My Z3C Has Arrived - First Impressions (share yours as well)

[lindseybp]

My battery life has been insane. I am at 2% battery remaining and my phone has been on for 3 days 8 hours since last charge. No stamina mode on.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Issemann]

My battery life has been insane. I am at 2% battery remaining and my phone has been on for 3 days 8 hours since last charge. No stamina mode on.

Posted via the Android Central App

Man, that's awesome! Best I've been able to get is 2 days 2 hours. What have you done to squeeze the extra life out?

 

[wmdunn]

Well ... this is one sweet phone. Had it for about a week now, since B&H rushed it to me. Of course, the size is what initially attracted me, but its so much more. I am a aosp purist, but the light Sony overlay does not get in the way at all. This thing flies!. Here's a couple of pictures ...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4051293

 

[ffosse]

The Z3 Compact goes very nicely with the new Sony SmartBand Talk:

 

[oldDummy]

YES...
Just got the Sony Z3C back from my wife.
She missed her old phone because...wait for it...
..the color made it easier to find in her pocketbook.
Whatever, glad to get it back.
Now everybody is a bit happier.
All good.

 

[samaspotion]

I'll most likely get the black one, as soon as I have the money xD
The only drawback is the camera. I think that, despite the on-paper specs, Sony's smartphone cameras are still not that great :/ This Z3 compact seems to do a lil better, tho...

 

[alex13p]

Just posted the below in a different thread but I have a question - The battery life is great on the phone, much better than my last phone (Nexus4), but I find that the first 15% always seems to go really quickly. The rest of the battery lasts well but it's just that first 15% that scares me into thinking I wont make it past lunch time. Is anyone else seeing this?

"Replaced my N4 for a Z3C and I haven't looked back. I can highly recommend this phone. The biggest selling factor for me was the fact that the Sony's are so stripped back in terms of OS, very close to the stock android like on the N4.

I installed Google Home launcher and all the other Google apps and it's virtually the same + in my opinion better settings drawer options and a better laid out settings menu + battery saving functions.

I'm a fairly heavy user, so 2 days (according to Sony) is not possible, but I definitely get a whole days use out of it. On Friday last week I used it through the day on WhatsApp, sent a few emails, used it for 45mins on WiFi hotspot over lunch for Netflix on my Nexus 7, then listened to music on the way home from work for an hour in my car, went to a friends house for drinks and used my phone as a music player and a virtual pack of cards for drinking games - being waterproof this is perfect. By 2am I was drunk and browsing funny videos on reddit whilst falling asleep on my friends sofa with around 12% battery left, if I remember right. It was dead by the morning."

 

[jimswms]

Just posted the below in a different thread but I have a question - The battery life is great on the phone, much better than my last phone (Nexus4), but I find that the first 15% always seems to go really quickly. The rest of the battery lasts well but it's just that first 15% that scares me into thinking I wont make it past lunch time. Is anyone else seeing this?

"Replaced my N4 for a Z3C and I haven't looked back. I can highly recommend this phone. The biggest selling factor for me was the fact that the Sony's are so stripped back in terms of OS, very close to the stock android like on the N4.

I installed Google Home launcher and all the other Google apps and it's virtually the same + in my opinion better settings drawer options and a better laid out settings menu + battery saving functions.

I'm a fairly heavy user, so 2 days (according to Sony) is not possible, but I definitely get a whole days use out of it. On Friday last week I used it through the day on WhatsApp, sent a few emails, used it for 45mins on WiFi hotspot over lunch for Netflix on my Nexus 7, then listened to music on the way home from work for an hour in my car, went to a friends house for drinks and used my phone as a music player and a virtual pack of cards for drinking games - being waterproof this is perfect. By 2am I was drunk and browsing funny videos on reddit whilst falling asleep on my friends sofa with around 12% battery left, if I remember right. It was dead by the morning."

Post of the day

 

[lindseybp]

After using the phone for several weeks now I just wanted to post my updated thoughts since the "honeymoon" phase is over. I am coming from a Galaxy S5. Overall the Z3C is just as great as I was hoping it would be. Even several weeks later I still love it just as much. The 720p screen does not bother me one bit. Absolutely love the Sony skin as it is not heavy and the phone flies. So much faster than my S5. The size of this phone is perfect. With the S5 I always felt like I had a big phone in my pocket. With the Z3C sometimes I forget I have it in my pocket because it is so much smaller than the S5. Battery life has been nothing short of amazing for me. I typically get roughly 2 days of use between charges with no power saving modes on. I installed the app my company uses for our email/calendar, etc. and it has worked great on this phone. Synced it with my Moto 360 watch and it works great. Also connect it via bluetooth in my Mini Countryman and stream bluetooth audio with no problems at all. I am using a glass screen protector and a blue tpu type android case. I have two krusell leather wallet cases that should be arriving this week and will post pics/reviews when I receive them. Phone feels so solid and weight and size is perfect. Coverage on AT&T has been great (fingers crossed) and I get LTE with fast speeds. Overall I still absolutely love this phone and would whole heartedly recommend it.

 

[oldDummy]

..... I have two krusell leather wallet cases that should be arriving this week and will post pics/reviews when I receive them. ,,,.

Great.
Looking for a reasonable solution to consolidate wallet + phone. Both of which are necessities/PITA's.
Funny, in a way, how the phone became a 'must have'.
Ha, looked at the krusell wallet lineup and ordered one also.
thanks for the heads up.

 

[Hevroth]

I'm a fairly heavy user, so 2 days (according to Sony) is not possible, but I definitely get a whole days use out of it. On Friday last week I used it through the day on WhatsApp, sent a few emails, used it for 45mins on WiFi hotspot over lunch for Netflix on my Nexus 7, then listened to music on the way home from work for an hour in my car, went to a friends house for drinks and used my phone as a music player and a virtual pack of cards for drinking games - being waterproof this is perfect. By 2am I was drunk and browsing funny videos on reddit whilst falling asleep on my friends sofa with around 12% battery left, if I remember right. It was dead by the morning."

I've got a question for you, since you are a heavy user like me.

Does your Z3C get pretty hot by pushing it that much? I've seen lots of reports of the back glass cracking by itself when the phone gets hot... has the front or back glass on your phone not cracked? Would you mind posting the year and week numbers representing the manufacturing of your phone? I think there is a tray near the SIM card that slides out that has this information. e.g. 14W42 means the year 2014 and the 42nd week.

Thanks in advance.

 

[miller7796]

Just bought a Z3C on Swappa this morning, so looking forward to it's arrival!

 

[huungryshark]

First thoughts are generally this phone feels like the right size. I really hope the rest of the flagship phones realize they overshot when they passed 5". Fits great in jeans front pocket. Bend test not performed.

The phone feels pretty dense and a little heavier than it maybe should be at this size, noticeably heavier to my Nexus 5 or the iphone 4s or even iphone 6. Looking at the numbers, it is heavier while being smaller.

Screen seems a bit dark, it looks sharp with what appears to be fairly accurate colors out of the box. Turning off auto brightness results in the brightness I was looking for so the screen can do it. I may be installing Lux in the next couple days. 720p not a concern at this size small text reads sharp. IMO accurate colors will make you glad you didn't go with an AMOLED device.

Battery life on the first day of moderate use resulted in 50% as I'm going to bed. I don't see this as a phone to really worry about if you charge it daily.

Sony customization in the ROM actually seems useful. There is much more and useful info in the power and display sections in settings. Smart connect seems like a very light version of tasker, you can configure it to do certain things when plugging in power or headphones for example, I need to look into this more but it says plugging in the power during certain hours will also put the phone on silent for the night. This phone DOES have double tap to wake but for some weird reason it is off by default, I was thrilled to see stumble over this in settings. I am coming from a Nexus 5 running Cyanogenmod and I'm not seeing a reason to miss that ROMs huge level of options.

Dedicated camera button, love it and it works from anywhere even when off. Personally I'd also like a play/pause button as well but I'll settle for having that on the headphones. Camera seems better than Nexus 5 which I did generally like but I'll need some more time to form an opinion.

Speed coming from a Nexus 5 is pretty impressive, I never expected this as I figured it was a similar CPU but obviously not with this and the power usage difference. I turned on .5 animation scale for everything and this phone just flies. If you were coming from something similar to a Nexus 4 this is going to be a huge difference.


The bad:
I can tell I'm going to miss wireless charging. Getting the sony dock to placate this but I don't like putting my charging pads away one bit.

Glass back, don't like it at all. IMO soft touch plastic like on nexus devices is great, grippy, durable and doesn't show wear. This is about the only thing I liked about all my blackberries, they nailed that material. I think sony could change this glass back and save weight. The back is slippery and I actually left the factory film on back to give it a little grip. Glass backs seem dated now so maybe they will change it soon.

Charging port flaps, don't like them. I can't help but think that if the headphone port doesn't need one then why can't they make the charging port the same way? Sure cover up the SIM and microSD, that's a good idea.

Font, for all of the customization in the ROM I don't see a way to change the system font. I may have to resort to brutality.

Agree with Blackberry nailed it.

The back of the (black) Z10 is so awesome.

I use the back from the black on my red Z10.


I´m interested buying the Z3C in red - so i do a little bit of research before (that`s why i´m here)

 

[anon(5002059)]

I have just finished setting up my Z3C and I really dig this phone. Perfect size. No problems with TMobile.

 

[anon(5002059)]

Couldn't put it down last night. I love the build quality. I love that Sony, like Motorola, doesn't mess too much with Android. Why this isn't offered at US retailers is beyond me.

Posted via the Android Central App on my Xperia Z3 Compact

 

[Pablo Sormi]

Hi Guys, just bought the Z3C from Sony Center yestarday.
I was an android megafan for almost 5 years till i decided to go for Windows Phone Lumia 920, and it was my daily driver for 1,5 year.
It was/is indestructible, on week two, my daughter throwed it through the room and the screen cracked in half...but is working fine with that crack.
It also survived the landing from my cars roof while changing directions (with additional Incipio Case DualPro on it - which i heavily advertise where i can)... and many falls from different hights. Works flawlessly.

So after 1,5 years it came down to change. So Z3C because of its size, hardware and battery life. Windows Phone does not have anything groundbreaking in its offer.

Z3C everything is fine, size is great, weight is ok, battery life is outstanding, many apps as always - it is also waterproof...but I am dissapointed with the IOS/Android UI.

It fells ****ty like 2 years ago, like a Candy Crash meeting Mobile OS - and the resemblance to the IOS (my wife is using 5C) is soooo obvious and dull. I am very dissapinted that Android did not make any significant upgrades through 2 years time.

So the final conclusion is that Z3C phone is a great piece of hardware. Has many nice features like battery life, hardware, waterproof, weight and size but...as soon as Windows Phone will offer similiar battery life and weight/size plus waterproof...I am going back

 

[Mister K]

So the final conclusion is that Z3C phone is a great piece of hardware. Has many nice features like battery life, hardware, waterproof, weight and size but...as soon as Windows Phone will offer similiar battery life and weight/size plus waterproof...I am going back

I know where you are coming from. I think these Sony phones are terrific, but Android is definitely a mixed bag as far as OS is concerned. I really liked Windows phone 8.1 when I was using it and would go back to Windows quite happily but for the following...

1. Spotify. I use Spotify a lot and the Windows phone version was just not good enough. Unstable and lacking in features.
2. Google Music, so I can access my music remotely. I have no love for Google per se, so I would consider an alternative.
3. My bank did not offer an app for managing my money on Windows phone. This was quite frankly a pain in the backside. However I would consider changing banks...
4. Location based profiles. I use Llama for this and it is great. I sort of had a workaround in Windows, but it was far from perfect.
5. Bluetooth unlock. Wouldn't be without this now.
6. Pebble watch support. Since I got it I use my pebble a lot more than I thought I would and would miss all the functionality it offers with Android.

It is a shame you can't mix n match. Anyway for now Android is the practical choice for me, but Windows phone could tempt me back one day...

 

[Pablo Sormi]

Yes, the open architecture of Android makes phones more friendly, all the new apps are made for Android, the hardware is accesible for almost everything. It makes it also very low secured because of that.

Everything has it pros and cons.

If a phone can't handle basic stuff like all Windows Phones can it is useless for me. I can manage without smartwatches and all the nice apps, i just need it to call, message, email, play music, shot nice photos and live at least through one day.

My Nokia had hard times to handle the last one....
...but with so much advertised battery life, Z3C is not what i have expected.

I use the same apps like on Lumia, some social community facebook/linkedin, skype, two mail accounts, onenote, bank apps....the same setup like on WP, and my battery life runs down after 18-20h .....which my Lumia lasted for 13-15h. I call through out the day, and use the phone to business purposes.
So the change is not as huge as i would suspect.

And the Android.....Google should hire some UX/UI experts with experience.

 

[ORA1]

Yes, the open architecture of Android makes phones more friendly, all the new apps are made for Android, the hardware is accesible for almost everything. It makes it also very low secured because of that.

Everything has it pros and cons.

If a phone can't handle basic stuff like all Windows Phones can it is useless for me. I can manage without smartwatches and all the nice apps, i just need it to call, message, email, play music, shot nice photos and live at least through one day.

My Nokia had hard times to handle the last one....
...but with so much advertised battery life, Z3C is not what i have expected.

I use the same apps like on Lumia, some social community facebook/linkedin, skype, two mail accounts, onenote, bank apps....the same setup like on WP, and my battery life runs down after 18-20h .....which my Lumia lasted for 13-15h. I call through out the day, and use the phone to business purposes.
So the change is not as huge as i would suspect.

And the Android.....Google should hire some UX/UI experts with experience.

Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that must be respected.
If you have come from a windows world, yes , Android will be different.
Windows has its pro's and cons as the same with Android.
However, i am sure the millions of Android users must feel ok with the O/S or they would have moved.
For me Android is exciting, lots going on. Has its flaws . Windows just works ....

 

[Pablo Sormi]

I came from android world (begining with HTC Dream) and was a huge fan, then got to Windows world and now back to Android...and I am simply disapointed

But for a treat, I just got my Mazda today from dealer, and my Z3C connect to its multimedia system flawlessly...and i believe that WP couldn't do that in the same way

For any car/android geeks, the Recent Multimedia system in Mazda's are based on Android OS, so the interconnection between phones is awesome!