Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

I am starting to wonder if there is a calibration issue with the battery.

by the way, sorry about the huge screen caps, the latest Imageshack uploader doesnt resize.

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The phone hasnt been hammered, but I know from experience the S2 would have been dead late last night.

I might try STAMINA mode next time I charge it to see how that goes.

Other things. The speaker doesn't seem to be as good as the S2. It is ok, but doesn't seem to have the bass of the S2. I expect the waterproof membrane has something to do with that. With headphones it is fine.

The port covers could be an issue over time. I was listening to some PODcasts in the car and the headphone port cover ended up under the phone and a bit bent up. There is only 2 port covers, for the micros USB charge port and the headphones, but I will be interested to see how they hold up over time.

I am not sure if this phone has some sort of sound enhancement or not, but talking to Macca and w00dsy over the past few days, they sound crystal clear. The speaker in the top of the phone that you use when you are on the phone certainly doesn't have the volume of the S2.

Hope this is helping people thinking about this phone. So far, I think it is great. The size is the biggest down point with regards to trying to use it one handed.

I will keep adding stuff as I think of it.

Any questions, ask away. I dont think I have ever been the first adopter on ARSE before. :)
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by nutty »

What's the screen on time? I struggle to get much over 16 hours on mine throughout the day (tho I txt,mail and call heaps)
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

nutty wrote:What's the screen on time? I struggle to get much over 16 hours on mine throughout the day (tho I txt,mail and call heaps)

Screen on time is now 2h 01m. Is down to 20% now.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Sarsippius »

The Xperia Z looks like a nice phone but I wouldn't expect it to be more "rugged" than any other smart phone, I'd still be careful with it mate. (I mean bumps and things)

I'm a fairly light user despite being a bit of an enthusiast so I'm used to 2+ days out of my HTC One XL but it sounds like the Z might match it with my usage. Just today though I've bought the HTC One which is purportedly a little worse for battery, only had it on for a few hours but in all other respects it's quite superb.

Anyway glad your happy with your purchase norbs, as much as I think the One is the better phone that's the main thing :yes:
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by durbster »

Sarsippius wrote:The Xperia Z looks like a nice phone but I wouldn't expect it to be more "rugged" than any other smart phone, I'd still be careful with it mate. (I mean bumps and things)
It should be - toughness is one of the selling points of the Xperia Z so I would expect it to be stronger than most. It's water resistant to a metre - dropped in the pint-proof - and dust resistant.

Frankly I'm surprised they're not all making them water resistant. I freak out when I get caught in the rain with my phone.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Sarsippius »

Looks like your right, checking a few youtube vids it does look more rugged than other smart phones. I'd only had a brief look at one in store and it seemed like any other smart phone which I guess also deserves some credit.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

I dont expect it will be too long before it gets a test. I am a little clumsy with phones.

I have been struggling with a head cold the last couple of days so mainly lying around watching TV. I just put it on charge as it was down to 6% battery, after nearly 60 hours on battery.

I might give it a flogging over the next few days to see how quick I can run it down.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

There is a bit of chit chat about the S4 coming out in a rugged version. Interesting.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Duke »

Sent this to norbs direct but htought I'd post here as well.

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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Vilante »

Norbs, how is your Sony travelling? Getting a new phone very shortly and weighting up what I should get :)
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

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Vilante wrote:Norbs, how is your Sony travelling? Getting a new phone very shortly and weighting up what I should get :)
I am very happy. It got pissed on on Saturday (forgot the car windows were open when I was out taking photos) and I just wiped the water off. Pity I couldn't do that with the car seat.

I think I have mentioned it before, but if anything, it is a little too big.

The battery is fucking awesome. Screen is great. Takes calls. Data is super fast in Nowra. Overall, 8.5/10.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Vilante »

norbs wrote:
Vilante wrote:Norbs, how is your Sony travelling? Getting a new phone very shortly and weighting up what I should get :)
I am very happy. It got pissed on on Saturday (forgot the car windows were open when I was out taking photos) and I just wiped the water off. Pity I couldn't do that with the car seat.

I think I have mentioned it before, but if anything, it is a little too big.

The battery is fucking awesome. Screen is great. Takes calls. Data is super fast in Nowra. Overall, 8.5/10.
Thanks mate, will go and check it out size wise before we order :yes:
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Cutter »

I like my Xperia Active so much I just bought another while their still available.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Duke »

So I've had an Xperia Z for about 2 months now, it's a work phone but I use it full time personally as well.
So for what it's worth here's my findings.

- Physical size is a touch large even for my Gorilla paws. But then all the newer higher-end smartphones are relatively the same size (4.8" - 5.0" screens).
- Also it's very thin & I find it hard to get a good confident grip on it when picking it up.
- But off-setting the above is the screen which is sensational & imho has very natural colours.
- It feels super solid, looks sleek & feels like you have something in your hand (not plastic).
- Battery life for me is about the same as my old iPhone 4. Not sure how norbs gets so much longer, maybe I use it more???
- I love the idea of the lock button on the side but also hate it when I inadvertently touch it at times.
- The flaps to open the ports do shit you a bit but is worth what they offer being a water & dust resistant phone.
- The location of the charging port on the handset is horrible, it's also fiddly to insert the charging lead most times especially in the dark.
- The AC charger has the USB lead coming out one side, so can only be used on one side of a double outlet power point.
- The camera does a good job although it can act a little weird at times as it refocuses when you hit the shutter button. It could be a settings issue but it does happen on full-auto which has been the best setting for me to get consistent results. Also I ended up setting the resolution lower into the 5M / 4:3 format as the highest setting produces a huge photo @ 12M.
- The tilt function works but I find you have to hold the handset vertically to force it to change between portrait & landscape. If it is even on a slight angle it won't change. Which compared to the iPhone is the polar opposite as I found the iPhone too sensitive & quick to change at times.
- The soft buttons (back, home & tasks) at the bottom of the screen take a bit of getting used to & forget about being able to find them by touch without looking at the phone.
- The supplied headphones are pretty good but are the noise isolating type which some ppl may not like.
- On that I find that playing any media with any type / manufacturer headphones that the volume is quite low. I have heard this is the case with many of the new handsets &/or the Android JellyBean OS. The volume of the headset is fine for phone calls however.
- The hands-free speaker is sufficient, clear & loud enough so don't let any reports to the contrary worry you. But it ain't no HTC One nor is it trying to be.

That's about all I can think of right now. Hope it helps some of you here.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

The Z3 is coming. And they are claiming 48 hours of battery.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobi ... 0c50p.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So you blokes might get a day out of it. :D
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by w00dsy »

I wonder what size battery they will use. It'd almost have to be 4000mAh to get that much out of it.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Scottie »

If I didn't have another year or so to use my GS4, I'd be all over the Z3 compact... 5 inch screen is just a bit too much for me.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by matticooper »

What? Scottie talking in 1st person? Say it isn't so....
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

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Fake Scottie!! Fake i say.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

My phone update to 4.4.4 last night. What a cluster fuck.

They have changed the way apps can write to the SD card and a lot of my stuff is broken now.

PODcatchers are going beserk this morning.

Photos are missing.

Jesus. :rolleyes:
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by Duke »

Ah that's crap, I saw the update last night too. I refrained from updating for the very reason you have experienced.
So tks for being the Guinea Pig, I'll wait a few days before doing it.
So I guess there is no way you can roll-back?
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

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Having done a bit of reading, it seems it is badly written apps more than the update. Another podcatcher I have had no issues at all.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by NeilPearson »

So I managed to get me a Sony Xperia Z3 out of telstra since they couldnt swap me a decent phone for my Nexus 5.

Review:

Battery life is phenominal, so much better than the Nexus 5. i can actualy use it, and not bring a charger with me where ever I go. camera is awesome, aswell as the screen. I have a few cons, but coming from the nexus 5 and stock android, its hard to not notice things that sony made worse.

Keyboard is horrible, i installed the google keyboard, i can type again. the default apps are a little off to, taking a bit to get used to. I was to at least try run the phone before i just put stock android onto it.

The biggest con for me with the phone is, its slippery as hell. it couldnt get any more slippery, it just slides out of your hand. Laying in bed, if i put the phone on the bed, and im on my side using it, it will slide into me. its not cool. Im going to break it I know, unless I get a cover... and I hate Covers. I actually woke up this morning to it falling off my bed from a notification. it wasnt even near the edge. I really dont get the thought process of "oooh shiny and slippery is good"

Other than that, loving it.
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by wobblysauce »

What about something like a dbrand skin.

https://dbrand.com/shop/xperia-z3
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Re: Sony Xperia Z (Was rugged smartphone)

Post by norbs »

NeilPearson wrote:So I managed to get me a Sony Xperia Z3 out of telstra since they couldnt swap me a decent phone for my Nexus 5.

Review:

Battery life is phenominal, so much better than the Nexus 5. i can actualy use it, and not bring a charger with me where ever I go. camera is awesome, aswell as the screen. I have a few cons, but coming from the nexus 5 and stock android, its hard to not notice things that sony made worse.

Keyboard is horrible, i installed the google keyboard, i can type again. the default apps are a little off to, taking a bit to get used to. I was to at least try run the phone before i just put stock android onto it.

The biggest con for me with the phone is, its slippery as hell. it couldnt get any more slippery, it just slides out of your hand. Laying in bed, if i put the phone on the bed, and im on my side using it, it will slide into me. its not cool. Im going to break it I know, unless I get a cover... and I hate Covers. I actually woke up this morning to it falling off my bed from a notification. it wasnt even near the edge. I really dont get the thought process of "oooh shiny and slippery is good"

Other than that, loving it.
The bride had the same issue with her iPhone.

Now it sports a silicon cover that I got free from Tour Down Under 2 years ago. It is orange and I never thought she would like it, but it never comes off the phone.
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