Sony Experia Z / ZL

[Royston]

These two phones look quite interesting. The Z is water resistant to 1M and up to 30minutes in the drink. the spec list looks really quite impressive as well. I'm frankly quite bored of the iPhone and one of these might just plug the gap.

The ZL has an in built universal remote for infra red devices. Both have proper full HD resolution but dont employ the goodness of the super AMOLED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le1Vq39uaU8

[Macdemon]

If I were choosing, I'd opt for the ZL. :think:

I used to own a Sony Ericsson P900 and that was SUPERB.

Used apps too, so Apple DIDN'T invent the concept!!!

[Royston]

I think I'd opt for the ZL too. Mainly coz of the size. The Z looks almost like a Note but both phones have exactly the same internal hardware.

I shall await the price list for these two behemoths.

[SimonK24]

I know I'll be going for the Z when my upgrade time comes (about 3 months away). I've had my Xperia Arc for nearly 2 years now and has never let me down, brilliant phone.

I don't like the way apple have control over everything you do, and I've never really liked samsung phones (also their Kies software is useless, gave up trying to help a friend in the end as it simply wouldn't work properly). The issues my mates have had with both iphones and SGS3's is frankly ridiculous.

Personally I don't like the super AMOLED screen, it doesn't look natural to me, it's too blue.

I'll happily have another Sony phone, knowing how good they are without all the media hype surrounding them.

Oh and if you think Sony are copying Apple with the design of this new phone, do some reading

Edited 14 January, 2013 by SimonK24

[Royston]

The last time I had a Sony phone was a W800i Walkman phone. It was last seen on the sofa in a 'live entertainment' venue in Doncaster. It was alright like but not very good quality.

I've had A Samsung windows mobile phone before and that was truly horrendous. The most recent Samsung was a Galaxy Ace which was really quite good but too slow. It was very plasticky though. Ive had a go on an S3 as well, impressed with the screen quality but the rest of the phone whilst looking gorgeous didnt feel very solud to me.

I totally agree about the Kies software though. Not fit for purpose at all.

I like the build quality of the iPhone and would like something equally as solid. The ZL looks to be a well engineered device. The more I see of it the more I like. Could do with some proper hands on reviews though instead of first looks.

[JohnMcL7]

I've been impressed with some of the recent Sony models and the Z definitely catches my eye as a possible replacement for the Note, the fixed battery is disappointing but at least there's the fair trade-off with the shock/dust/water resistance. Plus it keeps a micro SD slot which is a must for me and something fewer and fewer phones seem to be coming with. I'm not sure how useful 1080p will be on such a small screen though, I'm normally a resolution junkie but 1080p on an 10in seems very high res and I've never had an issue with the 1280x800 resolution of the Note.

My Note will be a couple of years old later so will probably wait and see what the Note 3 offers and make the decision then, there's a lot of rumours going around but if the Note 3 does get the new quad core A15/quad core A7 platform that Samsung announced at CES that could be very impressive although it seems more like a tablet platform to me for the size it must be.

John

[gadgetman]

Is it just the z that's waterproof?

[trundlenut]

Is it just the z that's waterproof?

Yes.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

[Royston]

Apparently the ZL is not for the UK market. Sony are only releasing it as a lower cost phone in emerging markets.

I still like the Z though although I'll have to see how mahoosive it is compared with the piephone 4S.

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

http://www.gizmag.com/iphone-5-vs-sony-xperia-z/25854/

[Grizzle]

Xperia is thee better phone compared to the iphone, the iphone is just too tall and not wide enough it looks soo out of proportion.

Xperia and nexus 4 are seriously close on spec, both trounce the ifail.

[justinbarrow]

I am ordering a Sony Xperia Z on Monday when they come back into stock with virgin, I am with them monthly sim only monthly and because I get virgin media services I can have the Xperia z with no upfront cost, 1200 any network minutes, 1000 texts, Free calls to any virgin mobile phone and free insurance for £17.99 a month on a 24 month contract.

I have done the maths and it comes to around £431.76 over the 2 years but if I bought this handset sim free it would cost £500 then I would have to pay for a package of calls on top.

I am moving up from a Sony Xperia Arc S which was a great phone. I think Sony and Samsung this year will be the ones to beat - The I Phone....well all I can say is I know loads of people that have them and want to switch as the specs on new phones now are more superior to the IPhone.

Samsung have yet to unveil their Galaxy S4 very soon, god only knows what specs that will have, Bottom line is you can never keep up with technology and with phones tying you into 24 month contracts you can soon be left behind in a matter of months, Its getting silly now.

Edited 9 March, 2013 by justinbarrow

[SimonK24]

I have just changed from an Xperia Arc to the Xperia Z.

First week in, so far so good. Love the handset, everything is super fast, and it feels like it is made to a very high standard. Only negative so far, is sometimes the camera is a bit hit and miss with the quality. Hopefully Sony will sort this out with a future update.

Oh and its a great trick dropping your phone in your pint down the local, peoples faces are priceless

[GentleGiant]

I like the look and spec of the Z - I have owned and enjoyed a number of Sony phones, in fact I still have an ancient Z7e around here somewhere; but I really HATE suffering from battery fatigue; so until smart phones can start quoting battery time in multiples of DAYS rather than HOURS I will stick to my old "dumb" waterproof phone, which even after 4 years of use STILL only needs charging once a week at most.

[SimonK24]

It depends on what you use your phone for, if you mainly use it for calls, and is on standby the rest of the time, I used to be able to get about 5 days out of my old arc. Use the phone as a computer though and naturally the battery will get consumed.

[justinbarrow]

I really HATE suffering from battery fatigue; so until smart phones can start quoting battery time in multiples of DAYS rather than HOURS I will stick to my old "dumb" waterproof phone, which even after 4 years of use STILL only needs charging once a week at most.

Thats how many people feel - As you say the battery life on new phones is terrible but it can only be a matter of time until this changes with wireless charging coming into effect.

[JohnMcL7]

Samsung have yet to unveil their Galaxy S4 very soon, god only knows what specs that will have, Bottom line is you can never keep up with technology and with phones tying you into 24 month contracts you can soon be left behind in a matter of months, Its getting silly now.

I don't find that the case at the moment, the technology is moving on well but the bigger jumps only come every couple of years. I have an 18 month old Note and there's not been much point in upgrading, the Note 2 has a beefier processor but in practice it's not much of an upgrade to the Note particularly with the new JB upgrade to the Note. By the time it's a couple of years old and the Note 3 is likely a reasonable upgrade, similarly while the S4 may well have some fancy specs I doubt it will be a big upgrade to the S3 in practice particularly as it takes time for new hardware to be properly supported.

John

[Royston]

I went to phones 4 U to have a look at the mighty Z. It is a hell of a big phone. Almost phablet like in reality. I don't know whether the physical size of the phone would prevent me from using it at work. (Lots of outdoor work where sometimes things can escalate quickly!) I would worry about it getting damaged.

The Z has some sort if intelligent power distribution where it automatically switches power hungry hardware and apps off when it goes into standby. It's supposed to make a real difference to the battery life and you can customise the switch off criteria to your own requirements.

[gadgetman]

I went to phones 4 U to have a look at the mighty Z. It is a hell of a big phone. Almost phablet like in reality. I don't know whether the physical size of the phone would prevent me from using it at work. (Lots of outdoor work where sometimes things can escalate quickly!) I would worry about it getting damaged.

The Z has some sort if intelligent power distribution where it automatically switches power hungry hardware and apps off when it goes into standby. It's supposed to make a real difference to the battery life and you can customise the switch off criteria to your own requirements.

Not keen on the trend for 5" either.

Just got an S3 for work, and it's too fricking big! It's what puts me off the Nexus 4 and new HTC One. IMO once you start getting to that size, may as well carry a tablet around instead.