New Android user jumping to the Z5 - any advice?!

[vaderag]

Morning all,

I have a Z5 being delivered tomorrow
I've been a Windows Phone user for the past 4 years, and prior to that iPhone, but never android - this is a new adventure!!

I have a few questions below, but mostly i'd just like people to post any tips for a new user that might be specific to the Z5 - there are loads of 'new android user' guides around but they all seem generic and quite low level...

Things that i'm interested in:
1) Is marshmallow out yet? If not, when can I expect it and how will i get it
2) What is rooting, and what benefits does it really give me?
2a) Can I install stock android on the Xperia Z5 by rooting? People seem to tell me that Stock is better than the stuff added by some manufacturers...
3) I'm primarily a microsoft services user (Outlook.com Email & Calendar / OneDrive / MS Band) - am I going to be able to as fully integrate these things as they were on Windows Phone?

Thanks!

 

[rk23]

Welcome to Android! I was an huge windows phone user but recently made the switch to a Z5 too! lol

Ill try answer some of your questions, but i have only used android for about 1 year (I did have an old Z1 too when I made the switch to Android from WP back in 2013) so ill answer your questions based on my experience.

1. Yes, the current Marshmallow update is out for the Z5. However, depending on your region will depend on if it is OTA or not. But i think most Z5 phones have it by know
2. Rooting is the same thing as jailbreaking in iOS. It allows you to install custom roms, flash new firmware, install any app you want (even those not approved by google), you have much more control over the hardware, such as you can overclock your processor and many other things. It pretty much unlocks the OS so that you get to have full control of the OS.
2a. Im not 100% sure about this, i think you can, but the UI on Sony phones is pretty close to stock android as you can get out of all other OEMs. I personally love Sony's implementation of Android and its a pleasure to use.
3. One great thing about us (previous) windows phone users is that Microsoft provide and fully support their services on both iOS and Android. So setting up a Android device using mainly Microsoft services is actually very easy and (in some cases) it is an even better experience than what you get on windows phone. The outlook email client is great on Android (better than the mail app on WP), the onedrive app also allows for the automatic backup off all your photos to the cloud, MS band works well with Android. You get the full MS Office apps that are just as good as what you find on WP. All these services can be fully integrated on your new Android device.

Hope this helps you out. Enjoy your new Android phone. You will notice a huge difference with WP in terms of apps and the level of customization you can do with Android. However, Android is less stable than WP8.1 (but more stable than Win10mobile).

 

[androlino]

Hey vaderag,

welcome to the club I switched from WindowsPhone to Android (Sony Xperia Z5, but chosed the compact Version) two month ago. What was your reason to switch? For me it was the small number of apps and the unstable Windows10 system on my Lumia 920.

I'm not so happy. Neither with android nor with Sony. I don't like the Photos it takes, I don't like the interface and I'm very disappointed with the app ecosystem. There are much more apps, but I think they are more expensive then they are at windows phone and the usability is often worse (I loved MyTube, BaconIt, Nextgen Reader and some more and didn't find equal replacements at the playstore).

To answer your questions:

1) I received Marshmallow and many others did. For me and many other members it runs much more fluid now. If you are able to receive MM is connected to the version of your phone (branding and country).

2) Rooting Sony devices will wipe your so called DRM Keys. You will lose some functions such as some Kamera Features (which might make photos worse or better), some audio enhancements and very few other things.
2a) I don't really now. You need something specially made for Z5 because you need the drivers for Kamera etc.

3) A big yes! Even I don't really like all the E-Mail apps I tested so far (round 10 apps) because I liked the usability of windows stock mail better, I kept the google standard E-Mail app (not gmail, not Inbox). It handels my mails perfectly, even better than my WindowsPhone did. This is even more true for the stock contacts app. You'll lose the Facebook contact pictures, which is a real shame, but you'll win the ability to use contacts groups (if you're using Office 365 or a paid Exchange account). Also OneDrive works as perfect as it does with windows phone. Don't know something about band, but would bet it works best!

Good luck for switching to Sony!

 

[vaderag]

Thanks for the response... I'm definitely feeling like I don't have the flexibility I want in some areas... Things i'd like:
Separate notifications for each email, not all bunched into one
Information on lock screen (calendar)
An email app that allows me to not unify my inbox
Outlook is great but if o stock my work emails in there it always loads the unified inbox

Sure there is more, that's what comes to mind right now.

If anyone knows a fix to these I'd love to know!!

 

[humanhowever]

I'm in the same boat as you guys!
I ordered a Lumia 950 Xl after using the amazing Lumia 1020 for a few years. Though I love windows 10, I felt it wasn't quite ready. And I wanted a phone that would do everything as it said on the tin. So I decided to order a Z5.

Though the apps are much more in number and I have much more freedom in that sense, there is a few that I sorely miss, namely MyTube and Trakter. I've not been able to find anything like MyTube no matter how much I searched. I miss the ability to come out of the app and have it continue playing in the background and even when the phone is locked.

Microsoft support on android is really good so I'll be using most of their services. If you guys have any tips, please do let me know!

Thanks,

HH

 

[bovcrx]

Your lockscreen calendar issue may be resolved with the Microsoft Next lockscreen. I have a Z5P and I like it so far. I loved my Z3 though. If you found any cool stuff share please. I feel like my Z5P is being under utilized

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[vaderag]

Your lockscreen calendar issue may be resolved with the Microsoft Next lockscreen. I have a Z5P and I like it so far. I loved my Z3 though. If you found any cool stuff share please. I feel like my Z5P is being under utilized

Posted via the Android Central App

Next Lockscreen doesn't really play nice with the Z5 in my experience, due to the fingerprint stuff

 

[bovcrx]

Any cool apps I should look into that you've found? The only things I've downloaded are Fleksy keyboard and Here Maps. Well besides the regular media stuff like hulu and Netflix

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[vaderag]

I find Google keyboard better tbh and Google maps... NovaLauncher is great for customisation