Why I Chose The Xperia Z and not HTC One

[PokerFaze]

I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]

My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review

Why I Chose The Xperia Z

I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.

The Beauty Meets The Beast

The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.

Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.

User Interface

Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.

Performance Powerhouse

Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.

Camera, Video and Screen

Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.

Connectivity

No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.

Its Music To My Ears

I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.

Speaker & Microphone Quality

The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.

Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.

The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina

I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?

Prepared For Accidents

The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.

Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.

Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER

Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.

P.s Feedback on my review?

 

[_JT]

Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.

I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246

 

[biffsmash]

Great review. I agree with most parts.

Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.

The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.

The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.

One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.

Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.

Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.

HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.

I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.

 

[fookea]

Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :

1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.

2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )

 

[biffsmash]

Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.

I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246

I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.

As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.

The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.

 

[L0cke]

Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.

I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.

 

[PokerFaze]

Thanks for that. I am deciding between the One and Z, and slightly leaning towards the Z at the moment. I do like HTC and Sense UI but then I like what Sony has done too. The Zoe features on the One do look good, but I am sure I could find alternative apps to do similar things, albeit not integrated like on the One.

I do like to flash different ROMs my phones so I guess it might come down to what has the biggest development support.

Hmm... Then I would recommend the Xperia Z. Its bootloader is easily unlockable. But if you prefer the HTC One, there's the Developer edition that ships with the bootloader unlocked, but its not on contract, so you might have to pay more as there are no Carrier subsidies.

I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.

As for burst mode, I have never ever been able to get anything buy a noisy image out of it, and it offers zero improvement in clarity. Interestingly, my pics are generally pin sharp when HDR is off.

The HTC One blurs trees in the distance though.

Exactly! When I take an image with the HTC One, details that are in the background isn't very clear and is noisy. Glad to see that someone has the same opinion as me. As for the Xperia Z, I usually use it in Superior Auto and under 9MP. Images are very clear while burst mode are just blurry images.

Great review ! Some of things i don't understand ( and i've seen this a couple of times already ) are :

1. If you don't like the UI of any android phone there are Launchers . I , for example , don't like the sony launcher . No problem , i went with Nova launcher wich is as closest to stock as I can get. I'm sure you could have done the same on the One.

2.It's an open comunity => I flashed mine with Purexaudio mod and now my loudspeaker is too damn loud on max haha ! ( no bootloader unlocked , just rooted )

True, but then again, whats the point of buying the particular brand or model then? Why not go for the one that has the best specs. Just my 2 cents.

Gonna try Purexaudio. Thanks

Great review. I agree with most parts.

Only issues for me with Z, which are a real shame to me, are the mic and ear piece speakers which do not provide the best call clarity, callers and myself experience weird overprocessed sound and issues when on calls, but they are minor, and the waterproofing accounts for this I imagine.

The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.

The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.

One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.

Aside from those, and the little lags on the phone, which occur not only in the launcher, but also in the UI such as apps and settings menu's etc, the phone is great.

Knowing me, I will love the Z for a while, but then the little issues will grow louder and louder until deafening and i'll have to go off again in search of greener pastures.

HTC One is looking good, barring the sub standard camera.

I wasn't interested in the One, till I saw on in the shop yesterday, compared the speed (which is lag free and superfast), and a HD movie on Youtube side by side with my Z and was left open mouthed at how much better the One was in those departments.

The mic and speakers are alright to me though. Maybe its just me. About the earphones, yeah, they are kinda soft, but loud enough for me. They output the same volume level as I had set before on the iPhone 5 when I was using it. I don't really like my music loud. About Beats Audio, I did not say anything bad about it? I was trying to explain that the ClearAudio+ is similar to Beats Audio on HTC phones that is just a setting that you enable/disable. Don't get me wrong, Beats audio is great. I agree with the little UI lags on the Xperia Z. Its kinda irritating? I don't know. But it does annoy me a little. About the HTC One, yes, its a fast phone, but Sense 5.0 is not for me and no, I won't use launchers. Period. The screen is better? I don't know. Thats what reviews and people that own it say. It actually doesn't matter to me, at least. As long as the screen looks great, who cares if there are other better ones out there. I like my Xperia Z screen just fine, thank you. Call me dumb, but this is just my opinion. And the above is YOUR opinion, and I respect that. Everyone have different views on different phones.

Thanks for letting me know what you think

Thanks for your input. I suggest you take a look at the AnandTech review of the HTC One and you'll find the camera is excellent, if not the best available. I really like my Z but I find it unrealistic to say the camera is better if Sony doesn't fix the extreme post-processing. In low-light conditions the One wins hands down. Not so weird with optical image stabilization and pixels that are twice as big.

I'd suggest taking a picture (in auto mode) of a tree or bush at lets say 2-3 meters distance and then look at the picture at 100%. You'll see it's smeared out. Funny thing is, try the same in burst and you'll see it looks MUCH better.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2221246

Hmm... Sure, I'll have a look. In my experience, I find the Xperia Z camera to be better then the HTC One. The Xperia Z takes great pictures. Details are present even far in the background, unlike the HTC One, which is just a fuzzy mess. Maybe its the particular model that I tried out. I'm just content with my Xperia Z camera now. Thanks for sharing your view

 

[Dannyada1988]

Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.

 

[Cookie Ninja]

Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584

Dead cookies leave no trails...

 

[_JT]

I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.

I would have to say the Z has excellent low light capabilities when flash is not required. I am not impressed with HTC one camera or samples at all and have read reviews that rubbish the HTC One camera.

Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php

 

[Dsteppa]

The only other issue for me, which again is a big shame considering the phone is made by Sony, is the music quality.

The music through the earphones is far too quiet, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Say what you will about Beats audio on HTC phones, but the HTC One X beats the Z into the ground on volume and sound quality.

One X has no distortion at volume levels twice that of the Z! Max volume on the Z is around 30% too quiet, and the sound quality
is a little underwhelming, with the EQ having a strange volume limiting effect on walkman player.

I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).

So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2

 

[_JT]

I totally disagree on this point. The quality I've heard from the XZ surpasses every phone (In my opinion) If you're having some issues regarding the sound try out the sound mods in the dev section.
About the volume itself: I'm biking each day to work with music on (earpiece) and most of the times I don't even come near the 75% mark of volume and even then i hear everything perfect. So that's while the wind is blowing in/over my ear. I've heard some more people complain about the volume itself, each time I read it, I ask myself: What have these people been doing to their ears that they find the sound too low, or either you're all 60+ (No offense).

So if you haven't tried any of the sound mods, I'd say do so, it might change your mind. Each and every day I'm amazed about the sound quality.
Sounds mods (require root):
[SOUNDMOD] PureXAudio v10.1
AC!D Audio Engine v2

After your and biffsmash posts I got curious. Quickly tried my Jamo in-ears and AKG DJ619. Result: Jamo's were VERY loud and max volume on the AKG was just about enough, really wouldn't want any louder than that. Not sure wether I heard distortion but this was streamed, need to listen to good quality recordings first before I can judge sound quality. From what I can remember from my HOX it wasn't really louder.

 

[PokerFaze]

Great reviews. I like sony smartphone's special interface very much, and as well as its music. But I just want to experience the Ultrapixel camera of HTC One.

Be sure to drop by your local Carrier retail store to check it out!

Good review. I did a similar SWOT analysis between the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC Butterfly and finally bought the Xperia Z. Here's the link for those who'd like to see and decide (or comment).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171584

Dead cookies leave no trails...

Thanks! I'll take a look at your post as well.

I am wondering how many people here that say their pictures with the HTC One looks worse actually own the device and have tested it extensively instead of just a quick pic in the store.



Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php

That is good to hear for HTC One users and potential owners. Its actually pretty bad. I spent 30mins at the store checking it out. But that's before the update though. Maybe its much better now

 

[ogzon]

Well I am using Xperia Z for 4-5 day's now.. It's really beautiful phone and if I can say - something different for me..
After years of using Galaxy ( S, S2, S3, Note 2) I decided to switch to Sony for the first time.. Some things are different, but I was able to do those simple things root/CWM.. (And that all I know how to do, but again those are most important things for me).. I don't want to play with those bootloaders because I don't know what it's doing and I can f..k up my phone - so no ROM's for me now..

What I don't like about phone (or where I am little disappointed) :
SOUND is too low on max volume.. On my Galaxy I could never put it on max volume.. Here on max volume is just - pfff... weak..
(Headphones which come with phone - REALLY STUPID not having volume up/down, so you have to take your phone every time when you want to change volume.. That cord on right earphone sooo long, on the left so short - annoying... )

CAMERA - I did't use it for this couple of day's - but I was looking here on XDA thread with Xpera Z images/photos... VERY disappointing.. Photos are just NOT SHARP at all.. Only thing that I am hoping for is that Sony will fix that with some software update.. Because you can't tell me that one SONY whose sensor has been used by so many other phones - can't make its camera perfect (at least better than competition)..

Those are things for now that I can see.. But as I said I am using this phone only for couple of days now - will see..

 

[JPWOA]

Maybe this is interesting to see: http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_software_update_improves_camera_performance-news-5759.php

Might wanna look at this

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_vs_xperia_z-review-917p9.php

Winner: Sony Xperia Z. The color rendering and HDR could have been better, but if Sony tweaks its image processing algorithms, the Xperia Z can put out some pretty good shots. Even as things stand now though, it has an advantage over the HTC One.

The HTC One enjoys a wider FoV, better color accuracy HDR, but the low 4MP resolution limits the resolved detail and image noise eats further into it.

 

[daniel.nguyen]

I've posted this before on the Xperia Z reviews thread, however, I've been reading lots of posts about the Xperia Z vs the HTC One and I'd thought I'd share my opinions on the Xperia Z and why I chose it instead of the HTC One. I've modified some information in the review to tell you more about why I chose the Z. The original can be found here: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40061336#post40061336]

My Honest Sony Xperia Z Review

Why I Chose The Xperia Z

I had the Xperia Z for a month or so and I'm ready to make my review on it. I was up for an upgrade last month(March) and was browsing through phones that may appeal to me. I am coming from an iPhone 5. In the end, there were only 3 phones that caught my eye. The Xperia Z, the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA in the USA. The Butterfly was the first to go as it lacked LTE and NFC. The Xperia Z and the HTC One remained. Luckily, I found a HTC One demo unit in one of the Carriers, Singtel(Plaza Singapura if any fellow Singaporeans wanna check it out). Well hidden in a corner, I should say and it was the Black one. At the same time, The Xperia Z just launched like, 2 days ago(At that time). Picking up the HTC One, I realized how solid it feels, and boy, premium was written all over it. I turned it on and played around with the software. It was good, lag-free and looks great. I tried the camera and I have to say it was horrible. No joke. It was not clear and most details looks fuzzy. Maybe thats just me, but it really looks not on par with phone cameras these days. Sense 5.0 was alright, it was clean and fresh from the previous Sense versions. BlinkFeed was just a Flipboard like widget on the homescreen. Sense 5.0 does looks nice, but it was not for me. I am also afraid of the build of the phone. I am a careless person. I have to admit. My iPhone 5 was covered in scuffs and dents all over the place. Having the full aluminium body makes me shudder every time I imagine dropping it. Wanted to know more but the HTC rep was nowhere to be seen. Next, I went to the Xperia Z demo unit. The Sony Xperia rep there gave me a run through on the specs and features. I was actually pretty impressed and excited by the fact I could take my phone to the shower and use it while showering. To me, what it means by having a good phone is having a good experience. When I picked up the phone, I immediately realized how realistic the colors looked when playing video and viewing images. Outside of that, it looked rather dark. The design was sexy. REALLY sexy. It felt extremely good in the hand and is durable. VERY durable. Dropped it a few times and not a scratch. The thing that closed the deal was the UI. I like the stock UI. In fact, I love it. The Xperia Z's UI is extremely close to stock. The Nexus 4 is not available here, so it was out of the question. The UI is neat, smooth and looked fabulous. Unlike HTC's Sense 5.0, which is an extremely heavy skin and does not appeal to me. With the water resistance, it was clear which is the phone for me. I hope after reading my review, you'll know which phone to get. We are all brothers here at XDA Developers and I hope that whichever phone we use, we may contribute to the developer community and not flame each other because of our personal preferences. XDA Developers is a place for developers, by developers. Lets not let our choice of phone affect that.

The Beauty Meets The Beast

The Xperia Z packs a SnapDragon S4 Pro Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 GPU and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It sports an all glass design, similar to the iPhone 4 and 4S. The Xperia Z has excellent build quality and looks absolutely fantastic. The ports are covered by flaps, which may prove to be an annoyance for some but with good purpose. The most prominent feature of the Xperia Z is probably the on/off button. Its large, and ridiculously well placed. It stands where the thumb rests on the phone, or the index finger if you're using your left hand and is incredibly convenient to press compared to the stretch you'd have to make on other phones. Below that is the volume rocker, also easy to access when needed. The speakers are indeed placed in a horrible position, as its easy to mute with your palm unintentionally but its not an issue for me as I use my phone with my left hand.

Overall, the design turns heads and the hardware don't fail to deliver. Feels solid in the hand, BUT might be a problem for people with small hands as it may cut into it and make it uncomfortable. Very, very impressive Sony.

User Interface

Sony's UI is probably the closes you can get to stock android, and I love it. It's simple, nothing fancy and neat, although, I'd like a Black theme rather then the Grey. There are some UI lags here and there though. The lack of Android 4.2.2 also disappoints me a little but its coming, and I'll wait for it. After all, Good things come to those who wait.

Performance Powerhouse

Lag is a thing of the past with the SnapDragon S4 Pro as everything is buttery smooth, with minor UI lags here and there. Problem solved with one of the launchers. I've also noticed a little waiting time when launching the camera. Games run smoothly and without issue, not to mention looks AWESOME on the Full HD display. Although, I'd prefer to see the SnapDragon 600 on the Xperia Z as a future proof maneuver as games get increasingly power hungry.

Camera, Video and Screen

Video playback is amazing on the Xperia Z, as a result of the Full HD 1080p screen. Words are crisp and I rarely see any pixels other then low-res images. The Camera doesn't disappoint either with a 13MP back camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both camera film 1080p videos as well so vlogging on the phone will definitely be great. However, I did notice that the colors are not on par with other phones and look rather dark. The Bravia Mobile Engine 2 does help and actually make the colors extremely realistic, but only when viewing images and videos. Low contrast ratio here doesn't help either. Had no issue using the phone in daylight. The viewing angles are GREAT. Only having some colors being washed out, I don't see any issue with viewing angles. Even if there is an issue with viewing angles, who cares? Nobody, NOBODY uses their phones 90 degrees unless you're a total idiot.

Connectivity

No issues here. LTE, NFC. What else could you ask for? Have to say though, kudos to Sony on having a campaign on promoting NFC usage and even launching new TVs with NFC compatibility. Wi-Fi is great, only had issue when it keeps dropping on free public Wi-Fi access points. But hey, free Wi-Fi, who knows. No issues with the Wi-Fi at home.

Its Music To My Ears

I listen to music. A lot. Everyday to and fro school, when travelling, heck, even when I'm bored. The bundled headset, The MH-EX300AP is AWESOME in providing high quality sounds. Sony also has ClearAudio+, which is like Beats Audio on the HTC, makes the experience all the more awesome. You can say its like having an orgasm in your ears. Eargasm if i may.

Speaker & Microphone Quality

The speaker, is actually quite the disappointment as number one, its placed in a horrible position. Next, its not as loud as I'd like it to be. There's xLoud, but it sacrifices quality for volume. Considering the quality without xLoud, I'd rather have it disabled. Lastly, as said before, the quality isn't all that great. However, I got the NFC Wireless Speaker, The SRS-BTV5 for free, which solves all the above issues, thus no complaints from me. But its kinda inconvenient to carry a speaker around with you all the time, so yeah. It is an issue.

Call quality is great, however. I can hear the other party clearly and they can hear me clearly too. No issues with dropped calls.

The Xperia Z Runs Far, With Great Stamina

I start my day at 4:30AM and end at 6PM. With 80% battery left. Stamina mode is no gimmick, it really does help with the battery life. Awesome battery life. If the screen is mostly off that is, which is usually the case. I find that if LTE is enabled, battery drains extremely fast, which makes me resort to using HSPA+, which isn't that all bad in my country. HSPA+ use nearly 3 times as less battery then LTE on my set. Location Based Wi-Fi is AWESOME. Its really cool to have your Wi-Fi turn off automatically when you leave the house and turns on then you're back. Not to mention the convenience. The phone will probably last me 2 days or so, but I still charge it every night anyway. Don't we all do?

Prepared For Accidents

The Xperia Z is IP57 certified - dust and water resistant with water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Let's be honest here. We all had times where we wished we could take our phones into the shower or bathtub. That wish is now fulfilled. I take the Xperia Z into the shower with me everyday and text or watch YouTube videos while showering. When the phone is dirty? No sweat. Rinse it under washing water. Now you also do not have to worry about dropping your phone into the water or bring it camping in the desert(whatever the reason LOL). Plus, you can wow your friends or freak your parents out by pouring water on the phone or dunk it into a glass of water. Heck, even take it swimming. Be careful about salt water though, Sony does not recommend dunking it in salt water. With Wet Finger Tracking technology, you don't have to dry your hands to use your phone, although it does get a little jumpy at times. The phone is also quite durable as I've dropped the phone a few time and there's not a scratch. That a plus as I'm usually very careless.

Take note that the phone disables touch input while underwater so, no texting while swimming.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z is a great phone. Its not for everybody, and it has it's fair shares of ups and downs. I am throughly satisfied with it and do not regret not waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One. Its great for the average user and is definitely good enough for me. The water and dust resistance is not necessary but its nice to have. Its smooth, provide great music listening, plays games like a champ. I would recommend it to anybody, but hey, its your call. You have the decision to which phone is right for you and nobody can force you to take the Xperia Z or any phone for the matter. For me, I made my choice, and I have no regrets whatsoever.

Therefore, I dare say: I'M A PROUD SONY XPERIA Z OWNER

Thank you for taking your precious time to read my review. I'm still a noob, and I hope I may be more useful to the developer community here.

P.s Feedback on my review?

I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now

 

[mndgz]

I just could not decide so got both One and Z

 

[anhquansei]

Water proof, without that, i wouldn't have bought Z .

 

[PokerFaze]

I have Xperia Z for 2 weeks. For me the battery is horrible, it ends up for only one day. I'm thinking to much about HTC One. Now I rooted my Z, removed preloaded apps, battery is fine now

hmmm... The battery life on mine is awesome. 8 hours in school and the battery doesn't drop a single percentage. The preloaded apps might be the issue.

I just could not decide so got both One and Z

Well, I guess that solves the problem as well


Sent from my Sexy White Xperia Z

 

[Benruk]

I thiink exactly the same, great post