[lee18xx]

Announced last night. vodafone already have announced they'll be stocking the handset.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pho...1119637/review

Hmm interesting. I want it!

[frida_adams]

Looks better than most Android phones.

[TheFaxMachine]

I may be alone with my opinion here, but hey-ho...

I have had Sony/SE phones for many years now - infact it's always been my number one choice of brand. Their design and aesthetic appearance of their mobiles always wins me over. Their walkman, cybershot and now Xperia models stand poles apart in looks when compared to the likes of HTC/Samsung etc.

However, Sony seem mighty confused in the smartphone business.

Their Xperia 2012 onwards range makes no sense.S, U, P, T, Z - if you weren't up-to-date with the market you'd struggle to understand which one was better than the next in terms of specs.

Secondly... March 2012 saw Sony release their flagship handset, the Xperia S. Again, a beautiful looking mobile but no longer their flagship by October 2012. The Xperia T came along then.
And so within 12 months they have released 3 flagship phones. Name another manufacturer doing this?

Third, I won't be getting another Sony. Their delaying of Android updates frustrates me immensely. (Yes, I could root and use ROMs)
It took them forever to update from Gingerbread to ICS. Now Jellybean to 2012 models is STILL in the pipeline and the Xperia S which is less that one year old won't get JB until the start of April.

...The Xperia Z looks stunning - it turns the gadget side of my brain right on - but not for me.

[poshbakerloo]

I'm glad Sony is finally making a 'kick ass phone'. They have done a lot of mid range phones. All very good, I have the Xperia U and have been very happy!

[silent_man]

Looks brilliant, guess I'm saying finally goodbye too Apple! Would have jumped on the ZL if that was coming over here though.

[goldenface]

Definitely my next phone and the best thing is it comes out next month at CPW.

The promo vid has already had 1.7 million views in three days, looks like this is going to be a hit.

The iPhone 5 vid took 3 months to reach that amount and the GS III took 7 months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWysHOjl95E

It looks beautiful and camera is top notch. Plus, it's waterproof so it can be used in the rain / bath / shower / pool.

[wilt]

Screen is far too big, I don't get this trend of bigger screens - pretty soon (if not already) you will need to go down to the mid-range to get a phone with a screen smaller than 4.5 inches.

[goldenface]

I agree and I think 5" is probably my limit too.

My current phone has a 4.5" screen and after using that for a couple of months even phones with 4" screen are quite hard to get used to again.

You get used to the size, quite easily. If you watch a lot of HD video on youtube or TVCatchup then a 5" screen is a winner.

[finbaar]

4.5 inches to 5 inches is the mid size sweet spot for phone screens. Not to big so it fits comfortably in the hand or pocket and it wont be to heavy and not so small as to be cramped and rubbish for browsing, productivity or gaming.

Very pointy this phone, not that’s a bad thing mind you. And that chip is an A9 and about to look very 2012. There is, surprisingly, still a lot of good will towards Sony. After owning the X10 and the Arc I am not sure I have much left but lets hope they can build on this phone later in the year.

I wouldn’t get one though. A Sony Nexus with that screen and an A15 chip would be on my shopping list though.

[MGS4SnakeRulez]

I don't like it personally. It's way too big and too square.

[prking]

I have two concerns, the processor being underpowered and Sony's poor track record in keeping their handsets up to date. ( Why are they not launching with the latest version of Android?)

For such an expensive phone I would have expected better. Perhaps Sony want to get into the market before Samsung release their Full HD octa-core monster.

[The Sack]

If the updates for the Z are as shit as they have been for the S then god help anyone who buys it. It took Sony 6 months to release an update for the buggy ICS they released and then it didnt fix the major problems the phone has.

Cracking hardware with utter shit support.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by finbaar

And that chip is an A9 and about to look very 2012.

No it's not. The Krait architecture is heavily customised and does not equate directly to any of the ARM reference designs.
It's certainly not A9 though, if it were, the dual-core Krait SoCs wouldn't be able to walk all over Tegra3 the way it does.

A15 will probably be more powerful than Krait but the gap won't be huge - it'll be smaller than the difference between Krait and A9.

Originally Posted by prking

I have two concerns, the processor being underpowered...

Why?
It's basically the most powerful chip on the market just now - and anything that's notably more powerful (the Exynos 5450 springs to mind) has too high a TDP to be used in a phone and/or isn't in production yet.

[prking]

Originally Posted by Step666

No it's not. The Krait architecture is heavily customised and does not equate directly to any of the ARM reference designs.
It's certainly not A9 though, if it were, the dual-core Krait SoCs wouldn't be able to walk all over Tegra3 the way it does.

A15 will probably be more powerful than Krait but the gap won't be huge - it'll be smaller than the difference between Krait and A9.


Why?
It's basically the most powerful chip on the market just now - and anything that's notably more powerful (the Exynos 5450 springs to mind) has too high a TDP to be used in a phone and/or isn't in production yet.

It's a matter of opinion whether its the most powerful 'chip'. My point stands though, it is imminently going to be overtaken. I feel that its a 2012 phone pretending to be a 2013 flag ship.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by prking

It's a matter of opinion whether its the most powerful 'chip'.

Not really, benchmark tests have shown the quad-core Krait SoCs to be the most powerful of anything available in any phone so far.

Originally Posted by prking

My point stands though, it is imminently going to be overtaken. I feel that its a 2012 phone pretending to be a 2013 flag ship.

Overtaken by what?
And the only phone from 2012 that had specs similar to the Xperia Z was a single model of HTC that was released in December. The specs are hardly out-of-date.

[Scotty2012]

This phone is the reason Google should ask SONY to make the next nexus phone.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by Scotty2012

This phone is the reason Google should ask SONY to make the next nexus phone.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves, the specs are no different to the (give or take) half-a-dozen other 5" full HD handsets that have been announced - it's all just the same off-the-shelf components as anyone else.

[Scotty2012]

Originally Posted by Step666

Lets not get ahead of ourselves, the specs are no different to the (give or take) half-a-dozen other 5" full HD handsets that have been announced - it's all just the same off-the-shelf components as anyone else.

I agree. I should be more clear, I was referring more to the build quality rather than the specs.

[sonicshadow]

I had a Sony Ericsson Satio a few years ago. Lovely phone, terrible support, only two updates released, so many show stopping bugs, and they released a new phone, the "Vivaz", three months after the Satio launched and never updated the Satio again, leaving behind a buggy mess, that fortunetly O2 Recycle gave me £150 for. But yeah, never liked Sony phones since then.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by Scotty2012

I agree. I should be more clear, I was referring more to the build quality rather than the specs.

I find it hard to look past issues with the likes of the Xperia Arc's build quality, with the plastic casing cracking for no reason.
Sony do seem to have upped their game after buying-out Ericsson but, as the saying goes, the Apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.

I also suspect that whatever Samsung release in the near future will, once again, show up the competition.

[Scotty2012]

Originally Posted by Step666

I find it hard to look past issues with the likes of the Xperia Arc's build quality, with the plastic casing cracking for no reason.
Sony do seem to have upped their game after buying-out Ericsson but, as the saying goes, the Apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.

I also suspect that whatever Samsung release in the near future will, once again, show up the competition.

I can't comment on the build quality of the phone you're referring to because truthfully I've never owned a Sony phone. I had loads of Sony Ericsson phones though and overall I was pleased. I see what you mean about Samsung, although I wish they would improve the chassis and make it look and feel like a premium device rather than cheap shiny plastic.

[Sam Seed]

Originally Posted by The Sack

If the updates for the Z are as shit as they have been for the S then god help anyone who buys it. It took Sony 6 months to release an update for the buggy ICS they released and then it didnt fix the major problems the phone has.

Cracking hardware with utter shit support.

yep, had the arc and was initially impressed but the shitty updates and me jump to the s3.... best phone ive had btw

[Step666]

Originally Posted by Scotty2012

I see what you mean about Samsung, although I wish they would improve the chassis and make it look and feel like a premium device rather than cheap shiny plastic.

Samsung handsets are all built round inner metal frames, so they're generally much tougher than people assume.
As for the plastic, it's a weight-saving measure - when a phone is as large as, say, the Note2, the choice of material makes a huge difference to the weight.

[Harry.Kewell]

I really wanted this phone but having just found out the purple version is exclusive on O2 I will no longer be getting it as I will not pay their tariff prices.

[paulbrock]

Originally Posted by Step666

Lets not get ahead of ourselves, the specs are no different to the (give or take) half-a-dozen other 5" full HD handsets that have been announced - it's all just the same off-the-shelf components as anyone else.

i'm inclined to agree. Other than looking pretty what does it have over its rivals? (though the water resistant thing is nice)

It's 4g, right?