Sony Xperia Z2: What we REALLY thought of this Android fondleslab While Sony seems wedded to a six monthly update cycle for its flagship smartphones – we’ve had the Xperia Z, Z1 and Z2 in the last twelve months – its tablet release schedule is a tad more leisurely. The impressive Xperia Z tablet rocked up in June 2013 and now, just shy of a year later, we have an update: the Z2 tablet. Sony …
I use my kettle every day. Before I bought it, I consulted reviews to get the best balance of time-to-boil, quietness, and efficiency. My current toaster is okay, but it lacks a 'reheat' button, that is invaluable for topping-up the brownness of my toast - otherwise, I tend to pop it in for a second time and forget until I smell burning. Its a small detail, but one that can save breakfast.
Mature and boring is good - it means people look at polishing the small details. If the downside is that tech site reviews are slightly less fun to read... then I can live with that.
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You looked at reviews for a kettle? Wow. Thats' some commitment to the tea making process. I just bought one that looked ok when the previous one died. Which is pretty much what I do with computers/phones these days too.
When it comes to Phablets.... You always want to know the Specs... Specifically how much RAM it has.. Of which the BARE MINIMUM should be no less then 1GB, and there are plenty of Landfill carp out there that still only has 512MB RAM in it... And these um "Devices" are really best avoided.
We make shite toasters now.
The Americans had this sewn up a few decades ago.
http://www.automaticbeyondbelief.org/
"There are no levers to press down. Just put the bread in the slot. The weight of the bread activates the heating elements, causing the center wire to lengthen microscopically and the bread to be carried into the toaster under its own weight.
Inside, the Radiant Control thermostat monitors the heat radiated (not conducted) from the outer surface of the bread, which is directly proportional to its color change. There are no timers. The toast is raised only when it is properly toasted; no sooner and no later.
When the thermostat opens, the elements cool, and the center element wire contracts. This movement is very small — on the order of thousandths of an inch — but a mechanical linkage multiplies this movement approximately 175 times. This is sufficient to operate the carriage and raise the toasted bread from the toaster."
The crap we have now is primitive in comparison.
Bore bore boring..... the smartphone and tablet market is so boring.
Nobody really thinks about what technology could do for the better any more. It's all "better screen", "better camera" blah blah....
These are all mature product lines. You might as well be reviewing toasters or kettles.
Well what else is there to "talk" about, when it comes to Phablets? I personally like the 2.3Ghz Quad-Core CPU. If that is anything like my Desktop CPU, then it should be quick indeed! + a whole 3GBs of RAM....
I'm usually the first to turn my nose up at something like this 'cause I hate paying for the Name. But, I doubt very much we'll be seeing anything close to those Spec's on a Budget Phablet anytime soon.
Well what else is there to "talk" about, when it comes to Phablets? I personally like the 2.3Ghz Quad-Core CPU. If that is anything like my Desktop CPU, then it should be quick indeed! + a whole 3GBs of RAM....
Of course with specs like this... You shouldn't have to worry about ever buying a newer Phablet for a long time either. As those "Spec" should be more then enough to run Key-lime Pie... If and when it ever gets released
The only sad thing about this fact is that S0NY will have likely nixed all support by that time in the hopes to lure more 'dolts into buying their next great thing.
So in that respect yes AC might have a valid point. In the same way I fail to see why investing in a newer Mainboard + and CPU Architecture, at the expense of loosing all the PCI Slots I need for my HTPC (DVB Cards), from a 2.13Ghz Intel C2D, to an i7 with ZERO or in the rare event just the One PCI Slot on it.... And then for what? Intel has failed to make a case for i 3/5 & 7.
On tablets this size *lighter* really is necessary and if you want the same screen size your choice is make it thinner or make it hollow, I vote thinner. Reducing the bezels isn't an option either, it's a right PIA holding something this big without some dead area to grab.
"Is thinner than an iPad Air really necessary?"
Yes. The end goal should be something that is the dimensions and foldability of a piece of paper with the computing horsepower to get things done instantly and the networking oomph that everything in the whole world may as well be local. The things we have now are still hopelessly primitive.
No, I'm not joking.
The Wifi version of the Z2 Tablet is easily available here in Toronto, however I'm much more interested in the cellular-enabled version which has pentaband GSM and LTE and apparently you can use the Z2 tablet as a big phone as it supports making phone call natively (not using VoIP) with a phone voice/data SIM card.
... between this Z2 and the Asus TF701T to replace my TF101.
I love the dock on the TF101, but I have a rather nice full size BT keyboard so might get away with it.
However, the onboard sound seems to be better on the 701T?
not bothered about it having Wi-Fi only, as I 'tether' my existing devices through the Z1Compact anyway.
I love the thinness - which might be the decider..?
Back on topic, my toaster has a re-heat and a 'frozen' button, plus a little rack that you put on top, to keep your buns warm!
I've had my (wifi only, 16GB) version for a week now.
I love it.
thin, light fast.
I seem to have taken the Sony 'shilling' as I now have
Z2 tablet, Z1 compact handset, 'DJ' headphones, PS/BT/Keyboard (works nicely with the Z2) and the SRS-X5 BT/NFC amplifier/speakers 'brick'.
Gave my 3 y.o. TF101 'netbook' to my brother.
You get what you pay for. Want to pay half the price, get a Nexus tablet that's half as good...
Android gives you choice, you can get the perfect tablet for YOU. But if you have high end requirements, expect a high end pricetag (or mid-end price tag if you compare this to an inferior Apple product)
The Better-90-Percent* has the phone variant with the 801 in it: blisteringly fast and looks properly NOM-some.
I wouldn't want to buy the phablut at that price.. it's certainly lovely and high-end though..
However, Pandawill dot com have some lovely toys ..
Octa-core and 2048x1536 screen for under 200 quid? **
OMNOMNOMNOM..
Toaster-wise: got one of those Bosh Solid Element radiant ones.. has an actual On button and 8 shades of toasted.. very precise and will even do burger buns without the scorching.
* she tells me it's a fair ratio.
**yes, they're not built as well, but then I'm not prone to dropping my tablets or caring about the case too greatly ... everything else is just dandy :)
Having just enjoyed a tablet for the last three weeks I can say the specs sound great and yet it's utterly, utterly useless for me as an RSI-sufferer, I'm having the most whopping pain flare-up I've had in years after reading a few pdf e-books on an ipad, so until they invent a tablet which can be controlled very easily and totally by voice (which in reality is impractical because the voice gets tired so quickly) it's all just shite shite shite to me.
but if i wasn't suffering from this i would choose the xperia z2, it sounds like the best thing on the market tabletwise.
Hello there, I normally don't reply to forums but I was sorry to hear about your RSI. I struggled with terrible RSI about 10-13 years ago that was steadily and slowly worsening over the years. I tried many different methods and approaches in terms of long/regular breaks, stretching exercises, mixed sessions with voice typing, also Alexander techniques for posture and breathing and it made very little difference except temporary. I was medically advised to 'look for a career that didn't involve computers' - I was a programmer at the time! I seriously considered surgery even though the 'success' rates were decidedly modest. After much prayer (I'm muslim), I came across someone was a pianist who had gone through many of the same experiences that I could relate to and he recommended a book called "The Mindbody Prescription" by Dr John Sarno. A systematic set of techniques, considerations and (mental) tools that that have been hugely effective when it comes to any kind of persistent chronic pain (particularly back, shoulder, neck and wrist pain). I read it with an open mind, naturally extremely cynical but looking for something that would make a difference. I'm very, very, (VERY!) happy to say that following the outline in that book, I've now been totally RSI pain free for years and consider my condition completely resolved.
So there is light at the end of the tunnel!
The book is quite famous so you can even get a second hand copy from Amazon for next to nothing and given your comments, I really recommend it.
Best wishes.
~S
Once a gain Sony prove they can produce new product up with the best of them but my worry is if they will lose interest in it when they release the Z3. If the tablet mimics the phone experience then this model may be out of date soon and out of favour with Sony support.
For this reason I am wary of purchasing Sony which is a shame as it is not bad tech.
I played with one in a shop last week. Flicking through homescreens is still laggy (albeit barely noticeable), just like in the early days of Android tablets.
Yeah, there are a lot of pixels to throw around but my [insert Apple or Microsoft product here] doesn't seem to struggle.
When they released it the standard launcher was laggy but it has been updated now and there is no lag. also if you install a third party launcher there is no lag. the one on display must be on old software.
That's something Sony should look into, its not much good if the demo device is slow! I nearly didn't buy one because of that. But the device is very very fast so dont let the demo unit put you off..
The old software also had problems with touch response but that's also fixed. I get the feeling Sony rushed it out to hit a deadline because there has been 3 or 4 software updates since I had mine and each time it gets better. No complaints with anything now.
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