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After it was officially announced back in September, the bite-sized Sony Xperia Z3 Compact wasn’t available to purchase in the US (from Sony, anyway) until well into October. Well, sort of.
The problem was the shipping date which originally showed the device as back-ordered with no date, then a November 3rd shipping date for a few weeks, only to slip all the way back to the November 17th. More recently, the date had since been moved up to the 10th, where today — November 7th — it’s now finally shipping to customers (see our email confirmation below).
It’s been a roller coaster of emotions, but we’re just glad to finally have the US model — which is fully compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile networks — in our hand. Notice we didn’t say hands (plural) because you don’t actually need 2 to operate the device unlike some other smartphones these days. Despite the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact’s small demeanor, the phone actually features many top-of-the-line hardware specs as this year’s flagships.
Everything from a Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB RAM, 20.7MP camera — the only “downside” we found is the display which only hits 720p, but should provide a more than adequate ppi given it’s smaller 4.7-inches. Hey, if Apple can get away with it, why not Android OEMs?
“the phone actually features many top-of-the-line hardware specs as this year’s flagships.
Everything from a Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB RAM”
Huh? I thought most of the flagships were sporting 805’s and 3GB of RAM? As for the camera, I have yet to test a Sony against others and see an appreciable difference. (Actually, the last two times I’ve tested them, I’ve walked out of the store with the competing phone.)
Sony is definitely late, but I’d still consider high-end Snapdragon 801, 2GB RAM like on the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, or Moto X 2014.
Off the top of my head, the only 805/3GB RAM equipped Androids are the DROID Turbo, Galaxy Note 4, and Nexus 6 — all smartphones with 1440p displays that NEED something that powerful to push all those pixels.
A 720p phone with Snapdragon 801 should more than be able to keep up. :)
Mine’s set to be delivered Monday. Can’t wait.
*CHEST BUMP*
I got mine 2 days ago and so far I really like the phone. Despite what some trolls said above, it runs a bit smoother than my Nexus 5 and the camera takes great pictures. Some of the Sony software is a bit ehhh, but I deleted some of it off already. I don’t need a supercharged chip for the apps I use and the battery life is amazing. Ran all day without charging and had plenty of juice leftover (haven’t even started to play with the Stamina mode). The best part about the phone is the form factor, its so small in your hand (compared to my Nexus 5) and way easier to use than any of the other flagships. There are pluses and minuses when you start using the skinned features like quick settings, and wait until you use the task switcher and the mini apps! I’m still trying to figure out if I want to put a screen protector on (europeans got one in the box and headphones!), but I did order 2 magnetic charging cables so I don’t have to open the tabs. Oh one issue I have is that an old air of samsung headphones with a button doesn’t pause music, it raises the volume.
Good luck when you get yours!
Ah, now we see. Someone says something slightly disparaging about your new purchase so you’re lashing out.
I found some of your photography, no wonder your pictures look bad, you don’t know a thing about photography. I’d give you a few tips, but you suck at photography. Time for a new hobby.
Oh, please. Enlighten me! I’m all ears and eyes. Show me what you’ve got.
Hmmm, so still all you have is insults and taunts and nothing to back yourself. Yes, that is indeed the definition of a bully.
If I hated the phone, I would buy another. I can afford to upgrade my phone when I want. Sorry that you are locked into a contract and are too cheap to pay an ETF. Maybe if you spent more time working rather than trolling the internet, you could afford one.
Wow! You really are a clueless troll. I haven’t been on contract for years and buy my devices outright. Oh! And I notice you’re able to spit out this drivel but not able to actually back up your other post. Way to show who the troll is again. Congrats! You win that contest.
I always win. You always seem to be the loser.
Eh, maybe….. if this was a contest for who can whip out the lamest arguments.
I get it, you live in a shiity city, work at a shitty museum, take shitty pictures, and have a shitty cell phone. Well see if you even have a job when the HR dept at the museum think your attempt at cyberbullying are inline with their mission. Have a great Monday!
Cyberbullying? Really? Good luck with that argument. Oh. And who works 7 days a week? (Just keep that in mind. As well as your insult to the place I live and work. Which by the way… The city I live in has been voted the hippest city in the US, best food, Royals went to the world series, our soccer team made playoffs and the football team has been doing well too. The museum has some of the finest examples in each category. My photos…. well, my gallery rep in San Francisco could tell you otherwise. And my phone, even being a year old, still has better specs and camera than yours. Enjoy and good luck.)
And those three would be pretty much flagships and state of top end specs. Not phones running 720 screens, less RAM and lower processors.
There’s really no need for a phone to go beyond 720p. Perhaps 1080p but the 1440 is just overkill/ a “new” feature they can market
There’s also no need for a car to have more than 90hp and go faster than the posted speed limit and yet, there they are… and quite clearly marketed.
But there’s at least an appreciable difference between a sports car and a typical car.
Can anyone discern the difference between a 1440p and 1080p smartphone?
Most people’s televisions are only 1080p
Not really. Most people don’t even use their cars and SUVs much past what the 90hp car would already do.
I didn’t think I’d notice or care about 1440p on my g3, but where I notice it most isn’t watching movies(good luck even finding 1080p streaming content) or picture taking its reading articles and web browsing, even with my glasses off I can have my phone at a comfortable distance with pretty small font. Its definitely not necessary but it’s nice. 1080p works great for movies on a large tv, but try looking at websites and suddenly it’ll feel like you are back in the 90s
Man, you sure don’t get sick of trolling.
Trolling? Wow! Another phrase you heard and thought you would try out without understanding what you’re saying. I’m giving a very apt comparison. What’s wrong? Realize that the comparison is spot on and you can’t really counter it so you’re resulting in name calling? Good job! If anything, you are the troll if we are to use the term properly.
Love it when a boy comes here and states that he hates a brand but feels the need to open a post AND make disparaging comments. Then trying to justify trolling. Trolling has nothing to do with those little dolls you collect.
Ha ha! Wow! Over reach and assume much? Way to continue showing your lack of understanding of what and who a troll is. Good luck.
…nooooopp!!! You’re trolling!!! And doing a very shity, piss poor job at it and just being verrrry annoying. You think flagship means 805 and 3gb+ of ram. Like Chris said, there is 3 phones with that. Every other phone just isnt a flagship huh? You’re dumb. Go ask your mom for more hot pockets and try to score that date from tinder with how good you can type and rebuttal your point to seem important. Thanks
Uh, maybe you should look up what a flagship phone is before commenting. As for the rest of your comment, eh, you’re assuming an awful lot. Good luck with that. ;)
The value of the 805 is its ability to push higher resolution screens. The physical size of the Z3 Compact doesn’t demand that sort of resolution.
Using a 720px display is cheaper, faster, and more energy efficient. This phone gets incredible battery life. And it works great in one hand.
It’s about value. The phone is an exceptional compromise between size and performance, achieved by making the performance concessions that mean the least on a small phone.
That’s great but it doesn’t make something a flagship.
Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to post in the thread about whether it’s a flagship (it is). What I meant to weigh in on is whether you’re a troll (you are).
Maybe you should check out the benchmarks of the Z3C to understand just how many “flagship” devices this little giant eats for breakfast.
If you want a phablet. Big screens jumped the shark once apple started copying.
Jumped the shark? Hardly. Did you hear that phrase somewhere and decided you would try to be cool and use it? Obviously you don’t understand what that phrase means as phablets are just starting to warm up and take off… which is completely counter to what that phrase means.
Well I figure since my friend John coined the term, he doesn’t mind me using it. Plus where is your proof that they are warming up? There is none. Maybe go read a newspaper instead of picking fights on the internet. Or has mommy grounded you?
You seem to be the only non-grown up here. Guess that’s how you know the whole “mommy” thing. And read a newspaper? No one reads newspapers anymore. That’s why they’re going out of business. No wonder you’re so clueless. And I doubt your “friend John” coined the term jump the shark. It’s kinda been around a while. So you must be one of those internet people who throws garbage out there and hopes they don’t get caught. Sorry, but you got busted this time.
It is a phenomenal phone in a market where “smaller” means “less powerful”. The z3c gets amazing benchmarks, and is simply a delight to use.
Where’d you get that price? Any chance there’s a coupon code I could get in on?
Um, Sony makes the sensors everyone else uses. The Z2 was voted best by DxO. Your experience doesn’t match actual reality.
Yes, DxO. Who only runs numbers and not actual photos. I’m very well aware of that site and their failure to translate specs on paper to actual real world photography. And while true that Sony might make the sensors a lot of companies use, they don’t make them all. Also, it is far from unheard of for other companies to take Sony sensors and pull out better photos than Sony does with the same sensor. (Nikon was famous for doing this.) So my experience is very much grounded in reality.
I’ll make sure to ask your opinion before I buy my next phone. And if they recommend Sony at the store, and they are all like “DxO recommended it”, I’ll be like “Pppppppppt. Those DxO guys don’t know crap. There’s this kid named Chimphappyhour on some forum somewhere. He’s the real expert”.
You might actually want to do that. Or, you know, quit sucking the Kool-aid and check these things out for yourself with a discerning eye. You might be surprised by what you actually see. DxO is very well known for getting things wrong.
I really wanted to walk out of the store with the Sony each time and yet when it came down to a side by side comparison shooting the same exact thing, the Sony got trumped both times. I had to go with what reality showed… and that was that the Sony was NOT the best camera. Will I be trying it a third time? Yes. Am I expecting to walk out of the store with the Sony? We will see but it will come down to real world, not what some measurebators come up with in a lab. Why? Because I shoot in the real world, not a lab.
Oh.
Just curious, what did you come out with? Which one had a better real world camera then?
Unfortunately, the first two times it has been a Note 2 and Note 3. I’m not a fan of Samsung but the photos spoke for themselves.
Thanks. I heard Apple’s hardware is not really superior but has very good software to improve the quality of its pictures. I wish there was a site that objectively studies both the hardware and software so we can all choose for ourselves.
Yeah, I think the best thing to do is just go to the store (if possible, I know it isn’t always for all people and all the phones they would like to get) and do direct side by side. There’s no substitute for in person hands on.
And you do bring up what is the issue. A sensor can be great on paper but once the information leaves the sensor, it’s subjected to a lot of math. Sometimes that math has to work over a file pretty hard and sometimes the work is just unnecessarily heavy handed. Either way, it can take what in theory should be the better camera and drag it through the mud.
damn i want one of these
I love the idea of this phone. Just wish they would have put capacative buttons on the lower bezel. Those extra mm on the screen are precious at this size.
“given it’s smaller 4.7-inches”. that’s its, not “it’s”
It’s not even 4.7. It’s 4.6 (and no, that’s not what she said)
What’s the difference between the US unlocked version and the International unlocked version?
I just wish the screen was Full HD.
Every time my SGS3 crashes when it’s navigating me somewhere, or when I’m reading in the Kindle app, I get a little closer to ordering this thing.