[Sony Xperia ZL] bigystyle84:
Hi All,

I picked up a Sony Xperia ZL this morning.

I happen to also have a HTC One (friend's phone - had for the morning just to see If I wanted it before deciding on the ZL) and Note II in my possession currently.

I've also owned the HTC One X, Nexus 4, One S, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy SIII, Xperia S, HTC Raider LTE and Xperia T in the past - So I've got experience with most of the newest phones - I'm a phone geek - Flip and sell phones - always trading in for newest things.

Anyways, this thread is specific to my new phone, the Sony Xperia ZL, a "cousin" to the Xperia Z.

Here are my initial thoughts based on playing and testing this morning.

1) The Screen is awesome - It is WAYYYYY overblown about the viewing angles. Yes the viewing angles are not as good as any of the above phones, but this phone is Clear and Crisp - The best I've ever seen. I think head on it's got a better Screen than the HTC One. Prior to the ZL, my favorite screen was the HTC One X - but I think the ZL tops it. (As does the One)

VIDEOS SHOWING SCREEN ***EDIT***

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lrwzhpq4kc2x658/00001.MTS

http://youtu.be/AcItXcUgiEs

- Compared to the Note II it's replacing as my daily phone, the biggest difference I see in 720p vs 1080p is Websites and Media - Tiny text that isn't clear on my Note II is crisp on the ZL. Color reproduction is Much better on the ZL than the Note II. I try not to be bias here as I've never been a huge fan of AMOLED's but the Note II was the best one.

Overall - I think this may be the best screen of 2013 depending on what the S4 brings (Which I doubt will top it). Viewing angles are not that important to me, I look at my phone head on and when it's sitting on my desk, everything is still completely legible just the colors are washed a tad. The Xperia T I owned also had this effect, but the ZL screen is better.

2) Speed - The phone is Very quick and snappy - I haven't been able to slow it down yet. It has the S4 Pro (Same as Nexus 4) and runs anything with ease. The HTC One has the chipset revision, the 600. Its equally as fast. The Note II is also very fluid - no slowndowns. Now the only thing I see so far with the ZL is the Sony Launcher will have an occasional hiccup that the Note II and One do not have - but this will easily be fixed with an update.

I tested Web Browsing using the newest Chrome on all 3 devices - It comes stock on the Xperia ZL. I'm not sure why, but Chrome was much more fluid on the ZL and One compared to the Note II - It can be a tad jerky on the Note II. The Stock browser on the Note II though does not have this - I find the Stock browser faster than chrome on the Note II. Not sure why Chrome is faster on the Qualcomm's compared to the Samsung chipset.

Games - All equally playable at highest settings. Even though the One and ZL use 1080p screens, they outbench my Note II with its 720p screen.

3) Size - The ZL wins here - I find it the most comfortable phone to hold between the 3. I am a big dude, 6'7, with big hands, which is why bigger is ok for me - but I did find the Note II to often be uncomfortable in pocket. The ZL fixes that - It's a 5 inch screen with a small footprint - The phone feels as small as a Galaxy SIII in hand. The One is nice in hand too but is a little bigger than the ZL (Longer). It also has capacitive buttons (in odd locations) which isn't anything major - but I've grown to like on screen buttons - with options to Auto-hide it in apps.

4) Other things - The ZL has a IR port on it - you can use it as a Remote control for your electronics - and it has a learn function to learn directly from remotes. It's actually pretty cool - Works with all my LG stuff great. The headphones that came with the ZL are very nice - They are the best headphones I've ever got with a phone. The LED placement on the front bottom is really cool looking, and doesn't have a blaring effect like the giant LED on the Note II. The ZL supports 64GB MicroSD Cards, as does the Note II - the One Does not but has 32GB of storage rather than 16GB. The Note II has a removable battery - which isn't important to me as I never change batteries anyways - but this could be important to others.

5) Phone - The One wins here - It has the loudest and clearest speakers - both handset and external speakers. The ZL is clear but not loud. The Note II is in the middle. I would rank them overall HTC One, Note II, ZL here - But all 3 are acceptable for most users. Stock Keyboards - I find the ZL easiest to type on (minus the terrible auto correction - disable it), followed by the Note II and the One. I find the keyboard on the One to be cramped. This is minor though as keyboards can be replaced.

EDIT - BUILD QUALITY - I think the HTC One is the nicest built phone, followed by the ZL and last the Note II. The Note II looks very plastic next to the other 2. The ZL is nice and feels very solid. It also has the most screen relative to the actual phone itself. That being said, the HTC One is probably the nicest built and looking phone on the market.

6) Interface and Camera - I prefer the ZL interface - but I knew this going in. I use Sony Camera's at home and am familiar with the Interface on that. Also, I've never been a huge fan of Custom UI's - but I also use the camera very often - so I usually try to resort to nice phones with AOSP roms on them. (The Nexus 4/Galaxy Nexus Camera's simply suck). The issue with this is HTC's Image Sense and Samsung's TW Camera actually add to the photo's - Go AOSP and I find you lose some image quality - so people like me who want a stockish experience with a good Camera app often don't have far to go - Well Sony's UI is very close to Stock which I appreciate. It does have some things added in such as a "Multi-view" copy and Mini Apps that you can pop-up. Overall I like the ZL Best, the One Next best and the Note II worst - I don't like Touchwiz as much as Sense 5.

Camera Quality is hard to judge - I think the Note II is probably the best "All Conditions" shooter of the 3 - It takes good quality photo's outdoors and decent indoors. The ZL has the best Camera by far outdoors - Capturing the most detail and best colors thanks to its 13MP sensor - but low light it struggles with Noise more than the other 2 phones. Indoors the One excels here, beating both the Note II and ZL easily. I think if you want a good overall camera, the Note II is it. The ZL is easily the best in good light, while the One is easily the best in lower light. It's hard to decide.

Here's a quick snap I took with all 3 camera's at my desk at work - focusing on the same object from same distance:

NOTE II

XPERIA ZL

HTC One

Final Thoughts:

The Sony Xperia ZL is a nice phone - I would not hesitate in giving it a try - It's Sony's best phone to date in my opinion. The screen is incredible - much better than the Xperia S or Xperia T I owned in the past. If viewing angles are important to you - look elsewhere - but In my everyday usage I RARELY see why this would impact most people - head on it's one of the nicest screen's I've held. I hope this helps some folks.

If I was to buy a phone today with these 3 choices, I would go - Xperia ZL than One Than Note II. Just my opinion of course.