George Oscar Bluth II
Banned
Kinda unrelated, but I was thinking of finally getting a smartphone and found the Xperia M. Seems good for starters and it's a good price. Anybody got any experience with it?
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Sony Xperia Z1 officially announced
- Thread starter Sutton Dagger
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Lots of people getting their Z1s today that ordered from CLove in the UK.
Meanwhile EE still havn't even dispatched mine
On a charging note, the Z1 has a magnetic charging point, and the dock that you can buy is basically a plastic shell with the cable in it. You can remove the cable and just have a magnetic charger for your phone, a la macbooks.
At last.
There are already companies selling magnetic charging leads as well, ranging around £15/$18.
EDIT:
For anyone that ordered from EE, one guy on xda went into his local to see what was going on after he heard some people had got theirs already, and was told that they had units in stock but were not allowed to release them until Friday. The guy he was talking to also pre ordered one so I would hope he wouldn't lie about having the stock in if he also wanted one.
Hopefully that means those that ordered direct online with them might get some dispatch emails tomorrow for arrival on Friday.
Meanwhile EE still havn't even dispatched mine
On a charging note, the Z1 has a magnetic charging point, and the dock that you can buy is basically a plastic shell with the cable in it. You can remove the cable and just have a magnetic charger for your phone, a la macbooks.
At last.
There are already companies selling magnetic charging leads as well, ranging around £15/$18.
EDIT:
For anyone that ordered from EE, one guy on xda went into his local to see what was going on after he heard some people had got theirs already, and was told that they had units in stock but were not allowed to release them until Friday. The guy he was talking to also pre ordered one so I would hope he wouldn't lie about having the stock in if he also wanted one.
Hopefully that means those that ordered direct online with them might get some dispatch emails tomorrow for arrival on Friday.
Dayum. New Sony screen is best Sony screen.
I'm hoping my O2 order is shipped today.
Got an email from them on Monday saying it had been shipped via UKMail... UKMail knew nothing about it. After a lot of digging about, O2 still have the package - and i am being billed because the phone is labelled as 'dispatched'. At least i managed to get a weeks credit put back on to my account!
Got an email from them on Monday saying it had been shipped via UKMail... UKMail knew nothing about it. After a lot of digging about, O2 still have the package - and i am being billed because the phone is labelled as 'dispatched'. At least i managed to get a weeks credit put back on to my account!
damn. hopes the screen lottery is not true.
Cheeky buggers!
Hope mine is shipped from EE today too.
Guy does a review of the QX10 lens that some people are getting with thier Z1
http://gavinsgadgets.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/review-of-the-sony-qx10-lens/
it most probably is. if you want to buy i will suggest wait 2 3 months. the stock of bad screen will finish and also price will go down. as it has latest processor you dont even need to worry about getting outdated hardware
Review of the Z1 (against the 1020) when you step away from using auto mode and try to exercise some manual control http://www.tbreak.ae/features/pro-photography-lumia-1020-vs-xperia-z1
Sutton Dagger
Member
Yeah I heard some Aussie enthusiasts that ordered from Clove have their phones in Sydney already. It looks like first week of October for me
Usually you'll get 2 android updates with Sony phones. They were recently actually the first to comit to a 4.3 update for their previous flagship, while Samsung and hTC were still 'evaluating' the process. They're slowly getting better and faster, at least with this year's phones.
I have preordered this phone for me and my wife. We're really looking forward to making some great pictures with this and we're going to buy the QX 100 somewhere down the line, because it really is more portable than having to carry an RX 100 MK2 (i'd like to buy that one just because of the name ) and you get to make pictures with a higher resolution display. Sony really got their shit together these days.
) and you get to make pictures with a higher resolution display. Sony really got their shit together these days.I have preordered this phone for me and my wife. We're really looking forward to making some great pictures with this and we're going to buy the QX 100 somewhere down the line, because it really is more portable than having to carry an RX 100 MK2 (i'd like to buy that one just because of the name
Have you seen the picture of RX100 and Qx100 together? The RX100 is clearly more portable.
But hey its your money.
Wow, you are right. Guess i'll have to rethink my purchase a bit.
post full impression please
sweetvar26
Member
This please?
Very fast and smooth. Phone feels great in my hand, but anyone who doesn't like big phones won't get on with it.
Build quality feels great too and it certainly benefits from the more rounded edges compared to the Z.
Happy with he screen, very vibrant and sharp.
Camera seems to be good too. Not had a chance to look at any images on my pc yet.
Sony additions to the OS don't feel like they are in the way of anything and it's all nice and clean and snappy.
Very pleased.
I ordered two magnetic charging leads too, so no opening any flaps in about 10 days.
sweetvar26
Member
DBT85, how's that screen?
I read that it still isn't as good as the ones in the market like the HTC One or the LG G2 now. The viewing angles still seem to be off.
I read that it still isn't as good as the ones in the market like the HTC One or the LG G2 now. The viewing angles still seem to be off.
The newest phones have received loads of updates/bug fixes. My partner's Xperia Z ultra has had 5 firmware updates since he got it about 6 weeks ago. My V OTOH has been sitting on 4.1 for months and no update in sight. It came out September last year. Don't even get me started on my old S. They're hit and miss it really.
but they just recently released it
sure removing the links
I've used neither the One or the G2, and I'd say that the very slight colour shift at small angles could be better. However, the screen is very very sharp, very vibrant, and I can still read GAF on it while looking at it from about 80 degrees.
Contrast is good too.
Can I be honest longdi. It's very hard to take you seriously since your entire post history on GAF has been dedicated to trolling Sony
sweetvar26
Member
That's assuring man, thanks for the update.
longdi
Banned
i just played with Z1 and here are my views on some parts
-the viewing angles are still bad. i can see maybe another 5 degrees more than the Z besides it, but holding it off angle, the colors still fade like a TN bitch. This is no ZU panel for sure, not even close to One painted on look. However compared to Z, Z1 colors are good and punchy, white is white rather than bluish, its brighter too, Sony also chose to use a black background wisely this time. Head on view, the colors do not lose to the Ip5s. But once you tilt it, that same bad layer of grey sheen returns and obscure the good colors. This is so frustrating....
Im not sure if there is a panel lottery going on or Sony is using the same crappy JDI panel, just with a triluminous back light for the better colors and brightness, both of which contribute to that extra 5 degree off angle view rather than an improved panel imo. ZU panel is obviously different, Z1 im not sure...
-speed wise i can say Z1 fixes the Z lagging on the Home/apps drawer and even just fast scrolling with Chrome. Z1 feels as fast as any premium phone should. Camera launches in 2-3 seconds this round! The AR function of the camera is very speedy. I didnt play much with the camera but i encountered no overheating while playing around.
-size wise i feel this is a going to cause some conflicted views especially if you have smaller hands. Putting Z1 and Z side by side, on top of each other, Z1 as noted, is taller and slightly wider. Now this added wideness is going make single hand handling for med sized user a problem imo. I encountered difficulty in thumb swiping through Home/Apps Drawer/Chrome pages. Its pretty 'too' big for a phone targeted at the Asian market, and the large bezel kind of made it less premium looking and more toy-ish, imo.
All in all, Sony is still one more phone away. Z1 Mini could be interesting...
Also played with Ip5s, and if i thought SD800 was fast before, dat A7/64bit iOS7 is blazing fast (even with all that animations & transparencies), it feels like im back using my desktop PC, a feeling i never felt from prior smartphones and tablets. Ip5s is so snappy, moving to an iPad-A6X/iOS7 besides it felt "poor". Apple may not change much with Ip5s, but that 64-bit push is smart and will keep their performance ahead of Android for awhile. Hope to see a 4.5" Ip6 with a Quad A7 next year.
I know i spoke badly about the original Z viewing angles and ruffles some early feathers but once more people got their hands-on instead of reading the reviews, i feel vindicated. my 2c...
We already know that the crap panels are the left over Z panels. Did you manage to find a Z1 with a proper Z1/ZU panel?
I would recommend letting the rubes absorb the Z1s with the lame panels (and waiting it out until it's only got good panels), or going in shop to ensure that you're getting one with a good panel if anyone wants to buy.
Corleth the Fey
Member
How do we tell the crap panel from a good one? I got my Z1 on Friday - screen seems great, but I've upgraded from a old phone.
If you look at it off angle and the screen fades, it's a older (average) panel.
Haha never compare to a S4 or HTC One so you would never know.
longdi
Banned
The thing is, no one knows if there is a panel lottery or not because this here say came from a forum post....
I have compared another set, this time with ZU side by side, Z1 panel is clearly not in the league of ZU. ZU can go wider before that grey wash out hits. Mind you ZU panel is not in the class of One either.
The other rumor from zombie is that Sony has some kind of opti-contrast layer, i think it might be it because Xperia screens wash out appears more like some grey layer coming into view, rather than your typical TN darkening or IPS glow or VA gamma shift.
shinshoryuken
Member
Everything I been reading is discouraging. On paper it's a beast, but other peoples expirience is that the camera and the screen sucks, plus no place to order a Att lte compatible version.
Jazzy Network
Member
God Sony and their stupid flaps for their ports. I know it's for the waterproof shit, but my god there's just way too many of them on a single device.
vivftp
Member
Umm, just how often do you have to access your SIM, micro SD and micro USB port? The headphone port being uncovered is the best step here due to it being the most used port for most people. For charging the unit without opening flaps they have the magnetic dock connector.
Can't wait to get my hands on one of these babies. Still patiently waiting for Sony Canada to say something... they've promised info by the end of the month so not much longer hopefully.
As for screen quality, I think we'll have to wait for more people to get theirs so more comparisons can be done, but they seem quite fine overall for retail units. Here's pics from an XDA user who's quite happy with his display and its viewing angles:
SirMossyBloke
Member
Samsung and HTC have both confirmed full 4.3 support and 4.3 leaked on HTC a while ago, although not fully complete.
There's no "evaluating" anywhere.
Edit: now that I re-read it, you said "were". So I think it was all past tense.
vivftp
Member
Interesting. I was just using the Digital Versus comparison tool where they compare shots from the iPhone 5S, Lumia 1020, Galaxy S4, LG G2, Xperia Z1 and iPhone 5. Here's a direct link:
http://www.digitalversus.com/digital-camera/face-off/855eae5595bf801e6cea6d2b250cec8eeba4cdfb
I suggest scrolling down to the category on the left for Detail 100%. You can grab any of the samples and move them about to see anywhere on the larger sample test image. For the majority of the image, it actually seems like the Z1 resolves more detail than all of the other phones except for the Lumia. It does get soft in the top and bottom left corners, but looking at most of the image in the center and the right, it seems to produce better results than the others. There is a certain level of noise present on the Z1s shot overall though and it's barely noticable in some areas and very noticable in others. Hopefully these are the little parts that'll be fixed in the big camera update that's coming
http://www.digitalversus.com/digital-camera/face-off/855eae5595bf801e6cea6d2b250cec8eeba4cdfb
I suggest scrolling down to the category on the left for Detail 100%. You can grab any of the samples and move them about to see anywhere on the larger sample test image. For the majority of the image, it actually seems like the Z1 resolves more detail than all of the other phones except for the Lumia. It does get soft in the top and bottom left corners, but looking at most of the image in the center and the right, it seems to produce better results than the others. There is a certain level of noise present on the Z1s shot overall though and it's barely noticable in some areas and very noticable in others. Hopefully these are the little parts that'll be fixed in the big camera update that's coming
I got my (first) Z1 on Friday, and everything was great until i found out that the front facing camera didnt work at all, and caused the camera app to crash also.
After a lot of discussions with customer services, they sent a replacement Sunday evening and i got it yesterday lunchtime - sent the faulty phone back at the same time.
I love this phone. A year ago i was using an iPhone 4S, and for the last 11 months i have been using a HTC Windows Phone 8X.
This thing is lightning fast. No stuttering, lag or anything - whatever i do with the phone. The screen is absurdly beautiful - and i have no viewing angle issues.
Camera is great - from what i have used. I also got a free clip on QX10 lens - which i have yet to have a proper play with, but that seems great too - easy to connect via NFC and the test photos i took turned out really well.
Build quality is amazing - it feels so solid and premium. I'm massively happy.
After a lot of discussions with customer services, they sent a replacement Sunday evening and i got it yesterday lunchtime - sent the faulty phone back at the same time.
I love this phone. A year ago i was using an iPhone 4S, and for the last 11 months i have been using a HTC Windows Phone 8X.
This thing is lightning fast. No stuttering, lag or anything - whatever i do with the phone. The screen is absurdly beautiful - and i have no viewing angle issues.
Camera is great - from what i have used. I also got a free clip on QX10 lens - which i have yet to have a proper play with, but that seems great too - easy to connect via NFC and the test photos i took turned out really well.
Build quality is amazing - it feels so solid and premium. I'm massively happy.
So here's my story about my contract and the explanation as to why today I'm mildly miffed.
On Septeber the 5th, I pre ordered my White Z1 on EEs website. It was an upgrade from my current T-Mobile plan.
On the 19th of September, I hear that people are not only getting their phone dispatched from EE, some have already received them that morning or the day before.
I call EE "whats the dealio" I ask, "Sup homes, yeah, not out till the 25th, chill yo"
I ponder my options can call back "scrub it mang, I want my shizzle yesterday like", "ok dwag, it's done byeeeee"
On the 20th of September I walk into my local store "White Z1, you got one?" "fo shizzle we do, come let me hook you up".
"Yo bawse, we can't do dat upgrade, ya'll got one already"
"no way man no way, they cancelled it"
"ok, lemme check in with them and we'll do this"
2 hours later after THEM being on hold with their own service team
"What you talkin bout willis? I said 4 times 4GEE £36 a month, why you go put him back on t-mobile on a different contract for?" *operator hangs up on shop assistant*
So the manager who has been helping out says "No problem guy, I'll call you Monday at 11, we'll get you a new EE sim in the post and onto the right contract. In the meantime, you got the unlimited everythings on T-Mobile, n joy"
Monday comes and goes, no call.
I get a text from T-mbile this morning "thanks for not runnin, bitches be leaving left and right. Go online to check your shit"
I check online. "300mins and 300 texts. BOOM! you is so connected"
Today I call the store, he's not in again until Thursday.
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
On Septeber the 5th, I pre ordered my White Z1 on EEs website. It was an upgrade from my current T-Mobile plan.
On the 19th of September, I hear that people are not only getting their phone dispatched from EE, some have already received them that morning or the day before.
I call EE "whats the dealio" I ask, "Sup homes, yeah, not out till the 25th, chill yo"
I ponder my options can call back "scrub it mang, I want my shizzle yesterday like", "ok dwag, it's done byeeeee"
On the 20th of September I walk into my local store "White Z1, you got one?" "fo shizzle we do, come let me hook you up".
"Yo bawse, we can't do dat upgrade, ya'll got one already"
"no way man no way, they cancelled it"
"ok, lemme check in with them and we'll do this"
2 hours later after THEM being on hold with their own service team
"What you talkin bout willis? I said 4 times 4GEE £36 a month, why you go put him back on t-mobile on a different contract for?" *operator hangs up on shop assistant*
So the manager who has been helping out says "No problem guy, I'll call you Monday at 11, we'll get you a new EE sim in the post and onto the right contract. In the meantime, you got the unlimited everythings on T-Mobile, n joy"
Monday comes and goes, no call.
I get a text from T-mbile this morning "thanks for not runnin, bitches be leaving left and right. Go online to check your shit"
I check online. "300mins and 300 texts. BOOM! you is so connected"
Today I call the store, he's not in again until Thursday.
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Will definitely consider Z1 when getting a new phone. The design is so sleek, I'm in love with it. Add the amazing camera and water resistance...damn, it's a nice phone.
I'm just concerned (like everybody else) if it will get supported with updates. I hear that Sony is not that great when it comes to that..?
I'm just concerned (like everybody else) if it will get supported with updates. I hear that Sony is not that great when it comes to that..?
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