the photo taken by S4 is bright. But S4 was burning hot after playing games.
At the moment, the Z1 is right up there, just make sure you get a phone that is bootloader unlockable if you plan to in the future, i didn't like an idiot.
other alternatives are the note 3, LG N5 and the LG G2, all good phones and you most likely won't regret any purchases, I went with the Z1 as it's the right size for me, has a crazy camera and it's water proof, the pace of the phone is superb and it's build quality is top notch.
The choice is always yours tho m8 and it doesn't really matter what other people say, it's down to what you think in the end.
Looking back now, if i could have done it again, i might have given the note 3 another look, maybe even a glare
Forget the S4, it wasn't up to much when it came out, overheating issues, random reboots and a lot of phones simply just dying, at the time the HTC One for me anyway was the logical choice, still my favorite phone, albeit with a slightly slower processor, i'd even got as far to say that the One holds it's own with the newer batch, only problem is that when newer phones come out the One might feel dated in terms of performance.
You see I found them at almost the same price!
ruinkhan said:
I've had Samsung phones for over 3 years now, let me tell you that most of the Samsung features are just gimmicks. You wont even use %75 of those things in your cell, unless you want to show off in front of your Iphone friends
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard that these features won t be fully used and You confirmed that to me!too bad my friends are all android users,nothing to brag about
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app
Lakerma said:
MakaMika said:
Yeah,you've been so helpful thank's a lot,and because of that i'll annoy you more with my questions XD , tell me plz about the battery,if one day it gets ruined after a long while of excessive use,how can that be fixed?[/QUO)
I think, but i´am not sure, you will get two years of battery warranty by Sony, but only phones with bulit in battery like the z1 !!! And I heard that modern batteries will loose only 15 % of their capacity after a bit more than 1000 times of complet charging xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that's great!I guess it would be a legit choice after all!!thanks a lot man
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lakerma said:
MakaMika said:
Yeah,you've been so helpful thank's a lot,and because of that i'll annoy you more with my questions XD , tell me plz about the battery,if one day it gets ruined after a long while of excessive use,how can that be fixed?[/QUO)
I think, but i´am not sure, you will get two years of battery warranty by Sony, but only phones with bulit in battery like the z1 !!! And I heard that modern batteries will loose only 15 % of their capacity after a bit more than 1000 times of complet charging xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you re right,but the s5 wont be here until March maybe and would be a little expencive at the begining.
I dont quite get what you mean by saying megapixels mean nothing,do you mean that the quality of the photos taken by z1 isn't that big of a deal?
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LotoTutu said:
The battery of Xperia Z1 is so nice. I watched video with maximum voice.And I turned on the flashlight then take photos. The capacity of the z1 battery reduced slowly. The color of the photo taken by S4 is bright. But S4 was burning hot after playing games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This sounds awesome! And yes,I ve had the overheating problem with my samsung phones,it gets annoying sometimes especially when it turns itself off because of it X-(
Sent from my GT-I9003 using xda app-developers app
dladz said:
At the moment, the Z1 is right up there, just make sure you get a phone that is bootloader unlockable if you plan to in the future, i didn't like an idiot.
other alternatives are the note 3, LG N5 and the LG G2, all good phones and you most likely won't regret any purchases, I went with the Z1 as it's the right size for me, has a crazy camera and it's water proof, the pace of the phone is superb and it's build quality is top notch.
The choice is always yours tho m8 and it doesn't really matter what other people say, it's down to what you think in the end.
Looking back now, if i could have done it again, i might have given the note 3 another look, maybe even a glare
Forget the S4, it wasn't up to much when it came out, overheating issues, random reboots and a lot of phones simply just dying, at the time the HTC One for me anyway was the logical choice, still my favorite phone, albeit with a slightly slower processor, i'd even got as far to say that the One holds it's own with the newer batch, only problem is that when newer phones come out the One might feel dated in terms of performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm,Im not so sure what "bootloader unlockable" means,is it about the ability to change roms and roots and stuff? (not much into this ) but it'd be so nice of you if you explain it more.The guy at the phone store did mention something about having to unlock the phone before he could sell it,is that it?
I appreciate your help dude!
Is any off-contract (full price) Z1 bootloader-unlockable? I assume the locked-down ones are carrier-subsidized...
I would have recommended the Z1 untill Sonys half-arsed 4.3 release ballsed-up the bluetooth stack making the phone useless in my car as I cannot use it now on hands-free................................
MakaMika said:
Umm,Im not so sure what "bootloader unlockable" means,is it about the ability to change roms and roots and stuff? (not much into this ) but it'd be so nice of you if you explain it more.The guy at the phone store did mention something about having to unlock the phone before he could sell it,is that it?
I appreciate your help dude!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guy at the store shouldn't really have to do anything with the phone to sell it, especially unlocking it. ?
Unlocking the bootloader gives you a bit more freedom to do what you want with the phone, so if you were to root it (BL unlock isn't required for root) and then you wanted to install a rom like Paranoid android or Cyanogen mod or any rom that requires a custom kernel then you will need to have the ability to unlock the handset, I personally can't unlock mine cos I stupidly went with a provider directly, also bare in mind that the bootloader unlock or not isn't anything to do with the sim being locked, they're not related.
If you have no plans to unlock the bootloader then i'm sure you'll love the Z1, i've had literally no problems with mine, everything is fast and stable (bar the odd random reboot which happens once a week if that) i'm still running 4.2 and it suits me quite well, I am rooted and I have exactly the right amount of mods installed that I would want from any other phone, also the pace of the phone is blistering so i don't really have a need to install custom kernels anyway and the CM based rom's are good but I never really stick with them for very long anyway, so not a deal breaker for me.
Just so you know, unlocking the bootloader will most likely void your warranty so be aware before you commit, rooting is reversible and won't touch your warranty, unless you send it to them rooted, just flash an FTF to revert back to normal.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:32 PM ----------
nalab1 said:
I would have recommended the Z1 untill Sonys half-arsed 4.3 release ballsed-up the bluetooth stack making the phone useless in my car as I cannot use it now on hands-free................................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.4 will be in the post m8, and it'll address the BT issues i imagine.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:49 PM ----------
Ghengis042 said:
Is any off-contract (full price) Z1 bootloader-unlockable? I assume the locked-down ones are carrier-subsidized...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all carriers disallow the unlock.
Related
I am stuck between Incredible S and Xperia Neo cant decide which one should i buy, i am switching from Samsung Wave and want to try Android, phone should be durable good camera good battery and should be fast enough to play games on it, i really like the customization on HTC but HDMI and camera is good on Neo.
Kindly suggest me which one should i get ?
It's got to be the IS, Sony phones feel so plastic and cheap when you use them, even the screens feel like they're made of plastic, i know the back of the IS is plastic but that's it, at least it feels solid when you hold it.
You can customise the UI to almost anything, it never lags, it's very fast for browsing and it's light, it's a freaking awesome phone
Thanks for the reply, can you use LED Flash with video on IS ?
Yes you can!
Thanks a lot for the replies, am sure getting IS.
Xperia Neo is S-OFF with unlocked bootloader. IS isn't.
If I were you, I will get SE Xperia Neo instead. HTC is crab with this bootloader locked. You can't do much with this crab.
I regret getting this IS which I am not able to change ROM. Furthermore, you will get bored with this HTC Sense crab. Nothing much.
Also, IS phone signal is very weak. I always have signal drop till no network. I have Moto Milestone compare side by side, MM never has this problem. Same provider, network but this IS is ****.
I really can't beloved the amount of people who are slagging off the IS because it can't be unlocked yet.
DON'T BUY A PHONE EXPECTING THE DEV SCENE TO BE HUGE
The IS is a great phone, and if custom ROM's are the be all and end all for you then its your own fault for not doing research before buying it. The are far, far to many people round here with an expectation that fantastic ROM's and exploits just appear out of thin air, the people that produce them work very hard, and don't owe you anything.
Why don't you do some research and try and help, rather than just twiddling your thumbs and moaning until it happens?
Back on topic, I haven't used the Neo so I can't compare the two two, but it is unlikely to be a huge seller so you probably wont find a huge amount of work for it, even if it is unlocked. I love the IS and have no complaints about the hardware at all, but I must admit the arc is sexy and they do run similar software.
The only thing oi would say is if you want durability with the IS, get a case. The phone is a little fragile against drops without one
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
The IS is a great phone definitely get a case for it I have an OtterBox for mine works awesome. As l0st.prophet said you should have done the research before buying it I work at Virgin Mobile and I knew before buying it with my 30% discount that it couldn't be rooted yet but that time will come. The xperia neo i wont think will have a big following go for the arc or play if u want a sony device.
Otherwise stick with the IS great phone takes amazing pictures and is pretty damn fast specially compared to my Blackberry 9780. Only issue i have is the radio seems week and I don't get as good as a signal with it as I did with my Blackberry 9780.
l0st.prophet said:
I really can't beloved the amount of people who are slagging off the IS because it can't be unlocked yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because some people are only happy when they're complaining, if they could install another ROM they only come on here to ***** about how their wifi don't work, they can't take pictures properly, etc, etc, etc ,etc
Is this ROMs/Bootloader thing really necessary to have ? I mean the factory ROMS arnt worth it or what, does it have bugs ? Does it Lags ?
SGSII was my first choice but it is very expensive and isnt durable at all plastic body and very thin, i like SLCD on IS much better screen, speed, camera, battery, durability, games, thats all i want on a phone and i guess IS has it all, doesnt matter to me if it is locked on unlocked as it will be my first time with Android i dont have any idea about these things.
Arc is also expensive, IS and Neo are the only mobile phones (i guess) in this price range which are rich in features.
I will be getting the Neo. Camera and esspecially video is much better and of course HDMI out port is awesome. I dont like capacitive buttons (esspecially if their lightning is crappy).
xperia is way better
neo is just awesome i have it !!!!!!!!
my dad has the is its good but neo nails the **** out of it
l0st.prophet said:
I really can't beloved the amount of people who are slagging off the IS because it can't be unlocked yet.
DON'T BUY A PHONE EXPECTING THE DEV SCENE TO BE HUGE
The IS is a great phone, and if custom ROM's are the be all and end all for you then its your own fault for not doing research before buying it. The are far, far to many people round here with an expectation that fantastic ROM's and exploits just appear out of thin air, the people that produce them work very hard, and don't owe you anything.
Why don't you do some research and try and help, rather than just twiddling your thumbs and moaning until it happens?
Back on topic, I haven't used the Neo so I can't compare the two two, but it is unlikely to be a huge seller so you probably wont find a huge amount of work for it, even if it is unlocked. I love the IS and have no complaints about the hardware at all, but I must admit the arc is sexy and they do run similar software.
The only thing oi would say is if you want durability with the IS, get a case. The phone is a little fragile against drops without one
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you but consider this - MOST of us want to help, but don't have the skills to actually provide any help. We all are impatiently waiting to get ROOT, flash ROMs and KERNELs, that we forget that it's not easy to find exploits, especially when a company like HTC spent so much money on creating the flag in the first place. (PS - What's the status on the exploit???)
Now, about the phones - the bootloader is the ONLY ONE FEATURE IN NEO, and that doesn't mean squat unless you wanna root, which I'm pretty sure you won't be doing, whereas the IS has a gr8 body, HTC Sense(which beats the crap outta sony's UI), and loads of other stuff. GET THAT FOR SURE !!!!!!!!
What about the samsung infuse
I would personally stay away from all Sony Xperia series phones. I own an Arc and can't stand the way it handles memory. They all look good spec wise. Unfortunately they don't live up to expectations (at least in my opinion). I have 2 Incredible S and they perform way better. If you don't like SenseUI, you can just use a custom rom.
Getting really bored of my Samsung Galaxy S4 and am looking towards the HTC ONE.
What do you guys reckon?
Whats the battery life and camera like?
Does the metal body chip or bend or damage easily?
I also switched mate. S4 is nice but the One is even nicer.
The quality and design feel alot more premium than the S4's design and the screen is absolutely gorgeous.
Super LCD 3 is waay better then S amoled in my opinion.
Be sure to convert it to Google edition
Just do it, you wont regret
I had the s4 it was the worst phone I ever touched. From lag to cheap plastic to unoptimized software and Samsung using half of the storage I couldn't deal with it. Switched to an HTC one and never looked back and I am on att.
winwiz said:
Getting really bored of my Samsung Galaxy S4 and am looking towards the HTC ONE.
What do you guys reckon?
Whats the battery life and camera like?
Does the metal body chip or bend or damage easily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is slightly less than S4. The edges will chip with rough use but the metal doesn't bend. You'll feel a performance drop [reduced framerate] when playing graphic intensive games like MC4. S4 is smoother with such games. Again, ever so slightly, but noticeable nevertheless. However, overall smoothness HTC>S4. Camera... it really depends. Check out some of the camera reviews here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2167592. HTC One screen >>> S4. If you're coming from the 16GB S4, you should enjoy the 32GB of space.
And oh oh Boomsound! You should hear the speakers on this thing man. They're on a different level... just amazing!
My verdict... wait for the HTC One Max.
Didnt samsung fix the lag in there latest update? Anyways this phone feels more high end all around, hardware and software wise and also things like the tv remote seem to work better and have cleaner interface
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Thanks guys
Main thing that concerns me is the camera
I've seen samples and the S4 is much better - is this really the case for those who have switched?
Also, I can root the S4 in seconds, is it the same with the HTC?
Go to a shop and try the One M7 in your hands and see how you feel, i bought an One M7 over the G4 for the stereo speakers for when i watch a movie and it is glorious, and the screen is so good amazing detail, but i would still like an S4 if i had the money :laugh:
John.
winwiz said:
Thanks guys
Main thing that concerns me is the camera
I've seen samples and the S4 is much better - is this really the case for those who have switched?
Also, I can root the S4 in seconds, is it the same with the HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is very easy ..just unlock bootloader through HTC dev then flasha a custom recovery...simple as that takes three mins...then you probably want to do s off
a box of kittens said:
Rooting is very easy ..just unlock bootloader through HTC dev then flasha a custom recovery...simple as that takes three mins...then you probably want to do s off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlock-able during S-off process. No need to unlock via HTC dev =D
winwiz said:
Thanks guys
Main thing that concerns me is the camera
I've seen samples and the S4 is much better - is this really the case for those who have switched?
Also, I can root the S4 in seconds, is it the same with the HTC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My honest opinion on the HTC camera,,, with Sense its great in low light, but its nowhere near as good as the 8mp shooter on my missus iPhone on regular old daylight pics, id even say my old Samsung Droid Charge took better pictures..... and once i went Google edition i think its worse again, kinda grainy, why not just convert your S4 into a Google Edition, im seriously thinking about going down that route, camera has been a bit of a letdown for me on the One
winwiz said:
Getting really bored of my Samsung Galaxy S4 and am looking towards the HTC ONE.
What do you guys reckon?
Whats the battery life and camera like?
Does the metal body chip or bend or damage easily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what do u think the answers are going to be in a htc one forum?
its like asking is iphone good or bad in a mac forum.
sometimes logic will give you more answers then you think you can get.
jags_the1 said:
what do u think the answers are going to be in a htc one forum?
its like asking is iphone good or bad in a mac forum.
sometimes logic will give you more answers then you think you can get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually if you read the comments, they are very balanced.
I'll try and play with one at a store to make my mind up.
The max and Note 3 are too big!
winwiz said:
actually if you read the comments, they are very balanced.
I'll try and play with one at a store to make my mind up.
The max and Note 3 are too big!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are plenty of sites comparing them both. they will give you much balanced review. and no most of them never gave you a balanced view. just 2 of them did .
The camera, in my opinion, is just fine for 99% of typical usage. If you're gonna print out copies, the One will not be as good... but if you just keep them on your phone to share, text them to other people, or upload them to social media sites, the camera is more than sufficient. The low light performance is a plus as well.
Battery life is pretty damn good in my opinion. I haven't done anything to optimize my battery life, and it lasts me a whole day of medium usage. With some tweaking, people are seeing 5 to 6 hours of screen on time. If you use your phone more than that in a day, it's likely you're in need of a new job or hobby, haha.
Hardware is simply untouchable. The screen is beautiful and converted me from a huge loyalty to Samsung amoled screens. The body of the phone is gorgeous and feels awesome in the hand. The dual front speakers are not just hype... they are truly astounding.
Software was a nice surprise for me. I've always hated Sense, and thought it made phones ugly and sluggish. Sense 5 is neither. Though I use Apex launcher, HTC really impressed me with their refinements of Sense. Like others have said, the phone flies through pretty much everything except intensive gaming.
Overall, in my book, HTC won this round of flagships. They won't sell as many, but it really is a much better phone.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Here's the skinny...
If you are shooting in anything but optimal light get the One. I have been amazed at the quality level with no noise. Sunny day shooting looks great as well but it does have the slightest bit Lower quality compared to the S4
Ex - incandescent lighting in a home, cloudy skies, restaurant......
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
trade
winwiz said:
Getting really bored of my Samsung Galaxy S4 and am looking towards the HTC ONE.
What do you guys reckon?
Whats the battery life and camera like?
Does the metal body chip or bend or damage easily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you happen to live in the US and also happen to have a T-Mobile S4, I will trade with you. Mine is 9.5/10 condition wise. Only reason I don't give it a full 10 is because I've used it. 10/10 for me would be unused.
Anyway, if you want to swap, PM me. It would have to be a T-Mobile S4, though.
winwiz said:
Getting really bored of my Samsung Galaxy S4 and am looking towards the HTC ONE.
What do you guys reckon?
Whats the battery life and camera like?
Does the metal body chip or bend or damage easily?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are very different phones in a lot of ways, so there is no one answer as to which is "best". It depends on what you use it for and how you use it.
I went with the One because I liked the look and feel much more. I just don't like plastic phones anymore. Playing with them side by side, I just found the One smoother and faster.
My phone is heavily optimized, but I have no trouble going 36 hours without a charge.
The camera issue is quite polarizing. It depends a great deal on what you use your phone for. If you take photos mostly for texting and social media, the One is superior because of it's better performance across all conditions. If you use it as a replacement for a point-and-shoot camera, or expect to be able to blow up/crop the shots, the 13MP camera on the S4 is a better choice.
This is a very tough phone. I haven't bothered with a case or screen protector, and it still looks out-of-the-box new. My screen does not have a single scratch. CNET threw their test unit out of a moving bus and it survived with no more than a ding on the corner.
You may be able to root the S4 faster, but the locked bootloader on some models has inhibited development. Development on the One could not be more robust--some rom threads see 200-300 posts a day.
So, as an owner of the HTC One i'l give you a honest thought.
FIRST OF ALL - I don't know how much money you have to spend and I'm not going to get into your life, but if I was in your situation I wouldn't recommend buying the HTC One if you have the S4. It doesn't even matter if the One is a bit smoother and has an aluminium body over the s4's plastic body, at the end of the day they are both top android phones with similar specifications. I moved from the old Galaxy S1 to the HTC One, Now its just amazing how different they are I cant even explain, the HTC One is probably the best phone I've seen out there, but at the end of the day? they are just similar, running the same OS and they both are used the same.
So After giving you my opinion let me tell you this:
1. First, the HTC One is definitely the smoothest android phone I've ever seen - including the Galaxy S4. and By the way the phone runs MC4 and whatever game you pick smoothly.
2. the HTC One has the best screen I've seen, comparing to the Iphone 5, the Galaxy S4 and others - its absolutely beautiful and stunning. Moving from the S1 was a shock to me.
3. The camera is pretty good, it has nice pics though I think I would pick the S4's camera - to me its not a big deal.
4. I know its all about opinions, but the HTC one is just the most beautiful phone ever, People see it and stay with their jaws down. The thing is I might be a bit paranoid, of course after paying alot for it, I cant go commando with it so I've put a protector that should protect it the best, so I cant see how nice it looks.
5. Speakers are just crazy, but seriously, who doesn't use their headphones? and If I've talked about the headphones already I must say that the headphones that come with the One sounds amazing using the phone!!!! I never thought that I could hear so good with the phone/heads.
6. Battery Life - I must say that the battery life is amazing for me!! I'm not a heavy user at all, but my Locations and 3G/wifi are on all day long I use facebook, play some games, whatsapp, Internet, waze and the battery won't end! I usually charge the phone every second day.
So after pointing all these out, the htc one is pretty amazing and its stunning, but If I were in your situation I would keep the money and stay with the S4.
Good Luck,
Thanks guys
I'll have to have a play with one to compare
Waiting for 64 GB version of HTC One. Planing to move from GS4.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app
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
Hello Z1 users...
I've been recently searching about this phone as I am about to buy it...
I still can't gather all the pros and cons of the phone so I can make a conclusion
whether should or should I not buy it...
I've been reading reviews but my experience says that user comments are better than reviews...
I would really love if you could type some pros and cons of this phone.
Thank you very much
Depends on which Z1 you will have as each Xperia Z1 could have individual problems. Some people including me report about heat issues that are still not solved even after the update. Just make sure that you get a problem free unit :laugh:
UltraWelfare said:
Hello Z1 users...
I've been recently searching about this phone as I am about to buy it...
I still can't gather all the pros and cons of the phone so I can make a conclusion
whether should or should I not buy it...
I've been reading reviews but my experience says that user comments are better than reviews...
I would really love if you could type some pros and cons of this phone.
Thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as GSM arena is concerned the user reviews are better than the critics, personally i've found the Z1 to be a rock solid phone and a good performer, being water proof and having a beast of a camera aren't bad additions either.
Only thing i would be concerned with buying the phone now is that there are newer phones which if given the choice i would prefer to go for, the Z2 if you wanted to go with Sony, the Z3 isn't far from being released, the LG G3, HTC M8, Galaxy S5, all have superior hardware compared to the Z1, difference isn't as big as lets say coming from an Xperia T to the Z1 but it's a difference i wouldn't ignore if i was going to commit to spending a few hundred pounds on a phone.
That being said I'm sure you'll like the Z1, rooting is easy,reverting to stock is easy, the rom's are good (not as much choice as Samsung and HTC but there are some great dev's here)
If i were you I would go to a store and have a try at it, see some of the offerings in the flesh and make your mind up that way, there are also a lot of similar threads on this forum about whether or not the Z1 is a good phone too so have a search too.
I can't make sure that I will get a free-problem unit but I hope for it .
If you could address some issues of the phone and some features of it I would be glad to hear'em
dladz said:
As far as GSM arena is concerned the user reviews are better than the critics, personally i've found the Z1 to be a rock solid phone and a good performer, being water proof and having a beast of a camera aren't bad additions either.
Only thing i would be concerned with buying the phone now is that there are newer phones which if given the choice i would prefer to go for, the Z2 if you wanted to go with Sony, the Z3 isn't far from being released, the LG G3, HTC M8, Galaxy S5, all have superior hardware compared to the Z1, difference isn't as big as lets say coming from an Xperia T to the Z1 but it's a difference i wouldn't ignore if i was going to commit to spending a few hundred pounds on a phone.
That being said I'm sure you'll like the Z1, rooting is easy,reverting to stock is easy, the rom's are good (not as much choice as Samsung and HTC but there are some great dev's here)
If i were you I would go to a store and have a try at it, see some of the offerings in the flesh and make your mind up that way, there are also a lot of similar threads on this forum about whether or not the Z1 is a good phone too so have a search too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have some restrictions with buying phones and the price in my country is fairly good...
I am 90% more on the Xperia Z1 but first I want some user reviews.
I had Xperia SP and it died before some days and before I bought it I read awesome reviews
But after buying it and seeing user reviews I saw a not-that-good phone :/...
Thank you very much
UltraWelfare said:
I have some restrictions with buying phones and the price in my country is fairly good...
I am 90% more on the Xperia Z1 but first I want some user reviews.
I had Xperia SP and it died before some days and before I bought it I read awesome reviews
But after buying it and seeing user reviews I saw a not-that-good phone :/...
Thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry m8, i've not got any time to write a review, if you can be specific then i can try to answer some questions, there are tonnes of reviews for this phone on XDA.
dladz said:
Sorry m8, i've not got any time to write a review, if you can be specific then i can try to answer some questions, there are tonnes of reviews for this phone on XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't asking for a big review...I was asking to write something like [Battery life is fairly OK, Performance is the best] or something like that...
Small comments on each part of the phone (Performance, battery, bugs etc.)...
Issues i've had are, the vibration has gone a bit rattley on my handset (disabled vibration on touch to fix) the odd random reboot, nothing to write home about, and the camera can appear a little grainy at times.
Like i said it's a great phone.
dladz said:
Issues i've had are, the vibration has gone a bit rattley on my handset (disabled vibration on touch to fix) the odd random reboot, nothing to write home about, and the camera can appear a little grainy at times.
Like i said it's a great phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much ...I don't care a lot about the camera but again thank you sir.
I did have a Z1 but the phone gave the now infamous touch screen issue.
Just type in Google, "Z1 touch screen issue" and read what people have experienced
Even a complete replacement of the display and touch screen didn't fix it.
The phone is great, but the screen is the most important thing on the phone and what use is it if it doesn't work like it should?
You can try and get one, but that issue is a serious one!
Get one at your own risk. I'm getting a One M8.
D395267 said:
I did have a Z1 but the phone gave the now infamous touch screen issue.
Just type in Google, "Z1 touch screen issue" and read what people have experienced
Even a complete replacement of the display and touch screen didn't fix it.
The phone is great, but the screen is the most important thing on the phone and what use is it if it doesn't work like it should?
You can try and get one, but that issue is a serious one!
Get one at your own risk. I'm getting a One M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw the specific issue but it might be due to a contact with a magnet or something like that.
Also all the videos are outdated and before the kitkat update...I think SONY fixed it on 4.4 update.
The screen and the speakers are the biggest drawbacks.
Speakers are terrible and the screen washes out very badly even if you tilt it just slightly.
UltraWelfare said:
Thank you very much ...I don't care a lot about the camera but again thank you sir.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No probs m8
---------- Post added at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 AM ----------
D395267 said:
I did have a Z1 but the phone gave the now infamous touch screen issue.
Just type in Google, "Z1 touch screen issue" and read what people have experienced
Even a complete replacement of the display and touch screen didn't fix it.
The phone is great, but the screen is the most important thing on the phone and what use is it if it doesn't work like it should?
You can try and get one, but that issue is a serious one!
Get one at your own risk. I'm getting a One M8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually completely forgot about the touchscreen issue, I did have that but it appears to have completely gone away now, updates seem to have helped me. I know some people weren't as lucky as me.
M8 is a good phone by the way, think a bit too much time has passed for me to be getting one though, think i might sit this contract out, something i've never done before.
The Z1 is a beautiful phone. Its large, its fast and its durable. I wouldnt trade it for any other phone including a Samsung. The only issue is that it heats up on demanding ups, but thats what you get when you enclosed a modern beast in a tight environment with no modern-day ventilation (not possible on smartphones anyway).
The differences with the Z2 are minimal, certainly not justifying the premium.
Anyway the current hardware is way ahead of the current software's recommended specifications.
dladz said:
No probs m8
---------- Post added at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 AM ----------
Actually completely forgot about the touchscreen issue, I did have that but it appears to have completely gone away now, updates seem to have helped me. I know some people weren't as lucky as me.
M8 is a good phone by the way, think a bit too much time has passed for me to be getting one though, think i might sit this contract out, something i've never done before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there might be a chance of getting a phone with the touchscreen issue?
I might have to rethink this then :/
UltraWelfare said:
So there might be a chance of getting a phone with the touchscreen issue?
I might have to rethink this then :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's chance m8, but then you take that chance with any phone you buy, if it's brand new, just test it in the shop and if it's present it'll show it's ugly head, problem occurs when you make a persistent connection with the screen and that connection is broke and then restarted, imagine a perfect line down the screen, you don't break contact but the line it split in parts due to this issue.
I myself have had two, the first one i killed by flashing a TA partition, literally dead phone but that didn't have the touchscreen issue, the 2nd one has had it but it went away.
All phones have their problems m8.
Even if the product you buy proves to be defective, you take it back and have it replaced. Pardon me but we all are grown ups with at least average IQ, right?
in my opinion, the z1 is a very solid phone. might be outdated with the z2 and the now rumored z3, but still a very good performer.
Battery = excellent. I love the battery on this phone. With regular usage, I get to 2. 5 days to 3.5 days with about 5 - 6 hrs screen on time. Haven't had a problem with the battery.
Processor = not the latest but still very capable of performing tasks that newer processors can.
Screen = honestly, people say its horrible, but it isn't like that. It is actually pretty good. I don't care about viewing angles. Its an advantage for me, it keeps the people with naughty eyes from seeing the things I am doing clearly
Speaker = could have been better. It is decent but can never outperform devices of its price range before.
Camera = awesome. just amazing. sometimes can give you grainy pictures indoors, but it is capable of getting some awesome pictures.
Perks = well, being water proof or water resistant is enjoyable. not a gimick for me. I use it. wash my phone weekly. lol. also the feel in hand is very satisfactory. the cold aluminum plus the weight of the device is good.
My personal feelings on the handset...
The Pros
It is a well rounded and well made handset that sits nicely in the hand
The camera is amazing if you can work out how to use it properly
Magnetic docking that actually works means you don't have to mess around with wires
Sony Support is pretty good
It is very fast (ignore the 'outdated' processor as it works fine)
Sony's little tweaks to Android on the handset mean it doesn't really need rooting at all
SD card support (something not all flagships offer)
Easy to root
Battery is pretty good if Stamina mode is on and the Snapdragon app is installed
The screen is simply stunning (never had a touchscreen issue or noticed it washout)
Charges reasonably quickly
It's resilient, I've dropped my second handset a fair few times and nothing is wrong yet (cracked screen on my first one)
The cons
The handset gets HOT...
The flaps eventually wear out and fall off
It reboots randomly, when it doesn't it tends to warrant a reboot anyway as it becomes laggy
Heavy use such as gaming absolutely rinses the battery
WiFi is sensitive, it doesn't always connect properly
Kirkymole said:
My personal feelings on the handset...
The Pros
It is a well rounded and well made handset that sits nicely in the hand
The camera is amazing if you can work out how to use it properly
Magnetic docking that actually works means you don't have to mess around with wires
Sony Support is pretty good
It is very fast (ignore the 'outdated' processor as it works fine)
Sony's little tweaks to Android on the handset mean it doesn't really need rooting at all
SD card support (something not all flagships offer)
Easy to root
Battery is pretty good if Stamina mode is on and the Snapdragon app is installed
The screen is simply stunning (never had a touchscreen issue or noticed it washout)
Charges reasonably quickly
It's resilient, I've dropped my second handset a fair few times and nothing is wrong yet (cracked screen on my first one)
The cons
The handset gets HOT...
The flaps eventually wear out and fall off
It reboots randomly, when it doesn't it tends to warrant a reboot anyway as it becomes laggy
Heavy use such as gaming absolutely rinses the battery
WiFi is sensitive, it doesn't always connect properly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much..
I won't use it for heavy gaming and my previous phone had problems with CPU overheat so I'm OK with it ...
Random reboots can be fixed by clearing the cache I think ...
Hey guys I'm about to buy a refurbished Xperia Z from Amazon, but I'd like you guys to give me some advice. Do you recommend me? My main concerns are battery, display(they say blacks are grayish), camera and sound. I come from a galaxy s3 and lumia 640 XL(maybe someone has/had one of these smartphones and could give me some thoughts). I suppose the performance is great. I also noticed the device has some pretty good community and development(which the s3 lacks a bit)-which is also very important to me... am I right? Also, how does AOSP-based lollipop(may I dare and also say marshmallow ) run on it? Sorry guys for too many questions and also sorry for my english.
Best regards!!
What can I say...
FIRST- if you're buying it for $100 or less maybe it is till a good deal, otherwise maybe it is better to see at other low-to-mid-range
SECOND- yes, the performance is good, even better with lollipop, screen looks better now (maybe sonybravia got better, maybe because lollipop has more white in it and the white is being displayed better), but anyway you have to UNDERCLOCK it in order to get a decent battery life
THIRD- battery life is very disappointing, you HAVE to underclock it and root it and greenify it to get any good battery life, unless you can charge it every 12 hours
FOURTH - the device is getting older and so the interest in this device (im talking about support from devs)
FIFTH - the phone gets hot, like really really hot when you're using it playing games (unless you underclock it), and since the back cover is only a adhesive line, when it gets hotter with the help off the Nfc antenna (which is set to push against the backcover) the backcover gets up and looses its waterproofness
SIX- the flaps - the damn flaps- they're everywhere - and you need to open them every-time you charge the phone, put on the headphones, remove the sim, remove the microSD, and they tend to get loose with time especially the one of the charger since you need to charge it frequently
NOW... that I told you about it downsides, its not a bad phone nowdays, it has a big and very beautiful display, connectivity is like the best i've ever tried, performance is pretty good (cpu + gpu ), camera performs really well - especially in macro, dev support for now is good.
Overall for someone who has it I think it can take another one or two years, but I personally would not buy it unless I find it for cheap or cannot buy a used phone. Personally I would look into a HTC M8 or a LG G3, maybe even used.
You decide
aaronkatrini said:
What can I say...
FIRST- if you're buying it for $100 or less maybe it is till a good deal, otherwise maybe it is better to see at other low-to-mid-range
SECOND- yes, the performance is good, even better with lollipop, screen looks better now (maybe sonybravia got better, maybe because lollipop has more white in it and the white is being displayed better), but anyway you have to UNDERCLOCK it in order to get a decent battery life
THIRD- battery life is very disappointing, you HAVE to underclock it and root it and greenify it to get any good battery life, unless you can charge it every 12 hours
FOURTH - the device is getting older and so the interest in this device (im talking about support from devs)
FIFTH - the phone gets hot, like really really hot when you're using it playing games (unless you underclock it), and since the back cover is only a adhesive line, when it gets hotter with the help off the Nfc antenna (which is set to push against the backcover) the backcover gets up and looses its waterproofness
SIX- the flaps - the damn flaps- they're everywhere - and you need to open them every-time you charge the phone, put on the headphones, remove the sim, remove the microSD, and they tend to get loose with time especially the one of the charger since you need to charge it frequently
NOW... that I told you about it downsides, its not a bad phone nowdays, it has a big and very beautiful display, connectivity is like the best i've ever tried, performance is pretty good (cpu + gpu ), camera performs really well - especially in macro, dev support for now is good.
Overall for someone who has it I think it can take another one or two years, but I personally would not buy it unless I find it for cheap or cannot buy a used phone. Personally I would look into a HTC M8 or a LG G3, maybe even used.
You decide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your elaborated answer You really made me think about it.
FIRST- it costs me about $160(in a very good condition) and I really can't pay any more than this for a smartphone. It's actually a pretty good deal for what it normally costs in my country. If you/somebody could recommend me a better phone for this price point(taking into consideration the development community)...
SECOND- good to know.
THIRD- well I have to say it sounds dissapointing. Underclocking...doesn't sound that good to me... although I'd have no problem using greenify. 12 hours with 4g on? What's the usage?(heavy...moderate...)
FOURTH- this is the first thing I look when looking for an android device. If it doesn't allow custom ROMs and doesn't have a decent community behind then I don't buy it.
FIFTH- the "gettin really hot" thing sounds also really dissapointin. I'm not a heavy gamer but I do like to play graphic-intensive games from time to time. So is it really that annoing? About the waterproofness... really not important to me.
SIX- pretty annoing huh? Especially the headphones thing. What if you cut them out? You think there'd be any inconvenience on doing this aside from loosing the waterproof thing(and design of course)?
Well... so yeah some bad news for me here. But I can't find a decent phone wich also has community behind for this price. And another which makes me go for it are the 2GB of RAM.
So I wait for some other answers too guys
Also read my first post's EDIT.
Buying today XZ is stupid... seriously.
When I bought my XZ price of Z1compact was almost the same and it still is, its 20$-30$ difference for most of time(New XZ cost about 180$ z1c 200$)
And for that price you can buy WAY better phones, starting from Galaxy S4 to LG G series. And you want to stick to Sony you can get even z1 or used z2
As far as I love this phone I would not recommend it to anyone, battery is below average, camera is worst than my old Arc S, and those cover flaps are pain in the A##
This is best example of phone that look good, but those small bugs in everyday usage make it annoying to use...
And yes I still use it :] Because after using new phones... I found out that most of them are the same: average battery, and looots of small bugs that make them annoying after some time. So I decide to change phones once per 3-4 years...
Info
For that price NO! Performance with LP is good, camera not so good even with LP. Didnt have issues with overheating, connectivity is good. Screen and colors looks pretty nice for me.
MultiPDev said:
Thank you so much for your elaborated answer You really made me think about it.
FIRST- it costs me about $160(in a very good condition) and I really can't pay any more than this for a smartphone. It's actually a pretty good deal for what it normally costs in my country. If you/somebody could recommend me a better phone for this price point(taking into consideration the development community)...
SECOND- good to know.
THIRD- well I have to say it sounds dissapointing. Underclocking...doesn't sound that good to me... although I'd have no problem using greenify. 12 hours with 4g on? What's the usage?(heavy...moderate...)
FOURTH- this is the first thing I look when looking for an android device. If it doesn't allow custom ROMs and doesn't have a decent community behind then I don't buy it.
FIFTH- the "gettin really hot" thing sounds also really dissapointin. I'm not a heavy gamer but I do like to play graphic-intensive games from time to time. So is it really that annoing? About the waterproofness... really not important to me.
SIX- pretty annoing huh? Especially the headphones thing. What if you cut them out? You think there'd be any inconvenience on doing this aside from loosing the waterproof thing(and design of course)?
Well... so yeah some bad news for me here. But I can't find a decent phone wich also has community behind for this price. And another which makes me go for it are the 2GB of RAM.
So I wait for some other answers too guys
Also read my first post's EDIT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well,
ONE - if you want a phone with good Dev community support and with that budget you'll have to take a look at ex-flagship devices, like HTC One M7 (this one remains IMHO one of the best devices ever), LG G2(very good camera from what I've been told, and powerful cpu), Samsung Galaxy S4(well because it is a Samsung and everybody has one so many developers...)
THREE - Underclock means you lower the frequency of the Cpu (example. it goes from 1.5 Ghz quad-core to 1.1 Ghz quad-core), I like more uncerclock than greenify, and underclocking at 1.1 Ghz in my opinion gives the best performance/battery life/heat ratio. Usage is normal, 1 hour browsing; 1 hour listening to songs (in 3g, even when 4g is available I disable it); 1 hour 9gag and gets at evening with 30-35%...
FOUR - many custom roms for now, and quality is really good, im using currently the 5.1.1 modified and runs pretty good.
FIVE- when you underclock (which I recommend!) you give your device better battery life but also it heats less. If you don't mind the waterproofness then it's better because I wouldn't call Waterproof a really thin bezel of adhesive (They're crazy !!!)
SIX- yeah, they're annoying but anyway you can live with that, and design is really good and would be a shame if you removed them.
So my list woud be;
1.Htc One m7
2.Lg g2
3.Samsung S4 or Xperia Z
(and btw where do you live? maybe i can see smth for you)
icrunchbanger said:
For that price NO! Performance with LP is good, camera not so good even with LP. Didnt have issues with overheating, connectivity is good. Screen and colors looks pretty nice for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it seems the camera is not that good as I thought. Do you think moto g 2/3 has better camera? Although they only have 1GB or RAM.
MultiPDev said:
Well it seems the camera is not that good as I thought. Do you think moto g 2/3 has better camera? Although they only have 1GB or RAM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an XZ owner i would definitely recommend you to go with Moto G2/3. Beside better camera there will be MM support for both the 2gen and 3gen Moto, while not for XZ.
aaronkatrini said:
Well,
ONE - if you want a phone with good Dev community support and with that budget you'll have to take a look at ex-flagship devices, like HTC One M7 (this one remains IMHO one of the best devices ever), LG G2(very good camera from what I've been told, and powerful cpu), Samsung Galaxy S4(well because it is a Samsung and everybody has one so many developers...)
THREE - Underclock means you lower the frequency of the Cpu (example. it goes from 1.5 Ghz quad-core to 1.1 Ghz quad-core), I like more uncerclock than greenify, and underclocking at 1.1 Ghz in my opinion gives the best performance/battery life/heat ratio. Usage is normal, 1 hour browsing; 1 hour listening to songs (in 3g, even when 4g is available I disable it); 1 hour 9gag and gets at evening with 30-35%...
FOUR - many custom roms for now, and quality is really good, im using currently the 5.1.1 modified and runs pretty good.
FIVE- when you underclock (which I recommend!) you give your device better battery life but also it heats less. If you don't mind the waterproofness then it's better because I wouldn't call Waterproof a really thin bezel of adhesive (They're crazy !!!)
SIX- yeah, they're annoying but anyway you can live with that, and design is really good and would be a shame if you removed them.
So my list woud be;
1.Htc One m7
2.Lg g2
3.Samsung S4 or Xperia Z
(and btw where do you live? maybe i can see smth for you)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems the decision is getting harder and harder, although I already bought it because I don't wanna loose the deal. It's not available anymore at this price after buying it. I'm waiting for it to arrive in about two days I'll test it and if it doesn't satisfy me I'll return it.
ONE - Those devices are about $50 more expensive.
THREE - Maybe underclock could do the job, but will it still run smooth at lets say 1.2ghz? Anyway I think for the usage you described the battery doesn't sound that bad.
FOUR - Yeah, I'm looking at the hacking section and I'm stunned
FIVE - well, I'll happily underclock it if it doesn't affect performance too much. Maybe setting to the normal clock when gaming. And for the waterproofness thing... I'm shocked Anyway... I don't mind.
SIX - I guess...
From those devices you mentioned the only one I can afford is the Xperia Z. I really can't pay more than that for a device.
So, do you think I should buy a low end device from this or last year like the moto g 2014? I'm scared of the 1GB of RAM.
I live in Spain and price is a bit high here in Europe. I can buy from Amazon.es/fr/de/it... but I think I only have two options: buy a low-end device with no support from community or an exflagship device with support like the Xperia Z. I also think having 2GB of RAM is important right? I can't spend more than 150€/$160... ad I guess I'm asking too much from a device for this price. I really appreciate your help.
icrunchbanger said:
As an XZ owner i would definitely recommend you to go with Moto G2/3. Beside better camera there will be MM support for both the 2gen and 3gen Moto, while not for XZ.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't 1GB of RAM too low nowadays?
Akinaro said:
Buying today XZ is stupid... seriously.
When I bought my XZ price of Z1compact was almost the same and it still is, its 20$-30$ difference for most of time(New XZ cost about 180$ z1c 200$)
And for that price you can buy WAY better phones, starting from Galaxy S4 to LG G series. And you want to stick to Sony you can get even z1 or used z2
As far as I love this phone I would not recommend it to anyone, battery is below average, camera is worst than my old Arc S, and those cover flaps are pain in the A##
This is best example of phone that look good, but those small bugs in everyday usage make it annoying to use...
And yes I still use it :] Because after using new phones... I found out that most of them are the same: average battery, and looots of small bugs that make them annoying after some time. So I decide to change phones once per 3-4 years...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I can't afford those devices. I barely can afford the Xperia Z because I found a good deal.
MultiPDev said:
Isn't 1GB of RAM too low nowadays?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all depends of usage but i wouldn't worry about it so much. Motorola comes with almost pure Android.
icrunchbanger said:
It all depends of usage but i wouldn't worry about it so much. Motorola comes with almost pure Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm considering the moto g 2.
MultiPDev said:
Thanks, I'm considering the moto g 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto G (2nd generation) doesn't stand a chance to Xperia Z!
XZ has better specs, better screen, better CPU, more Ram, more internal memory ecc.
Yes, the Moto G (2nd generation) is being updated to Marshmallow but really with all the support from the Dev's we can still get unofficial AOSP Marshmallow Roms.
PS.: one more thing, I currently live in Italy and in big cities it is really easy to find used phones from people that sell them at a local website. I've been checking the prices for some time because I wanted to get a better phone and phones like the LG G3 go as low as 200 euro. Htc One M7 can be found for 150 euro in really good condition, one thing is that you don't have warranty, only if they give you the bill of the phone, then it is as you had bought it(be careful though not giving you a printed bill from the internet.) if you can live with that, that would get you a really good phone with low money.
aaronkatrini said:
Moto G (2nd generation) doesn't stand a chance to Xperia Z!
XZ has better specs, better screen, better CPU, more Ram, more internal memory ecc.
Yes, the Moto G (2nd generation) is being updated to Marshmallow but really with all the support from the Dev's we can still get unofficial AOSP Marshmallow Roms.
PS.: one more thing, I currently live in Italy and in big cities it is really easy to find used phones from people that sell them at a local website. I've been checking the prices for some time because I wanted to get a better phone and phones like the LG G3 go as low as 200 euro. Htc One M7 can be found for 150 euro in really good condition, one thing is that you don't have warranty, only if they give you the bill of the phone, then it is as you had bought it(be careful though not giving you a printed bill from the internet.) if you can live with that, that would get you a really good phone with low money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, XZ specs are really impressive for me, but the problems mentioned worry me. The screen seems a bit poor to me from what I read. Maybe the Moto G has a better screen and battery(camera also? I doubt it). Anyway... the XZ is on its way and I can't wait to test it!!!
The biggest problem I have with buying a used phone from people is, aside from the warranty- which is also important, the fact that I can't return it if it doesn't satisfy me. Thank God for Amazon!! lol :victory:
Hey what about speakers sound?
Yeah amazon has its benefits.
Sound speakers? Hah! That tiny little thing that barely makes a sound? ?
aaronkatrini said:
Yeah amazon has its benefits.
Sound speakers? Hah! That tiny little thing that barely makes a sound? ��
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disappointing. It seems the device has lots of flaws.
MultiPDev said:
Unfortunately I can't afford those devices. I barely can afford the Xperia Z because I found a good deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In that case welcome to the club
icrunchbanger said:
In that case welcome to the club
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks buddy I hope I stay here for long
aaronkatrini said:
What can I say...
FIRST- if you're buying it for $100 or less maybe it is till a good deal, otherwise maybe it is better to see at other low-to-mid-range
SECOND- yes, the performance is good, even better with lollipop, screen looks better now (maybe sonybravia got better, maybe because lollipop has more white in it and the white is being displayed better), but anyway you have to UNDERCLOCK it in order to get a decent battery life
THIRD- battery life is very disappointing, you HAVE to underclock it and root it and greenify it to get any good battery life, unless you can charge it every 12 hours
FOURTH - the device is getting older and so the interest in this device (im talking about support from devs)
FIFTH - the phone gets hot, like really really hot when you're using it playing games (unless you underclock it), and since the back cover is only a adhesive line, when it gets hotter with the help off the Nfc antenna (which is set to push against the backcover) the backcover gets up and looses its waterproofness
SIX- the flaps - the damn flaps- they're everywhere - and you need to open them every-time you charge the phone, put on the headphones, remove the sim, remove the microSD, and they tend to get loose with time especially the one of the charger since you need to charge it frequently
NOW... that I told you about it downsides, its not a bad phone nowdays, it has a big and very beautiful display, connectivity is like the best i've ever tried, performance is pretty good (cpu + gpu ), camera performs really well - especially in macro, dev support for now is good.
Overall for someone who has it I think it can take another one or two years, but I personally would not buy it unless I find it for cheap or cannot buy a used phone. Personally I would look into a HTC M8 or a LG G3, maybe even used.
You decide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in my country a NEW xperia z costs around 280-300 euro, i think people still prefer it