[Galaxy S I9000 General] Tears for Fears:
HTC: well, I understand you dislike HTC phones but HTC One is superior to Xperia Z in almost every way. The only that has high quality STEREO (dual) speakers, the only phone that can compete with S4 in camera software with HTC Zoe, outperforms S4 in low light pictures, almost as powerful as S4, has stronger build quality than any of the ones that were mentioned and has a nice Sense UI, though some say it's too bloated.

Galaxy S III: just because it's a year old, doesn't mean anything, even NOW it's still one of the best phones available on market.

Galaxy S4: it's *highly* customizable, you will NOT find a phone with more customizations than S4. You can turn off basically anything to make it just a regular stock smartphone.

Xperia Z:

1. Can't say anything here. Your preference. :D

2. It is not as fragile as you think it is. Sure, it's covered in glass but even if that glass cracks, the phone will still work. It's just a glass overlay, design, the phone's base is not made of glass. :D I've seen a lot of iPhone 4 users with every unit being shattered and they don't mind it. But again, your preference. :D

Xperia ZR: I don't know the price difference between them in NL, but ZR is definitely a more solid device with better waterproof design, 2 GB of RAM and other upgrades. But if the price difference is big, definitely not worth it.

Xperia SP:

A. Size preference is size preference but I really don't think you would have any trouble managing Xperia Z, S4/SIII or any other 5 incher. It look big in number and in comparison but once you use it, you really don't want to go backcto anything smaller.

B. Personally, I think Sony did best on Z/ZR in skin. :D But you're a flashoholic, I don't see why is that even importanr to you. You can get that notification bar on almost any phone. :D

C. I thought so too, but once I tried to compare 2 GB RAM + average to powerful quad-core CPU with 1 GB RAM + average to powerful dual-core CPU, I really didn't want anything weaker than S III. :D Even though S/S Plus power was enough for me before. But I guess I just got a little power-hungry. :D So ignore this point. :D

My line up would be (adding HTC One, Note II and Nexus 4 to the list):

1. Galaxy S4;

2. HTC One;

3. Nexus 4;

4. Xperia Z/ZR;

5. Note II;

6. Galaxy S III

7. Xperia SP.

I summed up ALL of their features, pros and cons, power, efficiency, display and design together. I didn't include price as a factor though.

1. Walkman? I already tried Walkman on my Galaxy S Plus. :D Haven't you? Personally, I liked it but it really lacked something impressive. I got rid of it later. If you're talking about sound quality, then believe it or not, Blackberry xxx (forgot its model, sorry. :D) would be your best choise. Otherwise, HTC One outmatches every one that we're talking about. If you're talking about features, get PowerAmp or something, but in stock, S4 outmatches others.

2. Sony bloat their phones too! :D Not as much as HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz but they do bloat them as well. Also, for a flashoholic, gettinf vanilla Android is the easiest thing of all. :D

3. If I'd want something else, I'd also go for Sony, they seem most appealing and high quality but I honestly started to like them AFTER they made Xperia Z. :D Older phones couldn't compete with either Samsung or HTC. Even Apple had the upper hand in terms of hardware (but not in terms of software) most of the time.

I have bought S4 and Xperia Z. Z is pretty good but nothing impressive. Mediocre camera, poor display and horrible loudspeaker didn't make me happy. :D But other than that, it really is a great phone.

If you're going for Sony, I'd really suggest Xperia Z or beyond. Older Xperias aren't really that good. :D