Having been a loyal (read: lazy) Samsung user the past two years, I began contemplating a change since the last New Year’s Eve, when it dawned on me that my trusty Samsung S4 was a little dated as my friends took out their smartphones during photo-taking time. Being a tech goon also meant that I didn’t have many requirements when picking a smartphone – so long as I can surf the net, make calls, WhatsApp and snap the occasional photo (plus maybe make fancy edits), I was happy. So what could my search for The Next Phone be based on, and was vanity the only reason I had for changing my phone? Having no impetus driving me towards any other particular model, I jumped at the chance to use the Sony Xperia Z3 for a loan period of a month when Sony approached The Ridge with the opportunity to review its mobile products.
Launched in September 2014 retailing for $998 (without contract), the Sony Xperia Z3 seems to be targeted primary at the male consumer (judging from its design and functions). It competes with other smartphones based on its unique selling properties: its design, waterproofing, camera and camera applications, battery life, speed, display and one-touch connectivity, which I’ll be covering in this review.
Design
Slim, at a thickness of 7.3mm and weighing in at 152g, the Z3 is polished looking, decked with sleek glass panels and an accessible interface. There is nothing you can dislike about the Z3’s aesthetics. The one big gripe I had was that it was a tad wide to pit snugly within my palm (since I have small hands), and it does takes some getting use to (because I have never used a Sony phone). I also nearly dropped it a couple of times as it was too light.
Waterproofing
While I was risk averse to try my test model out, friends using the Z2 swear that the phone is waterproof as advertised. Apparently, the Z3 can be submerged under 1.5m of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. This feature makes this phone suitable for those who love water sports. What I found inconvenient though, was the rubber flap covering the USB port. It was flimsy, easily dislodged and I believe that I must have nearly ripped it clean from the attachment point on the phone a couple of times.
Camera and camera apps
I have to attest to the stunning images shot with the Z3. In congruent with what’s been claimed about it, the Z3 does have the best camera I have come across on an android smartphone (ISO of 12800!). It even has an external button for camera function, making selfies really easy. I had fun with several of the built in apps – Face In*, AR Fun** and movie creator. No need for you to download additional applications!
*Face In allows you use both the front and back cameras of your Xperia device, overlaying the images in a number of unique ways.
**AR Fun lets you scribble and draw on top of what you see through the viewfinder. You can capture photos and videos with AR animations, objects and messages, and basically have fun with your world.
Battery life
Battery life is efficient as efficient gets. At a full battery of 100%, the Z3 lasted for 3 whole days, though it could also be attributed to my modest energy expenditure of a few emails per day, not-so-frequent messaging and sporadic photo taking. There is even a battery STAMINA function, which means that you can still make essential calls when battery runs out.
Speed
So the phone has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and the Krait 400 CPU has a max clock speed of 2.5GHz… Wait, what does that even mean? I did a little Googling and… Not that all that made any sense to me, but I did enjoy faster than average download speeds during the four weeks I used the phone for.
Display
When Sony says that it makes good displays, you better take their word for it. After all, they’re well known for their TVs, right? Before the Z3, I thought Apple phones had the best displays ever, but the images viewed on the Z3 were the sharpest, clearest I have seen to date on any phone. (Perhaps though, this means that I ought to try an iPhone 6+ to make a fair comparison.) For the purposes of this review, I watched a couple of drama episodes on YouTube with the Z3, and I definitely felt that the screen size and clarity were adequate for movie viewing, even for extended periods.
One-touch connectivity
During a short duration of the month I had the Z3, I used the Sony Smartwatch 3 to lifelog. (Lifelog is a complete activity tracker that allows you to follow your fitness and entertainment, set and monitor goals – provided you wear the Smartwatch day in and out). To be honest, it wasn’t very user friendly, inaccurate at times on its assessment of my activities, such as sleeping, and I didn’t find it useful (since I am no fitness freak with calories to burn). But one good thing about it was that it was definitely an interesting feature, and a good conversation point when I met new people during the week I wore it. So if you are looking for a conversation starter, the Smartwatch could very well be it…
Conclusion
For all its little quirks, the Z3 is probably one of the best value for money smartphones available at the moment, and is undisputedly suitable for the gaming male who does the occasional water sport. Ladies who are not put off by the Z3’s less than dainty, albeit still classy looks, can also consider this gadget which will certainly make drama-watching on the train a much more pleasurable experience! For more information, visit http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/phones/xperia-z3/