[Q] GPS performance, loudspeaker and camera opinions sought

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joebongo

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
567
10
My main needs are:

1. Excellent GPS - Samsungs are universally crap and TomTom/Sygic/CoPilot always had me jumping around roads, forgetting where it was/which way the car was pointing when stuck in a jam etc. I just use TomTom now on my iPhone and whilst I hate iPhones their GPS/GLONASS implementation is excellent. Anyone used TomTom on a Z2? How did it fare? Both in dense urban situations and on highways and both on clear and cloudy days.

2. Loudspeaker - I do like to listen to radio in the shower and whilst I have no intention of ever taking a phone in there with me a good loudspeaker is a must. I heard the Z1 and possibly the Z2 had crappy loudspeakers due to waterproofing. Is this true? I'm not after a ghettoblaster but a good speaker is fairly important.

3. Camera - The iPhone 4S has a good camera. It opens quickly, HDR mode can cope with a moving toddler (my son rarely is still enough for other phones to cope with) and the camera can cope with shots where there is a window in there without just whiteing out the window area (l don't know the technical name for it but it's when the camera doesn't cope with light and darker areas well such as with the HTC One M8).

These are my main criteria and I'd like to know if the Z2 will meet my needs. It will be a big purchase for me and I can't afford to spend and lose money on a phone which doesn't do these functions well.

Everything else on the Z2 looks absolutely fantastic, just like the M8 and a Note 3 I had recently did except the M8 camera was truly awful (what were they thinking with that ultrapixel nonsense) and the Note 3 was terrible at GPS (five years on since the original Samsung Galaxy and the GPS was still like using a phone from 2005 when some phones didn't have true GPS).

I'd really value some honest opinions guys and gals!

Joe
 
Last edited:

numskull

Senior Member
Oct 19, 2010
261
28
My main needs are:

1. Excellent GPS - Samsungs are universally crap and TomTom/Sygic/CoPilot always had me jumping around roads, forgetting where it was/which way the car was pointing when stuck in a jam etc. I just use TomTom now on my iPhone and whilst I hate iPhones their GPS/GLONASS implementation is excellent. Anyone used TomTom on a Z2? How did it fare? Both in dense urban situations and on highways and both on clear and cloudy days.

2. Loudspeaker - I do like to listen to radio in the shower and whilst I have no intention of ever taking a phone in there with me a good loudspeaker is a must. I heard the Z1 and possibly the Z2 had crappy loudspeakers due to waterproofing. Is this true? I'm not after a ghettoblaster but a good speaker is fairly important.

3. Camera - The iPhone 4S has a good camera. It opens quickly, HDR mode can cope with a moving toddler (my son rarely is still enough for other phones to cope with) and the camera can cope with shots where there is a window in there without just whiteing out the window area (l don't know the technical name for it but it's when the camera doesn't cope with light and darker areas well such as with the HTC One M8).

These are my main criteria and I'd like to know if the Z2 will meet my needs. It will be a big purchase for me and I can't afford to spend and lose money on a phone which doesn't do these functions well.

Everything else on the Z2 looks absolutely fantastic, just like the M8 and a Note 3 I had recently did except the M8 camera was truly awful (what were they thinking with that ultrapixel nonsense) and the Note 3 was terrible at GPS (five years on since the original Samsung Galaxy and the GPS was still like using a phone from 2005 when some phones didn't have true GPS).

I'd really value some honest opinions guys and gals!

Joe

1. Sorry dont really have much use for gps n only got phone this morning so untested


2. Right then, while i wouldnt say the speakers are crap they aren't the loudest, they do sound good tho.... im no audiophile but to me they sounded clear they just didnt go loud enough (altho i wouldnt rule out some form of volume increase app coming along for rooted users at some point) I havent tested the noise cancelling headphones yet but have heard they are very good. On a side note i received a free sont srs btx300 speaker, if you can get one thrown in then its well worth it. Maybe worth noting that altho the low volume may be caused by waterproofing you could keep it closer in the shower so it may not seem that quiet


3. dont know about hdr, ive yet to look at all the camera settings... but there is something called time burst while will 60 shots in 2 seconds, not tested it but read about it, apparently it starts shooting when you open it and it saves the 30 pics from 1 second before pressing shutter and 30 from 1 second after, you then pick the best one(s), should be perfect for capturing a toddler
 
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mushtafa

Senior Member
Aug 19, 2011
602
108
West Sussex, UK
I have to say I'm pretty disappointed by the speakers, thought they would be a lot louder.

The noise cancelling headphones are brilliant though, very clear, and good amount of bass.
 

keyz86

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2008
455
181
Southend
www.facebook.com
A first I did think the speakers were pretty awful in comparison to the M8 however, once I enabled xLOUD from the Sound Enhancement settings it became very comparable!

As for the photos, I regularly take photos of skateboarding and the Timeshift Burst feature on the Sony phones is brilliant for moving shots. Like the other guy said, it constantly buffers the first 30 images while the app is open and then takes another 30 after you press the shutter, you'll always get a handful of great shots at the perfect moment!

As for GPS, I don't drive, but my phone is used as the sat nav whenever I'm in a friends car. I've only ever used Google Maps but I have to say it works flawlessly. Always accurate and very easy to use.

Sent from my D6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
 

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zodiac100

Senior Member
Aug 19, 2010
794
216
The speakers are just fine. Only the m8 beats it for loudness and quality. It's louder than the m7 which was all the rage last year so can't see what the problem is. The speakers on the z2 get the job done and pretty well too especially while watching videos and gaming.
As for the camera, it's to put it simply, only bettered perhaps by the lumia 1020. It takes the most amazing 8mp shots with so much detail it's hard to accept they're actually 8mp snaps. Colour reproduction is frightfully accurate with excellent dynamic range. Crank up the resolution and things noticeably degrade in quality in every respect mostly focusing. The shots are still to notch but just not as good as the truly incredible 8mp snaps.
Never had any problems with gps on any Sony device but the z2's seems better than that on the z. The weather app picks up my location exactly while that on the z was more general.

Sent from my D6503 using xda app-developers app
 

cyneverdie

Member
Jan 16, 2012
15
0
My main needs are:

1. Excellent GPS - Samsungs are universally crap and TomTom/Sygic/CoPilot always had me jumping around roads, forgetting where it was/which way the car was pointing when stuck in a jam etc. I just use TomTom now on my iPhone and whilst I hate iPhones their GPS/GLONASS implementation is excellent. Anyone used TomTom on a Z2? How did it fare? Both in dense urban situations and on highways and both on clear and cloudy days.


Joe

Since when do samsungs's GPS's suck?!
All the notes, S s, and even some of the budget phones I handled NAILED GPS co-ordinates/Google maps etc!

I travel..off-road too...and heavily rely on GPS.

How have you arrived at such a conclusion or your just a hater?
 

corallus

Senior Member
May 5, 2011
430
128
In regards to Sammy gps, I had galaxy s 1 2 & 3, and found the gps took a long time to lock on to satellites but when they did they were very accurate.

Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
 

stress40

Senior Member
How is the Z2's volume when the phone is in your pocket? Just asking cause I work in a loud environment, also, how does the antenna perform when in a building ( like in the middle of a warehouse or basement of shopping centre or department store)? Thanks for the info guys :good:

Pre- ordered on 8/3 and still waiting lol....
 

joebongo

Senior Member
Jun 8, 2005
567
10
The samsungs I've had (the first galaxy and a note 3) were terrible with gps and had me in fields or parallel roads and generally were unusable. Maybe I just had two duff units but looking on the web there were also many people having gps accuracy issues for driving on both models.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

vivftp

Senior Member
Dec 11, 2011
208
39
Since when do samsungs's GPS's suck?!
All the notes, S s, and even some of the budget phones I handled NAILED GPS co-ordinates/Google maps etc!

I travel..off-road too...and heavily rely on GPS.

How have you arrived at such a conclusion or your just a hater?

One of my friends got his Note 3 a couple months ago (he's a long time iPhone user) and we were headed out to meet someone. We were using the GPS on his Note, and for some reason the damned thing was off by a 1-2 intersections! I whipped out my Xperia Z Ultra, and it was spot on for our location.

Dunno what was going on with his Note 3, but damn it sucked. He mentioned that he had run into similar problems with it in the past, so it wasn't a one-off thing either.
 

cyneverdie

Member
Jan 16, 2012
15
0
One of my friends got his Note 3 a couple months ago (he's a long time iPhone user) and we were headed out to meet someone. We were using the GPS on his Note, and for some reason the damned thing was off by a 1-2 intersections! I whipped out my Xperia Z Ultra, and it was spot on for our location.

Dunno what was going on with his Note 3, but damn it sucked. He mentioned that he had run into similar problems with it in the past, so it wasn't a one-off thing either.


Hmmm...never heard that before. The Note 3 rocks!

I assure you that his phone has some serious issues....it should be pin sharp accuracy.
Dying for a Z ultra 2 btw....
With a damn flash/torch!
 

vicedens2002

Senior Member
Mar 27, 2010
405
14
Chennai
Does the videos get recorded in mono or stereo? What's the fps while recording in 720p?

Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
 

sdfgsteve

Senior Member
Dec 24, 2013
96
19
The samsungs I've had (the first galaxy and a note 3) were terrible with gps and had me in fields or parallel roads and generally were unusable. Maybe I just had two duff units but looking on the web there were also many people having gps accuracy issues for driving on both models.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Remember that map apps use an algorithm where it assumes you are continuing on the road it's telling you to go on, assuming that any deviation between the position from the GPS and the real location is due to drift. So it might not be as bad as you think.
 

systoxity

Senior Member
Nov 22, 2008
783
70
I've also had regular problems with my note 3 gps. So sketchy and unreliable. Anyway here's hoping the z2's is better. Hope this thing hurries up and releases in the states!
 

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    My main needs are:

    1. Excellent GPS - Samsungs are universally crap and TomTom/Sygic/CoPilot always had me jumping around roads, forgetting where it was/which way the car was pointing when stuck in a jam etc. I just use TomTom now on my iPhone and whilst I hate iPhones their GPS/GLONASS implementation is excellent. Anyone used TomTom on a Z2? How did it fare? Both in dense urban situations and on highways and both on clear and cloudy days.

    2. Loudspeaker - I do like to listen to radio in the shower and whilst I have no intention of ever taking a phone in there with me a good loudspeaker is a must. I heard the Z1 and possibly the Z2 had crappy loudspeakers due to waterproofing. Is this true? I'm not after a ghettoblaster but a good speaker is fairly important.

    3. Camera - The iPhone 4S has a good camera. It opens quickly, HDR mode can cope with a moving toddler (my son rarely is still enough for other phones to cope with) and the camera can cope with shots where there is a window in there without just whiteing out the window area (l don't know the technical name for it but it's when the camera doesn't cope with light and darker areas well such as with the HTC One M8).

    These are my main criteria and I'd like to know if the Z2 will meet my needs. It will be a big purchase for me and I can't afford to spend and lose money on a phone which doesn't do these functions well.

    Everything else on the Z2 looks absolutely fantastic, just like the M8 and a Note 3 I had recently did except the M8 camera was truly awful (what were they thinking with that ultrapixel nonsense) and the Note 3 was terrible at GPS (five years on since the original Samsung Galaxy and the GPS was still like using a phone from 2005 when some phones didn't have true GPS).

    I'd really value some honest opinions guys and gals!

    Joe

    1. Sorry dont really have much use for gps n only got phone this morning so untested


    2. Right then, while i wouldnt say the speakers are crap they aren't the loudest, they do sound good tho.... im no audiophile but to me they sounded clear they just didnt go loud enough (altho i wouldnt rule out some form of volume increase app coming along for rooted users at some point) I havent tested the noise cancelling headphones yet but have heard they are very good. On a side note i received a free sont srs btx300 speaker, if you can get one thrown in then its well worth it. Maybe worth noting that altho the low volume may be caused by waterproofing you could keep it closer in the shower so it may not seem that quiet


    3. dont know about hdr, ive yet to look at all the camera settings... but there is something called time burst while will 60 shots in 2 seconds, not tested it but read about it, apparently it starts shooting when you open it and it saves the 30 pics from 1 second before pressing shutter and 30 from 1 second after, you then pick the best one(s), should be perfect for capturing a toddler