Hi,
I'm looking for a QWERTY Android phone and the Mini Pro caught my attention.
Should I buy one? Should I wait for some other releases (HTC) ? Any other suggestions?
Sidenote: Can I install the latest Android on it? 2.2 I think.
Only 1.6 available for it atm. I think SE wants to officially release 2.1 or 2.2 sometime in September / October.
And what's you suggestion? Should I buy it or should I wait for other releases/brands?
It's a cheap device. And it's not the best if you're a power user.
I'd say wait for the HTC Desire Z if you can afford it.
I need the QWERTY keyboard, which the Desire does not have, from what I can see.
Any other suggestions?
The "HTC Desire Z" is a new phone *with* a QWERTY keyboard, also known as the HTC Vision:
http://www.slashgear.com/t-mobile-g1-blaze-aka-htc-vision-spotted-again-2695266/
Any idea when it will be available in Europe? Or any approx. price-tag?
It will be a GSM device.
I'd say about £500 unlocked.
Same price as the Desire when it was released.
And probably released in Q4.
hi rad-misu, could you provide us with more information on what you actually want in a mobile phone?
the x10 mini pro is very small and i like to use it as secondary phone (and android toy), but i wouldn't want it as my main phone. Since i prefer a larger screen etc.
FYI US Version available.
Purchase online from mobilecityonline.com.
They also have a retail store in NYC.
just picked mine up.
If u r a power user, the screen will be small for your eyes. I am x10 mini user. I love the phone (perfect for me), coz all I did was to make and receive call with occational web browsing.
I'm coming from a 1st gen HTC Touch Cruise and am looking for a mid-range device, something decent, not a state-of-the-art-tons-of-money gadget .
Android, QWERTY, browsing, and yes, a bigger screen would be a plus, but I can't seem to find any device with this specs at the moment. Am I missing anything?
The new Desire seems to be more on the expensive side.
I had a Touch Cruise for a while, actually, but couldn't stand WM and even less not having a keyboard. Before that I had lots of Treo's, and after the Touch Cruise I had a Blackberry Bold followed by a G1 which I happily used for almost a year, until I switched to a Mini Pro last month. So I know my smartphones
I loved the G1 for everything except the size and weight, and it was lagging sometimes. The Mini Pro offers me all that the G1 did but in a much better hardware package: small, lightweight, plus it looks terrific.
I can't be bothered that it isn't running a more recent version of Android, frankly I don't miss any of the new features. And I do consider myself a power user that tweaks and bends the configuration of my phones all the time, and uses the Mini Pro as a phone, browser, mail machine (both Gmail and Exchange), GPS, MP3 player, and what not.
If you don't fancy a big screen, then the Mini Pro is the best Android smartphone available today.
Being an IT guy, and not wanting to travel all the time with my laptop in my backpack, I bought the X10m, and it's enough to do a little vpn/ssh to diagnosis and repair some common servers faults.
Although the screen is little, the battery ( provided you use data/3g/wifi/gps only when needed ) lasts good, and it doesn't disturbe my pocket to handle it
For me, the best android phone right now ( small, lasts long, works good ).
That's exactly what I'm looking for.
I'm a webdesigner and I want a small device for some debugging on the go, ssh and so.
How is the browsing on this device? Any problems with it?
Phone-wise: Any problems with reception and/or calling in general? How fast is email? Any lagging in general operation?
As far as i know the X10 mini pro is one of the few devices with Android ánd QWERTY so your choice is already limited.
I've experienced no reception problems. Wifi is a bit weaker compared to bigger devices such as my laptop etc.
The wifi "problem" is understandable.
What about the RAM? How fast is this device? Any problems on this side?
On another note: what about the multimedia? I won't be using the camera too much, but being a Sony I suppose it takes (at least) decent pictures. (?!)
How is the music playback? External speaker especially.
Thanks for all you replies! Greatly appreciated!
Camera: LED flash and 5 MP but the picture quality isn't as sharp as my SE K810i (3.2 MP+Xenon Flash )
Music playback didn't test, but the external speaker and ringtone volume is extremely loud!
The device operate very smooth, no hangups. The low resolution of 320x240 make the devices operates quicker imho.
specs and review can be found here: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_x10_mini_pro-3147.php
On this dutch written site they review the x10 mini, it includes some benchmarks which speak for themselves.
http://tweakers.net/reviews/1708/sony-ericsson-x10-mini-een-kleine-stap-vooruit.html
Turns out the mini is a very fast android phone!
Sent from my U20i using XDA App
From what I can see those are pretty good results compared to those pricey high-end devices. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Related
Hey guys, Since ATT just got the X10 I was wondering which is better. My contract expires in a few days so I have some time to see which I like better. Right now I'm using an iPhone and hating it. I want something with android.
I love SE, I bought an original X1 right out of the gates, so I'm leaning a bit towards the X10 but I'm seeing that it might not have any additional benefit over the Captivate other than the awesome camera.
Help please? I travel a lot and will be going to college soon so I need a phone that will keep up with me, all day.
why not the EVO 4g? much better than both, but if you don't like that one go for the captivate
ATT is the best around here. We literally get full bars everywhere lol! Ok, so that's one for the Samsung...
If you're going to be using your phone outdoors a lot, get the X10. Samsung has the better screen, but it's OLED so when you're outside, it maybe really hard to see. But X10 screen is good as well. If you're concerned about aesthetics, I think X10 is the best looking phone there is, otherwise go for the Samsung.
The x10 is a great phone but if the captivate is anything like the galaxy s then i would go for the captivate.
i am also looking at the two phone and also iphone 4 when my contract is expiring.
Things I like about the sony is the physical call and off button. Also, I think the phone has higher res camera and also 2 camera.
I think captivative overall has a better hardware: 802.11n, larger storage space, better music playback software, bluetooth 3.0. android 2.1
I know sony will upgrade to android 2.1 or maybe 2.2 and samsung is coming out 2.2. So I think the software is not a major issue now.
hard to make a choice between the 3 phones.
2 cameras on your x10?
Swyped from my rooted X10i using Tapatalk.
Lord Takyon said:
2 cameras on your x10?
Swyped from my rooted X10i using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Physical call and off button?
Via Tapatalk
Once they reduce that capital letters SAMSUNG logo in front, I'll recommend it. But for now, I'll say go for White X10, cool design...
No its Super AMOLED and its very visible outside in bright sunlight.
To the OP, just determine what you need in a device and use them both in the store. For the record, the Captivates GPS is broken and there is no camera flash. The Captivate has features that the X10 doesn't have. However the X10 will receive some of those features in a future update such as 720P video recording and Android 2.1. The Captivate has these features out of the box. My advice is to do some research online and dont rely purely on our recommendation.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
the only thing going for the Captivate is the screen...and only when viewing media or playing games etc. As for reading text, the X10's screen is much sharper. The build quality is much higher on the X10 too, the Galaxies get scratched real easy, just read some reviews. For me, the Galaxy Captivate/Vibrant looks like it's trying to be an iPhone which is blasphemous in my opinion lol. Not to mention the fact that everyone in the world will own some form of the Galaxy in the coming months. So if you want to have a unique and very stylish device with amazing hardware, definitely X10 because after the 2.1 update (hopefully Froyo eventually too) the software side of things won't be any different...otherwise you'll be left with a scratched up iPhone wannabe.
Thanks for the advice guys. I played with the X10 and I was very impressed, I guess ATT only offers it in black (sorry man), but I agree it looks damn fine. The camera was awesome and the media features were great. But the thing that sold me was that everything is solid and doesn't feel cheap. Just like my X1i, everything felt good, not gimmicky like my iPhone or the Captivate. I asked the guy in the store and he said go captivate but I real liked the x10. The screen in the cap was almost obnoxiously bright and the icons were cartoonish and silly.
Now, my only concern is android 1.6. Rumor is it'll be updated, but for the next month or 2 can I survive with it? I used to be a WM junkie, but lately I have been spoiled by my iPhone so I don't know how android works :/
BTW, the north American version doesn't have 2 cams, only 1 and there isn't a physical call button. But atleast there is a camera button, I loved that.
well i do not know of any X10 with 2 cameras
I don t get this GPS problem, I dont have it on my Galaxy S, why don t you bring the phone back for repair? (or have you tried that already)
i guess I was wrong about the camera.
Based on what I read, 2.1 is coming soon and Sony may even jump to 2.2 but you never konw. Loosk like manufacturers are a bit slow bringing 2.2 to the market. it's quite surprising to see Sony has not yet release 2.1 or 2.2 at all because Xperia was out like last year as oppose to Captivative that was out reently.
it seems to me that a lot of these phone, the softwrae is wehre it sets one from another. Samsung did a decent job with captivate so is Sony. But sony really neeed to get 2.1 or 2.2 out so it can really take the power of teh hardare.
hiraj_panosian said:
I don t get this GPS problem, I dont have it on my Galaxy S, why don t you bring the phone back for repair? (or have you tried that already)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lot of people are complaining about the GPS problem or low build quality of Galaxy S
Lot of people are complaining about low sound volume in call of X10.
You don't have problems with GPS.
I don't have problems with my X10.
This means this problems are not there?
Well, I bought the Captivate on day 1. I had to replace it on day 3. I just returned it on day 29 and picked up the X10.
My observations on the Captivate:
Great screen
Thin design
Junky buttons (don't like soft buttons so much)
Junky PC software
Serious Lag and general OS issues
The GPS is currently broken (does not work 100% as it should)
My observations on the X10 (2-days in):
Great screen (once you disable auto brightness setting)
Great looking (IMO)
Great buttons
Great media player (on phone)
Great companion software on the PC
I haven't really noticed any lag (either on the stock or unbranded ROM)
The GPS works amazingly quickly and accurately
The bottom line for me, and the reason I returned the Captivate, is Samsung has no real history of resolving issues with devices once they are released. I am fairly confident they will resolve the GPS issue but not so confident they will resolve all the other issues plaguing the device. Random resets, inability to wake the phone from a sleep and mysterious shut downs all happened to me. I also had problems with the battery and I just wasn't feeling too warm and fuzzy about Samsung. It's a shame really, it could be a great device. They also used some abnormal file system that is apparently the biggest cause of all the lag on the device.
The Sony device, on the other hand, seems much better thought out and seems like it will last longer as well. The screen is close enough between the two (for me anyway) that it's not really an issue. It's nice having the light on the camera because I can use it with a flashlight app. The additional fact that the PC companion software is so much better than anything I've seen for Android is also reassuring. It seems to me that Sony did a much more thorough job in the R&D stage and Samsung just designed a product that looks good on paper. I am very glad that I returned the Samsung device for the Sony.
BTW, I am not a Sony fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. I just honestly feel like it's the better device overall. It was a very difficult decision to return the Captivate as it does offer some very impressive specs, but in the end I need a device that is reliable and works.
a quick question for anyone who has used both phone, how are the mp3 players on either phone? Can you import your itune playlist without any issue? Also, can you see the lyrics like what you can do with iphone/ipod?
I am considering consolidate my mp3 player (ipod touch) and phone so I am hoping for one that will do everythign I can with my ipod. I konw iphoen does it but I am looking for options.
I really like XPERIA, Captivate looks cheap to me and I don't recommend.. yeah Android 2.2 will be nice on xperia .. hope Sony updates soon
tuxStyle said:
Lot of people are complaining about the GPS problem or low build quality of Galaxy S
Lot of people are complaining about low sound volume in call of X10.
You don't have problems with GPS.
I don't have problems with my X10.
This means this problems are not there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt have the problem with the low income volume of the X10 after the update .23 either...
I have been using the mini pro now for almost a year. Last week while browsing the net for a cheap contract deal for a relative, I found a very cheap deal for a refurbished x10 which I got. Been using it now With the official SE 2.1 firmware for a few days. All in all, I am quite happy with it. The fact it will get gingerbread soon makes it even better. My experience with it shows me that you can't really have a good smartphone experience (let alone a good android experience) with the minis. The screen size really lets down what could have been a true if somewhat humble champion. I believe a 3 inch screen should be the very minimum for a smartphone that's meant for web browsing, emailing, and running apps. SE made a mistake (one of many in what was a very poorly judged 2010) which they have rectified with the new mini range.
Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are a lot of folks out there who get a lot of joy from their minis. For me personally having used the x10 for a while, the minis just don't give a very good smartphone experience.
Share your thoughts.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
I love my mini pro but I will love to try out different android phones like the xperia play since I'm a playstation fan all the way!!!
I might stay with my mini pro and I'm going to save money to buy a tablet or a new phone if my mini pro dies hehe (I hope it doesn't happen soon)
Sent from my U20i using XDA Premium App
Zodiac, i couldn't agree more! I love my mini (not even pro), but the screen is really to small for sucha good and complete device.
My partner has an SE Arc and from the first time i touched it i was jealous, not only for the specs and speed (my lill mini on miniCM6 keeps up in performance amazingly well....lol...), but the screen looks and works so freaking awesome. I decided instantly i 'need' one too!
On the other hand, since the mini was my first android device, parting from it will be a bit hard, how weird can one be huhh......
Well, you are right about the tiny screen. It is like looking at the internet through a keyhole. My experience is that internet browsing becomes enjoyable at 4 inches and above. My previous phone was an HTC HD2 which in the last few months I used with a Gingerbread nand rom and fell in love with android. And the HD2 was quite a good piece of hardware. But...I dont regret changing for the mini pro. I find that the mini pro's camera is better and also sound quality is better than that of the HD2. I also love the hardware keyboard which I use heavily. Currently Im using the mini pro with the stock SE rom - rooted and with xrec and removed bloatware. Cant really make up my mind about going to a custom rom because I am afraid of loosing camera quality.
All in all the mini pro is a lovely thing. The only thing that really gets on my nerves is the poor battery life.
Soon will be released Xperia Mini with 3" display, and other upgrades. I had my last phone (W810) for 4.5 years. Now the X10 mini will last probably a few more months.
The minis would have been perfect (if such a thing exists) with a 3 inch screen and at the very least HVGA and not QVGA which limits the apps you can download. I mean how stupid is that.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
ickata said:
I find that the mini pro's camera is better and also sound quality is better than that of the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe it or not, the mini sound quality is way better then from SE Arc too (when not connected to headphone i mean), but i can't beat the Arc camera though
hi its my first android handset from 2003 , i'm sony ericsson pocessor, in two months back i had vivaz U5i but i loved my X10 mini now with its functionality it's a good phone for me only SE wont upgrade to gingerbread (android 2.3) and i love stock menu's and functionality.
the dialer , the home screen , its icons , i search for anyone has ported any thing from stock rom to MINI CM6 or 7
I had been a Windows Mobile user for the last 5 or so years, but I wanted a change to the "future", to an Android phone, but I didn't want to go all out on a phone I could end up not liking, so last October I went with an x10 Mini Pro, not only is it a cheap device, but it packs quite a punch for it's size, there's pretty much almost nothing I couldn't do on this little one besides flash sites (skyfire with vid plugin solved it), and play a couple of games, (PvZ for eg, all others seem fine, even fps games).
All I can say is that this device gave me such a good impression and introduction to the Android platform that I'm waiting for a SGSII to arrive this week, as this shortie did it's job, for 139€, no contract, I can't really complain of any of the features, and while the screen might be small, well, it's a Mini version so I expected the short screen.
Hello! I have gone through all the reviews and what made me look in to this device is its cost and the loaded features. However before going in for it, I wanted to get inputs from the users about a couple of things.
First, How is the battery performance? Here is my normal usage pattern, about half an hour of 2G calls. Music for about an hour. Camera usage for about 5 mins. GPRS browsing for about 1-2 hours.
Second, How easy is it to type using the on screen QUERTY keypad?
Third, How is the browsing experience? I know that it supports full flash and it will load pages quite well. But what I am asking is how readable is the screen size and rendering. Since I travel everyday I will read engadget, techcrunch and so on while travelling.
Android Updates. It sure has a 1Ghz processor with 512 Mb RAM. Does this mean we will get regular updates from Sony Ericsson. I am actually fan of pure google experience. I wanted to buy the Nexus S, but since I saw this phone for a cheap cost i have given it a thought.
The Nexus S is available in India for about $400(Super LCD version, not the AMOLED version. EVerything else is the same). The Xperia Mini is about $250. Now the question is, paying another $150 would get me a pure google phone with larger screen and better browsing experience. Can somebody help me out here? I am in a fix here.
Hey, I've got a Mini Pro but i can help you with most of your questions.
I'd say my usage is similar to yours with the exception of using wifi instead of gprs/3g for the most part and I only had to charge my phone before the end of the day in the first few days of owning it because I was playing with it so much. These days, I use up around 60% battery during one day. This is with Data being always on, and no battery management apps. I don't mind the once per day charging.
I've tried on-screen landscape keyboard and it's perfectly fine, comparable to every other touch screen device. Portrait mode however, I use only for less than 3-4 word input since it's kinda cramped (and hardware keyboard is a great experience).
It's only while browsing that screen size might be an issue. Browsing experience overall is quite good as the phone is very powerful for that resolution. I do however sometimes feel 'claustrophobic' and wish for a bigger screen while browsing. But, It's not a big issue, at least for me, although you should try it out in the store by loading up some of your favorite sites.
As for updates, Sony has officially stated that all Xperia phones from 2011 will get Ice Cream Sandwich, with some delay as with every manufacturer. But an even better news, at least for me, is the official support of CM which is coming soon. I'd put CM on any phone I might own.
But in either case you'll be having a fresh android OS, and if you decide to go for official ROM you can install Launcher Pro or ADW and get an experience indistinguishable from a vanilla android. Some of the Sony's apps (camera, messaging and music player...) are actually better than vanilla ones, in my opinion. But I assume you will be able to install those in CM with little effort.
I was in a similar position, "is the extra money worth the bigger screen?". And for me it wasn't, but that's mostly because that extra money was the kind of money I just couldnt afford at that time. I was torn between Mini Pro and Neo, which is actually very similar to Nexus S but cheaper so check it out if it's available to you. Money won out in my case or else I would have gotten Neo. If you can afford it, go for Neo or Nexus!
Cheers
Hello guys!
I currently have the LG optimus one, and am looking to buy a new phone. Im torn apart between the SE xperia mini pro and the Moto Defy
Pls help me decide
On one hand theres the big screen on the defy and on the other theres the hw keypad and the 1Ghz procy :|
Any personal experiences?
guru_urug said:
Hello guys!
I currently have the LG optimus one, and am looking to buy a new phone. Im torn apart between the SE xperia mini pro and the Moto Defy
Pls help me decide
On one hand theres the big screen on the defy and on the other theres the hw keypad and the 1Ghz procy :|
Any personal experiences?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its basically whether you need the bigger screen or the keyboard. Processor should be similar, both can be overclocked to your liking. If you want both, how about something like the Desire Z?
the mini pro has a known issue of noise when recording video although Sony has said they will fix it in the next update (which should be any day now).
Me i like the small unique form factor rather than the ordinary 4" slab.
barrist said:
Its basically whether you need the bigger screen or the keyboard. Processor should be similar, both can be overclocked to your liking. If you want both, how about something like the Desire Z?
the mini pro has a known issue of noise when recording video although Sony has said they will fix it in the next update (which should be any day now).
Me i like the small unique form factor rather than the ordinary 4" slab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I think one should only go for any of the mini's if one likes the small form factor. It's why I went for one too.
Otherwise, I think I'd have gone for a Ray or simply stuck with my Optimus One (which is a very good phone by itself, even if it's stuck with a measly 600MHz ARMv6 processor.
The Desire Z, jeez. I had one Terribly slow, unfortunately.
I'd say yes, the mini pro is definitely a recommendation.
You can play all games with the keyboard, which is pretty damn awesome
The phone itself is really smooth and never lags or hangs.
The Mini Pro has a big disadvantage: the reception. It really sucks compared to my old N82 so make sure the area where you're going to use the phone has a very good coverage otherwise the battery life will be really short.
Check my previous posts for more info
kiavik said:
The Mini Pro has a big disadvantage: the reception. It really sucks compared to my old N82 so make sure the area where you're going to use the phone has a very good coverage otherwise the battery life will be really short.
Check my previous posts for more info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't really had any reception problems yet, but the phone consistently shows far less (!) bars than my previous phones. It may be more a case of what the OS reports, than terrible reception per se.
However, I've noticed that the phone switches back to Edge far more often than my Optimus One (which sometimes did nothing at all until I clicked a link for a second time; probably because it kept trying to find the 3G network). If this keeps the user experience more consistent/fluid, I don't have a problem with it.
Same, no problems with the reception here.
I'm living in an average sized town in germany, nowhere near the inner city and always getting atleast 3/4 bars. It really depends on where you live and how good your carrier is
Mentioning Moto Defy tells me you are confused even about form factor. First decide, what you are, Type-er or Touch-er. If Type-er go with Mini Pro and if Touch-er then you have much better choices to go with than Defy.
arunavmamc05 said:
Mentioning Moto Defy tells me you are confused even about form factor. First decide, what you are, Type-er or Touch-er. If Type-er go with Mini Pro and if Touch-er then you have much better choices to go with than Defy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe those are the options between which he can choose if he wants a free phone on his contract? EDIT: anyway, since he's posting here, he clearly wants to be persuaded that the mini pro is the phone for him
i dont even think the screen is too small :O it's a perfectly sized smartphone for your pants pocket
Yeahh, i bought Mini 1 month ago, this's great even though it is considered to be not really manly ) However, i love the way to onw something that's "small" but "powerful"
So, highly recommend
Yes this phone is deceptive because it may seem like an entry level phone, it has the same internal specs as the other more "high end" phones in SE's lineup. That coupled with the fact that the processor only has to power a 3" screen as opposed to a 4" screen means it should in theory be better performing.
my only small thing is the battery (maybe its an android thing in general) is fairly weak imo. I'm waiting for a third party 1600mah battery to arrive and hopefully it'll improve.
it's really powerful yeah. all the emulators run so damn smooth.
the battery is indeed an issue. i bought myself another stock battery and a charging station. I never need to charge the phone itself
Hey. My previous phone was Optimus One, I sold it and bought the xperia mini pro and never regrets it.
Remember the optimus one issues? Multitouch problem, lag when hold screen, worse battery life than xperia mini pro, 3mp camera w no flash, video recording is pretty low and not HD, lag when playing bigger HD games.
Well none of the above happens on the xperia mini pro. So just sell your optimus one and buy the mini pro just like me. Youll like it
Sent from my SK17i using XDA App
dryhte said:
I haven't really had any reception problems yet, but the phone consistently shows far less (!) bars than my previous phones. It may be more a case of what the OS reports, than terrible reception per se.
However, I've noticed that the phone switches back to Edge far more often than my Optimus One (which sometimes did nothing at all until I clicked a link for a second time; probably because it kept trying to find the 3G network). If this keeps the user experience more consistent/fluid, I don't have a problem with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the dfference I have noticed is quite big: while the N82 shows full strength signal the Mini Pro shows no bar and it even drops the signal if hold it with my hand instead of 2 fingers. Both phones have a SIM from 3 wich is an operator that only uses 3G networks.
It is definitely an operator's coverage related issue because it doesn't happen in my hometown but still it's a sign that the phone's reception is not as good as the N82.
In other forums I have read about people complaining about this issue but only for the Mini Pro, the Mini from what I've read has a better reception.
Izzy Stinson said:
Hey. My previous phone was Optimus One, I sold it and bought the xperia mini pro and never regrets it.
Remember the optimus one issues? Multitouch problem, lag when hold screen, worse battery life than xperia mini pro, 3mp camera w no flash, video recording is pretty low and not HD, lag when playing bigger HD games.
Well none of the above happens on the xperia mini pro. So just sell your optimus one and buy the mini pro just like me. Youll like it
Sent from my SK17i using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes , The same to me , Just sold O1 is suck when gaming , but Some Dev has fix it already in CFW ...! Now Mini pro is fast far than O1 lolx
Hello,
I bought my Z5 Compact in december 2015 to replace my broken Z3C and I quickly realized numberous flaws that I will list here. But first, I'm gonna talk about the good things.
It's a really well build phone. Nothing to say there, it's nearly perfect and way better than the Z3C which was already pretty good (but way too fragile). The design is beautiful, probably one of the nicest in stores.
The camera autofocus is also very good and the depth of field is nice. It must be a very good sensor.
Some apps are really well done, like the launcher, Music, Gallery or TrackID.
Now let's talk about the bad things.
1) The camera. The app is really slow to launch, it's also slow to take a picture, and it's not everytime the same amount of time. Sometimes it takes 2 seconds, sometimes 5 seconds, you can't trust it.
Most of the pictures are very blurry on the sides and it's just not on par with other flagships. It's also very noisy, incredibly bad for something that's supposed to be as good as the Galaxy S6 camera. Even my Moto E takes better pictures sometimes.
Also, after i take 2-3 pictures it makes the phone lag for a few seconds which is really frustrating when you paid $500 for this thing.
2) The performance. Most of the time it's pretty acceptable, but if I compare it with the Z3C it's just not as smooth and responsive. It's faster, but not as smooth.
There are sometimes little lags, little latencies, it's still OK but not as good and I would say it should be way better if I look at the specs.
Sometimes, usually when I opened snapchat or the camera, it lags like hell to the point where it's unusable. And it happens really often, not even always when the phone is hot so this is not a S810 issue.
3) The Marshmallow update. I really liked what they did with the Marshmallow beta on the Z3C so I was really excited to see what they would do on the Z5C. And I was again disappointed. Yeah, it fixed most of the performance issues, but it's still really not that good, and I hate the way they updated some apps.
Why the hell is the notification bar BLACK in the settings, in messages and in some other apps ? It's not Android 4.3 anymore, they really need to improve their UI.
4) The custom rom support. There is only one custom ROM and it still has a lot of issues, it's by far the worst phone I've ever had for that.
5) The battery life. It's not terrible, but it's really not that good, especially compared to the Z3C I expected way better results.
6) The way Sony handles the Z5 series. Marshmallow came so late, when the Z3 already had an incredibly good "beta" version for like 6 months. And now I learn that the Android N beta is available on the Z3 ?? What the hell, we also paid our phones ! I feel like they are giving up on this phone and they just say "f*ck you" to the stupid people who've had the weird idea to buy that thing.
I asked them on twitter and they said "it's for developpers" with a gif of a woman rolling her eyes. Well this is completely stupid, because first, I could be a dev, and second, it's not for devs at all, it's for people who want to try it and give feedback.
So you have my opinion, after all it's not the worst phone ever, most of it is really good but a lot of thing are bothering me.
I'm buying an iPhone SE next week after six years of Android and 16 Android Phones in these 6 years. So this must actually be pretty bad because I never felt the need to switch to iOS with any of the phones I owned, even the Moto E. It's also my use of a phone that's more adapted to iOS right now, but still this phone is one of the main reasons.
I hope my bad english didn't bother you and I hope this was somehow interesting to read.
Thank you
I agree...
Unfortunately I must agree with your opinion regarding Z5 Compact. Especially the part regarding the camera lags is very true. Also the AF system fails sometimes on the random basis.
On my Z5C I had already the camera broken (after two months of using the phone) and fixed via warranty claim together with the fingerprint sensor which was working when it liked to.
Now I can see that the phone has bent a little bit while carrying it in the pocket and this bending has led to the broken phone frame (in the fingerprint area where the frame has only two thin plastic straps around the sensor). The worst thing is that I can also see some dust inside the lens so it means that the whole body is not sealed any more probably due to that broken frame.
I have also some concerns regarding the Sony's software (Android 5.1.1.):
1) The gallery application is not customisable at all. For example you cannot change the sorting order or exclude / include some folders.
2) No call blacklist for automatic call rejection (this function is built in into my old Samsung S4 Mini)
3) Very limited customization of alarm schedules (automatic alarm offs etc., I can adjust something but not exactly what I want)
4) The calling screen is hard to distinguish from the phone number information screen. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm actually calling somebody or just checking the contact info (there is only one small blinking symbol during the actual calling out).
5) No scheduled SMS option (again, this is present in my old Samsung S4 Mini)
6) Very week LED light (compared to S4 Mini)
7) The analog radio tuner is not sensitive enough for high quality stereo reception (compared to S4 Mini)
8) The built-in e-mail application (Microsfot Exchange client) has problems with displaying e-mails correctly => for example the title has big font and the e-mail body small tiny letters (again compared to S4 Mini e-mail app). It also does not show the contact pictures which are stored on the Microsoft Exchange server (=> pictures are visible in S4 Mini).
Overall I'm quite disappointed with that phone model. Luckily it's my business phone so I didn't have to pay for it.
I bought an iPhone SE and used it for about two weeks. I am back on my Z5C. I got tired of the restrictions in iOS that I take for granted in Android. I will keep the SE as a spare since no one else makes a good small phone.
I don't think you'll find many people here telling you that leaving the z5c is a bad decision lol but the iOS transition if you've never played with it will leave you far more frustrated. Simple tasks are cumbersome and customizability is slim. I have wanted the 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6s, SE when they were all released but the iOS is a serious flaw. Android is faster in maneuvering through the OS and customizability is limitless so I've been settling for mid range phones for YEARS just to keep a one handed phone. I'd suggest maybe getting a iPod touch to play with to test the iOS waters before making the plunge.
gfarm said:
Unfortunately I must agree with your opinion regarding Z5 Compact. Especially the part regarding the camera lags is very true. Also the AF system fails sometimes on the random basis.
On my Z5C I had already the camera broken (after two months of using the phone) and fixed via warranty claim together with the fingerprint sensor which was working when it liked to.
Now I can see that the phone has bent a little bit while carrying it in the pocket and this bending has led to the broken phone frame (in the fingerprint area where the frame has only two thin plastic straps around the sensor). The worst thing is that I can also see some dust inside the lens so it means that the whole body is not sealed any more probably due to that broken frame.
I have also some concerns regarding the Sony's software (Android 5.1.1.):
1) The gallery application is not customisable at all. For example you cannot change the sorting order or exclude / include some folders.
2) No call blacklist for automatic call rejection (this function is built in into my old Samsung S4 Mini)
3) Very limited customization of alarm schedules (automatic alarm offs etc., I can adjust something but not exactly what I want)
4) The calling screen is hard to distinguish from the phone number information screen. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm actually calling somebody or just checking the contact info (there is only one small blinking symbol during the actual calling out).
5) No scheduled SMS option (again, this is present in my old Samsung S4 Mini)
6) Very week LED light (compared to S4 Mini)
7) The analog radio tuner is not sensitive enough for high quality stereo reception (compared to S4 Mini)
8) The built-in e-mail application (Microsfot Exchange client) has problems with displaying e-mails correctly => for example the title has big font and the e-mail body small tiny letters (again compared to S4 Mini e-mail app). It also does not show the contact pictures which are stored on the Microsoft Exchange server (=> pictures are visible in S4 Mini).
Overall I'm quite disappointed with that phone model. Luckily it's my business phone so I didn't have to pay for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm,
can be summed up with:
close to AOSP/stock-Android.
My decision to go with the Z5 was because it's more close to AOSP, well - guess what ?
I also got used to Samsung's "bloat" and customizability - so in certain parts is was a kind of shock to see to limitations of Sony's ROM,
but if you're getting the phone with the attitude of rooting and unlocking the bootloader anyway to install a custom ROM,
it's somewhat different
Not talking about you,
but it's kind of ridiculous:
people are complaining that Samsung's ROM is too bloated, too much features, overloaded,
then when they switch to a device with slim, minimal ROM - then complain, too
Seems like folks don't know what they really want after all
Solution:
Get a device which offers über-bloated ROM but also Option of AOSP,
then wait until the "perfect" ROM is out - or get your hands dirty and modify and optimize the ROM yourself :silly:
This is XDA after all
civicsr2cool said:
I don't think you'll find many people here telling you that leaving the z5c is a bad decision lol but the iOS transition if you've never played with it will leave you far more frustrated. Simple tasks are cumbersome and customizability is slim. I have wanted the 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6s, SE when they were all released but the iOS is a serious flaw. Android is faster in maneuvering through the OS and customizability is limitless so I've been settling for mid range phones for YEARS just to keep a one handed phone. I'd suggest maybe getting a iPod touch to play with to test the iOS waters before making the plunge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I bought an iPod Touch 6 and used it for one week, now I have the SE and it's a real pleasure to use. I wouldn't have done that a year ago but now my use has changed and I don't really need android anymore. Actually there are really not so much that I miss from Android, it's really better for me (but of course it will depend on how you use your phone).
Otherwise the SE is faster, like REALLY faster, the camera is 100 times better and I prefer the form factor so I'm really happy for now :good:
flolaff said:
Yeah I bought an iPod Touch 6 and used it for one week, now I have the SE and it's a real pleasure to use. I wouldn't have done that a year ago but now my use has changed and I don't really need android anymore. Actually there are really not so much that I miss from Android, it's really better for me (but of course it will depend on how you use your phone).
Otherwise the SE is faster, like REALLY faster, the camera is 100 times better and I prefer the form factor so I'm really happy for now :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good news! The amount of accessories available for it are pretty cool. You can even buy iPhone 6 mini conversion housings for it. 4" are a bit too small for me however, 4.3" seems to be the sweet spot I'm always looking for. I'm a heavy root user and change the themes on my phone weekly so I'm not leaving Android anytime soon lol
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Funny why you swapped to iphone but not a other android device that might service your needs. But shame to see that many only know 2 brands of phones.
Nidhal AKA the king said:
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let's agree to disagree. The Z5C is the best compact android phone (I still think that iPhone SE is better, but i can't forgo the versatility of android.)
What really disappoints me is that the older Z3 gets an Android N Developer Preview. I was like, what the heck! The older phone gets this privilege while the newer Z5 doesn't? It almost feels like Sony betrayed the Z5 users. But this is about the only Con of the Z5 though.
Sent from my E5803 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I've had my Z5c for about a week. My current daily driver is a Moto X 2013. I'm really liking the the Z5c, but I have to admit I'm having trouble letting go of the X - its just a pleasure to hold and use. If Motorola followed Apple's lead with the SE and packed an updated package into the Moto X body, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I'll reserve comment on the Z5c and post in a more appropriate thread once I've spent more time with it. I'm not rooted yet (still on the fence) but once I threw some Nova Prime at it, I began to really enjoy my journey.
@flolaff
I totally agree with you. Add to your list Broken Adaptive Brightness. I'm planning to change the Z5C as soon as there a new Nexus.
Sent from my E5823
Nidhal AKA the king said:
sorry to disagree with you in certain things... well i have had 5 Xperia Z5 (the regular one) and since i'm into buying and selling Xperia phones, the Z5 compact and the Z5 Premium was the most impressive Sony phones... talking more about the Z5C because the Z5P didn't have for a long time to talk about it much... Z5 compact which i'm owning right now is very smooth and never lagged for me, the camera is great, front and back... the camera shot delay not really as you described it, it not as faster as the big Z5 but it's good! remember it's 2GB while the big is 3GB... most of the time i use the manual mode, and even with the auto... pictures are sharp, so i think you need to have steady hands or tripod.....
to summarize all about Z5C, it's a compact flagship that you won't find it's specs or capabilities in any other Mini from the other competitors....
....i know it's a user preference, but i'd be very honest to you to tell you switching from Z5C to iPhone SE is the dumbest decision i've ever heard about knowing that that iphone SE is a redesigned/redefined iPhone 5 or 5S....
i'm not biasing z5c because as i said, i didn't like the Z5 as much as i love the Z5C in everything, even though the Z5 is a bit more powerful with that extra ram, but the build quality in certain parts of the phone, Z5C has it better.
and i couldn't keep the Z5P because of the high price, so the half of it's price got me a Z5C which is more than fair and convenient for me.
now i have 2 Z5 compacts (im selling one for my friend).... the first i bought for $196 because i need to fix it's micro sd card slot, also with no accessories.. and the other for $276 without accessories but as brand new with no issues, and im keeping for me. also i noticed in Marshmallow both devices has the sound quality improved and more louder compared to 5.1.1 and they both equal in both speakers, with a dB meter test app.
don't be annoyed with my comment, and again it's a user preference but i wanted to share my experience with Z5c... so yours or mine aren't the reference for the Z5C but it could help others to have decisions before buying any phone.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, but I feel like I would've get a way better experience with a Galaxy S6, which just is way better in everything, or even a Nexus 5X or anything. Part of the problem is the S810 which really sucks (Z3c was way smoother), and the other part is the camera. It is "ok" but compared to the S6/S7/G4/G5/5X/6P/6S/SE or any other flagship camera, it sucks, really.
And no, the SE is not "a redesigned iPhone 5". It has the specs of the iPhone 6s with a 4 inch screen, which is exactly what I wanted, and everything about it is way better than the Z5 Compact (except maybe the speaker).
RiTCHiE007 said:
Funny why you swapped to iphone but not a other android device that might service your needs. But shame to see that many only know 2 brands of phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't "only know 2 brands of phones". As I said, in the last 6 years I've had phones from HTC, Samsung, OnePlus, Sony, Motorola and even some other brands that I forgot. I just feel like the only options right now for a really complete package are Samsung and Apple (maybe HTC but I don't really trust them anymore), and the S7 is too big for me, so I choosed the iPhone SE. It just seemed like the best option for me and so far I really like it.
Yep, I feel the same like you... Interestingly, I also used to have a z3c with the very good concept android 6.0 beta before a thief robbed it out of my hand... Well, I hoped the z5c would even be better.... But no, unfortunately, it's worse, even though the main hardware is better. The firmware is quite buggy and I absolutely agree that the battery life could be way better....
I am underimpressed with a few things about my Z5 compact, but I'll tell you why I will keep it: lanyard mount.