Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact announced at IFA

Pangea · 30-09-2014 12:37am

beno619 wrote: »

4k is all but a gimmick right now and most phones have issues with it, unless you have a 4k TV this shouldn't be a deal breaker.

You are right of course. I wonder how much the phone will cost directly from sony.ie.

beno619 · 30-09-2014 8:15am

Pangea wrote:

You are right of course. I wonder how much the phone will cost directly from sony.ie.

Probably more expensive than cpw if history is anything to go by 419 is a steal and I think cpw devices are usually unlocked.

cormie · 30-09-2014 8:32am

Does anyone here know about CM 11? Apparently it's ported to the Z1 compact and has a big community backing. If I'm to buy the Z3, I'd want CM11 installed instead of the Sony Rom and also to have the phone unlocked. If it's going to be several months before the port is ready I might have to hold off

Daith · 30-09-2014 8:48am

beno619 wrote: »

Probably more expensive than cpw if history is anything to go by 419 is a steal and I think cpw devices are usually unlocked.

I'd love to buy one now but probably need to wait for Three. I like the fact with Three PAYG I can pay for stuff from Google Play using my €20 credit.

Scruff · 30-09-2014 11:00am

this is them most novel Unboxing i've seen

Pangea · 30-09-2014 6:10pm

Detailed review here
Compact
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eilKbB10ZA0

Z3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nKlEcAmTME&list=UUTj40oI2e4BFTUB3LkY7PQg

Pangea · 01-10-2014 7:32am

When android L comes out, will it be coming to the xperia z3?

beno619 · 01-10-2014 8:12am

Pangea wrote:

When android L comes out, will it be coming to the xperia z3?

Not sure if they have made any official press releases but yes, Sonys track record in terms of updates has been great of late.

cormie · 01-10-2014 11:27am

cormie wrote: »

Does anyone here know about CM 11? Apparently it's ported to the Z1 compact and has a big community backing. If I'm to buy the Z3, I'd want CM11 installed instead of the Sony Rom and also to have the phone unlocked. If it's going to be several months before the port is ready I might have to hold off

If L is released and there's a CM11 port to the Z3 compact as mentioned above, I guess it will be updated immediately?

Thephantomsmask · 01-10-2014 1:21pm

Now available online on Three and instore tomorrow according to the forum here.

Daith · 01-10-2014 2:36pm

Thephantomsmask wrote: »

Now available online on Three and instore tomorrow according to the forum here.

They've no plans to sell the compact version yet. Bizarre.

Chuck_Norris · 01-10-2014 3:06pm

Thephantomsmask wrote: »

Now available online on Three and instore tomorrow according to the forum here.

Can get the full fat Z3 for free on upgrade. Score!

:D:D

sebcity · 01-10-2014 3:58pm

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

Can get the full fat Z3 for free on upgrade. Score! :D:D

Is that on the 55 euro plan upgrade?

Phantasos · 01-10-2014 4:17pm

Daith wrote: »

They've no plans to sell the compact version yet. Bizarre.

Whaaaaat? That's the one I wanted.

ardmacha · 01-10-2014 4:19pm

Is there any evidence of a dual sim compact version? I'd like the dual sim, I'd also like a smaller screen.

Daith · 01-10-2014 4:21pm

Phantasos wrote: »

Whaaaaat? That's the one I wanted.

Likewise! Might just order online.

Cossax · 01-10-2014 5:08pm

Anyone looked into whether these are easily unlocked from their network? Carphone Warehouse nearest me has a few in stock but they are locked, apparently.

Chuck_Norris · 01-10-2014 5:11pm

sebcity wrote: »

Is that on the 55 euro plan upgrade?

No it's on the basic €40.66 a month plan. Ironically, if I upgrade the plan to €55 a month, the phone would cost me €39.

I have been out of contract for a while, so unless that accounts for something.

sebcity · 01-10-2014 6:52pm

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

No it's on the basic €40.66 a month plan. Ironically, if I upgrade the plan to €55 a month, the phone would cost me €39.

I have been out of contract for a while, so unless that accounts for something.

I'm also out of contract...Will have a look at the upgrade page. If its free - sweet!

sebcity · 01-10-2014 8:37pm

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

No it's on the basic €40.66 a month plan. Ironically, if I upgrade the plan to €55 a month, the phone would cost me €39.

I have been out of contract for a while, so unless that accounts for something.

Mine is saying 80 on the 40.66 plan and 39 on the 55...booo

Chuck_Norris · 01-10-2014 10:28pm

sebcity wrote: »

Mine is saying 80 on the 40.66 plan and 39 on the 55...booo

Yeah, I don't know what's up with their upgrade prices. I'm being shown very low prices for an iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as well. And it's not as though I go over the €40 a month.

But I'm not gonna complain.

Pangea · 02-10-2014 12:35am

You would think Sony online would be the first to have the phones for sale.

TheChevron · 02-10-2014 10:15am

Any sign of this phone coming on Meteor? I currently have 3 months left on my contract, but have been told that they will probably fast track an upgrade for me.

whitelightrider · 02-10-2014 12:42pm

TheChevron wrote: »

Any sign of this phone coming on Meteor? I currently have 3 months left on my contract, but have been told that they will probably fast track an upgrade for me.

Im the same with Vodafone. Was told to keep an eye on the Coming soon page! Not really helpful

Sonics2k · 02-10-2014 12:46pm

In stock at O2 now.

G1032 · 02-10-2014 7:22pm

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

No it's on the basic €40.66 a month plan. Ironically, if I upgrade the plan to €55 a month, the phone would cost me €39.

I have been out of contract for a while, so unless that accounts for something.

How did you get that for free? I'm on same plan. I rang them today. They'll charge me €89 for the phone but will reduce my monthly bill by 10 %. This will work out a few Euro cheaper one the two years but I'd prefer not have to fork out €89 in a lump sum

Chuck_Norris · 02-10-2014 8:18pm

G1032 wrote: »

How did you get that for free? I'm on same plan. I rang them today. They'll charge me €89 for the phone but will reduce my monthly bill by 10 %. This will work out a few Euro cheaper one the two years but I'd prefer not have to fork out €89 in a lump sum

No idea at all man. It's not like I ever go over my limits or anything.

They have also given me very low prices to go for an iPhone 6 as well.

Nickindublin · 02-10-2014 9:49pm

Picked up a white Z3 today in CPW on meteor. It's sim unlocked.

KillerShamrock · 02-10-2014 10:54pm

Got a look at the z3 today it's one of the slickest looking phones around at the moment only beaten by the m8 in my opinion. The stereo speakers are nice but again the m8 wins there. Have a soft spot for Sony after using a z for a while but ended with the G3 which I'm half tempted to sell for this ha ha

cormie · 03-10-2014 12:37am

Nickindublin wrote: »

Picked up a white Z3 today in CPW on meteor. It's sim unlocked.

How much was it from CPW and are you definite it's sim unlocked? Which network sim cards have you tried with and did you buy it PAYG or on a meteor plan?

digitaldr · 03-10-2014 12:38am

Got a look at the z3 today it's one of the slickest looking phones around at the moment only beaten by the m8 in my opinion. The stereo speakers are nice but again the m8 wins there. Have a soft spot for Sony after using a z for a while but ended with the G3 which I'm half tempted to sell for this ha ha

I was half thinking of a G3 but have gone off the idea after seeing lots of complaints about random shutdowns plus the generally plastickiness of it. Where did you see the Z3, was it in a shop in Dublin? Also how did the screen compare to the G3 as I'm thinking QHD might be a bit off a gimmick and the brighter screen in the Z3 would actually be a better.

Nickindublin · 03-10-2014 6:42am

cormie wrote: »

How much was it from CPW and are you definite it's sim unlocked? Which network sim cards have you tried with and did you buy it PAYG or on a meteor plan?

Bought it for 559 on payg on meteor. Stuck my O2 sim into it. Works fine.

cormie · 03-10-2014 6:55am

Ah I got a shock there but see you mention the Z3, not Z3 compact which I read was going for €419 on PAYG itself!

Nickindublin · 03-10-2014 7:52am

cormie wrote: »

Ah I got a shock there but see you mention the Z3, not Z3 compact which I read was going for €419 on PAYG itself![/QUOTE

Nope it's the big one

digitaldr · 03-10-2014 8:19am

Well done - that's €30 cheaper than Amazon. Is there any Meteor bloatware on it? Wonder if it's locked to O2 now like there PAYG Moto GS when you put a non-Meteor SIM in.

Daith · 03-10-2014 8:26am

Nickindublin wrote: »

Bought it for 559 on payg on meteor. Stuck my O2 sim into it. Works fine.

Did you get the headphones with the unit?

KillerShamrock · 03-10-2014 10:20am

digitaldr wrote: »

I was half thinking of a G3 but have gone off the idea after seeing lots of complaints about random shutdowns plus the generally plastickiness of it. Where did you see the Z3, was it in a shop in Dublin? Also how did the screen compare to the G3 as I'm thinking QHD might be a bit off a gimmick and the brighter screen in the Z3 would actually be a better.

Seen it in 3 dundrum. Yeah to be honest the qhd screen is nice and I can see the clarity of it but it is a bit dim and a power hog both battery and cpu. If the g3 had a 1080p screen I could only imagine what kind of battery life and benchmarks it would get. The screens where both nice but the z3 was brighter and seemed to have better colours.

digitaldr · 03-10-2014 10:29am

Thanks - I'm usually a sucker for hires screens but on balance sounds like the Z3 is better - will check it out over the weekend.

Mr. CooL ICE · 03-10-2014 11:02am

After letting the initial charge run down, I charged my Z3C and it finished approx 46 hours ago. Since then, I have spent approx 15 mins on the phone, sent/received about 10 texts, spent about 40 mins driving with Google Music streaming music over 4g to my car radio over bluetooth, spent approx 30 mins streaming video over both wifi and 4g, and battery is now at 56% This is pretty awesome.

KillerShamrock · 03-10-2014 11:03am

digitaldr wrote: »

Thanks - I'm usually a sucker for hires screens but on balance sounds like the Z3 is better - will check it out over the weekend.

Do. Don't get me wrong the g3 screen is lovely and when you have proper 1440p content it looks awesome. But I would give it up for a brighter screen with better battery life

Nickindublin · 03-10-2014 11:40am

digitaldr wrote: »

Well done - that's €30 cheaper than Amazon. Is there any Meteor bloatware on it? Wonder if it's locked to O2 now like there PAYG Moto GS when you put a non-Meteor SIM in.

No meteor bloatware. They had white or black. I will try ltr. I got a meteor sim with it.

Nickindublin · 03-10-2014 11:42am

Daith wrote: »

Did you get the headphones with the unit?

Just got ordinary headphones

Chuck_Norris · 03-10-2014 11:44am

Nickindublin wrote: »

Just got ordinary headphones

Yeah a Sony rep had told me they weren't bundling the headphones, but that they were giving extra "content" instead.

Chuck_Norris · 03-10-2014 11:49am

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

After letting the initial charge run down, I charged my Z3C and it finished approx 46 hours ago. Since then, I have spent approx 15 mins on the phone, sent/received about 10 texts, spent about 40 mins driving with Google Music streaming music over 4g to my car radio over bluetooth, spent approx 30 mins streaming video over both wifi and 4g, and battery is now at 56% This is pretty awesome.

Wow. I was slightly dubious about the 2 day battery claims, but that seriously impressive. Seven battery is one of the main things I want in my new phone. This is the first android phone that's tempted me enough to move away from Apple, been using iPhones for 6 years.

But, I think the Z3 beats the iPhone hands down in all areas. Time for a change methinks.

Edit: just so's I'm 100%, you've not charged the phone in a day and a half?

Mr. CooL ICE · 03-10-2014 1:59pm

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

Edit: just so's I'm 100%, you've not charged the phone in a day and a half?

Almost 2 days. 1 day, 21 hours according to the screenshot of the battery stats

Chuck_Norris · 03-10-2014 2:06pm

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Almost 2 days. 1 day, 21 hours according to the screenshot of the battery stats

Fook me that's impressive. Certainly beats the 40 minutes it takes my 3 yer old iPhone to drop below 20%.

Phantasos · 03-10-2014 2:31pm

My S3 Mini is wrecking my head, trying to keep it charged. If I had battery life like that I'd be well happy.

brevity · 04-10-2014 12:57am

Lots of reviews out...doing very well so it is. Tempted by this over the iPhone.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/3/6887063/sony-xperia-z3-and-z3-compact-review
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z3-1263309/review
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/03/sony-xperia-z3-compact-review-best-small-android-phone-and-iphone-6-competitor (compact)
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/26/sony-xperia-z3-review-battery-life-android-smartphone

Alan Smithee · 04-10-2014 9:22am

Bought the Z3 after years with Apple (currently have iPhone 5) the main reason was I simply wanted something shiny and new and the iPhone 6 while great isn't in my opinion worth the premium over other phones any more.

Another reason for the move was terrible battery life and the constant charging was doing my head in.

Some observations:

Moving from ios is not the challenge I first thought. Android has come on leaps and bounds. I still don't think it's as fluid as ios but maybe that's me needing time to adjust.

Another small issue moving from Apple is the lack of top up cards to buy apps etc so a credit card is a necessity but I am impressed with the Google Play store with a great range of apps, movies etc.

On to the phone:

It looks gorgeous, a real premium feel and it's amazing to think it's waterproof ( I haven't and will not be deliberately testing this out).

The battery is the dogs knees. I'm still in Apple mode and keep checking the battery percentage but it doesn't drop!! Serious fuel efficiency.

The camera is good but you will have to mess about in settings to get it right. The headline 20 mega pixels sounds great but it's really 8mp for point and shoot.

Playing on your mobile with the ps4 is a big selling point but this isn't available yet; neither is Sky Go which is disappointing but these should be available in November.

Screen and sound are both excellent and out of the box headphones do a very good job. It also comes with 1 screen protector which after buying multiple iPhones from scabby apple is a small but nice touch.

After struggling with limited storage on my iPhones for years micro SD is a godsend.

If your on the fence give this phone serious consideration. Initially I wanted the iPhone 6 but the Z3 changed my mind. I hope Sony have a lot of success with it.

Chuck_Norris · 04-10-2014 9:59am

Alan Smithee wrote: »

Bought the Z3 after years with Apple (currently have iPhone 5) the main reason was I simply wanted something shiny and new and the iPhone 6 while great isn't in my opinion worth the premium over other phones any more.

Another reason for the move was terrible battery life and the constant charging was doing my head in.

Some observations:

Moving from ios is not the challenge I first thought. Android has come on leaps and bounds. I still don't think it's as fluid as ios but maybe that's me needing time to adjust.

Another small issue moving from Apple is the lack of top up cards to buy apps etc so a credit card is a necessity but I am impressed with the Google Play store with a great range of apps, movies etc.

On to the phone:

It looks gorgeous, a real premium feel and it's amazing to think it's waterproof ( I haven't and will not be deliberately testing this out).

The battery is the dogs knees. I'm still in Apple mode and keep checking the battery percentage but it doesn't drop!! Serious fuel efficiency.

The camera is good but you will have to mess about in settings to get it right. The headline 20 mega pixels sounds great but it's really 8mp for point and shoot.

Playing on your mobile with the ps4 is a big selling point but this isn't available yet; neither is Sky Go which is disappointing but these should be available in November.

Screen and sound are both excellent and out of the box headphones do a very good job. It also comes with 1 screen protector which after buying multiple iPhones from scabby apple is a small but nice touch.

After struggling with limited storage on my iPhones for years micro SD is a godsend.

If your on the fence give this phone serious consideration. Initially I wanted the iPhone 6 but the Z3 changed my mind. I hope Sony have a lot of success with it.

Thanks for that man. Just what I need to hear. Similar situation myself. Have had iPhones for 6 years, and like the iPhone 6, but am a bit "meh" about it.

Silly question regarding Sky Go, I'm assuming you have the App installed? Or is it a thin it's not showing on the Play store?

Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact announced at IFA

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