There are always plenty of reviews of the latest devices, but it is less common for longer term user experiences of devices to be shared. What is the Z3C like to use once the novelty has worn off and it has become just part of your life? What is there to love, and what things really annoy? I thought I'd share my thoughts on 8 months of usage. Here goes...
1. Build Quality
When my orange Z3C arrived it looked beautiful with its glass back and simple, neat design. I immediately put it in a case because I was terrified of messing it up. Then I got fed up of the feel of the thing is a case, so for the past 6 months it has been naked apart from a quality screen protector, and sleeve to put it in if I have a pocket full of change, for instance. So is that glass back really scratched up? Well, there are a couple of scratches that you can feel with your finger nail, and a few smaller ones, but in most lights the back still looks almost perfect. What about drop protection? Well, either I have been lucky, or this is a tough little phone. I have dropped the thing on hardwood flooring and tiles several times, concrete once and sent the Sony tumbling down the stairs to smack onto the wooden floor, and have not had to trouble my insurance company. All in all the phone feels as solid as the day I bought it.
2. Is it really waterproof?
Yes it is. I've done a little filming in the sea and the pool with no problems. When I managed to get the phone covered in filth when working on the car it was great that I could just wash that muck off with water.
3. Camera
If there is one thing that I could say that I am disappointed with it is the camera. It is not bad, just not as good as it might be. I imagine OIS on a £340 phone (the price I paid) is asking rather a lot, but it would lift the experience to a whole new level. Pictures in reasonable light look good, although on inspection rather over processed, in poor light the results are variable. As I said it is not a bad point and shoot camera, but most top of the range phones seem better. Video seems good though - much better than I expected.
4. Display
A few people are a bit sniffy at the idea of a 720p screen in a phone nowadays, but the Sony screen is a good one once you have adjusted the colour balance. At 319 PPI it looks good but when placed next to a G3 at 500+ PPI you can see a difference - the G3's clarity is at another level, but in other respects I actually prefer the Z3C's display - it has a natural warmth and vibrancy to it that I like. A Nexus 6 owning colleague commented just this morning about how nice the display on this phone is.
5. Battery
This is not a two-day phone for me, but I am a heavy user.
I take my phone off charge at 7AM most workdays. It is connected to my Pebble Steel. I stream music on the way to work. Once I'm in work I am streaming music via wifi to bluetooth headphones for much of the day - sometimes racking up 5 hours of listening time. My job often involves testing apps we are developing, as well as waiting for a project to build on my PC so my screen-on time during the day often exceeds 2 hours. I will probably take a couple of calls during the day as well. By the time I leave work at 6PM the battery will usually be in the 40-50% range. I don't use stamina mode at all.
6. Overheating
My Z3C used to get hot - especially if my phone signal was poor. Once I changed from Vodafone to EE, which has now a much better service where I live and work, heat no longer seems an issue (battery has improved too).
7. Day to day use
The Z3C is in the main a joy to use. It looks great, and does all I need it to do. As a phone it is fine, call clarity seems good, even in noisy environments. Video looks great (and I use it for that more than I thought I would) and it pairs seamlessly and works well with my Pebble, and whichever device I am streaming to - the Sony SBH80 Aptx headset is excellent BTW. The phone is reasonably smooth on Lollipop, but the latest Nova seems a bit slow - I might look at another launcher.
SUMMARY
Normally after almost 9 months I'm getting fed up with my phone and looking to sell it on Ebay and get something new. So far I am still completely happy with the Z3 Compact, and see nothing on the market to tempt me to change. I'd like a slightly bigger screen (5") and 1080p, but not at the expense of battery life. If something with comparable abilities but with a better camera came along I'd be tempted, but until then I can see myself staying happy with the Z3 Compact for a while yet, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great pocket-friendly all round phone.
**EDIT**
I forgot to mention the other annoyance - 16Gb! Not enough nowadays, it means having to have some apps on the SD card which is not ideal. Some video apps like All 4 don't let you save video content SD either, which is a pain with 16Gb.
1. Build Quality
When my orange Z3C arrived it looked beautiful with its glass back and simple, neat design. I immediately put it in a case because I was terrified of messing it up. Then I got fed up of the feel of the thing is a case, so for the past 6 months it has been naked apart from a quality screen protector, and sleeve to put it in if I have a pocket full of change, for instance. So is that glass back really scratched up? Well, there are a couple of scratches that you can feel with your finger nail, and a few smaller ones, but in most lights the back still looks almost perfect. What about drop protection? Well, either I have been lucky, or this is a tough little phone. I have dropped the thing on hardwood flooring and tiles several times, concrete once and sent the Sony tumbling down the stairs to smack onto the wooden floor, and have not had to trouble my insurance company. All in all the phone feels as solid as the day I bought it.
2. Is it really waterproof?
Yes it is. I've done a little filming in the sea and the pool with no problems. When I managed to get the phone covered in filth when working on the car it was great that I could just wash that muck off with water.
3. Camera
If there is one thing that I could say that I am disappointed with it is the camera. It is not bad, just not as good as it might be. I imagine OIS on a £340 phone (the price I paid) is asking rather a lot, but it would lift the experience to a whole new level. Pictures in reasonable light look good, although on inspection rather over processed, in poor light the results are variable. As I said it is not a bad point and shoot camera, but most top of the range phones seem better. Video seems good though - much better than I expected.
4. Display
A few people are a bit sniffy at the idea of a 720p screen in a phone nowadays, but the Sony screen is a good one once you have adjusted the colour balance. At 319 PPI it looks good but when placed next to a G3 at 500+ PPI you can see a difference - the G3's clarity is at another level, but in other respects I actually prefer the Z3C's display - it has a natural warmth and vibrancy to it that I like. A Nexus 6 owning colleague commented just this morning about how nice the display on this phone is.
5. Battery
This is not a two-day phone for me, but I am a heavy user.
I take my phone off charge at 7AM most workdays. It is connected to my Pebble Steel. I stream music on the way to work. Once I'm in work I am streaming music via wifi to bluetooth headphones for much of the day - sometimes racking up 5 hours of listening time. My job often involves testing apps we are developing, as well as waiting for a project to build on my PC so my screen-on time during the day often exceeds 2 hours. I will probably take a couple of calls during the day as well. By the time I leave work at 6PM the battery will usually be in the 40-50% range. I don't use stamina mode at all.
6. Overheating
My Z3C used to get hot - especially if my phone signal was poor. Once I changed from Vodafone to EE, which has now a much better service where I live and work, heat no longer seems an issue (battery has improved too).
7. Day to day use
The Z3C is in the main a joy to use. It looks great, and does all I need it to do. As a phone it is fine, call clarity seems good, even in noisy environments. Video looks great (and I use it for that more than I thought I would) and it pairs seamlessly and works well with my Pebble, and whichever device I am streaming to - the Sony SBH80 Aptx headset is excellent BTW. The phone is reasonably smooth on Lollipop, but the latest Nova seems a bit slow - I might look at another launcher.
SUMMARY
Normally after almost 9 months I'm getting fed up with my phone and looking to sell it on Ebay and get something new. So far I am still completely happy with the Z3 Compact, and see nothing on the market to tempt me to change. I'd like a slightly bigger screen (5") and 1080p, but not at the expense of battery life. If something with comparable abilities but with a better camera came along I'd be tempted, but until then I can see myself staying happy with the Z3 Compact for a while yet, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great pocket-friendly all round phone.
**EDIT**
I forgot to mention the other annoyance - 16Gb! Not enough nowadays, it means having to have some apps on the SD card which is not ideal. Some video apps like All 4 don't let you save video content SD either, which is a pain with 16Gb.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram