Sony Loses Class Action Lawsuit In Waterproof Claims For Original Xperia Z Line (xda-developers.com) 23
Sony has lost a class action lawsuit for claiming its Xperia phones were "waterproof," when in reality they were only "water resistant." If you happen to own one of the original Xperia Z smartphones, you may be owed up to $300. XDA Developers reports: Arguably, one of the pioneers in the consumer sector for more "rugged" devices (or at the very least IP certification) has to be Sony. Back in 2012, they introduced the Xperia Z line of the devices, which marked a turning point for Sony in most of its philosophy as well as its design language. They completely overhauled the look and feel of the devices they had in favor of the glass slab that they offer even in today's phones and tablets. Despite its fragile appearance, most of their offerings were drop-tested and were able to withstand a substantial amount of mistreatment. On top of all that, the Sony Xperia Z was the first commercially available phone from Sony to me, marketed as "water resistant" with an IP56 rating for water and dust ingress (which isn't really much, but at least it would keep your phone going in spite of an accidental drop in the beach or in the pool). However, the phone was advertised in such a way that it it looked as if the device was waterproof and not water resistant (there is a big difference). This led to a lot of water-damaged devices, which Sony did nothing about and eventually, a class action lawsuit was filed (and won) against Sony.
According to the settlement, there were 24 models affected (ironically, the original Z is not listed as being one of them) starting from the ZR, which was a close cousin of the original Z and going all the way to the Xperia Z5, along with a few tablets as well. The settlement goes on to state that there are a few things that, if you were affected, you can opt for: Warranty extension for up to a year if the device is within warranty period; Warranty extension for up to 6 months if the device is no longer under warranty; Up to 50% of MSRP as refund for compensation if the device is listed among the ones on the Sony lawsuit. If you are going for the cash alternative, you do have a deadline to meet, which is January 30, 2018. Whichever course of action you do decide to take, please make sure that you understand the entire lawsuit document before doing anything!
According to the settlement, there were 24 models affected (ironically, the original Z is not listed as being one of them) starting from the ZR, which was a close cousin of the original Z and going all the way to the Xperia Z5, along with a few tablets as well. The settlement goes on to state that there are a few things that, if you were affected, you can opt for: Warranty extension for up to a year if the device is within warranty period; Warranty extension for up to 6 months if the device is no longer under warranty; Up to 50% of MSRP as refund for compensation if the device is listed among the ones on the Sony lawsuit. If you are going for the cash alternative, you do have a deadline to meet, which is January 30, 2018. Whichever course of action you do decide to take, please make sure that you understand the entire lawsuit document before doing anything!
Panasonic, not Sony. (Score:3)
Arguably, one of the pioneers in the consumer sector for more "rugged" devices (or at the very least IP certification) has to be Sony. Back in 2012, they introduced the Xperia Z line of the devices.
OK, here's the counter-argument: Panasonic's Toughbook line was introduced in ... wait for it ... 1992.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
And oh, how I wanted one back then.
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Do you mean 1996?
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Except Toughbook was marketed only to business. You couldn't actually buy one in virtually any store, they had to be special-ordered. And they weren't in the sears catalog, you had to go to a specialty retailer.
Also, when you talk about ruggedized mass-market electronics, you really can't ignore Sony Sports, from the 1980s. They all but invented the segment. Too bad that stuff was flimsy garbage that couldn't hold up to a light rain, but anyway
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I like their Dynabook line. It's not quite as indestructible as the Toughbook range, but it is rugged. I have an old Core 2 era one which claims it will withstand 100kg on the lid (i.e. being sat on). It looks more or less like a normal laptop.
Correction only if water damage and rejected. (Score:5, Informative)
Problem with 1) is if it happened you already replaced the phone for full price. Problem for 2) is your phones battery would be dead by now .
I am 2) and I replaced the battery myself with sony parts, so here is to throwing it in the bath tub and filing a warranty claim. (It isn't water proof from the pressure sensor).
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Once you have replaced the battery in a Xperia, it is nearly impossible to make it water-resistent again.
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It is not the right tool because they are supposed to be glued with adhesive tape so they can be disassembled again without breaking the rear glass. Unfortunately fitting adhesive tape in good quality is really hard to find.
Z3 without damage = owner gets nothing (Score:2)
I had an Xperia Z3, one of the covered devices. But I never got it wet and never had a water claim. As such, the settlement site says I get nothing.
TFA implies there is some sort of settlement for everyone who owned an affected device but nope, you have to have a loss. Which is fine. I get that. I never had a loss so I should not expect compensation. Fine. But TFA promised me $profit!
Outside of Japan (Score:1)
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Does anyone buy Japanese phones outside of Japan?
Oh, absolutely. Sony used to be a popular brand for BYOP, where you wanted more than the crippled phones that plan providers delivered.
These days, not so much - many features that Sony phones used to have are absent in new Sony phones, like RGBW displays (great in bright light), IR remote control, gapless music playback, USB-OTG without a dongle (eats batteries rapidly), mics where high/lowpass filters can be bypassed, stamina modes that would last weeks, and various other features.
They also were the first
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Sony phones haven't actually been popular since the RAZR. And Sony support is legendarily poor. They promised an OS update for Xperia Play and then never actually delivered it, saying they couldn't make it work properly. Well, community members managed it. Why people are still willing to give those assholes money (I got my Play used, and cheap, BTW — I use it as a desk clock now) Sony is ten pounds of incompetence in a five pound bag.
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Sony didn't produce the RAZR, Motorola did.
Yeah, I left like a whole sentence out of my comment, sorry. That's when those SEXP mp3 phones were a thing. But Sony's android phones have never been particularly interesting to the market, possibly because they know that Sony will walk away from them at the least provocation.
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They are sold well in Germany. Also cheaper to repair than Samsung.
Does anybody trust the waterproof rating? (Score:2)
Does anybody really truly trust that their phone is waterproof. I have a Samsung Galaxy A5 [gsmarena.com] which is IP68 certified. However, I don't really think I'm willing to deal with the headache that will inevitably come if it does get water damage. For me, it means I really don't worry about it in the rain or if I accidentally drop it in the water, but I'm not going to risk actively submerging it for more than necessary. I've heard enough stories about waterproof phones not being waterproof to know that I really sh