Ok. So. Before I begin, I am telling the world my experience with Sony because I feel an injustice has been committed and I want to let people know what they are getting themselves in for.
Right.
So, the day the Xperia Z was released in New Zealand, I went out and purchased one. After seeing many videos on YouTube of people banging the phone on the edge of tables and dropping it into water, I was convinced that it was both durable, functional and fashionable.
So last last week, I was doing the same as any regular day, which was making my hour long commute into University.
That day I had a test, which meant I was pretty nervous about studying, so I decided to stop holding my phone (which is what I usually do on the bus.. just hold my phone and listen to music), and place it in my satchel bag which was on the chair beside me.
After about 10 minutes of listening to music, I decided the current song I was listening to wasn't what I wanted to hear. So, I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. I noticed some "fluff" on the bottom of the phone, but figured it was just some out of my bag that had gotten stuck to the screen and shrugged it off. I turned on the phone using the power button on the side, and then tapped my finger on the next song button. Nothing happened. I then assumed it had something to do with the so-figured "fluff" on the bottom of the phones display by the mic , and as I reached to brush it off with my finger I noticed that it wasn't fluff at all... It was a group of cracks....
I then angled my phone, and saw that there were a few cracks running to various points on the perimeter of the screen. It was shocked.. and taken aback... How did an Xperia Z, which is marketed as this "durable" beast, succumb to the most mundane of things?
The phone did not break underwater after saving my life from a bullet in an underwater gunfight as I had imagined... No, it had broken in a bag, on a bus.
I later called the hotline, who noted straight away that it was physical damage, even though in a bag on a bus surely is considered in "typical use" as the warranty says, and referred me onto a service center in Auckland.
After hearing a verbal $200-250 estimate repair bill, I paid $40 for a technicians analysis, which was then to be deducted off the final price.
I gave them a call to ask about the repair, and they gave me a new figure. Double that of their estimate. $483...
So my phone is on the threshold of being a write-off ($999 retail). With absolutely no sympathy from Sony, and a massive bill to pay if I am to use it again.
I think this is terrible.. My old phone.. Correction -- current phone.. An iPhone 4, has survived drops, bangs, BUS RIDES, and even a trip in the toilet, without need for repair or damage other than a couple scrapes. No dead pixels... Still works as new practically.
TL;DR "durable" Xperia Z glass front panel cracked doing the most mundane of tasks, in a bag, on a seat, in a bus. Phone is more or less a write-off, and Sony has offered no support or sympathy.
Thanks for reading...
P.S if anyone wants pictures, I cannot post them until I retrieve the phone from the repair shop. I just called today about a quote after the technicians analysis.
Right.
So, the day the Xperia Z was released in New Zealand, I went out and purchased one. After seeing many videos on YouTube of people banging the phone on the edge of tables and dropping it into water, I was convinced that it was both durable, functional and fashionable.
So last last week, I was doing the same as any regular day, which was making my hour long commute into University.
That day I had a test, which meant I was pretty nervous about studying, so I decided to stop holding my phone (which is what I usually do on the bus.. just hold my phone and listen to music), and place it in my satchel bag which was on the chair beside me.
After about 10 minutes of listening to music, I decided the current song I was listening to wasn't what I wanted to hear. So, I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. I noticed some "fluff" on the bottom of the phone, but figured it was just some out of my bag that had gotten stuck to the screen and shrugged it off. I turned on the phone using the power button on the side, and then tapped my finger on the next song button. Nothing happened. I then assumed it had something to do with the so-figured "fluff" on the bottom of the phones display by the mic , and as I reached to brush it off with my finger I noticed that it wasn't fluff at all... It was a group of cracks....
I then angled my phone, and saw that there were a few cracks running to various points on the perimeter of the screen. It was shocked.. and taken aback... How did an Xperia Z, which is marketed as this "durable" beast, succumb to the most mundane of things?
The phone did not break underwater after saving my life from a bullet in an underwater gunfight as I had imagined... No, it had broken in a bag, on a bus.
I later called the hotline, who noted straight away that it was physical damage, even though in a bag on a bus surely is considered in "typical use" as the warranty says, and referred me onto a service center in Auckland.
After hearing a verbal $200-250 estimate repair bill, I paid $40 for a technicians analysis, which was then to be deducted off the final price.
I gave them a call to ask about the repair, and they gave me a new figure. Double that of their estimate. $483...
So my phone is on the threshold of being a write-off ($999 retail). With absolutely no sympathy from Sony, and a massive bill to pay if I am to use it again.
I think this is terrible.. My old phone.. Correction -- current phone.. An iPhone 4, has survived drops, bangs, BUS RIDES, and even a trip in the toilet, without need for repair or damage other than a couple scrapes. No dead pixels... Still works as new practically.
TL;DR "durable" Xperia Z glass front panel cracked doing the most mundane of tasks, in a bag, on a seat, in a bus. Phone is more or less a write-off, and Sony has offered no support or sympathy.
Thanks for reading...
P.S if anyone wants pictures, I cannot post them until I retrieve the phone from the repair shop. I just called today about a quote after the technicians analysis.
