Develop Bugs

[Q] Xperia Arc Replacement

Good day everyone!
For the past two years I've been using Xperia Arc, and it lived a long and exciting life, but not it came the time to move on to something faster. Unfortunately, I am very limited in the amount of money I want to spend on my new phone, but I want to continue the tradition and keep with sony products. That is why I am here asking a question, what would be the best alternative for Xperia arc, which will be both quick and relatively cheap. I've considered Xperia V, Xperia Acro S and Xperia T, but i haven't found much of a difference between them, therefore, i need your help. What is the best Arc-like smartphone currently on the market for the cheap? ( I do apologize if I've wrote the question in the different thread, but I thought that it would be best asking Arc users for their advice)

if you want it with similar specs then get xperia J, it has a JB update and its cheap, plus has an appealing sony look

blakstar said:
if you want it with similar specs then get xperia J, it has a JB update and its cheap, plus has an appealing sony look
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He mentioned about Xperia T or V and you are suggesting J
@ op try posting here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1620179
Sent from my Neo V using xda-developers app

he clearly said "What is the best Arc-like smartphone currently on the market for the cheap?"
so Xperia J would be the best match for his budget

well, yeah, But I ment looking like Arc, not being slow as it is now! That's why Xperia V looks like the best of them all, cz looks like Arc (curvy) and ahve quite enough power.

My T beats the heck out of S3 almost in every benchmark.so T or V but v looks like arc more than T.
Sent from my LT30p using xda premium

Thats what I have been looking for! and V does look like arc, so i guess, it should be v!
Is there any other similar smartphones on the market, similar to v
sorry for misleading you guys before, my English is not Brilliant

HTC has some dual-core alternatives, the One SV or the older One S. Basically any dual-core HTC from 2012 would be lightning fast compared to the Arc.
I'd stay away from LG altogether. Anything below an Optimus G is a junk. They all have horrible build quality.
I don't want to step any toes here but the Galaxy S3 Mini is a hell lot of phone for a very reasonable price. Phone prices depend on the market but in Europe, this phone sells less than the Xperia T (despite the price cuts on the T) and is a better phone (in my opinion).
Recently a friend bought an Acer. Forgot which model it was but it had 720p display in a 4.3 inch screen or something similar. He is pretty happy and I've seen the screen, it looks pretty clear and amazing. And the viewing angles are a million times better than the Arc (well, that's not fair, all Sony phones, the Z included, have terrible viewing angles. So maybe I shouldn't compare).

For that price no.there are some samsungs but they are heck ugly
Sent from my LT30p using xda premium

RecklessTurtle said:
HTC has some dual-core alternatives, the One SV or the older One S. Basically any dual-core HTC from 2012 would be lightning fast compared to the Arc.
I'd stay away from LG altogether. Anything below an Optimus G is a junk. They all have horrible build quality.
I don't want to step any toes here but the Galaxy S3 Mini is a hell lot of phone for a very reasonable price. Phone prices depend on the market but in Europe, this phone sells less than the Xperia T (despite the price cuts on the T) and is a better phone (in my opinion).
Recently a friend bought an Acer. Forgot which model it was but it had 720p display in a 4.3 inch screen or something similar. He is pretty happy and I've seen the screen, it looks pretty clear and amazing. And the viewing angles are a million times better than the Arc (well, that's not fair, all Sony phones, the Z included, have terrible viewing angles. So maybe I shouldn't compare).
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I am currently living in Dubai, UAE, and prices on smartphones are quite cheap, however, I really dislike samsung design- they look too cheap, and a friend of mine owns S3 mini, says thats it's a great phone, but i dont like it looks. The thing why I like xperias was their UI, simple and usefull, compared to HTC Sense or Samsung UI. Thanks for your help anyways, I think I will have to go and look a bit more for them, or wait couple of month with Arc for now, which is barely living now( boot is slow, back cover broke, screen scratched, Overheating etc...)

NiklarenF1 said:
I am currently living in Dubai, UAE, and prices on smartphones are quite cheap, however, I really dislike samsung design- they look too cheap, and a friend of mine owns S3 mini, says thats it's a great phone, but i dont like it looks. The thing why I like xperias was their UI, simple and usefull, compared to HTC Sense or Samsung UI. Thanks for your help anyways, I think I will have to go and look a bit more for them, or wait couple of month with Arc for now, which is barely living now( boot is slow, back cover broke, screen scratched, Overheating etc...)
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Click to collapse
Get a TX I'll be getting one in a couple of days :highfive:

if you want a good looking smartphone then go for HTC One, I know that is not sony, but it will provide you with a whole new experience. It is made out of aluminum so rock-hard. it has probably the best camera on an android smartphone (ultrapixels), and I read everywhere that the wifi range is breath-taking, the wifi range can simply blow our xperias away.
And you can see the rest of the specs HERE (not all info here are true, eg:camera)

Xperia SP (if affordable would be the best choice)
Xperia T
Xperia ion
Xperia L (cheapest of em all btw worth it)

Should I get this phone?

It is August 3 2013 and this phone has been out for a little while now. I am looking for a new phone because I need to switch carriers. I currently have a Galaxy Note 2 and I absolutely love it. I see that Sony announced they will update it to 4.3. The screen is only 0.5" smaller then my Note 2. The Sony has a higher resolution though. The battery life doesn't seem to be a problem for most of you (I checked the battery thread). Do all of you who currently own the Sony absolutely love the phone? Do you wish you tried a different phone? I love the look of the phone.
I am stuck between the Galaxy S4, HTC one, and this ZL. The S4 seems to have a ton of bloatware that I will never use but since the Google edition was announced, I might be able to flash a stock version of android on it once they figure out the battery drain issue. Same goes for the HTC one. I love the Sony for no apparent reason. It looks like a decent phone on paper and I remember reading about how Sony is really making an effort to help out developers. They also seem to keep updating this phone (4.2.2 and 4.3).
I need to decide soon so I appreciate any responses!
Edit** was this phone really just released 4 months ago? For some reason I thought it was older.

It's your decision of course and nobody here can really make that decision for you... it's a very subjective topic and you will get 100 different "answers".
However, I'll give you my highly subjective and personal opinion... for what it's worth.
I have both the Z and ZL, a GS3 and have had an HTC One. The GS3 is a reliable and usable phone that is easy to mod. It does everything well, except the screen is really unreadable outside. The 2 particular key points for me on phones, other than the ability to function reliably as a phone, are a good notification LED and a decent FM radio. The Radio is quite passable on the GS3. I bought an HTC One to replace the GS3 and was both impressed by some aspects and seriously disappointed by others. The notification LED is a joke and the FM radio was chronically insensitive to the point of being worthless. Plus the speaker grilles didn't fit correctly. It lasted a week and then got returned.
The GS4 doesn't have an FM radio... pathetic discrimination
Anyway, on to Sony...
The Z was bought in lieu of the H1. I've always liked Sony and SE phones, they are designed in Scandinavia and it shows, certainly in the electronic design and qualification. I also bought the ZL whilst on a business trip in Germany a week or two later. Both phones are great, but I prefer the ZL - because it is physically smaller (thicker but nicer to hold), has a better screen (higher brightness and contrast plus better viewing angles), no flaps to mess about with, the Sony logo is on the phone not the ASF (gives you more options) and has a slightly better notification LED. The FM radio is fantastic on both, although for some reason the Z is more sensitive, by about 10% I reckon. I also prefer the easy access SIM and SD card slots. The loudspeaker on the ZL is not restricted by waterproofing and is thus a fair bit louder...
So for me, the ZL is my phone of choice. It does everything I need and well. Sony are quick with updates and there are no obvious bugs. The UI is rather less "Noddy" than TW and less intrusive than Sense. The call quality is excellent too, in case you need to use it as a phone!!!
So it's down to what is important to you...

That was a awesome post very informative of different phones. I just got a zl to replace my broken HTC one xl and I love it I'm a big Sony fan they make solid products and I've never had a issue and when I have Sony has been quick to respond. It's a good choice
Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

It's honestly a great phone and highly underrated. Maybe it is a very polarizing phone, in that some hate it while others absolutely love it.

Well it's down to what your needs are.
For custom roms development support go for either Htc one or S4.
For sound Htc one.
For screen brilliance HTC One or possibly S4. Zl screen looks washed out and very poor viewing angles.
Camera. ZL or S4.
Memory Zl or S4.
Smoothness UI Htc one.
Design HTC one.
Speed HTC One or S4.
Notification light ZL or S4.
Premium build HTC One.
For me it has to be HTC One.

riz157 said:
Well it's down to what your needs are.
For custom roms development support go for either Htc one or S4.
For sound Htc one.
For screen brilliance HTC One or possibly S4. Zl screen looks washed out and very poor viewing angles.
Camera. ZL or S4.
Memory Zl or S4.
Smoothness UI Htc one.
Design HTC one.
Speed HTC One or S4.
Notification light ZL or S4.
Premium build HTC One.
For me it has to be HTC One.
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Had someone offer me a HTC One + $50 the other day. I just don't see the appeal.

Which HTC One has...
4G (LTE)?
notification toggles?
support to microSD card, including SDXC (I still believe Sony will really fix it )?
Sony design?
Sony UI and Sony exclusive widgets?
full integration with Sony products (PS3, Bravia, Muteki, Music Unlimited...)?
movie player with BE2?
a full 5" screen almost to the edge of the bevel of the phone?
a 2013 main camera (against the 2009-compatible 4 Mpx from HTC one?)

Andre Verissimo said:
Which HTC One has...
4G (LTE)?
notification toggles?
support to microSD card, including SDXC (I still believe Sony will really fix it )?
Sony design?
Sony UI and Sony exclusive widgets?
full integration with Sony products (PS3, Bravia, Muteki, Music Unlimited...)?
movie player with BE2?
a full 5" screen almost to the edge of the bevel of the phone?
a 2013 main camera (against the 2009-compatible 4 Mpx from HTC one?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One has LTE and notification toggles. To the OP. I switch phones A LOT so I've had all the big boys and I have to say the ZL is a really nice phone. The One is definitely a good competitor though. As for the S4 that has been my least favorite as it feels so cheap and i hate the home button. It all depends on personal preference but as for me I'll probably keep this for the next 2 months and then get the Moto X.

I think the answer depends on your timetable and perspective:
On 8/7, the LG G2 is going to be announed, which will be the first American-carrier snapdragon 800 phone. A month later, Samsung is expected to announce the Note 3 and a Galaxy S4 advanced. By the late fall, there should even be a Nexus 5.
Battery may not be a problem for us... but we don't have notes. We have small phones with giant screens and have (relatively) low standards like a phone lasting 12 hours on a charge rather than the Note's 2 day/no charge norm.
--
I like the ZL (bought 3 months ago). It has met my needs pretty well. I find that it's easier to make a mistake flashing mods and have bootloops needing reflashes... compared to my Samsung experience. I dislike its bluetooth stack... as I have to disable wifi for it to facilitate phone calls in my car. I have a slight feeling of it being the stepchild of the Sony family, as the developer of the only kernel stopped supporting the phone (he never owned it) and the custom roms are not as numerous as the Xperia Z. I had an AT&T LG Optimus G (same processor, smaller screen, wider body) directly before it and the SGS3 before that. I don't wish I had the HTC One.

I have checked almost every review available on the internet and they all wish the device had better screen and camera.
The screen has poor viewing angles and camera is gainy in low light and looses focus even in bright light.
Well I don't want to base my idea totally on reviews, since they compare it with the best.
Will you guys recommend if the Screen and camera quality are at par with a high end phone, so that I can consider buying it?

ajhavery said:
I have checked almost every review available on the internet and they all wish the device had better screen and camera.
The screen has poor viewing angles and camera is gainy in low light and looses focus even in bright light.
Well I don't want to base my idea totally on reviews, since they compare it with the best.
Will you guys recommend if the Screen and camera quality are at par with a high end phone, so that I can consider buying it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trust me, screen quality is much much better after the Update. Camera vise its really improved. If i am at a party with friends its like they want me to click pics from my ZL and day light pics are just great.
Compression Issue has been fixed in HDR. So its less noisy in low light condition with HDR.(Really Improved)
close up i would prefer my ZL.
But macros are not that great.
New update increased screen responsiveness. Frankly speaking Its getting better in every update.
But Beware, in Some phones there seems to some sort of Microphone bug which i am facing right now.(software May be as it works in everything else like recording)
Happy with Sony Xperia ZL Using from Past 5 Months.
Price has also been reduced. so its a best buy as of now.

IMO,if you need phone that trending (more dev support),go for HTC One or S4,since it also have Google Edition
but here few advantage of ZL to me:
-compact size 5' screen: -it slightly thicker than z,but more compact,it have thin bezel (fit into my pocket)
-omnibalance design: -slightly curve on the back,which support better grip,not need for cover since it make from plactic (still look premium)
-don't have to worry to put with key in pocket (still you should at least use screen protector to prevent direct scratch)
-camera : hv 13mp back n 2mp front,can recorded full hd video,have hdr,and hv dedicated shutter key with 2 press mechanism
image captured viewed beautiful on the phone with bravia engine 2 on
-notification light: at bottom,look really premium to me
-hv expandable storage (compare to HTC One)
-hv ir blaster: can control tv (compare to xperia z)
-speaker: average to me (htc one better i think) but it still able to make me up in the morning (i'm a heavy sleeper xD )
the earphone include is good enough (but can't compare it with high end earphone)
-sony software that does matter : walkman,album,movie,etc- support BE2,xloud,clearphase equalizer,which make music better
disadvantage:
-highly under rated (less dev support,however most dev in xperia z do port to zl,we still hv CM,PAC support )
-camera apps takes some times to launch (about 1-2 sec)
-screen does hv limited viewing angles but still visible in bright sunlight (with the help of UI itself that mainly white/grey colour)
Last word: xperia ZL does not hv the hype of other phone such as HTC One or S4 but it does hv enough power to run almost any apps in the play store,moreover with gr8 support from sony,i believe you could stay in stock firmware for quite sometimes,i used to unlock my bootloader and use custom rom for a week (to do this make sure you read all FAQ first if you not used to sony devices) but i'm back to stock and i'm happy with what sony offer to me
---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------
ajhavery said:
I have checked almost every review available on the internet and they all wish the device had better screen and camera.
The screen has poor viewing angles and camera is gainy in low light and looses focus even in bright light.
Well I don't want to base my idea totally on reviews, since they compare it with the best.
Will you guys recommend if the Screen and camera quality are at par with a high end phone, so that I can consider buying it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i suggest you bring ur current phone and compare it with zl at retail shop,i u satisfied then grab it,if not choose others,review is useful but sometimes the company hv push updates to the phone to fix/improve the problem appear,while review stay the same,for example we recently received updates that improve touch sensitivity,ram management,camera low-light performance,etc,the latest firmware changelog can be view here

Ya I wasn't really looking for a specific yes or no. I was looking for things like: are you happy with it? Things you like about it and things you dislike. Did you find out anything after you bought it that you wish you knew before you bought it?
I really wish I could wait for the Note 3 but I need the phone basically this week. I am not a heavy user so I am pretty sure the smaller battery in this phone will be fine. My current Note 2 is amazing though. I understand that there will always be a better phone that is out or coming out soon. The Sony zl is free at Rogers right now so if I hate it that much I can sell it and get a nexus 4 or something. I don't really care about custom roms that much anymore. I used to care more because my first android phone was an LG G2x and they never updated it so I had to rely on custom roms for upgrades. As long as Sony will update it for another year or 2 ill be happy.

htc one vs sony zl
After many reviews online, I could not decide between One and ZL, so I bought both on eBay for my personal evaluation but will sell the other one later. HTC One is very good phone, high contrast screen, hi-powered speakers and responsive touch (very good if you want to watch YouTube). But, my choice is Sony ZL. There are much talks on the internet about washed screen on ZL. Do not believe it and I tell you why. For some reasons Sony designers chose to use the theme with dark grey background and white letters which is easier for eyes for long time but losing on sensation of hi-contrast. However, if you can choose a dark theme, it will change the game. Also, latest updates for ZL tend toward black background. Really, do you think that Sony, that makes TVs, laptops and professional monitors can not make phone screens? The speakers of One is better but that does not apply for the speaker when you make a phone call, which is sensational for ZL with xLoud and noise canceling enhancements. Overall the ZL looks and feels much more modern with very thin bezel while the One feels like an upgrade from old one. I thought BraviaEngine is there for commercial reasons but its really good when you watch movies and videos.

ZL is a awesome device. Its that developers don't do anything currently. There is a dev kamarush who said if he get the device he will do the kernels. But he didn't have money AFAIK. Some1 should come and help the community. Looks like we gotta donate a device to a very well know xda member: suggestion - tonyp, slim_rick, pulser_q2 etc etc
Sent from my C6503 using Tapatalk 4

Never really understood the issues people are having with the screen. All the reviews made it out to look like it was the most horrible screen on a phone to date. That is simply not the case. Having came from a galaxy note 1 I can honestly say the screen is on par with it. The viewing angle issue is a joke and should be experienced first hand and not from some reviewer with his head stuck up his ass. Thank god I got this phone despite what the reviews said. I'd have missed out on a great device.
Sent from my C6503

Agree that the screen (as stated in my post above) is not at all bad. Better than the XZ
Sent from my C6503 using xda premium

devilsshadow said:
Never really understood the issues people are having with the screen. All the reviews made it out to look like it was the most horrible screen on a phone to date. That is simply not the case. Having came from a galaxy note 1 I can honestly say the screen is on par with it. The viewing angle issue is a joke and should be experienced first hand and not from some reviewer with his head stuck up his ass. Thank god I got this phone despite what the reviews said. I'd have missed out on a great device.
Sent from my C6503
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I agree 100% ! I just love it.
The viewing angle is indeed deficient but I dont care. Its still bright and colorful. The FM radio and the loads of media formats it can play built in, are a great plus for me Really enjoyable device. Cant wait for an aokp 4.3 custom rom

unoo said:
Ya I wasn't really looking for a specific yes or no. I was looking for things like: are you happy with it? Things you like about it and things you dislike. Did you find out anything after you bought it that you wish you knew before you bought it?
I really wish I could wait for the Note 3 but I need the phone basically this week. I am not a heavy user so I am pretty sure the smaller battery in this phone will be fine. My current Note 2 is amazing though. I understand that there will always be a better phone that is out or coming out soon. The Sony zl is free at Rogers right now so if I hate it that much I can sell it and get a nexus 4 or something. I don't really care about custom roms that much anymore. I used to care more because my first android phone was an LG G2x and they never updated it so I had to rely on custom roms for upgrades. As long as Sony will update it for another year or 2 ill be happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would not sure if there will be update for 2 years,you said u used note 2,so r u using the s-pen heavily,i hv a friend that like to sketch cartoon with his note 2,and i think that phone really suitable for him,if you one of them,you should wait for note 3,if not,i suggest you give zl a shot,nexus 4 also a good phone but i choose zl instead of nexus 4 when i buy it because i want to hv expandable storage n i also use fm radio quite frequently,i use zl since early 3 april until today and so far i'm happy with it.what i like mainly the phone shape,different from other and the only thing i dislike is the camera takes some times to load as i mention earlier,hope sony will fix it later on

ihsan123 said:
i would not sure if there will be update for 2 years,you said u used note 2,so r u using the s-pen heavily,i hv a friend that like to sketch cartoon with his note 2,and i think that phone really suitable for him,if you one of them,you should wait for note 3,if not,i suggest you give zl a shot,nexus 4 also a good phone but i choose zl instead of nexus 4 when i buy it because i want to hv expandable storage n i also use fm radio quite frequently,i use zl since early 3 april until today and so far i'm happy with it.what i like mainly the phone shape,different from other and the only thing i dislike is the camera takes some times to load as i mention earlier,hope sony will fix it later on
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I never use the sPen. I don't care about the speakers either because I never use external speakers in a phone. I never heard anything bad about the screen but I make the assumption that sony makes TV's so that can make a decent cell phone screen haha. The more I think about it, I just want a properly functioning phone. If Sony updates it then that is great but as long as it is smooth and everything works then ill be happy. It is going to be my phone for the next 3 years so it needs to last!

Sticking Around or Moving On?

I am just curious to see how everyone feels about their ZL, or experience with Sony as a whole.
For me it's been a mixed bag. Overall, this is by LONG and FAR the most headache-free phone I've ever owned. Period. It's got all the features that I need and it works as it should when needed. I would not trade it for any other Android phone out there, especially a Samsung or HTC. With that all said, I can't help myself being sucked in by all the Nexus 5 rumors. Coming from a Galaxy Nexus, I should have naturally grabbed the Nexus 4, but lack of AT&T-compatible LTE kept me away. Now, with rumored specs coming out by the day, I must say that I am highly tempted by the prospect of owning a Nexus 5.
So what hasn't Sony done to possibly lose me as a customer? Here is the list:
Camera
I doubt I'm alone here to admit that I got had [major time] by Sony's PR when it came to the camera. Simply put, the camera is pure rubbish. I use my work provided iPhone 5c to take pics instead. Sad.
Hardware
Speaking strictly of the paint around the edge, could sony have made it less durable? The slightest bump flakes it off.
Update
I love the fact that there is an update every month to address an issue or two. The bad part, every update either reintroduces an old issue or introduces a new one. Come on.
Wireless Charging
Instead of focusing their efforts on waterproofing, I would love to see Sony bring us wireless charging. Chances of me using wireless charging, every hour of every day. Chances of me diving into a pool with my phone, next to none.
AOSP
If you're going to claim that you support the open community and such, don't release AOSP binaries that do not work. That defeats the whole purpose. I don't mind Sony's stock ROMs, but I like the fact that AOSP gets me the latest and greatest.
Speakers
iPhone had it right. HTC One got it right. Nexus 5 rumored to have gotten it right. Why did Sony put the speaker on the back of the phone is beyond me. It renders it useless when in it's natural position.
So, does this mean I don't adore my Xperia ZL? No, far from it. Does it mean I might consider an alternative device that gives me the above, maybe. Is the Nexus 5 looking better and better? Yeah!

The ZL was the phone I kept the longest in years...
Moving to a Z1. Just receive from Clove. Not waiting for the US ones.
ZL will stay as a back up.
Sendt fra XPERIA ZL 6506

Even if I had €1000000 I would probably still stick with ZL until Sony comes with a ZL1.
Z1f looks nice thought but I don't wanna go back to 4.3". I just want a ZL with new hardware and waterproof.
But... I don't have €1000000 so I will have my ZL for at least another 1.5 years if all goes well

I love my ZL but today I've saw the Note 3 and damn it's a nice phone.. Thinking about moving forward...
Sent from my ZL [email protected]

Sticking around with zl, however fully dependant on nexus 5 features and pricing.
Sent from my C6502 using xda app-developers app

Luv my zl, but kinda bored with it. Thinking of z ultra, or maybe im dreaming..
Sent from my C6502 using xda app-developers app

I'll be replacing my ZL with the Note 5 or 6, it wholly depends on when it dies on me.

coming from galaxy s4...lovin my ZL:victory:

Based on leaks from the official Google Play store, the 16GB is sure to be $349. Guessing the 32GB is $399. The phone looks sick good though. Like I said, love my ZL, but wireless charging and stock Android might win me over with that price.
coolrevi said:
Sticking around with zl, however fully dependant on nexus 5 features and pricing.
Sent from my C6502 using xda app-developers app
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Are the pictures really that bad on the ZL cause that would be of the only thing's that I don't like about the phone that and the fact they don't use guerrilla glass looking to leave my Xperia T for a ZL I'm not liking any other phone at the moment.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app

spielnicht said:
Based on leaks from the official Google Play store, the 16GB is sure to be $349. Guessing the 32GB is $399. The phone looks sick good though. Like I said, love my ZL, but wireless charging and stock Android might win me over with that price.
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From Xperia t to zl I don see it as upgrade. If you are willing to buy I would rather suggest z1 which is a good buy in many term
Sent from my C6502 using xda app-developers app

I'll keep mine till its dead, I was thinking about the Z1 but its way to big, if they do a new more powerful 5" with the same overall size as the ZL I would consider it in 2 years... interested to see if the camera gets any more improvements in the ZL, I like the quality, but not as picky as some..... video recording is good too.... Battery life could use a little more help though
Hoping for the Z1 camera App on the ZL in the 4.3 update, hopefully before Christmas...... Personally I think superior auto sucks, no image stabilizer, normal mode with my own settings works great.
4.4 may never come but that's ok, as long as 4.3 gets minor tweaking updates here and there.

So do you guys think the ZL is a good phone for a beginner?
The Z1 looks bulky indeed and LG G2 will be sold in my country (Brazil) only in 16GB option (no SD slot? WTF LG?)
I don´t have plans to play powerful games on it (just angry birds or something like when I'm waiting for something). I want a bigger screen to my GPS aps, listen music via Bluethoot (via car stereo) and watch video (High def videos on SD card, youtube, vimeo etc)

My dad has an Xperia T and based on some comparison shots, the images don't differ much. In other words, they both...suck. If I was to pick a single disappointment with the ZL, it would be the camera.
I know where you are coming from not liking any other phone out there. I am not an SG4 or HTC One fan. I'd consider the Z1, but Sony really dropped the ball by not including an AT&T/T-Mobile LTE friendly chip. So it's not even a consideration for me
Definitely wait until the Nexus 5 comes out. Looks very promising, both in specs and design.
Torres77an said:
Are the pictures really that bad on the ZL cause that would be of the only thing's that I don't like about the phone that and the fact they don't use guerrilla glass looking to leave my Xperia T for a ZL I'm not liking any other phone at the moment.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thinking of upgrading from a xperia ion....zl is the maximum that i can afford..nd i kinda love the white one
Is there anything else apart from the camera that i should look into before buying?
no nexus in my country else would've waited for nexus 5 :/

I've take the same picture with an iPhone 5 and with my Xperia T and then again the same picture with a Galaxy s3 we compared them at work and my other to co-workers had to agree that the Xperia T photo looked the best though mind you Bravia was enabled yes there's room for improvement on Sony's camera phones but even with the Bravia engine turned off the photos are not that far behind the rest of the mobile devices out there but what it does lack is consistency that the others have now with the z1 having better hardware and software the problem with the camera is almost gone it just seems to over expose photos at times so does the LG G2 though it's clearly not as good in the comparison that I've seen between it and the Z1
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app

Torres77an said:
I've take the same picture with an iPhone 5 and with my Xperia T and then again the same picture with a Galaxy s3 we compared them at work and my other to co-workers had to agree that the Xperia T photo looked the best though mind you Bravia was enabled yes there's room for improvement on Sony's camera phones but even with the Bravia engine turned off the photos are not that far behind the rest of the mobile devices out there but what it does lack is consistency that the others have now with the z1 having better hardware and software the problem with the camera is almost gone it just seems to over expose photos at times so does the LG G2 though it's clearly not as good in the comparison that I've seen between it and the Z1
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not how you compare photos, you put them on the same computer and then compare them on the PC. That way the different displays and image rendering software of each phone won't interfere.

my photos look basically the same after they have been uploaded to my pc
Dead Metal said:
That's not how you compare photos, you put them on the same computer and then compare them on the PC. That way the different displays and image rendering software of each phone won't interfere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also seen comparisons with the iPhone 5 and the Xperia T on the internet and the iPhone's aren't that much better better but not by much but definitely more consistent I think the Xperia software may need some work with it's poor autofocus half of the photos do turn out like crap.

Torres77an said:
I've also seen comparisons with the iPhone 5 and the Xperia T on the internet and the iPhone's aren't that much better better but not by much but definitely more consistent I think the Xperia software may need some work with it's poor autofocus half of the photos do turn out like crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, they do need to give that a work over, but someone pointed be in the direction of Camera FV-5, which is brilliant. The best camera app I've ever used, only downside is it does not have an auto-mode, and sometimes it does not save the pictures, especially when you use the hardware camera button.
Hope that gets fixed soon.

That's exactly what I did Took a pic of the same object, dropped them in Lightroom side-by-side, the ZL was slightly better (very slightly), but neither anything to brag out.
Dead Metal said:
That's not how you compare photos, you put them on the same computer and then compare them on the PC. That way the different displays and image rendering software of each phone won't interfere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Xperia ZL or Nexus 5

Guys i am stuck in a dilemma between these two phones Nexus 5 and Xperia ZL.they cost the same here in my place actually Xperia ZL costs a bit less ($50).I really love the compact and rectangular slate like design of Xperia ZL and hate the rounded design of Nexus 5.my budget only allows me to get 16GB variant of Nexus 5 and here in India cloud storage is a far fetched dream so i am stuck with the 12GB space of Nexus 5 which i think is on a lower side.but the community support and S800 chipset of Nexus 5 are the attractive points of nexus 5.so considering you guys are using xperia ZL for some time now what do you think about the performance of s pro chipset,is it enough for browsing internet and i am not worried about gaming as i rarely use mobiles for gaming.I appreciate your help guys.
thank you.

If you are not using your mobile for gaming, why are you worried about performance at all? The Xperia ZL has no single problem with browsing the internet as long as the website or the app you are using are well-coded. I'm using Cyanogenmod 10.2 on my ZL and it works nearly flawless (1 or 2 minor bugs which don't interfere with stability).

thanks for the reply.btw what about the display.the image quality.whichever review i check they end up saying that the display is bad.i don't care about viewing angles,how is the quality when you are viewing it straight in front of you?

I had both for a few days - and ended up selling the Nexus 5 and keeping my ZL.
For me the reasons I didn't like the nexus 5 were:
-Poor external speaker quality / placement (holding phone in landscape almost always ended in the speaker being completely muffled).
-Camera quality - Xperia ZL's camera had it beat and the nexus 5 doesn't have a hardware camera button.
-no IR blaster
That being said, the nexus 5 was SMOOTH, and I mean SMOOTH. Whipping around in the OS was instantaneous, and the ability to unlock the bootloader with almost endless custom rom support is really nice. But overall I still preferred my "bootloader unlock = no" ZL.

thanks for the reply.one thing i observed when going through the thread that some models bootloaders can be unlocked and for some its not possible.is it depending upon the carriers?
so if i get a model without any carrier bound to it,so is it possible to unlock the bootloader?
i know its difficult to answer this question but if you know you can answer.thanks.

If you buy it unlocked directly from Sony you should be able to unlock the bootloader.
Before you buy it check in the settings if Bootloader unlock allowed = Yes.

sukesh1090 said:
Guys i am stuck in a dilemma between these two phones Nexus 5 and Xperia ZL.they cost the same here in my place actually Xperia ZL costs a bit less ($50).I really love the compact and rectangular slate like design of Xperia ZL and hate the rounded design of Nexus 5.my budget only allows me to get 16GB variant of Nexus 5 and here in India cloud storage is a far fetched dream so i am stuck with the 12GB space of Nexus 5 which i think is on a lower side.but the community support and S800 chipset of Nexus 5 are the attractive points of nexus 5.so considering you guys are using xperia ZL for some time now what do you think about the performance of s pro chipset,is it enough for browsing internet and i am not worried about gaming as i rarely use mobiles for gaming.I appreciate your help guys.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an indian, who was in the same dilemma two weeks back, i can say that i made the right choice in going for the ZL. The expandable memory is a huge necessity in 1080p phone, which you will use to consume media, im sure. Also, nothing can prepare you for how small this phone feels in hand and the quality finish, which an LG phone can not provide. Just get your self a seprate pair of earphones, as the provided ones have low volume. Side note : Install the honami camera mod. It's the most fun ive ever had with a camera.
---------- Post added at 11:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:05 AM ----------
sukesh1090 said:
thanks for the reply.btw what about the display.the image quality.whichever review i check they end up saying that the display is bad.i don't care about viewing angles,how is the quality when you are viewing it straight in front of you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sukesh1090 said:
thanks for the reply.one thing i observed when going through the thread that some models bootloaders can be unlocked and for some its not possible.is it depending upon the carriers?
so if i get a model without any carrier bound to it,so is it possible to unlock the bootloader?
i know its difficult to answer this question but if you know you can answer.thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The indian version has an unlockable bootloader, and head on, the screen quality is extremely good, almost as good as my dad's HTC one, and equqal if you tweak the white balance settings.

thanks you guys.i thin k i will go with xperia ZL.i really love its design and i always loved the sound quality of Walkman phones.

Xperia ZL Pros
1. Better camera performance
2. Much better design
3. Better speaker
Nexus 5 Pros
1. Better processor
2. Custom Romsssssss you know what i mean
3. Better display
Battery backup of both devices is on poor side
Sent from my C6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

yeah only thing about XZL that haunts me is lack of custom roms.I don't know why there are so less custom roms for ZL,it has decent hardware and it used to be the flagship model but still less roms.i am interested in illusion rom if it gets to the stable build,thats more than enough as it has all the features of all roms.but teven that rom is stuck without any updates from last 2 months.

kumar abhishek said:
Xperia ZL Pros
1. Better camera performance
2. Much better design
3. Better speaker
Nexus 5 Pros
1. Better processor
2. Custom Romsssssss you know what i mean
3. Better display
Battery backup of both devices is on poor side
Sent from my C6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nexus 5 dsplay is better only in terms of viewing angles. Contrast and color wise its quite poor. At least head on, the ZL display is excellent, while having better outdoor contrast as well.

The point of comparison based on performance is little vague here, Because Processor of ZL is OLD, However the added advantage of ZL is that of Camera, IR blaster, Compact Design. Display is better in contrast and colours than Nexus 5, however vewing angles are not. trust me you wont really use in such angles. if you carry lot of Movies and music i would just suggest you to buy ZL as nexus is limited by storage where as ZL supports additional Storage of 64GB over 16 GB inbuilt.
Gaming
Its really good, i can play games like Asphal 7,8 deadzone at high graphic quality without any lag,
Browsing
Browsing is k considering that default browser is chrome which is by default laggy, but there are better browsers in playstore.
Recent update in nexus 5 has increased camera drastically.
Faster updates in Nexus, however Sony has announced 4.4 for ZL which will be available by next month.
at this point considering limitations best buy would be ZL where you get better features than Nexus, or in some case equal results,
battery is same in both, ZL gives 2 days in normal usage with wi-fi, txting , 2 hours of songs, an hour of game play with auto brightness at 30%. dono about nexus.
Before you Buy check the review on Local service of Sony, at some places there are really bad

thanks, I will check sony showroom or service center as most of my friends use Samsung soapbar (S4 ;p ) .
AFAIK the 4.4 update for all the models is scheduled to start from early 2014,4.3 will be released by next month.for my preferences the only place where nexus 5 outweighs XZL is custom roms but i also love sony's android overlay so i might stick with it for sometime.

thanks, I will check sony showroom or service center as most of my friends use Samsung soapbar (S4 ;p ) .
AFAIK the 4.4 update for all the models is scheduled to start from early 2014,4.3 will be released by next month.for my preferences the only place where nexus 5 outweighs XZL is custom roms but i also love sony's android overlay so i might stick with it for sometime.

xperia zl has insanely bad battery life, i am not sure about nexus 5 but for me, xperia battery life kills my experience.

Will you buy another Xperia?

So just wondering how everybody feels here, after your experience with the XZL, will you buy another Xperia device?
I myself am conflicted. I loved this device when I bought it, the way it's built and the hardware were awesome. Plus I love the screen.
But I actually feel like this was a bad investment now. Sony takes ages to make software updates, and then takes ages to actually really roll those out (seriously 2 months between starting it and it getting to me?).
The customer service is pretty awful, and on top of that the expensive laptop I bought from them last year is no-longer supported an I need to fiddle about with it now to install drivers.
So on the one hand I really like the hardware they make, but on the other hand I feel like I'm not getting any value from it past the first 6 months of its shelf life. And that's simply not something I want to experience when I pay the kind of money the stuff costs.
How about you?

I love sony and their products..
Their build quality is awesome, not crappy plastic like samsung.,
Lovely ui
But I hate the way they update us..

Sony makes good hardware and good software but every manufacturer needs a lot of time.
But I will not invest in one more Sony because there is one better investment. An unbeatable one:
Project ARA
Gesendet von meinem Xperia ZL mit Tapatalk

Build quality? Crappy screen for flagship phones! Bad viewing angles (xperia z, xperia z1 and my ZL). Even mid range Moto G had better screen. Thank God! now they fixed it in xperia z2. Severe heating issues in xperia z2 that force closes after 2 mins while recording 4k videos. Only good things are looks. Flagship phones for every 6 months. That's insane. Sony releases n number of phones. Instead they should concentrate on few phones.

Yeah absolutely
I will buy XZ2...
Well not now, maybe couple years later xD

Probably not. Their phones are getting too big for my liking. Sucks though, as i love the camera and walkman apps.

Honestly the XZL is a nice phone, but owning one kind of feels like I've signed up for something that's nearly unsupported in the dev community... *shrug*...
It feels like we're constantly waiting for an update to actually push out... (eg .230 and now .233)

For me this is a perfect phone.
I don't care about viewing angles, when I look at my phone I look at it straight ahead and not from the side. In fact, I would prefer even worse viewing angles so when I'm using my phone in the train or bus my neighbour isn't able to see what I'm doing...
Updates are ok! I once had a lg phone, it took them two years to get android 4.0 running... And 2.3 was full of bugs, didn't get any bugfix release.
This phone has a great hardware and a very cool UI. No need for me to run any custom rom. Rooting is very easy, so the social media crap can be deleted (in fact facebook as a system app is the only negative point so far).
Short answer: yes, I will certainly buy Sony again. And again I will not get it through my provider, I will buy it in store to get an unlockable bootloader.

I will switch back to Samsung or go with a Nexus the next time. The CM support is just crap for my xperia zl and many other xperia device.

The XZL is my third xperia. After this, I'm going with nexus. I've been so disappointed in so many ways.

Xperia X8, X10Mini Pro, X10, Arc S, PLAY, Pro, Mini Pro, Live With Walkman, P and Xperia ZL..
this is my tenth xperia's phone, probably i would get Samsung Galaxy K Zoom after this.. it has 20.7MP with XENON Flash..
I really miss a phone with XENON flash.. last phone i owned with xenon is lumia 1020, before that is SE Satio..
My question, why sony didn't want to include Xenon flash to it's Xperia?
Sent from my C6502 using Tapatalk? What is Tapatalk?

The XZL is my second xperia and i like sony, the UI is one of the best i see in an android phone, the walkman app is amazing, i dont have any plans of change it anytime soon, but i will probably buy another xperia, or a nexus..

Love my ZL but I won't buy another unless they produce another the same size. All the newer stuff have giant bezels and make the device way to big. Also don't like the glass backs.

I think whatever I buy next will be a Google play edition...
Sent from my C6506 using Tapatalk

You know the main things that made me move towards the XZL over other phones were:
Camera
Walkman
IR blaster
The other specs were covered by other phones, but since I had this I noticed that while the camera is really nice, I bought a much better one from the store. Walkman seemed cool and all, but Poweramp which I still had from before was superior in pretty much every way. And Samsung is now putting IR blasters on everything they make.
And others use Sony's camera sensors as well. So the only way Sony could really persuade me to stay with them is if they made my experience with this phone so good, that I stay out of solidarity.
But so far they have done their level best to alienate me, slow as hell updates, which when they finally arrive are so buggy that they feel unfinished, and terrible customer service.
This entire time I feel like I have an unfinished product in my pocket or hand, it never feels complete or well finished. Which is not cool if you spent this kind of money in one go.
So really, I could just buy a Samsung and continue using the apps I bought and have a better experience than this.

If the next Xperia got a camera like Lumia1020 (manual focus/xenon), surely i'll cancel my order for Samsung K Zoom and go for another Xperia..that would my eleventh Xperia phone ?
i'm a die hard fan of sony product, even home theatre and tv at my home is sony branded..
even my car audio system also is sony branded.. ?
Sent from my C6502 using Tapatalk? What is Tapatalk?

Absolutely not - unfortunately, as it turns out, the Xperia Support is probably the most terrible you can get. I made a post on it in their forums, but I doubt it'll lead anywhere. If you're curious: http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Z-ZL-ZR/Horrible-Support-Xperia-ZL/m-p/751775#U751775

Yes.
This is my second xperia (X10 was the first). The only thing with this phone I still not getting used to is the front camera. I love the size and if Sony releases another handset like this, I would give it a try.

Meister_Li said:
Absolutely not - unfortunately, as it turns out, the Xperia Support is probably the most terrible you can get. I made a post on it in their forums, but I doubt it'll lead anywhere. If you're curious: http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Z-ZL-ZR/Horrible-Support-Xperia-ZL/m-p/751775#U751775
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh damn, this made me lose all my trust to Sony.. well f**k you sony for terrible customer care..
Sent from my C6502 using Tapatalk? What is Tapatalk?

Personally I don't care much for the Sony software, I'm using PA 4.4 and I'm quite happy with it, and any other phone I get will probably end up being the same.
What it really depends on is if they make a phone with everything I want in terms of hardware, currently what comes closest is the Oppo Find 7, if that was 5" it'd be perfect, but alas there's the trend to make phones bigger...
I'm pretty happy with my ZL so I'll probably end up waiting another year at least before getting a new phone.