Sony Xperia ZL Mini Review - Compared to Note II and One - Video inside

[jacktesterson]

Now on 4.2.2 !

Battery has improved. Camera has improved. This is my favorite phone ever.

 

[jacktesterson]

I wrote it without editing - It's more "just my thoughts so far"

Will add stuff as I think of it.

 

[cronos]

Thank you for the review! The comparison is particularly useful to me because I've been looking at a short list that includes the Xperia ZL and the HTC One

 

[cronos]

Question: I know you just got the phone, but do you have an idea of what to expect regarding rootability/custom ROM potentials for the ZL?

 

[Red Storm]

Nice review, seems like your One picture is not showing, but maybe that's just me.

 

[jacktesterson]

Question: I know you just got the phone, but do you have an idea of what to expect regarding rootability/custom ROM potentials for the ZL?

Not sure - This was also a concern of mine - as I usually run Custom Roms/Kernels - But I got thinking - I really don't do anything that requires a custom rom now - I used to do it to make my phone faster mostly- now new phones are fast stock.


The phone is the only 1080p phone available worldwide right now - I'm sure quite a few have picked it up. The HTC One came out after and isn't available in all countries yet.

The bootloader can be unlocked quite easily too as Sony is user friendly with bootloaders the last year or two, and Qualcomm stuff is usually easier to develop for - so it has potential to have a decent community.


CM10.1 and FreeXperia CM 10.1 are already available - So hopefully its a sign to come.



My biggest concern with my purchase is Sony's updates - They've said its going to get 4.2.2 already - hopefully not when 5.0 KLP is already out. And I hope they give it Key Lime Pie. That's my biggest concern with the phone. They have a decent history of updating phones overall recently, they are just slow doing it.

 

[cronos]

Gotcha. Thanks!

 

[dawheat]

How's the battery life?

 

[Apex]

Thanks for the review.

Do you happen to have polarized sunglasses? If so, can you read the screen in both portrait and landscape?

 

[jacktesterson]

Thanks for the review.

Do you happen to have polarized sunglasses? If so, can you read the screen in both portrait and landscape?

No sun glasses at all.

Curious as to why?


Edit: Forgot I do have a pair of prescription sun glasses I got as a free add-in - Just never use them. Will these work?

 

[jacktesterson]

How's the battery life?

Not sure yet.

I've used it quite a bit today and its still at 25% right now - so It's good enough to get me through a day.

Definitely not as good as the Note II - but I think it will be fine

I never had a lot of luck with my Nexus 4 and battery life - First impressions is the ZL will be better than the Nexus 4 in this regard.

 

[Apex]

No sun glasses at all.

Curious as to why?


Edit: Forgot I do have a pair of prescription sun glasses I got as a free add-in - Just never use them. Will these work?

My HTC One V screen I can only see in 1 orientation when using polarized sunglasses. It's pretty annoying. With my wife's Galaxy S3, the screen is visible with both orientations.

I think it has to do with the polarization. The HUD on my wife's car is the same way.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Congrats on the new phone. If I was buying a phone for full price this year I would make the same decision. I have heard it has great CM support.

 

[jacktesterson]

Last night it occurred to me- I'm reallllllllllllllllly digging the physical footprint of this phone. It's smaller than the One and the S4 yet has a slightly bigger screen. In fact, its slightly smaller than the SIII.

Coming from a Note II, This phone is so much easier to handle - especially one handed - and I'm finding myself a smidge more productive with it.

No regrets in the switch at all so far.

 

[RedRooster]

Its sad that buying a new phone should have to make a person think about third party ROM support, but I'm finding myself researching that whenever new phones come out. "Sure, this hardware is outstanding, but is it going to go in the trash in a year when its still on the version of Android it shipped with?"
I will definitely consider this phone, thanks for the review!

 

[s44]

It's smaller than the One and the S4 yet has a slightly bigger screen.

EDIT: oops, I was looking at the Z.

Anyway, it's not quite true in any case. The ZL is shorter and a hair narrower than the S4, but a lot thicker. The ZL is also shorter than the One, but it's wider and a bit thicker. I wouldn't say it's definitively smaller than either.

For useable screen area it's S4 > ZL > One. (Soft keys on the ZL mean you can't use all 5".) The ZL is also the heaviest.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Last night it occurred to me- I'm reallllllllllllllllly digging the physical footprint of this phone. It's smaller than the One and the S4 yet has a slightly bigger screen. In fact, its slightly smaller than the SIII.

The S3 is bigger than the S4. The ZL is less tall but thicker than the GS4 (might make it easier to grip) with the same size 5" screen.

The One is rather large considering it has a smaller screen than either.

 

[jacktesterson]

EDIT: oops, I was looking at the Z.

Anyway, it's not quite true in any case. The ZL is shorter and a hair narrower than the S4, but a lot thicker. The ZL is also shorter than the One, but it's wider and a bit thicker. I wouldn't say it's definitively smaller than either.

For useable screen area it's S4 > ZL > One. (Soft keys on the ZL mean you can't use all 5".) The ZL is also the heaviest.

Well it feels light compared to the Note II. Thanks for the corrections.



First Real Negative I just came across - Went for a jog on lunch break outside - The screen is not good in daylight at all - slightly better than the Note II, but not good at all for a LCD. Kinda disappointed in this but I'm ok with it as its used majority of the time indoors.

 

[cronos]

Last night it occurred to me- I'm reallllllllllllllllly digging the physical footprint of this phone.

The physical footprint is exactly why this phone made it to the top of my list. I've been using my Dell Streak for the past 2.5 years. It has a 5" screen but has the dimension pretty much identical with a Note 2.

I've been okay with this size, but I've always thought that I'd like my next phone to be slightly smaller. When I saw that this phone has a 5" screen but a smaller dimension than the Nexus 4, it sounds perfect!

 

[Dari]

I guess there was a method to SONY's madness after all in offering two phones with the same screen size.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Its sad that buying a new phone should have to make a person think about third party ROM support, but I'm finding myself researching that whenever new phones come out. "Sure, this hardware is outstanding, but is it going to go in the trash in a year when its still on the version of Android it shipped with?"

Amen. Makes you just want to shake Google with rage that they can't make a 32GB Nexus phone.

 

[jacktesterson]

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[s44]

Well it feels light compared to the Note II. Thanks for the corrections.

Heh heh, just preparing you for the possibility (likelihood? ) that you'll get S4 lust soon.

The Z does look to have very good AOSP support... I assume the ZL is identical on the software level, but maybe not.

 

[jacktesterson]

Heh heh, just preparing you for the possibility (likelihood? ) that you'll get S4 lust soon.

The Z does look to have very good AOSP support... I assume the ZL is identical on the software level, but maybe not.

Doubtful

I give most high end phones a try, but I generally do not like Samsung compared to HTC and Sony.

I will give it to Samsung though, they have a great record of updating high end phones

I would take Sony's UI or Sense any day over Touchwiz, and I hate AMOLED Screens.... always have.

 

[jacktesterson]

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