Xperia z reviews

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stefanve

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2005
1,028
188
I thought it would be nice to collect de reviews in one topic

As requested, a list of all reviews, thanks to everyone that contributed.
http://www.stuff.tv/review/sony-xperia-z
http://www.techgoondu.com/2013/02/10/goondu-review-sony-xperia-z/
http://blog.clove.co.uk/2013/01/18/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://unleashthephones.com/2013/02/10/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.01net.com/fiche-produit/essentiel-13823/sony-xperia-z (french)
http://www.frandroid.com/test/128142_sony-xperia-z-test-smartphone-android/ (french)
http://www.cnetfrance.fr/produits/sony-xperia-z-le-test-39786008.htm (french)
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-Z-Review_id3247
http://www.eprice.com.tw/mobile/talk/4551/4853305/1/rv/htc-butterfly-蝴蝶機, J Butterfly-review#ystfuv (vs butterfly Chinese)
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?featur...ch?v=ZHuj_jGdwio&feature=youtube_gdata_player (Czech)
http://hi-tech.mail.ru/review/misc/Sony_Xperia_Z-rev.html (Russian)
http://m.t3.com/reviews/sony-xperia-z-review
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z-review-50010121/
http://chinese.engadget.com/2013/02/14/sony-xperia-z-review/ (Chinese)
http://es.engadget.com/2013/02/15/sony-xperia-z-analisis/ (Spanish)
http://www.chip.de/artikel/Sony-Xperia_Z-Handy-Test_60388362.html (German)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PQKJqTSfl3U
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z-review-887p11.php
http://asia.cnet.com/product/sony-xperia-z-46728620.htm
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...ne/3419374/sony-xperia-z-review/-8499991.html
http://www.journaldugeek.com/2013/02/18/test-sony-xperia-z/ (french)
http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/review/2249282/sony-xperia-z-review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z-1119637/review
http://www.pcwelt.de/produkte/Smartp...t-7471704.html (German)
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/smartphones/1298053/sony-xperia-z
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=19801&news=Sony+Xperia+Z+Review
http://tweakers.net/reviews/2915/sony-xperia-z-de-eerste-full-hd-smartphone-voor-nederland.html (dutch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xigKO8Q3SQY
http://www.slashgear.com/sony-xperia-z-review-24270827/
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1819952/sony_xperia_z_review.html
http://ausdroid.net/2013/02/25/xperia-z-review/
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/02/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/videos/3428481/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/6179/sony-xperia-z-review
http://www.whathifi.com/review/sony-xperia-z
http://www.wired.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phones/2013-02/sony-xperia-z-review
http://en.ocworkbench.com/feature/review-of-the-sony-xperia-z-5-jellybean-smartphone/
http://technozein.pathfinder.gr/Sony-Xperia-Z (Greek)
http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/2013/02/28/htc-one-review-this-is-the-one/
http://www.littlegreenrobot.co.uk/phones/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.hardwareluxx.com/index.p...y-xperia-z-part-12-the-fullhd-smartphone.html (part 1)
http://www.hardwareluxx.com/index.p...gadgets/21876-test-sony-xperia-z-part-22.html (part 2)
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2013/02/28/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://geektech.ie/index.php/review-sony-xperia-z
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/03/sony-xperia-z-australian-review-the-magic-is-back-at-sony/
http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Sony-Xperia-Z-Review_13794.html (text)
http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Sony-Xperia-Z-Video-Review_13762.html (video)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...cks-a-powerful-punch/articleshow/18830674.cms
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/sony/sony-xperia-z/19661/sony-xperia-z-review-living-test
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/smartphones/380371/sony-xperia-z
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tech/news/a464298/sony-xperia-z-review-waterproof-wonder.html
http://www.androidauthority.com/sony-xperia-z-review-video-167792/
http://www.intomobile.com/reviews/sony-xperia-z-review/
http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-xperia-z_Mobile-Phone_review
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10870544
http://www.phonedog.com/videos/sony-xperia-z-video-review-part-1/ (part 1)
http://www.phonedog.com/videos/sony-xperia-z-video-review-part-2/ (part 2)
http://www.itpro.co.uk/smartphones/19353/sony-xperia-z-review
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4047/sony-xperia-z-review-sonys-flagship-full-hd-phone
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/11/4084004/sony-xperia-z-review
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/reviews/sony-xperia-z-review-341000
http://www.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-z-review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GlhXpHULwys#
http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2013/03/sony_xperia_z_review/
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Sony-Xperia-Z-Smartphone.89509.0.html
http://pocketnow.com/2013/03/13/sony-xperia-z-review
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/sony_xperia_z_review/

XDA User reviews
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=38586217&postcount=355 by me :)
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=38852962&postcount=380 by robogo1982
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m41CTSrKF3A by ashwin123
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2187090 by Teknohtc
http://www.insidehw.com/reviews/mobility/7638-sony-xperia-z by Mr. Corny

list of none reviews

Screen

good video showing the screen by our very own shem2509 :)
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=38031308&postcount=342

vs lot's of phones
http://s.webry.info/sp/digital-baka.at.webry.info/201302/article_14.html (Japanese)

gaming and screen vs iphone 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZAzUXUoCw

Screen compare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Mmeai9XjXRQ

Camera Compares

low light video vs note 2 and N4
http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/02/1...-shown-off-against-galaxy-note-2-and-nexus-4/

low light still photo comparison S3 / one x
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ySjZUtoieYI

Z and iPhone 5 Cameras and video side by side
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2QIHHTwX5w

Camera vs iPhone 5 by a professional photographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0cN_NPSNu0 (video compare)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udzbOc5BROo (still compare)

Xperia Z up against Nokia’s camera kings – the Pureview 808, N8 and Lumia 920
http://www.mobilexperia.com/xperia-...-kings-the-pureview-808-n8-and-lumia-920.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pureviewclub/sets/72157632928702933/with/8534296302/

VS
vs Butterfly/Droid DNA
http://www.soyacincau.com/2013/03/10/camera-shootout-sony-xperia-z-vs-htc-butterfly/
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_vs_htc_butterfly-review-906.php

vs Nexus 4
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/...xperia-z-vs-google-nexus-4-comparison-review/

vs BB Z10
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/...-blackberry-z10-smartphone-comparison-review/

vs HTC One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KmbZFspFmo

Unsorted

quick battery test
http://blog.gsmarena.com/sony-xperia-z-undergoes-a-quick-battery-test/

promo video
http://www.mobilexperia.com/xperia-z-promo-video-from-sony-mobile-france.html

Proof of Baby Proofness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKY2fn6IIuY

lot's of video's displaying the z from clove.co.uk
http://blog.clove.co.uk/2013/02/13/sony-xperia-z-interactive-image/

Drop tests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61mW65hPJuY

hands on
http://www.androidaustralia.com.au/...anufacturers/hands-on-with-the-sony-xperia-z/
http://blog.gsmarena.com/sony-xperi...dquarters-we-do-video-of-our-first-encounter/
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/48940/sony-xperia-z-pictures-preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0zvSJj_Bsw (French)
http://www.androidcentral.com/sony-xperia-z-hands-and-initial-review

preview
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z-review-884.php

For those that don't want to read all the reviews themselves I will try to add a non biased summary:

Build quality:
Most if not all reviews like the build quality and think it feels and looks like a premium device.
Water resistance works as advertised.
some drop tests where done (not on concrete) and it survived without a scratch.


Screen quality:
Reviewers like the way the screen looks but viewing angles could/should be better eg not as good as the competition, but better than previous Sony devices.
synthetic test done on 100% brightness paint a different picture, the screen doesn't perform as well as it's competition, although color accuracy is excellent.
1080p is nice especially for text but don't count on a spectacular difference with 720p
The reviews that mentioned sunlight readability liked it.

Battery:
Battery is generally regarded as good.
stamina mode works pretty good .


Speed:
Devices feels speedy, no hiccups or slowness.
Syntactic benchmarks find that is is faster than devices that uses the same SOC ergo very fast


Camera:
Some say it's good others say it's rubbish. My take is that it depends on your taste. It is a bit soft and doesn't have a high saturation, so some would say it looks natural while others would say it looks toned down. this is something that is fixable with PS or iPhoto. I'm curious about the performance with a 3rd party camera app.

Sound/ Call quality:
speaker is average and on high volume perhaps below average.,
call quality is average
sound via earplugs/headphone for music etc is good / excellent


Overall:
All reviews agree that this is the best Sony smartphone ever.
All reviews rate 4 to 5 stars or equivalent
Some reviews think it is the best smartphone currently on the market ( or at least you are able to order it) while others think that there are better phones or that it is best to wait for the new HTC/Samsung/LG etc.
 
Last edited:

taxexpert

Senior Member
Jul 26, 2007
103
3
Athens
AnTuTu Benchmark

screenshot2013020918514.png
 

stefanve

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2005
1,028
188

thanks, Google translate works well for this page.

I think at the end of the day, all top Android phones from Sony, HTC and Samsung are great, some will be a bit better in some departments but no landslide differences. And it just boils downs to style.

Personally I can't stand the Samsung feel, design and UI I think it is very ugly. So unless they change something in that department I will never own a Samsung.
For the current generation I would buy the HTC one X+ as the Sony T wasn't up to snuff spec wise (although I like the looks of the Sony better).

So for this generation it is again between HTC and Sony. While I like the one x and loved the original desire ,I just like the Sony design better (including UI). On top of that Sony has very good opensource support so, like I said before, unless HTC bringings a fantastic never before seen phone to the table I will keep my pre-order even if the Z is not the phone to end all phones :).

I guess that all mayor hardware innovation except for battery are done do its maximum.
There is no real need for 1080p so even higher denseness would be insane.
Most if not all people I know how have an S3/iPhone 4/5 etc are perfectly happy speed wise, so while it is nice that the Z is even faster, and by a big margin, is not overly useful.
Sound etc are all good and for facebook, email, web photos all high end phones are pretty good.

What we miss is true software/hardware innovation to make use of the constantly increasing raw cpu/gpu power. So stuff like background video streaming to HDTV (wireless HDMI).
A desktop mode like unbuntu phone, but again should be able to do that while still using your smartphone as a smartphone.
And of course we need better battery tech.
 
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dibdin

Senior Member
Mar 6, 2012
428
48
Kent
Can someone tell me how I go about using Google translate so I can read the above review on my mobile please??
 

stefanve

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2005
1,028
188
Can someone tell me how I go about using Google translate so I can read the above review please??

go to translate.google.com -> paste in the link -> click translate.

or use chrome as your browser as it is built in and will ask you if you would like to have it translated
 

Gitaroo

Senior Member
Nov 21, 2012
479
52
thanks, Google translate works well for this page.

I think at the end of the day, all top Android phones from Sony, HTC and Samsung are great, some will be a bit better in some departments but no landslide differences. And it just boils downs to style.

Personally I can't stand the Samsung feel, design and UI I think it is very ugly. So unless they change something in that department I will never own a Samsung.
For the current generation I would buy the HTC one X+ as the Sony T wasn't up to snuff spec wise (although I like the looks of the Sony better).

So for this generation it is again between HTC and Sony. While I like the one x and loved the original desire ,I just like the Sony design better (including UI). On top of that Sony has very good opensource support so, like I said before, unless HTC bringings a fantastic never before seen phone to the table I will keep my pre-order even if the Z is not the phone to end all phones :).

I guess that all mayor hardware innovation except for battery are done do its maximum.
There is no real need for 1080p so even higher denseness would be insane.
Most if not all people I know how have an S3/iPhone 4/5 etc are perfectly happy speed wise, so while it is nice that the Z is even faster, and by a big margin, is not overly useful.
Sound etc are all good and for facebook, email, web photos all high end phones are pretty good.

What we miss is true software/hardware innovation to make use of the constantly increasing raw cpu/gpu power. So stuff like background video streaming to HDTV (wireless HDMI).
A desktop mode like unbuntu phone, but again should be able to do that while still using your smartphone as a smartphone.
And of course we need better battery tech.

same here, s3 is my first smart phone, and will be last samsung device forever. Hate the UI hate the cheapness of the phone, pentile oled is garbage. Sony and HTC are the only choice left for me on android phones really, but HTC new phones seems to be missing microsd lately, which is a big problem for me. Already have 10 gigs of songs on my sd card in my S3. Why is Xperia T spec not up to snuff? Its the same as the NA model of S3 just with less ram which I find to be not an issue at all since I never go over 800 mb usage on my S3. It comes out late but that doesn't make it weak, if so then the S3 would consider low end and weak by now and it still being sold for 600+ (buyout) in Canada as a flagship phone.
 
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stefanve

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2005
1,028
188
same here, s3 is my first smart phone, and will be last samsung device forever. Hate the UI hate the cheapness of the phone, pentile oled is garbage. Sony and HTC are the only choice left for me on android phones really, but HTC new phones seems to be missing microsd lately, which is a big problem for me. Already have 10 gigs of songs on my sd card in my S3. Why is Xperia T spec not up to snuff? Its the same as the NA model of S3 just with less ram which I find to be not an issue at all since I never go over 800 mb usage on my S3. It comes out late but that doesn't make it weak, if so then the S3 would consider low end and weak by now and it still being sold for 600+ (buyout) in Canada as a flagship phone.

Well in Europe it is relatively speaking weak h/w :) but will cost you only 370 euro. the original one x is 440, S3 is 465, one x+ is 535 all off contract.
So I think price wise it is a good deal but I still would pay an extra 70 for the one x :)
 

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