hush66
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Even though I got my own white Xperia Z today, I actually had the chance to preview the Xperia Z for more than 2 weeks. So I thought I can share my experience, especially from the perspective of an Xperia S user.
Exterior-wise, the 5" Xperia Z was big and filled my hand, but not in an uncomfortable way. My hands are rather small for a guy, so I find myself having to stretch a big to reach the corners of the device. Fortunately, the power button placement is not like the Xperia S (at the top left); its placement in the middle-right of the device is perfect for waking / locking the device. Unlike others, I don't find that the power button and volume rocker feels "cheap".
For its size, the Xperia Z is surprisingly light. Or perhaps it's because the Xperia S is heavy. Even my Xperia arc doesn't feel as light as the Xperia Z. All in all, it's a great device to hold.
But I found it rather strange that the speaker was placed at the bottom left side of the Xperia Z. If I'm holding it in my left hand, my pinkie finger would naturally be covering that spot on the device. If I'm holding it in my right hand, my palm would be covering that entire area. So I find myself having to re-adjust my hand / finger to hear whatever that is coming out from the speaker. Or maybe I'm holding my phone the wrong way...
I noticed that there is no HDMI port on the Xperia Z, unlike its predecessors. A quick read of the white paper indicates that it supports HDMI via MHL. So you just need to a MHL adaptor connected to the microUSB port, which you then connect the HDMI cable and finally to the TV / monitor. That frees up having a separate HDMI port altogether, though it would mean you have to buy your own MHL adaptor and lug it around with your HDMI cable.
Next is the glass exterior. While it did feel a little "plasticky" to me, one cannot deny that it does gives the phone a unique, stylish and expensive look. I got the white set, so the fingerprints were not that obvious. But it's still definitely a fingerprint magnet. You can choose to either buy a casing, front + back screen protectors, a glove or a handkerchief. Hahahaha
Screen display is amazing to me! I thought my Xperia S had a great screen but I feel the Xperia Z is even better. But I did find that the colours on the Xperia S were a little more vibrant. Oh, and the option to turn off auto-brightness is finally back!!
Moving on to the UI, I normally don't use the default stock launcher so I won't comment much on it. Thanks to the Power Management app, you can now have battery percentage on the notification bar. I really like this feature.
Another feature that Sony introduced is the presence of notification bar toggles. But there isn't a way to change the toggle types.
Back in the pre-ICS days, I could take a screenshot on my Xperia S or Xperia arc or Xperia X10 by pressing the power button and selecting the "Take a screenshot" option. That disappeared when Sony introduced ICS to its Xperia devices. Guess what? It's back!!! No more having to fumble with the power button + volume down buttons to take a screenshot! Oh, but you can still press the power button + volume down buttons to take screenshots. So there are now 2 ways of taking screenshots.
The Xperia Z lock screen is new as well. The swipe up / down unlock animation is way cool. But under Settings -> Display -> Lock screen, there is only 1 option, which is to change the wallpaper. On the Xperia S, there are numerous notification options and these are missing from the Xperia Z. I hope that they provide an update down the road for the Xperia Z and bring back lockscreen notifications.
I installed quite a number of apps onto the Xperia Z, so that I can have a feel of how well its memory management is and whether there is any lag. It actually handled everything quite well, with no lag encountered thus far.
Intense gaming however resulted in the device getting quite hot, especially near the camera area. I played Subway Surf for 15 minutes and could feel the heat building up.
I guess everyone's interested (and concerned) about battery life on the Xperia Z. I have to say that it fairs better than the Xperia S. That being said, battery life really depends on one's usage, so take this with a pinch of salt. I can confidently say however that the battery should be able to last you at least a day, on medium usage.
Prior to receiving the preview set, one of the gripes I had with the Xperia Z was the earphone flap. I was concerned that it would come off after extended use, especially since I use my phone for music and do tend to take it in and out of my front pocket. After the 2 weeks of "testing" the flap, I'm happy to say that the flap does seem rather durable and its design (which is unlike the micro-USB flap on the Xperia S) will be able to withstand the constant movements.
In conclusion, the Xperia Z does not disappoint me and is certainly worth all the hype that's surrounding it.
Sorry for the wall of text.
Exterior-wise, the 5" Xperia Z was big and filled my hand, but not in an uncomfortable way. My hands are rather small for a guy, so I find myself having to stretch a big to reach the corners of the device. Fortunately, the power button placement is not like the Xperia S (at the top left); its placement in the middle-right of the device is perfect for waking / locking the device. Unlike others, I don't find that the power button and volume rocker feels "cheap".
For its size, the Xperia Z is surprisingly light. Or perhaps it's because the Xperia S is heavy. Even my Xperia arc doesn't feel as light as the Xperia Z. All in all, it's a great device to hold.
But I found it rather strange that the speaker was placed at the bottom left side of the Xperia Z. If I'm holding it in my left hand, my pinkie finger would naturally be covering that spot on the device. If I'm holding it in my right hand, my palm would be covering that entire area. So I find myself having to re-adjust my hand / finger to hear whatever that is coming out from the speaker. Or maybe I'm holding my phone the wrong way...
I noticed that there is no HDMI port on the Xperia Z, unlike its predecessors. A quick read of the white paper indicates that it supports HDMI via MHL. So you just need to a MHL adaptor connected to the microUSB port, which you then connect the HDMI cable and finally to the TV / monitor. That frees up having a separate HDMI port altogether, though it would mean you have to buy your own MHL adaptor and lug it around with your HDMI cable.
Next is the glass exterior. While it did feel a little "plasticky" to me, one cannot deny that it does gives the phone a unique, stylish and expensive look. I got the white set, so the fingerprints were not that obvious. But it's still definitely a fingerprint magnet. You can choose to either buy a casing, front + back screen protectors, a glove or a handkerchief. Hahahaha
Screen display is amazing to me! I thought my Xperia S had a great screen but I feel the Xperia Z is even better. But I did find that the colours on the Xperia S were a little more vibrant. Oh, and the option to turn off auto-brightness is finally back!!
Moving on to the UI, I normally don't use the default stock launcher so I won't comment much on it. Thanks to the Power Management app, you can now have battery percentage on the notification bar. I really like this feature.
Another feature that Sony introduced is the presence of notification bar toggles. But there isn't a way to change the toggle types.
Back in the pre-ICS days, I could take a screenshot on my Xperia S or Xperia arc or Xperia X10 by pressing the power button and selecting the "Take a screenshot" option. That disappeared when Sony introduced ICS to its Xperia devices. Guess what? It's back!!! No more having to fumble with the power button + volume down buttons to take a screenshot! Oh, but you can still press the power button + volume down buttons to take screenshots. So there are now 2 ways of taking screenshots.
The Xperia Z lock screen is new as well. The swipe up / down unlock animation is way cool. But under Settings -> Display -> Lock screen, there is only 1 option, which is to change the wallpaper. On the Xperia S, there are numerous notification options and these are missing from the Xperia Z. I hope that they provide an update down the road for the Xperia Z and bring back lockscreen notifications.
I installed quite a number of apps onto the Xperia Z, so that I can have a feel of how well its memory management is and whether there is any lag. It actually handled everything quite well, with no lag encountered thus far.
Intense gaming however resulted in the device getting quite hot, especially near the camera area. I played Subway Surf for 15 minutes and could feel the heat building up.
I guess everyone's interested (and concerned) about battery life on the Xperia Z. I have to say that it fairs better than the Xperia S. That being said, battery life really depends on one's usage, so take this with a pinch of salt. I can confidently say however that the battery should be able to last you at least a day, on medium usage.
Prior to receiving the preview set, one of the gripes I had with the Xperia Z was the earphone flap. I was concerned that it would come off after extended use, especially since I use my phone for music and do tend to take it in and out of my front pocket. After the 2 weeks of "testing" the flap, I'm happy to say that the flap does seem rather durable and its design (which is unlike the micro-USB flap on the Xperia S) will be able to withstand the constant movements.
In conclusion, the Xperia Z does not disappoint me and is certainly worth all the hype that's surrounding it.
Sorry for the wall of text.
