This phone is beautiful!

aitt

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Late or not to the US market this phone at first glance is beautiful. Elegant. It makes me wanna go buy back the SW2. I'm so glad I took back the G3. Will give my initial thoughts after I get a Sim card for it.

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planoman

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For those of you that came from the G3, can you give a few contrast points between the G3 and Z2? Thanks. I keep going back and forth.
 

mhettrich

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For those of you that came from the G3, can you give a few contrast points between the G3 and Z2? Thanks. I keep going back and forth.

Here are my thoughts after a day of use with the phone, granted this is too short of a time to really pass a final judgment.

Build quality on this phone is second to none. I own an HTC One M8 as well, and I would argue that the Z2 actually looks and feels more premium than that phone does. It feels nice in the hand despite being more or less a rectangle. There's a slight curving around the side that makes it pretty comfortable to hold, even though it is a larger device. I thought the ports being covered would bother me, but so far it hasn't been an issue since the waterproofing is such a cool feature. I took my phone in the shower with me yesterday to listen to podcasts, something I wouldn't have dreamed of doing with the other phones I've owned.

I'm not a huge fan of the software Sony has on here. I played around with the UI for all of 10 minutes before switching to Nova. It just wasn't for me. One thing I will say is that there is NO lag on this device at all. Coming from the G3 which stuttered when entering the app drawer, this is a revelation haha.

I've taken a few test shots with the camera and they have come out pretty well. Jury is still out on that though.

Screen is beautiful, not quite as nice as the M8, but certainly acceptable for the use I have for it.

Speakers could be much better, the sound is not nearly as loud as other phones I have used. The G3 was definitely louder, and so is the M8 (obviously with boomsound). I understand that this is likely a tradeoff for waterproofing the phone.

Can't really comment on battery, but it got me through a full day of fairly heavy usage yesterday. Will keep an eye on how it continues to perform.

Let me know if you have any other questions you'd like answered.
 

planoman

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I am not thrilled that it has 16 gb. Do you recall how much storage was left before you started loading apps. Also how is the signal on the network and wifi? Thanks!

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mhettrich

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I am not thrilled that it has 16 gb. Do you recall how much storage was left before you started loading apps. Also how is the signal on the network and wifi? Thanks!

Posted via Nexus 5

Roughly 10gb left for use. I threw an SD card in and all my photos and music will go there.

Weirdly enough my connection with AT&T has been better than my G3 was, and the Z2 also seems to have better reception on my WiFi network as well.
 

aitt

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Alright here we go. This comparison is between the Z2, M8, and G3

Leaving the G3, for me Good choice. I can't take anything away from the G3 cause once the software is polished it will be great, however the quality of the software out the box for the Z2 was much better polished hands down. The Z2 has the lightest UI out the three. I actually think I like Sense the most. G3 is great, however buggy made the experience meh. The pop up windows, QSlide, and Quick View Case for G3 is what I miss.

Build wise, I'm still in love with the M8. It's just something about that build and how nice the Dot View Case compliments it's build. The curve and thing edges on the M8 and the G3 makes holding the phone a much better experience. Especially since the G3 is a little wider and as wide as the Z2. The Z2 is not hard to hold at all, but I feel a better grip with a thinner sides. That front and back glass though. I love it the most. I always liked that but now have to be extremely cautious to drops. The Z2 is not far from the build tree. The G3 is okay but the plastic fake brush metal back and -1 for me. Had it been a thin removable aluminum would had made it a better build contender.

Camera, oh man now I'm gonna take heat on this cause people swear the M8 sucks in camera. I don't believe that AT ALL. It's the best low light camera of the three. Does have a yellow tint, but the way it captures light in dark conditions was incredible at a engagement party I was at. Lack of OIS though is a -1. The Z2 does adjust good with flash support but it seems to have the most noise out the three. Now I haven't taken it to full testing to it's quality, but daylight hands down the best of the three. The G3 night pics sometimes came out blurring like it never focused good enough even with flash support. Weird could be software issues. Took great pics during day. All three did.

I'm glad I returned the G3. Software lag, noise static in speaker while charging, GPS/Compass issues, and mic sensitivity issues was just too much for me deal with. The screen just always seen dim even on the bright light and I honestly just think the 801 Snapdragon does not do the QHD justice as it overheats quite often due to pixel processing. It was a hard choice, but I think I made the right decision.

I bought a Sony OEM flip case, a couple of different bumper cases and magnetic dock case and magnetic charger adaptors.

As for the memory, this is where Sony dropped the ball with giving it 16MB. Really? I went and bought a SanDisk Extreme 64GB card. I really don't even need that much memory. I'm actually content with 16 but comfortable at 32 as I never use that kind of space on phone. That's what I have a tablet for. With 128 apps and moving my pics over to the SD card I have 11.57MB left so it's not terrible.

Oh another down side. I bought. I hate buying white phones, but I was compelled for this phone for some reason. Wish I didn't cause the white plastic and prone to dye bleed from pants. Why I need at least a bumper for it.

Speakers are by far the best on the M8. Hands down and nuff said.

I really don't see any benefit of that QHD screen. At least not now. The G3 however battery managed that GREAT. Didn't miss a beat and did not drain.

Really in all you can't go wrong with either three. The G3 will be better when they get the initial hiccups out from pushing the first batches out. I would wait a month honestly to let those move around and get them when the QC is better. Out there three, I love the Z2 the most only because it's a different build, but I keep admiring my M8. It's just that great to me.

This is unedited so excuse any crazy reading.
 

planoman

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Thanks for the thoughts on the z2. I saw one report on pocket now regarding the low earpiece volume during a call. That was one area where the G3 was excellent. Any thoughts on the Z2 earpiece volume?

Posted via Nexus 5
 

aitt

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Thanks for the thoughts on the z2. I saw one report on pocket now regarding the low earpiece volume during a call. That was one area where the G3 was excellent. Any thoughts on the Z2 earpiece volume?

Posted via Nexus 5

Haven't seen anything abnormal yet.

Posted via Android Central App
 

mhettrich

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Thanks for the thoughts on the z2. I saw one report on pocket now regarding the low earpiece volume during a call. That was one area where the G3 was excellent. Any thoughts on the Z2 earpiece volume?

Posted via Nexus 5

Same, no issues on the few phone calls that I've placed with the device.
 

robsawalker

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Camera, oh man now I'm gonna take heat on this cause people swear the M8 sucks in camera. I don't believe that AT ALL. It's the best low light camera of the three. Does have a yellow tint, but the way it captures light in dark conditions was incredible at a engagement party I was at. Lack of OIS though is a -1. The Z2 does adjust good with flash support but it seems to have the most noise out the three. Now I haven't taken it to full testing to it's quality, but daylight hands down the best of the three. The G3 night pics sometimes came out blurring like it never focused good enough even with flash support. Weird could be software issues. Took great pics during day. All three did.

:) I have to say I agree with you. I had both the Z2 and the HTC one (M7). I still have the Z2. I haven't used the M8, but my understanding is that it is superior to the M7. I know the Z2 is 20mp, but it isn't really.. how often do you use the full 20mp? I use it maybe one in 200 photos. So really, it's just 8mp. I know the M8 is only 4, but unless you are printing the pictures off (very rarely in my case) then 4 is fine. I still miss the camera on my HTC one, it was utterly superb. It's speed of focus, low light ability and speed are stunning. The Z2 takes great pictures, but I would say that for 90% of the time, the HTC is superior.

Cue flaming :)

I'm no fanboy, just my personal experience.

Posted via Android Central App
 

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