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Main Area and Open Discussion => Living Room => Topic started by: superboyac on August 20, 2012, 09:43 AM
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This is the first time I've ever wanted a phone. This is the phone I want, the Sony Xperia SX:
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It came out last week. Why do I want it? It's the only LTE, up-to-date Android phone that is relatively small. Every other phone is trying to get bigger and bigger screens. I thought the Blackberry Pearl was the perfect size for a phone and I've been waiting for one to come out. I can't believe so few people want a smaller phone. I hate all the 4.whatever screens, they're too big for something to have in your pocket all the time.
Problem is this phone will not be sold in the US. So it'll cost me $600-700 to get it. Which is really not worth it, I know that. But man, it's the perfect size.
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
-Renegade
Bigger screen better images? ;D
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
-Renegade
Bigger screen better images? ;D
-rgdot
I totally shouldn't post this, but...
Click or not, but...
Smaller is tighter?
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
-Renegade
Bigger screen better images? ;D
-rgdot
Well, it can't compete with my dual 24" monitor setup at home. At times, it's better than the real thing.
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
-Renegade
Bigger screen better images? ;D
-rgdot
Well, it can't compete with my dual 24" monitor setup at home. At times, it's better than the real thing.
-superboyac
Perfect size for a flight simulator. And way safer than flying the real thing. ;D ;)
FWIW, I've adopted the comedian Dennis Miller's "soul mate" perspective to technology purchases:
If the New Agers are correct, right this very minute, there's the perfect woman waiting for me out there somewhere. Problem is, with my luck, she's probably sitting in front of a yak shit fire on a hilltop in outer Mongolia eating a bowl of horse meat stew as we speak. Yeah...so she's absolutely perfect. And like we're sooooooo ever gonna find each other. Thanks guys!
;)
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Just ask yourself 1 question... How well does it do porn? :P
-Renegade
Bigger screen better images? ;D
-rgdot
Well, it can't compete with my dual 24" monitor setup at home. At times, it's better than the real thing.
-superboyac
Perfect size for a flight simulator. And way safer than flying the real thing. ;D ;)
FWIW, I've adopted the comedian Dennis Miller's "soul mate" perspective to technology purchases:
If the New Agers are correct, right this very minute, there's the perfect woman waiting for me out there somewhere. Problem is, with my luck, she's probably sitting in front of a yak shit fire on a hilltop in outer Mongolia eating a bowl of horse meat stew as we speak. Yeah...so she's absolutely perfect. And like we're sooooooo ever gonna find each other. Thanks guys!
;)
-40hz
mmm...Mongolian chicks. mmm...meat stew. yeah, that's about perfect.
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I hate all the 4.whatever screens, they're too big for something to have in your pocket all the time.
-superboyac
+100 It's supposed-to-be first and foremost a phone ... Not a tragic excuse for foisting some god awful metro-sexual bastard child of the fanny-pack fashion "statement" that allows one to "handily" carry around something the size of a friggin television.
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Mobile phones are an Opt-in personal micro-chipping surveillance tool: I'd stay clear of them all together :P
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sigh, it doesn't look like it will ever be available in the US, and it may not even come in an english version. I don't understand why there's no market for this here, yet there's a market for a gazillion variations on the huge phones. Will not one company make a popular smaller phone?
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I sometimes suspect Sony deliberately keeps some of their real plum tech out of the US markets for no reason other than the pleasure of saying: "You like it? Well...sorry, but this is not for you." ;)
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It also has something to do with the peculiar cellphone gear in the US cellular grid. Why someone would use a non-GSM based cellphone is beyond me, but a (big) part of the US does. That means if you want to sell in those regions that you have to do redesign of electronics inside the phone.
So the question (for Sony) quickly becomes: How much units can I sell against the redesign costs. Sometimes it is really not worth it. Better to recognize such things early. If that is already not a showstopper, there is also the possibility US carriers won't or can't afford to have this model in their assortment.
There was at one time a guy over from the US and he brought his US cellphone. He selected the model because it also supported the working frequencies here in Paraguay and was pretty angry that his phone didn't work here. Almost no carrier outside the US uses the non-GSM type of phones (for anything else than land-fill). For me it was the very first time I saw such a cellphone.
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I sometimes suspect Sony deliberately keeps some of their real plum tech out of the US markets for no reason other than the pleasure of saying: "You like it? Well...sorry, but this is not for you." ;)
-40hz
It sure as hell seems like it. I have a love-hate relationship with them. Sony comes up with amazing technology and they tend to build things with great quality, unlike most tech products these days. But of course, just about all their good stuff is completely unavailable here. Ugh!!
I was browsing some Japanese boards and I didn't realize some of their attitudes towards America. Seemed almost like a Euro type of hatred, but more about economics. THey blame the US for destroying their economy, I thought that's what it sounded like. But I want their gadgets, i really do.
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It also has something to do with the peculiar cellphone gear in the US cellular grid. Why someone would use a non-GSM based cellphone is beyond me, but a (big) part of the US does. That means if you want to sell in those regions that you have to do redesign of electronics inside the phone.
So the question (for Sony) quickly becomes: How much units can I sell against the redesign costs. Sometimes it is really not worth it. Better to recognize such things early. If that is already not a showstopper, there is also the possibility US carriers won't or can't afford to have this model in their assortment.
There was at one time a guy over from the US and he brought his US cellphone. He selected the model because it also supported the working frequencies here in Paraguay and was pretty angry that his phone didn't work here. Almost no carrier outside the US uses the non-GSM type of phones (for anything else than land-fill). For me it was the very first time I saw such a cellphone.
-Shades
aren't more phones now capable of handling both types of cellular techs? The SX says it can do GSM and HSPA...meaning it can do ATT or Verizon networks. I'm still considering getting one, but I can't tell if it will work in english. One one of the sites it said Japanese only.
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you guys don't understand, I've been using this for the past 5 years:
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I've been holding on to it far longer than is reasonable. I don't have any data plan yet, but I need to get one this year...I'm becoming too busy and people are getting annoyed with me. But the reason why I've waited so long is because the Pearl was the perfect size then and it still is now. I knew this back then which is why i got it. And the phones have just been getting bigger and bigger and bigger. But now there's this SX on the horizon...but I'm not japanese.
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Superboyac, I've posted before about my husband's LG Optimus V, which is smaller than the iPhone. I don't want to sound like a broken record, nor a fan girl (heck, I don't even own one of these phones), but my husband has been very pleased with the LG Optimus V (I think the V simply stands for Virgin Mobile--there are other Optimuses (Optimi?) for other carriers. Anyway, it's definitely NOT the most modern phone--I think it runs Android 2.2. But my husband uses it to read books, read his email, surf the Web, and a bunch of other things, including phone calls :) . He claims that he can see the screen well even in broad daylight, and he loves the fact that he can carry it in his shirt pocket. In many ways, it sounds like it may meet your needs, and at a small fraction of the price you mentioned for the Xperia SX. The best thing would be to try to find it in a physical store, so you could see how it feels. I think the keyboard is smaller than I'd like, but my husband said that though he felt that way at first, he got used to it and now finds it OK. Anyway, good luck with your decision!
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New Sony devices are neat, at least visually. Too bad Sony is an evil company.
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Man, this phone is too perfect for me. If I can't get it I'll be pissed. I've been waiting 5 freaking years for exactly this. And now, soak in the beautiful pictures:
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You see how much better the sub-4" phone is?
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You could always hold out for a Windows 8 Phone...I am ... Assuming they have one that will fit in my pocket.
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You could always hold out for a Windows 8 Phone...I am ... Assuming they have one that will fit in my pocket.
-Stoic Joker
Yeah. Especially now that my pocket has all that room since I'm no longer carrying a Zune in it. :P ;)
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@SB - looks like the availability will ultimately be determined by AT&T since they managed to get an exclusive on the Xperia Ion which they're currently pimping for $99 plus a new 2-year contract. (Wonder if you're allowed to continue with any grandfathered unlimited data plan if you bite on the offer?) Supposedly, it's selling well.
In the wake of that, I get the feeling you won't be seeing an Xperia GX or SX any time soon on the US market.
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Guys, help me understand...how the hell was this thing released a week or two ago, and I can't find one single place to buy it? Not even japanese websites, nothing! Not ebay! There isn't even any news on the freaking thing. On June 30, there was a blast of articles saying it will be released next week and nothing more since.
I don't understand. I thought the internet would have loads of info as soon as a handful of people heard about the device. This may sound weird, but I think this shows how much bullshit information there is on the internet, and how little information is revelaed by all of us publicly. because if i understand how the internet works, any juicy piece of information about any topic will be impossible to hide. The only way it can remain hidden when the information exists is that it was never released or leaked. Once it's out there...there's no stopping it.
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the reason why I'm anxious is that as soon as I find a place that can sell it, I'm going straight to my japanese friend and asking him to get it for me. I'm done waiting, this is the phone I want. I've waited 5 years for these damn phones to get smaller, not bigger.
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The following page appears to indicate that the SX is on sale:
http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/ (http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/)
At least I think that's what:
http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/images/index_bg.jpg (http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/images/index_bg.jpg)
means.
The following also seems to claim availability:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/so05d/ (http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/so05d/)
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The following page appears to indicate that the SX is on sale:
http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/ (http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/)
At least I think that's what:
http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/images/index_bg.jpg (http://www.sonymobile.co.jp/product/docomo/so-05d/images/index_bg.jpg)
means.
The following also seems to claim availability:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/so05d/ (http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/with/so05d/)
-ewemoa
Can you read that? I came across that docomo site, but I was hoping to see english numbers to indicate some kind of price tag. There's only three things I need to know: what is the price, can i buy it straight up as an American or am I going to need to be sneaky about it, does the phone have an English language option (I'm guessing "of course" since it's Android, but you never know)?
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See? The docomo site, if you click the "English" button on the main page, shows this:
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What the f--- does "In Japanese only" mean? The phone can only show japanese language? That's hard to believe if it's Android, as Android can switch between multiple languages, right? So is the Sony software overlay on Android the thing preventing it from showing english? Is there a way to get stock android on it so I don't worry about what customizations sony did?
Or, is it saying that only Japanese customers can buy it? Is it a phone that is only available with a japanese company's cell plan?
Am I going to have to contact my corporate Sony contact to get it? Will he even help me?
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What the f--- does "In Japanese only" mean?
-superboyac
Well...in this case, I think it means: Moka-moka Su-su, Yankee-Boy. (In a polite way of course.)
Am I going to have to contact my corporate Sony contact to get it? Will he even help me?
-superboyac
Yes. But only if you speak Japanese. ;)
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See? The docomo site, if you click the "English" button on the main page, shows this: (see attachment in previous post (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31995.msg298527#msg298527))
What the f--- does "In Japanese only" mean?
-superboyac
May be this is what 40hz meant -- in this case I believe it means that if you click on the link, the resulting page is in Japanese.
There was a downloadable manual for the phone and within it there was a description of a procedure for changing the UI language so I don't think you have anything to worry about on that account.
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I didn't manage to find out anything useful regarding whether the phone can be purchased without signing up for service.
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So I've been browsing this one site talking about the phone:
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_sx_so_05d-reviews-4775.php
The comments are fascinating. Check it out:
My wife has this phone. Got it 2 days ago and she likes it a lot. It has many languages installed by default so you can use it. But does it support your network? The battery is removable. I like the size a lot. I got the xperia gx and think its a little big. We both had the arc before and i think it was the perfect size.
if you understand the japanese language then you can import it cause dont know if the phone have english language.It has english support. Don't worry about that. :)
answering question of if the phone has english support. yes!
This mobile will NEVER be available to outside of Japan, it is only for Japan and if you not Japanese you will NEVER NEVER have this phone.
This phone is ONLY for Japanese and never to non Japanese. Please do not ask me as it will be only for Japan people, non Japan people will NEVER have this phone.
What's your or SOny's problem??!! I just want to give you money for something!
even if iphone 5 gets out... i'd rather have this...
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damn it, is this true?
Sony have keep all best mobile phone for Japan only. This phone and best phone are only for Japanese people, you will never EVER have this phone if you are not Japanese.
All best Sony phone are only for Japanese, if you are not Japanese you will never EVER have Sony best mobile. Never EVER have Sony best mobile for non Japanese.
If true, I'm hawking ebay and asking my japanese friends to hook me up with some insider shit. That's it, this is now personal!
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this phone is perfect. It's the best non-apple phone on the market, and i haven't even touched it yet. I'm saying it in advance:
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Someone mentioned the phone will be around 14500 yen, so about $200. I would jump on that if true.
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I saw much higher prices. I'll see if I can dig them up.
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I saw much higher prices. I'll see if I can dig them up.
-ewemoa
Me too. I seem to remember them being closer to $600. Still, at this point, I've worked myself up so much I think I'm just going to get it. And I think I still have to dish out additional $$ to buy a nice family dinner for my friend who will help me.
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It's possible the prices you came across were for sign-up with a plan. The following two links lead to pages which IIUC suggest that if one actually uses the phone for 24 months with a plan determined at sign-up, the SX initially costs 13400 yen (pages in Japanese):
http://someya.tv/xperia/device/gxsxprice01.php (http://someya.tv/xperia/device/gxsxprice01.php)
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/1208/10/news084.html (http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/1208/10/news084.html)
In my experience with Sony products in recent times, I've not found them to be amenable to the idea of people using their products in ways that they haven't specifically thought are good for Sony (like Apple). In recent years, I have the impression that many companies are following this path. Sony and Apple products are things I am not likely to purchase any more -- I used to though.
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It's possible the prices you came across were for sign-up with a plan. The following two links lead to pages which IIUC suggest that if one actually uses the phone for 24 months with a plan determined at sign-up, the SX initially costs 13400 yen (pages in Japanese):
http://someya.tv/xperia/device/gxsxprice01.php (http://someya.tv/xperia/device/gxsxprice01.php)
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/1208/10/news084.html (http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/1208/10/news084.html)
In my experience with Sony products in recent times, I've not found them to be amenable to the idea of people using their products in ways that they haven't specifically thought are good for Sony (like Apple). In recent years, I have the impression that many companies are following this path. Sony and Apple products are things I am not likely to purchase any more -- I used to though.
-ewemoa
I agree in principle. But there is no other phone with these specs and this size. So I will give in this time for Sony making a good product. They can be as closed off and stuff as they want, I just want to get the phone. I'm not going to hack it or do anything like that. I'm just going to use it as a phone. I'm not doing anything Sony doesn't want me to do, other than being an American who wants the phone that won't be sold to Americans.
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I'm not familiar with how mobile phone stuff works in the U.S. -- it's easy enough to bring a phone to some carrier and get them to use it?
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I'm not familiar with how mobile phone stuff works in the U.S. -- it's easy enough to bring a phone to some carrier and get them to use it?
-ewemoa
Not always.
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Thanks for the info :)
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Well, just technically speaking...if the phone is specified for the particular cellular technology your carrier uses (GSM, HSPA, that stuff) than the phone should work. Now, they can do other things to prevent it from working like locking it. But you can usually unlock a phone and stick your SIM card in it and it should be fine. I use ATT which has SIM cards, so if the phone accepts the cards, it should work. Will it be locked? I don't know. Can I find out? Not now it seems. Very little english information about this phone right now.
Here's more interesting weirdness. The two exclusive japanese phones out now are this SX and it's larger version, the GX. The GX is being sold now or soon here in the USA, called a TX. Why a TX? Who the fuck knows, it's Sony. But SOny also a month or two ago released the Ion, which is supposed to be their flagship Android phone. But the Ion sucks compared to these two other phones. It's almost like 40 said, Sony just wants to give the F-U to the USA customers when it comes to these phones. I'm really struggling to find other reasons why a unique sized phone with a lot of people like me dying to buy it precisely for its uniqueness...and they won't sell it here. But they will sell inferior versions of it here, which they call their flagship models, and they are released at just about the same time (so it's not like the technology available is any different). And this is when most people will tell me..."You're thinking too much, go get laid." And I have no problem with the last half of that statement. The first half is nonsense.
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Perhaps a case of...If you can release something that's less sophisticated and make more profit...
My impression with Japan and Korea (at least recently) is that people are willing to pay more for things than in some other countries (e.g. U.S.) -- this might be the case seeing as both of these countries appear to be much more uniform than say the U.S., so it's easier to tailor to larger audiences. I don't know if this is true, but may be it's a factor.
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Perhaps a case of...If you can release something that's less sophisticated and make more profit...
My impression with Japan and Korea (at least recently) is that people are willing to pay more for things than in some other countries (e.g. U.S.) -- this might be the case seeing as both of these countries appear to be much more uniform than say the U.S., so it's easier to tailor to larger audiences. I don't know if this is true, but may be it's a factor.
-ewemoa
Maybe. But people are dying to pay for it here, and they won't sell it. I just wonder why. We're not that uniform, but I bet the market here is comparable to whatever they are getting in Asia. I don't really know these things.
I checked a couple of other sites. It's not just me. people really want the SX. It's the very first time a top-shelf quality android phone has been released that is a small phone, latest cell tech (LTE), and not missing any of the "expensive" features like lots of megapixels, cpu, and whatever else companie's cut corners on the their cheap phones.
And it's an aesthetic thing. Geeks like me love small, sturdy, powerful gadgets. Design wise, the iphone is the best out there. Why? The shape is perfect. Pretty much perfect size, beautiful rectangle and corners (lol, I know, but it is). And it's got a very good heft to it. Feels like what it costs. Mass is important to me, I don't know why. If I'm going to pay big bucks, I want metal, not plastic. The Samsun S3 is a top shelf phone. But aesthetically, it's super lame. It's too light, feels too cheap. Compared to the iphone, it feels like a kid's toy. And the stupid weird rounded stuff is ugly and not great to hold either, sorry. The bottom with the rounded concave body, yuck. The overly rounded corners. Eww. It's too thin relative to it's length/width. I don't feel special holding it.
But this SX is different. I don't even have to hold it to know it will have the proper amount of heft. I just know it will, you can see it. Lovely shape, beautiful simple, elegant rectangle. Slightly smaller than the iphone, even more perfect! Android! Perfect! LTE! quad-core blah blah, basically, all the latest good stuff. This is it.
because when it comes down to it, there isn't much functionally distinguishing a lot of these phones. You may say I'm making a big deal about corners and weight, but these little things are the only remaining distinguishable characteristics. It's not like there's a circular vs. rectangle shape. So if they're all rectangles, then the rounded corners become a distinguishing feature. And it's not like there's a Linux alternative to android and ios, so you just have to pick one. And they are ALL 4-point-whatever inches, so until now, there wasn't even a "small" option. This screen is better than that screen, big deal, I don't give a shit. This has snapdragon, oh my god, this other one is still on 1.3 Hz, or some shit like that. I don't give a shit!! is it faster or something, is that what you're saying? And what exactly is faster? Does swiping take 5 milliseconds less on the slow one? Is dialing a number more instant on quad core vs duo core? Oh, I'm being silly, sorry. Maybe some people use the phone for heavy computing tasks like playing call of duty on a 4" screen. Or maybe you're watching a 4GB 1080p...on your 4" screen. I mean, I really get tired of seeing the same damn four and a half inch rectangle being compared to a slightly different four and a half inch rectangle. I just want a smaller phone. I mean, a good phone that is a smaller phone.
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SeXy
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We're not that uniform, but I bet the market here is comparable to whatever they are getting in Asia.-superboyac
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population), Japan's population is about 128 million while that of the U.S. is 314 million. I am clueless regarding what the target sizes are for this phone, but I bet it's much easier to target to larger groups in Japan than the U.S.
I checked a couple of other sites. It's not just me. people really want the SX.
I wonder how many people this would add up to.
Don't get me wrong, there have been devices I've wanted that have only been available in other countries! I've usually given up with the thinking that what I would like and the way in which I'd like to use something is never common enough to be interesting to a large company. Trying to satisfy my gadget desires has seemed futile for some years now so for the last few years I've decided it's not worth directing my energy there. Perhaps the recent activity of folks building their own hardware is a constructive way to redirect one's energies :)
Still, I can appreciate small phones -- I recently chose an older (a model from 2 years back) smaller phone over more recent offerings because it would fit more easily in trouser pockets.
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So you chose small too?? lol. sweet.
I guess this is what I'm saying. I *predict* that whichever company makes a top shelf SMALL android phone with good build quality and etc for the US will have a hit. Obviously, big phones are more popular, that's not really a question for me. All these companies wouldn't be making 100% big phones if the market was not demanding it. But the consumers don't know yet how much they will like the smaller phones, so they aren't demanding it. So if I were gambling, I'm calling it: the next small phone is going to be a winner. The SX can be that phone, but they chose not to release it here.
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My guess is Japan will have a hit with that phone, Sony will realize that it will be a hit elsewhere as well, then they will most likely release a more global small phone, give ti a different ridiculous model name, make it with cheaper build quality, remove some convenient features I'm sure, and it will still be a big hit. And then I will be super pissed that they made it worse than the SX.
They did all this all the time with the minidisc players and other stuff. It's Sony.
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To be honest though, my preference is some very small device that communicates with a larger device which I keep in my bag.
Future smart watches that speak Bluetooth (successors to the likes of the pebble) are what I'm hoping for. I don't really want a device that is a phone. What I want is the ability to use a mobile network for voice and data -- along with WiFi, etc.
The small device I might carry on me -- I'd like for it to be easy to glance at with a minimal display which allows me to do a few essential things (perhaps some simple acknowledgement to messages it receives from a larger device). For more complex tasks I can imagine pulling out more powerful computational power from my bag -- I should be able to decide this through a simple interaction with the small device.
I don't think I'm alone in imagining this sort of thing.
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To be honest though, my preference is some very small device that communicates with a larger device which I keep in my bag.
Future smart watches that speak Bluetooth (successors to the likes of the pebble) are what I'm hoping for. I don't really want a device that is a phone. What I want is the ability to use a mobile network for voice and data -- along with WiFi, etc.
The small device I might carry on me -- I'd like for it to be easy to glance at with a minimal display which allows me to do a few essential things (perhaps some simple acknowledgement to messages it receives from a larger device). For more complex tasks I can imagine pulling out more powerful computational power from my bag -- I should be able to decide this through a simple interaction with the small device.
I don't think I'm alone in imagining this sort of thing.
-ewemoa
You're not! That sounds even better.
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+1
My solution to this: 2 phones. I have Google Nexus (running Jelly Bean, so glad I got the Nexus) but since its big, breakable and bad battery life, I also have a Nokia 1200 (I think that's the model, small, unbreakable thing, not picture capable)
My Nokia is the number I give out and is on a network with good coverage but high cost. My Nexus is on an unlimited cheap plan with a dodgy carrier.
If the Nexus is unavilable, or I don't answer it, it diverts to the Nokia (no cost)
If you send it a message, it forwards it (free app SMS forwarder, and free on the plan)
So then I only have to keep the Nokia on me and get any incoming calls. To make calls I take the Nexus where I get reception and call for free.
It works reasonable well for me.
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Well, still no promising news on this SX. My japanese contact said you can only get it if you buy through the carrier. My friend will be visiting Japan in December and he's going to see if he can buy it on the street or something without the contract.
Ebay is selling one now for $825, which is a little too rich for my blood. But it's the only option.
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more bad news:
Xperia SX is a Japan-only model for now. It will work in other countries but you will have more dead spots since it operates mostly on Japan's frequency bands. Only the 3G signal will work, and even then, it won't work with all the 3G towers here in the Philippines.
i give up. maybe it's just best i get a freaking jailbroken iphone.
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Well, today HTC announced their upcoming 8S windows phone. 4" screen. That's a little smaller than most, but still too much for me. Why are these companies so adamant about not going below 4"?
What I don't get is how some of these releases are coming in pairs...like the GX and SX (>4", <4")...this HTC 8S and 8X (both >4")...the Nokia 820 920 (both >4"). What's the deal? Why offer two phones at the exact same time with just about everything being the same? I mean, that 820 and 920 are almost identical, yet Nokia made a very conscious decision to release them both in this way.
And then the companies are messing around with 10" tablets, 8" tablets, 7" tablets...ah, I don't get it. 5" tablets...4.5" phones. Feels like there's a rule that says don't make a phone smaller than the iphone. Did Apple get a patent on sub 4" phones or something?
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I have a pretty hard time with web browsers on mobile phones due to my finger size -- things are easier for me when the screen is responsive to finger nails, but that type of screen seems to be mostly a thing of the past.
Pure speculation: For a company that makes money on more time being spent using the network, use of things like web browsers (of course not via WiFi or Bluetooth) seems helpful for revenue. Smaller screens might translate into less use of the web browser (and of course many other applications) and consequently less revenue.
More speculation: If the smart watch idea (I've heard it referred to some place as "first screen" -- I presume meaning the first point of screening or first screen one looks at) starts to spread, the amount of time one spends needlessly using the network might get reduced significantly. Perhaps good for users, but seemingly not so for entities that are positioned to make money off of network use.
What do you think?
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I have a pretty hard time with web browsers on mobile phones due to my finger size -- things are easier for me when the screen is responsive to finger nails, but that type of screen seems to be mostly a thing of the past.
Pure speculation: For a company that makes money on more time being spent using the network, use of things like web browsers (of course not via WiFi or Bluetooth) seems helpful for revenue. Smaller screens might translate into less use of the web browser (and of course many other applications) and consequently less revenue.
More speculation: If the smart watch idea (I've heard it referred to some place as "first screen" -- I presume meaning the first point of screening or first screen one looks at) starts to spread, the amount of time one spends needlessly using the network might get reduced significantly. Perhaps good for users, but seemingly not so for entities that are positioned to make money off of network use.
What do you think?
-ewemoa
pretty sound theory to me.
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What I don't get is how some of these releases are coming in pairs...like the GX and SX (>4", <4")...this HTC 8S and 8X (both >4")...the Nokia 820 920 (both >4"). What's the deal? Why offer two phones at the exact same time with just about everything being the same? I mean, that 820 and 920 are almost identical, yet Nokia made a very conscious decision to release them both in this way.
-superboyac
From what I understand, the specs and the price points are different on the phones. Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/show/6310/the-windows-phone-8x-and-8s-by-htc) has a good breakdown on the differences between the 8S and the 8X - not inconsiderable.
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What I don't get is how some of these releases are coming in pairs...like the GX and SX (>4", <4")...this HTC 8S and 8X (both >4")...the Nokia 820 920 (both >4"). What's the deal? Why offer two phones at the exact same time with just about everything being the same? I mean, that 820 and 920 are almost identical, yet Nokia made a very conscious decision to release them both in this way.
-superboyac
From what I understand, the specs and the price points are different on the phones. Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/show/6310/the-windows-phone-8x-and-8s-by-htc) has a good breakdown on the differences between the 8S and the 8X - not inconsiderable.
-wraith808
depends on the person, I guess:
Display is a big differentiator between the two devices. The 8X features a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display, while the 8S uses a smaller 4-inch 800x480 display.
4.3" vs. 4"...big whoop is what I say.
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- The 8X features Qualcomm's dual-core Krait Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) running at 1.5GHz. The 8S on the other hand uses a lower clocked MSM8627 (1GHz) with a slower Adreno 305 GPU.
- The two phones differ in the amount of on-package DRAM (1GB for the 8X and 512MB for the 8S)
- Connectivity differs between the two, the 8X features LTE while the 8S is single carrier WCDMA.
- The 8X features a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display, while the 8S uses a smaller 4-inch 800x480 display.
- Storage is split between the two as well, with the 8X featuring 16GB of NAND on-board (no microSD card slot), and the 8S with only 4GB integrated and a microSD card slot for expansion.
- Aided by HTC's external imaging processor there's an 8MP f/2.0 rear facing camera with a 28mm lens. The front facing camera sounds pretty impressive at 2.1MP with a f/2.0 aperture and an 88-degree, ultra-wide-angle lens. The 8S features a 5MP f/2.8 camera by comparison.
- Audio is also a priority for the 8X, which gets a 2.55V amplified headphone output for what promises to be a much better implementation of Beats. The 8X also features two microphones for noise cancelling duty.
- The 8X features dual-band WiFi while the 8S continues its cost-reduced theme by only supporting 2.4GHz.
Looks like quite a few differences. And that is from the linked article.
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;D
I know, sorry...I know there are differences. They're just not that big a deal in the long run. To me, all these things is similar to the difference between a 8MP camera and a 10MP camera.
If it were me...and I was going to release two phones simultaneously, I'd make them physically quite different and some solid fundamental differences in design and function. But that's me.
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The 8X features Qualcomm's dual-core Krait Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) running at 1.5GHz. The 8S on the other hand uses a lower clocked MSM8627 (1GHz) with a slower Adreno 305 GPU
Just that part seems like a big deal. I bet if you used both side by side, just the CPU difference would be obvious, let alone the GPU difference.
The two phones differ in the amount of on-package DRAM (1GB for the 8X and 512MB for the 8S)
Add that in, and you're going to see a large difference in UX. Load a few programs, and the 8S is going to be bogging down while the 8X is still cruising along.
Storage is split between the two as well, with the 8X featuring 16GB of NAND on-board (no microSD card slot), and the 8S with only 4GB integrated and a microSD card slot for expansion.
That's a big difference... though I think it curious that the lower priced phone has room for expansion while the pricier one does not. Hmm...
But on to the issue at hand, to me, personally, there's an obvious difference between the two... and more than the generational gap that 8MP vs 10MP represents- though that's pretty big to actual photographers- my wife had to school me on that by blowing up two pictures from said cameras. The difference is night and day, even on that!
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http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/01/sony-xperia-tl-att-4g-lte-james-bond/
ARRRGH!! >:(
They just keep getting bigger!! Now SOny releases a 4.6" flagship model for ATT?? Can I please have one, just one amongst all the big phones, just a single little android phone?
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I gave up on this, but this is one bad ass little phone:
-- [Xperia(TM) SX SO-05D] is also Xi ("crossy") enabled, weighing approximately 95g with a 9.4mm smart body. In addition to advanced specifications, it also provides localized features such as infrared communication, the "Osaifu-Keitai" mobile wallet service and "One-seg" broadcast reception.
The US really is behind in terms of the phone tech. I don't quite understand it. Maybe we are more gullible with tech than other countries, and are more impressed with size and shiny pastic vs. things that matter. We'll see how I feel after I try out the Lumia 920.
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Maybe we are more gullible with tech than other countries, and are more impressed with size and shiny pastic vs. things that matter.-superboyac
I fear you correct in that assessment.
We'll see how I feel after I try out the Lumia 920.-superboyac
If Sprint gets their head out of their ass and offers one I'll go that route myself ... Otherwise I may end up switching carriers.
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Good news. Lots of different Xperia models are on offer in the Netherlands (webshops):
http://tweakers.net/product/300445/sony-xperia-s/overzicht/
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/300440/sony-xperia-ion-zwart/overzicht/
Site is in Dutch, but you can translate those easy. Besides, there are links to the webshops that carry these phones.
And who knows, if they are allowed to be sold in the Netherlands/Europe, then the US should be possible as well.
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Good news. Lots of different Xperia models are on offer in the Netherlands (webshops):
http://tweakers.net/product/300445/sony-xperia-s/overzicht/
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/300440/sony-xperia-ion-zwart/overzicht/
Site is in Dutch, but you can translate those easy. Besides, there are links to the webshops that carry these phones.
And who knows, if they are allowed to be sold in the Netherlands/Europe, then the US should be possible as well.
-Shades
Interesting. Last week, I also got wind of an article talking about Samsung's new smaller version of the S3, and another article saying how more people want smaller phones. So once again, something I've been ranting about for a while in tech actually starts happening. Nostradamus! There's one I've talked about for over 2 years now and it STILL hasn't happened...the airmouse (for use with HTPC's) with gyro sensor control PLUS a d-pad (like the wiimote, but for a pc). I'm not sure why they keep making remotes with touchpads cursor keys to control the mouse, but whatever. If I had the time and money, I would have made it by now and selling them.