Just wanted to share why I'll be returning mine after one day of use, for those interested. Not trying to bash the device or anything. First I want to say that it's more an issue with me and my personal preferences than an issue with the tablet, depending on how you want to see it.
1. The screen
I'm not a fan of what I perceived as dull and washed out colors on this device. They aren't as vivid as on my Note 2 for an example. Yes I activated the Bravia Engine and tried it turned off as well. Blacks aren't really black but grey almost. These issues makes the whole screen look poor and boring in my opinion. Especially when playing the same movie on both the Note and XTZ simultaneously.. the difference is huge. There was also some light bleeding around every side of the screen. Mostly noticeable with black colors, which would have been fixed if the black colors were black/turned off and not lit to the point of looking grey. The most important thing for me with a device centered around a screen, like phones, tablets and TV's is of course the screen itself. So for this reason alone it's going back. I tried looking for a fix but couldn't find anything..
You might wonder, "didn't you try it out first before you bought it?". Yes, I did for a couple of minutes and I also watched plenty of video reviews where these issues weren't mentioned or noticeable. But once I got home and tried it in different light conditions and had more time to play around with it, the difference in screen colors was more apparent. Besides I wasn't too worried about having to return it if I didn't like it since I bought it from a store that lets you buy a product, try it out and then decide if you want to keep it or return it, within a month.
2. Battery life
2 hours of watching a movie drained 35% of the battery life. Wi-Fi and all other applications turned off. I wasn't impressed. Not just when watching movies but playing games and browsing the web did the battery drain fast... I had to charge it after 4 hours of use which brings me to the next issue I have with the device..
3. Charging time
I initially thought there was something wrong with mine when I charged it for the first time. After 2 hours of charging the green juice in the battery icon was barely halfway through.. The battery took almost 5-6 hours to charge fully from 0%, the device was turned off while charging btw. I looked this up on forums and yes, according to others the charge time is very slow.
4. Lag
There were some lag and I'm not talking about the minimal lag there usually is with Android devices. But lag that could freeze the device for seconds for no apparent reason. This happened a couple of times, like when using Google Chrome and when I was on the homescreen. I don't know if this is because of the hardware or the combination of Sony + Android software. Point is, it lags too much compared to my Note 2. It felt like my old Note 1...
5. "Water resistant"
I was mainly interested in this device because of its waterproof capability, which to begin with wasn't so impressive. 30 minutes max. submerged in water up to 1 meter down. I was mainly planning on using it in the bathtub after work. But then I read on some forums that some people had issues with water breaking through the tabs or the tabs themselves breaking off. The tabs didn't feel so sturdy/reliable after I had the chance to close and open them up a couple of times. Felt like they would wear out and ultimately let water through. So I didn't really trust that feature..
So, those are the reasons it's going back. I'll look for something else or wait for the right thing for me to be released. Cheers!
SrAdama said:
Just wanted to share why I'll be returning mine after one day of use, for those interested. Not trying to bash the device or anything. First I want to say that it's more an issue with me and my personal preferences than an issue with the tablet, depending on how you want to see it.
1. The screen
I'm not a fan of what I perceived as dull and washed out colors on this device. They aren't as vivid as on my Note 2 for an example. Yes I activated the Bravia Engine and tried it turned off as well. Blacks aren't really black but grey almost. These issues makes the whole screen look poor and boring in my opinion. Especially when playing the same movie on both the Note and XTZ simultaneously.. the difference is huge. There was also some light bleeding around every side of the screen. Mostly noticeable with black colors, which would have been fixed if the black colors were black/turned off and not lit to the point of looking grey. The most important thing for me with a device centered around a screen, like phones, tablets and TV's is of course the screen itself. So for this reason alone it's going back. I tried looking for a fix but couldn't find anything..
You might wonder, "didn't you try it out first before you bought it?". Yes, I did for a couple of minutes and I also watched plenty of video reviews where these issues weren't mentioned or noticeable. But once I got home and tried it in different light conditions and had more time to play around with it, the difference in screen colors was more apparent. Besides I wasn't too worried about having to return it if I didn't like it since I bought it from a store that lets you buy a product, try it out and then decide if you want to keep it or return it, within a month.
2. Battery life
2 hours of watching a movie drained 35% of the battery life. Wi-Fi and all other applications turned off. I wasn't impressed. Not just when watching movies but playing games and browsing the web did the battery drain fast... I had to charge it after 4 hours of use which brings me to the next issue I have with the device..
3. Charging time
I initially thought there was something wrong with mine when I charged it for the first time. After 2 hours of charging the green juice in the battery icon was barely halfway through.. The battery took almost 5-6 hours to charge fully from 0%, the device was turned off while charging btw. I looked this up on forums and yes, according to others the charge time is very slow.
4. Lag
There were some lag and I'm not talking about the minimal lag there usually is with Android devices. But lag that could freeze the device for seconds for no apparent reason. This happened a couple of times, like when using Google Chrome and when I was on the homescreen. I don't know if this is because of the hardware or the combination of Sony + Android software. Point is, it lags too much compared to my Note 2. It felt like my old Note 1...
5. "Water resistant"
I was mainly interested in this device because of its waterproof capability, which to begin with wasn't so impressive. 30 minutes max. submerged in water up to 1 meter down. I was mainly planning on using it in the bathtub after work. But then I read on some forums that some people had issues with water breaking through the tabs or the tabs themselves breaking off. The tabs didn't feel so sturdy/reliable after I had the chance to close and open them up a couple of times. Felt like they would wear out and ultimately let water through. So I didn't really trust that feature..
So, those are the reasons it's going back. I'll look for something else or wait for the right thing for me to be released. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely concur with points 2, 3, 4 & 5. I watch a lot of movies on this tablet, but as you say, despite airplane mode and the Mobile Bravia Engine turned off, the battery drain is absolutely phenomenal. My device is constantly on charge - it takes a good 6 hours, if not more to charge the tablet to 100%, watch a movie or two, or a long YouTube video and it's time to recharge again!
I rooted my tab - in the build.prop I changed the WiFi refresh interval to like 10 minutes, but even that doesn't stop the constant drain!
Point No.5, I can understand your concern here - so far, I've used my tablet vigorously in water. Several times in the bath and once in the shower. All times where successful with the covers tightly closed. Leading on from that, I know this is likely to be un-avoidable, but it seems a bit of a waste having a 'water-resistant' device that responds to water 'touches' on the screen. It makes watching a film a nightmare. I did however install the beta touch block from the ZR, but whenever the screen is touched (constantly in the water) a large label appears in the center of the screen with a slide bar to deactivate it - plus, the screen turns a slightly transparent black (on purpose) meaning it's useless got even a film.
It's a good stab by Sony, let down completely by the software. I've had it since release. so refund is not an option. If it was, I would - on eBay they're only going for half the price I paid so I'm really stuck with it... No 4.2.2 for the WiFi either!
I'm not in agreement with some of your points but in others I do agree. I contacted Sony today as last night this Tablet failed badly IMO. I had the fun job of rebuilding my main server. So I plugged in the tablet to the mains and set up a load of TV to stream from my NAS. A few hours into the job.....silence!! At first I thought I'd left on some power save setting, but no. Despite being plugged in and having about 70% of charge in the battery to start with it drained it totally and the tablet shut down. I don't think it's asking too much to expect it to keep running when plugged into the mains.
I've either got a faulty one or they have a serious design fault.
Sorry to hear you didn't like it but clearly everyone has their own preferences etc. Personally I love the XZ Tablet. I seem to get better battery life than you do, though I've had mine longer so maybe the battery has "settled in" - if they do that I don't know.
The charging times are quite bad I agree but it isn't an issue for me. It has plenty of juice to get through two days for me and I just charge it overnight.
I haven't experienced the lag like you mentioned. I did have it freeze up for about 5 seconds last night but that was the first "issue" I've had. I find the tablet extremely quick and responsive. There is the odd Android lag now and again but nothing that bothers me at all.
Good luck with your next tablet. Maybe wait for the next Nexus 10. That should be a beast.
I am really surprised to see how many people complain about the battery life of this device. Usually I feel that its me who have bad battery on every device while other people praise how good it is.
I just 2 weeks ago flew from Helsinki to Hong Kong and during the flight I watched about half season of game of thrones in HD and played some games. I still had about 25% left after that. I would say its pretty good result after 11 hour flight.
I do have wifi only version, I dont know if it makes any difference.
Screen I think its beautiful. I also had Note 2 but those colors are actually a bit too over-saturated for my taste and I don't like it so much. Of course blacks are much better on the Amoled screen and yes this tablet does have some light bleed on the screen and yes if I start paying attention to it, it is really annoying.
Charging time I can't complain much since I put it charge when I go to sleep and when I wake its back to full and will easily last whole day. I did however have to buy the charging dock because I started to feel that if I take the flap out every day it will eventually wear off (I actually already once managed to get the pin somehow badly and the flap couldn't close properly after that. Thankfully I was able to push it back straight)
After coming from Asus Transformer Infinity I have been so happy with this tablet. I think it is the best 10 inch tablet currently. Yes, better than Nexus 10. Probably the new Nexus 7 have somethings which I do envy and maaaaybe I will get that one also.
I am sorry to hear that you are experienced this with the device. however i felt directly opposite of most or not all of your complaint.
i still enjoy my tablet like day one
dirtyjeff said:
Sorry to hear you didn't like it but clearly everyone has their own preferences etc. Personally I love the XZ Tablet. I seem to get better battery life than you do, though I've had mine longer so maybe the battery has "settled in" - if they do that I don't know.
The charging times are quite bad I agree but it isn't an issue for me. It has plenty of juice to get through two days for me and I just charge it overnight.
I haven't experienced the lag like you mentioned. I did have it freeze up for about 5 seconds last night but that was the first "issue" I've had. I find the tablet extremely quick and responsive. There is the odd Android lag now and again but nothing that bothers me at all.
Good luck with your next tablet. Maybe wait for the next Nexus 10. That should be a beast.
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Click to collapse
+1 to this ^
I was fed up with using a laptop on my lap, so I decided to get a tablet.
I initially went to buy an iPad. Picked up the iPad, picked up the Xperia - no contest. Bought the Xperia. Makes the iPad feel like a brick.:laugh:
To me, the Xperia is what a tablet should be - so light, so slim, lovely display.
Charging is a bit slow but I use my son's iPad charger and that makes it quicker. I'm just loving the Xperia.
CandyAndy said:
I am really surprised to see how many people complain about the battery life of this device. Usually I feel that its me who have bad battery on every device while other people praise how good it is.
I just 2 weeks ago flew from Helsinki to Hong Kong and during the flight I watched about half season of game of thrones in HD and played some games. I still had about 25% left after that. I would say its pretty good result after 11 hour flight.
I do have wifi only version, I dont know if it makes any difference..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're saying that you watched 5 hrs of HD video then played some games for ..... period of time and had 25% of battery left?
Enlighten me Andy as to how.... Screen brightness, volume, Video Player etc etc? I've never got nowhere near that on batteries so I'm trying to establish if it's either the software I use or I just got a bad tablet.
EDIT: My tablet is the 16GB WiFi Also.
zach181 said:
So you're saying that you watched 5 hrs of HD video then played some games for ..... period of time and had 25% of battery left?
Enlighten me Andy as to how.... Screen brightness, volume, Video Player etc etc? I've never got nowhere near that on batteries so I'm trying to establish if it's either the software I use or I just got a bad tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
auto screen brightness, stock video player. And I think its quite normal get about this. I do travel a lot and usually I have some movies on the tablet and usually during long flights (always Europe to Asia and back flights) I watch at least 3 movies and battery is always fine. I don't play 3D games almost at all but for example World of Goo I can play a lot. And I never used stamina mode or low battery mode.
When going to airplane mode I think that this lasts very well. web browsing uses quite a lot battery.
But I overall I am really happy of the battery lasting. Compared to my current mobile phone HTC One which just dies if I play a bit candy crush.
CandyAndy said:
auto screen brightness, stock video player. And I think its quite normal get about this. I do travel a lot and usually I have some movies on the tablet and usually during long flights (always Europe to Asia and back flights) I watch at least 3 movies and battery is always fine. I don't play 3D games almost at all but for example World of Goo I can play a lot. And I never used stamina mode or low battery mode.
When going to airplane mode I think that this lasts very well. web browsing uses quite a lot battery.
But I overall I am really happy of the battery lasting. Compared to my current mobile phone HTC One which just dies if I play a bit candy crush.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks... I'll test some more as I do really like the tablet but if it's not fit for my purpose it will have to go. I can't use the stock player though as I'm partially deaf and no subs on that. Not to worry, I'll put my ear trumpet in and give it a go with that :laugh:
zach181 said:
Ok thanks... I'll test some more as I do really like the tablet but if it's not fit for my purpose it will have to go. I can't use the stock player though as I'm partially deaf and no subs on that. Not to worry, I'll put my ear trumpet in and give it a go with that :laugh:
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Click to collapse
Actually now when you mention it I didn't use stock because english is not my native language and its easier for me to follow when I can read the subtitles if some words hard to make out. I used MX Player, it supports subs.
CandyAndy said:
Actually now when you mention it I didn't use stock because english is not my native language and its easier for me to follow when I can read the subtitles if some words hard to make out. I used MX Player, it supports subs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I use MX, Dice or Archos. All do subs. If you like eye candy in a player, try the Archos one
Well it's charged to 100% so I'll give it another try. And Sony might even reply to my email but I'll not hold my breath on them getting back to me.
Battery life on all such devices is not going to be amazing. There simply has to be a pay off between performance and what the battery can offer.
This is an ultra thin, light tablet with a full HD screen and quad core CPU! WE wanted these parameters now we have them all I see people do who own all the top level devices is moan about the battery life! Same with the mobiles. Until battery manufacturers develop higher performance batteries this is what we simply have to accept. Failing that purchase a low cost low specification tablet or phone then one can reasonably expect a higher usage period.
To the OP. I respect your opinion. One does have to ponder though given your negative feedback, how this tablet managed to win the EISA award 2013-14 for best tablet? I also ponder what exactly you are looking for in a tablet? Can you name a more accomplished Android tablet at present?
All and every tablet, mobile phone, TV, electronic device, will have its positives and negatives. Its finding the balance of what we can live with and accepting some compromises.
I have owned the Asus TF 101, TF 201, Infinity, Toshiba Thrive, Acer a500, and a700.
This Xperia tablet is the best so far. The responsiveness is the best out of all of them. Battery life is not the best but is competitive (the Acer a500 and a700 had the best battery life, with the Sony being competitive with the Asus tablets I had...I never used the keyboard docks for the Transformers though).
The Sony is the slowest charging tablet I have owned though. I have used the Samsung S4 and a 2a Blackberry charger that seems to have sped up the charging so I think the charger Sony included is part of the problem. I have not done any tests to measure the differences in charging, but it certainly is faster using a 3rd party charger.
Agreed with the water resistance; I don't trust the little tabs either, but the water resistance is only a minor feature for me. I was just sick of the poor performance and responsiveness that these other tablets had. I am very picky and while this tablet is not perfect (no tablet is), I can live with this one and I think the grass is always greener.
I was actually wondering about the time it takes for the tablet to charge: could the culprit be the charger ? I also have an Xperia ZL and the chargers are identical: same type, same output, etc.
Maybe Sony didn't bother to release a charger with a higher output for Tablet Z?
SWFlyerUK said:
it seems a bit of a waste having a 'water-resistant' device that responds to water 'touches' on the screen. It makes watching a film a nightmare.
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Click to collapse
I forgot to mention that.. yes, that really sucks.
dirtyjeff said:
Good luck with your next tablet. Maybe wait for the next Nexus 10. That should be a beast.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! Not sure which one to get now, want one that is fully waterproof and works normally in water. Otherwise there's no point in getting a tablet for me, my Note 2 will do fine.
CandyAndy said:
Screen I think its beautiful. I also had Note 2 but those colors are actually a bit too over-saturated for my taste and I don't like it so much. Of course blacks are much better on the Amoled screen and yes this tablet does have some light bleed on the screen and yes if I start paying attention to it, it is really annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the colors can be over-saturated on the Note 2. But the amazing thing with that device is that you can select 4 different screen modes to fit your personal preference. That's a feature that was missing on the XZT for me, I just wanted the choice to be able to have more vivid colors.
Ryland Johnson said:
Battery life on all such devices is not going to be amazing. There simply has to be a pay off between performance and what the battery can offer.
This is an ultra thin, light tablet with a full HD screen and quad core CPU! WE wanted these parameters now we have them all I see people do who own all the top level devices is moan about the battery life! Same with the mobiles. Until battery manufacturers develop higher performance batteries this is what we simply have to accept. Failing that purchase a low cost low specification tablet or phone then one can reasonably expect a higher usage period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPad. High resolution screen, high-performance, thin and has what feels like double the battery life compared to the XZT. Sucks that it has iOS though.. like you say, there has to be a pay off. :laugh: The only reason why I won't buy an iPad.
Ryland Johnson said:
To the OP. I respect your opinion. One does have to ponder though given your negative feedback, how this tablet managed to win the EISA award 2013-14 for best tablet? I also ponder what exactly you are looking for in a tablet? Can you name a more accomplished Android tablet at present?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably won because of its slim design, "water resistant" feature and weight? Those are the only things that sets it apart from most other tablets. And in my opinion the most important thing was the water resistance which to me doesn't seem so reliable with this device.
What I want in a tablet is for it to be fully waterproof with no unreliable tabs that could let water through.. no 30 min max. submerged in water up to 1 meter down BS. I want it to function normally when water touches the screen. I want it to have a beautiful screen, which the XZT doesn't have in my opinion. I want it to be fast, have a long battery life and short charging time. If I can't have the waterproof feature, then there's no point for me to buy a tablet.
Can I name a better Android tablet? Since the water resistant feature on the XZT is useless, yes.. Any of the best offerings from other brands that doesn't have a screen with dull colors. I'd rather take one of those than the XZT if I had to choose a tablet.
SrAdama said:
Probably won because of its slim design, "water resistant" feature and weight? Those are the only things that sets it apart from most other tablets. And in my opinion the most important thing was the water resistance which to me doesn't seem so reliable with this device.
What I want in a tablet is for it to be fully waterproof with no unreliable tabs that could let water through.. no 30 min max. submerged in water up to 1 meter down BS. I want it to function normally when water touches the screen. I want it to have a beautiful screen, which the XZT doesn't have in my opinion. I want it to be fast, have a long battery life and short charging time. If I can't have the waterproof feature, then there's no point for me to buy a tablet.
Can I name a better Android tablet? Since the water resistant feature on the XZT is useless, yes.. Any of the best offerings from other brands that doesn't have a screen with dull colors. I'd rather take one of those than the XZT if I had to choose a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are good reasons to not want to keep the tablet, but if they are your requirements you are going to be waiting for a while. It is not really possible currently to make capacitive touchscreens that are sensitive and accurate underwater. You could use a waterproof resistive screen, but anyone who has used one knows how awful they are to use.
You want it waterproof but without port covers, you could have the ports sealed internally instead, but then you would have to dry out each port after use or it would corrode the connectors and short when plugged in wet. They make waterproof camera housings and they always have sealed covers and no touchscreen.
You want it powerful with good battery life, that is easily done, but not in a device this thin.
I'm sure it will be possible to get what you are after eventually, but you're going to be waiting for years, and even then it's probably not going to match up to the devices that don't need to be waterproof with magical port covers.
CandyAndy said:
Actually now when you mention it I didn't use stock because english is not my native language and its easier for me to follow when I can read the subtitles if some words hard to make out. I used MX Player, it supports subs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure your MX player is played in HW mode! In SW mode the video will be using cpu instead of gpu which draining the battery like hell! For my tablet, i used to reach 12h screen on times, usually 10h but sometimes only 8h. And the battery is pretty great.
Sent from my LT26i using xda app-developers app
Aborto said:
They are good reasons to not want to keep the tablet, but if they are your requirements you are going to be waiting for a while. It is not really possible currently to make capacitive touchscreens that are sensitive and accurate underwater. You could use a waterproof resistive screen, but anyone who has used one knows how awful they are to use.
You want it waterproof but without port covers, you could have the ports sealed internally instead, but then you would have to dry out each port after use or it would corrode the connectors and short when plugged in wet. They make waterproof camera housings and they always have sealed covers and no touchscreen.
You want it powerful with good battery life, that is easily done, but not in a device this thin.
I'm sure it will be possible to get what you are after eventually, but you're going to be waiting for years, and even then it's probably not going to match up to the devices that don't need to be waterproof with magical port covers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm prepared to wait. For me now, there's no point in buying a tablet if it can't be fully waterproof and have a good screen. I'll just stick with my Note 2 which is basically like a smaller tablet, buying a tablet without waterproof capability would be like buying a large Note 2. Feels like a waste of money to buy an android device that can do everything my Note 2 can but just with a larger screen. So I can wait!
SrAdama said:
I'm prepared to wait. For me now, there's no point in buying a tablet if it can't be fully waterproof and have a good screen. I'll just stick with my Note 2 which is basically like a smaller tablet, buying a tablet without waterproof capability would be like buying a large Note 2. Feels like a waste of money to buy an android device that can do everything my Note 2 can but just with a larger screen. So I can wait!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough, I wanted it mostly for the light weight, decent screen resolution and build quality for web browsing and ebooks and so far it's perfect.
But if I had wanted it mainly for the waterproofing I would be disappointed as well, it would be more honest to call it water resistant or splashproof.
I just though it was worth pointing out that if it actually was fully waterproof and usable underwater with current technology it would be a different machine entirely and useless for what most people who brought it wanted from it.
On the other hand I really wish it had the note's stylus, if it had one it would be great for drawing being as thin as it is.
Related
Those of you who have theirs already,
POST'EM UP!
There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.
thecodemonk said:
There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just thought it'd be nice to have it one place for reference.
you know,in a list form.
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.
booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know if you go to settings>applications>manage applications>HTC sense> and scroll down and click clear defaults, you take off sense.
As soon as you click home it will give you an option for sense or launcher (stock android) and then click automatically choose this option and it will keep whichever you like for default.
However the black notification bar, dialer, and lock screen will all be sense as well. And you cannot have the HTC widgets.
booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.
1wingangel said:
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The jerkiness is def a software problem. I'm sure it's because android isn't meant to be on a screen this huge....yet.
2.2 will surely fix it.
thanx for the screen input, I had no idea about an AMOLED shortage.
samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung
Sounds like you just got a quirky device. I haven't experienced anything like that. I'm amazed at how smooth and responsive it is :/
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
engineer14 said:
samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because Samsung is the company that's producing the AMOLED displays for HTC. Seems like they're cutting the supply they send to them to use in their own devices as of lately. That's why they don't have to charge as much for the devices; they make the displays themselves.
@1wingangel
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.
jeffrimerman said:
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that is true. I haven't noticed any lag with 21 apps running before I installed a task killer. It was lightning fast. My only con is the power drain when it is sitting overnight. And that apps randomly start up in the background. I see my 3g on and arrows going up and down when it was sitting overnight or maybe that happens when I turn on the screen. I lose a third to half my batter overnight, but someone also said it has to be drained and charged a few times and it will get better. My brother has the 3gS and he said it blows it away.
Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMOLED display is also craptastic in sunlight. Super AMOLED is better though...but obviously even more expensive with more supply issues.
1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~
Xenithflare said:
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g
minus a few bugs the only con is that the screen takes up so much realestate that i am always accidentally activating icons on the screen and the 4 onscreen buttons are way too sensitive.
I was about to buy a BB or Nokia for business and use the EVO for fun but so far this phone is working just fine for business. this is a fast device and i haven't noticed any lag and i am running tons of widgets and running apps that constantly update.
forgot to mention that i will be returning it for a replacement on Tuesday for one without a dead pixel.
1wingangel said:
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging from demos in my own store, I can attest to the fact that as soon as we put a unit on display (whether GPS or phone), it immediately becomes defective It's like a rule.
No jerkiness here...
Only time I experienced lag was when I tried turning on 4G while downloading/installing about 10 apps at once when I first got it, even then it was hardly noticeable.
YouTube freezes up on me when I try switching from HQ sometimes.
MixZing and Last.FM act weird together for me. Sometimes Last.FM will just close and MixZing will start playing music off my SD card randomly. I uninstall MixZing and haven't had an issue after that. Kind of strange.
Supposedly I am in 4G coverage but I don't get very good signal, not sure what that is about. I don't really mind since I use Wi-Fi at home/work. I'd have to play with it more to see if its an actual problem.
Everything else is pretty awesome.
After reading GLOWING review of Tablet Z all over the net from professional reviewer wer and your shared experience on XDA. I was honestly quite excited that Sony Tablet Z finally arrived in Thailand a few days ago.
Today I decided to go check it out with intent to purchase one back home. But after playing with it I honestly couldn't make my self buy the tablet. T_T I will try not to comment on the tablet's aesthetic (which I find so so..).
1. The tablet is quite thin, so thin in fact that it flex!. I don't like that too much.
2. The build-in speakers are horrid. I played one of the promo's vid on the tablet and the sound comes out as very high pitch whine.. couldn't believe no one pick this up earlier.
3. Home screen is quite laggy . Unbecoming of Quad core with 2MB rams. My current phone is Galaxy Nexus (almost 2 years old now) is much better in term of smoothness.
4. One of my biggest concern is the 6000mah battery. Not very much considering it is a 10inch tablet. My tablet habits is not like my phone. Usually it might be left on the desk days at a time before I pick it up and play with it. The last thing I want is to be having to plugged it in all the time when I need to use it.
Since no one really report on the screen on time yet, this is quite a mystery to me.
These are my honest concerns, I am by no mean trying to bash the Tablet Z after waiting for it to arrive for so long, so I will just share my 0.2c and hopefully my opinion will change as more user start to share their experience.
Regards!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
kcharng said:
After reading GLOWING review of Tablet Z all over the net from professional reviewer wer and your shared experience on XDA. I was honestly quite excited that Sony Tablet Z finally arrived in Thailand a few days ago.
Today I decided to go check it out with intent to purchase one back home. But after playing with it I honestly couldn't make my self buy the tablet. T_T I will try not to comment on the tablet's aesthetic (which I find so so..).
1. The tablet is quite thin, so thin in fact that it flex!. I don't like that too much.
2. The build-in speakers are horrid. I played one of the promo's vid on the tablet and the sound comes out as very high pitch whine.. couldn't believe no one pick this up earlier.
3. Home screen is quite laggy . Unbecoming of Quad core with 2MB rams. My current phone is Galaxy Nexus (almost 2 years old now) is much better in term of smoothness.
4. One of my biggest concern is the 6000mah battery. Not very much considering it is a 10inch tablet. My tablet habits is not like my phone. Usually it might be left on the desk days at a time before I pick it up and play with it. The last thing I want is to be having to plugged it in all the time when I need to use it.
Since no one really report on the screen on time yet, this is quite a mystery to me.
These are my honest concerns, I am by no mean trying to bash the Tablet Z after waiting for it to arrive for so long, so I will just share my 0.2c and hopefully my opinion will change as more user start to share their experience.
Regards!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You complain because it flexes, has a small battery and the speakers suck, but you would be the SAME guy who also complains if they made it twice as thick so it didnt flex and had more room for a bigger battery and speakers. Do you see whats frustrating about reading this post?You cant have it both ways sometimes bud.
forzanerazzurri said:
You complain because it flexes, has a small battery and the speakers suck, but you would be the SAME guy who also complains if they made it twice as thick so it didnt flex and had more room for a bigger battery and speakers. Do you see whats frustrating about reading this post?You cant have it both ways sometimes bud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Just like everyone *****es when a device isn't 1080p, but then *****es about lag and/or power consumption of 1080p devices.
hint: There isn't a mobile GPU on the market that can achieve 1080p or greater without sacrificing UI performance or power consumption. (In the case of Adreno320 - to have good performance on a 1080p screen, you must bump the clock speed at least one step, which bumps up the GPU voltage, which bumps up power consumption.)
Hi,
I got my tablet z from japan 3 weeks ago and used it for 1 week. then I sold it cause I'm waiting for a white one here in US (the Japanese version is black)
From my 1 week of experience, I can respond to your questions:
1. too thin that it flexes: On the contrary, when I had mine, I specifically tested to see if I could bend it. I felt the structure to be steady and firm for its thinness.
2. I find it strange that you complain about it's speakers. Usually tablets come with 2 speaker holes, the tablet Z come with 4. As a result, the speaker quality is much better than usual. I never experienced the "high pitch sound quality"you mentioned, on the contrary, I watched several movies on it and it was excellent.
3.The lagginess is something I can partially agree with you. Out of box, I kind of felt it had a very mild noticeable delay, compared to my old samsung galaxy tab, which was extremely smooth. However, for some reason the "lagness" went away in a few days. I don't know if it's because I turned off all the battery preservation mode, or there was some tweaks in settings. Honestly cant remember. The point is when I sold it I was 100% satisfied with it's smoothness. no delay or stalls in opening any apps, or opening several apps at once. No lagging in shifting between apps.
4. I can vouch that the battery is excellent. I turned off all battery conservation mode (STAMINA mode), and used it moderately: surfing web, reading e-books, mild gaming, a lot of movies. with huge use it could last 2 days before charging and with moderate use it could go up to 3-4. I think the overall efficiency of the snapdragon cpu is the reason.
My conclusion: I think you picked up a faulty demo unit of the tablet z, especially the speaker issue. I am sure mine didnt have that and I'm hoping the white one I'm waiting for is fine too.
kcharng said:
After reading GLOWING review of Tablet Z all over the net from professional reviewer wer and your shared experience on XDA. I was honestly quite excited that Sony Tablet Z finally arrived in Thailand a few days ago.
Today I decided to go check it out with intent to purchase one back home. But after playing with it I honestly couldn't make my self buy the tablet. T_T I will try not to comment on the tablet's aesthetic (which I find so so..).
1. The tablet is quite thin, so thin in fact that it flex!. I don't like that too much.
2. The build-in speakers are horrid. I played one of the promo's vid on the tablet and the sound comes out as very high pitch whine.. couldn't believe no one pick this up earlier.
3. Home screen is quite laggy . Unbecoming of Quad core with 2MB rams. My current phone is Galaxy Nexus (almost 2 years old now) is much better in term of smoothness.
4. One of my biggest concern is the 6000mah battery. Not very much considering it is a 10inch tablet. My tablet habits is not like my phone. Usually it might be left on the desk days at a time before I pick it up and play with it. The last thing I want is to be having to plugged it in all the time when I need to use it.
Since no one really report on the screen on time yet, this is quite a mystery to me.
These are my honest concerns, I am by no mean trying to bash the Tablet Z after waiting for it to arrive for so long, so I will just share my 0.2c and hopefully my opinion will change as more user start to share their experience.
Regards!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, my first impression is kind of different. The first thing that came up in my mind when I lifted it up was, this thing is so thin and it's so easy to carry with just one hand. The weight is just awesome and it had my eyes on first sight lol. For speaker, I can understand that it's waterproof so it wont be that loud (I also using xperia z at the moment so I understand that part perfectly well) but I do hope that it will be a little bit louder though because for me it will be most likely use for multimedia. Next, for smoothness part, if you ever have a chance to play with Asus Transformer Infinity with stock ROM (before they updated to 4.2.1) you will say it in different way lol.
I realised that my negative experience will probably angered many people out there and I apologise. I appreciate all input to my post and thank you for your patient.
Two of my concerns, with flex and loud speakers stemmed from having to share the tablets with children. You guys might understand my fuss better if you have children of your own. As for tablet flexing, putting on protective case will probably help but I couldn't help worrying about it.
As for the speakers, I just wish the speakers on bigger tablet are loud. Often time playing video, cartoon, video call on my phone is really annoying. You almost have to put your head next to your speaker on the phone sometime. Kids will probably complain constantly about not able to hear their favourite cartoon. You guys might be right about broken speakers on the promo unit. Will check it out again later.
Thanks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
kcharng said:
I realised that my negative experience will probably angered many people out there and I apologise. I appreciate all input to my post and thank you for your patient.
Two of my concerns, with flex and loud speakers stemmed from having to share the tablets with children. You guys might understand my fuss better if you have children of your own. As for tablet flexing, putting on protective case will probably help but I couldn't help worrying about it.
As for the speakers, I just wish the speakers on bigger tablet are loud. Often time playing video, cartoon, video call on my phone is really annoying. You almost have to put your head next to your speaker on the phone sometime. Kids will probably complain constantly about not able to hear their favourite cartoon. You guys might be right about broken speakers on the promo unit. Will check it out again later.
Thanks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flex? Why would u want to try and bend it, just because its thin. Speakers sound great u can use eq to get what sound u like. 4.2.2 will sort any lag but ive not experienced any
Battery on video loop last 6 hrs mines in stamina mode and ive been on it two days
Well if you keep waiting for that ONE tablet your waiting forever. "Usually tablets come with 2 speaker holes".. lol the ones I see have only ONE speaker and this has 2. Yet even that people cry. If Sony put them higher ..duh there in the wrong place and your hands cover them. Now there at the bottom and I read again your hands cover them.. pffft.
Lag.. granted I see that on the screen yet EVERY tablet has something. Its Android lol. One of the things I like about this tablet is its a hit and Sony will be doing everything to fix anything..well my hope is that.
---------- Post added at 07:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 PM ----------
kcharng said:
I realised that my negative experience will probably angered many people out there and I apologise. I appreciate all input to my post and thank you for your patient.
Two of my concerns, with flex and loud speakers stemmed from having to share the tablets with children. You guys might understand my fuss better if you have children of your own. As for tablet flexing, putting on protective case will probably help but I couldn't help worrying about it.
As for the speakers, I just wish the speakers on bigger tablet are loud. Often time playing video, cartoon, video call on my phone is really annoying. You almost have to put your head next to your speaker on the phone sometime. Kids will probably complain constantly about not able to hear their favourite cartoon. You guys might be right about broken speakers on the promo unit. Will check it out again later.
Thanks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man you dont have to apologize. People come to praise it you can come to dislike it. Never apologize for things like this..
Is it possible that he bought a counterfeit tablet by mistake, that's why it seemed so bad?
Sent from my C6603 using xda premium
Since that it's a demo unit, you might wanna try out the other unit because usually, demo unit lags due to EVERYBODY touching it and abusing it.
I'm waiting patiently here in Malaysia. Btw, how much is it in Thailand?
Oh ya, sawadiccup. Hopefully the pronunciation is correct.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
You dont really have to apologize, people have different test and all.
I also live in Thailand and I thought that it will be on sell on June? Where is the shop that already have an item and for how much? Thank in advance for pointing that out =D.
Im also been lurking about this tablet z,imo when its 4.1.2 out of the box then lets wait for a few weeks to release an update cos its in aosp.. I like its design and very thin.. About ur findings on speaker,i think theres no problem with that.. :thumbup:
sent from my C6502 using xda-developers app
Not disappointed at all, I was going from a Nexus 10 and was already expecting it to be a sidegrade but I do think that the Xperia Z is a better tablet than the N10 all round...
OP mentioned flex, but I don't notice this anymore than the N10 I had which seemed less well built than the Z. Speakers, could be better but I would still say they are better than most tablet speakers due to their placing. Though I do wish every mobile device came with speakers like the HTC ONE
The main reason I changed to the Z from the N10 was that although the N10's screen looked incredible due to the high resolution colours were not saturated enough and contrast was pretty bad, black level was pretty bad too. The Z has awesome colour and contrast for a tablet and whilst the resolution difference is noticiable it's not a big deal, it's still way better than the average 720p.
love the lighness too, battery life seems to be pretty comparable to the N10 as well...
btw about the launcher .. just download nova launcher...
I actually agree. The speakers are a bit to high pitched for my liking. I may have been spoilt by the greatness of the HTC One in order to come to this conclusion.
The stock launcher is definitely on the heavy side. It's not laggy per se but it does ever so briefly stutter every now and then. I am now using Nova Launcher which is soo much lighter that I have yet to feel any stuttering.
In ter,ms of battery life, I find it reasonable. I've had 4 hours and 40mins of screen time watching big bang theory on vlc player and some surfing and app downloading, and I was left with 25% battery life. Total time inc standy was about 12/13 hours.
The tablet isnt perfect, it does have some kinks that a software upgrade can deal with e.g. Stuttering, but not sure if anything can be done for the speakers.
I do the love the design and I wikk give this a chance and hopefully 4.2.2 comes out soon.
Sent from my SGP311 using xda app-developers app
TeH-BagS said:
I do the love the design and I wikk give this a chance and hopefully 4.2.2 comes out soon.
Sent from my SGP311 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope sony comes with an update soon, for phones 4.2 isn't a big upgrade but multi-user support on a tablet is nice
The tablet Z is a step in the right direction, great design, thin, light, and great viewing angles from what I've read in reviews. But it comes with mediocre battery life apparently, older gen processor and one thing that I wanted a keyboard dock or cover of some sort. I've seen photos of one, possibly from the Japanese introduction but I don't recall this being an official accessory, perhaps it was not the tablet Z just older tab S. Perhaps Sony will release more accessories in the fall?
Anywho, I believe the next tablet from Sony will be the one to go for since it is supposed to be part of the "One Sony" ideology.
Well I read a review about battery where they looped the video and wifi on brightness high blah blah and got 7h and 20 min. Not the greatest but not the worst.
Regarding battery life I really don't notice much difference between this and the nexus 10. It really depends what you're doing.
All things considered this is one of the two best 10 inch Android tablets you can buy, the other being the nexus 10, nothing comes close to them IMO. I think I'll get to a comprehensive review at some point.
With an uptime of 1day 2hrs, and a screen on time of 7hrs 12minutes, my charge has run out.
This is on 1 charge with heavy web browsing, moderate YouTube and light gaming (I.e, Wired PS3 controller on GTA Vice City)
Thought that was pretty impressive given my Xperia Tablet S dies after 2hrs of web browsing.
Hello. I've owned this tablet for nearly 4 months and I think i can now give a brief of my personal experience but i would also like some others opinions.
Firstly, I would like to mention that I've not regretted buying this device from the moment i unpacked it and still going. It's an absolute pleasure.
The design is brilliant, it looks so damn premium and feels it too. The weight doesn't bother me and it feels nice to hold. Even better after i received the 'poetic graph grip' rubber case. This case feels premium as the rubber texture and quality is so great. Anybody who doesnt like a flip case should definitely invest in one of these.
Onto the tablet performance, it is practically flawless. In every aspect. The speed of app switching and the animations is smooth and with hardly any noticable delay. Scrolling is just as smooth. I have noticed no graphical glitchery of the sorts. So it's speed overall is amazing.
The battery life, considering the speed i mentioned above, is some sort of sorcery indeed. I get roughly 1 hour SOT per 10% battery life and it doesn't seem be affected by how I'm using it much. I could be playing games, watching video or browsing facebook. The difference between those uses and the impact is almost negligible. As in there's no real impact. And I'm a heavy user. No I dont use battery saving modes either. When this battery cycle is done I'll add screenshots to this post.
The display quality is stunning and the colour reproduction is near damn perfect. I did slightly adjust the rgb ratio marginally to get a slightly brighter white by increasing the blue and green by 10 each. I like that i have this option. Sony likes this too, they know someone that buys a sony is very likely keen on the display so they make sure not to miss a trick there. Great job.
Next is the sony software. Okay here i have to admit that I'm not a big sony app user. Firstly sonys gallery and movies apps don't seem to like my sdcard and i have no idea why. So I have quickpic, mxplayer and es file explorer. They all work flawlessly. But i am sad that i can't make 100% use of sonys best apps
They are all beautiful though, so it can be said that there's nothing wrong with them at all if you use the devices built in storage.
Bravia and xreality really pack a punch and nobody does it well as sony. These should be taken full advantage of.
I like the rest of the apps such as social life, lounge, remote, sketch, smart connect and even sony select is pretty good. Of course im going to use third party apps, thats why i chose android. But for once, this brand of built in apps really has everything it should have and they're splendid too. I feel guilty that i don't use them frequently enough.
I don't know what else to say really, this device is pretty magical.
Oh and I'm still using stock 4.4.2, with towel root. It failed the update because it can't be verified im guessing because i rooted it. I'm scared to update it anyway, it works too well and i know from my experiences that if something works perfectly just leave it as it is.
What are others opinions? Do you think my review is correct?
I rushed the post and no I'm not going to correct my grammar and punctuation, even though i could. Just read it.
There's no reason you shouldn't buy it if you're looking for a good tablet. Sony really deserves a pat on the back. Looking forward to my next sony device.
Oh and f**k Samsung. Never will i buy a samsung again. Ugly piece of bloated laggy trash.
iKlutz said:
Hello. I've owned this tablet for nearly 4 months and I think i can now give a brief of my personal experience but i would also like some others opinions.
Firstly, I would like to mention that I've not regretted buying this device from the moment i unpacked it and still going. It's an absolute pleasure.
The design is brilliant, it looks so damn premium and feels it too. The weight doesn't bother me and it feels nice to hold. Even better after i received the 'poetic graph grip' rubber case. This case feels premium as the rubber texture and quality is so great. Anybody who doesnt like a flip case should definitely invest in one of these.
Onto the tablet performance, it is practically flawless. In every aspect. The speed of app switching and the animations is smooth and with hardly any noticable delay. Scrolling is just as smooth. I have noticed no graphical glitchery of the sorts. So it's speed overall is amazing.
The battery life, considering the speed i mentioned above, is some sort of sorcery indeed. I get roughly 1 hour SOT per 10% battery life and it doesn't seem be affected by how I'm using it much. I could be playing games, watching video or browsing facebook. The difference between those uses and the impact is almost negligible. As in there's no real impact. And I'm a heavy user. No I dont use battery saving modes either. When this battery cycle is done I'll add screenshots to this post.
The display quality is stunning and the colour reproduction is near damn perfect. I did slightly adjust the rgb ratio marginally to get a slightly brighter white by increasing the blue and green by 10 each. I like that i have this option. Sony likes this too, they know someone that buys a sony is very likely keen on the display so they make sure not to miss a trick there. Great job.
Next is the sony software. Okay here i have to admit that I'm not a big sony app user. Firstly sonys gallery and movies apps don't seem to like my sdcard and i have no idea why. So I have quickpic, mxplayer and es file explorer. They all work flawlessly. But i am sad that i can't make 100% use of sonys best apps
They are all beautiful though, so it can be said that there's nothing wrong with them at all if you use the devices built in storage.
Bravia and xreality really pack a punch and nobody does it well as sony. These should be taken full advantage of.
I like the rest of the apps such as social life, lounge, remote, sketch, smart connect and even sony select is pretty good. Of course im going to use third party apps, thats why i chose android. But for once, this brand of built in apps really has everything it should have and they're splendid too. I feel guilty that i don't use them frequently enough.
I don't know what else to say really, this device is pretty magical.
Oh and I'm still using stock 4.4.2, with towel root. It failed the update because it can't be verified im guessing because i rooted it. I'm scared to update it anyway, it works too well and i know from my experiences that if something works perfectly just leave it as it is.
What are others opinions? Do you think my review is correct?
I rushed the post and no I'm not going to correct my grammar and punctuation, even though i could. Just read it.
There's no reason you shouldn't buy it if you're looking for a good tablet. Sony really deserves a pat on the back. Looking forward to my next sony device.
Oh and f**k Samsung. Never will i buy a samsung again. Ugly piece of bloated laggy trash.
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I'm a Samsung guy through and through...........
............ Or at least I was until a week ago.
I have had Samsung for years now and although I have tried other brands I always seem to go back to Samsung.
Well, last week I swapped our lass my Galaxy S4 for her Xperia Z2. I was going to trade it in by the second day for another Samsung, but she talked me into persevering with it a little longer....... and I'm so glad she did!. It's big, it's very square, but now I'm used to it I actually like it. I prefer it over the Samsung for the fact that Sony don't force loads of bloatware on you. The screen is great, the camera is fantastic! and battery life is amazing compared to any Samsung I have had.
So what has the Z2 phone got to do with a review of the Z2 tablet???........... Nothing........but.....
I always have a tablet to match my phone. So now I am used to the Z2 I plan on trading my Note 10.1 and Nexus 10 to get the Z2 tablet.
It's just bloody typical, when I didn't want the Z2 tablet our local secondhand shop had a couple in. But now I actually want one, they have none!.
I have had it 6 Months. I did buy the official sony case but generally use it without it, except when im out and about. Holding it now without a case it feels great as it always did since the first time I bought it. Slim as hell, but confident I could drop it and still recover. Its an odd design with wide bezzels but keeps me from tapping on the sides. Camera is bad, and that is the only negative I have. But who uses a tablet to take pics. I reackon when it gets lollipop im sorted for a tablet for the next year, im a techo geek and like to keep up to date, but dont see myself upgrading this for a while, and I think that says alot. It has never let me down and has done everything I ask of it in the last 6 months, so im staying with it, and will invest in a nice sony phone aswell.
Im a bit disappointed with mine but the fault of the first 2 fall on to bell
1. My bootloader is locked (made the mistake of buying through a carrier) which leads me to two
2. Unable to customize with roms/kernel
3. The bezels make it hard, even impossible to shop for universal 10" cases
4. The battery for me isn't what i thought it would be, an hour of use it drops 15-20 %
Other then those, everything is great, performence, display, sound(with headphones)
Things would be different if i was able to unlock my BL... Now I am happy to have root and some control of the stock kernel at least.
If your battery is dropping 15-20% a hour, you're doing something wrong. {Except you're gaming, then it's perfectly normal.) This device is really battery efficient, 10% per hour is normal.
Use Stamina Mode, and look whether there are apps in the background which consume battery. Tame them by deactivating (with Titanium Backup) or by using Greenify/Amplify.
For the case, simply get the Sony case. It's perfectly fine.
And you don't need ROMs or kernels on this device. Stock ROM + Root + Xposed is perfectly fine, looks good and has by far the best battery life.
So just enjoy!
Hey guys I've been looking for a tablet for a while now that fits my needs. I'm thinking the Z2 Tab is the way to go, beautiful design, big enough and backed by Sony who are known for timely updates.
Now I've never owned a Sony Device and I've had a look in the forums... What's the deal with rooting and such? Most threads seem to point towards the 'Sony cross-device forum' and I'm a bit confused. I've only owned LG and Samsung devices and they both seemed to have more device specific Development...
I really like of this tablet. All most every single aspect of it is really good.
But my real problem with it is touch screen. It's the worst touch screen have been used. I update to last version and it is really batter but still with minor problems. My LG G2 has a really better touch screen than this tablet. What do you think about it's touch screen? These minor problems are common on other tablets ? I tried a Ipad 2 and the touch is really amazing.
Excellent tablet
I must agree with the original post, this is really an awesome tablet.
My wife has always gone with apple, both for her phone and ipad. The rest of my family and friends are all hard core Samsung or Apple users. At the beginning of the year I got an Xperia V phone, which was taken from me a month later when I was attacked walking my baby. A friend gave me his Samsung Galaxy to use. But I really loved the experience with the Sony, and being able to use it outdoors in sand and water. So when it came time to use my book and equipment allowance at work I put it towards a Sony Z2 tablet. I am really happy with the decision. After updating to 4.4.4 I find the touchscreen no longer gives issues, and while the camera performance is sub-par, it doesn't really bother me as using it for voip and anything esle other than a DSLR works great!
A big thumbs up to sony, and to all the xda developers that help us use this device the way we want to!
I just ordered mine, the 32 gig lte version, I decided to get this over the shield and a 128gig ipad air because I like sony products and hope this is as good as it looks.
You wont be disappointed.
I got this earlier this month. I had immediate buyers regret day one because the screen was being iffy. I also almost never used it that day because I was chatting and its a pain in the butt to type on a tablet.
Then day 2 rolled around. I was amazed by the battery life (10% for every 1 hr SOT) and how amazing the Sony Music, Video and Phones apps were. The only problem was its inability to play audio on mkv files. The audio booster was another thing that made a huge difference. By far the best.
The screen almost never gets glitchy anymore (thank god). If it does it goes away after turning the screen off and on. The color reproduction was fantastic.
They only downside to this was some of the built in sony apps i cant uninstall. I think people can make good use of them. Just not for me. Also wish they would give some freebies from their media store for buying a $450 purchase
GalaxyWhy said:
Hey guys I've been looking for a tablet for a while now that fits my needs. I'm thinking the Z2 Tab is the way to go, beautiful design, big enough and backed by Sony who are known for timely updates.
Now I've never owned a Sony Device and I've had a look in the forums... What's the deal with rooting and such? Most threads seem to point towards the 'Sony cross-device forum' and I'm a bit confused. I've only owned LG and Samsung devices and they both seemed to have more device specific Development...
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if you dont have high budget , can consider xperia tablet compact or xperia tablet z first generation
Got it today, already rooted without unlocking bootloader and charging now ?
So far I'm very glad I bought It!!! Amazing job Sony ?
Inviato dal mio SGP511 utilizzando Tapatalk
My first tablet purchase ever, so not much to compare with cept for the ipads we get at work (yawn). It works a treat so far, keeping it stock 4.4.4 for the moment, tho I look forward to removing the bloat. I wasn't able to play hearthstone on my phone so it's taken up most of my initial testing hah. I've noticed a rare slight creak from the back panel somewhere to the right and I think I read another review saying the same. And I know it's certified water resistant, but it could finally get to me, having to pick out the tab every time I want to charge or connect to the PC. I've had zero freezing, lag etc runs cool as a cucumber. Not like my galaxy note that can heat up just as good as my microwave.
Sent from my SGP521 using XDA Free mobile app
The only real issue I've experienced with my tablet is the touch issue, no creaking or anything and it froze once, but other than that it's run awesome and it plays hearthstone fantastically
I do have a touch issue with icons on the home screen, especially if they're positioned close together.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Free mobile app
I just get an issue where touches aren't resisted, for instance in heath stone when I drag a card it drops like I let go but my finger is clearly still there, turning the screen on and of again fixes it
thanitos said:
The only real issue I've experienced with my tablet is the touch issue, no creaking or anything and it froze once, but other than that it's run awesome and it plays hearthstone fantastically
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Does the Wifi version play Hearthstone just as well as LTE version, and why would LTE be 'better'? What version Z2 do you have?
Aid777 said:
Does the Wifi version play Hearthstone just as well as LTE version, and why would LTE be 'better'? What version Z2 do you have?
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Game would play the same, WIFI AND LTE are just different technologies for connecting to a network. It'd only be if you had a poor connection through either, because you must log online to play.
Sent from my SGP521 using XDA Free mobile app
Yup the device certainly has touch issues as from the general concensus.
Mine has too. The screen will lose feedback while you drag things. It doesnt happen always but its more than enough to break the immersion.
Yeah ive got the z2 tablet and what Sony has achieved is great.
What is dissapointing however is the range of Android apps for the device.
Or should i say android tablets in general. An iPad provides better valute to the consumer, and until the ranger of apps available drastically improves im regretting the choice of eco system rather than sony itself.
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
Snapdragon 810
Yep, that's it. This otherwise amazing phone was ruined by the SD810. I use my phones as my main camera, which has to work properly under tough situations. Nearly every phone I've had before was able to handle extreme conditions well; the Z5C wasn't. I take lots of pictures and videos, often north of 300 plus about an hour of 1080p videos per day. My Z1C withstood hot tropical summers and delivered every time under these conditions.
I was out last weekend and ready to test the camera on my new toy. I used Waze for about 20 minutes, starting from "idle." The phone got warm really fast. Then I got to the destination, thought I could record some 60fps 1080p videos, and was able to record about 10 minutes, then I got the famous message saying that the temperature was rising and the camera app would shut down soon to cool down the phone. It was uncomfortably hot. Mind you, the weather was fairly cool at 60°F. The battery was also going downhill real fast. I decided to turn the phone off and head out to another location. When I got there, I turned the phone back on (it cooled down quickly), and started recording some more videos. By now I was afraid to record anything longer than 5 minutes because I thought the phone would overheat and leave me hanging without a camera. I didn't get to that point, but missed lots of opportunities because of the overheating threat.
In less demanding situations, my phone got warm and uncomfortable to hold as well. From idle, my phone gets warm by simply surfing the internet for 5-10 minutes. It can be on Wifi or LTE, max/min brightness, it will warm up regardless. It doesn't get hot like when taking pictures, but come on. How can it get warm after 5-10 minutes of surfing the internet? That's really bad. The default state of the phone is running warm. Imagine if I go outside during summer and take 2 or 3 pictures. The phone is gonna melt in my hand. I can't rely on it. That's very unfortunate, because this phone is the absolutely best thing I've ever had the privilege of owning. Everything else is perfect. Size, battery life, screen, storage, fingerprint reader, waterproofing, open USB port... I'm gonna have to sit down and patiently wait for the next Compact to come out. What a shame.
Some people complain about the heat but others don't... Hopefully my phone doesn't have the misaligned lens issue, the back crack issue and the overheating issue. My Z1 compact is totally wrecked, worst comes to worst I'll just wait for the Z6 compact.
theprince1991 said:
Some people complain about the heat but others don't... Hopefully my phone doesn't have the misaligned lens issue, the back crack issue and the overheating issue. My Z1 compact is totally wrecked, worst comes to worst I'll just wait for the Z6 compact.
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same here.. hoping the device I ordered is free of issues.. I finally found a deal on amazon for $460..fingers crossed!
android_fury said:
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
Snapdragon 810
Yep, that's it. This otherwise amazing phone was ruined by the SD810. I use my phones as my main camera, which has to work properly under tough situations. Nearly every phone I've had before was able to handle extreme conditions well; the Z5C wasn't. I take lots of pictures and videos, often north of 300 plus about an hour of 1080p videos per day. My Z1C withstood hot tropical summers and delivered every time under these conditions.
I was out last weekend and ready to test the camera on my new toy. I used Waze for about 20 minutes, starting from "idle." The phone got warm really fast. Then I got to the destination, thought I could record some 60fps 1080p videos, and was able to record about 10 minutes, then I got the famous message saying that the temperature was rising and the camera app would shut down soon to cool down the phone. It was uncomfortably hot. Mind you, the weather was fairly cool at 60°F. The battery was also going downhill real fast. I decided to turn the phone off and head out to another location. When I got there, I turned the phone back on (it cooled down quickly), and started recording some more videos. By now I was afraid to record anything longer than 5 minutes because I thought the phone would overheat and leave me hanging without a camera. I didn't get to that point, but missed lots of opportunities because of the overheating threat.
In less demanding situations, my phone got warm and uncomfortable to hold as well. From idle, my phone gets warm by simply surfing the internet for 5-10 minutes. It can be on Wifi or LTE, max/min brightness, it will warm up regardless. It doesn't get hot like when taking pictures, but come on. How can it get warm after 5-10 minutes of surfing the internet? That's really bad. The default state of the phone is running warm. Imagine if I go outside during summer and take 2 or 3 pictures. The phone is gonna melt in my hand. I can't rely on it. That's very unfortunate, because this phone is the absolutely best thing I've ever had the privilege of owning. Everything else is perfect. Size, battery life, screen, storage, fingerprint reader, waterproofing, open USB port... I'm gonna have to sit down and patiently wait for the next Compact to come out. What a shame.
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I think you can just tick the " Don't show this again" on the temperature rising warning aaaaand it wouldn't appear unless it just closes the app down :|
yubeie said:
same here.. hoping the device I ordered is free of issues.. I finally found a deal on amazon for $460..fingers crossed!
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My one doesn't heat up or anything but I do have a bit of lens blur... I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle returning though
android_fury said:
I am so disappointed this phone didn't deliver what I expected. I absolutely loved it from the moment I received it, but it just won't work out. I am returning it today and going back to my Z3. The reasons are:
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Just turn off any video stabilization as it generates most of the heat and you are good to live with Z5c now but yes it would still a bit uncomfortable to hold. Shame on SD810.
TheEndHK said:
Just turn off any video stabilization as it generates most of the heat and you are good to live with Z5c now but yes it would still a bit uncomfortable to hold. Shame on SD810.
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That's a restriction. I want to use it to its full potential. Even crappy Samsung phones have OIS nowadays. I shouldn't have to turn stuff off just so the phone works normally. Damn it, this sucks. I loved the phone so much, like I hadn't in a long time. This stupid SD820 had better be the best processor ever created. I'll be first in line to get the next Compact.
android_fury said:
That's a restriction. I want to use it to its full potential. Even crappy Samsung phones have OIS nowadays. I shouldn't have to turn stuff off just so the phone works normally. Damn it, this sucks. I loved the phone so much, like I hadn't in a long time. This stupid SD820 had better be the best processor ever created. I'll be first in line to get the next Compact.
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I like my old Z1c got much better heat control, just like you but the focus on that camera is so painful, always hit and miss, too slow. If the next compact got OIS, I'll probably get one too.
The Snapdragon never poses an issue for me but I live in Britain where the weather barely ever gets really, really hot.
I will also be first to get the next Z Compact, just because I love my Z5 Compact so much. No other small phone offers this many premium specifications. For this reason I have become a Sony fan since Google decided to go big for the Nexus 6P.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
supercakefish said:
The Snapdragon never poses an issue for me but I live in Britain where the weather barely ever gets really, really hot.
I will also be first to get the next Z Compact, just because I love my Z5 Compact so much. No other small phone offers this many premium specifications. For this reason I have become a Sony fan since Google decided to go big for the Nexus 6P.
Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
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Hong Kong is extremely hot, expected to see many Z5 users to do IPX67 water cooling in toilet during summer here.
Hm...It's interesting.
First i thought that it's a real problem in my phone too, cause when i played Real Racing 3 after 10 minutes of playing the phone got warm and the battery go fast. Then today i read your report about camera and i started to worry. I quickly tried out my and after taking 10:24 minutes of 4K video the phone got hot but not extremely, in my impressions it was trully acceptable and i got no warnings about temperature (just the information at the start of recording).
i have an idea about getting warm when recording... when i start the recording i got a notif. about saving data to internal storage or if i have a high speed SD i can use it too. So i thinking is it possible that when you have inserted a low speed SD card in, the SD810 needs to work harder and this is the point why its warming up faster???? is it a possible way of it??? (i have Kingston MicroSD 64GB Class 10 UHS-I)
Midleo said:
i have an idea about getting warm when recording... when i start the recording i got a notif. about saving data to internal storage or if i have a high speed SD i can use it too. So i thinking is it possible that when you have inserted a low speed SD card in, the SD810 needs to work harder and this is the point why its warming up faster???? is it a possible way of it??? (i have Kingston MicroSD 64GB Class 10 UHS-I)
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I only used the internal storage for the camera. It still overheated. That sucks.
android_fury said:
I only used the internal storage for the camera. It still overheated. That sucks.
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Hm...Strange... Today i tested again my phone with gaming... Its getting hot but acceptable... I think you should get the phone back to the market or service center!
I'm using my Z5 Compact (white) for PS4 remote gaming and Moonlight remote PC gaming along with quite a lot of 4K recording. The SD810 really shows its muscle there, super low latency with it. . 4K videos top out at around 40 minutes before closing. Honestly couldn't be happier. It never gets excessively hot.
Really seems like luck of the draw on the heat side. I had a faulty unit before this one that leaked water through the headphone jack which couldn't record 4K for more than 10 mins before heating too much shutting down. It also heated a lot during average use. Maybe some are getting more thermal paste love during construction. I dunno.
dave-ro-mex said:
I'm using my Z5 Compact (white) for PS4 remote gaming and Moonlight remote PC gaming along with quite a lot of 4K recording. The SD810 really shows its muscle there, super low latency with it. . 4K videos top out at around 40 minutes before closing. Honestly couldn't be happier. It never gets excessively hot.
Really seems like luck of the draw on the heat side. I had a faulty unit before this one that leaked water through the headphone jack which couldn't record 4K for more than 10 mins before heating too much shutting down. It also heated a lot during average use. Maybe some are getting more thermal paste love during construction. I dunno.
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for a premium device.. honestly the kind of issues being reported is unacceptable.. i am still taking my chances.. but just one chance n hoping it clicks! .. I remember spending close to 1700 dollars on vaio s laptop ..... awesome looks.. horrible performance...immediately returned it.
I was really interested in buying a Z5c. but after this thread I'm thinking about buying Z3c, and I can have CyanogenMod on it.
SelfAwareDroid said:
I was really interested in buying a Z5c. but after this thread I'm thinking about buying Z3c, and I can have CyanogenMod on it.
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I have a regular Z3 and tried recording 1080p 60fps videos with the original ROM. It overheated almost as fast as the Z5C, although it never gets as hot as the Z5C during regular use (no gaming). What I mean by overheating is that the ROM closed the camera app and didn't let me use it again until the phone cooled down.
About CyanogenMod on the Z3, be aware that the camera has a fisheye problem that hasn't been and probably will never be fixed. All your pictures will be horribly distorted, especially at short distances.
Thanks for the information, why there is this much problem with these devices!
I'm very into having small android devices, and I think these two are my only options.
I so much wanted to experience cyanogen, but camera problem! Doesn't cyanogen update reqularly?
SelfAwareDroid said:
Thanks for the information, why there is this much problem with these devices!
I'm very into having small android devices, and I think these two are my only options.
I so much wanted to experience cyanogen, but camera problem! Doesn't cyanogen update reqularly?
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For cyanogen, you would have to unlock bootloader, which will lead to a drop in camera quality, loss of x reality, super vivid mode, and other features. Plus there's the fisheye bug on Z3c on CM. Soooo you might no want to go for cyanogen. Sony's UI looks plenty stock like so I don't think there's any need to be honest.
Sadman Khan said:
For cyanogen, you would have to unlock bootloader, which will lead to a drop in camera quality, loss of x reality, super vivid mode, and other features. Plus there's the fisheye bug on Z3c on CM. Soooo you might no want to go for cyanogen. Sony's UI looks plenty stock like so I don't think there's any need to be honest.
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I think there's a point when you start leaning toward the stock roms and don't see enough benefits in AOSP. I'm using the phone without root and a locked bootloader.
*I returned my Z5C, but ended up grabbing another one. What an amazing phone.
I am trying to convince myself that I am wrong or somehow biased, but I don't think I am in this situation. I am a phone junkie and I bounce between devices quickly. In the last 6 months I have had the Axon 7, HTC 10 (still have, S-off'd with Unlocked GSM firmware/ software), Nexus 6P, HTC M9, s7 edge, s6 edge+, iphone 7 plus, Droid Turbo, and now the V20. I will say that over all, the V20 is built beautifully and performs well. The battery life is a bit weaker than I was hoping, just like the HTC 10, the quick charge 3.0 almost covers that short coming. The things that are making me disappointed though are as follows:
LG Skin / UI : Feels a little off, made up a bit by using Nova launcher, but everyone knows it won't remove it all...
Performance: I might be expecting a bit much, but I have had my device slow down (to unbearable lag / waiting on apps to switch/come up) more than a handful of times requiring a reboot
Battery Life: As stated above, the battery life is pretty week and I find myself having to top up a towards 6 pm, it does charge quickly, but find that a little sad.
Camera: This is where I am shocked. The camera overall doesn't live up to what I expected or how it was advertised. In ideal situations, it can take good photos, and I mean GOOD, not Great. If you don't switch to manual and tweak everything out, you will be sadly disappointed. Auto focus has a hard time locking in, can get a bit of grain / noise, and if there is movement or action, good luck. In video mode or if you flip into manual mode, you can get much better results, but in the heat of the moment, not everyone will be quick to get it ready in time to get that shot. In low light situations, it has been very disappointing. The lag time between the flash / focus and getting a picture off, I end up with a blurry out of focus picture most of the time. I am basing this off pictures I take of my young daughter. The camera on the HTC 10, Axon 7, iPhone 7 plus, S7 edge, and S6 edge+ all out perform in these situations. For a phone/device that is supposed to be built around photography and video, it has been a major disappointment. the Main camera/sensor is decent, but the zoom/cropped area is a bit small. The wide angle does cover a lot more at the cost of resolution. I am hoping that LG does something to address this in software/firmware updates, but as of now, it is a huge let down.
Audio: The single firing speaker does an admirable job for playing music, speaker phone on the other hand is a somewhat weak and sometimes hard to hear, even when driving in silent vehicle with the windows closed. The Quad DAC has also let me down. After the DAC in the Axon 7 and the HTC 10, I am not impressed. It does improve the audio, but not as well as the competition. With the DAC enabled and audio all the way up, the volume level is weak. With the same headphones that I used in the Axon 7 and the HTC 10, I have no problem hearing the outside noise. I also don't feel that it is nearly as tweakable / noticeable as the HTC 10. When I had the DAC on the HTC 10 on, I could immediately tell the difference and the Highs, Mids, and Lows were way easier to notice / spot changes on. Again, maybe software updates may resolve this, but definitely a let down for me.
Overall: The phone is beautiful. For a phone with removable battery, it honestly feels like a unibody device. I am a bit disappointed in all phone manufacturers currently going to this 2.5D curved glass for no good reason, making getting tempered glass protectors a joke majority of the time. The software overall is fairly smooth. The screen is above average and the secondary screen has become second nature to me. Being able to snap a wide angle shot when others can't definitely something that has lead to people asking me what phone I am using. Had I not gone through all the phones I have in the last 6 months, I may have been way more impressed. As a flagship device, I will say it comes close to delivering what was promised. Had the Note 7 not failed miserably with the exploding issue, I think the V20 would have easily been eclipsed. This phone gets so close in many departments, but doesn't quite nail them down. Considering there is nothing else in the market that draws my attention, I will try and see if it makes it through the initial growing pains that might be solved with software updates.
Before anyone wants to say I forgot about the Pixel, no, I didn't. After having the HTC 10 (which I still have and love as a backup device) and playing with the Pixel, I see absolutely no reason to waste the money on the sad excuse of a flagship device at the same taxing price as an apple product. How google basically took the HTC 10, made it ugly , went with onscreen buttons and a whole lot of bezel, and took away removable storage but is still succeeding with it is beyond me. Yes it has an "amazing camera", assistant (you can get with root on the v20 and nexus 6p), and can charge the battery super fast, but the price tag and lack of innovation is a deal breaker.
So, please, let me know if you agree or disagree. I have been trying to be unbiased and love this phone. Am I being unreasonable, or is it really just a device that got close to the finish line and just gave up?
I think it all depends on what your needs are. We know it doesn't have the best camera. It's very competitive, but not the best. Performance can be fixed with updates. I suspect that LG rushed the ROM to be the first to have Nougat, which was one of their selling points for this phone. Battery life depends on your usage. LG's Quantum displays are horribly inefficient, so the screen is your primary battery drain, but my understanding is that idle drain is very good. Then you have fast charging and one of the few phones that you can instantly go to 100% on by swapping batteries.
For me, this is the only phone that checks all of my requirements: Functional always-on-display, IR blaster, 5.7"+ screen, good camera, removable battery and SD card. So, I'm buying the complete package, not because it's the best at everything. Every single phone has shortcomings. You need to decide which ones you can live with and buy your next device based on that criteria.
I'm with you, I thought the camera was quite a disappointment when shooting in auto mode. I liked the phone a lot (coming from a Nexus 6p) and if the camera had been good it would have been a no-brainer for me, because as greyhulk says it checks most, if not all, the boxes. But I need a camera that shoots good pics in auto mode. Sent it back.
Also disappointed with the camera. Especially after coming from the Note 7..
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Battery is my main disappointment. Even with minimal use I have only made it an entire day once. Something keeps eating battery while the phone is idle and I have yet to track it down. I suspect it is an app that needs a Nougat update. Same usage and set of apps on the S7 Edge and Note 7 would usually leave me near 50% at the end of the day.
Have to say I disagree.
The Hi-Fi is plenty loud enough and noticeably changes on the go. I have noticed though, it depends on the headphones that you are using. I have used 4 different sets. And each pair gave different results.
The camera is great. Video is turning out to be exactly as expected. As for the camera, it doesn't grab the shot in the first try every time and its nothing a tap of the screen and refocus hasn't been able to fix. But than again I haven't had a camera phone that has been able to take the shot first time every time.
Battery, that's a user to user base question. The other day I was able to get 32 hours out of my battery. But than on the other hand with very heavy use I only got 6.5 hours.
Weird I get about the same battery life as I did with my note 7. When at work I use the phone about the same amount every day 12 hr shifts and I am between. 50 to 70 percent
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I think your disappointment stems from using so many current generation phones, lets face it most years the hardware upgrades (specifically processors) match each other.
The HTC 10 runs the same hardware as the LG v20, so you've experienced it already. S7 has the same processor as well (assuming its the Qualcomm version) so it's not a big difference compared to someone coming from last generation phones.
Like for me I am coming from a v10 which had an outdated processor out the gate (others were using 810 while the v10 had the 808 due to overheating issues with the 810). The phone is literally over twice as fast as the v10 so I would certainly see a difference compared to you coming from the same generation of processors.
I don't own the phone yet but I will say it's a disappointment to see the camera being a letdown in reviews when you consider that the camera was the big feature of the v10.
Battery doesn't sound all that great either but it's got to be better than the v10. I am sure this will be remedied by 3rd party extended batteries that we will hopefully see. My v10 battery sucked until I upgraded to a 9000 mAh Zerolemon battery pack.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Ali Mirza said:
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello! What specifically does the "Force GPU Rendering" option?
I think you will settle with the Porsche Design Mate 9. Just a feeling lol
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
I agree
Main reasons I am keeping it are the $200 off, switched to T-mobile from VZW, and they are paying off the ETF so saving that money and the headphones makes the phone ideally almost free to me. For the full retail, I would return it in a heartbeat. People have hit it on the head that it really might be the fact the the Snapdragon 820 and the 4 GB ram is now getting long in the tooth. The camera can produce some nice pictures in manual mode, so I try to jump to that right away, but just a bit of a hassle to be on the ball to take a simple pic. With moderate light and close up, it does perform well. I can't really control lighting at all times and try and get my daughter up close and still when a picture moment comes though, the s7 handled it much better. I am going to try some different headphones to see if it is just the main pair I use that is letting me down. For the money / hardware, I think the Axon is the better bang for the buck with the AMOLED screen and the all carrier support. The speakers on that are ridiculous and the DAC was solid. This phone over all falls somewhere in the 7.5-8 /10 for me. Between the V20 and the HTC 10 I'll be good til the next wave of Flagships hit. I just have the feeling that LG pushed it out in a hurry to capitalize on the Note 7 flop and they could've polished it up a lot more. I can see them making the camera more responsive in low light and possibly addressing the battery life / hifi-dac customization / volume in the updates. It does a lot right but overall I was expecting and hoping for more from LG when they have had the perfect shot to grab the market. So far I am seeing the responses that seem line up with my expectation. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and respond!
bishmaster5000 said:
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ali Mirza said:
Settings/Developer Options/ Tick on "Force GPU Rendering" should make your beast smoother/snappier. So any kind of lag should disappear!
If root available try L Speed/Entropy/fstrim apps found on Play Store!
LG V20 & LG G5 are snappy beasts and are well optimised with the Snapdragon 820 and is better than Samsung!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please stop posting this everywhere
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
You also forgot to mention the locked bootloader
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
I came from the LG Nexus 5x and I loved that phone. While it's only been a few days, I am more than happy with the V20.
I get a phone through work, but upgraded on my own last year to the 5x. So when I cracked my screen a few weeks ago, I went through work this time. Options were limited on AT&T and since I'm gonna be stuck with a phone for 2 years I wanted the newest phone I could get without "compromising" what I'd wanted in a phone. I also didn't want to settle for a year old phone or switch to the iPhone (Android since 2010 and likely forever).
Anyway, I say all that to say that the V20 was never on my radar, mostly because of the size, even though I'd previously had the Note 2, 3 and briefly 4. I'd been very happy with the size and feel of the 5x, but the battery life was horrendous. Basically anything would have been an upgrade, and the V20 does more than I need in the battery department. If I can get to my bed before needing a charge, I'm a happy man, since I'd be charging around lunch on a daily basis before.
I was already used to the fingerprint sensor and love the fact it's on the back on the V20 as well. I can deal with the volume buttons swapped and the power button moving to the fingerprint sensor. It was a little odd at first but I'm used to it already.
Again, the camera and screen on the 5x was mediocre so anything would be better. And again the V20 checks both of those boxes; huge, vibrant screen, and pictures that look beautiful to my eye. If you're going from newest flagship to newest flagship an argument can be made on those points, but if you're upgrading after a year + the hardware is always going to be better, even if you find some flaws, and IMO the V20 does great in both categories.
The removable battery does have its pros. A few years ago it was a 'must-have' for me, but nowadays I'd taker water/dust proofing over it. Not a deal breaker though. The SD card slot IS however a wonderful thing. Despite the 64 GB internal, I love being able to add and not worry about space. I've had my local music library backed up to an SD card for quite a while and it's so convenient to have that at my disposal locally (no network connection needed).
The software. Not much better than PURE Android and rooting has always been a priority for me. BUT, stability ultimately is the most important thing on a phone to me now. Being able to lower DPI via adb shell is huge. Really not having TiBu or the ability to remove some carrier apps is about the worst left we can't do. And to be honest, it's easily overlooked. Is it annoying AF we can't remove everything we don't want? Absolutely. But said apps can be hidden with certain launchers, and I've come to just ignore them in the app drawer, forgetting they're even there.
Add in the FM radio (so novel yet so great), Second Screen (which I actually could use some tips on getting the most out of) and I'm digging this phone. Is LG's UI a little clunky? Yea, but I'll live. And using something new is refreshing, honestly.
It's only been a few days but I'm happy with this device and have no regrets. The V20 may also get me back on the Phablet train, being unable to use something smaller as they feel like toys. I've not gone a full 2 years without upgrading in quite some time. This phone is going to be the test.
/ rant
Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk
I agree with what you say. I think my let down is from moving from flagship to flagship all into the same time frame. The coming from any device before the snapdragon 820 and a quad HD screen, this thing is a major upgrade. I agree that the fingerprint scanner is best on back... Loved it on the nexus 6p and the axon 7. I just sold my htc 10 so I'm committed to the v20. Holding out til something amazing comes this way...
bishmaster5000 said:
Why's there no option for ambivalence or just predictable? Just look at the stats and you pretty much know what you're getting. I'm happy with this phone after the $200 off and assuming I get the ~$150 headphone offer. I would be unhappy for full list price without those promos. For the price w/promos there just isn't anything comparable.
The display is the worst part of this phone for me. AMOLED just beats LCD anyway you slice it, this phone looks badly washed out and the auto brightness does weird things. Also the viewing angles are wonky, I was used to being able to use my phone at extreme angles but now I find myself lifting the phone up more. If this phone had AMOLED it would be a solid 9.9/10 for me, of course I knew I wouldn't like the screen when I bought it I just couldn't find a solid AMOLED phone. I don't particularly like the fingerprint reader position, have to pick it up off a table to use it and I've found my finger accidentally turns the screen on sometimes when I put it in my pocket. The second screen is nice for changing tracks or seeing what track is playing (or seeing the time at night without going blind), but it sucks for notifications. I miss my notification LED and my Qi charging.
Other than that this phone is pretty solid. I'm getting almost identical battery life that my Note 7 got, namely about 2 days. The standby battery life is phenomenal, I usually lose 1-2% overnight even with the second screen on. I love the removable battery so I don't have to worry about the battery dying before I'm ready to get rid of the phone. I'm no audiophile, so to me this phone is the best audio experience I've ever had with a phone hands down. Even streaming at just 192kbps this phone really makes my Shure SE215's sing. The camera is noticeably worse than the Note 7 at low light but it's still the 2nd best camera on a phone I've seen. Close up pictures have lots of nice detail and that's the kind of pictures I usually take. It focuses quickly and locks focus down better than the Note 7 did. For the kinds of the pictures I take in fact this camera is better, unlike my Samsungs this phone's auto white balance mode works correctly. The whole phone feels quick and snappy, comparable to the Note. I'm getting slightly better signal than I've ever gotten, in fact the wifi is much stronger than either of my Note 7's were.
I like the look of the phone and it feels great in my hands, which although not as great as the all glass Note 7, it feels like I could drop it and have nothing to worry about. I don't find the UI intrusive or laggy, eventually I'll swap over to nova prime once I'm tired of stock. For me it ticks all the right boxes of keeping old features rather than heading the apple direction and removing everything. Removable battery, SD card, IR Blaster, headphone jack, USB C, etc For that reason alone I think it's worth supporting LG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Top tier amoled should've been here. Probably would've improved the already great battery life another 20%ish. And notification LED would've been awesome. Yeah yeah. I know we have second screen, but I don't use it. Probably why I get 6h+SOT all the time. 8h 1m was my best and I had 3% left. I get 7h+ often. Standby time is incredible. Hasn't been consistent for me but probably lose 1% about every 5h average. Need to root and get adblocking. That will probably improve battery life even more. Hoping a custom kernel with only modification of voltage settings will help too. Tired of all these unstable kernels with features I don't use or care.about. haven't stuck with a custom kernel since...maybe note2. It has been awhile. Just roll with stock kernel since no dev wants to make a simple kernel with voltage adjustments. Not paying anymore devs on kernels until they deliver. I've paid upfront twice and font nothing in return. Scumbags.and I hope the fingerprint scanner has features. Features like being able to use as track pad or minimum that uses swipes for shortcuts like the pixel. That would be friggin' awesome. And aside from camera on auto not being consistent the phone otherwise is almost flawless. I've gotten accustomed to the camera on auto though. Multiple pictures and using focus at different spots has helped tremendously. I've been able to tweak my screen close to accurate by eyeballing it so pictures look like the scenery on screen now. Got to test video and bi def recording today at veterans day parade. Both exceeded my high expectations. Just need slmevody to find binning of chips which I made a dedicated thread for but nobody answered. I've looked everywhere. And one of first things I do when I root is customize the boot up screen. Boring. Very boring and.typical of T-Mobile. I've only had to reboot for sim or micro SD reasons though. Very very stable. Micro SD isn't up to par unless I have root. Nonetheless I've been able to work around it. Just had to take care out. And everybody keeps saying IR blaster. I think our IT is a transceiver. Supposedly it can learn but I haven't tried yet. R.I.P. remotes if it indeed can learn. LG did good. Seems rushed but this is truly a flagship phone in many ways. Swappable battery in 2016on a flagship. Say what? LG needs to step it up on the accessories. Ready to buy a 6 pack of batteries. I got in on the $51 deal for the BCK-5200 package on Amazon. Now just need a good sale on batteries.
Coming from a note 7 I have mixed feelings. It ticks a lot of the boxes but I miss waterproof, the great samsung screens and I knew about those when I bought. The camera really disappointed me though. I was expecting it to take way better pics than it does. Spoiled from the note 7 I suppose. I didn't realize before buying it that it had the IR blaster and I had really been missing that from my s5. Nice to not have to hunt for remotes anymore. Its not ideal, but for someone like me that over 5.7" screen is a requirement it really is the best second choice to my old note 7. The bootloader sucks too. I had gotten out of the habit of reroming phones since samsung pay and now that I am off samsung I thought it would be fun to start that again. But nope. I have a sprint one and it seems to be non rootable at the moment.
---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 AM ----------
I do think a little bit of my dissapointment in the camera is not genuine. I am mainly comparing shots taken with this phones camera viewed on this phones screen to shots taken by the note 7 on the note 7's screen. The same photo would of course pop more on the amoled screen even if it was the same camera so thats part of the disappointment. But even still I think the note 7 took way better pics.
I love the phone other than no root, the camera I'm not really disappointed because I'm no photographer, the IR blaster is a must thank you LG, Samsung what are you thinking. The removable battery isn't a big deal since the battery does pretty good. If it was water proof that would top it off.
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