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Xperia Z/ZL |OT| Experience the best of Sony in a smartphone
- Thread starter Canis lupus
- Start date
MeBecomingI
Member
Ugh, that Verge review... expected as much. It is Verge reviewing a Sony phone, after all.
I shake my head at their score for design... absolutely ridiculous. They seem to complain about holding the phone because of the size, but I'm not sure that necessitates a score of 7 for design. In the wrap-up they go on about Sony using a glass design when others are moving away from it as a negative... really? Stupid. Makes me want to see what they have to say about the ZL and reduction in overall size, the softer and more rounded back. It'll likely remain a 7 and they'll toss in some other thing to complain about.
I do think that Sony needs to splurge on a high-end screen or something for the next phone though, but that isn't through The Verge pissing on the viewing angle. Whenever they announce a phone, it still surprises me that Sony just throws in a fairly standard TFT screen with good brightness and wipes their hands clean.
I shake my head at their score for design... absolutely ridiculous. They seem to complain about holding the phone because of the size, but I'm not sure that necessitates a score of 7 for design. In the wrap-up they go on about Sony using a glass design when others are moving away from it as a negative... really? Stupid. Makes me want to see what they have to say about the ZL and reduction in overall size, the softer and more rounded back. It'll likely remain a 7 and they'll toss in some other thing to complain about.
I do think that Sony needs to splurge on a high-end screen or something for the next phone though, but that isn't through The Verge pissing on the viewing angle. Whenever they announce a phone, it still surprises me that Sony just throws in a fairly standard TFT screen with good brightness and wipes their hands clean.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Well the ZL doesn't have a panel lottery, they all use the best version since there is a lesser requirement. So if The Verge ever review ZL then it should get a much higher score in that respect. I used a Z with the best panel and it is amazing, but you can't use maximum brightness because it just makes everything look grey, also the grey UI does the phone no favours.
MeBecomingI
Member
I'd be surprised if they even review the ZL.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's going to be the main US/Canada SKU, so they should get a review unit in the next couple of weeks.
MeBecomingI
Member
I know it will be for Canada, but I thought the Z was the main for the U.S given it is supposed to be on a carrier and the ZL wasn't? Well, I guess we will.
It is a shame that this review will just stunt Sony further in the eyes of a lot people. From the sounds of non-reviewers who have used the phone it is an incredible phone, but when most people turn to a review it is the opposite. Par for the course, it seems.
Does anyone know if the Z can be bought outright at Sony Style in Canada? Or are we only getting the ZL through the carriers?
Why would you even read The Verge for reviews? They're terrible compared to, say, GSM Arena.
Why would you even read The Verge for reviews? They're terrible compared to, say, GSM Arena.
That's a pretty lame excuse for bad viewing angles. If anything viewing angles are more important on mobile devices than laptops and such. The argument that "you don't view the screen like that" doesn't make any sense for small devices.
MeBecomingI
Member
Haha, having a choice to buy a Z outright at a Sony Style store would just lead me to not choosing one of them because I couldn't decide.
Also, I agree. I don't read them. I avoid them for a reason. I was just reading through the thread and it was posted so I read it.
I dont know what verge are trying to say here? Specially the balded part?
so we dont need quad core processors for daily use but its not latest generation processor so marks are reduced
Then they are saying that Samsung extra lengthy animations are better than Sony animation and screen is not as responsive which i think is odd.
I also disagree with camera review the images may not be better than last year flagships but they are almost as good
lol. That reviewer is a dumbass, I wont even bother pointing out why. But whatever, to each his own.
The only thing good about that review are the photos of that sexy white XZ. Damn.
This is how Windows Phone users feel re: Verge reviews. They're utter bullshit.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
I can live with that. I suppose it will also depend on when the2014 flagship will arrive. Either way, can't wait toget a ZL. Still no firm dates for Canada tho
April.
Well from what I know the phone I'm talking about isn't set for 2013 it could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it. Sony always line up a strong CES showing, and if this RX is going to be a high end "special" device then CES seems like a good place to show it. It's no flagship device, that's for sure, it doesn't have the right features or pricing structure, it is supposed to be a proof of concept that won't do big sales, but will give Sony a halo effect for phone cameras.
i dont know how can professional reviewers wants everybody to copy Apple design and still be able to review
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
The Verge really faulted Sony for going with an all-glass design "while the competition is moving away from it?" The fact that Sony wasn't falling in line with the cheapo-looking plastic revolution is a negative? I don't know what to say...
The all glass design which is not only durable but water dust and shatterproof too. And they Love htc deisgn which looks exactly like iPhone and BB
Your Entertainer
Member
While this seems like a nice handset, it just seems to continue Sony's trend of releasing a generally underwhelming handset - last year's specs when new ones are just around the corner. For example, why not delay it a couple of weeks to get the vastly more powerful Snapdragon 600 instead of going with the S4? It doesn't make much sense if Sony wants to remain competitive, but they keep doing it. The HTC One is coming out in the US in two weeks with a noticeably better screen, much more powerful internals, comparable camera (at least), and vastly superior speakers, as well as much more intriguing software and design.
S600 is barely faster than S4. it just has higher clock rates. Screen is HTC strongest area where it has beat all others cell phone makers. rest is upto to personal preference like i hate sense and design is nothing new its just like ip5 and bbz10
And what powerful internals ?
Your Entertainer
Member
The Snapdragon 600 is 40% more powerful than the S4 Pro in the Xperia, as claimed by Qualcomm; early benchmarks support these claims. It's much more than 'barely' faster. The speakers, mic, and IR Blaster are also very cool additions. Sense is up to personal preference. Design is up to a point as well, although aluminum almost universally carries a more 'premium' feel, and the HTC is up to Apple standards in build quality. There's really not much reason to release this phone with last year's specs at this point in time and expect to be competitive in the high end space, especially with the impending GSIV announcement.
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
Are you shitting me? The only disadvantage (if you can call that) compared to the HTC One is that is has worse viewing angles and slightly slower CPU. Other than that, the camera is great on paper, but the software sucks. Also, the Z is about the same size as the HTC One but has a bigger screen. It's a powerful handset and HTC One beeing better than Xperia Z isn't trivial.
- At peak performance yes, that means it'll drain your battery faster too.
- As for the IR Blaster, Xperia ZL has it but Z doesn't. In stead, Z has WiFi miracasting.
- Design wise, the Xperia Z is a premium phone, you can simply tell by the attention to detail. It has an all glas front and back. This was god tier design when iPhone 4 came out, why does it suddently feel cheap now? And mega lol at HTC beeing up to Apple standard build quility wise. HTC One X's coating sucked and so did the Windows Phone 8S and 8X'.
About the bolded and underlined part, only the CPU is slower on paper. The Xperia Z screen is amazing when you're looking at it from normal angles. The design is sublime and it's water/dust proof. The Xperia Z packs enough to able to compete. Oh and don't forget, the Xperia Z is 100 euro's cheaper than HTC One
zomgbbqftw
Banned
At 1.9GHz, in the One they are running it at 1.7GHz, that is just a 20% improvement and it has worse battery life because of the IPC improvements, as can be seen by the poor battery life score.
99.9% of people don't care about specs, a few people on forums do. The only improvement worth having over S4 Pro right now is SD800 as it has better battery and it is 80% faster. SD600 is like Android 4.2 vs Android 4.1 for APQ8064, the difference is that small, and with the worse battery life the upgrade is more of a sideways move waiting until the main meal arrives SD800 (just like Android 5.0/KLP).
outunderthestars
Banned
At some point you have to feature/spec lock and launch the thing. The market moves so fast that it is impossible to launch something without someone saying "why didn't they just wait a bit and add _______"
Also, I seriously doubt most of the market gives a shit about what processor is in their phone. Better to launch now when you have 3-6 months before the hype machine for the next iphone overwhelms the market.
Your Entertainer
Member
Are you shitting me? The only disadvantage (if you can call that) compared to the HTC One is that is has worse viewing angles and slightly slower CPU. Other than that, the camera is great on paper, but the software sucks. Also, the Z is about the same size as the HTC One but has a bigger screen. It's a powerful handset and HTC One beeing better than Xperia Z isn't trivial.
- At peak performance yes, that means it'll drain your battery faster too.
- As for the IR Blaster, Xperia ZL has it but Z doesn't. In stead, Z has WiFi miracasting.
- Design wise, the Xperia Z is a premium phone, you can simply tell by the attention to detail. It has an all glas front and back. This was god tier design when iPhone 4 came out, why does it suddently feel cheap now? And mega lol at HTC beeing up to Apple standard build quility wise. HTC One X's coating sucked and so did the Windows Phone 8S and 8X'.
About the bolded and underlined part, only the CPU is slower on paper. The Xperia Z screen is amazing when you're looking at it from normal angles. The design is sublime and it's water/dust proof. The Xperia Z packs enough to able to compete. Oh and don't forget, the Xperia Z is 100 euro's cheaper than HTC One
The Snapdragon 600 is significantly faster. Qualcomm mentions specifically that improved battery life is a plus to the Snapdragon 600. Battery life rundown tests have not shown the Z to be that stellar compared to phones with identical chipsets. And the point remains - why go with the S4 Pro when the Snapdragon 600 is available? And the Xperia's screen falls short of the DNAs SLCD3 in every aspect, straight ahead, and especially from the side. The Xperia still has a good screen. And it does have a good design, and good build quality - When the hell did I ever say it felt cheap?. In my opinion however, the One clearly stands above in the design and build quality department. Have you held a One?
Qualcomm hasn't been entirely straightforward in terms of changes and upgrades in the Snapdragon 600. However, it is faster, we know that much. No reason to go with the S4 Pro now. And they specifically mention improved battery life on the Snapdragon 600.
You're right about average consumers caring about specs. Firstly , I AM speaking to people on this forum. Secondly, they're both going to get smoked by Samsung sales-wise again, due to a huge huge marketing campaign.
GTP_Daverytimes
Member
Vlad is a massive dick when he reviews anything from Sony, the guy has to be the biggest Sony Hater on any techsite.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Seriously, I can tell you now for sure that the SD600 in the HTC One is about 20% faster in terms of the CPU than APQ8064, and this shows in the benchmarks. Every phone running SD600 so far has not had better battery life per 1000mAh than with APQ8064. SD600 is not a big upgrade and it was never intended to be, it is actually a pin compatible replacement for APQ8064, so all the phones currently using it will eventually cease to exist or switch over to SD600 in Q2/3 when stocks of APQ8064 runs out.
The battery life improvement you are thinking of is actually for the SD800 which has a shorter pipeline and has dynamic power gating for each of the four Krait cores depending on the usage scenario it can trickle the power down to so that only one of the cores is running at full power and the other three are off and the GPU (Adreno 330) is also going to be dynamically clocked. Neither of these power saving features are present in SD600, but it has IPC improvements which hurt battery life.
Also, the Xperia Z is out and is selling all over Europe and Asia, the HTC One is facing component shortages for it's chipset, screen, speaker coils and camera sensors. It's going to have shortages all the way until May/June by which time Samsung will have steamrolled them.
All of those people who have bought the Xperia Z already (which is a large number) won't get a GS4, but people who are waiting for the HTC One will see the GS4 on Thursday and possibly change their minds.
I think that sums it up.. Although i wish Sony had pulled the launch in Early Feb to give max time for Xperia Z to reign as undisputed king of Smartphones. But still they did mighty good this time, by creating a lot of hype and also making a killer phone spec wise.
At some point company has to freeze the specs and go with the launch.. Some people simply wont understand this concept. Time for freezing of specs to launch is a considerable time and many new things come in market during that time but you still have to go with your original specs.
The Faceless Master
Member
there's a difference between waiting a few months and waiting a few days.
Except the GS4 only gets announced on Thursday, who knows when carriers will actually pick it up. There's a significant delay between the time a phone is announced and carriers offering it.
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
Not these days. Last year the S3 was available just three weeks after announcement.
TheLoyalist
Neo Member
We all know Vlad hates 5" phones
Have had the Z for about 10 days now. Just amazing. Big step up from my old S3. It just has such a premium feel to it. That plastic never felt good to me.
There is a stronger word of mouth than I expected. Almost everyone I speak to has heard about this phone, and they all seemed to be wowed by it.
There is a stronger word of mouth than I expected. Almost everyone I speak to has heard about this phone, and they all seemed to be wowed by it.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Are Three having stock issues with the Xperia Z or something? I just got an email from them saying they had to change my delivery date from tomorrow to the 22nd
Yes, it's currently out of stock in many parts of Europe, demand is huge, Sony are having trouble keeping up with orders. They have got more on order, but it could take a couple of weeks to air freight them to Amsterdam/London.
Wow that is a BRUTAL review. Wow.
FonkyByNature
Member
Wow, this review contains a lot of hate.
I've seen the phone and used it for 15 minutes and for the short time i had with it, it's the best Android phone i've ever seen.
I was impressed by pretty much everything, well i can't judge the viewing angles because i didn't notice they were bad, but i remember the screen looking sharp and the overall experience was super smooth. The design is another thing that impressed me, the phone looks and feels classy. Way nicer than the Galaxy which i always found cheap looking.
Anyway, to each their own, for me ? i want that phone now !
I've seen the phone and used it for 15 minutes and for the short time i had with it, it's the best Android phone i've ever seen.
I was impressed by pretty much everything, well i can't judge the viewing angles because i didn't notice they were bad, but i remember the screen looking sharp and the overall experience was super smooth. The design is another thing that impressed me, the phone looks and feels classy. Way nicer than the Galaxy which i always found cheap looking.
Anyway, to each their own, for me ? i want that phone now !
outunderthestars
Banned
For those concerned about viewing angles of the display, here is a video shot in a store that seems to show a better image quality than what the verge review would seem to imply
(warning, turn off the sound)
(warning, turn off the sound)
Nemesis_
Member
Nnn I still can't decide if I am going to pull the trigger on this later on in the week. It's annoying me that I can't make a decision.
It looks beautiful, but I'm more concerned how it runs. It looks a little bit more laggy / choppy when scrolling through things - but at the same time it looks good enough that I would be willing to forego that problem.
Jumping to an Xperia Z from an S3 - what are the potential things I might lose from an S3? Or is all the functionality well covered in the Xperia Z.
It looks beautiful, but I'm more concerned how it runs. It looks a little bit more laggy / choppy when scrolling through things - but at the same time it looks good enough that I would be willing to forego that problem.
Jumping to an Xperia Z from an S3 - what are the potential things I might lose from an S3? Or is all the functionality well covered in the Xperia Z.
MeBecomingI
Member
That looks beautiful... the screen looks superb in that video.
outunderthestars
Banned
I'd tell you to go seek one out and spend a few minutes using one to make sure. And you're upgrading from an S3 already? How long have you had your S3?
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's almost all covered. I think the kill all function is missing, but with 2GB RAM flushing out apps is less of a concern. There is no multi-app view, but there are small apps.
On the scrolling, it's because Sony don't force GPU rendering by default, they leave it up to the end user, you can turn it on in the developer settings.
Nemesis_
Member
Year and a few months, I believe. I can't even remember.
I've always been one to upgrade through my phones quickly.
I will try to seek one out. They aren't out yet so I'm not entirely sure where I'll be able to find a working demo.
Wow, really, that's cool. Thanks for letting me know. And it doesn't affect performance?
I'm in the same boat as you. My contract is up April 1st and I wanted an Xperia Z or ZL, though Sony never goes with Sprint. I'll be picking up the Galaxy S IV if it's available at or around the time my contract is up, or the HTC One since it's supposed to be available this month. That Xperia Z is just so nice. It's a shame Sony is incapable of being a competitive smart phone manufacturer...
-Pyromaniac-
Member
the ZL has one!
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