Saturday 21 February 2015

What you need to know about the Z2 - Sony XPERIA Z2 D6503 FACTORY UNLOCKED International Version No Warranty WHITE Review

What you need to know about the Z2 -   Sony XPERIA Z2 D6503 FACTORY UNLOCKED International Version No Warranty WHITE Review

Hmm no helpful reviews on Amazon for the Z2 (right now)..Lets Change that :)

Background: I've pretty much had every flagship last year, watched every review and waited for every single flagship before making my pick in the end it was between this and the G3.

Day:4? : Got used to the size of this phone, sometimes I still think it's kinda big but overall was able to adjust my best way to describe it is to think of it as a smaller phablet, the front facing speakers are awesome and make watching vids much more enjoyable worth the extra height. Battery life is good, I havent been able to kill it in 1 day under heavy use (for me) it lasts about a day and a half to 2 days for med to light use. I think 3 would be only very light use. Overall really happy, the headphone sound quality is very good as well best I've heard on a phone (have not tried any iPhones).

Update Date 2: I took off 1 star because the call quality is pretty bad I made 3 calls and spent about an hr each time the person on the other end asked me to move the a few times because they said I sounded muffled, it may not be a big deal to some people but it gets annoying having to reposition the phone 2-3 times during a call and asking is that better?

The included headphones and sound quality through the jack is excellent I would compare the headphones to $50-60 ones.

There is also a defect on my phone which is pretty common, there is a small gap between the left corner screen and the bezel, I will most likely return it and get another one without the gap. I'm not sure if the muffled voice thing is due to the way I hold it or because of the phone but I've seen other users have this issue on XDA while others don't.

Besides that the docking station imo is not worth the extra money, it docks on it's side which is cool but if you just want to pick up your phone or check a few things becomes kind of a hassle.

Sony UI has been very smooth havent had any issues

Here we go!

I've spent about 4 hrs with this phone and I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I was originally intending on returning the phone after the G3 launch event (ordered it before) but after receiving it I'm definitely going with this over the G3. My biggest concern with the Z2 was the size, I tried the Z1 and it was just too big and bulky for my tastes I wanted something smaller so I got the Z1c....but that was too small (hate it when that happens) so decided on giving the Z2 a try even though it's only a little big thinner. My first impression is that while the Z2 is big (I'm 5'7 and have small to average hands) it is manageable, does it fit as good as the G2..No but surprisingly it feels a lot better in hand than the Z1 which my hands hated. I'm not gonna say whether I think it's too big or not but I'd just say buy from an verified Amazon seller so you don't have to pay a crazy restocking fee if you don't like the feel.

I'm not going to bother with specs like ram and gpu honestly if you have any flagship form the past 2-3 years it should be able to handle anything in the app store, same goes for 2-3 gbs of ram it really doesnt make a difference.

Build quality...here's where the Z2 really separates itself from the competition, if you used any other of the Z's you know what you're getting but the phone's build quality is on par with the HTC One. It's 10/10 in terms of build quality and the best looking phone imo at the moment. It does have some heft to it and I wish it was a little lighter but it isn't a deal breaker or a con.

Size: A little on the big size but manageable, you're gonna have to do some finger stretching.

Screen.... Wow, as soon as I turned it on I was Wow'd, it's the best screen that I've seen on a phone while colors and how bright/vibrant something is (cough sammy cough) is personal preference I can easily say it's one of the best screens out there. Compared to the HTC One M7, S4, G2, and Note 3 I can easily say this is the best (to my eyes)

Speakers: Very good currently the 2nd or 3rd best speakers on a phone....the HTC One M8 is currently the best and it's a tie between the One M7 and the Z2. Keep in mind there are some software issues that doesnt let you use both speakers when the phones ringing or when it's on speaker phone so it's not quite as loud when you're not using it for media hopefully they release a fix for this in the future..... Come On Sony!

Camera: Wow...again, this is the 1st phone that I've used that I'm actually impressed with the camera quality I used the Z1 and Z1c which had the same lens and was pretty disappointed but after taking a few test shots I was very impressed. From many camera comparisons this and the S5 are considered the best cameras on the market depending on how you like colors in your photos ( I think the S5 looks slightly better but once again just personal preference).

Battery: Battery on this is a beast...from everything I've read the battery will last you 1 day under heavy use, 2 days under med and 3 for light. I've been using the phone like crazy installing apps updating the firmware, testing out camera, speakers, texting for 4 hrs and it's only dropped 15%. You should have no issues with battery life what so ever.

Waterproofing: If this is important to you and you're debating between this and the S5 get this...there have been reports with the S5 again that the waterproofing did not work as advertised and damaged the phone. Not sure how many but Sammy has had this issue in the past with the Active. I've never heard a Sony phone having issues with waterproofing yes you may have to deal with flaps but at least you wont have to deal with trying to get your device exchanged.

Conclusion: This is the best phone (alndthe most expensive) I've used if I had to rate it I'd give it a 9/10 only taking 1 star off because of the size (size may be an issue for some, may not for others). The main reason I chose this over the G3 was size...the G3 while beautiful is a bit wider than the Z2 and the Z2 to me is the absolute max I'd go in terms of width if I had bigger hands I might have gone with the G3. Right now there is no perfect phone for me they all come with some sort of draw backs but this is as close as it gets to perfection.....With all the flagships being released I can happily say my search for a phone is over, I'll be keeping this for the foreseeable future unless release a Z2 compact with a 4.7-5 in screen (fingers crossed)

Side Notes: There are a few different versions of the phone an Asia version that comes with noise cancelling headphones and a charging dock and a Euro version that does not come with the dock. I think the dock goes for about $30-50 on Amazon not sure but you might want to keep that in terms of pricing from sellers.

Might get a slim case, not sure how easily the back scratches but using finger stretching I worry that it'll slip out my hands on accident.

Important: From the reviews I've seen the white version as a staining issue where the sides of the phone stain when you put them in your jean pocket so you may want to check and due routine cleaning to prevent any permanent staining.

The cheapest I've seen this is 600 on a bay from a excellent seller. I was able to get it from a verified Amazon seller with prime for 670, worth the extra money since I used my Amazon card, no hassle returns and it came with the charging dock. (As of 5/28/14)

Feel free to ask any questions, I'll update if I find any issues or anything worth mentioning.


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