Buying advice - questions about Xperia Z3

[Labhras]

Hi guys,

I'm currently using a S4 but the battery life is not that great at all, barely lasting until lunch time with no real heavy usage. I heard about the battery life of the Xperia and I was curious about the device.

First of all, a troubling question - with the recent news of Sony hack attacks, I was wondering if there was a danger for smartphone users to have their data, and general info stolen, or if the attacks are limited to the company and don't affect devices.

Second, my ideal usage would be: one or two email sync (gmail and zimbra), some Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr usage throughout the day, messaging apps (whatsapp, bbm, kik, etc), taking few pics, and using apps like pinterest, feeds, and a couple of gps-enabling apps.

With this kind of usage, how long would that battery last in your opinion? I'd want it to last from 8am to 9pm, avoiding the mad search for a power socket when my battery drops dead in the middle of the day.

 

[raqball]

Hi guys,

I'm currently using a S4 but the battery life is not that great at all, barely lasting until lunch time with no real heavy usage. I heard about the battery life of the Xperia and I was curious about the device.

First of all, a troubling question - with the recent news of Sony hack attacks, I was wondering if there was a danger for smartphone users to have their data, and general info stolen, or if the attacks are limited to the company and don't affect devices.

Second, my ideal usage would be: one or two email sync (gmail and zimbra), some Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr usage throughout the day, messaging apps (whatsapp, bbm, kik, etc), taking few pics, and using apps like pinterest, feeds, and a couple of gps-enabling apps.

With this kind of usage, how long would that battery last in your opinion? I'd want it to last from 8am to 9pm, avoiding the mad search for a power socket when my battery drops dead in the middle of the day.

First: I have no worries whatsoever over the Sony hack. None! Company's get hacked every single day and while some make the news, many others do not.

Second: Battery life is simply amazing! Based on your usage I don't see you having any problem at all making from 8am to 9pm easily and with plenty of battery to spare..

I also have a Z3 Compact and even with it's smaller battery and heavier usage than you describe, I eaily make it through the day..

 

[Labhras]

Glad to hear that

I was worried about a drain due to gps-enabling apps, though I should be on wi-fi most of the time.
Other few things - I saw a vid on youtube and the mail app looks a lot like a white-and-blue Gmail app - if it is so then I'd be pretty great, and maybe the first time I use the stock mail app lol.
How about the browser and contacts/dialer stock apps? I had to use contacts+ on my S4 because I couldn't stand the feel of those apps.

How's the camera?

Btw, are you on lollipop or kitkat?

 

[raqball]

Glad to hear that

I was worried about a drain due to gps-enabling apps, though I should be on wi-fi most of the time.
Other few things - I saw a vid on youtube and the mail app looks a lot like a white-and-blue Gmail app - if it is so then I'd be pretty great, and maybe the first time I use the stock mail app lol.
How about the browser and contacts/dialer stock apps? I had to use contacts+ on my S4 because I couldn't stand the feel of those apps.

How's the camera?

Btw, are you on lollipop or kitkat?

I don't use GPS so I can't really speak to that. For location I use battery saving mode. I suppose GPS could hammer the battery but since I don't use it, I can't really comment on that.

The mail app does not look like the gmail app at all. 2 different animals. I don't use the gmail app and only use the email one. I have my gmail account enabled in there. The email app has more options than the gmail app does, so I like it better.

I use Chrome for the browser and it's fine, I don't have any issue with the contacts app or the dialer. These, along with the email app discussed above, are personal preference in all honesty. Some may hate them and some may love them. I do not have any issues with them but I am not very picky so your mileage may vary.

The camera is fantastic, once you get it set up right and get use to using it. I use manual mode as I find the images comes out much better. Auto mode is good but you can get much better photos using manual mode.

I am on Kitkat but Lollipop is suppose to be coming next month.

 

[Labhras]

You don't use maps or similar apps?

Weird, I say a video on Youtube introducing Xperia mail and calendar stock app and to me it looked like a gmail white-and-blue version, might be wrong about the mail app present on the Z3 though.

Did you choose Chrome or is it the only browser installed? What about bloatware? I know there's walkman which is basically the music app, but compared to, let's say Samsung, I wanna know how many apps I'd have to get rid of, seeing as they only drain battery.

 

[raqball]

You don't use maps or similar apps?

Weird, I say a video on Youtube introducing Xperia mail and calendar stock app and to me it looked like a gmail white-and-blue version, might be wrong about the mail app present on the Z3 though.

Did you choose Chrome or is it the only browser installed? What about bloatware? I know there's walkman which is basically the music app, but compared to, let's say Samsung, I wanna know how many apps I'd have to get rid of, seeing as they only drain battery.

I turn GPS only on if I need navigation then I turn it back off. I rarely ever have GPS on.

The gmail app and the email app on the Z3 are nothing alike, not even close! I don't know what video you watched but they are night and day different.

Chrome is installed by default but you have remove it if you want to use something else.

I have a lot apps and services disabled. Sony has a lot of services added and I've I've disabled almost all of them. I don't consider most of that as bloat, it's Sony services and features I don't want to use. I previously had a Galaxy Note 4 and that was packed with bloat.

Here are screenshots of what I have disabled.