I’ve had the Sony Xperia Z2 for nearly 4 days, thanks to Clove Technology.

In this time, I’ve reacquainted myself with the Z2 after my initial time with it at release. I’ve also owned the Z1 and Z1 Compact, and without a doubt I think the Z2 is the best yet from Sony mainly due to the best screen that doesn’t feature the pre applied Sony screen protector. Also the profile size and comfort in the hand has been tweaked rather well.

So how has the Z2 performed during the time I’ve had it so far. Rather admirably to be honest. The loudspeakers are reasonable so if you did want to listen to a podcast the stereo speakers are acceptable. The screen is fine too although sunlight was a struggle to see anything on the screen. The headphone sound output was stunning. Sony really excel here with their sound quality. Sony also feature events. So for example when you plug in headphones, or connect to a Bluetooth device or plug the charger in, you can configure it to then carry out another action.

There is also a selection of Sony software from tools, media, and even aTV remote. In addition if if you have other Sony devices like a TV or Playstation then the Z2 becomes even more useful as the devices work well together in an Eco system.

The Z2 is slab like with a more pronounced rectangle shape. This means it’s not the most comfortable phone to hold, but it is one of the better looking designs so long as you like larger bezels on the front of your phone. But then the larger bezels also help provide the IP68 waterproof rating. Also, as the phone has a dedicated two stage hardware camera button, you can take photos and film video underwater.

Talking about the camera, this is by far the best incarnation of the 20.7mp sensor Sony has achieved. The shots are good, with some fun camera modes and some more serious options for photographers. Moving targets were easy to capture. Auto mode was super fast. There is an option to start the camera using the hardware camera button and take a photo immediately. On some situations the photos possessed too much noise and processing artefacts. Low light shots on still objects were okay.

I was trying to think how I would rank this against the HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5. For me personally, the S5 is the best option but even though all these phones run google android they couldn’t be more different in the user experience. So ultimately, it depends on what YOU want and what matters most to YOU.

My thanks again to Clove Technology. For all your smartphone needs head over to them. Click here..

I have a Sony Xperia Z2 courtesy of the Clove Technology – http://www.clove.co.uk.

I wanted to give the Z2 another shot since I used it close to first release, and since then it has had several firmware updates. I also knew that a new one was just about to hit, firmware 17.1.1.A.0.438 which got installed late last night.

So my second views of the phone so far is that it feels a lot smoother moving from apps and more refined. Despite its large bezels, which don’t really matter, it is one of the few phones that in the hand look premium. The large flap for charging via traditional micro usb is an annoying, but it is one of the few phones with an IP68 rating, which makes it waterproof. However, I do have a magnetic usb charging cable that attaches to the side of the phone, which means no opening any flaps.

The screen is so much better than previous phones, but in bright sunlight I was struggling to see the content.

I am going to see how the camera fairs since the last firmware. Before applying the update, photos are super quick to capture, photographing kids and dogs is a total breeze. In fact in less than a few minutes I had 60 shots of my dogs in motion, all excellent.

I tried a few other shots, the fake bokeh effects, and the crazy burst mode. The burst mode takes in about a second, 30 photos before you press the shutter and 30 photos after you have pressed the shutter.

What I have noticed with the photos I took prior to the firmware update last night, is that the photos look great on the phone screen, even looked ok projected on to my TV screen, but zoom in and you see a lot of noise and artefacts in the pixels. But then, you have that shot of the dog leaping in the air. So I suppose it depends what is important to you – pixel quality or capturing that magic moment.

As I said, I will bring you more updates over the coming week.

And thanks again to Clove Technology – http://www.clove.co.uk – for all your smartphone needs.