Sunday 9 June 2013

The Xperia T underdog RANT!

Anyone who has read any review on the Xperia T lately has probably seen one of my comments at the bottom obsessing over it.
I have never been this exited about a phone in years. The more I read about it the more I love it.
This phone for me has the whole package and I simply cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on it.



Sadly though, reading a few of these reviews has made me realize how under rated the phone actually is and how uneducated a lot of reviewers can be. Certain mobile phone review sites have been fair but a majority of them have been pretty clueless (I wont point fingers).

Usually this kind of thing doesn't bother me. I still get to own and appreciate the phone for what it is even if everybody else misses out, but sadly Sony have been stricken by a lot of bad luck over the past few years which has lead them to be at a huge disadvantage on the very competitive and cut throat mobile phone and tablet market. 

The Xperia T is the first phone in my opinion to have it all. It has the new 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, a sensational new 13 megapixel camera with Exmor R technology for good low light results, the sleek and sexy design of the Xperia Arc, the same high quality Bravia screen in HD and access to the new Playstation store on a phone. Not to mention NFC and HDMI input. All these things are something to get exited about for different reasons and I'll explain why and how its being under rated by the online community.

The processor
The new S4 dual core chip is Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chip which is offering speeds which are keeping up with and beating the HTC and Samsung quad core processors. Sadly in reviews mentioned above we are seeing that reviewers are looking at the spec sheet and simply assuming that because a phone like the Galaxy S3 has more cores in its processor means that its going to be faster.(http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_tx_t_and_v_benchmarks_are_here_promising_too-news-4722.php) - Xperia T and V benchmark test.(http://www.gadgetsboy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2012-09-28-23.54.42.png) - Xperia T benchmark test.
As we all know hardware has to be developed first before software can use the hardware so we are finding that a majority of apps and all OS's aren't ready for quadcore yet and probably wont be for a while (some arent fully ready for dual core either).
Sadly for Sony most consumers are reading and believing this then going out and buying the phone based on this single idea alone.
Which is a shame as Sony and Nokia have both been applauded by one of the worlds leading  chip manufacturers ARM on not blindly following the quad core craze because...well, there isnt any point yet!

The Camera
The new Xperia T's camera is a 13 megapixel juggernaut with the Exmor R sensor which is used to get some great results in low light conditions like night clubs, pubs and the evenings. With the fast photo taking feature the camera can really capture things as they happen. This was a huge issue for me as in the past digital cameras often took too long to really get a good photo during a live action shot. Especially if you have children running around or friends doing something "funny" when drunk.
 Sadly a lot of reviewers dont feel the same about these features and are saying that the more megapixels doesn't always mean its a better camera and are therefore putting it in the same category as other 8 megapixel camera like the Samsung S3. 
What they fail to mention is that its good to have a choice of how many megapixels you want to use depending on the situation, right?  Not to mention that its down to the senor too, where the Exmor R is loaded in to it to help with the extra noise saturation.
For me the camera is one of the most important things in a phone. Its certainly one of the most used and a lot of reviews fail to go beyond the hardware spec sheet and look at what else the camera offers in terms of software.The camera comes equipped with the near instant photo taking, panorama and panorama 3d photos, a good selection of different modes and settings for different situations and Emor R technology. 
(http://www.gadgetsboy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2012-10-09-18.50.31.png) - Camera shots of the numerous features and options from the Xperia T camera.
In fact compared to its Android rivals it is by far the best camera phone around. Even outside of Android it only loses to the incredible Pureview Nokia phones.

 The design
One of the things I was quite unpleased with the new Xperia range (The Xperia S, P and U) was the design they had abandoned from the previous generation.. The Xperia Arc was the sexiest phone I have ever owned. I am sure you agree with me, right?
What I love about the Xperia T is that they have tried to bring that back! Lets all admit right now that phones are much more enjoyable when they look the part. Its just a fact. You can deny it all you want but when you see the sleek sexy design of the Xperia T in its slight arc shape it does look the business. Sadly the general opinion held seems to be that its ugly or unusual looking? Naturally this is down to opinion and taste but it seems to me that a majority of reviewers are actually saying its an ugly phone. Look for yourself and please let me know what you think! (https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8Dz_PX5alnw/UFtUAs3qpVI/AAAAAAAAP-k/RM1bSDSDGrU/Wk38_21Sept-XperiaT-Post1.jpeg) 
Not only that but there is also a practicality to this design which helps the user keep the phone well balanced in their hand. The Xperia Arc for me was rarely dropped and a pleasure to handle because of the shape and weight distribution. The Xperia T is also made of a slight rubber material which adds to grip and could possibly work as a mild shock absorber if dropped. Sadly you will not hear about any of this in a majority of articles but instead get a load of rubbish about the casing attracting thumb print marks. Is that the best they could come up with, honestly? Its almost like they are trying to find things to put the phone down on.

The most puzzling thing is that I have never met a person who seems to think the phone is ugly, impractical or that attracting thumb prints is a real issue for them. The phone isn't perfect mind. It doesn't allow you to remove the battery and some consider the button placement to be quite poor. Other than this the phone is flawless in my eyes. Especially when you consider how cheap and plastic some of its rivals are.

The Screen 
This is a real hot topic for me at the moment but I am getting really tired of the down play of the LCD Bravia screen. First of all I would like to say that its rivals like AMOLED are ghastly and often show huge saturation in its colours. Grass is often viewed as radioactive and the sky is shown as appearing turquoise. Not only that but screen burn tends to be a common problem with users. Some forum polls are showing high amounts of people who have had a problem with screen burn. 

What I love about Bravia TV is that Sony is mixing its brands and showing that they intend to do some cross compatibility. This is something which is going to really benefit Sony in the future as they have their fingers in nearly every commercial technology on the planet. If you plug in your Sony phone to a Bravia TV it will recognize the phone immediately (after all they are brothers!) and the phone will automatically pop up on the TV without having to touch anything. Second, the Bravia screen doesn't over do it. Like I mentioned above the Amoled screen tried too hard and as a result is coming out with some unusual colours. In the source above by Pockettables.com a lot of the people in the comments below and the reviewer have stated that this colour saturation might be ok for viewing menus and graphics but if your looking for a more realistic and normal colour then Amoled is not for you. Especially if you want do use it for something professional like photography or video editing. The Bravia engine takes videos and photos and smooths them out. Its especially useful for Youtube videos as they tend to be lower quality and quite crackley.
Personally (and I like to think you all agree with me) I rather see things as they were intended rather than something trying to be smart, flash and showing you something as it wasn't intended. Despite this we are still finding reviewers prefering Super Amoled screens to Bravia LCD. (http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02210/s3emb_2210070b.jpg) - Amoled in all its glory.


And last but no means least The Playstation Store!



This is something well over due but Sony have recently redone their whole Playstation store and made it available to their mobile phones. This is something ONLY SONY (and a few HTC models) have access too and nobody else does. Not Apple, not Samsung, nobody. At the moment its in its basic stages but has near unlimited potential to be a real deal breaker. Currently it has a selection of retro games from the PS1 era which can be downloaded on to the phone and played. Thanks to Xperia phones being able to hook up to a HD TV through HDMI cable you can also view these games on the big screen. Not only that but you can sync up the PS3 controller to the phone as use a full game pad. There is NO NEED FOR A GAMES CONSOLE and once there are few more games out for this phone (Maybe from the PS2?) then this phone will be the don of gaming. In fact, it already is now as no phone can do anything like this. 
Sadly a lot of reviewers do not seem to appreciate the potential of this and are dismissing it as a minor point. I dont know about you but I am very exited to give this a try. 

HDMI and NFC



As mentioned above the HDMI input and NFC isnt available on all phones (The I phone 5 for example). The HDMI input has already proven its worth in the paragraph above but is also very useful on other phones like the Xperia P and S. Simply plug it in to your TV and your phone screen will appear, its just that easy!
Its already proven quite useful for showing photos to the family when they come over or showing friends how to do something on a phone. Add the Playstation store with this and you already have something to get exited about. 
The NFC feature is the future. It is going to change the way we share information and pay for things. Sadly the technology is new but in the next year or so we will see more shops and phones use NFC for transaction of money and people are already sharing photos and playlists now. Sadly people buying an Iphone expect to pay that extra cash to be ahead of the curve and will see their phones out of date already from the moment they buy it. 

The Cost
And finally the Xperia T is cheaper than its rivals like the Iphone 5 and is the same prices as the Samsung S3. The Xperia T coming at just over £400  and the Iphone 5 at around £500. Not only can this phone do more than both but it is also cheaper and more stylish. 
Now I know that a lot of people are probably thinking the Iphone 5 is more expensive but it have much more internal storage. Yes, BUT the Xperia T has micro SD card slot which is something the Iphone 5 lacks. With this simple feature coupled with the great value of the Xperia T basically means that you can get a 64gb micro sim which adds up the total to around 80gb of storage and will still work out cheaper. Not only that but the micro sim makes information easier to share. 
Over all this phone is easily one of the more exiting phones on the market. It pains me to see so many of these features over looked when you consider what they can do and how in some cases there is either only one or two other phones which can do the same or there are simply no other phones on the market which can do anything a Xperia T can. A lot of this even over looks things which the Xperia range can already do best before the Xperia T, such as Facebook integration...

Beyond the Xperia T
If you love using social networking then Xperia's FIX (Facebook Inside Xperia) is certainly for you. It syncs up your phone to your Facebook account so you are able to do things such as "like" tracks your listening to on your walkman app and they will show up on your Facebook news feed.
It also syncs up every event you have accepted on Facebook to your Android calendar so it can remind you later with alters and show you everything which is happening in your life in one place which makes life much easier. Not to mention that it also adds everyones birthday to your Android calendar too which have proven VERY useful to me in the past.
It also gives you access to your Facebook photo albums through your photo gallery. This makes things much simpler and faster to access when you are showing friends or family. Everything is now in one place. Here is a more in depth review on FIX.

Music Unlimited
As I mentioned earlier while talking about the Bravia Display, Sony have got their fingers in nearly every technology pie. One of the biggest things Sony dominate is music and cinema. Sony give you the ability to stream a near unlimited amount of music for as little as £4pm (or £10pm for premium service).
This is a fantastic way of countering a lot of the piracy online which has been so rife within the industry. Instead of paying £10-15 for an album, why not pay a small monthly fee and get access to everything!?
Also through the NFC feature you can tap your phone on a certain speakers and it will play the song through the speakers with your phone. Not a bad party trick! 
Granted there are some issues with Music Unlimited.
It needs some modernization but with a simple software update this could be it. Sony own a huge percentage of music and cinema and could easily clobber Itunes. I have used it here and there and I have been VERY impressed with the music selection. I  have even been able to find songs from some of the loser nobody bands I listen too which nobody has every heard of and even a few tracks from bedroom producer DJ's. More details on my previous review on it here, 
All and all I have said my piece. I really do feel like this is the phone to get exited about. Like I said at the start, its not just about high numbers on a spec sheet but more about what a phone can actually do. After all, a mobile phone is supposed to make our lives easier.
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