Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact announced at IFA

flazio

Guys, got a question. What does the phone logo on the status bar on the right mean? The device is a Sony xperia Z3 compact WiFi tablet.

EmptyTree

Just looking for an opinion on this:

I recently bought the Z3 compact (nice piece of kit, very happy so far). I now want to get a cover to protect it and stop it sliding everywhere (it's worse than an ice cube!). I was wondering should I just go for a basic silicone covering (something like this or is it worth investing a bit more and going for a hybrid case like this ??

There's a big price difference price-wise, does one really provide more protection than the other or is it just a gimmick?

timetogo

EmptyTree wrote: »

Just looking for an opinion on this:

I recently bought the Z3 compact (nice piece of kit, very happy so far). I now want to get a cover to protect it and stop it sliding everywhere (it's worse than an ice cube!). I was wondering should I just go for a basic silicone covering (something like this or is it worth investing a bit more and going for a hybrid case like this ??

There's a big price difference price-wise, does one really provide more protection than the other or is it just a gimmick?

Can't help with the comparison but I got one of the gel ones when I got my phone before Christmas. Obviously it stops the sliding. My phone still looks brand new.
However I'm careful with my phone. I haven't dropped it from any huge heights.
I had a Samsung before and dropped that phone from waist height onto concrete with one of those covers on it and it was perfect. Dunno if I'd like to do that with the Sony sure to the glass back. I'm not going to experiment

Not too mad about your colour choice though. I got mine in black.

delly

EmptyTree wrote: »

Just looking for an opinion on this:

I recently bought the Z3 compact (nice piece of kit, very happy so far). I now want to get a cover to protect it and stop it sliding everywhere (it's worse than an ice cube!). I was wondering should I just go for a basic silicone covering (something like this or is it worth investing a bit more and going for a hybrid case like this ??

There's a big price difference price-wise, does one really provide more protection than the other or is it just a gimmick?

I would not be convinced of either of those examples, there is a large area of exposure on the side of that hybrid case. Personally I got this and it is perfect. Fits great and gives very good protection. I had the same type of case for my S3 mini, so knew it was quality despite the low price.

EmptyTree

timetogo wrote: »

Can't help with the comparison but I got one of the gel ones when I got my phone before Christmas. Obviously it stops the sliding. My phone still looks brand new.
However I'm careful with my phone. I haven't dropped it from any huge heights.
I had a Samsung before and dropped that phone from waist height onto concrete with one of those covers on it and it was perfect. Dunno if I'd like to do that with the Sony sure to the glass back. I'm not going to experiment

I'm generally very careful with my stuff too (over the 3 years I had my last phone I think I dropped it twice, no damage tho), but I know the second I buy something fragile/expensive I'll turn into a complete butter fingers.

delly wrote: »

I would not be convinced of either of those examples, there is a large area of exposure on the side of that hybrid case. Personally I got this and it is perfect. Fits great and gives very good protection. I had the same type of case for my S3 mini, so knew it was quality despite the low price.

Fair point on the exposure of the hybrid case. The reviews on that case aren't great, tho I could be tempted by the clear case to avoid the paint peeling issue. Am coming around to the idea of a basic gel case.

Thanks guys!

cormie

delly wrote: »

I would not be convinced of either of those examples, there is a large area of exposure on the side of that hybrid case. Personally I got this and it is perfect. Fits great and gives very good protection. I had the same type of case for my S3 mini, so knew it was quality despite the low price.

I have a very similar one to this and it does the job well. Haven't tested it so much with the Z3, it's only had a few drops so far, but I had a similar case for my last XT890 phone and dropped it some deadly drops over the course of use and it survived every one, even the most nasty. Hoping the Z3 will be as tough now because the case is doing its job from what I gather :

Pangea

I have this case, cheap and does the job http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NWA5TKG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

I have dropped my Z3C a few times, it fell of the bed one time flat on its face, I have tempered glass on it, so thankfully it was fine. Only thing I would say intially about tempered glass is that is not as smooth scrolling the screen using your fingers but after a few days you get used to it.
Im using a 128GB SD card (Yes I know overkill) but no complaints of slowness. Only thing I noticed recently is facebook freezes the odd time, not sure what is the cause.



Out of curiosty, after your Z3 or Z3C phone is on full charge and you go into Power managment to see the remaining time left, what does it say?
Heres mine with wifi switched off



Heres with stamina mode on




If my memory serves this is somewhat reduced from when I first got my one, likely because of apps etc.
I usually have stamina mode on all the time, I havent seen any difference in performance but it makes a big difference to the battery.

Just a little Samba

It adjusts to your usual power consumption, If you're a power user it will give you an estimate to match that, if you're someone who just uses it to text call and a bit of browsing you'll get an estimate of 2 days + on stamina mode.

Location based wifi-will be draining a bit of battery. Also check your advanced wifi settings and turn off "Scanning always available" which I find a massive drain on battery life.

Ghost Train

Yes had to get a rubbery case for my z3 compact just because it was so smooth and slidey. Case has the S shape on the back

Also got a magnetic charging cable as the usb cover was annoying and read stories about screen cracks starting near the USB port if I remember right

Pangea

I wonder when will we finally get lollipop?

EmptyTree

cormie wrote: »

I have a very similar one to this and it does the job well.

Yes, I saw your previous posts on this, I'll probably get the one you spoke about (even as a stop gap). Seems like a good fit.

Ghost Train wrote: »

Also got a magnetic charging cable as the usb cover was annoying and read stories about screen cracks starting near the USB port if I remember right

Out of interest, what magnetic cable did you get? / How do you find it? I'd like to get one too but some of the reviews have been vey mixed (not fitting properly, taking ages to charge etc)

Pangea wrote: »

I wonder when will we finally get lollipop?

As it happens I got a notification to update yesterday. Will do it over the weekend.

54kroc

Pangea wrote: »

I wonder when will we finally get lollipop?

I installed it yesterday, very nice indeed.

Pangea

54kroc wrote: »

I installed it yesterday, very nice indeed.

Does the update pop up manually or do you have to search for it?

54kroc

Pangea wrote: »

Does the update pop up manually or do you have to search for it?

I just used xperiFirm and flashtool, couldn't be arsed waiting for it to show up.
It doesn't effect the warranty either.

laraghrider

Plus you don't get the operator bloatware or horrible start up image.

antodeco

Still no sign of the update for me. Have an unbranded first release version. Do I have to wait until the network update (eMobile) version?

toby2111

Yeh, I'm Emobile also... Still waiting on update.

madfcuker

54kroc wrote: »

I just used xperiFirm and flashtool, couldn't be arsed waiting for it to show up.
It doesn't effect the warranty either.

Did this myself yesterday. It now seems snappier. Really impressed so far.

Pangea

Im on top up vodafone, but bought the phone with meteor, will I still get lollipop update?

3rdDegree

Not sure when the update is due, but not seeing any reported problems, which is promising. I got an update on an S3 a year or so ago and it destroyed the phone. Am very wary of upgrading since, but I want the SD card functionality back that Lollipop restores.

toby2111

3rdDegree wrote: »

but I want the SD card functionality back that Lollipop restores.

That would be great, never knew that was in the Lollipop update. Might try and manually update like a previous poster here did. Hope I won't make a balls of it though!

54kroc

toby2111 wrote: »

That would be great, never knew that was in the Lollipop update. Might try and manually update like a previous poster here did. Hope I won't make a balls of it though!

There's a post on xperiablog that details the whole lot, very easy to understand.

Daith

Folks,

Has anyone got an update for the Z3 Compact? I know with the Xperifirm tool there's updates for Internal use. Would that work?

54kroc

Daith wrote: »

Folks,

Has anyone got an update for the Z3 Compact? I know with the Xperifirm tool there's updates for Internal use. Would that work?

There should be something from the Nordics and Baltic regions for the compact, it's been out a few week according to this post.
I used those regions on my phone and tablets and they were perfect.
Are you looking at the build numbers or are you looking at the latest releases on xperiafirm? build numbers is better.
If you have a D5803 then installing 23.1.A.0.690 should do the job I think, make sure you double check though.

Any idea on when the z3 tablet will get the update? My brothers z3 compact phone got an update last week, no sign of anything for the tablet yet.

brevity

Anyone finding the boards touch site sluggish on Chrome or Firefox?

delly

brevity wrote: »

Anyone finding the boards touch site sluggish on Chrome or Firefox?

I use dolphin and have no issues. You could try it for comparisons.

brevity

Cheers. Might have to make the switch. Things are slowing down on Chrome and Firefox.

brevity

Just playing around with Dolphin now and it much better. Thanks for the heads up.

Don't know why boards is so poor on Chrome...

EmptyTree

Just wondering does anyone know how to display the time an sms message was sent to my phone? It shows the time it delivered but thats fairly bloody useless since I hear it being delivered (95% of the time anyway). i.e. If I've just turned on my phone obviously I know what time the message delivered at, but how do I know when it was sent??