someone on another forum asked me how i've been liking the Z2 tablet. my reply turned into a mini review, so i thought i'd cross post it here for others.
i have the Verizon 4G edition of the Z2 tablet (SGP561). i use it both around the house and at Starbucks for general internet surfing, and it docks in my Jeep as a complete replacement for my head unit (you can read about that here if interested...). once in a while i use it to remote-desktop/VNC/SSH into a server for work, but it's mainly a toy and my carputer.
a first gen Motorola XOOM 4G Verizon edition was previously fulfilling this same role. it had been through nearly every ROMs, from factory to the latest bigpart stuff. I currently also have a LG G2 phone, an iPad4, and occasionally mess with my GF's LG G-Pad 8.3 Verizon edition tablet. i've also previously owned a Galaxy Tab 7.0, an iPhone 3G, an iPad3, and 4 different Motorola Android phones.
i LOVE the Sony tablet! part of my excitement with it is surely because i held on to the XOOM so long that it had become a relic - therfore i was bound to be impressed on anything with more current hardware. however, there's no arguing that the Xperia line has premium specs. i love the lightness and extreme thinness (again especially since the XOOM was a tank), though after seeing the new iPhone's bend-gate stuff i'm always careful how i grab it when carrying it around the house. the extra width of the surround works well for holding the thing IMO. sure, tight edge screens are sexy, but having some margin is more practical.
mine is still on 4.4.2 with root, NUT's dual recovery, the write-to-sdcard fix, and i'm running the Xposed framework and several modules without any issue (mainly Gravitybox and Appsettings). i've had zero problems with the software or the 4G connection. the 3G/4G radio functionality was spotty on the XOOM with the later aftermarket ROMs, so that is a welcome change too. unfortunately Verizon is one of the few editions of the Xperias with a locked bootloader and no exploit for that currently. the other editions (even most branded ones) have an official Sony unlock procedure and they have open-sourced the ROM as well. Android 4.4.4 is out for mine, but not 100% sure on keeping root. Lollipop (5.0) is promised by Sony, but not necessarily by Verizon.
i don't really play games, so i can't comment on any extreme graphics performance. i will say that every live wallpaper and mapping app i have tried has performed smoothly (oh and MX Player and PS Touch). i use Nova Launcher, but the default Sony launcher isn't bad at all - i just wanted a few extra controls. their UI overlay is super clean and simple, way less intrusive than the newer Samsung tablets that i've played with (not that TouchWiz is bad, i just prefer a more stock Android feel). there is a setting for color temperature of the screen, i cooled it off a little from the factory setting but overall the screen richness/contrast/brightness is nice.
battery life is good around the house for a few days with WiFi on, and great with "Stamina" mode turned on. i don't know what all Stamina mode does except kill WiFi when the screen goes off and "limit hardware power" (i assume take the processor speed and maybe GPU speed down a few notches) - again since i'm not a gamer i don't notice any issues with it enabled. i've not done any kernel or build.prop tweaks.
sound from the speakers has good separation and loudness but no bass. GPS accuracy and lock-on time is fine, but i've never had any issues with that feature on any 3G/4G tablets. i haven't played with the cameras at all. the ambient light sensor is more sensitive than the XOOM by quite a bit, it has a wider range and seems to detect more subtle changes (i'm using the app Lux Auto Brightness for screen auto brightness so i can have a different profile automatically for day versus night when in the Jeep).
i'm running a 64GB MicroSD card right now, but intend to get a 128GB eventually (which is officially supported). the stock ROM does recognize ext4 partitioning on the sdcard, not sure about NTFS. the 32GB internal memory is adequate, though i have no idea why any major brand is still selling devices with only 16GB. i tested a couple different USB OTG cables and they both worked fine with multiple flash drives (exFat and ext4 formatted).
i have used the Z2 with a Belkin Miracast wireless video device, but was not impressed with Miracast/WiDi. it works fine to stream the basic UI interactions from the tablet with very minor lag. however, trying to simultaneously connect to a 2.4Ghz or 5GHz local WiFi network was a fiasco. i updated the Belkin firmware, tried different settings on it, tried every channel on my router, and eventually gave up. the local WiFi connection always became impossibly slow when also connected to the Belkin Miracast device.
i have used a Cable Matters MHL adapter (http://amzn.to/1uyDosP) to get wired HDMI output. it worked perfectly with both my older Toshiba and a Vizio flatscreen TVs - i was able to use the built in Sony TV-Out controls that come up when MHL is connected to adjust the output area. setting it to 110% or 120% would crop the top & bottom, thereby getting rid of the black bars on the sides so that a movie could fill the TV. my Optoma PK320 projector did have an issue with the native resolution of the tablet though, it would kept loosing the signal and going all blue. there are several ways to alter the output resolution (at least 2 resolution changer apps, a terminal command, or a hidden service menu option) - changing to 1920x1080 at 30HZ through any of these methods fixed the issue with the projector. i ended up using a Tasker profile to send the correct terminal commands which change the resolution only while MHL is connected.
i'd say the only slight complaint i've had with the actual tablet is that the connection to my bluetooth audio receiver in the Jeep takes maybe 3 to 4 seconds. it seems to connect at the basic hardware level quickly, but the toast msg that "AptX Device Connected" takes a couple extra seconds to popup and then it's starts streaming the sound. i can live with that small hiccup though as the sound is indeed slightly more full than the non-AptX XOOM was even when connected to my newer stereo install.
i have the Verizon 4G edition of the Z2 tablet (SGP561). i use it both around the house and at Starbucks for general internet surfing, and it docks in my Jeep as a complete replacement for my head unit (you can read about that here if interested...). once in a while i use it to remote-desktop/VNC/SSH into a server for work, but it's mainly a toy and my carputer.
a first gen Motorola XOOM 4G Verizon edition was previously fulfilling this same role. it had been through nearly every ROMs, from factory to the latest bigpart stuff. I currently also have a LG G2 phone, an iPad4, and occasionally mess with my GF's LG G-Pad 8.3 Verizon edition tablet. i've also previously owned a Galaxy Tab 7.0, an iPhone 3G, an iPad3, and 4 different Motorola Android phones.
i LOVE the Sony tablet! part of my excitement with it is surely because i held on to the XOOM so long that it had become a relic - therfore i was bound to be impressed on anything with more current hardware. however, there's no arguing that the Xperia line has premium specs. i love the lightness and extreme thinness (again especially since the XOOM was a tank), though after seeing the new iPhone's bend-gate stuff i'm always careful how i grab it when carrying it around the house. the extra width of the surround works well for holding the thing IMO. sure, tight edge screens are sexy, but having some margin is more practical.
mine is still on 4.4.2 with root, NUT's dual recovery, the write-to-sdcard fix, and i'm running the Xposed framework and several modules without any issue (mainly Gravitybox and Appsettings). i've had zero problems with the software or the 4G connection. the 3G/4G radio functionality was spotty on the XOOM with the later aftermarket ROMs, so that is a welcome change too. unfortunately Verizon is one of the few editions of the Xperias with a locked bootloader and no exploit for that currently. the other editions (even most branded ones) have an official Sony unlock procedure and they have open-sourced the ROM as well. Android 4.4.4 is out for mine, but not 100% sure on keeping root. Lollipop (5.0) is promised by Sony, but not necessarily by Verizon.
i don't really play games, so i can't comment on any extreme graphics performance. i will say that every live wallpaper and mapping app i have tried has performed smoothly (oh and MX Player and PS Touch). i use Nova Launcher, but the default Sony launcher isn't bad at all - i just wanted a few extra controls. their UI overlay is super clean and simple, way less intrusive than the newer Samsung tablets that i've played with (not that TouchWiz is bad, i just prefer a more stock Android feel). there is a setting for color temperature of the screen, i cooled it off a little from the factory setting but overall the screen richness/contrast/brightness is nice.
battery life is good around the house for a few days with WiFi on, and great with "Stamina" mode turned on. i don't know what all Stamina mode does except kill WiFi when the screen goes off and "limit hardware power" (i assume take the processor speed and maybe GPU speed down a few notches) - again since i'm not a gamer i don't notice any issues with it enabled. i've not done any kernel or build.prop tweaks.
sound from the speakers has good separation and loudness but no bass. GPS accuracy and lock-on time is fine, but i've never had any issues with that feature on any 3G/4G tablets. i haven't played with the cameras at all. the ambient light sensor is more sensitive than the XOOM by quite a bit, it has a wider range and seems to detect more subtle changes (i'm using the app Lux Auto Brightness for screen auto brightness so i can have a different profile automatically for day versus night when in the Jeep).
i'm running a 64GB MicroSD card right now, but intend to get a 128GB eventually (which is officially supported). the stock ROM does recognize ext4 partitioning on the sdcard, not sure about NTFS. the 32GB internal memory is adequate, though i have no idea why any major brand is still selling devices with only 16GB. i tested a couple different USB OTG cables and they both worked fine with multiple flash drives (exFat and ext4 formatted).
i have used the Z2 with a Belkin Miracast wireless video device, but was not impressed with Miracast/WiDi. it works fine to stream the basic UI interactions from the tablet with very minor lag. however, trying to simultaneously connect to a 2.4Ghz or 5GHz local WiFi network was a fiasco. i updated the Belkin firmware, tried different settings on it, tried every channel on my router, and eventually gave up. the local WiFi connection always became impossibly slow when also connected to the Belkin Miracast device.
i have used a Cable Matters MHL adapter (http://amzn.to/1uyDosP) to get wired HDMI output. it worked perfectly with both my older Toshiba and a Vizio flatscreen TVs - i was able to use the built in Sony TV-Out controls that come up when MHL is connected to adjust the output area. setting it to 110% or 120% would crop the top & bottom, thereby getting rid of the black bars on the sides so that a movie could fill the TV. my Optoma PK320 projector did have an issue with the native resolution of the tablet though, it would kept loosing the signal and going all blue. there are several ways to alter the output resolution (at least 2 resolution changer apps, a terminal command, or a hidden service menu option) - changing to 1920x1080 at 30HZ through any of these methods fixed the issue with the projector. i ended up using a Tasker profile to send the correct terminal commands which change the resolution only while MHL is connected.
i'd say the only slight complaint i've had with the actual tablet is that the connection to my bluetooth audio receiver in the Jeep takes maybe 3 to 4 seconds. it seems to connect at the basic hardware level quickly, but the toast msg that "AptX Device Connected" takes a couple extra seconds to popup and then it's starts streaming the sound. i can live with that small hiccup though as the sound is indeed slightly more full than the non-AptX XOOM was even when connected to my newer stereo install.
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