Z1 compact on the way.

[dawheat]

It's too bad that Sony's new phones don't get more attention from US customers. In truth, I don't even recall hearing about Sony's phones prior to 2013 and even now, you can go into a bunch of telecom stories and not see any Sony handsets.

The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is their somewhat large bezels, but otherwise their current phones seem excellent.

Anyone know what the dev community is like and how easily the phones are modded?

 

[paperwastage]

Its got a 2300mah battery and a fairly small screen with a modern SOC so it should be at least OK for battery life. That said its made by Sony so who knows, they have a habit of somehow pulling terrible performance out of good hardware.

sony has a battery stamina mode in their recent android phones (similar to Juice Defender)

It's too bad that Sony's new phones don't get more attention from US customers. In truth, I don't even recall hearing about Sony's phones prior to 2013 and even now, you can go into a bunch of telecom stories and not see any Sony handsets.

The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is their somewhat large bezels, but otherwise their current phones seem excellent.

Anyone know what the dev community is like and how easily the phones are modded?

sony has been very friendly to the dev community in the past year

they've been providing AOSP source code/binary blobs for several of their xperia line phones

http://developer.sonymobile.com/kno...droid-open-source-project-for-xperia-devices/

FreeXperia is a group of devs for Sony Xperia phones, they're pretty dedicated
https://sites. google.com/site/projectfreexperia/home/supported-devices

google "xperia phone model + xda" and check

that saying, not as many devs/ROMs as something like nexus 5 obviously. i myself see most of the phones similar enough (Snapdragon 800, 1080p screen, 2GB ram.... minor stuff like no microSD/battery doesn't weigh that important in my books), so I'd rather have better software experience and no bloatware


one major sticking factor though is their display selection.... it's inconsistent, some phones (same model number) have great displays while some don't (in terms of viewing angle)

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yeah America used to get the best smartphones first but I think we've been lagging behind Europe a bit.

America has always been last place in cell phones. I'm not sure what you mean. It always requires the US carriers to get on board, and it used to require exclusive carrier phones to bring those phones over.

 

[WelshBloke]

sony has a battery stamina mode in their recent android phones (similar to Juice Defender)...

Does it break a bunch of stuff like Juice defender does (hangouts, etc.)?

 

[paperwastage]

Does it break a bunch of stuff like Juice defender does (hangouts, etc.)?

probably... since it works by turning off data

you could whitelist applications as well....

http://developer.sonymobile.com/2013/04/03/how-sonys-battery-stamina-mode-works/


I accomplish the similar thing on my nexus 5 using Greenify with fewer problems (greenify forces apps to go to sleep when your phone is off, instead of pinging the data connection and waking the device)... fewer problems I guess, but you need root

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

probably... since it works by turning off data

you could whitelist applications as well....

http://developer.sonymobile.com/2013/04/03/how-sonys-battery-stamina-mode-works/


I accomplish the similar thing on my nexus 5 using Greenify with fewer problems (greenify forces apps to go to sleep when your phone is off, instead of pinging the data connection and waking the device)... fewer problems I guess, but you need root

Essentially this is just turning data off when the phone is screen off and then turning it back on when the screen is on.

I've found it just as effective to kill sync. It's usually the Google apps syncing in the background that kills my battery life anyway.

 

[shortylickens]

America has always been last place in cell phones. I'm not sure what you mean. It always requires the US carriers to get on board, and it used to require exclusive carrier phones to bring those phones over.

No, we used to lead in Smartphones when Apple and Google first started producing. Europe was WAY behind us then.

 

[shortylickens]

Essentially this is just turning data off when the phone is screen off and then turning it back on when the screen is on.

I've found it just as effective to kill sync. It's usually the Google apps syncing in the background that kills my battery life anyway.

I set up my phone to only update apps while on wifi. The only stuff I have syncing is my email and only once every two hours.

 

[WelshBloke]

No, we used to lead in Smartphones when Apple and Google first started producing. Europe was WAY behind us then.

I think the only stuff we didn't used to get was the Moto stuff and all your weird carrier specific phones (so there was no real loss there).

On the positive side we could buy just about any phone direct from the manufacturer and use it on any network so I'm not seeing how we were behind in smartphone availability.

 

[kaerflog]

My problem is that this phone is 4.3" in a a body of a 4.7" phone. It just defeat the purpose.
With the way bezels are shrinking these days, Sony really need to shrink theirs too. Sony bezels are still too large for my taste.

 

[WelshBloke]

My problem is that this phone is 4.3" in a a body of a 4.7" phone. It just defeat the purpose.
With the way bezels are shrinking these days, Sony really need to shrink theirs too. Sony bezels are still too large for my taste.

yeah its like going back to 2011. :whiste:

 

[StrangerGuy]

yeah its like going back to 2011. :whiste:

You are comparing a 2014 phone with a mid 2011 phone. Looking the pic Sony can easily squeeze another 0.3" by extending the screen to the yellow bezel and not harm usability.

And there is also Sony's Achilles heel: screen quality. I have personally used the Xperia Z and SP and both have horrendously washed out screens with lousy viewing angles that it makes cheapo china phone LCDs look godly in comparison, and the Z1 users are saying Sony is playing with screen lottery. Stop failing here, Sony.

 

[WelshBloke]

You are comparing a 2014 phone with a mid 2011 phone. Looking the pic Sony can easily squeeze another 0.3" by extending the screen to the yellow bezel and not harm usability...

I was being facetious to a certain extent but I was struck by how similar the front proportions of screen to bezel were to the 2011 S2.

 

[kaerflog]

I don't have a problem with the 4.3" screen but if the body is the same size as the Moto X, then it needs to have a 4.7" screen.
If Motorola can do it, then Sony should be able to do it also.

 

[paperwastage]

I think the only stuff we didn't used to get was the Moto stuff and all your weird carrier specific phones (so there was no real loss there).

On the positive side we could buy just about any phone direct from the manufacturer and use it on any network so I'm not seeing how we were behind in smartphone availability.

Yes, but how many Americans actually buy phones outright?

Before 2013 ( and T-Mobile "uncarrier"), most carriers hide the subsidy cost with the service and 2 year contract. Att didn't have a non-subsidy cheaper rate plan. Ithink T-Mobile did. Sprint and Verizon had their mandatory CDMA phone lock in, so you can't switch (now, we could start seeing devices like nexus5 that would be compatible)

Good phones like Nokia n95(yes, symbian... But it had a great camera compared to competitors then) weren't available thru carriers

 

[WelshBloke]

Yes, but how many Americans actually buy phones outright?

That was kinda my point. We have never had to worry about that level of carrier control and are pretty much free to buy what we want regardless of which carrier we choose.

 

[lopri]

This phone should make some people happy. I know a few here have yearned for a compact phone with no compromised specs.

It's not a phone for me though. I have been going towards the opposite direction, in pursuit of phablets.

 

[shortylickens]

I forgot about Phonescoop:


http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=13444


HANDS ON!!


Also they have a review for the Z1S coming to Tmobile.

 

[Deeko]

Reviews are out and very positive - ordered one via Handtec yesterday. Pretty excited.

My problem is that this phone is 4.3" in a a body of a 4.7" phone. It just defeat the purpose.
With the way bezels are shrinking these days, Sony really need to shrink theirs too. Sony bezels are still too large for my taste.

I disagree. Compare it to the HTC One, it's definitely smaller. Personally, I think bezels as small as those on, say, the Moto X, are way too small to be usable. With on screen buttons, if there isn't a decent amount of bezel at the bottom of the screen, I find myself accidentally pressing the home key all the time, which is VERY annoying. Having a little extra at the bottom for grip is very welcome - plus it lets them cram in a little more battery, and so far, the reviews state the battery life of this phone is quite good. I'll trade a few millimeters for 10% more battery life, every time.

 

[shortylickens]

People seem to like it:


http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/30/sony-xperia-z1-compact-review/



http://www.stuff.tv/sony/sony-xperia-z1-compact/review


http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z1-compact-1206859/review


However, right now it seems only Europe has it.

 

[WelshBloke]

I disagree. Compare it to the HTC One, it's definitely smaller.

I don't think anyone has considered the HTC One a good example of a phone with minimal bezels.

Its also a very bulky phone for its screen size.

 

[Deeko]

I don't think anyone has considered the HTC One a good example of a phone with minimal bezels.

Its also a very bulky phone for its screen size.

Yes, but if you hadn't cut off my post, I then compared it to the Moto X, which is the flip side of that coin. I would rather a small screen phone with some bezel and a good battery than a big screened phone with no bezel, or an even smaller screen phone with no bezel and crappy battery.

 

[Bateluer]

I don't think anyone has considered the HTC One a good example of a phone with minimal bezels.

Its also a very bulky phone for its screen size.

Would have to disagree there. The side bezels on the One are about as small as you can get and still have a nontouch section to grip. The top and bottom simply 'look' larger because they sport front facing speakers, an excellent use of bezel space. Scrapping the capacitive bar on the bottom and going with on screen buttons would give the m8 an amazing design.

 

[abaez]

Reports of flash bleed starting to pop up for some users.

Think I am still ordering it. Clove has it for $550 to the US. Cheapest I've seen anywhere.

 

[Red Storm]

Would have to disagree there. The side bezels on the One are about as small as you can get and still have a nontouch section to grip. The top and bottom simply 'look' larger because they sport front facing speakers, an excellent use of bezel space. Scrapping the capacitive bar on the bottom and going with on screen buttons would give the m8 an amazing design.

I agree, though I do think the side bezels could have been thinner. I think the LG G2 has it right. But I love the idea of a symmetrical front for the new One. With the front speakers, no hardware buttons, and minimal side bezel it would look like a little HDTV, which is perfect.