iphone 6, Z3 compact or Alpha?

NYCityBabe

Hi guys,

Time for a new phone and my head is melted as to what to go for. The more I google the more confused I get :rolleyes: The advice from those "in the know" is totally contradictory!

So, it's time to say goodbye to my old Nokia N8, loved this phone so much that I've clinged to it for almost five years! I think it's got the most awesome camera and want my new phone to perform to that standard or better. So obviously the camera is super important. Been recommended the Z3 ( I like the compact version ) but I know megapixel isn't always the most important thing. Someone else said the iphone 6. Me, I'm in love with how the Galaxy Alpha looks, but here it's got only an average camera. So, what has the best camera in all aspects - low light, zoom, clarity, etc.?

Nokia is not an option anymore due to it's lack of android/iPhone app stores.

Also, I want the phone to be decent on battery life, look good - not a fan of the ginormous handsets, run fast, decent memory, etc. etc.

The three in I've mentioned are what I am leaning toward, but can't decide between them!

Help, anyone!

dan786

I have had all the phones listed and to be honest I thought the camera on Alpha was pretty good.

spix

I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Vivo xshot is the best camera phone you can buy right now with a normal looking lens. You can get one from China for about 350 euro, used to be cheaper but the dollar/euro rate is sinking like crazy recently.

Ardennes1944

spix wrote: »

I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Vivo xshot is the best camera phone you can buy right now with a normal looking lens. You can get one from China for about 350 euro, used to be cheaper but the dollar/euro rate is sinking like crazy recently.

Thats for the 2gb ram right? I almost bought one but then the Honor 6 came out in Europe so I went for that, love the xshot though.

I'd be paying in Swiss Franc so could get it a bit cheaper than 350 i guess...

TBi

spix wrote: »

I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Vivo xshot is the best camera phone you can buy right now with a normal looking lens. You can get one from China for about 350 euro, used to be cheaper but the dollar/euro rate is sinking like crazy recently.

Better than the 20MP PureView camera on the Nokia Lumia 930?

spix

TBi wrote: »

Better than the 20MP PureView camera on the Nokia Lumia 930?

https://translate.google.ie/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmobile.zol.com.cn%2F462%2F4620484_all.html

1520 has the same camera. Hard to understand the translation but there is something about unnatural post processing in the lumia. Conclusion says they are similar but have different imaging styles and lumia has more disadvantages, vivo has better aperture of f1.8. Personally I prefer most of the xshot images.

stoksyXL

I have the Xperia Z3 Compact and an iPhone 6.

I'm not happy with the Z3 at all, it's actually gone in for repair now, due to having the pink hue on the camera issue...
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/10/users-claim-xperia-z3-camera-have-pink-hues/

It's actually my second Z3C, the first one I got was faulty straight out of the box!

I found the android software on it to be buggy and annoying too, I was abroad and kept on getting constant notifications popping up on the screen every few mins to say "data roaming is off", couldn't get rid of them whatever I tried.

I also found that the notifications sounds on it are really low, and so is the audio volume too when listening to music.
Comparing it to the iPhone 6, notification sounds and music volume are much higher on the iPhone.

I didn't like the camera too, ok it's 20 megapixels, but found it hard to just whip the phone out of my pocket and take a quick pic without it being blurry or the colour off. I'd usually have to take a few of the same shots and pick the best one.
The iPhone camera is only 8 megapixels, but found it better for taking pics with.

But what I did like about the Z3C was it's size and battery life, it's the perfect size for me and battery life was good, used to get nearly 2 days per charge, depending on usage.

I don't think I'd go back to it though, the constant notifications for everything on the phone and the low music and notification volume too really drove me mad. But that mightn't bother you.

NYCityBabe

Thank you everyone!

I am more confused than ever I think the Z3 compact really divides people, they either absolutely love it or hate it.

Everyone seems to think the Alpha is a decent phone, but camera wise not even up to my old Nokia N8.

I think the iPhone seems to be the one I hear with least bad vibes about it. I'm just worried an 8MP camera just wouldn't do the job for nice pictures.

The Vivo looks amazing, but unfortunately I'm on contract with Vodafone, so that's out

Thanks again everyone.

osnola ibax

In my work, we issued about 30 Sony Xperia M2's to staff, after issuing around 170 Samsung's.

Now I know the M2 is a completely different kettle of fish to the z3, spec wise / price wise etc. But those 30 phones have created more help desk calls than all of the Samsung's put together.

After using it myself, it had a lot of the issues in terms of low sound and constant notifications about "Joyn" etc. The phone might be OK as a cheap ready to go option where expectations are low but if I was forking out on an expensive flagship, then I could never personally buy a Sony after that experience. Found the os very uninviting as well and a significant change from stock android.

I'm also in the market for an upgrade, I'm coming from an m7. I tried the m8 and felt absolutely no love for it. I couldn't see what all the fuss was about design wise. It was bulky, too long in particular, very bezely and I felt it stuttered on some apps like Facebook and Browser even though it's benchmarks were off the charts.

I'm swallowing my pride and going back to iPhone after 6 years. The 6 64gb is being delivered on Tuesday.

I'm happy because I no longer feel the need to waste my time and energy endlessly rooting / customising phones, I just need something fast and reliable. I get my tweaking / development kicks elsewhere these days (software).

Also have a new baby on the way so want something that can take good photos, best of luck with your decision.

Apple employee.....

Just joking, completely impartial.

waynegalway

osnola ibax wrote: »

I'm also in the market for an upgrade, I'm coming from an m7. I tried the m8 and felt absolutely no love for it.

I'm swallowing my pride and going back to iPhone after 6 years. The 6 64gb is being delivered on Tuesday.

I'm happy because I no longer feel the need to waste my time and energy endlessly rooting / customising phones, I just need something fast and reliable. I get my tweaking / development kicks elsewhere these days (software).

I'm following this thread because I'm on the lookout too. The M8 isn't that much of an upgrade to the M7. I'm pretty much at the same point as you, I'm on the verge of going back to iPhone after years away from it. The endless customization and tweaking of android is great on one hand, but after a while it becomes tedious. I'm after reliability and a great camera.

OP, just another comment further to the one above about calling the Sony help desk. I haven't used Sony myself, but both my HTC and my Samsung before that had to go away for warranty work. They both came back fine, but you're looking at weeks without your phone. The one time I had an issue with an iPhone, apple sent a courier to pick up and deliver at my place of work, and they turned around the repair over a bank holiday weekend.

It might not be the first thing you think of when shopping around for a new phone, but if things do go wrong, the likelihood is that you will be better off with apple.

Ghost Train

I think the volume of the notifications on the z3 is fixed with an update to the phone

One thing that worries me about the z3 is the amount of people that seem to suffer from the screen cracking.

waynegalway

Ghost Train wrote: »

One thing that worries me about the z3 is the amount of people that seem to suffer from the screen cracking.

Happened to a friend of mine. Woke up one morning and the screen had cracked, it had been just sitting on his bedside locker over night. The screen was completely unresponsive too. Luckily he knew someone with a mouse that would plug into it to control the screen, so he was able to get photos off it before bringing it to a repair shop. Think he was quoted close to €150 for a repair. He bought a cheap payg handset instead, just to tide him over for a few months till he's due an upgrade. Apparently random screen cracking is a problem with the Z3 alright.

osnola ibax

waynegalway wrote: »

I'm following this thread because I'm on the lookout too. The M8 isn't that much of an upgrade to the M7. I'm pretty much at the same point as you, I'm on the verge of going back to iPhone after years away from it. The endless customization and tweaking of android is great on one hand, but after a while it becomes tedious. I'm after reliability and a great camera.

OP, just another comment further to the one above about calling the Sony help desk. I haven't used Sony myself, but both my HTC and my Samsung before that had to go away for warranty work. They both came back fine, but you're looking at weeks without your phone. The one time I had an issue with an iPhone, apple sent a courier to pick up and deliver at my place of work, and they turned around the repair over a bank holiday weekend.

It might not be the first thing you think of when shopping around for a new phone, but if things do go wrong, the likelihood is that you will be better off with apple.

Yeah, there seems to be a few of us in the same boat, phone improvements are very incremental these days.

I should just point out that I support over 200 phones in with myself, so when I day I get more help desk calls over the Sony, I mean me personally I've had to do factory resets, send them back to the shop, have them replaced, not to mention all the minor flaws / niggles, dropped WiFi etc.

However, as I said that was the m2, its been a catastrophe for us, and bears no relation to the z3, but it has turned me off Sony for the moment.

I did use a Sony Xperia Arc for a year and that was a decent handset.

I have really come to love my m7 though, it's lovely looking, very ergonomic, has never faltered on any task, is super quick but the battery life sucks now, I'm constantly charging it.

waynegalway

osnola ibax wrote: »

I have really come to love my m7 though, it's lovely looking, very ergonomic, has never faltered on any task, is super quick but the battery life sucks now, I'm constantly charging it.

I like the M7 too. In a few ways it's still ahead of the iPhone 6, screen resolution for one. The pixel density is unreal, it's the sharpest screen I've seen. The iPhone 6 is definitely not as sharp. Also, the bigger storage compared to the most affordable iPhone is great.

I find that if I'm careful, I can get 36 hours out of the battery still. Definitely no issues making it through the day from full charge in the morning to bed time. I usually have about 30-ish percent going to bed, with about 3 hours of screen on time during the day.

stoksyXL

Ghost Train wrote: »

I think the volume of the notifications on the z3 is fixed with an update to the phone

One thing that worries me about the z3 is the amount of people that seem to suffer from the screen cracking.

Nope, maybe just slightly but still very low. I had the latest update on my z3 and didn't really notice any difference in the volume notifications.

And an update on the pink hue in the camera issue that I've been having too...
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/10/users-claim-xperia-z3-camera-have-pink-hues/

I sent the phone off just over a week ago to get looked at and explained about the pink hue and took pics to show the tech guys what the problem was. Made a note on the repair form to not send back the phone with the same issue, and got the phone back yesterday and with the same f'kin pink hue issue! Now the phone is gone back to them for a second time and have to wait another week or so to see what they say. Awful service from Sony.

NYCityBabe

Thanks everyone!

I'm going in store tomorrow and hoping to try some demo models and will see which one grabs me!

I'm very worried about the Z3C though, heard numerous stories about the cracking screens. I couldn't imagine anything worse for a new phone.

I was quite liking the Galaxy Note Edge but was advised to stay away from it as basically they don't know enough about it yet.

So confused! Why oh why don't Nokia run a decent app store... I'd not be leaving them then

D'Peoples Voice

stoksyXL wrote: »

And an update on the pink hue in the camera issue that I've been having too...
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/10/users-claim-xperia-z3-camera-have-pink-hues/

I sent the phone off just over a week ago to get looked at and explained about the pink hue and took pics to show the tech guys what the problem was. Made a note on the repair form to not send back the phone with the same issue, and got the phone back yesterday and with the same f'kin pink hue issue! Now the phone is gone back to them for a second time and have to wait another week or so to see what they say. Awful service from Sony.

Did they not suggest you change your settings?

Sony is said to be telling owners of the two models to adjust the white balance on the camera settings, to eliminate the pink blotches.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sony-Xperia-Z3-users-still-suffering-with-pink-blotch-issue_id63558
The instructions can be found here
http://androidswiki.com/how-to-solve-pink-spot-camera-issue-in-sony-xperia-z3-xperia-z3-compact/

corkonion

I switched from an iphone to a Samung galaxy s4 over a year ago, and it was a mistake, to me it was a junk phone with lots of lag, even though I was still in contract I bought an iphone 6 plus from the apple store at xmas and am delighted to be back in the ios fold. there is simply no comparison for me.

Phantasos

Gah! This thread has made me more confused than when I started about what to buy.

stoksyXL

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

Did they not suggest you change your settings?

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sony-Xperia-Z3-users-still-suffering-with-pink-blotch-issue_id63558
The instructions can be found here
http://androidswiki.com/how-to-solve-pink-spot-camera-issue-in-sony-xperia-z3-xperia-z3-compact/

Its a bullsh*t excuse from Sony, it doesn't actually fix the problem It only masks it and then throws off the colour in your pics. Shouldn't have to do that, the camera should work straight out of the box.
Some people have the pink hue and then others don't, seems like its pure luck.
I've bought an iPhone 6 and won't be going back to any xperia phone in future, piss poor.

I'm far from an Apple fanboy either, I think there stuff is overhyped and overpriced. But I've had less problems with the iPhone then the xperia, so that's why I went with the iPhone.

NYCityBabe

Back again guys... tried all the handsets today and I just didn't like the iPhone 6 at all. Just me, and I know people love it, but coming from Nokia I find the androids more similar and easier for me to navigate round.

So, now I'm screwed. I'm totally 50/50 between the Z3c and the Alpha. The stories here about the Sony problems worry me, but I love how the phone looks, feels. The display is so clear and I love the external camera shoot button. The Alpha is so pretty, but I'm not sure if the camera is up to what I need. I'm absolutely shot, I just can't decide

daytob

ah just go with the oneplus one

NYCityBabe

daytob wrote: »

ah just go with the oneplus one

No can do... on contract with Vodafone, so gotta go with their rather amazing (sarcasm) range! :rolleyes:

waynegalway

NYCityBabe wrote: »

Back again guys... tried all the handsets today and I just didn't like the iPhone 6 at all. Just me, and I know people love it, but coming from Nokia I find the androids more similar and easier for me to navigate round.

So, now I'm screwed. I'm totally 50/50 between the Z3c and the Alpha. The stories here about the Sony problems worry me, but I love how the phone looks, feels. The display is so clear and I love the external camera shoot button. The Alpha is so pretty, but I'm not sure if the camera is up to what I need. I'm absolutely shot, I just can't decide

If I HAD to choose just between those 2, I'd lean towards to Sony. That's because I had a Samsung before and I just didn't like the interface. I'd choose Sony just for a change. Camera is decent on it too. And with either manufacturer, if you need warranty work done, they'll both take about the same length of time.

PLL

I'm getting a Z3 Compact on Friday, wooo payday :-D
I Really like the Alpha too but the camera on the Sony does it for me. Plus fantastic reviews for it and I had a cheap Sony before and even that was a great phone.

NYCityBabe

I tend to be a go with my gut kind of girl and that and my heart are ever so slightly leaning toward the Sony. I just hope I won't regret it!

I've bought a new battery for the old N8 and if it doesn't die a total death on pulling it apart, I'll have that in reserve should the new one need to go away for any reason.

Never figured buying a new phone could be more difficult than buying a car

D'Peoples Voice

NYCityBabe wrote: »

I tend to be a go with my gut kind of girl and that and my heart are ever so slightly leaning toward the Sony. I just hope I won't regret it!

I've bought a new battery for the old N8 and if it doesn't die a total death on pulling it apart, I'll have that in reserve should the new one need to go away for any reason.

Never figured buying a new phone could be more difficult than buying a car

Sad to hear you are leaving Nokia. I think that things are about to change drastically over the next with launch of Windows 10 desktop and phone this summer.
The one complaint levied against Nokia was lack of apps - but are apps not so old now? - have we not left them behind us - are we moving onto scopes?

Back in 2008 or so, apps made sense, you had a 3.5inch screen, typing in the URL was difficult, much easier to click on colourful icons that opened the webpage for you. Also, some sites needed flash so it made sense to create an app with flash built in to that app - for example the youtube app.

But now with 5inch screens, typing in a URL is not a problem.
Few websites use flash, youtube, netflix are html5 compliant (upc and rte are not yet) So Apps for websites don't make as much sense these days.
If moving between Irishtimes and Newstalk sites, why minimise one app, find another then open, when it would be quicker to look at both in different tabs within same browser. Mobile Sites like m.Irishtimes.com, m.Newstalk.com, touch.boards.ie or m.Breakingnews.ie look great within a html5 browser such as chrome(assuming it has a score around 500)
I dont use a phone for games, only for websites, so for me within 18 months, i can see me using a browser for 99% of the time.

At which point, Nokia will no longer be at a disadvantage, it will come down to who has the best browser for displaying html5 compliant sites.

NYCityBabe

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

Sad to hear you are leaving Nokia. I think that things are about to change drastically over the next with launch of Windows 10 desktop and phone this summer.
The one complaint levied against Nokia was lack of apps - but are apps not so old now? - have we not left them behind us - are we moving onto scopes?

Back in 2008 or so, apps made sense, you had a 3.5inch screen, typing in the URL was difficult, much easier to click on colourful icons that opened the webpage for you. Also, some sites needed flash so it made sense to create an app with flash built in to that app - for example the youtube app.

But now with 5inch screens, typing in a URL is not a problem.
Few websites use flash, youtube, netflix are html5 compliant (upc and rte are not yet) So Apps for websites don't make as much sense these days.
If moving between Irishtimes and Newstalk sites, why minimise one app, find another then open, when it would be quicker to look at both in different tabs within same browser. Mobile Sites like m.Irishtimes.com, m.Newstalk.com, touch.boards.ie or m.Breakingnews.ie look great within a html5 browser such as chrome(assuming it has a score around 500)
I dont use a phone for games, only for websites, so for me within 18 months, i can see me using a browser for 99% of the time.

At which point, Nokia will no longer be at a disadvantage, it will come down to who has the best browser for displaying html5 compliant sites.

That is so very true. I just don't think I can wait 'til Summer 'til the new Nokia era comes around. I hate leaving as I have had Nokia all my life and have never, ever had one bad experience with their phones. The Carl Zeiss lens on my old N8 takes shots that most DSLR's would be proud of!

I just miss not being able to use Snapchat, Viber, Whatsapp, etc. now because I can't get the latest versions from the darn Ovi store

TBi

Lumia has viber and whatsapp. Just no snap chat.

NYCityBabe

TBi wrote: »

Lumia has viber and whatsapp. Just no snap chat.

True. There are many other apps I need too that Nokia just don't support. It's a real shame.

pelemcg

spix wrote: »

I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Vivo xshot is the best camera phone you can buy right now with a normal looking lens. You can get one from China for about 350 euro, used to be cheaper but the dollar/euro rate is sinking like crazy recently.

Thread hijack, but does anyone know where the xshot can be got for this price?

spix

pelemcg wrote: »

Thread hijack, but does anyone know where the xshot can be got for this price?

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Vivo-Xshot-X710L-Qualcomm-801-CPU-3GB-RAM-32GB-ROM-5-2IPS-Optical-image-stabilization/1961790949.html?s=p

Seller has put a discount on it, only 335 now for 2gb version. Bear in mind there will likely be taxes as its sent with DHL.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

quarryman

I had the same decision to make a month ago.

i didn't want to pay for the extra cost of an iphone and since I was on Android at the time (with an S5) I was happy enough in the Android world for a bit longer.

In the end it was a toss up between the Alpha and the Z3 compact. Went for the Z3C mainly due to the better battery. Really happy with the decision. I can 2 days on a single charge. The magnetic charging port means I can use a decent case that covers most of the ports. Also found the OS to be a lot less bloated compared to Samsung's.

D'Peoples Voice

NYCityBabe wrote: »

True. There are many other apps I need too that Nokia just don't support. It's a real shame.

Yeah, not sure if in Windows 8.1 phone you can install apps like Swiftkey keyboards, Solid Explorer (file manager), screen filter (night reading), dialer one (phone dialer), StuffMerge (composing messages), Lucid browser (lightweight browser), llama (for getting your phone to turn on silent automatically when you are in work etc), notification toggle for personalising which apps i want listed in my pull down menu. That is one advantage Android has being open sourced, developers have access to the code. Especially now with over 5,000 new api in lollipop, developers will have so many new possibilities for apps.

I looked at Sony before when they first brought out the Z1 compact, but it wasn't attractive for me.

But now, almost 2 years on, Sony have

- finally reduced the bezels on Z3 - there were too big on the Z1 compact when I looked at it, and the corners are rounder

- reduced the size of their User Interface (menus etc) that sits on top of stock Android - a customized UI made sense on Android years ago when the OS was still developing, but not with kitkat/lollipop. I also like the crispness of the font in the menus.

- decoupled some apps into the play store, as have Google decoupled many of their apps into the Play Store. So bug fixes or updates to apps can be released regularly through play store. With older versions of Android system or custom apps were updated once every year when a new version of the operating system is released. For Sony that have traditionally being slow to update the operating system on their phones, this is a massive thing.

- made it easier to disable apps you don't use, so your screens are easier to lay out, in case you're one of the rare few that don't install a launcher such as Nova Launcher/Next launcher/Smart Launcher etc

- improved the camera software to make it comparable with the best out there, they use to skimp on this

- introduced that charging app where you can plug in your phone to be charged over night and specify the exact amount of time you want the phone to continue charging. Saves you destroying your battery's lifespan by allowing the phone to keep charging all night

- their battery stamina mode is great when you are going out of a night and have not charged your phone but need your battery to last

- have better integration between the android phone, android TV units on their TVs and playstation

- improved the sound, think of music quality Sony walkmans come to mind, think of great TVs and Sony TVs come to mind, their phone sound/screen has greatly improved, their older phones were terrible viewing angles especially in sunlight

- made a great reputation for themselves in the Android community for helping developers come up with custom ROMs etc, so should you become bored of your phone, its nice to change the User Interface, so its looks all brand new to you again

As there are so many repair shops out there, you are not typically going to get screwed royally to get your phone fixed.

I can see the attraction of the Z3 over say the heavily skinned Samsung phones. (Yes i know under lollipop, Samsung have cut back on their skin and the lag is greatly reduced....but still is it as light as the Sony?)

NYCityBabe

Hi again guys,

Just to update - I went for the Z3 compact. It's very cute in white for us girlies Two days in and I really like it. The camera seems fantastic, can't see any fault there. The tones are plenty loud for me. All in all it seems a really nice, easy to use phone. Just hope I don't get any of the cracking screen issues now!

Would definitely recommend it to anyone who want's a real decent camera phone.

Thank you all for your input, you've all been so helpful and kind

D'Peoples Voice

NYCityBabe wrote: »

H Just hope I don't get any of the cracking screen issues now!

Maybe worth a read
http://blog.clove.co.uk/2014/03/30/sony-xperia-z1-compact-anti-shatter-screen-protector-put-test/

kev_s88

1. Steer clear from the Alpha, Samsung are scrapping it from their production line in favour of their new A3 and A5 models. A5 will be similar to the Alpha, but just more reliable and smoother running from how it looks.

2. Sony phones create just as many problems as any other manufacturer from personal experience. Dont discount it.

3. HTC are actually probably the most reliable and middle of the road phone at the moment. I have the M7 myself and while the M8 is a bit meh, it is still probably the most solid phone on the market.

4. Although the number of iPhones sold far outweighs anything else, I have seen a much higher proportion of iPhones being returned as faulty than anything else.

Phantasos

kev_s88 wrote: »

1. Steer clear from the Alpha, Samsung are scrapping it from their production line in favour of their new A3 and A5 models. A5 will be similar to the Alpha, but just more reliable and smoother running from how it looks.

2. Sony phones create just as many problems as any other manufacturer from personal experience. Dont discount it.

3. HTC are actually probably the most reliable and middle of the road phone at the moment. I have the M7 myself and while the M8 is a bit meh, it is still probably the most solid phone on the market.

4. Although the number of iPhones sold far outweighs anything else, I have seen a much higher proportion of iPhones being returned as faulty than anything else.

Do you think the Z3C is worth the prepay price? Or would you recommend another phone?

NYCityBabe

Phantasos wrote: »

Do you think the Z3C is worth the prepay price? Or would you recommend another phone?

The Z3c is at least €100 cheaper prepay than most of the other models.
I would totally recommend it. I'm loving mine!

Sam Mac

Even the thought of a phone cracking by itself would turn me off the manufacturer and model for life.