25K+ Diwali Gift for my daughter- Xperia Z

[vijayshimla]

1. Budget?
A: 25k-35K

2. Preferred Form Factor(flip, bar, slider)?
A: Bar

3. Preferred display type?
A: As long as it has good viewing angles and is visible under direct sunlight, I have no qualms

4. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: Sony Xperia Z, ZL --she is Sony user since past 4 years and wants a Sony

5. Preferred input method (Touchscreen, QWERTY, etc.)?
A: Touchscreen

6. Camera required or not? If required, please specify type like front camera/flash/etc.
A: Required a very good camera. Flash.

7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android

8. Preferred connectivity options? (3G, Wifi, Edge etc).
A: 3G.

9. What is your intended use for this phone(internet, camera, multimedia, mails, etc)?
A: Camera, mails and internet, music, gaming. It will be her AIO Device.

10. Any other requirements?
A: Na.

11. If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
A. SONY Xperia Z- ZL
This is to be my daughter's Diwali Gift- she is a working Clinical Psychologist--my view is to buy her the best phone- some how Xperia Z or ZL does not gel in my mind on account of a non user replaceable battery of 2300 mAH- driving a Quad core Full HD 5 inch screen- is not very likely to be alive beyond 6 PM every day.. Please suggest a better phone for her- Inputs from fellow members with XPERIA Z ownership will be welcome.-- have time till DIWALI-- have to buy before 25th Oct...

 

[RD274]

http://www.ebay.in/itm/300946628815

EDIT: DIWALIIIIII? Tech changes every few months in this world. Today the Z is a decent phone but in 3 months the One/S4 could fall inside your budget or there could be another nice phone available. I suggest you save money and the moment you're ready to pull the trigger... then ask.

 

[vivek goel]

do not buy XPERIA Z

its has bad audio quality
it heats upvery quick
you cant talk longer on calls as the edges are bit sharp so it hurts moreover if u use headphones while talking there is some sort of hissssssssssss noise on background thats irritating
camera is very bad dont go by 13mp. pics are generally very very noisy. and if its a low light indoor pic it will not look good due to grainy spots.

so as you want it for your daughter and girls tend to listen music snap pics and call friends for long hours it will make a bad investment.

by diwali there will be new wave of smartphone coming LG optimus G2, Sony Honami with 20mp camera and razor thin design, Note 3, new iphone, HTC ONE MAX so you can wait till diwali as every current high end phone price wil go down by 3000-7000 by then

 

[vijayshimla]

Unfortunately my daughter is fixated on Xperia Z-- seems one of her friends has an Xperia Z-- hence my role is now limited by her to present to her a Sony Xperia Z- in purple color before Deepawali... hoping and praying that Xperia Z- does find its natural level in the next about 45 days !! frankly 25k price for this would answer my prayer..

 

[stormblast]

Also consider the xperia ZL. I recently bought it and i really liked the phone. Its same as the Z but in a smaller form factor. both phones are very similar.

 

[blr_p]

Unfortunately my daughter is fixated on Xperia Z-- seems one of her friends has an Xperia Z-- hence my role is now limited by her to present to her a Sony Xperia Z- in purple color before Deepawali... hoping and praying that Xperia Z- does find its natural level in the next about 45 days !! frankly 25k price for this would answer my prayer..

There is time to change her mind. Diwali is still a way off. Very easy to get infatuated with these devices without checking out the market.

If its the form factor then there are other blocky looking phones out there. Colour can fixed with the right skins. What does she want to do on the phones, must have apps etc. CANNOT suggest alternatives without this information.

Frankly I'm surprised your daughter isn't asking for an iphone or a samsung even. This might be a better bet since she isn't likely to be bothered about customisation given her background.

Take a look at what people say about the Z on the Sony forum. Many posts like this. Kudos to Sony for allowing a forum where people can vent.

SONY XPERIA (Z) - DIES BEFORE 3 MONTHS and NO ONE IS READY TO REVIVE IT

Any water gets in you are responsible. The moisture sensors are on the flaps and if they trip (turn red) then sony is off the hook (!)

That the flaps must be sealed is your responsibility. It would seem they cannot repair such problems without replacing the device at 50% of the original cost. These 'waterproof' phones are harder to put back together than others. if you get a Z and say screen breaks or charging port stops working or somehow water got in, be ready to shell out Rs.20k.

Shouldn't a mobile should have some degree of repairabilty. Afterall its to be used outside the house.

 

[paarkhi]

better to wait for Sony i1 (honami) if she is the ardent fan of Sony... else Samsung phones are pretty good and by Diwali there'll be wave of New phones which will bring down the prices of Current Flagships (S4, HTC One, etc...)

 

[blr_p]

So i called up the sony service centre on a lark to find out how much it would cost to do a battery replacement and a screen replacement for the xperia ZL. They were very courteous and finally ended up with a technical person. Even tho this was an authorised service centre here in blr and not an official one. Point is people pick up the phone and talk to you.

So i inquired about the ZL and found out they do not do any service for the xperia Z series in india, that is the Z, ZL & ZR. Instead they ship to Sweden which is referred to as HW centre. The turnaround time is 7 days.

The guy could not tell me the charge to replace the battery as nobody as asked for it yet. When it came to the screen, he said he had to take a photo of the damaged set and only after 3 days would he be able to give me an estimate. So i told him, i've not got a set yet but am considering one.

What i realised is that replacement cost only comes into the picture when the phone is unrepairable. I don't know what constitues unrepairable. Only if they cannot fix it do you have to pay up to Rs.20k for a replacement. Otherwise the price could be lower 30% say, really depends on the damage, whether it can be fixed.

So any estimates would be parts cost + (swedish) labour cost + shipping costs to sweden & back.

The S series is serviced in India so Xperia SP is ok. They don't do the Z as yet. Its unclear whether they will or not.