HTC One or Sony Xperia ZL

[just.garet]

I'm on the fence whether to buy the HTC One or Sony Xperia ZL

Though the One has superior build quality, faster processor, better display and the speakers are amazing, there are a few details listed below which are causing me to lean toward buying the Xperia ZL

1) Camera shutter button: This is a huge plus for me and makes taking photos easier.

2) Expandable storage: Being able to swap MicroSd cards instead of relying on that horrible Android File Transfer program for Macintosh is another important point.

3) Power button on the side: It's quite difficult to reach the power button at the top when holding the phone with one hand. Does that annoy anyone else? With the power button on the side, you can turn the display on and off and with one hand quite easily.

4) Higher resolution camera: The camera on the ZL has gotten good reviews overall.

What do you think?

 

[jiggyb21]

This is what happened to me....
I have wanted the One since it debuted. I was sure it was the phone for me. We'll as time passed and my patience grew thin I bit the bullet on a ZL. I was able to use it for about 30 minutes before it shut itself off never to turn back on. Since I bought it from ShopBLT I had to send it back to Sony directly. I expect it back next week. In the 30 minutes I used it I loved it. The camera interface is second to none. Its just like you're using a Sony point and shoot including the shutter button. Press half way to focus and fully to snap the picture. I was very surprised at how premium the Sony looked and how small it was. If the phone didn't die on me I would have kept the phone and never looked back. I really liked it a lot. Instead I took it as a sign from the gods and I ordered the HTC One as i had planned to do for months. I will sell my replacement ZL. Probably...

 

[Topgonzo]

It's not about what I think or others think..this is a forum for the HTC one. There's no comparison to me. I prefer the one. Sounds like you already decided on the Sony.
That's the thing that's funny. People come here asking for which is better or what would others do. We give opinions then argue about it. Point is no one knows your personal needs in a phone. How much you use it or what you use it for. Try to research and learn about the phones then make your own choice and be pro active.

 

[Suda]

I would've taken the Xperia Z/ZL over any phone released this year, the only reason I didn't and can't recommend them is the colors on both of their screens looks terribly washed out. The blacks look like grays and every other color looks its been out in the sun too long and faded. If this isn't a problem for you then I'd go with the ZL, but just keep in mind the ZL's screen doesn't look great at all. That's even after using the color calibration tool Sony includes. But other than that, the ZL is a fantastic phone.

 

[scorpiodsu]

I almost purchase a Z but I still couldn't get over all the tabs covering the connections. I get they are there for waterproofing but I just don't like the idea of having to keep removing the tabs and having them hanging off if I didn't put them in. I forgot which android phone had this over the USB connection, but I hated it. And to have it over everything was a deal breaker for me.

Sent from my LG-P769 using Android Central Forums

 

[jiggyb21]

It's not about what I think or others think..this is a forum for the HTC one. There's no comparison to me. I prefer the one. Sounds like you already decided on the Sony.
That's the thing that's funny. People come here asking for which is better or what would others do. We give opinions then argue about it. Point is no one knows your personal needs in a phone. How much you use it or what you use it for. Try to research and learn about the phones then make your own choice and be pro active.

Come on..... I think there's quite a few people that don't want a Samsung and that leaves quite a few people comparing the ZL and the One. Op has already received some quality input directly related to the question. The way to keep these forums "clean" isn't to ask less questions but rather to leave the respondance to people with something constructive to say.

 

[just.garet]

It's not about what I think or others think..this is a forum for the HTC one. There's no comparison to me. I prefer the one. Sounds like you already decided on the Sony.
That's the thing that's funny. People come here asking for which is better or what would others do. We give opinions then argue about it. Point is no one knows your personal needs in a phone. How much you use it or what you use it for. Try to research and learn about the phones then make your own choice and be pro active.

Actually, I didn't decide. I was leaning toward the Xperia ZL, but I wanted to hear what HTC One owners thought based on their experiences.

Now, I'm actually leaning back toward the One based on issues with Xperia display, but I'm still not quite ready to decide. That's the purpose of this thread, to get opinions of One owners.

 

[just.garet]

This is what happened to me....
I have wanted the One since it debuted. I was sure it was the phone for me. We'll as time passed and my patience grew thin I bit the bullet on a ZL. I was able to use it for about 30 minutes before it shut itself off never to turn back on. Since I bought it from ShopBLT I had to send it back to Sony directly. I expect it back next week. In the 30 minutes I used it I loved it. The camera interface is second to none. Its just like you're using a Sony point and shoot including the shutter button. Press half way to focus and fully to snap the picture. I was very surprised at how premium the Sony looked and how small it was. If the phone didn't die on me I would have kept the phone and never looked back. I really liked it a lot. Instead I took it as a sign from the gods and I ordered the HTC One as i had planned to do for months. I will sell my replacement ZL. Probably...

Sounds like you just had a faulty handset. What about picture quality etc. Did you have a chance to evaluate? I admit it's a great camera interface with many toggles such as HDR, scene, etc.

 

[jiggyb21]

Well I largely messed with the camera in the time I had. I mean I can say it was the best camera I'd used. Better than my GS3 for sure. Personally I rate these phone cameras based on the percentage of the time you end up with a usable picture. I guess that's where I understand the theory behind the Ultrapixel. I don't need something out of this world, just something usable more often. Having said that the day I had the ZL was a nice clear day optimal for pictures. I took several macro shots which it seemed to really excel at.

The screen did seem pretty washed out but coming from the over saturated fake looking screen on my s3 I could deal with it. Viewing angles made the wash out worse but even still I can deal with with it. People are quite adaptable. I think whatever you use becomes normal and only a side by side comparison to something else reveals it's faults.

 

[Suda]

People are quite adaptable. I think whatever you use becomes normal and only a side by side comparison to something else reveals it's faults.

This is true. But it'd bother me to no end knowing I'll end up paying around the same price yet not receive the same quality screen. Everything he looks at as important falls into line with the ZL, so maybe there's some possible tradeoff to be had, but Sony bombed with the displays at least imo. Which is weird because you'd think that'd be something Sony has down pat, that and cameras.

 

[just.garet]

This is true. But it'd bother me to no end knowing I'll end up paying around the same price yet not receive the same quality screen. Everything he looks at as important falls into line with the ZL, so maybe there's some possible tradeoff to be had, but Sony bombed with the displays at least imo. Which is weird because you'd think that'd be something Sony has down pat, that and cameras.

Well, I'm now leaning toward getting the One Developer edition 64 gb. I can let go of the lack of camera shutter button and no expandable storage (64 gb is enough). The last issue for me to get over is the difficulty reaching the power button whilst using the phone one-handed.

Really wish the power button was on the side.

 

[richhee]

i thought the same thing about the power button was worried until i got the phone for me its very easy to reach one handed

 

[James E1]

After using the ONE for a few hours I have decided that I don't want the power button in any other place. It is perfect for me.