Sony XPERIA Z2

rovoagho · 19-04-2014 12:09pm

I'm on bill pay, just not on a subsidised contract. It's a false economy.

WolfForager · 19-04-2014 12:11pm

rovoagho wrote: »

I'm on bill pay, just not on a subsidised contract. It's a false economy.

Not everyone can afford to slap down €600 on a once phone payment.

Uriel. · 19-04-2014 12:12pm

rovoagho wrote: »

I'm on bill pay, just not on a subsidised contract. It's a false economy.

That's not true in every circumstance.

On a 24 month contact for the new HTC I can save myself somewhere in the region of 100 compared to buying the phone sim free

WolfForager · 19-04-2014 12:14pm

My biggest problem with 24 month contracts is that I can't change my phone for 24 months unless I buy a new one myself.

Sort of why Vodafone'd Red plan seems quite good, but then again they don't have unlimited data and calls like Three.

If a carrier could combine the best of the two they'd make a killing.

rovoagho · 19-04-2014 1:09pm

The 24 month contracts put paid to subsidies for me forever, although they were already touch and go at 18. Even aside from the fact that I have no interest in owning a phone for 2 years, my usage pattern would never pay for itself. I'm happy to manage my money more carefully and always have the phone I want.

thehomeofDob · 19-04-2014 5:34pm

rovoagho wrote: »

The 24 month contracts put paid to subsidies for me forever, although they were already touch and go at 18. Even aside from the fact that I have no interest in owning a phone for 2 years, my usage pattern would never pay for itself. I'm happy to manage my money more carefully and always have the phone I want.

I'll be doing the same after my contract with Vodafone is up. I had to sign up because of a sudden change of job, losing my work phone and needing something quick. Generally you're much better off paying SIM free unless you get a particularly special deal with your contract.

Uriel. · 22-04-2014 12:44pm

I see emobile (on the "Talk to" thread) has confirmed that it will be stocking this phone, but that it won't be available until June (no indicative time frame e.g. early/late June provided though).

As has been mentioned on this thread previously, Vodafone have a period of exclusivity on the sale of the phone initially. No idea how long though. Maybe a month? (Just guessing) - Sounds like it could be a mid-late May availability on Vodafone...

advertsfox · 22-04-2014 1:25pm

PhonesOnline.ie will also be selling it SIM Free for €699 - reputable source I've used many times with fast delivery times, Irish owned based in Wicklow.

http://www.phonesonline.ie/sony-xperia-z2-sim-free.html

north south east west · 23-04-2014 1:25pm

http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/45647-sonys-xperia-z2-smartphone/

Mantis Toboggan · 23-04-2014 1:33pm

advertsfox wrote: »

PhonesOnline.ie will also be selling it SIM Free for €699 - reputable source I've used many times with fast delivery times, Irish owned based in Wicklow.

http://www.phonesonline.ie/sony-xperia-z2-sim-free.html

Is there anyone that would pay 700 quid for a Sony phone?
Especially when you can buy a Moto G for €150 or two nexus 5's for the price of the sony!

rovoagho · 23-04-2014 1:50pm

I wouldn't pay 700 for one, but apples and oranges.

advertsfox · 23-04-2014 2:05pm

rovoagho wrote: »

I wouldn't pay 700 for one, but apples and oranges.

Nor would I, some people are desperate for handsets and especially factory unlocked ones so it's nice we have a local option. I picked up a Z1 for €25 off eMobile as an upgrade, don't see any point in the upgrade anytime soon although it's a lovely phone - 5" is my hand size limit I feel.

rovoagho · 23-04-2014 2:15pm

I said that at 4.5", yet here I am on a 5" THL, which happens to be wider than the 5.2" Z2 I'm waiting on; and my Nexus 7 has gone to my mother-in-law on extended loan because it's pretty much redundant. Convergence rocks.

brophy · 24-04-2014 10:48am

Just got an email from Vodafone seems its available to order and comes with a free wireless speaker if ordered soon.

"Hi,

It's only with Vodafone, has been given a 5 star review by Stuff, Sony's best ever smartphone the Sony Xperia Z2 has arrived. Order now in online and mobile or go instore. What's more you can get it from free on Vodafone RED and when you order online we have an exclusive offer for you.

Get the superb Sony Xperia Z2 now.

Exclusive online offer -

We have received a limited stock of the superb Sony SRS-BTM8 wireless speakers to supply absolutely free when you buy the Sony Xperia Z2 online. The BTM8's are worth €100 and received a 5 star review from the trusted audio review site What Hi-Fi. You can read the review here. So don't miss out, stocks are limited, order your Sony Xperia Z2 now. "

flazio · 24-04-2014 1:22pm

So, it's out now on Vodafone. 630 euro PAYG, 99 euro on the basic RED plan 24 month only and they are throwing in free wireless speakers.
http://www.vodafone.ie/offers/sony/?icmp=hpb-pos1-XperiaandBTM8

whitelightrider · 24-04-2014 2:43pm

flazio wrote: »

So, it's out now on Vodafone. 630 euro PAYG, 99 euro on the basic RED plan 24 month only and they are throwing in free wireless speakers.
http://www.vodafone.ie/offers/sony/?icmp=hpb-pos1-XperiaandBTM8

Im not due for an upgrade for another 2 months. Was looking to change from the S4 to the Z2. Looks very nice

garyegt · 24-04-2014 5:45pm

So is anybody going to take the plunge on this one yet?

thehomeofDob · 24-04-2014 6:35pm

garyegt wrote: »

So is anybody going to take the plunge on this one yet?

Yupp. Gonna get it on Monday. Just gotta do a bit more research over the weekend on the locked bootloader. Sony have generally offered a way to unlock it and have done up to the Z1 / Z1 Compact and Z Ultra, so I'm hoping they'll offer it on the Z2. Otherwise no root, and no removing the bloat I'm sure Vodafone will have on it.

It's between this and the S5. I'll be going for the Z2 because of build quality and aesthetics, better water resistance, better quality still images, more stock-like UI, and I prefer the more basic Sony smart band to the Galaxy Gear Fit.

rovoagho · 24-04-2014 6:36pm

I've two preordered, SIM free. Wouldn't touch Vodafone with a barge pole, from experience.

rovoagho · 29-04-2014 2:23pm

Clove have announced May 9 as their ship date for the Z2.

rovoagho · 29-04-2014 9:15pm

And Amazon just tried to take payment from my card. Looks like the Clove order is being cancelled.

Uriel. · 29-04-2014 9:37pm

Will be interesting to see what you think of it when you get it. I'm now leaning towards the m8 following the various reviews, but will wait to hear what users here think first.

rovoagho · 29-04-2014 11:27pm

Fingers crossed any quality issues have been ironed out by now. I look forward to most of my phones, but this one has me on the edge of my seat, I'm like small child standing in a long queue at an ice cream van, jumping from foot to foot.

If I'm wrong about the Sony, the M8 won't be my next choice. I have a broken M7 beside me that I had for nearly a year, and while I liked it, I didn't like it as much as the One X and Sensation XE that preceded it, and I couldn't even explain why. The M8 does nothing for me, it's iterative at best, and I've never like the Samsung S series phones, absolutely hate the look and feel of them. I'd probably go for Oppo Find 7 or OnePlus One.

thehomeofDob · 30-04-2014 11:38am

I picked up the Z2 on Monday and have been on it constantly since then. So far I'm liking it. With all the battery saving features (bar restricted processor speed) I'm getting great battery life, while any perceived functionality has not been effected.

Yesterday I unplugged the phone at 9am. I was using Hangouts to chat to one person throughout the day, 30 minutes of phone calls, 2 hours of audio streaming over Google Music, a few games on my lunch, handful of pictures taken. Google Drive Sync (instant upload on) working away in the background as well as Google+ photo back up. Before bed I started a 1080p torrent (on the Z2) of a film I wanted to watch, didn't want to wait so streamed it on Showbox in HD (screen on full brightness, speaker volume at max), the torrent kept downloading in the background. By half 12 when I went to bed I had 28% battery life remaining. I should have taken a screenshot, but alas I'll have to remember next time.

Any questions, ask away.

garyegt · 30-04-2014 11:47am

thehomeofDob wrote: »

I picked up the Z2 on Monday and have been on it constantly since then. So far I'm liking it. With all the battery saving features (bar restricted processor speed) I'm getting great battery life, while any perceived functionality has not been effected.

Yesterday I unplugged the phone at 9am. I was using Hangouts to chat to one person throughout the day, 30 minutes of phone calls, 2 hours of audio streaming over Google Music, a few games on my lunch, handful of pictures taken. Google Drive Sync (instant upload on) working away in the background as well as Google+ photo back up. Before bed I started a 1080p torrent (on the Z2) of a film I wanted to watch, didn't want to wait so streamed it on Showbox in HD (screen on full brightness, speaker volume at max), the torrent kept downloading in the background. By half 12 when I went to bed I had 28% battery life remaining. I should have taken a screenshot, but alas I'll have to remember next time.

Any questions, ask away.

did you get it on vodafone? have they their own flash of os on the phone ie, on powerup does the vodafone logo come up, or much bloatware on it?

thehomeofDob · 30-04-2014 12:04pm

garyegt wrote: »

did you get it on vodafone? have they their own flash of os on the phone ie, on powerup does the vodafone logo come up, or much bloatware on it?

Got it on Vodafone, they have their own OS, no Vodafone logo on power up, not too much bloat that can't be removed. I replaced the launcher with Nova as the stock launcher while good, wasn't great, so Vodafone icons are all hidden. The only Vodafone process currently running is Vodafone Updates using 6MB of RAM.
Bootloader is unlockable (currently), however you can still flash generic stock Sony ROM's using Flashtool. So if you want a completely clean ROM it's possible.

garyegt · 30-04-2014 12:12pm

thanks for the info. ill be ordering one soon as anyway.

garyegt · 30-04-2014 12:31pm

actually, ive another question, what came in the box? ive seen an unboxing and it came with the little charging cradle and the noise cancelling headphones. did Vodafone remove them from the box?

thehomeofDob · 30-04-2014 12:35pm

garyegt wrote: »

actually, ive another question, what came in the box? ive seen an unboxing and it came with the little charging cradle and the noise cancelling headphones. did Vodafone remove them from the box?

The dock/magnetic charger was for the Taiwan release only I believe. The Vodafone box included the noise canceling headphones (MDR-NC31EM), a USB Power adapter with a 1.5a output, micro USB cable, and a USB host cable.

flazio · 30-04-2014 11:52pm

You're sure they are the noise cancellers? Incidentally did you take up the offer of the NFC speaker?

thehomeofDob · 01-05-2014 12:57am

flazio wrote: »

You're sure they are the noise cancellers? Incidentally did you take up the offer of the NFC speaker?

Yes, definitely noise cancellers. The documentation confirms it, and the phone activates noise cancellation when you plug them in. I think they work quite well for an included pair of headphones, I walked through the canteen today during lunch so anywhere from 200 to 300 people there. With music playing at probably 55% volume I couldn't hear people talking.

The bluetooth speaker offer is for online only. As I was taking advantage of the new phone every year policy I couldn't order online, this was despite customer service agents telling me I could on two occasions. It wasn't until I asked them to walk me through the process that they told me I couldn't and I'd need to go to a store where the offer wasn't available. I would have kicked up more stink but I have a decent set of BT speakers already.

Oafley Jones · 01-05-2014 9:04am

thehomeofDob wrote: »

Yes, definitely noise cancellers. The documentation confirms it, and the phone activates noise cancellation when you plug them in. I think they work quite well for an included pair of headphones, I walked through the canteen today during lunch so anywhere from 200 to 300 people there. With music playing at probably 55% volume I couldn't hear people talking.

The bluetooth speaker offer is for online only. As I was taking advantage of the new phone every year policy I couldn't order online, this was despite customer service agents telling me I could on two occasions. It wasn't until I asked them to walk me through the process that they told me I couldn't and I'd need to go to a store where the offer wasn't available. I would have kicked up more stink but I have a decent set of BT speakers already.

How do you find the front speakers? The speakers on the HTC One will one of the things I miss. Definitely interested in this, particularly for the camera. They'll need to be quicker in distribution because Oneplus have my attention also now.

thehomeofDob · 01-05-2014 9:14am

Oafley Jones wrote: »

How do you find the front speakers? The speakers on the HTC One will one of the things I miss. Definitely interested in this, particularly for the camera. They'll need to be quicker in distribution because Oneplus have my attention also now.

I find them more than adequate. They're certainly louder than my S4. Although I've seen and heard the One M7 and the M8 I couldn't do a side by side comparison to accurately judge the speakers.

Unless you order from the UK you'll not get it for awhile, Vodafone have exclusivity for now.

krustydoyle · 01-05-2014 9:21pm

Looking like ill be getting this for sure now.. called into the meteor store today to check what was available on my upgrade and all they offered me was an s4 for €50 or a s5 for €200 so im thinking of switching to vodafone and getting it for free on their plan.

Flaccus · 02-05-2014 2:08pm

Anyone recorded 4k video yet and experienced overheating issues. Sony have admitted there is a problem and told users to use a high capacity card and limit recordings to no more than a few minutes.

http://www.xperiablog.net/2014/04/08/xperia-z2-owners-reporting-issues-with-gaps-in-chassis-and-overheating-with-4k-video/

garyegt · 02-05-2014 2:19pm

Just got mine this morning, it's very nice indeed. Much faster than my Xperia s. As for 4k recording, haven't done it yet but I've no real interest as I've no way to test it properly

No Pants · 02-05-2014 2:26pm

Is Clove the preferred option for buying these phones SIM free? I might be looking at one of these later. Not looking to get into a contract any more.

rovoagho · 02-05-2014 4:14pm

Amazon DE are €75 cheaper, but don't include the speaker. You'd be lucky to get €50 for the speaker though, particularly after next week when the market will be flooded.

Also note that the noise cancellers seem to be bundled with European handsets, Sony UK seem to have pulled a stroke on some vendors with this. Their UK sales and marketing team come across like a right bunch of tossers.

I had a chat with a nice chap from Clove today about the whole thing, after they pitched me on a reduced fitness band. If Amazon DE don't get their skates on, I'll probably go with Clove myself in the end.

rovoagho · 02-05-2014 10:47pm

Amazon DE dispatched today. Clove cancelled. Sorry Clove, maybe next time!

SuprSi · 08-05-2014 4:54pm

I'm on my 2nd Z2 at the moment. The first I returned as the call quality was rubbish, it was as if there was a little rattle from the speaker, though I'm getting something similar with this one as well and I'm wondering whether it's just the way the phone is.

Does anyone else have this?

rovoagho · 08-05-2014 6:32pm

Haven't noticed anything on mine. I'm loving it, the only thing that's bothering me so far is that the chrome is a little pink for my liking. I tried playing with the white balance but that made videos a little dark, going to have another go this evening. Loving this phone though. Terrified of dropping it!

rolion · 09-05-2014 1:37am

Hmm... I may have to wait for Xperia Z 2.001 then !

SuprSi · 09-05-2014 1:04pm

So I went back into the store again today and tried another handset but it has the same problem, so I'm guessing it's just something with me. It's frustrating though as it really impacts the quality of sound from the earpiece. I tried the wifes M8 last night to see if she had the same thing and she didn't, so it seems restricted to Sony.

I have another week or so to decide what to do. I'm really getting to like the phone and at this point don't want to swap it for anything so I'll see if I can put up with the sound on it.

SuprSi · 09-05-2014 1:41pm

A question for those of you with the phone - have you enabled or do you use lock screen widgets? Even after enabling them in security, the only one that appears on the lock screen is the camera, which is there regardless of whether I enable or disable them.

Edit - it's not lock screen widgets I'm looking for, it's that thing where you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to launch an app directly from the lock screen. The S4 had it, and the Z2 has it for the camera but I can't add it for anything else.

rovoagho · 09-05-2014 11:19pm

Can someone with an Irish or British phone let me know the model number of the charger that came with their phone please? Mine came from Germany with a 2 pin and I'd like to replace it with a genuine 3 pin.

thehomeofDob · 10-05-2014 11:35pm

SuprSi wrote: »

A question for those of you with the phone - have you enabled or do you use lock screen widgets? Even after enabling them in security, the only one that appears on the lock screen is the camera, which is there regardless of whether I enable or disable them.

Edit - it's not lock screen widgets I'm looking for, it's that thing where you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to launch an app directly from the lock screen. The S4 had it, and the Z2 has it for the camera but I can't add it for anything else.

That's a Samsung feature, not an Android one. I'm unsure if there's a similar replacement in the Play Store, though I'm sure you could use a widget launcher to get an app launcher of sorts.

rovoagho wrote: »

Can someone with an Irish or British phone let me know the model number of the charger that came with their phone please? Mine came from Germany with a 2 pin and I'd like to replace it with a genuine 3 pin.

Sony EP880

http://goo.gl/7g8tes

north south east west · 12-05-2014 12:57pm

Has anyone heard is Meteor getting the Z2? O2 have it listed on their site as coming soon but nothing on Meteor. Supposedly Three aren't going to be getting it.

SuprSi · 12-05-2014 1:12pm

To those of you wishing to get more from your lock screen, try Start;

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.celltick.lockscreen

Brilliant (& free) app.

ZeitgeistGlee · 12-05-2014 1:17pm

north south east west wrote: »

Has anyone heard is Meteor getting the Z2? O2 have it listed on their site as coming soon but nothing on Meteor. Supposedly Three aren't going to be getting it.

Was told they (and Emobile) would have it in June IIRC.

darragh o meara · 15-05-2014 1:26am

Very little Xperia Z2 talk, is it just that not many people have them yet ??

Sony XPERIA Z2

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