Sony Xperia Z in 2014

CataclysmZA

CataclysmZA

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So as a sort of "last hurrah" before they try to sell you the Z3 and Z3 Mini, Vodacom are putting the original Xperia Z on sale. Does anyone still have one of these in use today? Sony usually does half-year refreshes these days, so it's only been out since February 2013, which is about as long as the Galaxy S4 (April 2013).

For the price, which is only a few bucks above a iPhone 5C on Telkom Mobile, does anyone still recommend it? There's an update to Kitkat already and I'm pretty sure the hardware is beefy enough for Android L as well (whether Sony wants people to run L on year-old devices is another matter entirely).

View attachment 147998

Thoughts? I'm all ears, really. My LG C660 is on her last 42MB of system RAM and it's going to be stuck on Gingerbread forever and ever and ever.
 
If you want it get it, never worry about software on Android just load a custom rom :love: but vodacom :sick:
 
i got one, absolutely love it... Just don't upgrade to kitkat, nasty wake lock bug with Google Play Services that activates location as well and eats ur battery in about an hour while setting fire to your pants. There is a workaround tho just search.

Best phone I've ever owned and is a thing of beauty, will never buy a POS Samsung after feeling the build quality on this.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
If you want it get it, never worry about software on Android just load a custom rom :love: but vodacom :sick:
Click to expand...

I know, I'm none too happy about it either, but I don't see any similar offerings from the other providers that even moderately comes close to the hardware and build quality. Maybe the camera's not going to be as great as some others, but Sony's traditionally been at least on par with Apple on their camera quality, so that's some good news.

I'm still debating internally what ecosystem I want to get myself stuck in for the next two years, but Android currently fits me well. Windows Phone also works wonderfully, but has some issues with the BBM for Windows Phone app. I don't have any friends with a BBOS 10 phone, so I can't test that out for a week to see how it runs.

As for never worrying about software, well...

ScottulusMaximus said:
i got one, absolutely love it... Just don't upgrade to kitkat, nasty wake lock bug with Google Play Services that activates location as well and eats ur battery in about an hour while setting fire to your pants. There is a workaround tho just search.

Best phone I've ever owned and is a thing of beauty, will never buy a POS Samsung after feeling the build quality on this.
Click to expand...

I knew things like this might be out there already. With Android that's the catch, right? After 15 months of updates and stability fixes, the old gets chucked out for the new and shiny stuff.

If it was possible for me to afford more current-gen hardware I would be buying into it at launch, but those contracts are so unattractive that I question the sanity of the people who draw them up. It's either that or try to get a G2 Mini, but then I lose out on the G2's hardware and the G3's keyboard.

Decisions, decisions. It's times like these I wish I was stupid, because the niggles with each platform wouldn't bother me.
 
NAG - Wesley said:
I know, I'm none too happy about it either, but I don't see any similar offerings from the other providers that even moderately comes close to the hardware and build quality. Maybe the camera's not going to be as great as some others, but Sony's traditionally been at least on par with Apple on their camera quality, so that's some good news.

I'm still debating internally what ecosystem I want to get myself stuck in for the next two years, but Android currently fits me well. Windows Phone also works wonderfully, but has some issues with the BBM for Windows Phone app. I don't have any friends with a BBOS 10 phone, so I can't test that out for a week to see how it runs.

As for never worrying about software, well...
Click to expand...

Yup the BBM on WP has problems waiting for BlackBerry to resolve them. On the OS front WP is solid but I manly use it as a phone as I have my tablet for my multimedia needs, I can't wait for Android L to land.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
Yup the BBM on WP has problems waiting for BlackBerry to resolve them.
Click to expand...

At least it looks pretty while doing absolutely everything in its power to pretend that you don't have any contacts at all.
 
Honestly, I hated mine... But that was probably due to problems I had since day one (SIM card reader and vibration motor) that MTN couldn't fix. I sold it as is for a very low price as I couldn't wait to get it sorted...

Nice phone though and I'd recommend it if you get a problem-free unit. Vodacom is also a lot better on warranty repairs than anyone else I've experienced
 
ScottulusMaximus said:
i got one, absolutely love it... Just don't upgrade to kitkat, nasty wake lock bug with Google Play Services that activates location as well and eats ur battery in about an hour while setting fire to your pants. There is a workaround tho just search.

Best phone I've ever owned and is a thing of beauty, will never buy a POS Samsung after feeling the build quality on this.
Click to expand...

A lot of Samsung S4 seem to have that same wakelock issue, I've managed to fix mine but it does pop it's ugly head up now and again :-(. The Xperia Z is a beautiful phone but Vodacom are snying you on data, you can get an S4 from Telkom Mobile for R299 with 500mb of data, 50 minutes talk time and unlimited telkom to telkom mobile calls. I'd rather pay a bit more for more data and also be off VC network.
 
Good value for money if you dont mind not having the latest tech and fastest processor etc. Very durable device, mine has survived countless drops and water/coffee spillage. I get 2 days of use from the battery with moderate usage (mainly WhatsApp,fb, Internet browsing and music)
 
Well, no stock now.

****ing bait-and-switch tactics, Vodacom.
 
ScottulusMaximus said:
i got one, absolutely love it... Just don't upgrade to kitkat, nasty wake lock bug with Google Play Services that activates location as well and eats ur battery in about an hour while setting fire to your pants. There is a workaround tho just search.

Best phone I've ever owned and is a thing of beauty, will never buy a POS Samsung after feeling the build quality on this.
Click to expand...

I don't think that the wakelock issue is isolated to the Xperia Z. This is a Google Play Services bug that was supposedly fixed in the last update. Also, it does not happen when location reporting is disabled (or set to battery mode), in any event.
 
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