http://imgur.com/a/R6ub5#0
A few things:
I can customize the lock screen, right from the lock screen. Can put up pretty much any kind of widget and even resize them. Thats kinda nice.
The themes are sweet, but you only get half the wallpapers. The other half have a padlock icon over them and I dont know what to do about it. Am assuming they want me to sign up for the xperia account or something similar.
Video looks awesome at 1080p, they include some vids and songs so you can see how the Walkman software works. Its actually not bad. Music sounds decent.
Plenty of widgets, many are in categories to make finding them easier. I dont like Sonys calendar and email widget as much as Samsung. Maybe I can find something better.
It came with 4.2.2 and got a major update, but is still 4.2.2, even though I saw the cute little green guy with his cogs spinning. Not sure if it added any new features from Sony since I wasnt familiar with the older version. You can choose to ignore or hide specific updates, assuming you dont do the Auto-update thing.
Screen is awesome, looks like a magazine page, even better than the Note 2. Has more options for color balance and super duper brightness. I like it. You get a few more options than Samsung has for customizing the app drawer. But neither is as good as Motos. Theres a screensaver thing called Daydream. It can show colors or photos.
You can choose which stuff shows up for quick settings on the notification panel, just like Samsung. But the options here are easier to select, not as many submenus to dig thru.
It found the other computers on my wifi so I guess media streaming should not be a problem, if I wanted to do that. I dont know about dragging and dropping files. Probably easier from the computer.
Oh, it hooked into USB as a mass storage device with absolutely no issues. By contrast whenever the Note 2 has an update you have to reinstall the software on Windows or you lose functionality.
Sides, top, and bottom are sexy. Very sleek and smooth. But you have to open up those stupid little plastic tabs to get to stuff, I am not keen on those. Power button is a solid metal circle, I like it.
You cannot remove the battery. SIM and SD can be inserted on side panels while phone is still running. Theres little connector pads for a docking station (power only, no data).
Theres a dimable clock app included by default, which is nice. Of course Google Play has so many night stand apps it really doesnt matter much.
Google docs worked well, as did office apps. No complaints, but of course I would want a bluetooth keyboard if I were going to type all day.
They included real earbuds, not garbage, owing to the theme of this being a modern Walkman. even has different sized cups. Unfortunately its also 2.5mm so that limits the stuff you can use. Bummer.
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Not liking something. The included weather widget it much cleaner and faster than Samsungs, but the calendar widget stinks. Tried the Jorte widget and it does the job but it butt ugly. Somehow Jorte actually looks better on the Note 2 which makes no sense but whatever.
Also no unified email widget.
Gonna need to spend time in the app store to deal with this.