DukeTogo1300
Member
If the next gen of iPhones don't offer a phablet, and Sprint picks this up (lol) I will jump on a Z.
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Xperia Z/ZL |OT| Experience the best of Sony in a smartphone
- Thread starter Canis lupus
- Start date
Canis lupus
Member
Sweet, but I really like the Z skin...
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
Stock Android is fugly. Why would anyone want that.
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
So Samsung is developing a dust- and waterproof GS4. I guess Sony had a decent run.
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
What's the design language of Holo? A blue underline? Stock Android is a clusterfuck. Even the startscreen. Look at this filth:
It makes no sense. The clock is out of place and ugly, the app list logo has a circle around it which makes no sense, the other icons make no sense either. What are they going for? Simplicity or detail? The browser icon for example is relatively detailed compared to the other icons (horizontal lines on the continents, dots in the sea, overall shading). The only cohesive factor of Holo is the blue and the blue lines. The softkeys are also ugly, Why are they stretched?
Xperia Z launcher -> Stock Android.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Xperia P/Go/E Dual get 4.1.2 starting from this week.
Xperia S/SL/Acro S/Ion get 4.1.2 from end May.
I had two other sources confirm the development fuck ups by SMC Tokyo for Scorpion based phones. One of them said that SMC Lund are basically having to rebuild the whole 4.1.2 update from scratch because what Tokyo gave them was so crap and buggy that starting from scratch is easier than fixing the bugs. Hence the long update time. It also fucks up the 4.2.2 roll our for Xperia Z, a source suggested to me that they might just release it and deal with the consequences of doing so later because they really, really want to shake the reputation of having poor software support. They added that it's ridiculous that their 4.2.2 AOSP project is publicly further than their branded 4.2.2 because of idiotic restrictions imposed by Tokyo.
Xperia S/SL/Acro S/Ion get 4.1.2 from end May.
I had two other sources confirm the development fuck ups by SMC Tokyo for Scorpion based phones. One of them said that SMC Lund are basically having to rebuild the whole 4.1.2 update from scratch because what Tokyo gave them was so crap and buggy that starting from scratch is easier than fixing the bugs. Hence the long update time. It also fucks up the 4.2.2 roll our for Xperia Z, a source suggested to me that they might just release it and deal with the consequences of doing so later because they really, really want to shake the reputation of having poor software support. They added that it's ridiculous that their 4.2.2 AOSP project is publicly further than their branded 4.2.2 because of idiotic restrictions imposed by Tokyo.
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
So you're telling me that Xperia S etc. is getting 4.1.2 end May, and Xperia Z update is even later than that?
Somebody should just tell highers ups this problem directly.
So glad that my P will receive a bug free support. it was fast at start but has started slowing down just like xp
zomgbbqftw
Banned
That's the word, unless SMC Lund just disregard orders from Tokyo to hold back 4.2.2 until 4.1.2 is finished rolling out.
Stupidest company ever. In a market where the fastest mover wins, Sony are holding back a very important update, one which would go quite some way to repairing their reputation on slow updates. At least the H1 2012 line will be EOL after 4.1.2 and from then on development will be centred around a single architecture (Krait) rather than spread over three (Scorpion, Krait, A9).
Melchiah
Member
Good to hear the Xperia P is getting the update soon.
As for the bolded, then they probably should let people who know their stuff do their stuff, and keep the SMC Tokyo in check.
EDIT: Does anyone have problems when browsing Gaf on their Xperia? I've mostly when I enter a thread which has a lot of pics, the browser stalls, and sometimes crashes. I'm using the stock browser and my home Wi-Fi network, if it makes any difference.
That's fine by me. The test is KLP. If Sony can get an all-features-working build of AOSP for the Xperia Z within 2/3 weeks of when the Galaxy Nexus gets it then I'll buy the Z and recommend everyone I know with an Android handset to do the same (even if it means installing AOSP for them as a their IT guy).
This is Sony's small window of opportunity to make a name for themselves by delivering updates. No more excuses just deliver
i don't think so. Too late and will generate confusion. In fact it means Sony did something right and 'first' for a flagship phone. It may be a little less powerful but is waterproof, it looks high end unlike s4 plastic and it has FM radio (lol),
Samsung going the sony way by releasing different devices in same category, and doing that may confuse consumers, and i think it is even worse if the devices are their flaghsip. We will see how well does this new s4 perform and if early s4 adopters may feel cheated.
Agree, in fact Xperia launcher is how stock android should look like.I really dislike the app icon, that circle is horrible, plus the line that separates the dock is ugly and way too separated.
I wish stock android allowed for further user customization (icon, row, dock etc) like nova launcher for example.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Absolutely agree with you mate. Not so sure the 2-3 weeks is fair, but I think within a month of 5.0 a working AOSP port should be out and feature complete soon after.
SMH at Sony. Will be holding fire on a new phone for now. 4.2 is not a big deal, its mainly bug fixes and lock screen notifications. But this will probably happen again with 5.0.
It sounds to me like Tokyo need to hand over everything to Lund. Including release decisions.
If the aosp port gets a modem and camera driver I might be persuaded.
It sounds to me like Tokyo need to hand over everything to Lund. Including release decisions.
If the aosp port gets a modem and camera driver I might be persuaded.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Well 4.2 is supposedly not coming to T/TL/TX/V/SP/L and jumping directly to 5.0 so there won't be the same issues. I just hope that Z/ZL are first in line for 5.0 and they get it out quickly rather than giving the T series of phones priority as the older devices.
Zumblakladla
Banned
Okay I took it!
Sharp display, viewing angle not as good as iphone for example but its not terrible or even bad as people were reporting, there is no leaking of colours, every corner is visible etc etc.
This is one quick picture of gallery photo under very sharp viewing angle.
I havent got much time to play with it, but for now, phone is amazing! Its so beautiful! Everything i wished for! And its fast, not laggy etc etc.
Sharp display, viewing angle not as good as iphone for example but its not terrible or even bad as people were reporting, there is no leaking of colours, every corner is visible etc etc.
This is one quick picture of gallery photo under very sharp viewing angle.
I havent got much time to play with it, but for now, phone is amazing! Its so beautiful! Everything i wished for! And its fast, not laggy etc etc.
TheLoyalist
Neo Member
You have any idea why the XS has been mistreated like this? Why did they prio the U8500 based phones?
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's not so much that the Scorpion phones have been mistreated in favour of the NovaThor, it's that the initial work was so poor for the Scorpion devices that Lund have had to junk most of it and start again. That's what I've heard anyway. The NovaThor 4.1 port was supposed to be very simple, ST-E provided an almost working port of AOSP to Lund (then Tokyo) for reference but Tokyo were not able to make a fully working ROM so Lund have been optimising it and working through the bugs over the last 3-4 weeks.
The fact is that both series of phones are going to be EOL once the 4.1.2 update rolls out because neither Ericsson or Qualcomm are providing support for 4.2+ on those platforms and Sony don't have the resources to build 4.2/5.0 from scratch for those devices on those platforms. It's sad that the owners of these devices aren't going to get an official port of 4.2 or above but it's about spreading resources in the right way so that Z/ZL are given priority as they are Sony's biggest selling devices ever.
is Tokyo also at fault for tons of bugs out last year firmware's, such as Xperia U, which is unusable phone unless you root it? And thats their best selling phone.
Lagspike_exe
Member
They released new .89 firmware, which fixes most bugs and makes it usable. But yes, it's still a year late.
Lagspike_exe
Member
Just flashed Jelly for Xperia P. Not bad at all.
vivftp
Member
Yeah, got a chance to play with a friends ZL today. The power button is actually a lot smaller than I thought it'd be, but that's alright because it was in the perfect location. The phone felt good for one handed use. The screen was quite nice and I didn't mind the bit of colour shifting at off-center viewing. The speaker sounded quite nice as well, not much of a problem there.
I admit I was tempted by it... but I'm going to stay the course and wait for th 2H flagship.
So is this actual confirmation that Sonys digital imaging arm is in full control of the camera for at least the flagship phones? If so, it does make me rest a bit easier knowing that they're in charge considering how kickass they've been lately.
So, anyone able to confirm yet if the 2H flagship might have a xenon flash to go with its pretty new camera? I'm loving my new RX100 Cybershot and while I'm not expecting this new phone to match it fully, I'm hopeful that it'll at least be close.
I admit I was tempted by it... but I'm going to stay the course and wait for th 2H flagship.
So is this actual confirmation that Sonys digital imaging arm is in full control of the camera for at least the flagship phones? If so, it does make me rest a bit easier knowing that they're in charge considering how kickass they've been lately.
So, anyone able to confirm yet if the 2H flagship might have a xenon flash to go with its pretty new camera? I'm loving my new RX100 Cybershot and while I'm not expecting this new phone to match it fully, I'm hopeful that it'll at least be close.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Got a great deal (30 euro's a month and no extra charges for the phone) and finally have a replacement for my Iphone4.
Man I've been living in the past
It's like a Vita with android apps and a great browser, I love it.
Get Dolphin or Boat browser, they both use the stock browser engine which is much more battery friendly. Sony were stupid not to include the superior stock browser IMO. Though with Chrome moving to a new rendering engine it won't be a big deal for long...
CurlySaysX
Banned
Naked Browser also works well with the XZ.
firefox is a good alternative too
thanks, going to the appstore right now.
Also I noticed a lot of GBA emulators in the store, and since I'm completely new to Android I have this question. Can I just use GBA roms for them, or do you have to buy GBA games in the store itself?
Edit:
And what are the best games/apps available in the Appstore?
they started releasing to be correct... also released Ion update... it is probably these fixes that are tying up Lund, but I dont think it should be done differently.
Last years phone's have had so many bugs that they had to be fixed... I know how programmers operate (i have team to manage) and they always want to work on next thing, not fix old one, so I understand why Lund complains but at the same time, there are millions of unhappy users out there that care about annoying issues and only tiny amount of users cares or even knows what version their Android is.
So this is why I dont like this holy status given to Lund when they were clearly mismanaged by their own SE.
As to the Z screen, I checked it the other day, and I cant imagine it being ever an issue for owners, because nobody uses phones in that way. For normal usages and angles, the way you actually use the phone, it looks great.
Latest chrome beta is very smooth. They're nearly getting there with it now.
There won't be any roms on the play store (unless they haven't been taken down) you will need to use your own.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's still a massive battery sink. Google are moving Chrome away from Webkit onto a new engine to make Chrome more battery efficient for mobiles.
smoothness was never a problem, but it killedthe battery big time. main reason why im using firefox otherwise i would be using chrome.
The Faceless Master
Member
they're forking Webkit and it has nothing to do with battery efficiency/
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Yeah they are junking a lot of Webkit code to make the main Chromium branch more mobile friendly, I figure that involves a lot of battery enhancement because that's one of Chrome's biggest problems.
On mobile? Sure it was. It was pretty bad for a bit there on the final version.
I don't know if this is even a thing that's possible with Android at all, but I figured I'd ask here since I have an Xperia Z. Is there a way to record video in the background? I.E. start video recording, then have it continue while you go do something else. The particular scenario I have in mind would be liveblogging an event, so I would want the video to be recording in the background while I would use a Bluetooth keyboard to liveblog things. Is that doable? Or would I be better off just dedicating the phone to video recording and using wifi with a netbook/Chromebook or something to do the liveblogging?
mrkapawutzis
Member
I was so close to pulling the trigger on an XZ. My Galaxy Nexus hit the water during a hiking trip and I wanted to get the Z because of the water resistant feature but the lack of updates brought back painful memories of my times with the first Galaxy and how that thing was barely updated meaning I had to live with the bugs. Thankfully a bag of rice brought my Nexus back to life. I'll keep an eye out for Sony's next flagship though.
So theoretical, I can use this thing in the shower right?
I already love a beer during a shower, bringing youtube would be the trifecta
But it feels like a George arc during a Seinfeld episode.
When water gets into the speaker, the volume will be way too low though.
Also, the screen reacts to water drops.
Firefox seems to have some issues with sites with embedded video's, like blip
So theoretical, I can use this thing in the shower right?
I already love a beer during a shower, bringing youtube would be the trifecta
But it feels like a George arc during a Seinfeld episode.
I have a water proof phone with the same certifications as the Z that I sometimes use in the shower.
It's working totally fine. Only thing I hate is that I have to blow the water droplets off the screen.
HollovVpo1nt
Banned
Cheap docks are finally hitting eBay. I ordered one for about 7.5 euro.
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