Sony Xperia ZR or Samsung Galaxy S4

N

Hi All
It really feels good to be back here I am sure I will get the right guidance here.
I was thinking of buying a mobile phone
I am confused between Xperia ZR and Samsung Galaxy S4
Here are my concerns.

The dilemma with ZR

1) Dilemma 1 :

only approx 4.5 GB internal memory available to user , as there is no option to install apps in SD card
So with many apps this space will fill up fast , then what do I do? I am not confident with rooting and I do not think I will be able to Root in the warranty period.

2) Dilemma 2 :

OTG ( USB on the go ) what does wiki mean when it says “Note that OTG mode is not officially supported due to Micro-B instead of Micro-AB receptacle (when compared to Xperia Z). This results that standard USB OTG cable cannot be used, but cable adapter with micro-B plug and standard A socket allows to connect peripheral USB devices such as keyboard, mouse, flash drive, sound card.”
Please check this link( scroll down to connectivity and connections ):
Sony Xperia ZR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So if I buy a USB OTG cable and connect my USB mouse or pen drive or keyboard will it work? What do they mean by Micro B type OTG, what do they mean by non standard USB OTG cable?

3) Dilemma 3 :

HDMI connectivity- know this phone has MHL capability , but then again I am going to need micro B to Hdmi connector ain’t I. Is it easy to get ?
So basically these 3 were my main concerns about ZR.

Samsung Galaxy S4:

I have heard that initially this phone had lots of problems, heating issue and lag.
Over time I believe Samsung released OTA updates and problems have been sorted.
But have the problems completely been sorted, or is the device still heating up and lagging?

S4 had approx 9GB free space in the internal memory so that is sufficient for me and additionally there is a provision to move apps to SD card. So in terms of memory this phone is good even without rooting.
So friends please help me here.

These phones are not going to be cheap for me and I do not want to have any regrets after buying.
Please help me with the type B micro USB on ZR and pen drive, mouse, keyboard and HDMI connectivity. Will it be an issue to connect to my HDMI TV and connect mouse and keyboard with this phone.( ZR)

Is the S4 completely healed now? Or does the phone still lag and heat up now.
ZR or S4, if you have either one, please share your personal experiences and guide us all. Your help will be appreciated by all.
Waiting for your precious suggestions.

fill this up: *www.digit.in/forum/buying-advice/134349-questionnaire-mobile-phone-purchase-queries.html

PS: get ZR or Moto X, ditch S4.
[MENTION=248727]seamon[/MENTION] can tell about ZR.

Normal usb otg works on ZR. I have connected normal usb mice, razer deathadder( boy does this drain battery fast) and many pendrives. Hdds however don't work due to increased power consumption.

ZR costs 26k, max, whereas S4 costs 28k, min....

I personally would recommend S4, because of better cameras & screen. ZR is great phone, but for 25k Moto X has better screen than ZR. Only con of ZR maybe its poor screen compared to Optimus G, Moto X, even S3.

Many people here have some enemity aganist Samsung, but if you think device looks fine & build quality is ok(which many hate, but those two aspects aren't great in reality too, just fine), then S4 is a great choice. Samsung will provide next android update to it.

I don't know much about OTG, but my friend tried to use normal joystick in it via OTG, but it didn't work. Later he found that he has to either buy Logitech joystick or root his device n put some tweaks to make normal cheap joysticks to work (which was successful). After gaming in the device for about 10-15min, phone surely heats, every phone does (time depends on game too)

As far as lag is concerned, I never faced any lags in his phone.

I never had any hands on exp with either ZR or X

Get s4 root it and flash custom rom and enjoy.

N

SaiyanGoku said:
fill this up: *www.digit.in/forum/buying-advice/134349-questionnaire-mobile-phone-purchase-queries.html

PS: get ZR or Moto X, ditch S4.
[MENTION=248727]seamon[/MENTION] can tell about ZR.

Hey thanks for your reply ,
Can you please elaborate on why you want me to ditch S4

N

seamon said:
Normal usb otg works on ZR. I have connected normal usb mice, razer deathadder( boy does this drain battery fast) and many pendrives. Hdds however don't work due to increased power consumption.

Have you been able to do something about the low storage space in ZR, have you been able to root it successfully and move apps to SD card.

N

Hi Anupam,

That's really reassuring, good to know that the S4 does not lag , this was quite a worry for me .
MotoX is out of the question as it does not have TV out or MHL ( HDMI)

So its either ZR or S4
S4 has 9.5 GB internal space available to user which is more than ZR

So please do keep sharing your views till we narrow down to the true best one.

N

$hadow said:
Get s4 root it and flash custom rom and enjoy.

Thanks Shadow for your reply, do you know how to root S4 and have to done it successfully, will you be able to guide me if required.

N

Can anybody confirm if CCI bug in S4 has been resolved or not? The cache Coherent interconnect bug as it is called .

S4 I9500 is using Exynos 5410 Chipset ,
Cpu - Cortex A-15 1.6Ghz or 1.2 Ghz Cortex A-7
GPU - PowerVR SGX544MP3

Samsung messed up a little with the 5410 Eynos chipset, the switching between Cortex A-15 quadcore and A-7 quadcore introduces some lag. the CCI is disabled in Exynos 5410 it seems.

Exynos was meant for better GPU's , but since there were no better Mali Gpu's at that time , Samsung in a hurry to launch S4 went with PowerVR SGX544MP3.( At least that is the story , somewhat)

Exynos 5410 and PowerVR SGX544MP3 do not work very well . Read somewhere that the CCI bug was resolved, then again read somewhere that it is an hardware issue which cannot be resolved.

Since only one Quadcore processor is active at one time either 1.6 Ghz ( A-15 Cortex )or 1.2 Ghz( A-7 Cortex) the Exynos 5410 is not as efficient as the 1.9 Ghz snapdragon 600 krait 300 used in the I9505 S4.

Understandably 1.9 Ghz is higher than 1.6Ghz or 1.2Ghz.

Hence users have tried to over clock the Cortex A-15 1.6 Ghz to 1.9 Ghz or more in the Exynos used in S4 I9500 to achieve same or better processing power than the Snapdragon 600.

This limited use of the processor was kind of wastage , the full power and potential of the octa cores are not being utilized.

Heterogeneous Multi-Processing (HMP) is when all the eight cores work at the same time simultaneously, initially it was thought that S4 will be given the HMP update OTA but it was not due to stability and reliability issues.

Samsung galaxy S5 on the other hand with the Exynos 5420 has HMP and all the eight cores can work simultaneously if required or a combination of the A-15 and A-7 quadcores , unlike the 5410 where only one quadcore was active at one time.

So it seems that the Exynos 5410 has a Bug , but still its a mighty processor and there are many possibilities that can be done with this processor.
Someone even managed to use all the eight cores simultaneously but fried the phone, yes the heat generated was too much with all the eight cores running together at the same frequency .

But I think we can overclock the A-15 Cortex Quadcore from 1.6 to say 1.9 Ghz and make it as efficient as the 1.9 Ghz of the Snapdragon600 .

So is anybody aware if CCI bug has been resolved for sure or not ?

No....

At the rate the price is decreasing for S5, if you wait some time maybe you can buy that...
It's already down from 50k to 37k in little over a month...

[MENTION=284620]Newtech123[/MENTION] S4
better screen + better camera + Samsung ka bharosa

powerhoney said:
At the rate the price is decreasing for S5, if you wait some time maybe you can buy that...
It's already down from 50k to 37k in little over a month...

Samsung did it most probably to get an edge over Z2 & M8(both cost approx 10k more).

But i don't think price would fall upto 30k so soon (if INR gets stronger compared to USD, then it would be a different case)

anupam_pb said:
Samsung did it most probably to get an edge over Z2 & M8(both cost approx 10k more).

But i don't think price would fall upto 30k so soon (if INR gets stronger compared to USD, then it would be a different case)

Well, you never know... A few days back it came down to Rs. 33k with some cashback offer... 30k seems possible to me...

Newtech123 said:
Thanks Shadow for your reply, do you know how to root S4 and have to done it successfully, will you be able to guide me if required.

Rooting is the easiest way to do in terms of Android. Just few clicks and you are rooted

- - - Updated - - -

powerhoney said:
Well, you never know... A few days back it came down to Rs. 33k with some cashback offer... 30k seems possible to me...

They are making that price point of 45k free for s5 prime. So it is on the cards that it might be available for 30k price point easily.

$hadow said:
Rooting is the easiest way to do in terms of Android. Just few clicks and you are rooted

- - - Updated - - -

They are making that price point of 45k free for s5 prime. So it is on the cards that it might be available for 30k price point easily.

If that happens, HTC would be doomed for sure this time............... as Sony would surely reduce its price but not HTC (it's one big stubborn company, i was hoping that Lenovo would buy it)

anupam_pb said:
If that happens, HTC would be doomed for sure this time............... as Sony would surely reduce its price but not HTC (it's one big stubborn company, i was hoping that Lenovo would buy it)

This is definitely on the cards coz of Htc policies.
But yeah at a price around 35k s5 specs are pretty good to beat.

In case you decide to go for ZR, the first thing to do would be to root it.

There is a very good option without unlocking hence losing warranty on XDA. Ralph_Waldo has posted a pre-rooted stock firmware which you can flash.

N

Before we start thinking that the price of S5 will come down , consider the rippling effect it will have on S3 and S4
S3 @flipkart 20,000
S4@flipkart 31190( White )
s5@flipkart 37600

So if S5 were to come to 30000, then S4 would be ? S3 could be?

Its unlikely that S3 will be much lower.
Anyway any price cheaper than the configuration shown below seems too good to be true

S3 =15000 ( Can S3 ever fall below this ?)
S4 =20K-25K
S5 = 25k -30k

We cannot have S4 and S5 at the same price .

Please share your hypothetical prospective prices for all the 3 models few years down the line.

- - - Updated - - -

Sling shot thank you, can you please direct me towards Ralph_waldo , please post the link.
Storage issue is the main problem with ZR if only we could move apps to SD card then its a very good choice.

Here you go:
[Stock Rom][LB/UB] Xperia ZR 4.3 10.4.B.0.101 INDIAN Pre-Rooted Flashable Zip & Dual Recovery [Indian Variant] - xda-developers

N

anupam_pb said:
No....

It is hard to believe that Samsung would do nothing and keeping rolling messed up S4's even in the units manufactured in 2014. I mean its against common sense.

Once you know that there is a manufacturing defect in a mobile all future productions of that model should take care not to repeat the mistakes . How can they knowingly still roll out defective pieces.

unless we are misinformed and the issue has been taken care of.

- - - Updated - - -

sling-shot said:
Here you go:
[Stock Rom][LB/UB] Xperia ZR 4.3 10.4.B.0.101 INDIAN Pre-Rooted Flashable Zip & Dual Recovery [Indian Variant] - xda-developers

Thank you will have to go over it in a detailed manner and see if I can understand what he is saying ,
Hope I can rely on you and everyone here to guide me in case I do not understand something.

Prima facie some steps look pretty challenging at least for a first timer

Errr... I am not very sure if I can guide you step by step as I have my own doubts.

I got that a few months back but due to already accumulated installs and customisations I never got around to finally doing it in my phone.

That is the reason I advise you to do it first even before doing anything with your phone. Once you have set it up and begun using, it may not be easy to change the software.

Ok, first of all Samsung phones are easier to root than Sony phones (don't know current status)

First time i entered the world of rooting, was with Galaxy Y. I used a video tutorial to root. Then just by reading instructions, i rooted my S2. Same with my nexus 4 (my N4 was tough to root)

Samsung phones have unlocked bootloader & a stock recovery mode which makes it easier to root, compared to Sony, nexus devices, etc

Samsung phones are easy to root, man can't agree more on this. It's basically a two minutes process. While I had to waste half an hour or more to root my hTC M7! Terrible process.

M

Newtech123 said:
Before we start thinking that the price of S5 will come down , consider the rippling effect it will have on S3 and S4
S3 @flipkart 20,000
S4@flipkart 31190( White )
s5@flipkart 37600

So if S5 were to come to 30000, then S4 would be ? S3 could be?

Its unlikely that S3 will be much lower.
Anyway any price cheaper than the configuration shown below seems too good to be true

S3 =15000 ( Can S3 ever fall below this ?)
S4 =20K-25K
S5 = 25k -30k

We cannot have S4 and S5 at the same price .

Please share your hypothetical prospective prices for all the 3 models few years down the line.

- - - Updated - - -

Sling shot thank you, can you please direct me towards Ralph_waldo , please post the link.
Storage issue is the main problem with ZR if only we could move apps to SD card then its a very good choice.

Have you thought how they slash prices so rapidly low price means bad quality of material used even they sometime compromises on camera.
I was wondering why galaxy Y when newly lunched was priced at 7.8k after one year they were selling same phone for 5k I compare both my younger brother phone(7k) and my friends phone(5k) I was shocked to see that my younger brother phone was much better in terms of build quality and screen quality and my friends looks like a toy made of cheap plastic even nokia does it.Even you people can compare your phones with your friends and see what I mean.
So moral of the story is
It is better to buy a new phone within your budget rather than waiting for price drop.

R

Newtech123 said:
Before we start thinking that the price of S5 will come down , consider the rippling effect it will have on S3 and S4
S3 @flipkart 20,000
S4@flipkart 31190( White )
s5@flipkart 37600

So if S5 were to come to 30000, then S4 would be ? S3 could be?

Its unlikely that S3 will be much lower.
Anyway any price cheaper than the configuration shown below seems too good to be true

S3 =15000 ( Can S3 ever fall below this ?)
S4 =20K-25K
S5 = 25k -30k

We cannot have S4 and S5 at the same price .

Please share your hypothetical prospective prices for all the 3 models few years down the line.

its very simple bro

when s5 comes at 30k

s4 wouldbe 23k

s3 will be discontinued now and replaced by S3 neo..

Samsung I9301I Galaxy S3 Neo - Full phone specifications

which could go to 18k price point

- - - Updated - - -

powerhoney said:
At the rate the price is decreasing for S5, if you wait some time maybe you can buy that...
It's already down from 50k to 37k in little over a month...

price is down so fast because it was overpriced from the start and samsung is making room for Galaxy S5 prime which will launch for 47-49k

s5 price has already dropped , now it will stabilize at 35k for the next 3-4 months atleast

- - - Updated - - -

anupam_pb said:
If that happens, HTC would be doomed for sure this time............... as Sony would surely reduce its price but not HTC (it's one big stubborn company, i was hoping that Lenovo would buy it)

HTC is improving man look at desire 816 pricing... the new co ceo is good...

Wonder what is Note 4 going to cost?

$hadow said:
Wonder what is Note 4 going to cost?

1 lakh. What else?

sushovan said:
1 lakh. What else?

. Then what do you think about iphone 6.

$hadow said:
. Then what do you think about iphone 6.

It won't be available at mass scale and only those who have enough money to waste and have iq less than freezing point of water will be allowed to buy it

sushovan said:
It won't be available at mass scale and only those who have enough money to waste and have iq less than freezing point of water will be allowed to buy it

Bang on man.

Galaxy S5 available for 34.5k from univercell... Talk about it reaching 30k, at this rate it may dip well under it...
Any bets on it reaching 25k???

powerhoney said:
Galaxy S5 available for 34.5k from univercell... Talk about it reaching 30k, at this rate it may dip well under it...
Any bets on it reaching 25k???

Not Before Samsung discontinues S3 and Note 2 and S4(28K currently) gets a massive price cut along with Note 4 Launch.