Sony Xperia 2013 Thread
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OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
Ok.... Let's see tomo how xperia L is
Not tomorrow. Friday supposedly.
aroraanant
Explorer
Sony's Galaxy Note 3 rival. Coming in June
6.X" 2560x1600 2K screen with Mobile Bravia Engine 2 and OptiContrast panel around 490 PPI
Snapdragon 800 2.3 ghz
Adreno 330 GPU
2/4 GB RAM
3500mAh battery
6mm thin
Touch Pen/Stylus
32 GB Internal memory,microSD expansion
NFC
8 MP Exmor RS camera
6.X" is too huge, already Note 5" screen was quite big and now a phone with a bigger screen than that won't fin in any damm pocket.
And while talking on it also will look too odd.
Though I am eagerly waiting for brands like HTC, Apple as well as Sony to come up with a good device with a large screen like note or S3 with a S-Pen like feature. But sadly this thing won't work.
Apart from that I think Sony should come with a better camera in this.
And don't you guys think a 2k resolution is too much for a phone.
OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
My Impressions of a Black Retail Xperia Z C6602, FULL REVIEW by the end of the month/April 1st week
Design -
Simply Gorgeous !!!! Though the screen when OFF isn't as black and flush with the bezel as on the S. Still, undoubtedly one of the BEST looking smartphones EVER IMO. Looks really elegant and classy. Not much else to say
Build Quality -
I guess I now understand what King-James meant when he said Z feels plasticky. It does feel plasticky and not like Iphone 4/4S that is also made of glass.
Does it feel cheap ? No. It feels extremely well built. Let me try to explain the plasticky feeling. It does feel like plastic but not like plastic in ANY other phone, why ? Because it simply isn't plastic. The glass polyamide body is extremely strong yet flexible. That was been demonstrated in videos.
I think I'd go as far to say that this is the first premium smartphone that I would NOT worry about dropping. I am 100% sure it can take multiple falls easily because of the construction. With Iphone 4S like construction you can't have strong durability.
So the Z sacrifices that "glass" feel for durability. And personally I have no issues living with that compromise
Size/Ergonomics -
I was quite shocked to be frank. I expected it to be quite bigger than my S but its actually a lot more compact. It's only slightly taller than the S and quite a bit wider. But fits perfectly in my palm and I have zero issues with the ergonomics of the handset. I also love how thin it is.
The beautiful and prominent power button is a pleasure to use and just so PERFECTLY placed. It makes the Z very easy to use single handed.
Nokia Lumia 920 looks like a FAT BRICK compared to the Z
Screen
The most hotly discussed aspect about the Z - it's screen !!! Is it really a sub standard screen like many are claiming it is ?
In short - NO. Far from it.
Though I have to admit, it's down to personal preference. Not everybody will like the Z screen and some may even call it downright BAD.
If you are someone who works with properly calibrated high end monitors, notebooks like Vaio Z, HP Dreamcolor IPS screens and appreciate accurate and true to life colors over cartoon like "mass market" screens then you will LOVE the Z screen. It has a wide color gamut, true to life color reproduction and no overblown sharpness that tire your eyes on most phones. It's a very easy on the eyes screen like Plasma HDTVs and professionally calibrated high end LCD TVs and monitors.
You can enjoy movies and videos on this for long periods and not feel any strain whatsoever on the eyes.
Coming to contrast and black levels, it's definitely not garbage like some people are putting it. Black levels are slightly better than on the S which has very respectable contrast and black levels. I couldn't measure contrast but will do that in my full review later this month or early next month.
Light leakage and screen uniformity is also better than S.
Overall brightness is also quite high, but lower than S.
So now who will NOT like the Z screen ? People used to SAMOLED, HTC SLCD screens and those that like super sharp, eye burning color saturation and perfect viewing angles.
So if you belong to the above category then the Z is simply not the phone for you and you will HATE the screen.
Overall I'd rate the screen 8/10. Though I might increase it to 8.5/10 if Sony fixes the gamma issue. Also the color temperature is a little towards the colder side. Sony needs to get it closer to 6500K or even 6000K for a slightly warm color temperature.
The speakers are slightly less loud than on the S = Poor. Doesn't bother me much but Sony should have used twin stereo speakers instead of just one. It's simply useless outdoors and even indoors as long as you are not in a room with absolute silence.
Performance & UI
The Sony UI has been refined greatly on the Z. The skinning is much less heavy compared to 2012 Xperia devices. I loved the 2012 Sony UI and I love the 2013 UI even more.
The only thing I hate is the use of GREY color in the UI instead of black.
Performance is absolutely satisfying. Though I didn't install much apps on the unit, it did have quite a few apps from Sony. 1.8GB RAM is user accessible, which is more than the 1.5GB allotted to users on HTC One and Butterfly.
Everything is super quick and super smooth. Absolutely no lags or stutter when navigation the menu ( Turn Force GPU Rendering ON in Developer options). Dialer opens instantly on the Z. This is something that was an issue in almost all 2012 Android devices. Samsung Galaxy S3 also takes 2-3 seconds to open the dialer. But on the Z it's almost instantaneous.
Same with any other app, web browsing is super smooth with no lag. Very close to desktop level web browsing experience on the Z.
I didn't run any benchmarks as there are available easily on multiple sites and I do not believe benchmarks mean much for most users. It's the real life performance that counts. And the Z certainly doesn't disappoint in this aspect. Other phones may score 10-15% higher in benches but there is little scope of improvement in terms of daily usage performance.
The only (little) lag I saw was during the widget overview and adding new widgets. Still it was nothing major and more to do with software rather than the phone lacking in terms of hardware firepower.
NFC worked absolutely fine. Boot ups are pretty quick.
Camera
Didn't test it much so can't say a whole lot. The focus hunting issue from the 2012 Xperia line up is gone. The camera takes very little time to focus and keeps it locked on. Another thing that has been mentioned quite a lot already, the frame rates in the camera app is amazing. No BLUR whatsoever like other phones.
Camera UI is lovely and a lot of controls to customize. Superior Auto is fine but still Manual mode is what you should opt for. Get the settings right and you'll definitely be impressed with the results.
Front Camera quality is very very very good !!!. Though I do not know how it would fare in low light.
The only complaint I have is that the camera app takes about 5-6 seconds to open. Hope Sony fixes this in 4.2.2 update.
Battery Life
Can't say much about battery life but it seemed quite good. In the 1 hour that I used the Z (100% brightness) battery dropped by about 7% only. Whereas on my S the battery had drained almost 25%. Quite a big difference
So I think the battery is a huge improvement over the S.
Conclusion
The Xperia Z is the first Xperia phone to be designed and developed by Sony from the ground up and not Sony Ericsson. And it clearly shows. Z is a brilliant phone and completely deserving of the iconic Sony brand name.
Finally a XPERIA that can truly complement it's siblings - VAIO BRAVIA CYBERSHOT and others
My preliminary rating - 9/10
Design -
Simply Gorgeous !!!! Though the screen when OFF isn't as black and flush with the bezel as on the S. Still, undoubtedly one of the BEST looking smartphones EVER IMO. Looks really elegant and classy. Not much else to say
Build Quality -
I guess I now understand what King-James meant when he said Z feels plasticky. It does feel plasticky and not like Iphone 4/4S that is also made of glass.
Does it feel cheap ? No. It feels extremely well built. Let me try to explain the plasticky feeling. It does feel like plastic but not like plastic in ANY other phone, why ? Because it simply isn't plastic. The glass polyamide body is extremely strong yet flexible. That was been demonstrated in videos.
I think I'd go as far to say that this is the first premium smartphone that I would NOT worry about dropping. I am 100% sure it can take multiple falls easily because of the construction. With Iphone 4S like construction you can't have strong durability.
So the Z sacrifices that "glass" feel for durability. And personally I have no issues living with that compromise
Size/Ergonomics -
I was quite shocked to be frank. I expected it to be quite bigger than my S but its actually a lot more compact. It's only slightly taller than the S and quite a bit wider. But fits perfectly in my palm and I have zero issues with the ergonomics of the handset. I also love how thin it is.
The beautiful and prominent power button is a pleasure to use and just so PERFECTLY placed. It makes the Z very easy to use single handed.
Nokia Lumia 920 looks like a FAT BRICK compared to the Z
Screen
The most hotly discussed aspect about the Z - it's screen !!! Is it really a sub standard screen like many are claiming it is ?
In short - NO. Far from it.
Though I have to admit, it's down to personal preference. Not everybody will like the Z screen and some may even call it downright BAD.
If you are someone who works with properly calibrated high end monitors, notebooks like Vaio Z, HP Dreamcolor IPS screens and appreciate accurate and true to life colors over cartoon like "mass market" screens then you will LOVE the Z screen. It has a wide color gamut, true to life color reproduction and no overblown sharpness that tire your eyes on most phones. It's a very easy on the eyes screen like Plasma HDTVs and professionally calibrated high end LCD TVs and monitors.
You can enjoy movies and videos on this for long periods and not feel any strain whatsoever on the eyes.
Coming to contrast and black levels, it's definitely not garbage like some people are putting it. Black levels are slightly better than on the S which has very respectable contrast and black levels. I couldn't measure contrast but will do that in my full review later this month or early next month.
Light leakage and screen uniformity is also better than S.
Overall brightness is also quite high, but lower than S.
So now who will NOT like the Z screen ? People used to SAMOLED, HTC SLCD screens and those that like super sharp, eye burning color saturation and perfect viewing angles.
So if you belong to the above category then the Z is simply not the phone for you and you will HATE the screen.
Overall I'd rate the screen 8/10. Though I might increase it to 8.5/10 if Sony fixes the gamma issue. Also the color temperature is a little towards the colder side. Sony needs to get it closer to 6500K or even 6000K for a slightly warm color temperature.
The speakers are slightly less loud than on the S = Poor. Doesn't bother me much but Sony should have used twin stereo speakers instead of just one. It's simply useless outdoors and even indoors as long as you are not in a room with absolute silence.
Performance & UI
The Sony UI has been refined greatly on the Z. The skinning is much less heavy compared to 2012 Xperia devices. I loved the 2012 Sony UI and I love the 2013 UI even more.
The only thing I hate is the use of GREY color in the UI instead of black.
Performance is absolutely satisfying. Though I didn't install much apps on the unit, it did have quite a few apps from Sony. 1.8GB RAM is user accessible, which is more than the 1.5GB allotted to users on HTC One and Butterfly.
Everything is super quick and super smooth. Absolutely no lags or stutter when navigation the menu ( Turn Force GPU Rendering ON in Developer options). Dialer opens instantly on the Z. This is something that was an issue in almost all 2012 Android devices. Samsung Galaxy S3 also takes 2-3 seconds to open the dialer. But on the Z it's almost instantaneous.
Same with any other app, web browsing is super smooth with no lag. Very close to desktop level web browsing experience on the Z.
I didn't run any benchmarks as there are available easily on multiple sites and I do not believe benchmarks mean much for most users. It's the real life performance that counts. And the Z certainly doesn't disappoint in this aspect. Other phones may score 10-15% higher in benches but there is little scope of improvement in terms of daily usage performance.
The only (little) lag I saw was during the widget overview and adding new widgets. Still it was nothing major and more to do with software rather than the phone lacking in terms of hardware firepower.
NFC worked absolutely fine. Boot ups are pretty quick.
Camera
Didn't test it much so can't say a whole lot. The focus hunting issue from the 2012 Xperia line up is gone. The camera takes very little time to focus and keeps it locked on. Another thing that has been mentioned quite a lot already, the frame rates in the camera app is amazing. No BLUR whatsoever like other phones.
Camera UI is lovely and a lot of controls to customize. Superior Auto is fine but still Manual mode is what you should opt for. Get the settings right and you'll definitely be impressed with the results.
Front Camera quality is very very very good !!!. Though I do not know how it would fare in low light.
The only complaint I have is that the camera app takes about 5-6 seconds to open. Hope Sony fixes this in 4.2.2 update.
Battery Life
Can't say much about battery life but it seemed quite good. In the 1 hour that I used the Z (100% brightness) battery dropped by about 7% only. Whereas on my S the battery had drained almost 25%. Quite a big difference
So I think the battery is a huge improvement over the S.
Conclusion
The Xperia Z is the first Xperia phone to be designed and developed by Sony from the ground up and not Sony Ericsson. And it clearly shows. Z is a brilliant phone and completely deserving of the iconic Sony brand name.
Finally a XPERIA that can truly complement it's siblings - VAIO BRAVIA CYBERSHOT and others
My preliminary rating - 9/10
Last edited:
shreymittal
Being Human
^^you bought xperia z if price please -_-
OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
^
No not mine. I'll buy by the end of the month.
No not mine
. I'll buy by the end of the month.
shreymittal
Being Human
^i have started hating my galaxy y and i can't bear it anymore though i have too till May and battery has also gone kaput.
OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
shreymittal
Being Human
Oh !!
You should get a new battery
No i will not buy new battery because this phone is not worth of any expenses anymore.
jaykant
Broken In
The C530X HuaShan uses the same design language as the Xperia Z – rectangular with slightly rounded corners and the trademark metallic grey Power/Lock key. Results from GLBenchmark point to a 720p screen, while another leak revealed the camera to have a 5MP sensor. -Sourece( gsmarena.com)
pratyush997
Inactive
No chance of HTC one to be priced @ 40k when HTC Butterfly costs 45k
How about Galaxy S IV?
theserpent
Firecracker to the moon
Same with my nokia E6, Will wait still may,
shreymittal
Being Human
dharmil007
Journeyman
Shower with Katrina Kaif
Empirial
Youngling
God please turn me into a SXZ. Mujhe bhi shower lena hai.
OP
randomuser111
Technomancer
Empirial
Youngling
Oooooooh ill throw you in the sea after u take shower with katrina
No problem dude, shower mein apni camera sensor sekne ke baad chahe mujhe iFixit ko handover kar dena. Mein Uff tak nahin karunga!!!
shreymittal
Being Human
Bacha Apki muraad puri nahi ho sakti Katrina ke saath shower lene ka haq mene sirf Salman Khan ko diya hai woh bhi bina SXZ kharide
