So, Which Hardware Component of Your Zenfone 2 Would You Upgrade? - ZenFone 2 General

XDA member @TachyonGun has recently run a feature asking Which Hardware Component of Your Phone [You] Would Upgrade?.
What about you? Are you satisfied with your phone HW? What would you add or improve?
(Please, only stick to hardware components, e.g. NOT software-related issues)

I wouldn't necessarily want anything upgraded, but anything that can be done to make this phone lighter would have made me happier.
ZF2 feels like a goddamn brick compared to most phones.

Super AMOLED 1080p 5.5" panel.
Front Facing Speakers
And a less power-hungry WiFi module.
Plus remove the capacite keys all together and replace them for on-screen to make space for the front facing speakers. OR make them backlit, ATLEAST.
Those would be the 4 things that would basically make this phone flawless, perfect. The best phone ever made. Literally. And no, no QuadHD display, pls. No don't try saying it's necesry.
It isn't. If you like viewing your phone with a magnifying glass, I'm sorry. lol I'd rather make the GPU work less and save more battery.

The Screens black-level could be better (compared to amoled)... but its a nice looking screen. Resolution is more than enough. The non-changeable Battery is the only thing I care about. I usually use my phones 3-4 years, that may exceed the lifetime of one battery...
I love the phone. I would rate everything at least "above average", some things are high end and the performance is great. Especially for that price.

for me its to boring in intel zenfone with out custom rom in this device, upgrading hardware is not problem as long the new hardware can handle custom rom, or the new hardware will break the custom rom not to get stable version

The speaker. It's absolutely pathetic - small, mono and on the back. Quiet and tinny and easily muffled. Asus can do decent small stereo speakers - the little ones on the ends of my very thin memo pad 7, while lacking bass, are pretty loud and clear and have nice stereo separation. They should ditch the crappy capacitative buttons on the zenfone and have small front facing stereo speakers. Not asking for HTC boomsound performance, but on a par with the memo pad would be grand. Otherwise, I am happy with my phone's hardware.

Other: either backlight or remove the capacitive buttons (preferably remove)

I wouldn't mind a thicker phone for a bigger battery and yet a smaller footprint (4.5 to 4.75" screen with the same size bezel on the 551).
Reduce the screen size, and the battery does not need to be that much bigger (say, 3200 to 3300mAh), but the kicker would be having the same great internals (I use the 1.8gHz/2GB/16B Z00A model).
But then again, that's just wish list stuff. I'm pretty happy with what I got.

A better camera. Period.

Amoled screen and removal of capacitive buttons. Got a little too attached to how my nexus 5 worked before this phone.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00A using Tapatalk

Speakers... on the Moto G 2nd gen, having 2x front stereo speakers, it's amazing, this is the feature I am missing the most.
Also having wireless charging would be a must.

Screen and software buttons instead of hardware buttons (or at least back-lit hardware buttons).

The screen and the camera

1 - Bigger camera sensor that can handle a 20MP photo with low noise.
2 - Better speaker, maybe stereo and in the front (Withoutc increasing the size of the frames, removing hardware buttons if necessary)
3 - Bigger battery (over 4000mAh), no problem if it needs to be a little thicker.
4 - An xenon flash integrated, or a powerful led flash with 4 leds that can be used in case of very darkness and as a torch with variable light intensity.
5 - The most important, a native dual boot android/windows 10 x86 desktop.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

I just want the screen little bit thicker with side protection...as zenfone 2 glass screen can be easily breaks especially its siding has no protection...and lastly new models with 5.1 already installed...

Better camera and brighter screen without loss of battery life
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using XDA Free mobile app

*Second SIM at least 3G capable
*3500 mAh battery
*Narrower side bezel
*Onscreen buttons (I'm so glad capacitive buttons are not back-lit!)
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD using Tapatalk

Stereo speakers at front
Camera with laser auto focus and ois(need 120fps at least in HD for slo mo)
SD 801 or 808 or 810 with cooling rod like Sony (SINCE some said Intel don't support 4k, high fps in camera)
Wireless charging
2sim 3g or even 2g data
IR
Mhl
4000mah battery
Screen more brightness and contrast (but I think it is not at all bad now)
With all above I would say it will be perfect phone

Battery, battery, the battery, maybe the battery, a bigger battery would be good...
Did I mention the battery?
Tbh I don't get why they made the back cover removable with a non-removable battery.

other: more speed for flash & ram

Related

if you could redesign the evo....

what changes would you like to see?
i love this phone but there are a few things that i would love to see re-designed on the phone.
for example:
put a slidable door that covers the hdmi & usb ports to keep out dust.
an access door on the side to remove the sd card instead of removing the battery to get to it.
move the power button to the lower right side of the phone for easy access.
a dedicated camera button on the right side.
most important i would of had a gorilla glass / super amoled display like the epic.
then this phone would be complete in my mind.
whats you wish list?
I would just fix the light leak issue, and upgrade the processor so its easier on the battery (dual core or something), that would be it really.
phatmanxxl said:
I would just fix the light leak issue, and upgrade the processor so its easier on the battery (dual core or something), that would be it really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't dual core cause more battery loss?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Systemfraud said:
Wouldn't dual core cause more battery loss?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the cpu. Could be a newer more efficient CPU.
i think the evo far surpasses any phone design thus far. whoever artistically designed this phone, i want to shake that persons hand.
its elegant, minimal, precise, lightly accented with reds and metals, thin, 3.5mm jack on the top, kickstand, everything about this phone to me still rings "best phone design to date"
im all about contemporary, minimalism and this phone is THAT.
i cant stand samsungs designs, theyre always curved around the edges, round, huge logo, ugly buttons, everything about samsung phones are disgusting to me.
sony, the same way... just because its a sony ericsson doesnt mean you gotta perpetuate the stereotypical sony aesthetics.
htc's design teams are the best hands down.
nothing about this phone i would change, except internal hardware, or a few more mm of lcd screen.
in my opinion the screen and display are just fine. i put mine next to my buddys iphone 4 and my display looked way better... also dont see the big desire for gorilla glass, the screen is already glass and doesnt scratch. honestly if i wanted to change that much i would just buy another phone
super amoled is a must for the evo.
stroths said:
Depends on the cpu. Could be a newer more efficient CPU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea thats what I ment by upgrading the processor and then probably underclock it for normal use and battery life, but also have the ability it use it to its full potential, with root access of course.
I would make it thinner.
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
DJ_Bizarro said:
in my opinion the screen and display are just fine. i put mine next to my buddys iphone 4 and my display looked way better... also dont see the big desire for gorilla glass, the screen is already glass and doesnt scratch. honestly if i wanted to change that much i would just buy another phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has scratched with just keys in my pocket. It seems like it never would, but it can get scratched easier than you think. Gorilla glass would have been nice.
The screen is far superior to that galaxyS samsung screen. If there are better designs than that though, I would have rather had a more power conscious screen. Our screen pulls close to 300ma of power at full brightness... that hurts bad.
I hate the banding on samoleds right now, i hate the over saturation. I love the saturation, don't get me wrong, that is the best thing about them. Unlimited contrast ratios and whatnot, but don't unleash it and let it run overly rampant and make things look stupidly oversaturated. I have a highish end TF panel LCD at home for photo editing purposes only. So it is easy to compare things to it and see their flaws. And personally the Evo LCD looks worlds more natural and worlds better than the samoleds right now. Call it a "super" lcd if you want. Cuz I think it is super sexy.
Things I would change..... Yeah lets get the new dual core snapdragon MSM8660 in here and get 20x the pixel drawing power LITERALLY 20X. That would be nice. And with almost identical power consumption at that *at 1gz* of course the msm runs at 1.2 easily and higher than that when OC'd and pulls some extra juice at that point. Our processor was outdated on release. Kinda sucks.
And what the hell. Get this HDMI desktop mirroring and everything under control. Don't give me an HDMI port that only works where you want it to work. What if I want to host evo conferences. I don't want to have to put my evo on an old school bulb projector or something lol just to be able to show it off.
In all seriousness though, that really makes me angry, let me show off what I want to show off.
The speakers are attrocious. The call speaker is very distorted. I end up EQ'ing out 100hz and below and it helps some, so it is evidently an over excursion distortion issue. Put 3 of the speaker they used in there and extend that slot across the top from edge to edge. I need to be able to talk on my phone... as a phone.
The phone is beautiful as far as design and curves go though. Very thin. I think it is perfectly sized for a phone. Any bigger and the thing would be unusable with one hand. Any smaller and it just makes me want more screen real estate.
unless im mistaken a dual core would save more battery because it only draws half unless running something power hungry like a game and then both cores are used, otherwise its only operating at half
DJ_Bizarro said:
in my opinion the screen and display are just fine. i put mine next to my buddys iphone 4 and my display looked way better... also dont see the big desire for gorilla glass, the screen is already glass and doesnt scratch. honestly if i wanted to change that much i would just buy another phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display on the EVO is awful, I don't mean this to be another iPhone 4 vs EVO thread but the viewing angles on the EVO display are AWFUL. Throw in the lower resolution and the lower color depth, and well, you know.
That said, being realistic with what is probably currently available to HTC:
-4.3" SLCD display
-768 MB of RAM
-1 GHz 45nm Scorpion/Snapdragon w/ Adreno 205 GPU (maybe higher clock if available)
-Aluminum casing
-Better camera sensor for BOTH the front and back, lower the MP if needed
-I also would like to see a Nexus One like trackball
-Sprint ID instead of Sense. I'd prefer to have 100% stock but Sprint ID is close enough TBH and is realistic.
Award Tour said:
The display on the EVO is awful, I don't mean this to be another iPhone 4 vs EVO thread but the viewing angles on the EVO display are AWFUL. Throw in the lower resolution and the lower color depth, and well, you know.
That said, being realistic with what is probably currently available to HTC:
-4.3" SLCD display
-768 MB of RAM
-1 GHz 45nm Scorpion/Snapdragon w/ Adreno 205 GPU (maybe higher clock if available)
-Aluminum casing
-Better camera sensor for BOTH the front and back, lower the MP if needed
-I also would like to see a Nexus One like trackball
-Sprint ID instead of Sense. I'd prefer to have 100% stock but Sprint ID is close enough TBH and is realistic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What the hell angle do you view your screen at? I can look at mine at nearly 180° without any color distortion.
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
Better GPU (but definitely not a must), 1800 mAh battery standard. It doesn't add any bulk or require a new battery cover. Also, make it a world phone. Oh, and make the white version all-white and make the back glossy on the black cover as well.
TheBiles said:
What the hell angle do you view your screen at? I can look at mine at nearly 180° without any color distortion.
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol to funny. I agree with most people there isn't to many phones EVER made that are as sexy as the Evo. I think that phone is damn near close to perfect as a phone can get as is aside from the minor hardware things. But to stay on topic I would say maybe a track pad (or ball).
Sent from my Evo 4G
TheBiles said:
What the hell angle do you view your screen at? I can look at mine at nearly 180° without any color distortion.
--
Sent from my HTC Supersonic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. Keep believing that the EVO's display is perfect when it's in fact far below most.
fixxxer2008 said:
what changes would you like to see?
i love this phone but there are a few things that i would love to see re-designed on the phone.
for example:
put a slidable door that covers the hdmi & usb ports to keep out dust.
an access door on the side to remove the sd card instead of removing the battery to get to it.
move the power button to the lower right side of the phone for easy access.
a dedicated camera button on the right side.
most important i would of had a gorilla glass / super amoled display like the epic.
then this phone would be complete in my mind.
whats you wish list?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Canned air fixes that even with a door dust would get in.
I have to agree with the sdcard not a night problem but I'd love to see it like a blackberry or the hero no battery pull needed
Camera button? Is it that hard to slide and press a button? LoL
Gorilla glass is nice bit honestly i think the glass is pretty good the gorilla glass would have jacked the price IMHO.
Me I'd like to see a little better screen myself. The current screen is nice bit could be a lot better
from my phone duh
om4 said:
unless im mistaken a dual core would save more battery because it only draws half unless running something power hungry like a game and then both cores are used, otherwise its only operating at half
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new dual cores coming out will get 75% better life due to reduced die size.
A Pico projector would be nice addition. Also the new technology that allows the user to gesture above the screen as opposed to touching it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I also find the saturation on the samoled screens to be very unappealing. It is like looking at a pile of melted crayons. However one of the new Sharp "glassesless" 3d screens would be cool.
If we are really dreaming, how about the new plastic screen cover that actually changes shape during use so that you can "feel" the keyboard buttons and the screen goes back to flat when the keyboard isn't being used?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
-A unibody aluminum casing (make it extremely durable) I hate the fact this phone feels cheap in my hand as oppose to holding someone's nexus one, G2 and the iphone. The plastic is turnoff.
-A low-volatge CPU, that can still give the power of a 1gz processor.
-Dedicated Camera Button, if this phone is going have a camera hump that's 8mp, Why not have a dedicated camera button.
-Kill off HTC Sense and use PURE ANDROID W. VANILLA. HTC sense use to many resources in the background at startup than Pure Android, its disgusting that HTC Sense is a big factor of quickly draining the battery.
-Make it thinner
-Just make sure it better than the next gen iphone5

[Q] What are shortcomings on DHD ?

What are the main shortcomings on DHD ?
Battery life - it can least for 24h - enough for me
Sound quality - "call trick" made things up
Camera lens and blur ?
Is it now fixed ( I'm planning to buy a phone in 2 weeks ( in this Shop where i want to buy it came before 2-3 weeks ago) ?
This is my main concern, so if u now good news it will be good :/
Greetings from Sarajevo
Higher pixel resolution, coating on the screen against fingerprints&better protection in sunlight, better build quilty (The battery/simcard plastic thingy's) frontcamera, multicoloured LED notification lights.
That would be it. I am happy with the battery life.
I would say is the battery issue only..
As far as build quality goes, you're better of getting a plastic phone.
The metal is great, but those covers just make me wanna die.
I got a cheapo tpu silicon case off eBay for my dhd and its the best case I've ever had for a phone, it adds a bit to the thickness of the phone but its not obtrusive. I can get a day of heavy usage using cm7 and mm's battery fix. Call quality is great, although speaker volume is on the low side.
Others ?
I don't have any issues with my DHD anymore. The sound problem and battery life was fixed with a custom rom, sim & battery covers fit perfect and the camera lens/blur issue was fixed with a warranty repair (this problem is found only in the first batch of phones?). The screen is everything i need (yes i've used iphone 4 and galaxy s), a higher resolution wouldn't make such a big difference and I like the colors more than the amoled screen colors.
mesut19 said:
Higher pixel resolution, coating on the screen against fingerprints&better protection in sunlight, better build quilty (The battery/simcard plastic thingy's) frontcamera, multicoloured LED notification lights.
That would be it. I am happy with the battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What phone doesn't get fingerprints on it's screen?
I just want a higher resolution display it makes world difference. Look at iPhone 4 the icons looks like beautiful painting.. and need a front camera video calling becomes useless in DHD
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
So, problem with camera is solved on new models after January 2011 ?
Hawks556 said:
I don't have any issues with my DHD anymore. The sound problem and battery life was fixed with a custom rom, sim & battery covers fit perfect and the camera lens/blur issue was fixed with a warranty repair (this problem is found only in the first batch of phones?). The screen is everything i need (yes i've used iphone 4 and galaxy s), a higher resolution wouldn't make such a big difference and I like the colors more than the amoled screen colors.
What phone doesn't get fingerprints on it's screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well before this I had a 3GS. That had a coating which was really nice because the fingerprints weren't getting visible. The Ipad has a special kind of coating to.
You could probably buy some kind of spray for it but for a crown-jewel product of a manufacture like HTC it should be a 'must'

[Discussion] Possible improvements on Z1 for its future successor

Even before Sony name the new honami phone as Z1, I once thought that XZ can be a great predecessor for its future generations if Sony wishes.
I believe that many of you would also hope for the successor of XZ with its weaknesses fixed or improved. So, now the Z1 has come out
and let's list out which things Sony improved and which things that left out but still can be improved.
I also would like you to participate as fun with possible improvements that you've thought before. [Note: possible means not features like
Xenon flash, fingerprint scanner, 10x optical zoom etc.. ok? ]
First, let's see what weaknesses of XZ that is fixed or improved in Z1. I cannot definitely tell that some of the things are fixed but I will
update once I got Z1 and compared with XZ.
Xperia Z's weaknesses
-----------------------------------------
1. poor viewing angle (Hope triluminos fix it. Acceptable so far according to the hands on videos)
2. poor wifi receivement (If Sony make use of Z1's aluminium panel as antenna?)
3. wear and tear flaps (I am interested to find out how they managed to build the Z1's open earphone jack with water resistance)
4. battery life (Improved. XZ's battery life is acceptable for me but 2330 mAh is really not enough for heavy users)
5. Speaker (Improved........)
6. loose back panel near camera (Not sure and most important factor)
7. Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass (Not improved)
8. No dedicated shutter button (fixed)
Z1's successor possible improvements
------------------------------------------
1. Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass to Corning Gorilla Glass 1/2/3 with oleophobic coating ?
Many of us might have been disappointed with such a fingerprint and dust magnet of XZ's screen. Very obvious and noticeable if you come from an iPhone.
Also I am also one of the people who don't prefer Shatter proof film at all because of the reason above.
2. magnetic power connector ? (optional)
Most of XZ owners afraid of their phone's flaps will become loose and eventually let water damage the phone one day because of the commonly used
2 main ports, micro usb port and earphone jack. Now Sony already managed to left the headphone jack open and if they managed to come up even
more with magnetic power connector and let it connect to 2 pogo pins(which was designed only for dock), it will definitely become an invincible beast.
You can argue that we can already charge the phone with dock however, some people don't prefer it because of high ampere and faster discharge of battery.
3. Increase internal memory to 32GB ?
Although we can add 16 up to 64 micro SDs, most people still want to make internal memory as their favourite. For me, its not a must factor as I usually
flash my phones alot and only store my data in microSD card.
4. Increase RAM to 3Gb? ( nah, no need)
5. OIS missing?
As far as I read up in pages, I cannot find anything about OIS in Z1. I guess Sony missed out an important feature.
6. S-Master MX digital amplifier ??
Many Walkman fans hoped desperately for that dedicated audio chip and Sony missed out again. However, I think it is because of constraints in so
many aspects such as design and customers' affordable price range.
Nanohearted said:
Even before Sony name the new honami phone as Z1, I once thought that XZ can be a great predecessor for its future generations if Sony wishes.
I believe that many of you would also hope for the successor of XZ with its weaknesses fixed or improved. So, now the Z1 has come out
and let's list out which things Sony improved and which things that left out but still can be improved.
I also would like you to participate as fun with possible improvements that you've thought before. [Note: possible means not features like
Xenon flash, fingerprint scanner, 10x optical zoom etc.. ok? ]
First, let's see what weaknesses of XZ that is fixed or improved in Z1. I cannot definitely tell that some of the things are fixed but I will
update once I got Z1 and compared with XZ.
Xperia Z's weaknesses
-----------------------------------------
1. poor viewing angle (Hope triluminos fix it. Acceptable so far according to the hands on videos)
2. poor wifi receivement (If Sony make use of Z1's aluminium panel as antenna?)
3. wear and tear flaps (I am interested to find out how they managed to build the Z1's open earphone jack with water resistance)
4. battery life (Improved. XZ's battery life is acceptable for me but 2330 mAh is really not enough for heavy users)
5. Speaker (Improved........)
6. loose back panel near camera (Not sure and most important factor)
7. Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass (Not improved)
8. No dedicated shutter button (fixed)
Z1's successor possible improvements
------------------------------------------
1. Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass to Corning Gorilla Glass 1/2/3 with oleophobic coating ?
Many of us might have been disappointed with such a fingerprint and dust magnet of XZ's screen. Very obvious and noticeable if you come from an iPhone.
Also I am also one of the people who don't prefer Shatter proof film at all because of the reason above.
2. magnetic power connector ? (optional)
Most of XZ owners afraid of their phone's flaps will become loose and eventually let water damage the phone one day because of the commonly used
2 main ports, micro usb port and earphone jack. Now Sony already managed to left the headphone jack open and if they managed to come up even
more with magnetic power connector and let it connect to 2 pogo pins(which was designed only for dock), it will definitely become an invincible beast.
You can argue that we can already charge the phone with dock however, some people don't prefer it because of high ampere and faster discharge of battery.
3. Increase internal memory to 32GB ?
Although we can add 16 up to 64 micro SDs, most people still want to make internal memory as their favourite. For me, its not a must factor as I usually
flash my phones alot and only store my data in microSD card.
4. Increase RAM to 3Gb? ( nah, no need)
5. OIS missing?
As far as I read up in pages, I cannot find anything about OIS in Z1. I guess Sony missed out an important feature.
6. S-Master MX digital amplifier ??
Many Walkman fans hoped desperately for that dedicated audio chip and Sony missed out again. However, I think it is because of constraints in so
many aspects such as design and customers' affordable price range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is not a troll question, i genuinely want to know why you regard xenon flash as a not possible improvement? Is xenon flash too hard to implement in mobiles? The nokia people did it right?
Anyway, without the phone in my hands my vote goes to a decent OIS system and to move away from flaps to wireless data transfer and charging. That way, we dont have to worry about those seals letting water in. Oh and for micro sd and the sim card flap, possibly making a tighter seal that can be secured shut with a small and discrete screw. I think the trade off of having a complete seal that you don't have to always check for dust and if its closed all the way is worth having to work a little harder to get to the sd and sim card.
Edit* just saw your #2 suggestion, i like that better than what i said. yeah just do away with the microsd if they can't waterproof it without a flap and hook everything up through that dock connector instead.
systoxity said:
this is not a troll question, i genuinely want to know why you regard xenon flash as a not possible improvement? Is xenon flash too hard to implement in mobiles? The nokia people did it right?
Anyway, without the phone in my hands my vote goes to a decent OIS system and to move away from flaps to wireless data transfer and charging. That way, we dont have to worry about those seals letting water in. Oh and for micro sd and the sim card flap, possibly making a tighter seal that can be secured shut with a small and discrete screw. I think the trade off of having a complete seal that you don't have to always check for dust and if its closed all the way is worth having to work a little harder to get to the sd and sim card.
Edit* just saw your #2 suggestion, i like that better than what i said. yeah just do away with the microsd if they can't waterproof it without a flap and hook everything up through that dock connector instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I would prefer LED if I can't have both LED and Xenon flash on the front. I prefer having an LED flash that could be used as flashlight than using the phone screen for torch.
gwuhua1984 said:
I think I would prefer LED if I can't have both LED and Xenon flash on the front. I prefer having an LED flash that could be used as flashlight than using the phone screen for torch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's a really good point, i agree 100%.
Things for me that are missing from the Z1 are
*32gb internal
*IR Blaster
*Glove mode like xperia SP
*OIS in the camera
*720p/1080p recording at 60fps ( not fussed about 4k thats just exccessive)
*S Max Walkman AMP
I wouldn't mind better speakers and an IR blaster. Otherwise it looks pretty damn good. Maybe a Xenon flash as well to take better pics at night.
shem2409 said:
I wouldn't mind better speakers and an IR blaster. Otherwise it looks pretty damn good. Maybe a Xenon flash as well to take better pics at night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a big one for me but less bezel, more screen. Also I'd like wireless charging but the biggest change would be a removable battery.
These are my wish list,
1. S-Master - Audio is very important to me
2. Better Battery life. (at least 10 hours of viewing videos)
3. Better Screen Material. Screen that is a finger print magnet is really annoying. I literally bring an extra cloth on my bag to wipe the screen of my Xperia S.
4. Magnetic Charging Cable out of the box. this would really be awesome.
**OIS seems to have a lot of mixed reviews on the camera, so still waiting if it really needs an OIS or Sony Steadyshot will do.
Is This too Much
Dedicated audio chip(with 120db SNR. Frequency Response (-3dB, 24bit/192KHz input) : 10 Hz to 48 KHz)
600ohm headphone amplifier
stereo speakers with better drives (RMS Power: 500 Watt, Program power: 1000 Watt, Frequency range: 20 Hz - 100 kHz, Nominal Impedence: 4 Ohm, Efficience 2,83V / 1m: 92 dB, Maximum SPL: 118 dB)
superior auto with ability to manually control ISO
OIS
always on mic with dedicated speech recognition processor
dedicated X-reality processor with video upsampling
High contrast display
shatterproof film on inside of the phone exposing the glass
making the screen Oleophobic
Ir blaster
178 degree viewing angle
48-bit deep color panel
Stylus sensitivity as in Z-ultra
32GB internal memory
4GB RAM
3Ghz quad core processor that will be launched as per Qualcomm by the time next model comes out or 8 core model which is more upto date then,even maybe a 64 bit processor
Glove mode
Wireless Charging
LED and Xenon flash combo
Manual mode for X-reality engine
sapphire crystal instead of glass
LTE- Advance
multiple users with multiple privileges
Motion sensing using front Camera
running any app in multitask on single screen. even multiple instances of same app
RCJ89 said:
Things for me that are missing from the Z1 are
*32gb internal
*IR Blaster
*Glove mode like xperia SP
*OIS in the camera
*720p/1080p recording at 60fps ( not fussed about 4k thats just exccessive)
*S Max Walkman AMP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I can agree with the Glove mode and the recording although I want 4K... They should enable it in the future with a software update but who knows... Anyways, IR blaster is not that necessary.. There's a good reason why there are TV remotes.. Sony's digital stabilisation is bloody good and they never use manual OIS so don't expect it... Don't know about the walkman amp but hell when I tested it yesterday, headphone audio was good...
Sean473 said:
Personally, I can agree with the Glove mode and the recording although I want 4K... They should enable it in the future with a software update but who knows... Anyways, IR blaster is not that necessary.. There's a good reason why there are TV remotes.. Sony's digital stabilisation is bloody good and they never use manual OIS so don't expect it... Don't know about the walkman amp but hell when I tested it yesterday, headphone audio was good...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well don't leave us hanging man! tell us why there's a good reason there are TV remotes!
oled screen like psvita (z1 screen is good, but not that good viewing angles, and black levels not comparable to super amoled) (galaxy note 3 have super amoled
OIS - steadyshot in z1 is software implemented, a good OIS help a lot in video recording (galaxy note have OIS)
720p 120fps, 1080p 60fps, 4k and 2k video with good bitrates (adain, galaxy note 3 already have these features)
(i think its possible to add this in a firmware update, but i really doubt they will)
sony z1 loose to galaxy note 3 in all major features, only in camera pictures it wins (and a little bit disapoint for its 1/2.3 sensor)
this is disapoint. knowing that sony could have implemented all of this in z1 makes me sad. z1 has perfect design, is IP 55/58 wich is amazing, and has perfect hardware (snapdragon 800). but sony ****ed up in screen and video capabilities. if they had implemented all of this z1 would be a clear winner
if they release a z1 mini with the same specs as z1 but with 4'-4.3' screen i will buy it anyway, since it will be the only mini smartphone with flagship specs
z1 successor will have the same problems again, but just attenuated like z1 and z
Just heard about Z2 on the horizon but would treat this with a grain of salt:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Specs-leak-for-the-Sony-Xperia-Z2-code-named-Avatar_id47423
Sent from my PadFone Infinity using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
pepeo123 said:
oled screen like psvita (z1 screen is good, but not that good viewing angles, and black levels not comparable to super amoled) (galaxy note 3 have super amoled
OIS - steadyshot in z1 is software implemented, a good OIS help a lot in video recording (galaxy note have OIS)
720p 120fps, 1080p 60fps, 4k and 2k video with good bitrates (adain, galaxy note 3 already have these features)
(i think its possible to add this in a firmware update, but i really doubt they will)
sony z1 loose to galaxy note 3 in all major features, only in camera pictures it wins (and a little bit disapoint for its 1/2.3 sensor)
this is disapoint. knowing that sony could have implemented all of this in z1 makes me sad. z1 has perfect design, is IP 55/58 wich is amazing, and has perfect hardware (snapdragon 800). but sony ****ed up in screen and video capabilities. if they had implemented all of this z1 would be a clear winner
if they release a z1 mini with the same specs as z1 but with 4'-4.3' screen i will buy it anyway, since it will be the only mini smartphone with flagship specs
z1 successor will have the same problems again, but just attenuated like z1 and z
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to point out that note does not have OIS either. Also the note 3 uses the pentile display which is inferior to normal 1080p which z1 got.
Idk the waterproofing and camera was enough to win me over from the note 3... Quite a few tradeoffs to consider. You're suggestions were good nontheless.
systoxity said:
Just wanted to point out that note does not have OIS either. Also the note 3 uses the pentile display which is inferior to normal 1080p which z1 got.
Idk the waterproofing and camera was enough to win me over from the note 3... Quite a few tradeoffs to consider. You're suggestions were good nontheless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, my mistake, i got confused about the OIS in the LG G2.
and about the oled display, i was reffering to the oled that sony uses in its PSvita. it doesnt use pentile matrix
an sony phone with oled display, 4k video, 1080p 60 fps, and OIS would be an instant buy. an mini version with similar specs would be a dream
waterproof and camera was enough for me too, even if the video recording is a little bit disapointing. and the triluminos display in z1 is good enought, but not flagship. oled would be perfect
pepeo123 said:
sorry, my mistake, i got confused about the OIS in the LG G2.
and about the oled display, i was reffering to the oled that sony uses in its PSvita. it doesnt use pentile matrix
an sony phone with oled display, 4k video, 1080p 60 fps, and OIS would be an instant buy. an mini version with similar specs would be a dream
waterproof and camera was enough for me too, even if the video recording is a little bit disapointing. and the triluminos display in z1 is good enought, but not flagship. oled would be perfect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sony uses LCD on new PS Vita
http://www.techdigest.tv/2013/09/sony_explain_wh.html
Another dis advantage of OLED is it is not water proof, it can easily damage on water. it is the reason why Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is using LCD, instead of SAMOLED....
And also life span, OLED does not have a good life span, you immediately see effects after 1 year use.
OLED also suck at Outdoors, can barely use it while your outdoors on a bright sun, I live in a tropical country and I love going to the beach so this is important to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED
Morlock O said:
sony uses LCD on new PS Vita
http://www.techdigest.tv/2013/09/sony_explain_wh.html
Another dis advantage of OLED is it is not water proof, it can easily damage on water. it is the reason why Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is using LCD, instead of SAMOLED....
And also life span, OLED does not have a good life span, you immediately see effects after 1 year use.
OLED also suck at Outdoors, can barely use it while your outdoors on a bright sun, I live in a tropical country and I love going to the beach so this is important to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I had an S3 and outdoors in the sun, nightmare to see anything.. I don't expect that much trouble with LCD!
Waterproof was enough to win me over, I how it's water proof, I love to swim so it will be amazing to use it in the pool
My pre-order is already in and my S3's days are numbered (I may give it to my Dad if he wants it )
I'm also really looking forward to cooking up some roms I really was in my sweet spot with Xperia when I had my Xperia Play.
here are some of the highest priority improvements for the next xperia flagship i hope to see:
SCREEN:
1. make the front glass and back glass THEMSELVES shatter proof, scratch resistant and with oleophobic coating to make the front film ONLY optional (the Z1 front glass itself is ONLY "scratch resistant", and if there's no way to make the glass itself shatter resistant with out having to put a film on then ditch the glass material for other material (sapphire ?)/all aluminum. just not plastic. by either way:
a. you treat many people that HATE screen films, like me. people who wants to put a film can always do that.
b. the screen quality will not be affected at all by a mandatory external film (a really minor effect, small as it may be, but it's still an effect, right? right).
2. do not print your "sony" logo on the front film - it's a really cheap and dumb decision. either engrave it on the front glass itself or don't engrave it at all on the front. and just don't tell me that the back "sony" and "xperia" logos are not printed on the back film as well, otherwise it will be too stupid.
just don't make the film a mandatory thing and don't ship the units with it on. of course one can remove the film but it would be a silly thing to do since the glass will be more fragile and without oleophobic coating - so it's not a wise thing to do.
i have my iphone 3gs for 4 years now and i have only 2 tiny scratches on the screen, why? cause i put it in ultra thine leather folder case which is a MUCH better compromise then using a phone with a film on which i can't stand, plus it gives real protection against drops, etc. much better protection then what the film brings.
3. improve the screen quality even more, especially the viewing angles to AT LEAST match the htc one/iphone 5 viewing angles.
4. gloves mode.
SOUND:
1. louder speaker or 2 speakers for a fuller and louder sound if possible.
2. higher quality audio - dedicated chip.
STORAGE:
1. at least 32gb internal.

what i would change on the xperia z1

i've owned the xperia z1 for a few weeks now and i absolutely adore it but theres things i don't like with it so i will list my wishes
first off the plastic all around inside the frame i hate it it kills the phone i don't see why it's even there it's pointing out why can't the frame reach over there instead or my wish is replace this plastic with a glass rgb light all around the entire phone when it's off you won't notice it's there but when it's on you do it would be able to light up certain parts pulse and other effects like moving allong the lines or mix colors like red at the top blue at the bottom etc (the rgb light it already has it muffled under something which makes it look bad but from a certain angle it's clear and amazing)
much better screen the best possible screen or amoled with sonys picture engine to make colors more life like best possible black level if a amoled couldn't be used
64 gb internal storage
xenon flash
completely black frame instead of titanium grey
no sony logo at the front and a olephobic coating (no anti shatter proof film)
4 speakers 2 at each side (not bottom but side) to create a surround effect
4.7 inch
as thin bezels as the xperia z or the zl
zzcool said:
i've owned the xperia z1 for a few weeks now and i absolutely adore it but theres things i don't like with it so i will list my wishes
first off the plastic all around inside the frame i hate it it kills the phone i don't see why it's even there it's pointing out why can't the frame reach over there instead or my wish is replace this plastic with a glass rgb light all around the entire phone when it's off you won't notice it's there but when it's on you do it would be able to light up certain parts pulse and other effects like moving allong the lines or mix colors like red at the top blue at the bottom etc (the rgb light it already has it muffled under something which makes it look bad but from a certain angle it's clear and amazing)
much better screen the best possible screen or amoled with sonys picture engine to make colors more life like best possible black level if a amoled couldn't be used
64 gb internal storage
xenon flash
completely black frame instead of titanium grey
no sony logo at the front and a olephobic coating (no anti shatter proof film)
4 speakers 2 at each side (not bottom but side) to create a surround effect
4.7 inch
as thin bezels as the xperia z or the zl
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THe freaking useless Panoramic.
Pressing the shutter will make the camera try to focus, but if you wait for it to fix on a focus point, it's too late.
You have to pag right when you press shutter, while it's trying to focus, so it doesnt focus on **** when youre panning because youll have to do it fast, but not too fast.
I think that you're asking too much I would be pleased that there was an S-Master Audio Chip. I would also like to have xenon flash but it's just impossible with such tiny phone, the capacitor wouldn't fit. But there are people working on capacitors like a piece of paper, too bad that it's not in use yet.
Smaller bezels and a edge-to-edge screen like on G2 would be great but hey, the phone is waterproof! And it houses a large camera sensor, so I think that we can forgive Sony for the bezels.
The thing I would definitely change is most of the software. The fact that Z1 holds on battery almost as same as Z which has a 2300 mAh while Z1 has 3000 mAh, and the fact that LG G2 lasts almost double longer when web surfing is making no sense. Z1 should last at least 8-10 hours of web surfing. And the second thing; camera! Those large bezeles, al those rumours about cameraphone, large senzor, bionz, g lens and all other fancy words and for what? LG G2 and SGS4 can take the same or even better photos in some cases. I think that this is a big issue.
Other than that, everything is perfect Maybe a louder speaker would be great but again, it's a waterproof phone. That speaker is maybe louder than all other speakers on Samsung and LG phones, but it can't reach it's maximum loudness because of water protection on the speaker itself. It's a problem that Sony has been dealing with from the start. And more powerful speaker requires more space and stronger amplifier, which drains more battery.
My damn screen and back are all scratched for no reason..... what happened to anti scratch????
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
stealthj said:
My damn screen and back are all scratched for no reason..... what happened to anti scratch????
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a screen-guard both on front and back glass. It's not scratch-resistant. You can take it off but you'll lose SONY logo. And what happened? You didn't take care for your phone enough. I never put my phone together with anything in my pocket and I'm using a case on my phones so they can't get scratched that easy.
1)I would change the place of usb slot to top so that it could be charged while its in the flip cover.
2)I would add 13MP mode in camera.
3)I would change the flash to xenon flash.
Sent from my C6902
stealthj said:
My damn screen and back are all scratched for no reason..... what happened to anti scratch????
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never mixed it with keys or anything. And some of these scratches are DEEP, like someone took a screw driver to them or something. Very disappointed. I don't think taking off the film you're talking about would take those deep ones away
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
stealthj said:
I never mixed it with keys or anything. And some of these scratches are DEEP, like someone took a screw driver to them or something. Very disappointed. I don't think taking off the film you're talking about would take those deep ones away
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage to do this? Are you sure that these are scratches? Maybe these are cracks; maybe your glass is broken? It wouldn't be the first time that this phone's glass got broken. If you keep it in your pants pocket it's very likely for the screen to get cracked when you sit down.
I have a 3 years old Xperia X10, without any scratch-protection and I don't have a single scratch. I dropped it hundreds of times but no scratch. So I don't get how you managed to scratch it. Maybe you're dealing with cracked glass.
z1
nothing to change, z1 have perfect design and most beautifull phone in the market. great cam for who to know how to use ..
Things to improve:
SCREEN:
1. make the front glass and back glass themselves shatter proof, scratch resistant and with oleophobic coating to make the front film ONLY optional.
2. don't make the film a mandatory thing, don't ship the units with it on.
3. do not print "sony" logo and any other logo on the front film - it's a cheap decision. either engrave it on the front glass itself or don't engrave it at all on the front.
4. 5.2 inch FHD highest quality IPS LCD available - dramatically improve the screen quality, especially the viewing angles to AT LEAST match the htc one/iphone 5s viewing angles. g2, iphone 5s and htc one screens are more impressive overall imo - all are higher quality IPS. i think that viewing angles are necessary for some and for others not. it's surely not good for a company to neglect those who care for viewing angles. i don't mean that the z1 screen is bad. i mean that higher quality IPS is the most balanced display and by that all users AND reviewers will be pleased because it's good in natural colors and it's good in viewing angles as opposed to the z1 screen - good in natural colors but bad in viewing angles.
5. gloves mode.
DESIGN:
1. consider all aluminum back and sides. less fragile then glass. i would say all sapphire design but the material still too expensive.
SOUND:
1. louder speaker or 2 speakers for a fuller and louder sound if possible.
2. higher quality audio - dedicated chip.
STORAGE:
1. 32gb as standard.
CAMERA:
1. better image processing to reduce noise.
2. OIS.
3. 4K ready.
4. dual LED.
OTHER:
1. IR blaster.
Things to improve:
SCREEN:
1. make the front glass and back glass themselves shatter proof, scratch resistant and with oleophobic coating to make the front film ONLY optional.
2. don't make the film a mandatory thing, don't ship the units with it on. if possible, make it also with "self healing" like in the LG g flex.
3. do not print "sony" logo and any other logo on the front film - it's a cheap decision. either engrave it on the front glass itself or don't engrave it at all on the front.
4. 5.2 inch FHD highest quality IPS LCD available - dramatically improve the screen quality, especially the viewing angles to AT LEAST match the htc one/iphone 5s viewing angles. g2, iphone 5s and htc one screens are more impressive overall imo - all are higher quality IPS. i think that viewing angles are necessary for some and for others not. it's surely not good for a company to neglect those who care for viewing angles. i don't mean that the z1 screen is bad. i mean that higher quality IPS is the most balanced display and by that all users AND reviewers will be pleased because it's good in natural colors and it's good in viewing angles as opposed to the z1 screen - good in natural colors but bad in viewing angles.
5. gloves mode.
DESIGN:
1. consider all aluminum back and sides. less fragile then glass. i would say all sapphire design but the material still too expensive.
SOUND:
1. louder speaker or 2 speakers for a fuller and louder sound if possible.
2. higher quality audio - dedicated chip.
STORAGE:
1. internal 32gb as standard.
CAMERA:
1. better image processing to reduce noise.
2. OIS.
3. 4K ready.
4. dual LED.
OTHER:
1. IR blaster.
More on board memory 16Gb of which 11.72Gb is user memory is not enough especially as you cannot run apps from the SD card
Camera should have a more resolutions in manual mode ie something above 8Mp in Widescreen mode would have been nice.
I would like to think that Sony can add camera resolution options with software, along with improving on the noise reduction.
Better codec support out the box, I know that we can install MX Player, but still with only 16Gb onboard every Meg counts!!
Improve the screen, as thanks to the tariff I am on with Vodafone, I get SkySports and watching football included on my 4G plan...
charging solar panel, ir blaster, removable battery, teamaker, time transpoter, oh yeah and walk the dog, okay sony lol. love my z1 as is anyways.
joecool666 said:
charging solar panel, ir blaster, removable battery, teamaker, time transpoter, oh yeah and walk the dog, okay sony lol. love my z1 as is anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, the last one with the dog made me laugh But there's no need for sarcasm. Some wishes are exaggerated, but there actually is a lot room for improvements. While there's no special need for hardware improvements, there are a lot software improvements which should be done in 4.3 or 4.4 KitKat updates.
xplod2841 said:
Lol, the last one with the dog made me laugh But there's no need for sarcasm. Some wishes are exaggerated, but there actually is a lot room for improvements. While there's no special need for hardware improvements, there are a lot software improvements which should be done in 4.3 or 4.4 KitKat updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do agree with you no sarcasm was intended just in a good mood. z1 does need more mods and performance improvements as with all flagship devices.but still a cool phone,:good:
I'm really happy with the Z1. If I could change some things, it would only be two features:
- make the housing smaller (similar to the Xperia ZL)
- use WindowsPhone instead of Android (Android is okay, but WP is clearly the better system)
Future lottery numbers!
Wp better? That must be a joke, in my eyes wp is dead.
Anyways all I would love to change is: slightly bigger screen, 32/64gb built in space & z ultra alike screen. Other than that this phone is amazing.
Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk
skycamefalling said:
I'm really happy with the Z1. If I could change some things, it would only be two features:
- make the housing smaller (similar to the Xperia ZL)
- use WindowsPhone instead of Android (Android is okay, but WP is clearly the better system)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only advantage of WP over Android is it's smoothness. And with Snapdragon 800 the Android is fast and smooth like iOS and WP on Xperia Z1 so there's not a single reason to put WP while Android is way better in every aspect. I do really like some Lumias but I would never buy any of them while WP is on it.

I bought this phone today and have some feedback for any one on the fence...

I got this phone because I've been waiting for a smaller Android device that doesn't treat you like a second class citizen. This is really the first one out there that does this, I found it for £360 on sale which is only £30 more than the 32gb Nexus 5 and tbh since it has a micro SD slot, I think it is a really great deal,, especially seeing as the specs are like a main flagship device.
So some thoughts...
- Really well made, feels like an iPhone 5/5s for Android.
- I've been with my Mum today and she had a go on it and said it is the first Android mobile she'd ever think about upgrading to because of the small size.
- When I put it side by side with the iPhone 5, it really isn't much bigger, just a tad wider which is better since my biggest complaint with the 5 is the screen is so narrow
- I can easily use the phone one handed and use the whole screen, I've got average sized hands and I've found all these 5inch Android phones to have just gotten too big, especially my old HTC One, I hand to slide the phone up and down my hand to use the power button.
- Power button is great, the volume rocker is slightly too small as is the camera button, but they're minor flaws.
- The Sim tray and Micro SD slot I found to be really tricky to use, the Sim especially seems rather fiddly and I doubt the average user would work it out without possibly breaking the tray.
- I love the led charging light by the top speaker, I'm not sure if it doubles up as a notification light, but I hope it does.
- The loud speaker is not great, it's serviceable, will get you by, but you wont want to be listening to music or video out of it. That said I never wanted to do that from my HTC One and always used an external speaker or headphones any ways as no small speaker is that good in a phone. However if you walk the dog up the fields like me and don't like using headphones as you want to hear what is going on around you, the loud speaker isn't going to cut it, I struggled to hear it sometimes.
- The Magnetic charging is a cool touch, it really is needed as having to open that flap all the time would be so annoying. I mean I bought a Micro USB to Magnetic charge adapter for a few quid on Amazon, I'd suggest you all do the same as it is pretty necessary, I don't understand why one isn't sold with it as standard.
- Comes with a nice usb adapter so you can do stuff like plugging in your PS3 controller to play games. Maybe this would compliment screen mirroring or Chromecast gaming? I dunno, I haven't tried it, but just a nice little bonus.
- The X reality engine is ****, it just ruins the picture, usually just makes a picture too bright like it has been over exposed. The phone comes with it on by default... turn it off.
- The screen is a mixed bag for me, resolution and pixel density wise, I cannot fault it, looks as crisp as an iPhone and tbh I don't get why people care about having 440PPI when I cannot see a pixel at 340PPI, you never look at a screen under a magnifying glass. Again it is 720p, but for the size screen I just turn browse text to large and everything looks crisp and great, I really do not miss having the 1080p screen of my HTC One. Maybe if I was using a 4.7 inch+ screen again I'd want 1080p, but for this small screen 720p works, Apple have proved this as no one cares abut the iPhones resolution, which is like 640?
That said though I can see the digitizer when the sun glances off the phone, it is a downer as I never saw it on my last phone (Nokia 1020) or my HTC One before that. Though screens are a lottery it seems as they're all made from different companies, my friend got a HTC One and could see his badly.
The black levels aren't that great, neither are the viewing angles, I'm being picky here as they're totally fine, just I'm used to an OLED screen now and it is hard to go back. Black levels on OLED screens aren't perfect, they do have light bleed and a weird effect as the pixels go from colour to black, but... it is hard to adjust back to seeing more of a grey if you're in a dark room.
The colours seem fine to me, the white seems fine, I don't notice any tints, though maybe if I compared it side by side to other phones I would. However I wouldn't let this bother you as you'll never do that in real life, as long as the whites aren't so far off they're obvious.
I'm am struggling however with brightness levels, there doesn't seem to be much control like other phones. I wish there were more brightness presets, I can turn it down to the lowest on the slider and it still seems too bright, I could really make my other phones go quite dark. I dunno if it is brightness or if it is just washing out light colours in particular, but the x reality engine makes it worse... like way worse!
Overall though the screen is good, it isn't the best, but it is still a great screen that I've personally been picky on as I've owned a lot of different phones.
- The software is good, Sony don't mess around with it too much, it is a non offensive Android Skin. My only problem is I'm on 4.3 and that seems a bit weird, you'd have thought it would have a newer version by now. Some things are nice with the software as well, Sony have added some good apps of theirs and the battery stuff is cool. Everything is so fast, faster than any other phone I've used, including HTC One, iPhone 5 and Nokia 1020, omg just SO FAST! The 720p screen also probably helps it too over 1080p screens.
- On to battery, it is amazing, I don't get how they can cram so much life into such a small phone, I can say it is definitely a major step up from the 1020 and the horrible life I seemed to get from Windows Phone. It seems a step up from my HTC One as well and it performs better than my Mum's iPhone 5, though that is a year old now so the battery is probably less efficient at this point. I find it amazing how fast it charges over USB alone on my PC and through the magnetic charge, way faster than anything I've used before. Also though I was playing some games on it earlier and the battery didn't seem to go down much at all.
- The phone doesn't heat up that much, I was expecting worse since it is so small and light, but while I noticed it get hot, it wasn't bad like my Nokia 1020 and obviously since it is a plastic back it doesn't act like the HTC One, which got hot like a radiator... series that was the worst! Never get a mobile with a metal back and that isn't made by Apple, not a good idea.
- I find the speaker position just fine, I kept hearing how it was easy to cover up... with my usage, I haven't experienced that, even when gaming and most likely you'll get a case any ways.
- The camera is a mixed bag and sadly a bit of a downer I'm afraid, I was expecting better from a phone with a larger sensor than the Nokia 1520. Auto mode seems worse than useless, every picture just looks plain bad and I have a feeling it is restricting the pictures to 8mp and there is no way to increase it. Manual mode is really the only viable way to take pictures, sadly though there is no higher res 16:9 option. Every picture though seemed to be different, I could never take the same picture twice and I ended up taking several just so I would get a good one. The good news is when the software did it's job the quality did look good, not as good as I was expecting, but I have been using a 1020 until recently, so maybe that is why it is such a shock.
My main problem with the camera though was the screen never really reflected on what the final picture would look like. Your screen would be out of focus and blurred, yet when the picture comes from, it looks fine, also all the colours and lighting would change, I could never get it to accurately display what I was going to take.
The good news though is the camera is fast and I think it uses oversampling like Nokia's Pureview when it is in 8mp auto mode. Though I'm sick of smart phones today and how they all over saturate everything, the Z1 compact is no different, even the 1020 did this, but at least with the 1020 I could use a .DNG file and open it in lightroom to get natural colours, no such raw files on this phone exist, so you have to live with it.
The Mic performance on recording video is great, unlike with most Android Phones I've had in the past (including the S4) you're able to record loud noises like a concert. I turned up my sound system pretty high with the sub woofer going and it coped as well as Nokia which was amazing for concerts.
The video quality is fine too, the software stabilization works fine, I'm not a fan of OIS is mobiles, I never thought it worked well in the 1020 or HTC One, it always made the image into a watery or dreamy effect and recording on my bicycle was impossible as a result. Yes it is a bit less stable, but tbh so was my 1020, OIS worked poorly on it, though the HTC One it actually worked ok. I'm not missing OIS, all I'm saying, yes it works on dedicated cameras, you can shake them all you like and they cope, but no mobile has managed to perfect it yet.
So the camera is a mixed bag, I'm sure it can all be fixed with software, but I dunno how well Sony do on updates?
My only question really goes out to how well the screen protector Sony put on as designed hold up. It is THE major flaw really and I can see it frustrating a lot of people who do not know it comes with it as it scratches so easily. That reason alone is why I couldn't recommend it to women who shove their phone in their handbag, the phone wouldn't hold up. If you put a screen protector over it (one comes free with in the box) then it is fine, but I just think it is stupid to put a screen protector over a screen protector. There is no protective coating on the glass under either... which means you cannot simply just take it off.
Conclusion...
I love it, looks so premium, feels so premium, has the functionality of a 5inch + screened Android phone, it is the fastest phone I've ever used, Sony's software isn't bad or intrusive like TouchWiz or some other Android skins and the camera is potentially really good but needs a firmware update to fix auto mode.
I have pointed out bad points, but I could do that with any phone, I mean I couldn't stand Windows Phone and how it has no apps and no functionality. With this Z1 Compact I've mirror'd my phone to my TV effortlessly and without chromecast, I can just screen mirror and it works every time. This hasn't happened with any other phone I've used, I could never get it to work with my HTC which had it built in either.
I really think it is THE best iPhone alternative for people who don't want IOS and I think it is finally THE handset to buy for Android if you want a smaller device without all the internals being downgraded.
My favourite Android mobile ever!
I love the colour I chose too, it reminds me of the colour of an old Adidas watch I had in the 90s...
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh316/SkyForce6/Adidaswatch.jpg
The Yellowing Green one.
http://s15.postimg.org/c6ttrs2ij/IMG_7694.jpg
+ I've never liked Sony before, it is my first Sony experience when it comes to mobiles.
Added this to the resource thread!
Great review!
I want to add that the LED light on the camera bleeds into the pictures, so it is pretty much worthless, though I've never used led flash on a mobile for anything other than a torch, Xenon is the only thing worth it.
This is probably a hardware design fault tbh, maybe fixed with a replacement back that doesn't have a see-through layer that lets the light bounce to the side? I dunno.
I used semi-permanent marker fix around the rim of the camera and it stopped the light bleed into it from the LED. My guess is Sony will do a hardware refresh on this, so maybe hold out until they've done that.
I didn't realise the rear cover was the problem until I searched fro fixes, I guess I was right about the clear part leaking light from the LED into the camera.

Categories

Resources