Sony Xperia Z1 - Esato archive

Posted by kurtdean
z1 vs note 3 screen http://www.eprice.com.tw/mobi[....]ny-xperia-z1-i1-Honami-review/ Z1 has better screen CONFIRMED

Posted by ascariss
Just like Apple, Sony also has to source its screens from multiple companies in order not to stick all their eggs in one basket. I posted this earlier from AnandTech who tested the new iphones and discovered that the 5C in their test had a brighter screen than the 5S

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7340/the-iphone-5c-review

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review/12

As the graph shows, for this particular 5S, the 2 previous models and the 5C have a brighter screen, but other parameters were either similar or better for the 5S. Clearly down to a different manufacturer for the screen.

This is probably the same case for Sony's screens but who knows how much difference there is between the various screen suppliers for Sony, I'd hope that Sony has a strict quality control system to ensure the variation is not large.

Posted by bcb16
hmm..don't know if this already posted or the correct thread, review for DSC QX10 : http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/sony_cybershot_dsc_qx10_review/

Posted by hihihans
We have a dedicated thread for the QX-10 and QX-100 lenses.
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=206145

Posted by bcb16
@hihihans

owh ic ic, thanks for the info. Sorry for posted it here

Posted by Shotokan81

On 2013-09-20 05:32:36, moogoo wrote:
From what I understood Shotokan to say, he's saying use of an XR rating would give more confidence to what's being said, ONLY if it is published on the first post of the rumor thread. Anything else in the thread being said is just hogwash unless it's in the first post of the thread with an XR rating.

Yes, nothing more than what Razec suggested building upon what Ramu was doing.
I mean that the host gathers the rumors and cross the information, wether it is PM or in the thread is not important. Depending on how many sources, consistency of feedback and who these sources are (tracking record) then the host assigns a XR rating.

Anyone can post and claim a XR rating, but the real Esato XR ratings are the ones from the host and can be seen on the first page...

Posted by admad

On 2013-09-20 03:17:32, moogoo wrote:
so i took a peek at GSMarena's Note 3 Preview..

lo and behold, they are praising the Note 3's camera like it's god gift to imaging. I pulled up the sample images of the same things (they took pics of the same things) and put them side by side. The Z1's Superior Auto samples look the same or better.

For a site that's "well respected" as far as mobile review sites go.. it's not very scientific in its review. Sure, it's fairly thorough, but definitely not scientific. The conditions, settings, firmware version, etc aren't laid out. And I'd be hard pressed to think they took more than one photo of anything.

If I had the money to buy a ton of different phones, so I could review them.. I'd set up some scientific experiments to show a phone's true potential. Anybody want to invest in me?

Anyway.. the camera is the least of my worries, as the HW is there and latest sw is good and will get better. 2 weeks until i make my decision.. hopefully the smartwatch deal is still around

Oh really? Let me show what's it like in real life. I resized Note 3 photo from 13 to 20.7 MP so Z1 should have a big advantage here. As mentioned before Z1 has good parts of the photo, and the bad blurry crap. I compared them both. Please remember, that Note 3 is a phablet, camera wasn't important, it doesn't have BIONZ image chip, Sony G Lens, 1/2.3" and a 20.7MP. But it still does equally good (on good part) and far far better on bad part of the photo than the Z1 which was supposed to have best camera on android smartphone. I say what GSMArena did, Note 3 camera is fantastic, having that in mind

Ofcourse the Z1 was pre-production model, but so was Note 3. So I have a challange, show me a landscape photo from Z1 that doesn't have this crap blurred out part.

Posted by Geoffxx
well guys first issue - the phone won't recognise my 64gb SD card - it could be faulty, it sees my 18gb card no problem, I need some way of testing the card, my laptop won't read it either but that is nothing new, have to go get it tested somewhere before I order another one, it was in my Ultra before I sold it and was working fine

I love this phone

The camera came in handy for reading the writting on the SD card as it's too small even with my glasses on

[ This Message was edited by: Geoffxx on 2013-09-20 10:14 ]

Posted by reeflotz
@ Aurelius

Thanks for sharing those excellent pics taken by Z1, I do hope that after the firmware update for Z1 camera, review sites will do a re-review of it.

Posted by unknownC151A
I actually compared my Xperia ion's display with Xperia Z1's and ion came out brighter and with deeper blacks.
Furthermore, I took shots with the Z1 today and post progressing in clearly evident. I did not Bluetooth those samples but there's like a lot white-grey specks and weird streaks when zoomed in.
Overall, it's a great phone. The dinosaur mode was fun. Not many people know, but you actually move those dinosaurs and trees around.
Timeshift mode was also interesting.

Posted by nodarsixar
4k recording via software update?

for exampe:
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_atrix-3709.php

Posted by randomuser
Guys with rooted Z1, please check this thread and reply

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451628

Posted by tyko
@ Aurelius
So this talk that a new jpeg engine/alghoritms is coming may not be true?

Posted by Miki69

We are still talking about this and the answer is the same; Japan thinks it's enough, SMC Sweden thinks they can work on it way more to get the full potential of the sensor.

So it comes down to which option will prevail: Japan vs. Sweden?

I don't really understand "Japan thinksit's enough" - What is "enough"? Why settle with "enough" if there is room for an improvement?

So far, Z1 images were quite hit and miss, some sub-par (same old, same old, typical sony IP algorithm, like admad posted on several occasions) some really amazing, like those 2 aurelius just posted above and those with firmware xx.510 posted by Virgile Fontaine from Disneyland Paris.

Any word on BIONZ final version?

Cheers,
Miki

Posted by sponse
from phone arena:

Question by Amir1:
"Where would you put the Z1 display quality overall? best? second best? third best? etc. after what devices?"

Answer: We can't necessarily rank the Z1's display, but it's certainly among the better ones. It's not at the same level as some other high-quality IPS LCD displays, such as those of the iPhone 5 and the HTC One, but it's among the better ones.

Posted by MyP910

On 2013-09-20 11:57:22, Miki69 wrote:

So far, Z1 images were quite hit and miss, some sub-par (same old, same old, typical sony IP algorithm, like admad posted on several occasions) some really amazing, like those 2 aurelius just posted above and those with firmware xx.510 posted by Virgile Fontaine from Disneyland Paris.

Any word on BIONZ final version?

Cheers,
Miki

I think it is the same with any camera (smartphone, compact, DSLR...) where you will have hit and miss. With any camera, you can have good or bad images because there are so many variables especially if you use auto mode. Some high end DSLR might be better where the image/focus/noise/metering will be spot on most of the times, but sometimes they do have a miss hit.

Posted by Miki69
MyP910,

Having Sony NEX line I have to agree with you. However, I'm talking here about TOTALLY different IP. As you can see from those images some are really astonishing with virtually no noise at all. Some are quite disappointing (in similar lighting conditions). The difference is rather striking.

I'm not talking about out-of-focus images due to handshake, erratic movement etc, .... IP is (or better put - looks) totally different, like not the same phone, yet when you check fw it's same (most recent photos are with .518)

Another review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-xperia-z1_Mobile-Phone_review

Another Q&A session:
http://forums.androidcentral.[....]uve-got-questions-lets-do.html

Cheers,
Miki

[ This Message was edited by: Miki69 on 2013-09-20 11:32 ]

Posted by MNX1024
My white Z1 just shipped from Clove. Now I'm grinning from ear to ear! XD

Posted by smclion102
XPERIA Z1 INDIA [3G model none LTE]

I can confirm you that Z1 has better or equal quality display as ULTRA. Xperia Z looks bad.
Z1 and Ultra looked identical.
Z1 screen was much brighter whereas Ultra was dull.

So now I dono which country has got the bad PANEL.

Posted by dibdin

On 2013-09-20 13:30:07, MNX1024 wrote:
My white Z1 just shipped from Clove. Now I'm grinning from ear to ear! XD

Let us know if you have a good display or not, as some members on here and XDA have pointed out that there displays are far from perfect having purchased from Clove too.

Posted by ascariss
I was able to compare the Z1 against the Z up close in store, and the viewing angles are similar but the Z1 takes it as the winner. Overall the screen is not an issue for me, colours are good and vibrant, don't pop like on an AMOLED screen but otherwise fine. Tested the camera, it was set in manual, not the best results, but when set to superior auto, the photos were good, it was indoors so I'd expect very good results outside in bright light.

Also tested the walkman out and the sound quality, I don't have any of the pre-loaded songs so I couldn't do a direct comparison betwen my walkman and the Z1 but generally the sound is clean and good, bass is also good and there was no distortion. I'd compare the quality to my NWZ-E575 but my older X-Series still sounds better. Overall the sound quality is very good for a phone and depending what time I arrive back home on monday I may still go and buy the phone monday evening or wait until tuesday morning.

Posted by sponse
another thing that i want to point out with the Z1 camera.
the Lens G sony is using, is a wide angle lens (27mm).

i think while the landscape, would be amazing on the z1, others samples like Portraiture, street shots ecc, will look better (or as equally good) in the areas out of focus on other phones.
for example:

http://static.xperiablog.net/[....]2013/09/Xperia-Z1-sample_2.jpg
http://static.xperiablog.net/[....]2013/09/Xperia-Z1-sample_3.jpg
http://static.xperiablog.net/[....]2013/09/Xperia-Z1-sample_4.jpg
http://static.xperiablog.net/[....]013/09/Xperia-Z1-sample_16.jpg

another intersting thing! if you have larger aperture you will have narrower depth of field! thats why we have blur on the side of the photos!

[ This Message was edited by: sponse on 2013-09-20 13:59 ]

Posted by XperiaJunkie
Iam a very proud owner of a Sony Xperia Z1 and is head and shoulders above the Z in every way shape and form. The display is just wow and my free qx10 is superb.

Posted by Miki69
can you comment on QX10 vs Z1 camera? I mean,other than zoom capabilities, any noticeable difference?

@sponse
Those are the photos from Virgile Fontaine I have mentioned earlier - superb!

Cheers,
Miki

[ This Message was edited by: Miki69 on 2013-09-20 13:47 ]

Posted by dibdin
How is the display in direct sunlight anyone?

Posted by XperiaJunkie

On 2013-09-20 14:46:34, Miki69 wrote:
can you comment on QX10 vs Z1 camera? I mean,other than zoom capabilities, any noticeable difference?

@sponse
Those are the photos from Virgile Fontaine I have mentioned earlier - superb!

Cheers,
Miki

[ This Message was edited by: Miki69 on 2013-09-20 13:47 ]

I have only spent a short time with the lens so I cant really comment that much but what I will say is they are as good as each other at first glance. I will have more time to play later on tonight. I will update asap.

Posted by XperiaJunkie

On 2013-09-20 15:02:02, dibdin wrote:
How is the display in direct sunlight anyone?

unable to try in direct sunlight (i live in north east England dont get to se it that much lol) but have tried it under bright indoor light and it was fine unless the light is shining directly onto the screen and it is super bright but even then it was still decent no issues at all with bright lights sor far.

Posted by MNX1024

On 2013-09-20 13:38:44, dibdin wrote:
Let us know if you have a good display or not, as some members on here and XDA have pointed out that there displays are far from perfect having purchased from Clove too.

Definitely will let everyone know. Just so everyone knows, I could care less about the viewing angle because I'm not going to be looking at it from an exaggerated angle. If I'm showing stuff to others on my phone, I'm not going to have 10 people huddle up looking at a single 5 inch screen or I'm just going to pass my phone to them. As long as it looks great head on, which is how it's going to be used majority of the time, I'm cool with it!

Posted by dr.W

On 2013-09-20 11:31:54, unknownC151A wrote:
I actually compared my Xperia ion's display with Xperia Z1's and ion came out brighter and with deeper blacks.
Furthermore, I took shots with the Z1 today and post progressing in clearly evident. I did not Bluetooth those samples but there's like a lot white-grey specks and weird streaks when zoomed in.
Overall, it's a great phone. The dinosaur mode was fun. Not many people know, but you actually move those dinosaurs and trees around.
Timeshift mode was also interesting.

With all due respect your comments about the Z1's display are not very helpful to anyone here as its simply a description of what you saw. I could come on here and say the same thing even though I own neither of those phones. Please post a picture so everyone can see how the displays compare.

Posted by unknownC151A

On 2013-09-20 15:42:58, dr.W wrote:

I'm just saying my ion is noticebly brighter and have deeper blacks. Hard to imagine? You've to wait. I don't head to the city everyday.

Posted by Bonovox
Noticed something in Sony threads is a lot of bickering,problems etc yet the Samsung threads have no such thing and all users are happy. Wonder why??

Posted by moogoo
@bonovox - because a lot of haters come to the sony thread to cause trouble?

@admad - if you actually read my post, i said the SUPERIOR AUTO samples of the Z1 are just as good if not better than the Note 3's. I concede the 20mp samples aren't very good for whatever reason. But the Superior Auto is just as good, if not better than Note 3. Yet there's such a disparity in how GSMarena rates the camera. Obviously, the capability is the same, if not better than Note 3, with potential to be much much greater. Yet, GSMarena says it's a disappointment, while praising Note 3.

@geoffxx - haha. glad you're enjoying your Z1 man. where did you order from?

@xperiajunkie - good to know you are impressed with the screen! where did you order from?

@MNX - didn't you preorder awhile ago? why did it take so long to ship? hmm.. Maybe i should order soon so i don't have to wait too long after ordering haha..

@unknown - i think everyone appreciates the information you bring to esato, but damn man.. you are very combative in your responses. relax dude

@aurelius - thanks for your information and comments. I sincerely hope it's not an internal issue that keeps the camera from being the best it can be. Knowing how Japanese people are, I'm a bit shocked they would be satisfied with how the 20mp quality is (at the very least) and not continue to improve the camera in every way.

[ This Message was edited by: moogoo on 2013-09-20 16:06 ]

Posted by sponse
phone arena screen specs of z1:

max brightness: 495 (Good) [higher is better]
min brightness: 23 (poor) [lower is better]
CONTRAST: 1:1353 (Excellent) [higher is better]
color temperature: 7037 (Good)
DELTA E RGBCMY: 4.98 (Average) [lower is better]
DELTA E GRAYSCALE: 3.96 (Good) [lower is better]

if i compare this result with the LG G2 and the HTC ONE and s4

max brightness: z1 495 (Good) -- HTC ONE 460(Good) -- lg g2 438(Good) -- s4 288(poor)
1 point to the Z1

min brightness: z1 23 (poor) -- HTC ONE 14(poor) -- lg g2 8 (good) -- s4 10(Average)
1 point to the Lg G2

CONTRAST: z1 1:1353 (Excellent) -- HTC ONE 1:1781(Excellent) -- lg g2 1:1503 (Excellent) - s4 infinite
1 point to the S4 and one for the htc one because it is the better among the LCDs

color temperature: z1 7037(Good) -- HTC ONE 7656 (Average) -- lg g2 7931 (Average) - s4 7980 (Average)
1 point to the Z1

DELTA E RGBCMY: z1 4.98(Average) -- HTC ONE 5.76(Average) -- lg g2 4.44(Average) - s4 5.08 (Average)
1 point to the lg g2

DELTA E GRAYSCALE:z1 3.96(good) -- HTC ONE 4.36(Average) -- lg g2 5.76(Average) - s4 5.52(Average)
1 point to the Z1

Z1 - 3 points
G2- 2 points
S4- 1 point
HTC- 1 point

[ This Message was edited by: sponse on 2013-09-20 16:08 ]

Posted by MyP910

On 2013-09-20 16:50:00, Bonovox wrote:
Noticed something in Sony threads is a lot of bickering,problems etc yet the Samsung threads have no such thing and all users are happy. Wonder why??

maybe because Sony is known as a premium brand. Their design be it Vaio, Bravia, Xperia etc spell premium. Maybe due to this, any small problem (even though it is not a problem) will be amplified because of the high expectation from such premium brand. That is why you hear people complain about the display and viewing angle when it is one of the best far better than the latest Note 3. People also complain about the camera when it is the best smartphone camera to date as seen from various sample pictures.

and it seems that some people jump to conclusion quickly without give a proper judgment. For example, when 3 out of 10 reports criticise the phone, some people will say the phone is bad ignoring the other 7 positive reports.

or maybe, sony's fan don't like to troll 😉

[ This Message was edited by: MyP910 on 2013-09-20 16:25 ]

Posted by moogoo
@sponse - nice compilation/summary there. thanks! was that part of their full review?

Posted by MNX1024
@Moogoo The white on is delayed at most places in the UK. Clove just got their stock in for the white Z1. Black is available and shipped though.

Posted by sponse
^

it could be, i found that in the LG G2 review, their is a chart, and you can add a phone to the chart, and i found the z1 in the options, seems that they are in the final stages of the review.

so we have an excellent screen (don't know about viewing angels). but from the numbers above its really shins.

as for the points, i did that

if you will give in each category 4 point to the first place, 3 to second, 2 to the third, and 1 point to the last
you will have that
the xperia z comes first with 17 points in overall performance of the screen
HTC ONE AND LG G2 are tied with 15 points
and the last place goes to the superamoled S4 with just 13 points.

[ This Message was edited by: sponse on 2013-09-20 16:28 ]

Posted by moogoo
@MNX - aw man. sounds like i need to order sooner to make sure i get it when I want it

Posted by MNX1024
@Moogoo Well, if the White is the one you want, then you should be fine at the moment because Clove still list it as in stock on their website. That probably means they had enough to fulfill pre-orders and still have some left for regular orders. Now, for the black, seems like it's sold out and more stock is coming in the following Monday.

The wait for it is worse than waiting for the White to be in stock.........

Posted by ascariss

On 2013-09-20 16:50:00, Bonovox wrote:
Noticed something in Sony threads is a lot of bickering,problems etc yet the Samsung threads have no such thing and all users are happy. Wonder why??

Because, once you start it up, you see touchwiz and then well any other problems/bickering seem like nothing when compared to touchwiz

Posted by moogoo
@MNX - ha.. i'm sure. I'm one of those types who stalks their email inbox for the tracking number and then i refresh the tracking web page every hour just to see if it has moved an inch

I would love it if all packages had exact GPS tracking with real time updating..haha.. i'd probably watch it all day.

also, pretty amazing (or not, depending on point of view) that Z1 has already gotten a firmware update!! If anybody who has a Z1 right now and gets the update.. share any differences if there are any..

[ This Message was edited by: moogoo on 2013-09-20 16:34 ]

Posted by supercoolman

On 2013-09-20 11:57:22, Miki69 wrote:

We are still talking about this and the answer is the same; Japan thinks it's enough, SMC Sweden thinks they can work on it way more to get the full potential of the sensor.

just guessing. SMC Sweden doesn't sell compact camera. Japan may not want to hurt its camera business and want its QX10/100 do well

Posted by milukugiuniu
@moogoo@ myp910

Samsung is well-know for hiring people trolling other brands at different cellphone forums in China. The trolls spend a lot of time saying bad things about other brands even without any solid evidences.

Ive started to see the potential paid-trolls here.

Posted by ascariss

On 2013-09-20 17:39:41, supercoolman wrote:
just guessing. SMC Sweden doesn't sell compact camera. Japan may not want to hurt its camera business and want its QX10/100 do well

Perhaps but most people now tend to buy a smartphone and use that as their main camera rather than a point and shoot, second Sony at this moment should focus on their advanced imaging group, as in NEX line, RX line and their high end DSLRs, compacts are not where the money is and Sony knows this.

As for the QX line, they don't compete against the Z1, they supplement each other, the QX10 with its 10x zoom and the QX100 with its 1 inch sensor. In reality, the QX line competes against the standard Sony camera compact line up. since once you buy one and use it with our phone, you technically don't need a compact camera.

If Sony didn't want the Z1 to compete with their compacts, then Sony wouldn't have put in a large compact camera sized sensor in it. The Z1 is supposed to offer "a groundbreaking camera experience" so handicapping the software by Sony Japan would be pointless seeing as they are the ones releasing this phone.

Hopefully this supposed software update/legal issue will clear up as quickly as possible in order to help the Z1 achieve the best results in the camera dept. The sensor is definable capable of 1080@60fps and hopefully they can add 720p@120fps as well, as for 4K, why not, the LG G2 has it.

Also for anyone with the camera, GSMA said there is no HDR mode for photos but it exists for the video mode, is this true?

[ This Message was edited by: ascariss on 2013-09-20 16:54 ]

Posted by sponse
pocket now z1 vs s4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2lcPPedoqw#t=590

summer up their review:

battery performance are better than the s4 (against what gsmarena said)
screen is not very good (against what gsmarena said)
Camera is on par with the s4 in daylight, better in low light
they also say the camera has a problem on the extreme right side where the details will wash out, i hope it is a software issue.

other than that it is a little biased in my opnion (as in general with pocketnow, as they always prefer the sammy), when samsung have an advantage they will say it loud and clear, when the z1 have an advantage, they will start saying it depends on what you need... it was always like that with pocket now and sony vs samsung products, if you want some proofs check some of their XPERIA Z reviews.

T.B.H the only site i truly trust, is android authority, they are really honest.

@ascariss no it's not true, it have hdr, you just need to shot in 8 mp mode.

[ This Message was edited by: sponse on 2013-09-20 16:57 ]

Posted by moogoo
@sponse haha i just watched that video and commented on youtube that it was clearly biased for Samsung. it's a versus video and when he's talking about the screens .. they are BOTH OFF? he claims Z1 doesn't have bright or punchy colors, but doesn't show it against the S4. When he does turn them both on, they are both very dim. Maybe he turned down Z1's brightness so that it was more in line with S4's lack of brightness ..

I find it very frustrating to see well known websites like them making such comparisons/reviews. with every single one i see, it motivates me to start my own site. if/when I do, i hope you all visit

EDIT:

PhoneArena just posted their review.. http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-Z1-Review_id3427

[ This Message was edited by: moogoo on 2013-09-20 17:04 ]

Posted by doministry
Bad news:

http://pocketnow.com/2013/09/[....]peria-z1-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-4

So Pocketnow also has device which has blurry part of the image.

Let's hope it's just a software, videos don't have this problem.
And are better than SGS IV.

[ This Message was edited by: doministry on 2013-09-20 17:09 ]

Posted by DACHA
Phonearena Sony Xperia Z1 Review

Impressive score 9.2

Posted by sponse

On 2013-09-20 18:01:07, moogoo wrote:
@sponse haha i just watched that video and commented on youtube that it was clearly biased for Samsung. it's a versus video and when he's talking about the screens .. they are BOTH OFF? he claims Z1 doesn't have bright or punchy colors, but doesn't show it against the S4. When he does turn them both on, they are both very dim. Maybe he turned down Z1's brightness so that it was more in line with S4's lack of brightness ..

I find it very frustrating to see well known websites like them making such comparisons/reviews. with every single one i see, it motivates me to start my own site. if/when I do, i hope you all visit

i will help you hahaha!!

as a matter of fact, all the big sites are biased towards Samsung or apple.
and it is just rediculos.
one site says that the s4 has better battery but worst screen
the other says that the s4 has better screen but worst battery life
(they wont say worst, they will just say "its a bit better on the sony" that way they wont hurt sammy).

as a samsung galaxy s1 user i really suffer, the superamoled is rubbish, i just hate it, it gets worst on the s3 and s4.
touchwiz? crappwiz will better suit it.
my friend have the s4 and it is buggy as hell, and with all the crap it has, it will often stuck, and become not responsive.

i didn't like the xperia s nor the galaxy s3 nor the xperia T, but the z was just a masterpiece.
i wanted to buy it then, but i was short on money, so i have waited to the z1...

as for the praised HTC one, it has bigger bezels than the z1 (and yet no body complains), it is not finished well, look closely at the headphone jack and the microusb, and it will look like cheap chines replica.
the screen is nice, but people forget that we are talking about a stupid 5" screen!!!
it's not a 55" inch in your living room, it a god damn phone.
i guess you won't tell any difference using the xperia z or the HTC one separately, unless you force your self to tilt the phone to extreme angels just to see if has good viewing angles. my s1 has a great viewing angles, but i have never looked at my phone from extreme angles, i find it stupid, uncomfortable, and pointless!

so yeah best thing to do, is to go to the store and check for your self which device suits you more.
for me i can never buy again samsung (i hate their UI)
at the moment sony excels in every thing, camera display performance and design, the ui is terrific and there is no lag at all, above all of that, it is waterproof!

so yeah the Z1 as the Z was, is A GREAT AND AWESOME DEVICE, and yes it is the best out there for now, at least FOR ME.

Posted by moogoo
@sponse hah! let's do it. maybe we can recruit more esatoians to join. we need expertise in all areas for a scientific, unbiased review regardless of Brand or company.

PhoneArena's review quick summary:

Design: Beautiful and top notch premium feel.
Screen: Vast improvement over Z and one of the best out there, but terrible viewing angles
Loudspeaker: Not very loud and poor quality
Call Speaker/Quality: Good enough
Camera Stills: Daytime - impressive, nighttime - so so performance
Camera Video: Nothing impressive (which shocked me! Every sample i've seen has been incredible)
Software/UI: Clean and smooth with very few negatives.