Sony Xperia Z review: Zero hour

17 February 2013
With solid backup in the midrange, returning to the fiercest battle in the mobile market is Sony’s top priority. The Xperia Z, which leads the charge, got us properly impressed in a recent hands-on and if it walks unscathed from a complete review, we’ll know the Japanese have hit the form of their life...

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • m7K
  • 03 Mar 2013

brad, 03 Mar 2013I think you guys got a defect model cos basically every oth... moreIts possible, yes. And its also been proven to have slightly more color than iphone5, as you can see here, http://s582.beta.photobucket.com/user/netbookc/media/XB1/viPhone5_1.jpg.html
...Not more in all colors but for example the red is stronger on the Z, and below that, the dark blue has more resolved color tones than the iphone5. In most other colors it looks like the iphone can resolve tones and small shades better, not a big difference though.

Big or small difference, these photos show that there is NOT enough difference to say the Z lacks punch. Some other reviews from far older reviewsites said Z has almost perfect color reproduction and also used words like "extremely bright".

So far i think GA is not really in error, it has been suggested that Z has displays from 2 suppliers, there may be regional differences.

    • L
    • Loz
    • HCt
    • 03 Mar 2013

    Does this phone have navigation facilities

      • b
      • brad
      • vxQ
      • 03 Mar 2013

      I think you guys got a defect model cos basically every other reviewer said the display looks awesome and you guys say it 'lacks punch' or whatever

        • A
        • Aiibo
        • JFj
        • 02 Mar 2013

        Why you still haven't done batery test? This is Sony's flagship and I think it deserves full treatment.

          • s
          • sams sings
          • PSv
          • 02 Mar 2013

          Bumblebee, 01 Mar 2013I think the sony camera on their phones are usually very ha... moreyeah. people complain about the overly aggressive noise reduction which i prefer since you wouldn't really be zooming in too much into photos you take with smartphone. it yields more glossy photos with almost no noise. you just have to know how to play with the settings to get the best results. it's a sony camera after all. you can expect good quality from it.

          many people prefer the iphone and samsung cameras because of the aggressive color and contrast punch they deliver. sony seems to be more on the natural look of photos, nearly accurately representing what you can actually see in the scene you are taking.

            • D
            • AnonD-119241
            • sXQ
            • 02 Mar 2013

            Marcus, 17 Feb 20131. So it looks like this Exmor RS sensor is BS and it gives... moreThis is my las comment l somehow do not understand the logic of ur thinking, that Sony will make a great product if it has an HTC badge? my gut feeling is if it had HTC then u would classify it as the best ever product. All l can see l have played around with this phone it's solid Albert a little bit bigger for my liking but overally reminds me of the iPhone 3 the last genuine phone from iPhone. HTC too plasticky wouldn't buy it even on sale.

              • B
              • Bumblebee
              • ucx
              • 01 Mar 2013

              I think the sony camera on their phones are usually very harshly judged. I think it boils down to understanding how to operate the camera because there are so many features and functions to choose from. Additionally, I think the screen is gorgeous compared to samsung Amoled display. I find the colors more true to live while amoled display colors seems overdone to me. As for bad viewing angles, I prefer not having strangers near me see what's on my phone and I like the privacy.

                • D
                • AnonD-115449
                • 0MH
                • 01 Mar 2013

                DrSlump, 28 Feb 2013On the photo/video side, this product is really disappointi... more90% of review have a good opinion of the sony xperia z's camera... and many photos i've seen, are quite good, you can see yourself, with STANDARD TESTS (so not subjective) its photos are quality wise similar to those of last year flagships, but with 4 megapixel more, then i think they can be considered really good photos (have the same quality with larger photos, is a good result), in low light, almost any phone can't go near its photos...

                don't know what you have done with your photos, but the worse review you can find, says something like "photos are good not excellent", some says excellent, but noone goes near "very bad" or similar...

                  • A
                  • Alan Brito
                  • J4h
                  • 01 Mar 2013

                  And the battery test? Nothing yet?

                    • D
                    • DrSlump
                    • 0Pn
                    • 28 Feb 2013

                    On the photo/video side, this product is really disappointing. Images are so soft that they seems captured with a sub 8Mpix camera, and there is a lot of chromatic noise, really unacceptable.
                    Why didn't the reviewer speak about these problems?

                      • D
                      • AnonD-108756
                      • JLL
                      • 26 Feb 2013

                      What Linpack version do you guys run?

                        • A
                        • Ashura
                        • thu
                        • 26 Feb 2013

                        AnonD-106548, 18 Feb 2013Hmm... That being said, outside Indonesia will have not rea... moreI kinda missed your point there, " outside Indonesia will have
                        not real value for this phone? Then I guess this
                        phone will not be selling well at all."
                        What do u mean by that? Are u referring that Indonesians would be buying so few of this phone that it will make it obsolete? Please do explain your comment about my country.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • mkK
                          • 26 Feb 2013

                          no battery results yet?, i think that very bad results and sony´s pressure are at the back...

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • IW1
                            • 26 Feb 2013

                            Anonymous, 19 Feb 2013lame.. sony is not a phone maker go back to something you'r... moreLOL! There is this thing called an "accident" aaaand sometimes you might just get caught in the rain. It's good that it is liquid resistance. Many will appreciate this added feature.

                              • D
                              • AnonD-115449
                              • 0Nt
                              • 25 Feb 2013

                              wasn't battery expected to be tested on the week end? i think monday is out of the week end :P

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • thb
                                • 25 Feb 2013

                                zeus, 25 Feb 2013I love Sony. They are one of the few that got the navigatio... moreI think here in asia there is a charging dock out of the box

                                  • z
                                  • zeus
                                  • pr0
                                  • 25 Feb 2013

                                  I love Sony. They are one of the few that got the navigation buttons in the right order. I got a Sony myself. But, i am not upgrading until i get out of the box wireless charging. Not even an option with the Z and ZL.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-96575
                                    • vuL
                                    • 25 Feb 2013

                                    This review is old news now. Where is the battery test? Will there be a durability test?

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • m7K
                                      • 24 Feb 2013

                                      AnonD-101063, 24 Feb 2013•Low contrast display with below-par viewing angles This... moreStill better than Lumia 920,
                                      https://www.dropbox.com/sh/90i1o3jncscc09q/MgazT­Mthq2/Lumia%20920%20vs.%20Xperia%20Z#/

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-101063
                                        • TRa
                                        • 24 Feb 2013

                                        •Low contrast display with below-par viewing angles

                                        This is written as main disadvantage
                                        What good other features be when for all practical purpose this is going to be annoying.