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Originally Posted by dark.knight Well I'm a Sony fan, just like there are all these Apple fans or iFans, so I just got that factor out of the way. Now looking at the phones practically, after using a Sony to me no other Android phone is usable, at least in the quality front and the feel/sophistication.
Sony is the only brand that can compete with Apple in terms of snob value, and technically demolish it in most ways. Both brands have that Hollywood connection and it shows in terms of the sophistication.
it delivers stupendous photos when done that way and most Indian reviews care only to take shots in 8 mp auto-mode and then call it "inferior" to xyz brands.
I'm also guessing that the initial pricing is just the Sony way of creating a discount illusion. The X Series I have to admit is not in the level of Z5, but maybe they are repositioning the range and a similar discount is possible when launched. Yes they are expensive but I truly know that they belong in the league just above Apple, and for that the cost is quite ok. |
Well Sir, I totally understand where you're coming from, being an ex-Sony user and fan for the last two years.
But we have to admit that sadly Sony is just not the same anymore. They took many outright crazy business decisions, and have simply refused to improve where it matters.
It is true only Sony have had the brand appeal AND quality to give it back to Apple, but they couldn't actually do it, yet.
I'm afraid I feel the Z3 was the last legendary phone and the Z5 the last great phone made by Sony. They just don't seem to be going anywhere near those standards today.
It started with the 'toaster in disguise of smartphone' Z3+, and has been pretty much the same now. The 810 ruined the Z3+, then the Z5 sold in the USA (of all markets!) shockingly skipped on the fingerprint scanner and was overpriced on top of that, and now the X series.
When news reports described the X series as midrangers, I was very happy with such offerings from Sony. And expectations raised further from the Z6, supposed to be coming fall. But then it turned out that the Z was dead, and X was the new Z. Still, I refused to write Sony off and waited on. They were already way behind the curve with a June launch.
And then came the pricing. Which is just outright insane. The Xperia X costs 49k, and comes with the exact same processor and RAM combination as the 12k Redmi Note 3! Further, it isn't waterproof (the X performance seemingly is), cannot record 4k video, and has extremely poorly optimized camera software.
I never trusted the wannabe kind of YouTube reviews from a lot of channels. But I do trust XDA- the place that analyzes and tweaks smartphones to the core.
And they say that the camera on the X is very poorly optimized. It heats up like crazy in a few minutes, most scene modes and aspect ratios refuse to work in tandem, and then there's just no 4k recording.
And that's not it, the decidedly mediocre Xperia XA, which sells for all absurd 21k by the way, only comes with a 720p screen, a Mediatek chip, plastic build and a 13mp camera that's already begun to raise doubts.
Alright, this is not the first time, and they have been selling T2 ultras with the Snapdragon 400 and 720p screens for around 25k (!!) last year, but this takes it to a new level.
I don't know what they see in the X that they feel is worth 49k. It's more like 31k, even with the Sony brand considered.
Even HTC was in fact in a worse position than this last year. The M9 was pathetic, the million derivatives of it only created excessive fragmentation and failed to capture market interest, and the budget devices were quite useless too. But then they managed to halt the downfall successfully. The A9 brought them back in talks, the 10 is a proper work of art in its hardware, and has the vote of buyers and critics alike, and now they've signed the Nexus deal with Google.
The thing with Sony is that, this momentum in the forward direction just can't be seen as of now.
And while it could never be easier to forget Sony, they still somehow manage to rekindle hopes. Their UI is the best OEM software after Moto, they still add meaningful stuff through software updates, and the developer support that their old flagships enjoy is outstanding. The Z3 was the first ever non-Nexus device to get the Android N preview, and their AOSP releases and bootloader unlock procedure remain excellent. Waterproofing and design remain two excellent tricks their arsenal, it's upto them how to use them now.
Their image sensor business is still very profitable, and that's what effectively feeds the mobile division.
They are also the last and only of the epic Nokia-Motorola-SonyEricsson trilogy surviving, the other two killed off by their new owners, and I hope they really live to see another day.
That said, I just can't see them doing well enough in VR, modularity, and other future tech.