Database Develop

Xperia SP alternatives?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not this thread. Sorry. Please Delete.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Umm. XPERIA ZR would be a perfect alternative

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

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

[Q] Does anyone regret buying the Xperia Z?

Hey all,
reason I ask is that I've had the phone for about 4-5 months and I'm already disenchanted by the overall experience.
Battery life is an odd one as it changes on a day to day basis (Obviously), but the general issue is that some days I can use it all the time without issue, another day like today it's been on for an hour and a half, and it's dropped to 96%
On the subject of battery I needed to use my phone for car navigation and even with it plugged into a 1.5 mah charger it kept dropping. slower but still going down this is the same amp-age as the wall charger from Sony.
so that's one thing.
other thing is the general day to day use.
I thought the waterproofing would be useful in hindsight it's a pain in the arse, as the door flaps are awkward to open when your hopping in and out of our vehicle, and I listen to a lot of music so the headphone plug sees a lot of action in my pocket, not broken but it's a poor design after extended use.
Now the next bit is probably going to get the fans of this phone up in arms, but I'll say it anyway.
I wish I had waited a few weeks longer for the S4 by Samsung, I had the Note 2 before hand and the battery life was exceptional even with constant use, and the the design while unimaginative in design and materials fitted the bill perfectly.
So do you regret getting the Xperia Z and if so why, and would you / are you going to change and if so what?

Never. For the battery issues, I rooted my phone and have better power control with CPU Tuner. So far the battery can last 2 to 3 days on my general usage.
As for the waterproof, I looooove it sooo much. The phone stays with me all the time, even when I was taking bath. Having the phone to be waterproof, I feel no worries in case I need to handle the phone with wet hands.

i wouldnt say i regret buying the z but i would say that i am disappointed with couple of things in the phone .
for example the camera : whatever users say but deep down everyone will agree its pure rubbish , they have really messed up with the camera be it with any settings.
battery life : you are right about the battery life , some times its normal and sometimes it drops 3-4 percent very quickly , betterbatterystats shows different wake up everyday even though i use the same apps and do the same stuff everyday on the phone.
wifi signal : plain HORRIBLE !
yup every phone has its shortcomings and xperia z has these shortcomings , but i am not regretting buying the phone but yes disappointed with certain things which they could have definitely done it better.

i replaced my phone 6 days after buying due to the sides "popping" up. other than that i'm pretty satisfied with the phone and the custom rom developments on it

i dont regret..its an awesome experience day after day, getting even better.

yeah the rom developments is really fast as compared to my S3 LTE. barely have much rom to play with :laugh:

No I don't regret buying it, but sad of SONY's service.
Whitefang
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

I'm only disappointed about the camera.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

It's not the loudest, fastest but it's having build quality and for those who want quality and the money are not a problem i think it's the only option (if they are not Apple fans of course :laugh: )

Battery life sometimes can be dissapointing. Camera is so-so.
Other than that I'm satisfied.

Seems my gripes are the same as you guys.
Well it confirms that this isn't my mind playing, the grass is greener on the other side.
I'm very disappointed at the camera as this was one of my reasons for my purchase, and well the battery is starting to piss me off as if i'm away from home for long I end up home with 3 % left.
I'll be getting a i-9505 soon.

LBTaylor1984 said:
Seems my gripes are the same as you guys.
Well it confirms that this isn't my mind playing, the grass is greener on the other side.
I'm very disappointed at the camera as this was one of my reasons for my purchase, and well the battery is starting to piss me off as if i'm away from home for long I end up home with 3 % left.
I'll be getting a i-9505 soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is everybody comparing the camera to? I have had A LOT of phones (see my sig) recently and I think the camera is better than anything except the Pureview 808. Having said that, I will take the other features, most noteably Android and Google Services over the other features in the Nokia, even the 1020.

After playing with my cousin's s4, the only I thing I like about the s4 is the camera features. Never regretted buying the Z when it was launched here and not waiting for the s4. I will only regret if there's something s4 can do that my Z can't in general. Since I got my wireless Internet, my battery life has been much better than before. With 3g I get around 4 and a half hours plus of screen on. Haven't test fully with wifi but currently on wifi, I'm on 70 percent with almost 2 hours of screen on time without uc and uv.
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium

No regrets here. Great simple phone.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Well I'm on back s4 now so you see how that went.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Im dissapointed with the sound quality over the headphones. But looking at other phones, things are same or worst. Iphone is the best in that matter but It can't compete with XZ at this stage. Appart from that, battery could be better for sure. Camera is only ok in a good light conditions. I dont regreet buying ZX. Other phones have their adv. and dis.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I agree the camera is sub par along with the battery.
BUT this phone has a unique feel when held naked AND the screen is fantastic. The biggest positive for me is that this is the first android device that does not have any lag when texting regardless of keyboard used.

MinedSafe said:
Im dissapointed with the sound quality over the headphones. But looking at other phones, things are same or worst. Iphone is the best in that matter but It can't compete with XZ at this stage. Appart from that, battery could be better for sure. Camera is only ok in a good light conditions. I dont regreet buying ZX. Other phones have their adv. and dis.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I consider the XZ sound quality out of the headphone jack to be very good. Well ahead of the S and almost on par of that of the Walkman Z, Sony's top Walkman player.
Speaker quality is another story. It is awful. But it might have an explanation, water resistance, you know.

i regret getting it because i preordered it for 749 AUD
the stock firmware is horrible
the camera is mediocre
and the battery life has gone terrible since 4.2.2
the phone gets hot, like, 60 degrees celsius on the cpu doing web browsing
also the wifi is a pain in the ass.
i wish i waited a bit of the gs4 as well, but i was desperate because my incredible S broke and i was using a nokia lol

i don't regret at all and im a proud owner of my xperia z

Should I upgrade?

Hi there guys,
Currently I have a S3, my friend recommended the Sony Xperia Z1 and after some research, it does seem quite a nice phone.
The issue I have with the S3 is that after a month or so of usage, it slows the hell down, im thinking kit kat would be able to resolve this regarding the way the memory store things as such.
Also Samsung has really pissed me off, my charging port on the phone is damaged, therefore I cant charge or connect to my computer. I have called up 3/4 times for a repair envelope to get sent to me, every single time I dont receive crap, all they do is send out another. Only choice I have is to take it to an authorised service centre which isnt too ideal as I work full time and by the time I get back home the centre will be closed.
I am on o2, my upgrade isnt till June, but I can buy out my contact for under £200.
I really do need to play with the phone itself, if its anything as smooth as my friends HTC One mini then I will buy it straight!
I guess I just need a nudge in the right direction?
Thanks.

I just upgraded from a Galaxy S3

pod8 said:
Hi there guys,
Currently I have a S3, my friend recommended the Sony Xperia Z1 and after some research, it does seem quite a nice phone.
The issue I have with the S3 is that after a month or so of usage, it slows the hell down, im thinking kit kat would be able to resolve this regarding the way the memory store things as such.
Also Samsung has really pissed me off, my charging port on the phone is damaged, therefore I cant charge or connect to my computer. I have called up 3/4 times for a repair envelope to get sent to me, every single time I dont receive crap, all they do is send out another. Only choice I have is to take it to an authorised service centre which isnt too ideal as I work full time and by the time I get back home the centre will be closed.
I am on o2, my upgrade isnt till June, but I can buy out my contact for under £200.
I really do need to play with the phone itself, if its anything as smooth as my friends HTC One mini then I will buy it straight!
I guess I just need a nudge in the right direction?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue with the S3 is that
1. It doesn't have TRIM which causes it to slow down like in a month's use so 4.3 which does have it should reduce those issues.
2. Battery life is horrible if google now is enabled however doing a few tricks its solved.
I had an S3 and it was a lemming unit so I upgraded to the Z1... If your'e S3 is working fine once it gets the 4.3 update, hold on as the Z2 will probably be out in Jan-Feb... Its not worth getting the Z1 now halfway to December...

pod8 said:
Hi there guys,
Currently I have a S3, my friend recommended the Sony Xperia Z1 and after some research, it does seem quite a nice phone.
The issue I have with the S3 is that after a month or so of usage, it slows the hell down, im thinking kit kat would be able to resolve this regarding the way the memory store things as such.
Also Samsung has really pissed me off, my charging port on the phone is damaged, therefore I cant charge or connect to my computer. I have called up 3/4 times for a repair envelope to get sent to me, every single time I dont receive crap, all they do is send out another. Only choice I have is to take it to an authorised service centre which isnt too ideal as I work full time and by the time I get back home the centre will be closed.
I am on o2, my upgrade isnt till June, but I can buy out my contact for under £200.
I really do need to play with the phone itself, if its anything as smooth as my friends HTC One mini then I will buy it straight!
I guess I just need a nudge in the right direction?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This comes with experience!
1. If you like to play with roms and modes, Sony is just not that great. For that HTC is the king and thats a huge thing for me
2. If you like to have a device with premium material in your hand Sony is the best, HTC is a close second and if I were you I'd blend the hell out of my S3 and then feed it to my worst enemy!
3. If you like lots and lots of software features stick to Samsung (I would advise you not to do it though!)
4. If you like the best UI go for the HTC
--------------
Pros and Cons time!
Pros:
1. Z1 imho is the best looking android phone ever (yes I had a black HTC One for a brief time and its a beautiful phone but I decided Z1 is better)
2. Z1 up until now has the best performance in graphics comparing to other "phone" flagships (not so sure about the G2 though)
3. Its waterproof (I love it, think about the opportunities you'd have by having a waterproof camera and you'll fall in love like I did!)
Cons:
1. Not even a good "8MP" camera, you figure what its fully sized pics would look like... if you can't check this out
2. Okay speaker comparing to other flagships but superb speaker among waterproofs
3. The display is power hungry
4. The display is also not that great specially if you got used to S3
5. Its an expensive phone considering your only option is 16GB (though you can add an sd card)
-------------------
all these things aside. As you can see I decided to buy this phone and I don't really regret buying it (I'm 80% happy) and again as you can see in my signature I wanna buy the Z2 too, so its really up to you to decide...
if you have any more questions I'd be happy to help you with what I know

ara.armagedon said:
This comes with experience!
1. If you like to play with roms and modes, Sony is just not that great. For that HTC is the king and thats a huge thing for me
2. If you like to have a device with premium material in your hand Sony is the best, HTC is a close second and if I were you I'd blend the hell out of my S3 and then feed it to my worst enemy!
3. If you like lots and lots of software features stick to Samsung (I would advise you not to do it though!)
4. If you like the best UI go for the HTC
--------------
Pros and Cons time!
Pros:
1. Z1 imho is the best looking android phone ever (yes I had a black HTC One for a brief time and its a beautiful phone but I decided Z1 is better)
2. Z1 up until now has the best performance in graphics comparing to other "phone" flagships (not so sure about the G2 though)
3. Its waterproof (I love it, think about the opportunities you'd have by having a waterproof camera and you'll fall in love like I did!)
Cons:
1. Not even a good "8MP" camera, you figure what its fully sized pics would look like... if you can't check this out
2. Okay speaker comparing to other flagships but superb speaker among waterproofs
3. The display is power hungry
4. The display is also not that great specially if you got used to S3
5. Its an expensive phone considering your only option is 16GB (though you can add an sd card)
-------------------
all these things aside. As you can see I decided to buy this phone and I don't really regret buying it (I'm 80% happy) and again as you can see in my signature I wanna buy the Z2 too, so its really up to you to decide...
if you have any more questions I'd be happy to help you with what I know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was very helpful!
The pros for the Z1 out weights the negs for me, im not a big modder, i just like to install omega rom and run that.
The biggest thing holding me back right now is the news of a Z2, if I get the Z1 now and the Z2 comes out after Christmas then that will not be good news since I will be tied into a 24 month contract!
I think I should fix my S3, install the new version of Android and test it out as im still on 4.2.
Thanks you guys.

its impossible that sony will announce z2 in Q1 . it will the same date as they declared Z1 . so go for it now and dont wait cause if u do so u will not buy any phone

pod8 said:
This was very helpful!
The pros for the Z1 out weights the negs for me, im not a big modder, i just like to install omega rom and run that.
The biggest thing holding me back right now is the news of a Z2, if I get the Z1 now and the Z2 comes out after Christmas then that will not be good news since I will be tied into a 24 month contract!
I think I should fix my S3, install the new version of Android and test it out as im still on 4.2.
Thanks you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony wont be announcing a new flagship device until Qualcomm announce theirs (Save February for Qualcomm and April/May for the Z2). I've heard that there will be a close to 2k display this time around I don't think it will be a good idea for "everybody" to buy the Z2 because of two reasons, 1. Qualcomm usually introduces two flagships a year, one at the beginning of the year and one at the end. The ones at the beginnings are always CPU jumps not graphical jumps, so considering the increase in resolution at best we will have the same performance as the Z1, 2. Since it is a new display there will be problems (which will be fixed for the Z3!)
On the other hand I'm pretty certain that the Z2 will be a considerable improvement over the Z1 camera wise that's why I say I wanna buy it.
anyways don't worry about the Z2 we wont be seeing it soon(probably!)

I decided I want it!
Now the choice is which network, three: £36 or O2: £41.17
I have used three before in an iPhone 4, it was pretty crappy in my area/house, I am willing to give them another try with the 7/14 day cooling off period, I can technically get out of the contract if I receive crap signal.
Im currently on O2, they are ok I guess, its nice to fall back on 2g if 3g isnt available.

pod8 said:
I decided I want it!
Now the choice is which network, three: £36 or O2: £41.17
I have used three before in an iPhone 4, it was pretty crappy in my area/house, I am willing to give them another try with the 7/14 day cooling off period, I can technically get out of the contract if I receive crap signal.
Im currently on O2, they are ok I guess, its nice to fall back on 2g if 3g isnt available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
got mine on EE and 4g speeds are nothing short of impressive

y2grae said:
got mine on EE and 4g speeds are nothing short of impressive
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats one network I would not like to go with. Friends who are on EE in my area have crappy connection/signal, granted they are not on 4G, but still it give me the impression of not being good.

pod8 said:
Thats one network I would not like to go with. Friends who are on EE in my area have crappy connection/signal, granted they are not on 4G, but still it give me the impression of not being good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on T-mobile and upgraded. Signal stable and H+ most of the time when not 4G.
service was good on T-mobile and same levels so far from EE as same people.
not trying to sell on, just giving honest feedback from experience

I'm on 3 and it's a great network and the cheapest. What's not to like about 2000 mins 5000 txts 5000 3 to 3 mins, unlimited Internet and unlimited tethering all for £15 a month! Mind you that's a sim only deal. I buy all my handsets outright I don't do contracts!! And also when 3 roll out 4G you don't have to pay anything extra on top.....happy days
I love my z1 paying 15 a month
Sent from my Z1 using XDA Premium App

Hally79 said:
I'm on 3 and it's a great network and the cheapest. What's not to like about 2000 mins 5000 txts 5000 3 to 3 mins, unlimited Internet and unlimited tethering all for £15 a month! Mind you that's a sim only deal. I buy all my handsets outright I don't do contracts!! And also when 3 roll out 4G you don't have to pay anything extra on top.....happy days
I love my z1 paying 15 a month
Sent from my Z1 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just an update, I got mine on o2.
I would have liked to been on 3 but they are pricks with their credit checks, rejected me for a £36 contract via affordablemobiles.
I applied for my 02 contract from mobiles.co.uk and was accepted say 9 hours later, £42 for 8gig 4g.
I dont understand 3, just take my money and stfu, now they lost the chance to take my money as im back with o2, oh well tough luck.

Buying xperia z?

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

Would you recommend this phone to a friend? Or another device with Nougat?

Are people still enjoying the Z3+ (E6553)? I read it has Nougat and I want that. My last good phone was a Note 3, but Samsungs have a variety of issues like GPS and dead screens (not to mention exploding batteries) so I am looking at Sony. What do people think?

First of all, the phone is still on Marshmallow, and battery is awful and heat as well, there isn't much development so NO

Hell NO, stay away from this piece of sh*t.

If I returned back to purchasing point, I would grab a nexus 5x over this one. Right now there are numerous great offers and I don't recommend this one.

if a friend dosent play games its really good.
but if a friend would play pokemon go (just for example) an old samsung s3 would be better.

Worst phone, ever.

wow, thanks. Are any Sony phones good?
Also the sony website says the phone is getting Nougat. Is it not out yet?
http://blogs.sonymobile.com/2016/08/23/sony-xperia-and-android-7-0-nougat/

X
X performance
XZ
I don't own any of those, but they all seem good.

I bought the z3 plus for my girlfriend over the summer. Haven't had any issues with it. She plays the occasional game or two. But mostly uses it for Facebook, spotify and texting. Battery life is pretty good. Easily lasts a full day. Finally, haven't noticed any heating issues either. Sony definitely fixed the heating issues that were present when the device first came out. I would recommend the z3 plus if you can get it for a good price.

Got z3+ half a year ago. Using fot twitter, instagram, phone and playing ingress. Got 4-5 hours of ingress, no overheating. I would recommend.

overheating is not happening for me because i just check telegram and instagram but battery is really bad! z5 has the same battery but it is really better than z3+,plz go find something else,if you can buy it i suggest z5,its really good and after you buy sony phone i say you will never buy another companys phone bro

i LOVE the z4/z3+ and heat, for me, is now gone... perfect ( for me ) form factor, awesome screen... I feel like Z4 is THE pinnacle of Xperia's design language, the last flagship to bear the iconic power button.
...the battery life not as great when compared to other newer Xperia offerings which are now already coming down in price. Camera is ok in daylight.
Huge fan... have recently made x compact my daily, mostly for camera and battery,
and have XZ as well, but still prefer the in-hand feel of Z4 and will never get rid of it.

no Nougat.
Carlito17_2000 said:
Are people still enjoying the Z3+ (E6553)? I read it has Nougat and I want that. My last good phone was a Note 3, but Samsungs have a variety of issues like GPS and dead screens (not to mention exploding batteries) so I am looking at Sony. What do people think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony Phones are just fancy phones. They all are appealing look. But their build sucks. I prefer Samsung over Sony and now a days OPPO phones are better than both Sony and Samsung.

You're in the minority, but I appreciate the opinion
DZH1 said:
i LOVE the z4/z3+ and heat, for me, is now gone... perfect ( for me ) form factor, awesome screen... I feel like Z4 is THE pinnacle of Xperia's design language, the last flagship to bear the iconic power button.
...the battery life not as great when compared to other newer Xperia offerings which are now already coming down in price. Camera is ok in daylight.
Huge fan... have recently made x compact my daily, mostly for camera and battery,
and have XZ as well, but still prefer the in-hand feel of Z4 and will never get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might go LG instead