exchange note 2 for z ultra - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

exchange note 2 for z ultra - Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Hi guys,
I am about to exchange my note 2 with z ultra amd some added cash ? Should I go forward ? Comparing the battery life after 4.3 update is it better, a little better or a ton better ?

Hard to tell what your needs are but I came from Note 1 to Note 2 then Xperia Z Ultra and aside from some things the spen can do, I couldnt be happier!
This thing is a beast but I wanted the extra large display so that made it a great option for me.
So it all depends on your needs..like for example why are you not considering the Note 3? Think is too small of a jump display wise?

shaolin95 said:
Hard to tell what your needs are but I came from Note 1 to Note 2 then Xperia Z Ultra and aside from some things the spen can do, I couldnt be happier!
This thing is a beast but I wanted the extra large display so that made it a great option for me.
So it all depends on your needs..like for example why are you not considering the Note 3? Think is too small of a jump display wise?
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yuo I kinda like to draw and I like added pixel. m very picky on display. I just never thought of note 3 as it didnt have the 'wow' factor for me. plus somehow the pixel are still visible to me. I love big working space but the only thing thats keeping me from buying it is the battery life. how good is it afer 4.3 update ?

Honestly, for battery life I cannot really help as I am most of the time connected to power and the few times I let it run a bit low on power, I didnt pay attention to how long it lasted but of course, I will never feel as confident as when I had my Note 2 and 4 extra batteries
Still, the Stamina mode is very nice in my opinion but hopefully someone else will provide feedback on battery life.

Battery life it's excellent in my experience: I use 2x Battery (search it into the Play Store), and I get two full days of usage. In line with my previous Galaxy Note. But for the rest, believe me, there is no comparison: the Ultra is totally in another league.
Sent from my C6833 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Pannam said:
yuo I kinda like to draw and I like added pixel. m very picky on display. I just never thought of note 3 as it didnt have the 'wow' factor for me. plus somehow the pixel are still visible to me. I love big working space but the only thing thats keeping me from buying it is the battery life. how good is it afer 4.3 update ?
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Click to collapse
Well if you don't mind the absence of pressure sensitve stylus, the z ultra will still cater you fine with its pencil sensitive screen. But better prepare it with screen protector (the anti glare one) so those shallow scratches won't bother you too much. Or if you have some extra dough you could buy the z ultra stylus or the adonit stylus.
The battery life for a non intense internet will have you around 6-7.5 hours of screen time. I have tried it by taking a note in evernote and the battery reaches 50% with 4 hours of screen time which can be calculated to be around 8 hours tops if i continue doing the same thing, plus i was using bluetooh mouse and keyboard too. So if you really focused while you're drawing, then the battery will not be a concern most of the time. Just don't try to browse with mobile data too often. It will drain the battery in 5 hours tops.
Plus the only concern with non removable battery is only after you use the phone for more than 2 years, but if you can take care of your battery (i.e don't charge it while it's hot or don't charge after its fully depleted), 3 years of lifetime is not impossible. In the mean time those slim sony powerbank will certainly help you to extend battery life should you want it.
So yeah nothing to worry i guess.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app

I would do it. I just came from the note 2 and not going to go back. Everything the Samsung has the Sony has way better. Sony quality is awesome.
Sent from my C6806 using XDA Premium HD app

Oh and the Sony stock ROM is the best I have ever tried stock. I dont feel the need to keep looking for Custom Roms as It was with my Note 2..then again, this thing is a beast so nothing can make it seem laggy lol
Go for it mate!

trellva25 said:
The following is just my own personal opinion and my experience using the z ultra...originally i had a note 2 and the moved over to the z ultra...after 3 months i sold the z ultra and bought a note 3 which iam very happy with. The main reasons why i decided to switch to the note 3 are as follows;
1) At first i didn't really mind the size, in fact the main reason i bought the phone in the first place was due to size. My main use of a smartphone are media consumption first and communication second. although the z ultra is a lot more portable than some 7 inch tablets, its still pretty big for a phone. often times i found my self getting frustrated due to not being able to fit it properly in some of my pockets. Unless i went out with a bag, i had to think carefully about the types of clothes i had to wear just so i can carry the z ultra. The note 3 seems to provide a big enough screen while not compromising portability, now i don't have to dress for the phone anymore.
2) the screen is not as good as i had thought. Now i have to reiterate this is my own opinion: after using the z ultra i found that the screen had some flaws which i just couldn't get over. The black levels are poor compared to other LCD like the htc one and LG G pro. When looking at the screen in bright ambient lighting you wont notice how poor the black levels are, its only in dimly lit light that it becomes evident, now i use my phone a lot in a dimly lit bedroom so it becomes an issue. The blacks also wash out becoming milky white if you view the phone off angle, the color does not shift, only the color of the blacks...this issue is not as apparent as like the xperia z. but its still far worse compared to other flagships out there.
The screen is very bright even at the lowest setting, i had to use a screen adjuster app just to get the screen to be comfortable to use at night.
X-reality is pure garbage, sony replaced bravia engine with x reality, why they did this i will never understand as x-reality brings along image sharpening and grain which makes videos look unwatchable. But turning it off makes the screen look washed out. I compared every phone i had to the z ultra without x-reality and the z ultra was the worse of the bunch. One color the z ultra the z ultra seemed to have trouble producing accurately was green, compared to other high end phones, any green that's not dark green always appeared to look yellowish green.
One issue i found annoying when viewing pictures and videos was that the screen had poor gamma levels. skin tones appear too bright for what they should be and shadows appear too dark. watching dark scenes was just unbearable as all the shadowy areas would loose all detail and look all black, while the faces especially for light skinned people would look pale white. other phones would show details in the shadows and skin tones would be full of color.
3) sound quality is pretty bad, coming from the note 2 i thought the speaker sound wouldn't bother me, after a few weeks it become annoying as the z ultra has the worst external speaker on any smartphone i have used.
4)The camera is complete utter crap...now i dont take photos much, and i didnt think it would be an issue, but the few times i did take pictures always thought of the note 2 which i had sold off to buy the z ultra. If you like taking picture, do not buy the z ultra.
5) the sony UI is very beautiful and snappy, but after using lg pro, htc one x and note 2 and 3 i found it the least functional especially when it comes to calling and messaging. don't have time to elaborate on this one.
6) The font and icons are so tiny, this for some people wont be an issue but it was for me. even though you can view more content on the z ultra screen, everything is so shrunk down that reading on the thing becomes straining on the eyes. even when you increase the font size in the settings menu, some apps still show font too small.
After a few months i just could not stand these flaws and sold the phone to buy note 3. So far i couldn't be happier. I can carry the phone with no issue, the screen is vibrant and clear with multiple modes to choose from. skin tones look better and shadows are represented accurately. sound quality is vastly improved, the list could keep going on.
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1) I dont dress for my phone...never have. The Notes are not small enough to fit that good with what I wear anyway so i always carry them so no big deal for me.
2) To me the screen was the biggest surprise on how beautiful it looks. I was afraid of black levels coming from a long line of Samsung phones but the Pros far outweight the cons.
For someone so picky about the display its odd how you seem to "not see" the issues with the note 3 screen...
Yes x-reality creates too many issues for some media. Would be better to have options for it but all the stuff you mention I just dont buy it. Your opinion it may be and I disagree totally.
3) Really..comparing phone speaker qualities....oh boy. In any case, the less clarify of the speaker is of course due to the water proof nature of the phone. You cant get something for nothing in real life.
4) The camera is utter crap...mhm...actually is not. In low light it is pretty lame, which goes for most many phones but for me to call a phone camera utter crap means I am into photography (which I am) so I use a real camera for my photos so the phone camera is good enough for what I will use it.
To correct your statement "If you like taking pictures, do not buy a phone, buy a real CAMERA!"
But I am sure the Note A7R with FF sensor is much better...
5) Of course you wont ellaborate...I wanted to see what exactly you were going to claim here is as the issue since the Sony ROM has been one of the most impressive things I have found after moving from Samsung. Just clean and smooth without needing Custom Roms.
6) Straining on the eyes? Really...you got some eye problems, go to an eye doctor, dont blame the phone.
So lets see by your logic, you want a phone with a BIG screen to resize the Icons to fit the same lame quantity of Icons and things that will fit if the screen was smaller thus not really taking advantage of the bigger screen?
That is actually one of the greatest things about the Sony Rom even compared to Googles version of the Xperia.
So after a few months you sold the phone and yet you hang around the Xperia Z Ultra forum? Interesting behavior indeed...
To each its own..but the Note 4 would have to be DAMN good for me to leave the Xperia Z Ultra...that is how GOOD and impressive this phone is.

The following is just my own personal opinion and my experience using the z ultra...originally i had a note 2 and the moved over to the z ultra...after 3 months i sold the z ultra and bought a note 3 which iam very happy with. The main reasons why i decided to switch to the note 3 are as follows;
1) At first i didn't really mind the size, in fact the main reason i bought the phone in the first place was due to size. My main use of a smartphone are media consumption first and communication second. although the z ultra is a lot more portable than some 7 inch tablets, its still pretty big for a phone. often times i found my self getting frustrated due to not being able to fit it properly in some of my pockets. Unless i went out with a bag, i had to think carefully about the types of clothes i had to wear just so i can carry the z ultra. The note 3 seems to provide a big enough screen while not compromising portability, now i don't have to dress for the phone anymore.
2) the screen is not as good as i had thought. Now i have to reiterate this is my own opinion: after using the z ultra i found that the screen had some flaws which i just couldn't get over. The black levels are poor compared to other LCD like the htc one and LG G pro. When looking at the screen in bright ambient lighting you wont notice how poor the black levels are, its only in dimly lit light that it becomes evident, now i use my phone a lot in a dimly lit bedroom so it becomes an issue. The blacks also wash out becoming milky white if you view the phone off angle, the color does not shift, only the color of the blacks...this issue is not as apparent as like the xperia z. but its still far worse compared to other flagships out there.
The screen is very bright even at the lowest setting, i had to use a screen adjuster app just to get the screen to be comfortable to use at night.
X-reality is pure garbage, sony replaced bravia engine with x reality, why they did this i will never understand as x-reality brings along image sharpening and grain which makes videos look unwatchable. But turning it off makes the screen look washed out. I compared every phone i had to the z ultra without x-reality and the z ultra was the worse of the bunch. One color the z ultra the z ultra seemed to have trouble producing accurately was green, compared to other high end phones, any green that's not dark green always appeared to look yellowish green.
One issue i found annoying when viewing pictures and videos was that the screen had poor gamma levels. skin tones appear too bright for what they should be and shadows appear too dark. watching dark scenes was just unbearable as all the shadowy areas would loose all detail and look all black, while the faces especially for light skinned people would look pale white. other phones would show details in the shadows and skin tones would be full of color.
3) sound quality is pretty bad, coming from the note 2 i thought the speaker sound wouldn't bother me, after a few weeks it become annoying as the z ultra has the worst external speaker on any smartphone i have used.
4)The camera is complete utter crap...now i dont take photos much, and i didnt think it would be an issue, but the few times i did take pictures always thought of the note 2 which i had sold off to buy the z ultra. If you like taking picture, do not buy the z ultra.
5) the sony UI is very beautiful and snappy, but after using lg pro, htc one x and note 2 and 3 i found it the least functional especially when it comes to calling and messaging. don't have time to elaborate on this one.
6) The font and icons are so tiny, this for some people wont be an issue but it was for me. even though you can view more content on the z ultra screen, everything is so shrunk down that reading on the thing becomes straining on the eyes. even when you increase the font size in the settings menu, some apps still show font too small.
After a few months i just could not stand these flaws and sold the phone to buy note 3. So far i couldn't be happier. I can carry the phone with no issue, the screen is vibrant and clear with multiple modes to choose from. skin tones look better and shadows are represented accurately. sound quality is vastly improved, the list could keep going on.
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1. I fit it into my front chest pocket and never have any problem with it. in fact Sony engineers stated that it is the max that a pocket can be fitted because it is designed with a passport width in mind. So I'm not sure why can't you.
2. Blacks will never be a true black even with AMOLED one. Yeah the contrast is good when you push the brightness, but when you're reducing it you'll know that their blacks are not as black as you thought. I have had using razr Maxx fyi so there's that. If you don't like x reality then just turn it off simple. It's like you need to change color temperature mode first to get more accurate color in GS4 and Note 3. Plus those oversaturated colors.. I don't know but my eyes bleed when i saw my friend's Note 2 after using the Z Ultra. There's a reason why professional monitor doesn't use AMOLED.
3. Nothing beats HTC one in that regard i admit, but frankly all other smartphones can only produce so much sound too plus it is water proof so like shaolin said. You don't get something for nothing
4. Just switch to manual and reduce ISO to max 200. Boom done. Or better yet the qx100..
5. To each other's preferences then. But if we have to be honest, people loves to flash CM ROM on their Samsung/LG because of the bloated skin. Whereas with sony sometimes people regret doing that and came back to stock Sony ROM because the beautiful factor and simplicity is damn near AOSP one.
6. I have pity for you then. You are wasting all that ppi provided by the phone these days just for a bigger font. Granted if you have eye problem but if you do, better make it with some low end galaxy grand I suppose?
But i do understand that Note 3 has advantages over Z Ultra. S-pen and slighlty longer lasting battery, but none of the above you mentioned I'd consider as the disadvantages of the Z Ultra.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app

I clearly stated multiple times that everything i stated was based on my personal experience for the very reason that this is a z ultra forum, most people who frequent this forum will be z ultra owners of which there will be many people that do like the z ultra.
All the negatives i wrote about are based on my experiences and my uses of the phone, they wont be the same nor should they be the same as everyone's else...as of now i find the note 3 suits my needs better than the z ultra, does that mean i find the note 3 perfect....NO...does that mean the z ultra is a bad phone....NO
I use most of my phones stock, i seldom root much less use custom ROMS...if a phone does do or perform the way i want out the box then iam less likely to keep it...
The OP asked if its worth switching from the note 2 to z ultra....now since i used the note 2 for over a year before switching i felt my input could be of help, its up to the OP to look into the issues i stated and see for him/herself if 1) he can actually see the same issues stated in the phone 2) if he does see the issues are they a deal breaker for him
One thing i do know for sure is that iam not the only one who feels the way i do, each point i made has already been made by different forum members,
For example the font being too small, there is already a thread made about it in the forum, the screen issues i mentioned forum member angelofmusic has stated my experience with actual measurements made
Iam sure the z ultra is a good phone for some, but its just not for me

I have been using many phones before the Z.U. Honestly I only like Samsung phone for the Galaxy S1,S2. Since s3, the quality is, sorry for all Samsung users, never be able to beat Sony.
If you compare between the screen of Z.U and Samsung phone. Indeed the samsung will have brighter, more vivid colors, but not as real as the Z.U. I am an Z.U users and I am giving my personal opinion.
To the OP, I do NOT think it is worth to switch to the Note2. When you buy the Z.U, you know that the size is large and at some points, it may cause inconvenience. For the Note 2, it might be smaller, but I think you will miss the badass screen of Z.U soon.
With me, there is no reason to swith from Z.U to Note2, only if it is because of the battery. However, using a Phablet like the Z.U, you should prepare that the battery will not last all day long like smaller ones. Why? besides the badass screen, you have the Snap 800 inside, which is far too strong for any usual tasks.

justsomebody said:
I have been using many phones before the Z.U. Honestly I only like Samsung phone for the Galaxy S1,S2. Since s3, the quality is, sorry for all Samsung users, never be able to beat Sony.
If you compare between the screen of Z.U and Samsung phone. Indeed the samsung will have brighter, more vivid colors, but not as real as the Z.U. I am an Z.U users and I am giving my personal opinion.
To the OP, I do NOT think it is worth to switch to the Note2. When you buy the Z.U, you know that the size is large and at some points, it may cause inconvenience. For the Note 2, it might be smaller, but I think you will miss the badass screen of Z.U soon.
With me, there is no reason to swith from Z.U to Note2, only if it is because of the battery. However, using a Phablet like the Z.U, you should prepare that the battery will not last all day long like smaller ones. Why? besides the badass screen, you have the Snap 800 inside, which is far too strong for any usual tasks.
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Seems like OP wants to switch from note 2 to z ultra not the other way around
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app

thanx guys for ur input ,much appreciated. I have until tomorrow to make the deal so I am trying to consider all the facts. the pros and cons.very strong points from both end. I just met the guy. the screen looked washed out to me while the note 2 looked unnecessarily colorful him. the funny thing is now my note 2 looks so small and I cant get over it. wow! the screen size and all those extra space to work with but I just cant say abt the battery life if it suits my need.
lasts thank you for your time and all those long reviews. I hope I make the right choice.

Also, Z Ultra will survive a toilet dip , that's something to be bragged about.

trellva25 said:
I clearly stated multiple times that everything i stated was based on my personal experience for the very reason that this is a z ultra forum, most people who frequent this forum will be z ultra owners of which there will be many people that do like the z ultra.
All the negatives i wrote about are based on my experiences and my uses of the phone, they wont be the same nor should they be the same as everyone's else...as of now i find the note 3 suits my needs better than the z ultra, does that mean i find the note 3 perfect....NO...does that mean the z ultra is a bad phone....NO
I use most of my phones stock, i seldom root much less use custom ROMS...if a phone does do or perform the way i want out the box then iam less likely to keep it...
The OP asked if its worth switching from the note 2 to z ultra....now since i used the note 2 for over a year before switching i felt my input could be of help, its up to the OP to look into the issues i stated and see for him/herself if 1) he can actually see the same issues stated in the phone 2) if he does see the issues are they a deal breaker for him
One thing i do know for sure is that iam not the only one who feels the way i do, each point i made has already been made by different forum members,
For example the font being too small, there is already a thread made about it in the forum, the screen issues i mentioned forum member angelofmusic has stated my experience with actual measurements made
Iam sure the z ultra is a good phone for some, but its just not for me
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Good so like after I sold a phone, I dont keep hanging around the old forums to post stuff like you just did. Just does not make sense to hang around a forum for a device I only had for a few months and did not like...I move on with my life to the new phone I got and the corresponding forums...
I already replied to all your points before so I wont rehash that. I do not mean the Note 3 is a bad phone nor that the Ultra is perfect, it sure is not. But your post really blows things out of proportions. Your opinion it is and I totally disagree with most of it as I said...so that is MY opinion too.
The OP will decide at the end.
Pannam said:
thanx guys for ur input ,much appreciated. I have until tomorrow to make the deal so I am trying to consider all the facts. the pros and cons.very strong points from both end. I just met the guy. the screen looked washed out to me while the note 2 looked unnecessarily colorful him. the funny thing is now my note 2 looks so small and I cant get over it. wow! the screen size and all those extra space to work with but I just cant say abt the battery life if it suits my need.
lasts thank you for your time and all those long reviews. I hope I make the right choice.
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I always had to tame down the colors on my Note phones using a kernel feature or at least changing to movie mode or something like that. The sony just looks perfect to me but I am used to working on a calibrated monitor for photo editing so give it a bit of time for your eyes to adjust maybe.
In any case, good luck with your decision!
I wont deny I was afraid of changing from Samsung after so many phones and being a Note 1 and Note 2 fan but now I cannot see myself without my Ultra! :good:

Pannam said:
Hi guys,
I am about to exchange my note 2 with z ultra amd some added cash ? Should I go forward ? Comparing the battery life after 4.3 update is it better, a little better or a ton better ?
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I came from the note 2 myself... The battery on The Z Ultra is just fine, it actually got considerably better after a few weeks use. I was paranoid at first worrying when I got down to 50% etc, but honestly one the initial setup and benchmarking frenzy was over it easily lasts me a day now. I normally charge between 5 and 7 when I get home after work, and thats the only time I do charge, its left unplugged overnight. When I come to charge it the next day I've usually got 40%+ left in the tank. To summarise I don't worry about battery whatsoever with this device. :good:

People keep complaining about the black levels on the ZU's screen - but they don't seem to realize what accurate colours truly are.
If you are the type of person who sets their TV to 'vivid' or 'dynamic' or one of those other fake settings that artificially enhance the hues and saturation of colours to make them pop - then by all means, please go the Samsung route; to your eyes, the colours are most likely going to seem more vibrant and thus imply that the screen quality is actually better.
If you want colours that are as close to those you will get from a professionally calibrated television set or monitor - the Sony is hands down the way to go.
Even comparing the Sony ZU side by side with my first generation Galaxy Note, the colours on the Note can in some cases strike out a little more - but when I put them up against my 55" professionally calibrated Samsung TV - the Sony's colours are most in line with the calibrated display - the Samsung looks skewed.
In short, if you think skin tones actually are supposed to be orange - stick with a Samsung.
If you want accurate, realistic depiction of your media - go Sony.

hassanmahmood said:
People keep complaining about the black levels on the ZU's screen - but they don't seem to realize what accurate colours truly are.
If you are the type of person who sets their TV to 'vivid' or 'dynamic' or one of those other fake settings that artificially enhance the hues and saturation of colours to make them pop - then by all means, please go the Samsung route; to your eyes, the colours are most likely going to seem more vibrant and thus imply that the screen quality is actually better.
If you want colours that are as close to those you will get from a professionally calibrated television set or monitor - the Sony is hands down the way to go.
Even comparing the Sony ZU side by side with my first generation Galaxy Note, the colours on the Note can in some cases strike out a little more - but when I put them up against my 55" professionally calibrated Samsung TV - the Sony's colours are most in line with the calibrated display - the Samsung looks skewed.
In short, if you think skin tones actually are supposed to be orange - stick with a Samsung.
If you want accurate, realistic depiction of your media - go Sony.
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well, cannot agree more on that

Related

[HELP] Help with comparison with phones...

At present I have a HTC one and an Xperia Z Ultra. Wondering whether to get a htc one max and sell my other phones or sell both and get a note 3 or keep the Xperia z ultra and sell the HTC one. I'm unsure does anyone have some advice other suggestions etc please help.

just my opinion
If you prefer performance, then keep ZU or sell for Note 3
If you are not really care about performance, just choose your ideal phone
There are so many factors can change your mind, it could be performance, screen size or phone body, etc.
Read by my HTC One max itself

nathlynn22 said:
At present I have a HTC one and an Xperia Z Ultra. Wondering whether to get a htc one max and sell my other phones or sell both and get a note 3 or keep the Xperia z ultra and sell the HTC one. I'm unsure does anyone have some advice other suggestions etc please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keeping in mind that I'm heavily One Max biased, This is an extremely capable device. Gorgeous fullHD screen + front facing stereo speakers (sound is to die for!) = Mini Home Theater. Runs super smooth, never hiccups. My battery lasts a full day. I thought having only SD600 and 2GB RAM was going to be an issue for me but it's totally not. I beat on her and she's snappy enough for me... and nothing's snappy enough for me! Oh and I love my camera, pics are great, a million times better than my last phone.
Note 3 was what I was originally going to buy. I played with it a lot while waiting for One Max to be released. Beautiful device, super fast, Day-Glo screen LOL. It's... well... it's a Samsung Galaxy (It should be noted that we own 5 Samsung Galaxies) Clunky UI, TouchWiz , insane bloatware, SuperAMOLED screen. I am personally not a fan of Samsung screen tech. Colors over-saturated and unnatural. The Note does have some cool and unique capabilities, like It's S-Pen and Multi-app.
To be perfectly honest I have no hands on experience with Z Ultra. It's gorgeous, glass, waterproof, great specs, I'd have one for fun if I was rich.
Also for your consideration is the recently launched LG G Pro 2. 5.9" 1920x1080... Equally comparable in specs to the Note and the Z Ultra, It's also equally as pretty.
Good luck deciding!

AA181891 said:
just my opinion
If you prefer performance, then keep ZU or sell for Note 3
If you are not really care about performance, just choose your ideal phone
There are so many factors can change your mind, it could be performance, screen size or phone body, etc.
Read by my HTC One max itself
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Click to collapse
Your right so many factors haha. There's a constant battle going on in my head for past couple of weeks. To be honest I just chucked the note 3 in there as another phone. Although I like the idea of some of there stuff the ui is horrible. And still don't like the design that much. The xzu is a powerhouse it is so smooth. The ui is great best I've seen but to me it is other parts letting it down. The screen is stupidly sensitive to the point if the screen is abit dirty from fingerprints (it is a fingerprint magnet) then the screen can go crazy with phantom touches etc it's installed with a factory installed anti shatter film which also scratches quite easily. There's no ir blaster. And the thing I hate is its such a big phone they for some reason couldn't incorporate a god damn flash. Plus the Sony throw (dlna) is pretty ropey to say the least with my HTC one it would play one video then play the next without having to mess around. With the xzu it can be a night mare and that's if you even get it to work. Sometimes I have to turn off wifi on phone then back on or even turn off the phone completely all while turning off TV to get a connection. It can be a frustrating phone to say the least. @neodiver the water proof isn't all that you have to compromise for sound quality. But it is a luxury device. But for luxury the price for accessories is crazy, for the xzu power case it's about £110... But again while I sent the xzu off for repair last week. I hugely missed the phone. I was using my HTC one and was not impressed having to use it. I'm not sure if that was small screen phobia or what haha. But it was lacking. It may have been the rom I was on. It was great to have a good camera phone back but still. If you guys could give me advice. I don't mind how biased you are towards the phone.I had a demo on the phone over weekend. At the moment the power is in your hands haha. What is the camera like? Is it same as htc one? Does the sd600 let it down I'm any way. What is Dev support like. Is it rootable. I may even try a gpe rom is the one available. I guess it has xposed bit can you use the toolbox.apk. Which is on htc one on the max? What do you guys think of the HTC accessories if you have them or even if there are any out... I haven't yet checked. Does it work with the Sony smartwatch 2 I don't have 1 but may give it a go at some stage. Etc. Thanks if you do manage to read my long ramble.
Oh I will have a search for that LG. Might not be available in UK yet as haven't heard much of it.
neodiver said:
Keeping in mind that I'm heavily One Max biased, This is an extremely capable device. Gorgeous fullHD screen + front facing stereo speakers (sound is to die for!) = Mini Home Theater. Runs super smooth, never hiccups. My battery lasts a full day. I thought having only SD600 and 2GB RAM was going to be an issue for me but it's totally not. I beat on her and she's snappy enough for me... and nothing's snappy enough for me! Oh and I love my camera, pics are great, a million times better than my last phone.
Note 3 was what I was originally going to buy. I played with it a lot while waiting for One Max to be released. Beautiful device, super fast, Day-Glo screen LOL. It's... well... it's a Samsung Galaxy (It should be noted that we own 5 Samsung Galaxies) Clunky UI, TouchWiz , insane bloatware, SuperAMOLED screen. I am personally not a fan of Samsung screen tech. Colors over-saturated and unnatural. The Note does have some cool and unique capabilities, like It's S-Pen and Multi-app.
To be perfectly honest I have no hands on experience with Z Ultra. It's gorgeous, glass, waterproof, great specs, I'd have one for fun if I was rich.
Also for your consideration is the recently launched LG G Pro 2. 5.9" 1920x1080... Equally comparable in specs to the Note and the Z Ultra, It's also equally as pretty.
Good luck deciding!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

Thread closed
Comparison threads are not allowed
Ghost

Traded my Note 3 for Z Ultra impressions

Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.

anonapersons said:
Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your expectations were too high in regard to the black value on the ZXU. The Notes all have amoled, thus the pixels are nearly off when displaying black. Mind you, this is the only screen tech that offers that. Super LCD, IPS, Triluminos don't have that. It's a well known trade off. What you get back in return is better color reproduction, better sharpness, etc. The black value is by no means bad, not different from most televisions actually. A lot of reviewers call the ZXU a mini Sony Bravia TV and that is exactly what it is.
I reckon your eyes really need to get used to the ZXU display, which requires extensive time and movie watching. This makes sense if your eyes have been accustomed to the Note line for a long time now. I have the Note 2 as well and I find the greys/black not that good to be honest, as the contrast doesn't seem to work that well. A lot of times scenes are too dark compared to reference material.
The ZXU remains a marvel, I suggest you spend some more time with it and report back in a while :good:

anonapersons said:
Well i just done it and traded my Note 3 for this beautiful phone and here are my first day impressions
Build Quality : Solid, sleek, beautiful and classy.. Kinda like the White Iphone 4 i got when it was just released and not many people had it yet... i pulled this thing out in the public and people were either in awe or thought i was stupid.. im not sure yet but i notice people tend to look over. I saw alot of reviews saying because it was really thin it's hard to pick up, i tried and really found out they were being nit picky about that kinda stuff (like phones that rock when you touch them).. who cares its easy to pick up its not going to make your life harder.
Cons : As nice as it is, Samsung won me over with the removal back cover and replacement battery. One time i had no idea what was wrong with my phone, i called my friend up and asked him to swap batteries.. turns out my battery died from wiping my phone down with too much water lol. i would of wasted alot of money sending it in if i didn't swap batteries with my friend to see the problem. $15 to replace the battery. On the plus side the Z Ultra is waterproof so i can wipe it down as much as i want now.
Battery Life : Decent, compared to my Note 3 i surfed the net for an hr and a half and ended up with about %70 battery life on max brightness, if i did the same with the Note i would be around %80 and not need to set brightness that high and have even more battery saved.
Screen and Size : When i first saw the screen it didn't blow me away initially because i was used to the over saturated display of the amoled but non the less the more i looked at it the more i realized it was a Beautiful display panel, unsaturated colours bigger and better with better colour accuracy over the Note. It wasn't until i decided to see how good the blacks were was where it was a let down. I loaded up the movie Aliens and tried watching a few dark scenes, the colour skin tones and everything was nice and way better then the Note but the blacks in the dark scenes were not deep enough.. it made the movie feel washed out and faded and was not enjoyable as seeing the dark corners clearly takes away from the movie experience.. This is coming from someone who loves watching movies on projector i can't but notice that flaw..from my eye test it seems to have a 1000:1 contrast ratio which is not good. To the average user i would say the blacks are definitely sufficient for movies but to the trained eye it totally sucks and i was expecting more from sony on the display as i bought this phone only for media purposes. That being said it seems like a big trade off for me since the amoled has the best blacks of any phone and i'm sure their over saturated colours can be corrected with proper tools but can the blacks be fixed on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra? i'll have to see if there are tools for it but the limitations are likely within the panels itself.
Note 3 Display (Amoled) = Deep blacks really good for watching movies,
Cons = Over saturated inaccurate colours
Sony Xperia Z Ulta = Accurate colours,better tones, sharper better to look at
Cons = Blacks are a little washed out and faded (average users may not care or notice)
Games = I have yet to play a game on this but i can tell its going to kick some butt because the screen is so nice and large
Sound = The Speakers on this thing blows.. it sounds like my old Iphone 4 just louder.. and vs modern phones its far too quiet.. don't expect anything more
Pocket test, i'm 5'10 and a half wore skinny jeans with it, to my surprise it didn't stick out of my pocket like everyone. Pocketable for me
Camera = I don't take pictures not a deal for me
Speed = Although the Note 3 has 3 gigs of ram and faster mhz, the Sony felt snappier the moment i used it. Everything felt zippier and just faster overall. Likely due to Samsung touchwiz
Am i going to return/sell this for a Note 3? Probably not, i'll need a week or 2 to decide if i watch that many dark movies for the blacks to bother me enough. Everything about the screen is better except for the blacks as long as you don't mind then go for the SXU. I love big screens and if i could get the Mediapad X1 when it releases i'll buy that but for now the Sony Xperia Z Ultra seems like a fine phone to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, Gideon is pretty much straight on here. I came from a Galaxy Note so I was used to an AMOLED panel, and let me tell you that I was quite shocked. Deep blacks (in the dark)? Nope. Aaand that's pretty much it. The Note display was darker and more saturated, and I was pretty much surprised when I got the Ultra, except I wasn't.
AMOLED displays do not have a backlight, so black will actually be black. Black will be turned off.
LCD panels do have backlights, so black will still have a backlight, only the light will be dimmed. It's the same thing as your TV. The Ultra uses LED. So yeah, the Ultra is pretty much a Bravia TV.
Audio, yeah... It's not very good. Don't forget that the Ultra is waterproof so the speakers have a membrane that makes it waterproof.
Camera: No flash so it won't take great photos in the dark or even inside your home, bit it's not that bad once you're outside in the daylight.
Overall, the Note 3 is a more "all arounder", but you're paying a lot for a luxury item that doesn't feel like it's what it is. It feels like a plasticy...thing. The Sony is a luxury item that does a lot, but it also feels like a luxury item. It's incredible big, but you also feel that you've paid for a quality glass and aluminium product.
- Note 3: Big plastic phablet
- Z Ultra: Huge glass and metal phablet
Sent from my Z Ultra

I just sold my note 3 and ordered zu gpe I loved the phone but locked bootloader killed it for me cant wait to try this phone!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

gtshiftin6 said:
I just sold my note 3 and ordered zu gpe I loved the phone but locked bootloader killed it for me cant wait to try this phone!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just dumped my day one note2 and ordered stock sony version last night Samsung was driving me crazy with the knox crap lol.

bryce850 said:
Just dumped my day one note2 and ordered stock sony version last night Samsung was driving me crazy with the knox crap lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here... Love the big screen on this beast.
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

I, too, traded in a Note 3 for a Z Ultra, but I bought the Google Play Edition (and of course I bought it a little over a month before they dropped the price to $449). I couldn't be happier with this thing. My only real gripes are:
1. The camera sucks in low light.
2. The headphone jack is on the side. That placement makes it awkward sometimes when I put the phone in my pocket while going out for a walk.
3. I absolutely HATE that anti-shatter film that's on the front and back glass. For starters, it scratches if you look at it (just like any screen protector does), and the oleophobic coating that they put on the front rubs off within the first 3 or so weeks. I would remove it, but I don't really care enough to waste the time, plus you need a razorblade to do it and I don't like getting razorblades anywhere near my phone. This also says nothing of the fact that removing the film also voids your warranty.
These are all pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, at least when I consider my own needs in a phone. When it comes to the important stuff, this phone excels. The hardware is top shelf, it's fast, stock Android runs amazingly well on it, the screen is gorgeous, and it's really the perfect size for me. :good:

oldblue910 said:
I, too, traded in a Note 3 for a Z Ultra, but I bought the Google Play Edition (and of course I bought it a little over a month before they dropped the price to $449). I couldn't be happier with this thing. My only real gripes are:
1. The camera sucks in low light.
2. The headphone jack is on the side. That placement makes it awkward sometimes when I put the phone in my pocket while going out for a walk.
3. I absolutely HATE that anti-shatter film that's on the front and back glass. For starters, it scratches if you look at it (just like any screen protector does), and the oleophobic coating that they put on the front rubs off within the first 3 or so weeks. I would remove it, but I don't really care enough to waste the time, plus you need a razorblade to do it and I don't like getting razorblades anywhere near my phone. This also says nothing of the fact that removing the film also voids your warranty.
These are all pretty minor complaints in the grand scheme of things, at least when I consider my own needs in a phone. When it comes to the important stuff, this phone excels. The hardware is top shelf, it's fast, stock Android runs amazingly well on it, the screen is gorgeous, and it's really the perfect size for me. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Z2 Ultra is indeed an oversized Z2, all your complaint will be gone (except maybe the camera, but 13mp one would not hurt just like T2U) then that would really ring my bell..
about headset placement, actually i think i like it on the side. Because the device itself is longer than any general pocket available, so when the jack comes in, it might very well be outside the pocket. Plus when you play it landscape, nothing protrude from the side, hence easier handling. Plus some Bluetooth Companion wouldn't hurt (in fact such device is promoted from the start to be used with XZU)

I came from a Note 1 (GT-N7000) and at the time it was basically price between note 3 and z ultra. The ultra was $100 cheaper and I had a buyer for my N7000 so I went ahead and got the Z.
I agree with the following:
1. Amoled is a superior display, no doubt. However, the 6.4" vs 5.7 makes up for it.
2. Unlocked - I have changed carriers twice since owning this phone. If I bought the t-mobile Note 3, i'd be out of luck (the model I was previously leaning toward), or at the least, had to pay a fee to unlock it.
3. Camera is an absolute joke. I don't take many pictures like the OP, but the ones I do take are just horrid in low light.
4. There are issues with sony software. I get crackle in my text messages, and the phantom touch issue is there sometimes. However, i'd rather have these issues than be faced with KNOX. Plus, I know sony will address the issues eventually.
In the end, i'm glad I got the z ultra over note 3.

Z Ultra
Well, I also just bought the Xperia Z Ultra and as soon as I finished updating and arranging most things, I came here for some extra search for extra work that needs to be done with this device! I am also an owner of the Xperia Z (yuga/C6603) for more than a year and since I had enough to complain issues with it, I was a little bit puzzled about how the big brother Ultra was going to perform! As it has been mentioned, and that's the reason I am posting in this thread, I was between 3 devices including Samsung's Note 3 and LG's G Flex! The reason I didn't go with the Note 3, despite the perfect screen and the faster and bigger RAM, and among the 4K camera capabilities, was that as soon as I hold it in my hand I knew it wouldn't even compare to the Z's quality I've been using for quite long! The plastic leather-alike back cover was quite a lot slippery after you have used the device enough to sweat your hand! Also a drawback I could also see was that its 5.7" display looked tiny next to the G Flex and the Ultra for me, so as to be consider a phablet! It actually felt more like a normal phone like anything else with a little bit oversized screen. And then came G Flex which also astonished me with its design and curved build but I could spot a huge difference in the 720p display next to the Note 3 and the Ultra! I adored though the design and the 32gb built in storage but those couldn't be enough for me to purchase it! I also didn't like so much the coating on the back cover, which also feels and is slippy straight out of the box, although I think it is supposed to be some kind of self healing coating to help with shallow and/or light scratches. After some minor tests I was able to make in a store that had them all for customers to see and play with, when I reached the Ultra and hold it in my hand I knew it was the device I would after all buy since its build quality and its exceptional slim design made me looking around like a retard :laugh: !! So, to end up with, after experiencing these three phabs the weight up of pros and cons for each had come and despite all the camera capabilities both G Flex and Note 3 had over the Ultra the price tags pointed which deserved to be bought, considering what it offered and it could't be anything else than the Ultra! For the records, I bought it in purple(cuz i couldn't find yuga back in 2013 in purple and i was craving for it ) in the awesome price of 325 euros with the G Flex costing 425 euros and the Note 3 being at the price of 460 euros! As it is obvious, I could't even a second think for a reason to spend over 100 euros forone of the other two! After 4 days of heavy usage and insanely lots of recharges I am extraordinarily amazed to find out that Sony has done everything that hasn't for the yuga! No more lags, no more UI glitches, no more stuttering animations and no more scrolling problems within every day apps like Chrome! The only cons I was able to notice that do disappoint me are:
1. Sound quality or at least one more speaker like the one it is already on device would be perfect! (I am searching for sound mods now, hope to find sth good)
2. The camera sensor could have been the same with the Xperia Z (13MP) with a LED (though I wont be taking any pictures with any phablet for now)
3. I would expect a bigger battery, although it has convinced me to be fair enough despite its small, for the screen's size, capacity
4. The phantom touch issue is a bit annoying from times to times
5. The screen should be a a little more dimmer for outdoors use
To conclude with, I'll always find it a lovely device, with great network speed, excellent performance, excellent build quality and excessively excellent and gorgeous design! I hope I made a good choice to choose the Ultra over the other two, but even if I didn't I am still more than a hundred euros richer to consume on accessories!
PS: I was amazed to find out the time I was unboxing that the magnetic dock DK30 was included in the box for free! I really didn't expect that and I was really pleased to find out that Sony saved me about 25 euros for spending on sth else!

I came from the Note 3 and the Note 2 I had before that.
I agree with the removable battery thing, but honestly, battery life is able to last me throughout the day unless I'm heavily using it, so I haven't really been in a bind yet in that regard.
I also agree with the speaker. Flash the sound boost mod, it's mandatory IMO. I've attached it for you. It's like night and day, honestly, but I've found it's a louder boost on 4.3 than it is on 4.4, which is one reason I haven't updated to KitKat. But, if you are using the ZU mainly for media consumption, what are you doing not using a bluetooth speaker!?!? I waited a long time to get one and shouldn't have waited. I researched a lot, pick up an Arctic S113BT off Amazon. It's aptx, got NFC, louder than the Jambox, and 3x less expensive ($40). Only thing that's annoying is the BT audio/video syncing that's always a bit off 90% of the time you first turn it on. Needs some closing of programs and going back to the homescreen to get it to sync up sometimes. I just have the speaker next to me when I'm watching my shows now, it's made everything more enjoyable.
Your gripes and analysis pretty much echoed mine, you'll really get to love the device after a little more time (I should be a rapper, mad rhymes).

SonyMan7 said:
Well, I also just bought the Xperia Z Ultra and as soon as I finished updating and arranging most things, I came here for some extra search for extra work that needs to be done with this device! I am also an owner of the Xperia Z (yuga/C6603) for more than a year and since I had enough to complain issues with it, I was a little bit puzzled about how the big brother Ultra was going to perform! As it has been mentioned, and that's the reason I am posting in this thread, I was between 3 devices including Samsung's Note 3 and LG's G Flex! The reason I didn't go with the Note 3, despite the perfect screen and the faster and bigger RAM, and among the 4K camera capabilities, was that as soon as I hold it in my hand I knew it wouldn't even compare to the Z's quality I've been using for quite long! The plastic leather-alike back cover was quite a lot slippery after you have used the device enough to sweat your hand! Also a drawback I could also see was that its 5.7" display looked tiny next to the G Flex and the Ultra for me, so as to be consider a phablet! It actually felt more like a normal phone like anything else with a little bit oversized screen. And then came G Flex which also astonished me with its design and curved build but I could spot a huge difference in the 720p display next to the Note 3 and the Ultra! I adored though the design and the 32gb built in storage but those couldn't be enough for me to purchase it! I also didn't like so much the coating on the back cover, which also feels and is slippy straight out of the box, although I think it is supposed to be some kind of self healing coating to help with shallow and/or light scratches. After some minor tests I was able to make in a store that had them all for customers to see and play with, when I reached the Ultra and hold it in my hand I knew it was the device I would after all buy since its build quality and its exceptional slim design made me looking around like a retard :laugh: !! So, to end up with, after experiencing these three phabs the weight up of pros and cons for each had come and despite all the camera capabilities both G Flex and Note 3 had over the Ultra the price tags pointed which deserved to be bought, considering what it offered and it could't be anything else than the Ultra! For the records, I bought it in purple(cuz i couldn't find yuga back in 2013 in purple and i was craving for it ) in the awesome price of 325 euros with the G Flex costing 425 euros and the Note 3 being at the price of 460 euros! As it is obvious, I could't even a second think for a reason to spend over 100 euros forone of the other two! After 4 days of heavy usage and insanely lots of recharges I am extraordinarily amazed to find out that Sony has done everything that hasn't for the yuga! No more lags, no more UI glitches, no more stuttering animations and no more scrolling problems within every day apps like Chrome! The only cons I was able to notice that do disappoint me are:
1. Sound quality or at least one more speaker like the one it is already on device would be perfect! (I am searching for sound mods now, hope to find sth good)
2. The camera sensor could have been the same with the Xperia Z (13MP) with a LED (though I wont be taking any pictures with any phablet for now)
3. I would expect a bigger battery, although it has convinced me to be fair enough despite its small, for the screen's size, capacity
4. The phantom touch issue is a bit annoying from times to times
5. The screen should be a a little more dimmer for outdoors use
To conclude with, I'll always find it a lovely device, with great network speed, excellent performance, excellent build quality and excessively excellent and gorgeous design! I hope I made a good choice to choose the Ultra over the other two, but even if I didn't I am still more than a hundred euros richer to consume on accessories!
PS: I was amazed to find out the time I was unboxing that the magnetic dock DK30 was included in the box for free! I really didn't expect that and I was really pleased to find out that Sony saved me about 25 euros for spending on sth else!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice post, and welcome!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

Thanks
LordManhattan said:
Very nice post, and welcome!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you a lot my friend! Nice to be in such a community, although I am not quite new as of time concerned! On the contrary, it is such a complete this community I really hadn't to create an account to participate! Everything I ever searched for from the times of galaxy ace back to the '06s! Awesome work from anyone here! ??

SonyMan7 said:
Thank you a lot my friend! Nice to be in such a community, although I am not quite new as of time concerned! On the contrary, it is such a complete this community I really hadn't to create an account to participate! Everything I ever searched for from the times of galaxy ace back to the '06s! Awesome work from anyone here! ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're a lurker becoming a poster. Good stuff!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

LordManhattan said:
So you're a lurker becoming a poster. Good stuff!
Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try!

Can't make up my mind about buying the Z2

Hello,
I'm currently an owner of an S3 . I've been wanting to upgrade for some time now and I just can't decide what to buy.
I love the M8, but the camera is so awful that I am just not ready to pay a flagship-phone price for a phone like that. (my old s3 beats m8's camera (!!) )
I loved the G3 too , but reading in the GSMaren's review how bad its battery is (aside from 3G talk time , it really isn't that different than my ancient S3 in terms of its battery life which is just ridiculous! )
The Z2 has a boring and an outdated UI which is just a shame for a 2014 phone.
But , its battery ,camera, overall performance are superb. At least compared to its rivals. (Though it seems that the screen is rather dim and dark compared to the S5 and M8).
But my main concern , is that Video shooting and overheating issue.
I don't need to record videos in 4K. But as far as I understand the the overheating issue occurs even when shooting an 1080p video, and that's a problem.
Does 1080p shooting cause the overheating and camera app shut down for everyone?

If you really think the UI is "boring and outdated" (really?!) it is easily remedied with any launcher of your choice..
Regarding the overheating issue, I have been recording 12 minute 4K videos (it shut down by itself) and 30 minute 1080p videos (I stopped recording, I could have gone longer the phone was warm but not hot at that point) without any issues.
That being said, based on what everyone on here has been saying my experience is not the same as most.
At the end of the day mate, it's a mobile phone. You don't have much to lose picking this over one of the other flagships.

Have you seen the phone in person and used it? I read a lot of reviews complaining about the brightness but when I got it I was quite surprised I could use it in daylight with no issues. As for the UI you can alway use a launcher or themer to change the look of the phone, as for the 4K video recording it seems to be an issue across all companies I think it's probably being an issue of the hardware not being at that level yet. I am hoping that there will be a software fix for the overheating issues. I'm not sure if you are in the US but there are sellers who are Amazon verified once in a while that will let you do no hassle returns if you dont like it. I was really impressed with the phone but ended up returning it because it was a bit too big for my tastes but I am planning on buying it again when the prices go down. Good Luck!

jawang26 said:
Have you seen the phone in person and used it? I read a lot of reviews complaining about the brightness but when I got it I was quite surprised I could use it in daylight with no issues. As for the UI you can alway use a launcher or themer to change the look of the phone, as for the 4K video recording it seems to be an issue across all companies I think it's probably being an issue of the hardware not being at that level yet. I am hoping that there will be a software fix for the overheating issues. I'm not sure if you are in the US but there are sellers who are Amazon verified once in a while that will let you do no hassle returns if you dont like it. I was really impressed with the phone but ended up returning it because it was a bit too big for my tastes but I am planning on buying it again when the prices go down. Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing for sure when the price reduces the phone will NOT reduce in size
Ryland

Somnium1 said:
The Z2 has a boring and an outdated UI which is just a shame for a 2014 phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have to disagree with you here. The Z2 has a beautiful elegant UI IMO, one of the best Android "skins" aside from stock Android on the flagship devices. I've owned the One M8, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 3, and this is my favorite device by far.

I had...well,still have a z2 (its in for repair, after three days of light use the back panel cracked).
I did want to like it, but a few things missing from it that I missed from previously having Samsungs. Yes the ui is cleaner,closer to stock android but the the features of Touchwiz for me, make android better.
Like the swipe left to call/right to text.... Vibrate when there is an unread text, scheduled text messages, block numbers etc.
Ok, apps can be installed to mimic most of these but arnt as fluid as the built in features of Touchwiz.
Also had issues with the volume of notifications and screen brightness in the sun.
Great looking phone tbh, but have a play properly with a demo unit before committing.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (how ironic is that eh)

Somnium1 said:
Does 1080p shooting cause the overheating and camera app shut down for everyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the ambient temperature where you will be shooting ?
---------- Post added at 05:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:52 AM ----------
ProdigalFather said:
Regarding the overheating issue, I have been recording 12 minute 4K videos (it shut down by itself) and 30 minute 1080p videos (I stopped recording, I could have gone longer the phone was warm but not hot at that point) without any issues.
That being said, based on what everyone on here has been saying my experience is not the same as most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't from what i can see and i'm trying to figure it out.
Go on then. Tell us what was the ambient temperature when you recorded those vids ? particularly that half hour long 1080p one.

Ryland Johnson said:
One thing for sure when the price reduces the phone will NOT reduce in size
Ryland
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know, I got a Z1 Compact as primary would like a Z2 eventually for those times I want a bigger screen

jawang26 said:
Yeah I know, I got a Z1 Compact as primary would like a Z2 eventually for those times I want a bigger screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the Z2 tablet.

irishrally said:
Get the Z2 tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I have an iPad already (don't judge!) like having a different eco system...We'll see hopefully I can hold out of the Z3 or Sony releases something similar in the 4.7 - 5 range.
As of now the Z2 is the best phone I've used compared to the S5 and the HTC One M8 but everyone has different preferences and tastes

I wrote a FULL REVIEW of the Xperia Z2 here - http://bit.ly/1kPjBJP
Read it and i'm pretty sure you will make up your mind easier.

One Twelve said:
What is the ambient temperature where you will be shooting ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ambient temp is around 30-40C (Sometimes more). Summers are hot here.
And I still can't understand.. the overheating issue occurs in 1080p videos too?? Or just for some..?
If it's only with 4K I can live with that, but 1080p... sucks.
It's weird that no serious mobile reviews mention that.(Engadget,GSMarena,etc.)

One Twelve said:
It isn't from what i can see and i'm trying to figure it out.
Go on then. Tell us what was the ambient temperature when you recorded those vids ? particularly that half hour long 1080p one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Around 11-13C for both.

Any Middle east user out there? How is the heat problem with z2 as ambient is around 45+ C
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I'm reading answers here and it's very annoying to see some of them...
Most of us choose one brand and stick to it, why?
Just because we found something on that brand that cannot be found on others.
To compare touchwiz and Sony UI is... Hmm...let's say odd..
Why to compare?
I like Sony UI and I'm using Xperia devices, for years.
I don't like touchwiz so I don't use it.
Sony UI isn't outdated, dev brought UI on XS and older devices back in 2012/2013 but it wasn't meant to be for those devices.
Sony UI (new UI) was built for Honami, for Z1 and that's not old guys...
I thought I won't buy Z2, I own Z1 and Z2 now and I can't tell which one is Z2 from distance...so, yeah, there's not much new when you look device while it's off.
But...
When you take Z2 in your hands, when you feel it, when you see that fantastic IPS screen - you'll see the difference.
While I'm talking about screen I'll say just a few things about heating, not overheating.
If you watch 4K video or shoot one, play heavy games - it'll be hot, quite hot but there'll be no apps crashing or device freezing - that's the difference between heating and overheating.
That's perfectly normal and I'm sure next update will reduce that a bit...
Also, screen is a bit dark and you'll have trouble to watch video outside on bright sun.
You won't see problems in menus and other apps but video is hard to watch...
That's minus, at least for me...
But that's something next firmware releases could fix without any problems.
Even custom kernels could fix something like that...
If you can wait, wait for next Xperia device, it'll be better, that's for sure.
But comparing this device with Z/ZL/ZR/Z1 I can say this is not just a better device, Z2 is something new from Sony...
Believe me, I'm using Z1 at the same time and comparing them all the time - Z2 is really, really something else...
Is it better then competitions flagships?
For me it is but if you like Sony and their ideas it'll be best for you as well...
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------
Somnium1 said:
Ambient temp is around 30-40C (Sometimes more). Summers are hot here.
And I still can't understand.. the overheating issue occurs in 1080p videos too?? Or just for some..?
If it's only with 4K I can live with that, but 1080p... sucks.
It's weird that no serious mobile reviews mention that.(Engadget,GSMarena,etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait for a new update and we'll confirm if that heating is fixed.
55 has that problem and I think next one has it to (I think it's 402 or 420, I'm not sure) so next firmware update could fix that problem.
Wait for that and you'll know...
BTW, I just tried to shoot 1080 / 60fps video.
I recorded 3.20mins and played it, so it's almost 7 mins of 1080p videos and no heating at all.
Device is just a bit warmer (top back) but that's nothing.
It's not hot at all....
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

I have the M8 and Z2. The screen on the Z2 is brighter than my M8.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

jawang26 said:
Yeah I know, I got a Z1 Compact as primary would like a Z2 eventually for those times I want a bigger screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A suggestion. If you have the Z1 compact as your mobile phone and desire on times a larger viewing area I would skip the Z2 and go for the Xperia Z Ultra. Prices are incredibly low now and its one hell of a viewing experience. I own the Ultra and Z2 and think the Ultra is certainly better quality in terms of materials used and construction methods. Nothing wrong with the Z2 but I was some what surprised when I received it last week. I used to own the Xperia Z and that was, despite many negative comments, a very good phone. I am unsure if the jump in size from the compact to the Z2 would be worth the financial outlay. Now the Ultra has a far greater viewing area and its less than half the price of the new Z2.
Again, just some food for thought. Your choice will be right for you I am sure of that. Good luck with what ever you purchase.
Ryland

Why I like the Xperia Z2 over other competitors (Galaxy S5, One M8, G3). Below are just my personal opinion and observations. I have used my Z2 for 3 weeks now. This is my first noob review so please bear with me.
Camera
I was disappointed when I first heard that Sony limited its Superior Auto mode to 8MP only, I admit Im one of the people who believes more megapixel the better, but I was wrong. Even at 8MP, Z2 captures amazing shots, HDR is not as great as Galaxy S5s HDR shots, but as a whole camera, its better. Color accuracy is near perfect as I have compared through reviews. 4K video, although it heats up the phone quickly, I dont often use them. 1080p video recording is great, with a choice of 30fps or 60fps, sound is loud. Shots are fast and focus is 90% hit. Dont mind about HTC One M8's "Ultrapixel", they shoot awful shots.
Battery
3200mah Z2 vs 3200mah G3? G3 with QHD screen undoubtly will eat up more battery that Z2's FHD screen. Galaxy S5's 2800mAh and HTC One 2600 will normally never last longer than Z2. Rocking the phone for 24 hrs is a piece of cake. Dont forget Sony's Stamina mode that saves up a significant amount of juice.
Screen display
Although many people have been complaining about Z2's screen a bit dim. In my opinion its not too dim or too bright that I have to squint to see what im looking at. In my observation, Z2's brightness bursts from 75% and above. Previous flagships use TFT LCD and that was a big deal breaker for me. I could have got the Z1 if the screen was IPS. Texts and icons are sharper and brighter. Images are more vivid and accurate. Coming from Galaxy S4, I am used to those AMOLED displays, downside is that its not as sharp as IPS LCD, plus X-Reality does the job well done to movies and pictures (sharper and more vivid). As for HTC One M8, screen is comparable to IPS, but gives a bluish tint as I have read. Imagine yellows with blueish/colder colors.
Stereo Speakers/Sound
HTC is undoubtly the champ. But we are pinning Z2's dual front facing stereo speakers at 2nd, ahead of Galaxy S5 or G3 with one speaker. Sound is a bit soft/low even at 50%. You wont even notice a significant change from 1%-50% volume. Volume bursts from 50% and above. Thats just my opinion. Theres a little bit of trick with Z2's speakers to sound great or at least better. Watching movies or listening to music in landscape greatly improves the audio experience. Its probably because sound is distributed well to your left and right ear.
Noise-cancelling headphones
Its my first ever high-end earphones ever had. I was amazed how it cancels out 98% of background noise. And its 0 outside noise when im playing music. I couldnt even hear my friend shout at me. Bass is good, im not a boomboom person but I think its better than my GS4 generic headphones, or my Sony MDR ZX100. Definitely a steal.
Design/Build Quality
Coming from GS4, im loving my premium Z2. The glass and metal finish it has over Samsung's plastic, and horrible GS5 design, GS3 was good though. M8s design is good too, but that camera and battery . G3 is a bit big for me, and the back buttons are something that needs to get used to. Although heavy (Z2), Im getting used to it. Im using Spigen Ultra Fit case for increased grip and protection. I believe its a must for cases because the sides of the Z2 is kinda slippery. And I dont wanna scratch the back glass, lol.
User Interface and features
I find Z2 a wee bit lacking of features, like Touchwiz S-Beam. Palm tap to mute, especially calls and alarm and Smart Stay. Nevermind smart scroll and Air view stuff, they are hardly useful. The Sony UI feels light, not much bloated than Samsung. And it doesnt lag!! Unlike Samsung. Generally speaking. The UI is simple and snappy, though personally I feel its getting old/outdated. Needs to freshen up the icons and apps. With the new Quick Settings tab under notification, its a big improvement from older android versions with only limited and un-editable quick settings
Conclusion:
Coming from Galaxy S4, I am not disappointed that I ditched GS4 for Xperia Z2. With the screen improved from TFT LCD to IPS LCD, with 2 front facing stereo speakers, with the much improved camera than the previous Z1, the premium noise cancelling earphones, a premium phone made with glass and aluminum, water-proof, and ofcourse the massive 3200mAh battery. You cant go wrong buying the Xperia Z2.
Upon writing this lousy review back from a fresh shower, I just dropped my Z2 (with case ofcourse, 2nd time) from shoulder height to the floor tiles, and survived. Not a single scratch or crack.

I came from the SIII and certainly don't regret it. My main concern was the size. Whilst I have got used to it, it definitely is not pocket sized. In fact, ignoring weight and thickness it is the same size as my first ever mobile, the Ericsson Hotline EH97! Ok, the screen is a bit larger
On the plus side, the biggest improvement is the battery. I always struggled to get one day out of the SIII but get a day and a half comfortably now.
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app

Somnium1 said:
Ambient temp is around 30-40C (Sometimes more). Summers are hot here.
And I still can't understand.. the overheating issue occurs in 1080p videos too?? Or just for some..?
If it's only with 4K I can live with that, but 1080p... sucks.
It's weird that no serious mobile reviews mention that.(Engadget,GSMarena,etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long do you want to shoot 1080p ? Also if you don't use stabilisation then it will last longer. But this may not always be an option you want.
Not a problem for those that shoot at half the temperature.
The thread on undervolting looks promising. There apparently is a difference with .420, maybe they will lower it further in future updates.
---------- Post added at 04:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 AM ----------
funky0308 said:
While I'm talking about screen I'll say just a few things about heating, not overheating.
If you watch 4K video or shoot one, play heavy games - it'll be hot, quite hot but there'll be no apps crashing or device freezing - that's the difference between heating and overheating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a fair way to draw a distinction
People tend to use it in a relative way though, this other device does not get so hot so Z2 gets hotter than them therefore it overheats.

Sony C5 Ultra - After One Week

Please note this is my opinion and experience with the phone. I love trying all kinds of smart phones.
I wanted to love this phone...
Being a heavy google apps user and a lover of customization and android, I recently switched back to android from the iPhone 6 Plus (previous phones as well include Blackberry Passport, Note Edge, Note 3, LG G3, Oneplus One, Xperia Z1, Sharp SH-03G (Docomo), Ascend Mate 7 to name a few). The C5 Ultra caught my attention with it's good looks, 6" screen and Sony's boasting of it's great front and rear facing 13mp cameras. Both cameras sounded perfect for me to take photos of my 2 year old and family selfies with the front camera. After a week of use here are my thoughts:
Pros:
- Beautiful design - very sleek with edge to edge (sides have little to no bezel) glass on the front making this a tall looking phone
- Dual Sim - great when I travel overseas
- Separate MicroSD card slot - some manufacturers force you to use the second sim slot but not Sony
- Unlocked
- GPS accurate
- Wifi reasonably strong
- Call quality good
Cons
- Screen (Innolux) lacks contrast and does poorly with blacks, colours are dull and washed out. There is screen backlight bleeding especially around the bottom edges.
- Camera Images - What a disappointment. Perhaps mine is a dud but colors are dull, photos over exposed, highlights blown out, photos are not sharp, even taken in daylight.
- Camera Performance - It doesn't matter how beautiful photos are a camera CAN take if it CANNOT catch the moment. The lag on the phone is terrible. Camera app slow to open. Focus slow to acquire. Shutter terribly slow. After focusing on an object which is slow to do, I press the shutter and the camera tries to focus again then shoot taking more than a second to do so. Because of this I keep missing the moment even outside in broad daylight.
- Camera Software - Slow, occasionally crashes. Doesn't stay on the last setting you used if you reopen the app.
- Battery life - very disappointing. I am not a heavy user. I take maybe 10-15 photos, read some email, browse the web. Rarely watch videos or listen to music and the phone struggles to make it 12-13 hours. Charges very slowly whether plugged in via usb or directly into a wall.
- The iPhone 6 Plus battery and Blackberry Passport I previously had blow this away when it comes to battery.
- Phone performance - Occasional lag or stutter opening apps, swiping between home screens
- Auto brightness is very inconsistent, in an evenly lit room, it is constantly adjusting up and down brightness.
In case anyone is interested benchmark numbers here (It's the Non-verified score)
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Bottom line:
Visually a beautiful phone. Functionally a huge disappointment. The hype of a higher end or top mid range phone but not the same performance to back up the hype. Perhaps a lot of this, like the camera performance and the battery life and some OS performance can be tweaked and fixed with software updates. I love Sony products, and my house is full of Sony goods. Sony has a great name and reputation here in Japan but at the end of the day, Xperia phones still let me down and I end up going to solid phones from Samsung and LG. LG G4 on the way...

I feel u bro.

scpion said:
I feel u bro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about it a bit and I think it may be that I expected too much... ie coming from many so called "flagship" models I expected the C5 Ultra to perform like one (since it's pretty pricey), but it obviously didn't.
I'm going to ride with it for the rest of the week, trying some 3rd party camera apps and seeing if I can optimize the setup (or wait for a root and custom rom) to see if it would improve performance and battery life.

On the contrary, personally I feel it's punching above its weight.. It's relatively cheap here on contract. Other than the irritating problems I mentioned in my other thread, I think it's pretty ok. Battery have been great for me and performance decently fast. I never had high hopes for the cam anyway though I was hoping for a surprise this time round. Let's not forget the C series had always been a mid ranger.

It's a shame, really. The C5 is the best looking phone I've ever seen. If only the screen was better and the battery was larger I'd consider buying it.
It's even better looking than the Xperia Z5 series and has less bezel.
I'd love to put the hardware of the Z5 into the C5 ultra then it'd be the perfect phone.

I really hope developers will take up interest in this phone. As of now, there are basically nothing on the Web regarding this phone.. No reviews, not even accessories..

The Z5 range has recently been published on gsmarena. I was shocked to see the C5 looks WAY better than the expensive flagship Z5. Issue with the Z5 it looks the same as the Z2 and Z3, too much bezel.
I'm thinking of getting the C5 ultra for it's sexy looks and ultra thin bezel!
I hope a developer/modder can soon release a mod to make this phone output stereo sound. We just need output from the top speaker grill which will then give us true stereo speakers/sound.

The sound from this phone is pretty loud with audio+. Tweaking the white balance gives pretty decent colours as well. The colour just sucks straight from factory.

scpion said:
The sound from this phone is pretty loud with audio+. Tweaking the white balance gives pretty decent colours as well. The colour just sucks straight from factory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good! I currently own the Sony Xperia Z3 D6633. The screen I have is better, sound is stereo, ram is 3Gb, camera is 21MP/video 4k and battery is more (3100mAh) vs 2900...
Should I purchase the C5 Ultra, in many ways it indeed is a downgrade. However, the beautiful design and large screen/thin bezel is a win and I'm thinking of buying one.
The main thing that concerns me is the large 6'' screen and small battery of under 3000mAh. Sony really should of made the battery at least 3500 mAh to power the large screen.
I'd like, if possible more feedback from other users with regards to battery life. Also, how are the black levels and viewing angles of the screen?
How would the camera compare say to a Samsung Note 5/Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and the LG G4?

First up, I really have no problem with the battery. The 29xxmah battery may sound small, I have no problem lasting a full day. I try to post screen shots later. I feel that sony has one of the best optimised system around.
Screen needs some tweaking to get the colours right. Contrast still slightly on the lower side. Viewing angle is ok. No where near the shocking level of gen 1 xperia z. Colour shift at a acute angle similar to N4 if u know what I mean. To me, I think it's acceptable. And it's really bright.
I dun take a lot of picture.. But from my finding, superior auto is a disaster in this case. Manual gives me good results. Details are good and noise keep to a minimum in low light. Pics with flash turns out great as well, surprisingly. The other phones u mentioned are all flagship class so it might be a bit unfair to do the comparison. They can point and shoot and give good results. This, u have to point, tweak, shoot.... Lol. Results are not half bad. At least the last settings are retained so u do not go back to the superior auto by default.
Then again, do not forget this is a "midranger". And let's not forget there is no such thing as a perfect phone.
---------- Post added at 02:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 PM ----------
I am typing this from my Z Ultra. Seriously, if they carry on the Z line in the Z ultra's design and power, I think sony will do much better..

Here u go. these are 2 sets of battery usage. I am getting rather good results from it. Google sync on, Lte all the way. Staminal mode on. Manual screen brightness is at just 15% and its really bright indoors. Outdoors usually at just 40% or auto brightness. This is a really bright panel. On down side, battery charging is pretty slow. Using a 1.5a charger, it take me around 3-4hrs to charge from around 15%. I never tried the supplied 850mah one... maybe I should..

Hey! Theres one more thing that I want to mention for the screen. It FREAKING flickers whenever it tries to play a video for the first 1 sec. It should be a software issue. The display sets have this problem, the set i changed have this problem as well.

Just got c5 ultra. Was trying to connect my 1tb ext hdd, but it always shows "usb storage removed" as soon as i connect it.. However once it did got connected properly and i was able to access files on it but only once and after that i am continuously having the above mentioned problem.. Anyone else tried this? Also i am having some wierd clock ticking voice from my hdd after connecting.. It works fine though on my note 4 without such voice..
Sent from my SM-N910G using XDA Free mobile app

the usb port doesn't have enough power to power your hdd. better don't use it. you might force the hdd to keep reading and might damage the hdd

^ Thanks for the feedback bro. I'm currently living in Dubai, UAE. It seems, unfortunately the phone is not yet released here.
However, it should be released anytime soon. I'm going to call the Sony agent at Jumbo Electronics and see when the phone is due to be released.
As I said before, I'm seriously considering selling my several month old Sony Xperia Z3 D6633 dual sim and getting the C5 Ultra. In many ways it is indeed a downgrade.
That said, I'm also an ex owner of the legendary Sony Xperia Z Ultra which had the massive 6.44'' screen which was gorgeous. My current Z3 on the other hand has a much smaller screen of only 5.2'' and Although the screen is better and brighter, I'm not happy with the smaller screen. It seems Sony will not release a successor anytime soon for the Z Ultra so as of now the nearest option is the C5 Ultra. Though slightly smaller than the Z Ultra, it's the nearest phone to compare.
May I also ask, how does the C5 Ultra screen compare to the Z Ultra. Please tell me it's as good as if not better.
Unsure about you, but the best on screen time I've had with my previous Z Ultra was 5 hours and 44 minutes! Not bad for a phone having almost 6.5'' in size and a 3000mAh battery...

I think I would prefer the Z ultra's screen over this, at least for now. I personally like how much we can adjust the screen contrast and colour on the Z. Colour adjustment can be make to be very close to my Z but C5 still lacks the deeper colours.. Dpi is smaller as well so I can see more things. Think the C5 dpi is at 480. It's a waste of screen estate. We seriously need development on this to make it a great device.

Yeah, the device is still too new. I'm sure that with some development and custom roms, it'll be even better. Sadly it'll take some time...
At least they've improved the sound quality and finally the output is better than previous models.
Then there's front and rear flash which the Z Ultra completely lacked.
I've seen many brand new C5 Ultra's for just £250 in ebay, around 300 euros. For a 6'' mid range device the price is fantastic...

How does battery life compare to the Xperia Z Ultra? How is the quality/sharpness of the camera? Image noise low and under control?

I usually get around a full day with 3-4hrs screen on time with Z ultra. C5, that kind of timing is usually when I am at around 40%. I never finish my day with a flat battery for C5. I dun play games. Just lots of browsing, Facebook and YouTube. Cam is a mixed bag. Most of the time, details and colours are pretty good. Sometimes overly exposed. Superior auto is a disaster though. But overall, good pics can be achieved with manual without much trouble.

Finally bought my C5 Ultra last night! Overall I'm satisfied with it and there is more good than bad.
Screen is actually great AFTER calibration. By default the whites and colours are dead. For me, white balance is as follows; Red 38, Green 49 & Blue 40. Colour as well as the white and blacks are great and not far off from my Xperia Z3. So bear in mind the display does need a good calibration to get decent results.
After going through some high quality pictures and full HD 1080P movies and animated cartoons, colour is strong and black levels do actually look great, screenshots below of Shaun The Sheep Movie. Viewing angles are brilliant.
Speed. Generally the device is fast and responsive. It does at times pause and there is a slight delay. However, this should be fixed in a future update and when we get root access and recovery!
Looks. This was the key reason I bought the device. Specification is high mid range, a step above the Xperia Z Ultra, however, I wasn't bothered with the specification, it's gorgeous looks lured me into buying the device! As internet photos show, the left/right side of the phone literally has no bezel, the stunning display stretches out right to the edges. The top/bottom of the phone are still thin and the upper part is mostly taken by the huge 13mp camera with it's flash.
The bottom of the screen is still pretty thin and compared to my Xperia Z3, though a bigger phone, the bottom bezel of the C5 Ultra is still thinner!
As explained above, the screen by default is lifeless, colours are wrong and whites are more warm. You will have to calibrate the white levels in order to get decent looking whites and other colours...
Camera. I've not had the time to fully experiment, however, it is decent and photos are sharp and clear. Others have mentioned the camera is slow especially if selecting the memory card to store the images. Completely wrong. I took several pictures last night, one after the other and other than a split second delay, it was ready to take the second and the third picture. it's fast and responsive, no lag whatsoever when taking photos whether you select the memory card slot or the internal memory.
The flash is VERY bright and even when using the light/torch mode, the light was excellent, stronger than my Xperia Z3.
Gaming. Aside from Ski Safari, I didn't try any other game. However, colours were great, whites were excellent and there was no lag or delays at all. Nice and smooth.
Whether surfing the web, gaming or using the camera, there was no sign at all of overheating, in fact, the phone never even got warm when using for long periods! So no need to worry about overheating or getting warm.
Body/Build quality. Although the rear of the phone is plastic, it's a very high quality plastic, very strong and it's appearance is good. The sides of the phone are a solid aluminium and the front is entirely glass. Build quality is very sturdy and overall excellent. There are no gaps around the phone/bezel and the sides are well put together. So far the best design I've ever seen from Sony.
I was actually going to wait and purchase the Xperia Z5. Once I saw the design was VERY similar to the current Z2/Z3 series I thought why buy the Z5 when it looks too similar to my current phone? I wanted something different, unique and affordable. This is where the C5 Ultra fits in, perfectly...
Battery. Unfortunately, since I've only just used the phone for several hours, I'm yet to comment on battery life. In fact, I've still not even charged the battery, not even once. Battery was around 61% when the phone was first turned on. After around 2 hours of on screen time, some wi-fi, phone calls, sms messages and camera use, battery is still around 22% .
Speakers/sound - I'd say decent but not loud. My Xperia Z3 having dual speakers was around 25% louder. That said, we can only pray that sooner or later, a developer can release custom sound for louder, clearer audio having dual loud speakers when listening to music, watching movies, gaming or simply when making a phone call. We simply need audio output via the upper earpiece to give us stereo sound. Lazy Sony, unfortunately didn't bother doing this...
Verdict. Based on the above, I'd give the phone 8.5/10 for overall use/features/looks/battery, etc.
Some screen shots of the phone and screen:

Is the Xperia 1 worth the upgrade?

I'm the type of guy that can't stay with a phone for longer than 6-8 months and I'm already wanting a new phone. I'm currently on the OnePlus 7 Pro, and while it's a great phone, I still find myself wanting the Xperia for its build quality, looks, etc. I should also mention that I had a C6906 Xperia Z1 that I adored, but lack of Android updates and battery issues steered me away from Sony after a short stint with the Z3 (the emeral green finish was beautiful).
So to those that own the Xperia 1 - how do you feel after owning it for a little while? Did anyone come from the OnePlus 7 Pro? Part of my fear is the fact that I may miss the 90hz refresh rate, and as a result I'm considering a big and bulky gaming phone like the ASUS RoG Phone 2 as a potential new phone.
How has Sony been with Android updates lately? If I buy this phone, I'll likely keep it at least until the next version of Android hits. I know I won't get lightning fast updates like I do with OnePlus, but have they gotten better lately?
A lot of reviewers have voiced their opinion on the phone but if anything, the tall screen speaks in volumes to me because I'm constantly using my phone to either browse Instagram, reddit, Google, business emails, and other forms of use that benefit the tall screen. But is this one aspect of the phone worth the upgrade?
I'd love to hear from owners how they actually feel. I know it's difficult being unbiased, but I'm strongly considering buying this phone and would love to hear some opinions.
Cheers!

AhsanU said:
I'm the type of guy that can't stay with a phone for longer than 6-8 months and I'm already wanting a new phone. I'm currently on the OnePlus 7 Pro, and while it's a great phone, I still find myself wanting the Xperia for its build quality, looks, etc. I should also mention that I had a C6906 Xperia Z1 that I adored, but lack of Android updates and battery issues steered me away from Sony after a short stint with the Z3 (the emeral green finish was beautiful).
So to those that own the Xperia 1 - how do you feel after owning it for a little while? Did anyone come from the OnePlus 7 Pro? Part of my fear is the fact that I may miss the 90hz refresh rate, and as a result I'm considering a big and bulky gaming phone like the ASUS RoG Phone 2 as a potential new phone.
How has Sony been with Android updates lately? If I buy this phone, I'll likely keep it at least until the next version of Android hits. I know I won't get lightning fast updates like I do with OnePlus, but have they gotten better lately?
A lot of reviewers have voiced their opinion on the phone but if anything, the tall screen speaks in volumes to me because I'm constantly using my phone to either browse Instagram, reddit, Google, business emails, and other forms of use that benefit the tall screen. But is this one aspect of the phone worth the upgrade?
I'd love to hear from owners how they actually feel. I know it's difficult being unbiased, but I'm strongly considering buying this phone and would love to hear some opinions.
Cheers!
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Click to collapse
Sony is always the first to update new versión and sell 1 phone no pixel con new version android in october
The 4k oled 21: 9 screen is addictive since I don't want 16: 9 screens to go 18: 9.
The flying phone has android stock with addictive features.
The battery is neither bad nor excellent I always arrive at bedtime with a battery
Enviado desde mi J9110 mediante Tapatalk

I really like this phone...eventhough not perfect.
Itd easy to handle with one hand in portrait
Camera its not perfect but among the best.

AhsanU said:
I'm the type of guy that can't stay with a phone for longer than 6-8 months and I'm already wanting a new phone. I'm currently on the OnePlus 7 Pro, and while it's a great phone, I still find myself wanting the Xperia for its build quality, looks, etc. I should also mention that I had a C6906 Xperia Z1 that I adored, but lack of Android updates and battery issues steered me away from Sony after a short stint with the Z3 (the emeral green finish was beautiful).
So to those that own the Xperia 1 - how do you feel after owning it for a little while? Did anyone come from the OnePlus 7 Pro? Part of my fear is the fact that I may miss the 90hz refresh rate, and as a result I'm considering a big and bulky gaming phone like the ASUS RoG Phone 2 as a potential new phone.
How has Sony been with Android updates lately? If I buy this phone, I'll likely keep it at least until the next version of Android hits. I know I won't get lightning fast updates like I do with OnePlus, but have they gotten better lately?
A lot of reviewers have voiced their opinion on the phone but if anything, the tall screen speaks in volumes to me because I'm constantly using my phone to either browse Instagram, reddit, Google, business emails, and other forms of use that benefit the tall screen. But is this one aspect of the phone worth the upgrade?
I'd love to hear from owners how they actually feel. I know it's difficult being unbiased, but I'm strongly considering buying this phone and would love to hear some opinions.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its depend, but one thing for sure when you pick sony xperia 1 ,you will get overall new experience on watching movies.

I was in the same position as you @AhsanU. I had the OnePlus 7 pro 256/12gb combo nebula blue and I traded it 2 days ago for a piano black Xperia 1. From my early experience I can tell you a few things.
I love the form factor, the Op7p feels a lot bigger even tho the Xperia is slightly taller. The Xperia screen defaults to 1080p but it isn't a big problem because it's super sharp and watching 4k content is insane. I hated the curved edges of the Op7p. You won't even notice the 90hz display difference.
Battery life is about equal with both device even tho the Xperia has a smaller battery, Sony optimization and the default 1080p screen mode helps there. I do however miss warp charge but the Xperia has power delivery, I have to buy a new car charger and additional USB type c cable.
Speakers are on par, the haptic feedback on Sony is way better, I can't stress this enough. Many times I'd miss notification while my phone was on vibrate on the Op7p.
Camera so far are very comparable with the X1 slightly taking the advantage, both camera suffers when the subject is moving, I have a 2 year old who can't sit still and it's a pain to capture him with both cameras compared to the super fast s10+ and iPhone xs max.
That's all I can think of for now.

Coming from a Note 9 & Galaxy S10+, here's my opinion:
The Sony fits what you need it to fit, what I mean by that is, devices can be tailored more for you than others by having different features etc.
The Note 9 & S10+ where both great, however they where great at being all round good, I felt they didn't stand out in a lot of aspects, which is where the Sony gets the advantage.. the software on Sony is leaps ahead of Samsung, don't get me wrong, OneUI is so much better than the older software and feels smoother, however Sony's feels much more refined and flows better in my opinion.
I know how the 3300mAh battery looks on paper but in my experience it's held up well and something you should be too concerned about, is it the best? No, does it need to be?, Not really, of course it would benefit from a larger cell but is 3300mAh enough to make me not want the phone? Hell no!
Then of course we have the screen & haptic feedback, this is where I feel like you need a Sony, the amount of reviews I saw that said both where gimmicky makes no sense to me, if the sharpness & clarity of 4K is a "gimmick" then surely the 90hz trend for fluidity is too?.. Anyway my point is the 4K screen is beautiful, best of the best in my opinion, same with the haptic feedback, was palmed off as gimmicky but it's something so many users overlook, having a powerful vibration for media, games & most importantly notifications is something lacking in so many other phones..
To conclude, I'm happy with my Xperia 1, and don't regret getting one

Yes. No paragraphs required.

Delighted with mine, especially interested to read that you liked the XZ1, that was one of my favourite ever phones in terms of form factor and build and in my opinion, the Xperia 1 is the spiritual successor to the XZ1. Basically, if you liked the XZ1 you should love the Xperia 1 as it adds a better screen, far more speed, better battery life, superior camera ability and various other things.
I've never used the OnePlus 7 as I had a 6T and wasn't especially impressed by it, in addition I'm not a fan of curving screens....can't see what benefit they add.
Looks great in white as well!

Yeah I would say so. Depends of course which device you have to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, the Xperia Z2 is Sony's best smartphone ever, and design-wise, the Xperia 1 is a downgrade from the Xperia Z2, although to be fair to the Xperia 1, it looks better than the entire Xperia X series, and is somewhat of a return to form for Sony, starting to resemble the classical OmniBalance design of the early Xperia Z series, and Sony made that clear by using glas for its back (and finally getting the NFC chip located on the back side again) and also releasing the Xperia 1 in the Xperia Z colors, black, white and purple (a long time ago we saw a purple Xperia flagship!). The Xperia 1 still has some of that soap bar design Sony introduced in the XZ2 though, but it's kept at a minimum here, thank God. And while I do prefer the stylish edges of the Z/Z1/Z2, I think the aluminium frame of the 1 looks quite okay. And the classical round power button of the Xperia Z should have been brought back too; the current generic pill designed power button, only works for camera and volume; Sony's power button was unique and really cool looking, and also much easier to press too.
But other than that, the Xperia 1 is an improvement in most ways over the early Xperia Z series (I'm no fan of the Z3, Z3+ and Z5; the Xperia Z series began going downhill with these devices, and that downhill continued with the Xperia X series), although there are some other drawbacks compared to the Z2, but that's mostly due to the downgrade known as Android 9 Pie, and not with the actual hardware. The 21:9 screen may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's an acquired taste, and personally I really like it at this point. The lack of wireless charging doesn't bother me as I'd never use it anyway, although perhaps it should have been added for keeping the USB port in a more mint condition. And I imagine wireless charging doesn't work that well with Sony's excellent battery care, which learns how long you charge the device, and adapts after that. Of course the battery could have been more powerful, like at the very least, 4,000 mAh, but you can get a lot of extra juice out of the 3,330 mAh battery by using black wallpaper, dark theme and so on in everything.
Personally, I think Sony's change in direction to OLED, is a mixed bag. Yeah, OLED looks great, and is very useful for saving battery life if you use completely black wallpaper and dark theme and so on, but the problem with OLED is that it wears out much faster than LCD, and it's also more sensitive to burn-ins and so on, so for that reason, I wish Sony would have kept using LCD screens. I mean after 6 years, my Xperia Z still has the exact same screen quality as it did when it was brand new; I know that won't be the case with my Xperia 1 when it turns 6.
The two main issues with the Xperia 1 right now, is that Sony has yet to add it on their Open Devices list, and that Sony still hasn't updated Xperia Transfer Mobile to work with the Xperia 1 and the Xperia 10 (I imagine this is an Android Pie issue more than anything). These two issues I'm sure will be resolved in the coming months, but it bothers me that it wasn't done at launch.
Perhaps the best thing about the Xperia 1, is that it has no ugly notches. While Sony has complied with the popularity of what I call, bezels autism, which has given us these ugly and disturbing notched smartphones, fortunately Sony didn't go all the way with the bezels autism trend, and so the Xperia 1 has a full screen, as it's supposed to be.

Not really an upgrade.
It's going to come down to 90hz screen or 21:9, that's basically it.
Rest is about the same

It's not worth the upgrade considering sony abandoned it when it comes to fixing the issues and providing updates other than copy paste of Google's security patches.

decomposed said:
It's not worth the upgrade considering sony abandoned it when it comes to fixing the issues and providing updates other than copy paste of Google's security patches.
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Click to collapse
Pretty much all manufacturers have abandoned their phones using your logic

decomposed said:
It's not worth the upgrade considering sony abandoned it when it comes to fixing the issues and providing updates other than copy paste of Google's security patches.
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Click to collapse
Well obviously Sony will abandon it if everyone's going to have your attitude and not buy non-Apple and non-Samsung devices. It might even get so bad that all we will get is Apple and Sapple. And that's the main reason I buy a non-mainstream smartphone brand like the Xperia, because I want market competition and also, Sony is a world class brand, Sony understands quality and design, and their Open Devices program alone is a good reason to buy the Xperia 1. We want open source and freedom in our smartphones.

decomposed said:
It's not worth the upgrade considering sony abandoned it when it comes to fixing the issues and providing updates other than copy paste of Google's security patches.
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Click to collapse
maybe they are not list the changelog but i can say they fix something in newest update.
i notice the improvement even not major.
so your posting not entirely valid.
you must look even samsung is rare to provide the update except their the latest device and in term of speed update they are slower, too slow

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