The first thing that lured me into buying the Xperia Z is now the reason I want rid of the phone.. The flaps are driving me mad and the poor call quality in crowded places and rubbish speaker is useless, I can't hear anyone on the phone if I'm outdoors, the fact is; the One thing I needed and expected the phone to do was be able to make a call and hear the person I'm speaking too..
It's a good phone, but between the call problems, the battery over heating and those awful flaps it's a bit of a nightmare. It's only been 1 month, but thank goodness I'm only on a 12 month contract.. If this is the "best of Sony in a smartphone" then god help them.
Hi, With regard the water resistant flaps these flaps are an integral part of the water resistant design. If you think about it how else could this important and significant feature be achieved? To be honest the flaps are a chore BUT it is the small price we pay for owning a water resistant mobile.
The HTC one has no such flaps and has wonderful full stereo speakers on the front that sound very nice considering its a mobile phone. The massive pay off will be if the HTC one gets wet through those large speakers say goodbye to 700.00euros. I am trying to introduce here the word compromise. What you find unacceptable others will find acceptable.
I have owned a number of other brands ranging from HTC through Nokia to the latest Samsung and apart from the Nokia's the signal strength and call quality have been poor. I live out in the country in the hottest country in Europe and the call signals are very weak here. I am highly pleased to be able to write the XZ is on a par with past Nokia in terms of receiving and maintain a call signal. This is were the water resistant feature should pay a dividend here, it reaches well over 40degrees here and where do men keep their phones? In our pockets, when we get hot we perspire and that alone has damaged no end of mobiles in this country. I jest not, simply keeping a phone in ones pocket can truly lead to water ingress! Still doing battle with Samsung over their Nexus S that they claim has water damage! I was told a mobile cannot be kept in trousers pockets! Don't set me of on this.....Bloomin crazy country.
The speaker on the XZ is pathetic in terms of listening to ones music HOWEVER I don't purchase a mobile phone to use as a stand alone music centre? Purchase some Sennheiser head phones and the stereo reproduction is amazing and I write that with well over 40 years of top end Hi-Fi experience. Though the quality produced by the XZ speaker is truly awful it does perform its tasks well and the volume levels are as good as most other, but not all, available mobiles.
Overheating? I have read about this and though I have not yet experienced this I can understand it, THiNK! Where is any heat to escape from in a water resistant mobile? The XZ is a marvel in design and specification. Its built like a brick, feels and looks like a quality mobile unlike my Samsung GS3 and Note which look like they came from a street vendor even though they are both superb mobile devices.
I am sorry you have not found the XZ to your liking. Its a bad feeling when that happens. I would ask you though to consider the plus factors with XZ ownership and they vastly outweigh some of the phones less positive factors. No phone built yet is perfect, we have to accept some compromise so its all about what you are prepared to sacrifice, its a personal opinion.
I have yet to find the perfect mobile and doubt there will be one. Design alone being highly subjective.
Kindest regards.
