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Sony "Honami" i1 - Rumored Specs Leaked - Mindblown
- Thread starter damitssam
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Yeah, but keep in mind that the screen was the major disappointment in the Xperia Z.
I think Sony has the potential to be one of the world's top phone makers. They're known to suck at this, but they'd need some inter-department love to make it work. Imagine screen tech and video processing from Sony's TV decision, lens/camera from their (now pretty awesome) camera division, mic/speakers from Japanese domestic sound division, some sort of Playstation gaming integration (Shield-style perhaps, and in which they'd probably find more of a market than with the Vita)... and design/build quality they're already pretty good at. How many companies have those resources available to them?
The Honami looks very promising indeed, but I think one thing in particular is holding it back. While the design is attractive to me, I think there's just too much bezel on the bottom and top. This is what's wrong with the HTC One, and what the S4 and Moto X do right IMO. Given how thin this phone looks, if it had a shrunken bezel... design-wise it would be near ideal.
I like the white a lot, but it would be nice if the frame didn't have all those breaks along the side, kinda ruins the aesthetic IMO... the black seems to hide this better. If they could find a way to make it waterproof without the flaps, that would be nice too. Using exotic materials like carbon fiber and kevlar seems like the way to go these days!
I see people here saying they don't like the UI, but while I haven't played with the Z, it seems better (read: closer to stock) than the Sense or Touchwiz (can't stand either). IMO every manufacturer (or Google by force) should offer the option to have stock on any phone. Choose whichever you want. Shouldn't have to hack/root/load custom roms to get a stock experience.
I am looking forward to seeing what the Honami camera can do, given where Sony's cameras are these days (great IQ from NEX, RX100/ii, RX1/r) and upcoming stuff (full frame NEX, mirrorless A-mount), but I think the use of the G branding and 4K video are purely for marketing. I haven't seen/heard of a good OIS system in this, which would make it a lot more interesting. 20MP is too much for an itty bitty sensor.
I think Sony has the potential to be one of the world's top phone makers. They're known to suck at this, but they'd need some inter-department love to make it work. Imagine screen tech and video processing from Sony's TV decision, lens/camera from their (now pretty awesome) camera division, mic/speakers from Japanese domestic sound division, some sort of Playstation gaming integration (Shield-style perhaps, and in which they'd probably find more of a market than with the Vita)... and design/build quality they're already pretty good at. How many companies have those resources available to them?
The Honami looks very promising indeed, but I think one thing in particular is holding it back. While the design is attractive to me, I think there's just too much bezel on the bottom and top. This is what's wrong with the HTC One, and what the S4 and Moto X do right IMO. Given how thin this phone looks, if it had a shrunken bezel... design-wise it would be near ideal.
I like the white a lot, but it would be nice if the frame didn't have all those breaks along the side, kinda ruins the aesthetic IMO... the black seems to hide this better. If they could find a way to make it waterproof without the flaps, that would be nice too. Using exotic materials like carbon fiber and kevlar seems like the way to go these days!
I see people here saying they don't like the UI, but while I haven't played with the Z, it seems better (read: closer to stock) than the Sense or Touchwiz (can't stand either). IMO every manufacturer (or Google by force) should offer the option to have stock on any phone. Choose whichever you want. Shouldn't have to hack/root/load custom roms to get a stock experience.
I am looking forward to seeing what the Honami camera can do, given where Sony's cameras are these days (great IQ from NEX, RX100/ii, RX1/r) and upcoming stuff (full frame NEX, mirrorless A-mount), but I think the use of the G branding and 4K video are purely for marketing. I haven't seen/heard of a good OIS system in this, which would make it a lot more interesting. 20MP is too much for an itty bitty sensor.
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I have a Z and a ZL but much prefer the ZL because it's so much smaller. The screen is fine for me as I look at it at a direct angle like a normal human being... Ok so it's a little more washed out than other screens at an angle but I couldnt care less.
I don't why people whinge about the UI as it's fairly plain and not cartoonish like TouchWiz or Sense.
To each is own I guess.
Not a problem for me. Verizon isnt my carrier so i dont care. It is at T-Mobile already. I checked it out today at a TMo store, ...just wasnt that impressed. One reason is that it is all glass. I dont care for that.
Another is it says it is a 5" display but it is slightly smaller than my GS3 and then the on screen buttons take up some of that....which is fine really but it looks more like a 4.7-4.8" screen to me which includes the buttons.
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The Honami would have a better screen based on the Xperia Z Ultra's.
I think the grey is a feature of the default wallpaper and not exactly a defect of the screen.
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I didn't know the ZL was smaller, interesting. I've always been into display tech (bought a Nokia N80 for its pixel density, a term most people didn't know back in 2006), so the quality of display matters to me personally. However, it's a marketable thing nowadays... and with Apple using it as a differentiation point (IPS, better calibrated etc) Sony should be able to hold its own, since higher-end Sony TVs have excellent processing.
Totally agree with you on the UI. Can't for the life of me understand how people like Touchwiz... even at 4.x.y, the messaging app and many others look EXACTLY like 2.2/2.3 Touchwiz.
Most people in the States aren't aware/don't care about these phones. If there was enough demand, Verizon would be moving towards the standard bands + sim card setup at some point. Plus, it's hard for companies that aren't established in the US (in the cell phone market) to gain traction... like Nokia, and in this case, Sony. Huge marketing budgets would need to be rolled out, but like I said earlier, if anyone has the marketing muscle and technical potential, it's Sony.
Totally agree with you on the UI. Can't for the life of me understand how people like Touchwiz... even at 4.x.y, the messaging app and many others look EXACTLY like 2.2/2.3 Touchwiz.
Most people in the States aren't aware/don't care about these phones. If there was enough demand, Verizon would be moving towards the standard bands + sim card setup at some point. Plus, it's hard for companies that aren't established in the US (in the cell phone market) to gain traction... like Nokia, and in this case, Sony. Huge marketing budgets would need to be rolled out, but like I said earlier, if anyone has the marketing muscle and technical potential, it's Sony.
It's a lot smaller http://www.androidauthority.com/sony-xperia-z-vs-sony-xperia-zl-149773/ I'm very happy with it so far.
That is a dummy phone. The pic you are seeing is a piece of paper with a picture of a home screen.
The screen has already been reviewed as significantly better than the Z as per Xperia Ultra. It won't be over saturated like amoleds though if that is what you are hoping.
An absolutely gorgeous phone. I love the white one.
If Sony/Google release a GPE of the white one on the Play store, I would seriously consider it.
If Sony/Google release a GPE of the white one on the Play store, I would seriously consider it.
I think the aluminium slimmer frame on the Ultra looks better than the frame on the Z1 especially if it is made from carbon fibre which ultimately will look and feel like plastic.
This looks too much like the current Z.
The worst thing on the current Z is the plastic skeleton. This seems to carry it over rather than adapt/evolve like the Ultra.
This looks too much like the current Z.
The worst thing on the current Z is the plastic skeleton. This seems to carry it over rather than adapt/evolve like the Ultra.
My biggest fear with this is that I'll find the flaps annoying. Waterproofing the ports is nice and all, and when the ports are closed, the thing is a beauty, but I use my smartphone as a music player for my commute, and it's going to basically look like this in and out of my pocket, which can get annoying:
Can any Xperia Z users attest to this being a problem or not?
Can any Xperia Z users attest to this being a problem or not?
The flaps aren't too bad on the Z but I prefer my ZL much more.
I never really cared about the waterproofing and hopefully they make a ZL styled Z1 too then I'm in for sure.
I, too, would trade waterproofing for non-flaps.
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Some interesting tidbits.
-The Z1 is slightly taller than the Z.
-The new Triluminos display will apparently address all the screen issues of the first Z (washed out colors, poor viewing angles, etc.). You can look at the Xperia Ultra, which has the Triluminos display tech comparison pictures here: http://www.phonearena.com/news/See-...ainst-the-one-on-the-Sony-Xperia-Z_id46474#3-
-There may be a Mini version of the Honami coming in at 4.3 inches. VERY INTERESTING.
This phone like ZU has no flap over the headphone jacket. For charging you have the Sony dock and the special open (no flap) connector at one of the sides, so I doubt you will have to deal with flaps that often.
As the post above me says, the Z Ultra has no flap and is still waterproof. If you go through the official teaser and all the leaks, you can see the Honami has no flap for the headphone port.
On the Z, apart from the headphone flap, there is no reason to open any other flap. To charge you use the dock which is much nicer and easier to do.
The Ultra and the Z1 now have open headphone ports but are still able to maintain the waterproof feature. Thus, now there is no reason why any flaps ever need to be opened after the initial installation of the sim and memory card.
The Ultra and the Z1 now have open headphone ports but are still able to maintain the waterproof feature. Thus, now there is no reason why any flaps ever need to be opened after the initial installation of the sim and memory card.
AWESOME news about the no flap for the headphone jack. I did not know that. I don't know how I missed that the jack is in plain sight in those photos.
So how do they maintain the waterproofing? Amazing.
My interest in this phone is seriously rising.
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It's a shame it got significantly taller, however. :T
So how do they maintain the waterproofing? Amazing.
My interest in this phone is seriously rising.
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It's a shame it got significantly taller, however. :T
I think it's a good looking phone and would take a good long look at a GPE version, until I saw the dimensions. It's significantly bigger than both the HTC One and Galaxy S4, two devices I place at the limit of my preferred size.
Shame too, because we spend a lot of time outdoors (beach, pool, park) and coupled with the daily Florida afternoon thunderstorms, was excited about the waterproof nature of the device.
Shame too, because we spend a lot of time outdoors (beach, pool, park) and coupled with the daily Florida afternoon thunderstorms, was excited about the waterproof nature of the device.