Hi guys,
I was wondering if you can help me with a decision. I was planning to buy One plus One but realised that they don't have band 20 which means very limited/no LTE coverage in UK and I don't want to own a phone in 2014 which won't support 4G.
I am not keen on spending a lot of money on Z2 and I can get used Xperia Z1 in the range of 200-230 and was wondering if it would be a good choice?
Do you think for that price Xperia Z1 is a good phone and can be bought amongst other big guys? I mean it still has SD800 and 2GB RAM!!
Appreciate your help!
Thanks
Z2 is only a viable upgrade from Z1 if you want the better screen and speakers. The SD800 still kicks ass
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invinciblervd said:
Hi guys,
I was wondering if you can help me with a decision. I was planning to buy One plus One but realised that they don't have band 20 which means very limited/no LTE coverage in UK and I don't want to own a phone in 2014 which won't support 4G.
I am not keen on spending a lot of money on Z2 and I can get used Xperia Z1 in the range of 200-230 and was wondering if it would be a good choice?
Do you think for that price Xperia Z1 is a good phone and can be bought amongst other big guys? I mean it still has SD800 and 2GB RAM!!
Appreciate your help!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Z1 is a great phone. One of the best phones currently on the market, even with its successor already on the stores. It's not a match for the Z2/S5/G3/M8, of course; but it's not outdated like the Galaxy S3 was in June/2013. I plan on keeping my Z1 for the rest of the year, and maybe upgrade when the Z4 shows up.
Qualcomm and the other mobile CPU manufacturers were on a very quick escalation of CPU power on the last few years. You had a huge jump every year, so last year's phones were severely outclassed when the new models came up. This has slowed down quite a bit since last year. The Snapdragon 801 on this year's phones is just a bit faster than the 800 on the Z1, which is not that much faster than the Snapdragon 600, which is just a bit faster than the Snapdragon S4 Pro from October 2012. In other words, except for the screen and speakers, the Z2 is just a small overclock ahead of the Z1. For a low price, it's a bargain (here in Brazil it still costs the equivalent to about US$450,00).
Steve_max said:
The Z1 is a great phone. One of the best phones currently on the market, even with its successor already on the stores. It's not a match for the Z2/S5/G3/M8, of course; but it's not outdated like the Galaxy S3 was in June/2013. I plan on keeping my Z1 for the rest of the year, and maybe upgrade when the Z4 shows up.
Qualcomm and the other mobile CPU manufacturers were on a very quick escalation of CPU power on the last few years. You had a huge jump every year, so last year's phones were severely outclassed when the new models came up. This has slowed down quite a bit since last year. The Snapdragon 801 on this year's phones is just a bit faster than the 800 on the Z1, which is not that much faster than the Snapdragon 600, which is just a bit faster than the Snapdragon S4 Pro from October 2012. In other words, except for the screen and speakers, the Z2 is just a small overclock ahead of the Z1. For a low price, it's a bargain (here in Brazil it still costs the equivalent to about US$450,00).
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The gpu went from 450 to 578 mhz. This is the biggest difference. Also because android is getting graphically more intense, slowly but surely.
I got my Z1 last saturday, so...HELL YEAH!
I'd still get the one plus one. Had the z1 for a while. If I was to choose what's currently available it'd be the HTC m8 then the z2. But the one plus one is worth the wait.
FYI, EE uses bands 3 and 7 which I'm assuming that the one plus works on, if not then I'll be skipping it myself. Still need to research this so thanks for the heads up, I'd missed that. Cheers m8
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
No point in even talking about the Oneplus One, it is currently "vapourware". They haven't made more than a small batch and those are not going to be sold internationally. Hopefully, over time the Oneplus phones manufacturing will catch up with its overhyped marketing.
After much deliberation and hands-on investigating of all the competition, I got a Z1 recently (picked it up for 250, brand new in unopened box). The Z2 has better battery and the GPU is better but disappointingly the screen isn't that much better. The HTC M8 is amazing unless you intend to use the rear camera which is pants. The Galaxy S5, while packed with features, feels like most high end Samsungs cheap and plasticy. The HTC E8 looks to be worth waiting for as does the LG G3.
Apart from battery life, I am happy I got the Z1. The build quality, the camera, the fantastic work XDA devs have done and the UI experience go a long way.
dladz said:
I'd still get the one plus one. Had the z1 for a while. If I was to choose what's currently available it'd be the HTC m8 then the z2. But the one plus one is worth the wait.
FYI, EE uses bands 3 and 7 which I'm assuming that the one plus works on, if not then I'll be skipping it myself. Still need to research this so thanks for the heads up, I'd missed that. Cheers m8
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I was following 1+1 since the beginning and was all set to buy it and was thinking to use it on 3G. But after recent upgrade to 4G and using it for couple of months, I know it's going to be difficult to switch back to 3G just because you are getting a good phone.
EE are good but on the expensive side even for a sim only deal and the LTE-A they are working on will soon be on 800 MHz and band 20. I just don't want to buy a phone which in theory will be unlocked but would still in a way be locked to EE.
gandalf_grey91 said:
No point in even talking about the Oneplus One, it is currently "vapourware". They haven't made more than a small batch and those are not going to be sold internationally. Hopefully, over time the Oneplus phones manufacturing will catch up with its overhyped marketing.
After much deliberation and hands-on investigating of all the competition, I got a Z1 recently (picked it up for 250, brand new in unopened box). The Z2 has better battery and the GPU is better but disappointingly the screen isn't that much better. The HTC M8 is amazing unless you intend to use the rear camera which is pants. The Galaxy S5, while packed with features, feels like most high end Samsungs cheap and plasticy. The HTC E8 looks to be worth waiting for as does the LG G3.
Apart from battery life, I am happy I got the Z1. The build quality, the camera, the fantastic work XDA devs have done and the UI experience go a long way.
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Click to collapse
250 is a a really good price for a brand new phone. May I ask where did you get this deal? (ebay?) Thought the battery is really massive for Z1? 2800ma?
I agree about the xda devs, but its hard to get a fully unlocked phone. If someone has bought it via carrier and got it unlocked, it will still have bootloader unlock allowed = No.
invinciblervd said:
250 is a a really good price for a brand new phone. May I ask where did you get this deal? (ebay?) Thought the battery is really massive for Z1? 2800ma?
I agree about the xda devs, but its hard to get a fully unlocked phone. If someone has bought it via carrier and got it unlocked, it will still have bootloader unlock allowed = No.
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In all honesty, including postage, it came in a little over 260, and yes, it was aquired from a popular auction site. Battery is good and I get about 3 days of moderate use but it has a strange quirk in that it loses 10 - 12% of battery in first 5 minutes of being turned on. Never had a phone that does that before. After that initial battery drain it settles down and lasts, as I said, quite well.
My Z1 is fully unlocked. I bought a couple of Xperia SPs for the parents soon after they were released and it was difficult to get fully (SIM and bootloader) unlocked models. But, especially, with carrier supplied models, as time goes on they simply replenish stock from what sony have available (in channel) rather than insisting on the locked bootloader models that are part of the initial deal the companies sign before the device is released. Same goes for phones supplied via insurance companies, usually the more time that passes after release the more likely you are to be supplied a sim-free fully unlocked model (although some insurance companies have deals to buy/supply refurbished models which means read the policy carefully).
For the same money, I considered a Galaxy S4 but having held it and tried it, I could not part with the money for such a cheap and plasticy POS. Seriously, even cheap end ZTE and Huawei phones feel better made than "flagship" samsungs. If HTC had included removable battery, SD card slots and a better camera on both M7 and M8 for the last 2 years, samsung would have sold half as many Galaxy S models.
saintgein said:
The gpu went from 450 to 578 mhz. This is the biggest difference. Also because android is getting graphically more intense, slowly but surely.
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Click to collapse
Remember that you can overclock the Z1 GPU to 533 MHz, so that is a <10% difference. Overclocking both CPU and GPU, the Z1's 800 (2.4GHz/533MHz) is very comparable with the Z2's 801AB (2.3GHz/578MHz) and within striking distance from the S5's 801AC (2.5GHz/578MHz). No idea on how those overclock, though.
Steve_max said:
Remember that you can overclock the Z1 GPU to 533 MHz, so that is a <10% difference. Overclocking both CPU and GPU, the Z1's 800 (2.4GHz/533MHz) is very comparable with the Z2's 801AB (2.3GHz/578MHz) and within striking distance from the S5's 801AC (2.5GHz/578MHz). No idea on how those overclock, though.
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When you say "you can overclock the Z1", you mean if you unlock bootloader, lose bravia engine / drm keys and install a custom kernel.
gandalf_grey91 said:
When you say "you can overclock the Z1", you mean if you unlock bootloader, lose bravia engine / drm keys and install a custom kernel.
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Click to collapse
Yes, but why would you not unlock the bootloader? You can backup the TA partition and just restore it if needed, and everything just works without the DRM keys (if you believe you lost something, restore TA, install stock kernel, and you're back to stock). This is a development forum; I assume people here are willing to modify their devices to extract the maximum from them (in speed, battery life, whatever).
Steve_max said:
Yes, but why would you not unlock the bootloader?
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I would have thought that was obvious. Unlocking the bootloader on my old Motorolas or HTCs provided more function and in the case of the HTCs made things better with custom Hboots. But the current crop of Sony's use the bravia engine to enhance the screen which is an integral part of the user experience and unlocking the bootloader disables it. Yes, by backing up the TA partition it is possible to revert back if the bootloader has been unlocked. But, unlike some other phones, with Sony phones the users can only choose to either unlock the bootloader to flash non-stock ROMs and custom kernels and lose the Bravia engine or leave the bootloader locked with working bravia engine but never gain the ability to flash AOSP ROMs. You can't have both because of that pesky TA partition. Because the Sony stock ROM experience is so good and thanks to the fantastic work some devs have done on modules for the Xposed framework, some designed especially for Xperia phones, Sony users have 2 strong choices.
I unlocked my bootloader and x-reality (bravia engine) and BIONZ are still working flawlessly.
gandalf_grey91 said:
I would have thought that was obvious. Unlocking the bootloader on my old Motorolas or HTCs provided more function and in the case of the HTCs made things better with custom Hboots. But the current crop of Sony's use the bravia engine to enhance the screen which is an integral part of the user experience and unlocking the bootloader disables it. Yes, by backing up the TA partition it is possible to revert back if the bootloader has been unlocked. But, unlike some other phones, with Sony phones the users can only choose to either unlock the bootloader to flash non-stock ROMs and custom kernels and lose the Bravia engine or leave the bootloader locked with working bravia engine but never gain the ability to flash AOSP ROMs. You can't have both because of that pesky TA partition. Because the Sony stock ROM experience is so good and thanks to the fantastic work some devs have done on modules for the Xposed framework, some designed especially for Xperia phones, Sony users have 2 strong choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dislike the idea of special postprocessing on images on the screen. The X-Realty engine is that: some processing on your pictures/movies when the phone shows them on its own screen. They won't appear like that on your computer, or when you share the picture with anyone, out when you print them. It is a fake improvement, and I prefer to keep it disabled.
Anyway, AFAIK there are ways to make that work on UB. Never tried, but this is said to work well: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2635986
You are right, I don't like it either, any thing that only affects the devices own screen is a fake improvement. But thank you for including the link, I didn't know I had the option to unlock the bootloader and keep the bravia engine/x-reality.
Related
Have any of you come from the Samsung galaxy S3 what are your thoughts and opinions on the Sony TL phone? I am looking to get something different.
Well, the TL is only an American release for ATT, and it's the only one (of the Xperia T series) that hasn't had its bootloader unlocked. Root is possible though. There's tons of development for the T, but very little for the TL. I came to the Xperia TL from an Xperia X10, and once I had my hands on that first Xperia, I haven't felt the need to switch brands.I feel like from now on, I'm only going to buy Sony android devices.
Custom roms for the TL can be a little tricky. Roms for locked bootloaders work fine but you have to be careful with the baseband. A lot of these custom roms are built from European builds, so they say to flash the original stock rom (ATT) with only allowing the baseband to flash onto the device to try to keep LTE connectivity. ATT's 4G LTE network is very specific for the US and I've had signal issues with custom roms where I lose connectivity (data and voice) briefly at random times.
On a final note, very nice phone in my opinion. The stock JB firmware on the TL is plenty fast for me. I've basically just put the stock JB back on my phone, then rooted it to get rid of ATT bloatware and to allow tethering (without having to pay extra). Badass phone for only having to pay 50 bucks to ATT to get it. If you happen to get it and it has ICS on it (which had a lot of bugs on the TL), get the JB update on it ASAP.
Sorry to be so wordy, but I've spent hours on this forum figuring all this out. Just trying to save you some time...
jonchance_84 said:
Well, the TL is only an American release for ATT, and it's the only one (of the Xperia T series) that hasn't had its bootloader unlocked. Root is possible though. There's tons of development for the T, but very little for the TL. I came to the Xperia TL from an Xperia X10, and once I had my hands on that first Xperia, I haven't felt the need to switch brands.I feel like from now on, I'm only going to buy Sony android devices.
Custom roms for the TL can be a little tricky. Roms for locked bootloaders work fine but you have to be careful with the baseband. A lot of these custom roms are built from European builds, so they say to flash the original stock rom (ATT) with only allowing the baseband to flash onto the device to try to keep LTE connectivity. ATT's 4G LTE network is very specific for the US and I've had signal issues with custom roms where I lose connectivity (data and voice) briefly at random times.
On a final note, very nice phone in my opinion. The stock JB firmware on the TL is plenty fast for me. I've basically just put the stock JB back on my phone, then rooted it to get rid of ATT bloatware and to allow tethering (without having to pay extra). Badass phone for only having to pay 50 bucks to ATT to get it. If you happen to get it and it has ICS on it (which had a lot of bugs on the TL), get the JB update on it ASAP.
Sorry to be so wordy, but I've spent hours on this forum figuring all this out. Just trying to save you some time...
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Click to collapse
It's a great device and acts like the very popular Xperia T, (If you flash the European .140 firmware with flashtool excluding the baseband to keep 4GLTE
I can't say I came from the 3, but I came from an HTC Amaze and the T just blows it away.
Also, I sent you a PM
I purchased the sg s3 to replace my water-damaged Ion and I hated it. I have to take 3 or 4 pictures everytime to make sure I got a good one. I also didn't like the way notifications still come through the phone speaker instead of the earphones when you are using them and I didn't use any of the gimmicky features of the s3. So I bought a TL on Ebay and sold the S3. The camera on the Xperia TL is much better. I plan to stay with Sony next time I upgrade.
I ilke my Xperia T more than my previous phone (S3). Sony's launcher kills Sammy's TouchWiz... and the S3 had some pretty silly rules, like when using the volume button to turn down the ringtone, the notification volume didn't follow automatically. Also it had this annoying volume escalation in the ringtone when getting a phone call. Had to use a 3rd party app to silence it (but some custom roms had this 'feature' fixed so that was good.). I enjoy the size of the Xperia T more than the S3 also.
Things I don't like about the Xperia T that the S3 handled fine were 1) Removing the battery... I like to know I can replace the battery at any time. 2) When I plug my Sony PS3 controller into the S3, it can instantly use it as an input device... when I plug the controller into my Xperia T, it whines about how it can't power it.
I came from the Samsung Captivate, this phone is way better than that device.
The only thing I miss is dsp manager from cm10. The bass and volume were absolutely killer.
Sent from my LT30p using xda app-developers app
Much happier with this than my old s3 had it for 3 days and found it to plastic. No doubting that it's a half tidy phone, just feel that the t is way better made and considering that the s3 is meant to have a better processor. This performs awesome.
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Sony's phones are design for speed despite their low CPUs unlike other brands which hogs their phones with useless tweaks, thus reducing speed.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
low CPUs?are you kidding me?american SG3 has the same dual core and remember 28nm dual core krait is on almost on par with exonos and better than tegra3 45nm
josephnero said:
low CPUs?are you kidding me?american SG3 has the same dual core and remember 28nm dual core krait is on almost on par with exonos and better than tegra3 45nm
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Click to collapse
When I said low CPUs I meant for their older device. Also I meant it as lower CPUs. Sony having a lower CPUs than others.
Sent from my LT25i using Tapatalk 2
The PS3 power consumption problem doesn't exist if you use Sony Ericsson Livedock DK25 (even though it was for SE2011 devices) as I use an Xbox wired controller on my 3 out of my 4 android devices without a problem
Sent from my LT30p using xda premium
I came from a very similar model, the HTC One XL (only difference between the SGS3 is the extra 1GB of RAM). I was a little skeptical at first but I picked up the TL at walmart for 10 cents. Having not seen them anywhere else I thought it was quite the find. The camera is what sold me on it for sure.
As I got to using it, I realized what a smart move it was. All of my favorite mods for the One XL were native to this device. Bravia engine, clear audio+, xloud, etc. I had pretty much all of the Sony stuff installed on my HTC so it made the stock ROM very much usable; A slightly embellished AOSP. This is the first Android device I have EVER owned that I had no desire to flash a new ROM to get away from the stock software, which is typically clunky and slow, managing memory very poorly. Not with the TL. It takes full advantage of the identical hardware that my old phone had, proving to me that there really isn't any need for quad/octa core power-hungy beasts yet.
At first I didn't like the screen, but after playing with the settings a bit, I love it. The limited viewing angle ensures privacy, though some people do not like it. Colors are very true to life, as opposed to the One XL which is vivid and bright, but colors would look washed out. My wife had the S III and I absolutely hated the power-hungy super AMOLED. screen, everything looked so artificial. What amazes me most about the TL display is how functional it is with the backlight turned way down. Reproduces colors very well and is very readable in indoor and outdoor situations. Makes for a very battery-efficient device.
Yes the bootloader can't be unlocked, and flashing ROMS is limited compared to Samdung or HTC, but when you can theme and mod the device with a locked bootloader why bother? I have CM10 themes and cybershot camera, themed SMS and dialer, with the docomo status bar and task switcher. Debloated and greenified this has been the best stock experience I have had with any device. I'm sold on Sony I think I will stick with them.
I'd say I'd love a unlocked bootloader for the sake of a ported Ubuntu
Anyways, I came from a Motorola Defy+. Whilst the phone was "dumber", there was one single thing it made better than my current Xperia T: Audio playback. Never complained about that. On my Sony, however, it's quite problematic. As I really like to skip audio, it's a issue for me. I also dislike the audio bloatware Sony gives me. I flashed a different .FTF, no difference at all. Waiting for 4.2./4.3 (although I could flash a ROM).
However, this is not the entire story.
The Walkman music player rocks with one single dumb thing: search. I can search an album/artist/song/genre/whatever, and access everything really fast (I've got 20 GBs of music on my phone). And that's nice.
I also like the hardware and the lack of bloatware. The camera, which is good. The screen size is perfect IMO.
I like the fact that it feels mine, and only mine. That I can mod it, if I want to, and that I can.
I really am waiting for Ubuntu for this, and maybe I'll even flash MIUI some day.
I'm thinking of getting an xperia t mainly because of the camera. Should be in my hands by the end of the week. I know that it seems like a downgrade from my nexus 4 but it's not gonna stop me from trying it.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Camera especially fv from market is really good
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i came to Xperia V from SGS3. i must say i hated the S3 because of it's size and i got frustrated when i tried to operate the phone with one hand and couldn't reach the screen and the phone often fell from my hand trying.
however, i miss the screen, the samsung roms, the plethora of choices and mods to use (not forgetting a super cool CM 10.1 build which i loved)
and one thing i just constantly mind about Xperia V is that doesn't give separate volumes for the ring and notification. as you know we use our smartphones a lot for chatting and i want to be able to have a low volume for the notifications, while not risking to miss a phone call.
apart from this, i love the V. it's water resistant and the camera is cool.
oh yes, and the last thing is the battery. i think that the V should also have stamina mode and try to make the device last throughout the day while using it extensively. when i say this, i always compare the usage time and the battery juice we get from both phones, i have a feeling that the S3 lasted me a good 2 hours longer than the V with about similar amount of usage
I came from a Galaxy Note.
The main thing for me is the camera. The Samsung cameras are rubbish - my note and my friends' S3s and even the recent S4 can't touch the Xperia for camera quality. I don't even take my point and shoot instant camera out anymore!
I guess the thing you will probably notice more than anything initially though it's the screen. LCD isn't so bright and vibrant as Samsung's LED ones, but I find them more natural and the Bravia engine is good.
My only other comment is that I was never really happy with my Samsung phone. I was constantly wanting to flash new custom or leaked firmware for a better experience. Don't really feel like that with the Sony device - it just works and doesn't have the garish TouchWiz interface either!
Im coming from a S3, and my first impression was the build of the entire phone, the quality is amazing and than S3, I'm really happy with my new phone
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I had a s3 before. Then changed to the Xperia Ion then just bought the Xperia T tonight.
So far love it. And yes alot more than the S3.
Hello,
I am Daniel, from Argentina, and I am doubting on buying a LG G2 or a Z3 Compact.
I know they are quite diferent (z3 is from 2014 and G2 is from 2013), but Snapdragon 800 or 801 does not make difference to me.
My first choice is Z3 compact for its battery, but is that good? Because someone talks about 5 hours screen, other of 8 hours, so, is good or G2's battery is better?
Is there any con of Z3C? I have read about glass cracking by itself, i should worry about that? Is there other con?
Prices here are, LG G2 is 500uss and z3 700uss. Which one i pick??
Thanks and sorry for my english
Daniel
I'd wait for the z4, it will be announced in January..
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pricey2009 said:
I'd wait for the z4, it will be announced in January..
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Pricey first of all first of answering
The problem of waiting is that i am from Argentina, and here we are like Cuba or Venezuela and our president block imports. So smartphones come late, and as you see expensive.
If i wait for z4 compact, here is reaching on march luckily and very expensive. Also i heard that z4 compact will have 1080p so i think that is going to reduce battery endurance that is what matters me.
Just suck it up and go for z3c u wont regret it
Do you have any knowledge, experience or opinion of LG and Sony's respective versions of Android, as that might be a factor for you too.
I have both phones and although the G2 is still a fine phone with regard to hardware, I personally disliked LG's software. The good news is if you are not afraid to root there is a strong community here on XDA and Lollipop is already available through CM 12 and other custom roms. LG's own official version of 5.0 should reach the G2 early next year, so you will get the sanctioned update soon.
The Z3c wins out over the G2 for me through it's better form factor and also support for external storage. I love both the back buttons and the resultant ultra thin bezels on the G2 but the Z3c is pretty much the perfect size for my tastes. I do have Google Music locker but prefer to have most of my music and other media stored locally, which I can do on my 128GB sd card. I am not sure if storage capacity is important to you - if it is you should definitely look at the Z3c, or maybe a cheaper phone with a SD card slot.
I believe the battery life is slightly better on the Z3c vs the G2, but that's just with my usage patterns, YMMV. Both have strong battery life in general and most reviews I've read have seen them both compare well to rivals like the M8 or SGS5.
I don't doubt those people who have suffered spontaneous glass cracking but I do believe it to be a tiny minority versus those who like me have had no issues to date.
The key imo for your decision is the price differential. I think that assuming the $200 difference between the phones is without any special discount to either, the G2 is better value for money. In isolation I definitely would take the Z3c over the G2, but if you can get the G2 for that much cheaper I would go with that.
These are my two favorite android phones. The LG G2 has a triple threat for themes: If you like LG's heavy theme, that's the stock theme. If you want something more minimalistic but not stock, there are roms based on the LG G3 revisions. If you like AOSP, it's similarity with the Nexus 5 means it will usually have things ported quickly. If a US version only had microSD, it would be the perfect phone. LG, having the Nexus phone assignment for two years, grew big in their android phone sales and support.
In the $175-250 USD Range (ebay selling prices of US LG G2s), there is no better value for the money as the snapdragon 800 is very similiar to the 801 and the screen/body ratio is great (and it's not 5.5").
The Z3 is the android phone we've been waiting for, putting best in class performance in a small-phone package. My biggest issues with the phone are the glass back (solved with a 1.29 case) and the screen/weight ratio. Sony's anti-root policy is such that unlocking the boot-loader disables camera algos, ps4 and screen mirroring capability.
Battery life on both phones is very good, as both phones have large batteries. The camera's on both phones are very good. The screens are very good on both phones. The sound is better on the sony.
On an economic level, it's hard to recommend paying anywhere near retail for an android phone so close to the CES/MWC 2015 as Snapdragon 810s may do to our phones what the Snapdragon 800/801 did to the Snapdragon 600 (remember the last time a phone even used a SD 600).
rp3 said:
On an economic level, it's hard to recommend paying anywhere near retail for an android phone so close to the CES/MWC 2015 as Snapdragon 810s may do to our phones what the Snapdragon 800/801 did to the Snapdragon 600 (remember the last time a phone even used a SD 600).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks rp3, do you think Sony is launching a z4 compact on CES/MWC 2015? Or will be only z4 with no compact version as z2?
You may be surprised, but G2 wins
Hi DanielGatti, since your criteria is the battery life, Z3 Compact has slightly better battery life than G2. But that's it actually. I'm using Nexus 5 (over a year now), G2 (July 2014) and Xperia Z3C (end of Oct 2014) at the moment and all I can say the only thing I like with Xperia Z3C is that it's fit in the hand. So it's very comfortable to hold. Actually no, because the glass back is very slippery in the hand. But G2's bigger screen is much more compelling.
The thing is, G2's still stuck with KitKat 4.2, so some apps may crash regularly (one of them is mobileVoIP I often use). But if you ask me what is my favourite: Nexus 5 is still the king (shame that LG doesn't put the same battery capacity in it that it built in G2!).
I have read rumors of a Z4C. They are just that. I'd say 50/50 that sony launches one and 75/25 that someone else launches a high-end sub 5" phone. My reason is this: the iphone 6 and 6+ launch means every android maker needs to compete on the high end with 4, 4.7 and 5.5 standard bearer (and beat them on either performance, weight or screen/body). The HTC rumors of a 5' flagship (and the samsung Galaxy Alpha starting a new design language) make it more likely that sub 5" phones will have better than a snapdragon 410 next year.
pricey2009 said:
I'd wait for the z4, it will be announced in January..
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
Is it sure there'll be a compact version?
slaia said:
But G2's bigger screen is much more compelling.
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Click to collapse
Is G2 display better than Z3C display???? {obviusly not having on count the size, i am talking about nits and other technical stuff}
According to their GSM Arena reviews, the Z3 Compact is 10% brighter at full brightnes but 30% less contrast. The Z3C also has 30% better sunlight visability contrast. Having those two phones in hand now (just bought a LG G2 and listing Z3c on swappa), I wouldn't disagree with the indoors ratings (I am rarely outside during sunlight looking at my phone screen).
DanielGatti said:
Is G2 display better than Z3C display???? {obviusly not having on count the size, i am talking about nits and other technical stuff}
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Click to collapse
I'm not competent enough to talk about nits and other technical stuff. But for me as user it's enough to put the device side by side and see which one looks better. G2's screen is better because it looks gorgeous with its bigger size, while everything looks tiny on Z3C's screen. Z3C display also looks too dark and cold. You have to play with the settings in order to find the best for you.
I had an LG G2 on Verizon in the US and switched to a Z3 Compact on T-Mobile. Comparing the two for you, I'd go with the LG G2 because it's less expensive and performs basically identically. If you want a smaller phone, go for the Z3 Compact.
size matters... a lot!
I think first and foremost you need to decide what size you prefer.
The G2 is fantastic. I liked it better than the Galaxy S4/S5 and Nexus 5. But it was too big for me, along with the others I mentioned. My Z3c is perfect!
Once you decide on size, then you pick one or the other, whichever is closer, OR, compare similar size phones and make your decision even harder!
I also wanted to decide so I bought both.
Well, since difference in money was more or less U$S275 i went with LG G2, because as they said, differences were not very important.
Also SnapDragon 810 is about to come and may be it will a huge change, so i'll want a z4 compact, and has no sense buy a z3 compact now, it was a waste of money.
Thanks to everyone
slaia said:
I'm not competent enough to talk about nits and other technical stuff. But for me as user it's enough to put the device side by side and see which one looks better. G2's screen is better because it looks gorgeous with its bigger size, while everything looks tiny on Z3C's screen. Z3C display also looks too dark and cold. You have to play with the settings in order to find the best for you.
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Click to collapse
You're basing your "what's better" on looks. So, in that sense, Beats by Dre are better than a pair of ATH-ADG1s?
Sure, it might look bigger and it's easier to see, but that's nowhere near being better. There's still how the colors look, how much power it drains, contrast, sunlight visibility etc. If the OP was making his comparison purely based on screen size, he would either be considering getting the Z3 would had been on his way to the store to get a G2 instead of opening the thread.
@DanielGatti: The 810 doesn't bring anything big in terms of performance, except maybe the new GPU (now with a flashy new number). But the difference won't be visible going from a Z3C to a Z4C if rumors are to be believed though because of the increased resolution (1080 vs 720).
The G2 should be getting OEM updates for at least one more year as it basically uses the same chipset as some other 2014 devices. After that, it'll have a long life here on the Forums. At this point, quite the opposite could be said about the Z3C (though that may change anytime).
I came from g2 to z3c and i love the compact. G2 is not a bad phone but at least it was to big for me
DanielGatti said:
Hello,
I am Daniel, from Argentina, and I am doubting on buying a LG G2 or a Z3 Compact.
I know they are quite diferent (z3 is from 2014 and G2 is from 2013), but Snapdragon 800 or 801 does not make difference to me.
My first choice is Z3 compact for its battery, but is that good? Because someone talks about 5 hours screen, other of 8 hours, so, is good or G2's battery is better?
Is there any con of Z3C? I have read about glass cracking by itself, i should worry about that? Is there other con?
Prices here are, LG G2 is 500uss and z3 700uss. Which one i pick??
Thanks and sorry for my english
Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who came from the G2 and now has the Z3c I feel like I can be some help.
First of all i will start by saying I love the Z3c, its a great phone, really attractive, and the battery is great.
But the G2 was and is still the best phone I've ever had.
It was perfect in my opinion in ever front, its powerful, has a huge battery, is extremely comfortable in hand, has a great screen, and the ROM community is huge and there are a lot of amazing roms available. (It is basically an better Nexus 5) Something the Z3 is unfortunately completely missing. Plus I LOVED the back button placement, felt very natural, and with the tap to wake you don't have to use them if you don't like. After having the z3c for a few months I think that the G2's size / screen ratio is perfect for me. (The only reason I did't get the G3 was because it's so big).
If you can get the G2 for a good price I can't see any reason why you shouldn't go with it. I
It's a great phone. I wish I didn't lose it abroad or I would definitely would still be using it.
Hello from North Carolina, US.
After carrying the Note 2 for two years, I am over the large phone form factor and was considering the Z3c back when it was released. But, I'm on Verizon (CDMA) and it just wasn't a good time to shift to TMobile. My Note 2 died, and I started carrying my wife's old Galaxy S3, which confirmed my preference for a smaller handset. Since my contract with Verizon is over in June, I figured I would carry the S3 until then, see what phones were announced at MWC and make my next phone decision based on that.
Frankly, for my use cases... MWC was MEH.
The S6/edge and HTC One M9 are both lovely phones, but I don't feel like they meet my needs as well as the Z3c. With the Z3c, I love the small form factor, the waterproofiness, the battery and the dedicated shutter button. Also, an S6 with as much storage as the SD card I already own will be hundreds of dollars more expensive than the Z3c.
That said, is it crazy to buy a 6 month old phone? Considering my use cases (primarily utilitarian - music, email, rss, news/weather, social, navigation, camera - no processor intensive games) and considering how surprisingly well the S3 is still running with these use cases at nearly three years old, I am thinking the Z3c may still be a good fit for me. And, I don't want to wait as long as the rumors are saying I would need to wait for the Z4 series (autumn 2015).
What about you, would you still buy the Z3c today? Do you think, based on how I've described my uses, that it would be a good fit for me? Is there another small form factor device I should be considering? Should I suck it up and wait for autumn and the Z4's?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.
Cheers
Jack
JackinNC said:
Hello from North Carolina, US.
After carrying the Note 2 for two years, I am over the large phone form factor and was considering the Z3c back when it was released. But, I'm on Verizon (CDMA) and it just wasn't a good time to shift to TMobile. My Note 2 died, and I started carrying my wife's old Galaxy S3, which confirmed my preference for a smaller handset. Since my contract with Verizon is over in June, I figured I would carry the S3 until then, see what phones were announced at MWC and make my next phone decision based on that.
Frankly, for my use cases... MWC was MEH.
The S6/edge and HTC One M9 are both lovely phones, but I don't feel like they meet my needs as well as the Z3c. With the Z3c, I love the small form factor, the waterproofiness, the battery and the dedicated shutter button. Also, an S6 with as much storage as the SD card I already own will be hundreds of dollars more expensive than the Z3c.
That said, is it crazy to buy a 6 month old phone? Considering my use cases (primarily utilitarian - music, email, rss, news/weather, social, navigation, camera - no processor intensive games) and considering how surprisingly well the S3 is still running with these use cases at nearly three years old, I am thinking the Z3c may still be a good fit for me. And, I don't want to wait as long as the rumors are saying I would need to wait for the Z4 series (autumn 2015).
What about you, would you still buy the Z3c today? Do you think, based on how I've described my uses, that it would be a good fit for me? Is there another small form factor device I should be considering? Should I suck it up and wait for autumn and the Z4's?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.
Cheers
Jack
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Click to collapse
For sure I'd still buy the Z3C today.
You're using your wife's S3 which is over 3 years old, so calling a 6 month old phone 'old' is kind of bs (No offense @ all)
As for the Z4, well.... there is no word about a Z4C and based on what Sony previously did, there shouldn't be a Z4C, but a Z5C (if ever).
The Z3C is a great phone, besides the occasional build flaws and bad camera under low light conditions.
That's great feedback, thank you.
Dsteppa said:
You're using your wife's S3 which is over 3 years old, so calling a 6 month old phone 'old' is kind of bs (No offense @ all)
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Click to collapse
None taken. The last 5 phones I've bought for myself or my wife have been purchased within 2 weeks of release, sometimes by me standing in line on release day. I buy them early, use them for 2 years when I can contractually upgrade and get a new one and start the cycle over. I typically use a phone for two years and it starts to feel "old" to me at ~18-20 months when a couple new cycles of phones and android versions have been released. My concern is not that the phone is "old" now, rather that, being 6 months old now, it may start to feel old at 12-14 months rather than 18-20.
Btw, I followed your photo link from another post of yours. Like you comments here, your sample photos are really helpful.
Thanks again
Jack
JackinNC said:
That's great feedback, thank you.
None taken. The last 5 phones I've bought for myself or my wife have been purchased within 2 weeks of release, sometimes by me standing in line on release day. I buy them early, use them for 2 years when I can contractually upgrade and get a new one and start the cycle over. I typically use a phone for two years and it starts to feel "old" to me at ~18-20 months when a couple new cycles of phones and android versions have been released. My concern is not that the phone is "old" now, rather that, being 6 months old now, it may start to feel old at 12-14 months rather than 18-20.
Btw, I followed your photo link from another post of yours. Like you comments here, your sample photos are really helpful.
Thanks again
Jack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
Well I don't know, in terms of specs I don't see much changing any time soon, unless all manufacturers decide to make 64bit phones or use a new type of battery that either lasts long and/or charges super fast.
In the end as long as you're doing 'normal' things the phone should be your companion for at least 2 years without you really noticing a difference between your phone and other people's.
Z3 and Z3 compact are best options on android right now.
implying you don't want a phablet.
new phones like GS6 and ONE M9 are cool but you can find a Z3 for 500€/$ and a Z3C for 400, (gs6 and one ~750$)
you'll have same software 5.0.2 with better UI, and better battery, only the camera will be a bit behind but still excellent.
so unless you have money to waste just go for it it's a good deal
I love my z3 compact but if I were to buy a new phone now, I would get the galaxy s6 edge.
The biggest issue I have with the z3c is the speaker. Currently if I am in a semi loud surrounding, I can hardly hear the other person on the line.
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Free mobile app
As usual it depends on what you need. Me personally there is no other phone than the Z3c atm. Size/hardware/design... its perfect for me.
So if you're looking for a smaller phone (one hand use) with excellent battery life and fast hardware just go for it there is nothing that comes even close in that department.
I'm very torn right now, I'm frustrated that I would have to use the bloated stock software to get decent camera quality (no barrel distortion and better low light) and that CM12, while it runs decently doesn't support the features locked away by DRM. I'm contemplating reverting back to a Nexus 5...I think my biggest issue would be the camera, I thought it would be superb but in reality it only matches my nexus considering the distortion. And Sony's DRM and bootloader locking nonsense seems ridiculous to me.
zander21510 said:
I'm very torn right now, I'm frustrated that I would have to use the bloated stock software to get decent camera quality (no barrel distortion and better low light) and that CM12, while it runs decently doesn't support the features locked away by DRM. I'm contemplating reverting back to a Nexus 5...I think my biggest issue would be the camera, I thought it would be superb but in reality it only matches my nexus considering the distortion. And Sony's DRM and bootloader locking nonsense seems ridiculous to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can just root and then debloat.
2mal16 said:
you can just root and then debloat.
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Click to collapse
That's easy...the hard part is losing all the customizations. I went to stock 5.0.2 rooted, system R/W support isn't there, I lose all sorts of little features like expanded desktop, quick unlock, navigation customization...
zander21510 said:
That's easy...the hard part is losing all the customizations. I went to stock 5.0.2 rooted, system R/W support isn't there, I lose all sorts of little features like expanded desktop, quick unlock, navigation customization...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rw is already fixed though you wont like the process if you want to Stay on locked bl. Those features will be implemented either by Sony or more likely xposed working. Just give it some time
2mal16 said:
Rw is already fixed though you wont like the process if you want to Stay on locked bl. Those features will be implemented either by Sony or more likely xposed working. Just give it some time
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Click to collapse
Pretty sure Sony is done with us after this update, minus maybe a couple security patches there won't be any new features. I already tried CM12 for a good month, just couldn't stand the camera and the bugs were a bit too much for a DD. Hoping for xposed and working recoveries on lollipop...that's about all I can do right now.
zander21510 said:
Pretty sure Sony is done with us after this update, minus maybe a couple security patches there won't be any new features. I already tried CM12 for a good month, just couldn't stand the camera and the bugs were a bit too much for a DD. Hoping for xposed and working recoveries on lollipop...that's about all I can do right now.
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Click to collapse
Jeah it will Come soon enough, I mean lolli was just released and recoveries,custom Kernels and a working xposed will all make their way on this device sooner or later. Just play the waiting game... again
zander21510 said:
Pretty sure Sony is done with us after this update, minus maybe a couple security patches there won't be any new features. I already tried CM12 for a good month, just couldn't stand the camera and the bugs were a bit too much for a DD. Hoping for xposed and working recoveries on lollipop...that's about all I can do right now.
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Click to collapse
Let's see... The Xperia Z that has been released for about 2 years also received the Lollipop update, why would you think that Sony would stop update a phone that's just been out 6 month's. Can you please tell me your logic?
Sent from my D5803
Nice Features
There are some things which are so nice. Most of the new phones arent waterproof. Phones are getting bigger and bigger. But the z3c is smaller but quite good.
I certainly would buy the Z3C again, the biggest gripe I have is the lack of Quality Case choices. Great phone IMO, size, battery, speed and takes above average pictures(Auto mode) and if you take the time to use the manual settings it can take excellent pictures.
So far, Sony Z3C has no real competition. In android world. I just bought one.
Dsteppa said:
Let's see... The Xperia Z that has been released for about 2 years also received the Lollipop update, why would you think that Sony would stop update a phone that's just been out 6 month's. Can you please tell me your logic?
Sent from my D5803
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well with the persisting rumors that Sony is either scaling back or dropping their mobile division...I just have a gut feeling.
And I guess I changed my mind. Just ordered a replacement Nexus 5 like my old one. I will miss the size and it is a sharp looking phone, but the broken features that can never be fixed (mostly camera stuff) and the DRM nonsense really turned me off of this phone. I may be an oddball but I just don't like that I'm missing all the little customizations and things on CM12 when I'm on stock, and Xposed will probably only fix about half of those features. Miss Privacy Guard, Quick unlock, all that good stuff. And I just don't like the UI design choices. Plus all the no-name "device reporting" and "anonymous reporting" services running in the background that can't be disabled.
I'm sure in a few months CM12 will have the microphone & other issues ironed out, but what's the point of having a 20MP camera that has distortion and poor image quality that (from what I've read) can never be fixed in an AOSP rom?
I would recommend it to my fiancee that doesn't use her phone for much more than texting and Youtube, but not for a tinkerer like myself.
FOR SURE! Unless you want to wait for a Z4 Compact to even be announced, and then eventually come out, I'd say the Z3 Compact remains the best phone at it's size from anyone, still to this day. The Galaxy S5 Mini just came out recently, and it's a Snapdragon 400! The Z3 Compact has a great, waterproof build, MicroSD, Camera Button, and 801 processor. Nothing else comes close unless you're okay with a leviathan of a phone I love my Z3 Compact and really do not desire a new phone or ever again something larger...
Would definitely still buy again. Just ticks so many boxes that other devices don't (size, speed, battery, microSD, camera). It really has no competition. I'm not sure we'll see a Z4 compact at all - doubt z3 compact is a big seller and with Sony in such a mess, they may just focus on the Z4. If that happens, we're in bad shape for fully spec'd < 5" Android devices. The good news is that the hardware is advancing so slowly now, the z3c will probably be a viable platform for quite awhile.
My Galaxy S4 (two generations old!) still runs CM12 perfectly fine. It's an SD600!
Hi everyone,
I'm using the xiaomi mi2 today and all in all happy. It got wet and screen is broken so I have to think of an alternative soon before it dies completely.
I came across the Z3c and was charmed by the similar size and great battery life.
I kind of disappointed it only have 2gb ram, okay camera, no ir.. But it's very good looking water resistant phone.
My limit is 5".
I thought maybe to wait for the z4c because of the 1080p screen, 3gb ram probably but kind of stressed by the fact it will host the problematic 810 snapdragon,which warms up AZ everyone in the Internet reports.
Should I buy it now or wait? Would you buy it today even that its almost one year out, and maybe there's better options today?
I'm also a bit amazed I can't root the phone without losing the already not so great camera quality.
How is the development community here? Is it planned to have 5.1? would you recommend CM and other roms as a good option or is it buggy and bad battery life?
I bought one today.
1080p is nice (I had Nexus 4 which is 720p and went to HTC M7 which is 1080p, it is no thaaaaaaaat difference)
2Gb of ram is enough
I don't think there are better options, and with SD810 things are getting "hotter".
You can root without loosing camera quality
5.1 is planned to arrive on July by sony.
Im buying mine next month. Same Price of G3 but that 2k display made me run away lol
And love sony too
eranyanay said:
would you recommend CM and other roms as a good option or is it buggy and bad battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried CM nightlies, performance and battery life is good. But battery life is better at stock rom because of power saving algorithms of sony.
Biggest down side is the camera in custom roms like CM. You should unlock bootloader to flash custom roms and this action removes DRM keys, resulting in bad camera quality. There is also the wide lens issue, images get distorted in camera apps other than stock sony camera app. I would like to use CM but as far as I know there is no fix for bad camera in Cm (or in other custom roms).
But the good thing is that you can restore drm keys if you have backed up drm keys with a tool in the forums, and return to rooted stock roms and regain the not-so-great-but-absolutely-better-than-cm image quality for camera.
Ok, zihinsiz say all good things, but if i can tell you something... Take care of you mi4, because with our z3c you will have no real benefits (ok, battery A LITTLE better, screen and resolution A LITTLE better) but nothing really really better that you can see as really different as your actually situation
zihinsiz, Thanks for the input. Is it possible to root without removing DRM keys (which actually means, without unlocking the bootlaoder?) , and then to have CM with the sony camera, which does all the PP and thus not losing image quality? beacuse if not, it actually means I should never exchange roms...not being able to remove embedded bloatware (which is done easily with root)
PeppeBove, I have the mi2 (bought it when it first got out, almost 3 years ago!), did you mistype and think I have the mi2, and claim there's no big difference comparing both, or did you misread and think I have the mi4?
I also have another question, Where can I find the differences between both Z3C models D5803, D5833? Which one is the "international" one?
And how is the speaker phone & speakers volume? Is it good enough?
eranyanay said:
zihinsiz, Thanks for the input. Is it possible to root without removing DRM keys (which actually means, without unlocking the bootlaoder?) , and then to have CM with the sony camera, which does all the PP and thus not losing image quality? beacuse if not, it actually means I should never exchange roms...not being able to remove embedded bloatware (which is done easily with root)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can have root without unlocking the bootloader and without losing drm related functions. So, you can debloat the stock rom, flash mods and use xposed framework without losing any function.
And trying cm or other roms is also possible after unlocking bootloader and returning to fully functional stock rom is possible with drm restore and bootloader relocking. Unfortunately Sony camera app only works in stock roms, that is the disadvantage I talked about. You should forget camera if you have a custom rom installed, that bad is the quality I think.
Camera quality is the only thing gets bad while bootloader is unlocked? and in any case, using any other camera app will get bad results?
gps and all other sensors behave OK no matter what?
Is it possible to get google dialer or some of the stock feeling of aosp/cm roms?
As a Z3C owners can you see any other competitor with better specs at this dimensions (< 13CM height) ?
Im already looking at the devilcase metal bumper...
eranyanay said:
Camera quality is the only thing gets bad while bootloader is unlocked? and in any case, using any other camera app will get bad results?
gps and all other sensors behave OK no matter what?
Is it possible to get google dialer or some of the stock feeling of aosp/cm roms?
As a Z3C owners can you see any other competitor with better specs at this dimensions (< 13CM height) ?
Im already looking at the devilcase metal bumper...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can look at the topic in my signature for example pictures. I think my pictures are at the last or 1 before last page.
I took the pictures with Camera FV-5 and an unlocked bootloader.
They really aren't bad in my opinion, you will probably only notice a difference with low light.
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Free mobile app
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4928&idPhone2=6538. Thats a spec to spec comparison. I just got the z3 compact too and have had to switch over since my m7 decided to conveniently die on me without any warning sign. Overall I cant really tell the difference in the resolution partly because in day today applications it doesn't really matter. I suggest investing in a magnetic charger as well in order to maintain the water- resistance of the phone. The battery life is yet to be put through the paces but it's already shaping up to be much better than my heavily customized m7 was. Both my phones had 2 gigs of ram and I never saw myself using more than 1.5 gigs at the most. Overall I'd say it was worth the upgrade especially since I got my z3c for 300 AUD . Also the bluetooth low energy is handy if you use bluetooth headphones or if your car supports it. After the oneplus one, this is the second best phone in terms of price to specs to the fact that it is actually small enough to call a phone. My 2 cents would be not to wait since sony supports their devices for 18 months so you do get Android M and possibly the next iteration as well so really you've got all bases covered here
i wouldn't buy one today. it feels more sluggish than my wife's galaxy alpha, so i would go with an S6, even having the battery+screen size+water proofness penalty.
reg-sux said:
i wouldn't buy one today. it feels more sluggish than my wife's galaxy alpha, so i would go with an S6, even having the battery+screen size+water proofness penalty.
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Click to collapse
Unless you are running the exact same apps on each phone it's very hard to justify a sluggish statement. You can certainly have a rogue app bogging down your phone.
I'd buy the Z3c again as there really isn't anything else to compare it to in the sub 5" category. While I'd like the camera on the S6 I'm not sure I could deal with the decrease in battery life and the overall size..as well as TouchWiz.
I saw this on ebay which is really cheap, i don't know if its some deal or sale, do y'all think its worth it? Here is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...858?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f4e0b155a
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...929?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item487f6513b9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...931?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item487f6513bb
The Z3c is a decent enough phone that feels snappy, is the perfect size and has amazing battery life, but it has its quirks . If I were in the market today I'd wait to see what the Galaxy S6 Mini brings to the table. I might even sell my Z3c if the S6 Mini packs as much performance as the regular S6.
uchechris said:
I saw this on ebay which is really cheap, i don't know if its some deal or sale, do y'all think its worth it? Here is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...858?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f4e0b155a
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...929?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item487f6513b9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-XZ3D58...931?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item487f6513bb
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Click to collapse
These are Seller refurbished, not factory refurbs either. I personally wouldn't chance it, but thats up to you. Also it states that there could be signs of use. I'd either buy new or keep an eye out on swappa.
I've been debating on getting a z3c myself but i might wait for z3+c possibly even s6 mini. Its a tough call.
The problem with Samsung is that their devices is always very "tall", because of the hardware buttons, plus no sdcard, no water proof...
maybe the camera will be a plus.
Im going to buy the Z3C. I made up my mind
Now I struggle where to buy it from.
eranyanay said:
The problem with Samsung is that their devices is always very "tall", because of the hardware buttons, plus no sdcard, no water proof...
maybe the camera will be a plus.
Im going to buy the Z3C. I made up my mind
Now I struggle where to buy it from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure where you are located but amazon and fleabay seem to have some of the best prices on new device.
I'm itching to buy one myself and kills me that there is no word on when to expect the z3+c. I think id rather have the new version but it will also come with a higher premium as well. My guess would be Sept release
Things that bother me most about the z3c are poor indoor shots, cap over charging port, and the docking pins on the side.
Don't hold your breath for a Z3c+ to be released. Mini/Compact phones are going the way of the Dodo Bird (sadly). Get the Z3C now or possibly even the Samsung Alpha. The Galaxy S6 mini could be awesome (minus touchwiz) or it could be crippled like the previous mini versions have been. If you can wait, do so, so you won't have any regrets. The price will only get lower.
I bought my 1st in November white color, Sold it to some1 last month and bought green one. Giving it to my wife next month and again buying new white one next month. Its the perfect phone.
INFRNL said:
Not sure where you are located but amazon and fleabay seem to have some of the best prices on new device.
I'm itching to buy one myself and kills me that there is no word on when to expect the z3+c. I think id rather have the new version but it will also come with a higher premium as well. My guess would be Sept release
Things that bother me most about the z3c are poor indoor shots, cap over charging port, and the docking pins on the side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here in Portugal most of stores aren't getting more Z3C.
I asked about 3 or 4 stores and they either say they don't have stock for some months or that the device was discontinued, that's why I bought it now.
Best prices here are around 256-370eur on unknow stores, but on orange (it's a store from expansys group) at 389eur (discount code deal10). On physical stores the best price I saw was 411 or 550eur with the sony smartwatch.
On international stores like dvdandorra you can get it at 339eur .
I am exploring options for my next phone. What will be your future pick?
I was looking forward to a new sony device, but I am not blown away with the xperia x. But I guess it is still top of my list.
Guids said:
I am exploring options for my next phone. What will be your future pick?
I was looking forward to a new sony device, but I am not blown away with the xperia x. But I guess it is still top of my list.
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Probably a Z5 compact. The Z5 is cheaper but has the same spec as the X.
Sony have the market on small top spec phones. I like a small phone in my hand, not some massive phablet.
Plus it's waterproof and has all the features. Top audio, noise reduction technologies built in. IPS screen, there aren't any other manufacturers that come close.
But it won't be for another year, hopefully by then there will be some development on it and things like rooting will be easy.
Didgesteve said:
Probably a Z5 compact. The Z5 is cheaper but has the same spec as the X.
Sony have the market on small top spec phones. I like a small phone in my hand, not some massive phablet.
Plus it's waterproof and has all the features. Top audio, noise reduction technologies built in. IPS screen, there aren't any other manufacturers that come close.
But it won't be for another year, hopefully by then there will be some development on it and things like rooting will be easy.
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Yeah unfortunately support on xda is virtually non existent for the z5 (compact). And I do not think it will surge eventually, then it would have happened already. It is also the main reason why I didn't switch earlier. But yeah.. Xda support is really important for me since I like to tweak certain aspects
I am going with the Huawei P9 Plus. It will be a step up from the z3c in a few areas. First off, the P9 has 4gb of ram, so multitasking is easier, and the chipset is a solid foundation as well. The z3c has a higher megapixel camera 20mp vs the 12mp P9 Plus. The P9 Plus is almost an inch bigger in size 4.6 vs 5.5 but I still think that it does not qualify as ( as Didgesteve called it ) a phablet.
Nokia's (the Finnish company) non compete clause expires next month, so in 8 days I believe, I'm waiting to see what they bring to market - I bet it'll be good - they've had years to prepare.
A Galaxy Note 6/7 or a Nexus phone. My biggest priorities are vanilla, lag free, good battery and waterproof. If google makes a nice Nexus that's waterproof and has good battery, lag and vanilla are given. For the Note, I'm not so sure about the UI. But my Z3C has become laggy as of late, even with a factory reset. Constantly at 1.6-1.9 gb memory usage.
Xiaomi Mi 5 is cheap and really rocks!!! :good:
istux said:
Xiaomi Mi 5 is cheap and really rocks!!! :good:
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Definitely not Z5 Compact, I'd rather wait for the Xperia X to have a compact version than buy a phone with barely any support from the community and not to mention Snapdragon 810 Problems
istux said:
Xiaomi Mi 5 is cheap and really rocks!!! :good:
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I ways also looking forward to this. But that video showing that it breaks easily scared me off. The camera is also underwhelming.
I like specs from oneplus 3, but it is just too damn big.
Much as i like the z3c for it's size and specs, my next phone will most likely be a nexus.
While Sony's firmware isn't bad i do miss the variety of 3rd party, AOSP based roms, something that a nexus won't lack thanks to the open bootloader and abundance of developers.
For now, until we know anything about the next Nexus devices, i just hope the PA team will manage to resolve some of the more pressing bugs, a daily-driver aosp MM rom might just keep me around for a bit longer.
Definitely not a Xperia!!
i switched from z3 compact to iphone SE
I went from a HTC Desire to a HTC Sensation, then a Xperia ZR and I have enjoyed my Z3 Compact since October, 2014. I wanted a new Xperia for the summer of 2016, something like the Z6 Compact but the new Xperia X series is not what I wanted.
The only Xperia X I wanted is the X Performance but it has failed to pique my interest. Battery tests look underwhelming compared to the Z3C, the camera isn't up to the other flagships and the price is too high for a smartphone that wont' be released in Europe until July.
So I have jumped ship and went to buy an S7 Edge that features great battery, screen, camera, waterproofing and Material themes so TouchWiz isn't annoying. Maybe the screen is too big at 5.5", but the AMOLED readability in summer is top-notch and the pictures and videos taken are miles better than any other phone camera I tried.
The S7 Edge was 570 euro including the Samsung VR glasses (thanks to Vodafone). The Xperia X Performance hasn't been released yet, but I expect it to cost around 630-650 euro.
Sony has failed me first choosing the SD 810 for the Z5 line and now leaving the Z series aside (Z6 Compact, Z6 and Z6 Premium was what I wanted).
I may return to Sony when they offer something that fills the void of the Z series, not right now with overpriced phones that are released too late.
I get my Nexus 5X tomorrow! YAY! Not the newest device, but almost anything seems to be better to me than any Xperia. I really like the Nexus line. If I hadn't been that misinformed by Sony about being open blabla I would have bought a Nexus instead of an Xperia. Actually using a Z3C, going to sell it as soon as I was finally able to recover DRM with Windows 10 or Linux (Arch). So my Nexus 5X will cost me about 100 Euro. Nice price for a quite decent upgrade of camera and processor (Snapdragon 801 --> Snapdragon 808) and for a device I can fully customize and which got amazing support in FOSS community / XDA.
I think smartphones today are really fast (more than 200 (!!) times faster than my first PC., an Intel 80386. Imagine 200 PCs in your room, haha) and it's not top priority for me to have the fastest device in the whole universe. What counts for me is that the device is fast enough to be ready for daily usage, that I can modify my device to my needs without losing any feature (camera quality, sound quality), not the needs a company wants me to have... and to have a good camera (battery of the Nexus 5X is not the best but acceptable). At first I was quite satisfied with my Z3C but that slowly turned into frustration and anger. It took months to root this unholy device without losing DRM forever (thank God for the dev that finally got it!). Afterwards it was a pain in the ass to do such simple things like rooting it, install recovery (compared to my S3 and Nexus 7; atm trying to recover my DRM for selling this crappy device but ADB won't call SuperSU - wtf?!)... then saw how "good" the open-source output of the so-called developer-friendly company was and I was massively disappointed, to say it in very kind words. Still there is no fully working (--> fisheye) AOSP for Z3 series. Lollipop got fisheye, CM13 for MM is not available yet (LOL?! The only manufacturer left... what a shame) because Sony released first MM working stuff (RIL, camera) in May 2016 afaik) - more than half a year after release of MM. That's what I call developer-friendly... lol. I never gonna buy any Xperia anymore, never in a million years, that's for sure, and try to avoid buying anything made by Sony in general.
Now I'm very glad to get a Nexus (I'm still very satisfied with my Nexus 7 2013 already) because the needs of the user and customizability are top priority and it has a very good cam, which won't produce (reverse) fisheye-pictures when unlocked. I won't need to use stock ROM for this device to be fully working, nor a locked BL and a thousand hacks for stock to be comfortable with (still no dark settings for MM stock, only eye-killing whiteness). Feels like not being in bonds any more...
My brother and my sister-in-law both got the same device (Z3C stock, not rooted) and are very satisfied (for whatever reason... camera on stock with DRM is even worse than on my old Galaxy S3)... so, well. For everyone who still likes Xperia, I wish you the best with that, honestly.
Good riddance, Sony...
is there any phone out there with similar dimensions to the z3 compact? i would like waterproofing as well, but not sure what's out there these days. i have to admit i love the concept rom
tronjojo said:
is there any phone out there with similar dimensions to the z3 compact? i would like waterproofing as well, but not sure what's out there these days. i have to admit i love the concept rom
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Z5 Compact
deniz2694 said:
i switched from z3 compact to iphone SE
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I know a lot of ppl that had made that switch and was satisfied about it
I'm looking for the best smartphone that does not tells itself that the system was been tampered if i root and modify something (Like KNOX or HTC do tell it), because if i want to bring my warranty back, i simply re-flash the firmware and it become unrooted.
No idea. I will be sticking with my Z3c for the foreseeable future.
I recently purchased a Galaxy s6 and was missing my Z3c within a few days. I have also recently used the LG G4 and Nexus 5x. All of these feel like a step down. The Z3c with the MM Slim rom is so fast and fluid and the battery life is ridiculous. The galaxy S6 could kill itself in 12 hours with almost no interaction. Also, it is hard to go back to a phone as large as those. Once you put a case on them, you may as well be using a tablet.
I would go for OnePlus 3 right now, but it's huge, i just don't get the hype for 5.5" screen, that requires your device body to have more than 15cm in size. All of a sudden 5" was not enough so they all had to go for more, not to mention big bezels on top and bottom of the screen even on those 5-5.2" devices.