Sony Xperia
I've never had such a tricky relationship with a mobile phone as the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. I keep imagining what Jeremy Kyle would say...
I have never had such a tricky relationship with a mobile phone as the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. I keep on imagining what Jeremy Kyle would say if we were to rock up on stage and hear both sides to the story.
I fear that he would conclude that its an unhealthy relationship and i need to seek help, but he knows that i will just end up going back to her and the cycle will continue forever until i either meet someone else or the damage to one of us is irreversible.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is an absolutely gorgeous handset. It has a beautiful body, stunning colours and only a light smothering of Sony bloatware. Easy to hold and operate in one hand, it packs all the features of the larger flagship handsets into an every day tech bundle.
After months of research i concluded it was by far the best handset for my tech trio. iPad mini (with 4g sim) for doing stuff like watching tv, playing games and generally doing iPad stuff, an actual proper computer (MacBook Air) for anything which requires typing and what you can't do on an iPad followed by the Z3 compact for keeping on top of all of these and utilising the benefits of Android where ever i go. The clincher, was the camera button, which, combined with its speed and features, means i can leave everything at home when on tour with Little M.
1. Camera / Camera Button
Pro: If you want to quickly take photos, just hold down the camera button and your done! If you like taking photos its great.
Con: The default setting is for just 8mp. If you want to utilise the full manual 20mp its a right faff and you will end up not bothering.
2. It does everything it should do!
Pro. Its only a pro here! It does do everything its larger counterparts does, but without the massive phablet feel. If like me, you don't need another massive tech device, but still want the very best mobile phone, then this is a winner! Fast, reliable and generally great!
3. Size, Looks & Gorgeousness
Pro. It really is a stunningly handset, it feels well made, is lovely to hold and is remarkably satisfying to caress and hold.
Cons. Its a dust catching, fingerprint marking, slippy slidy, gravity defying mystery to me!
4. Battery Life
Lasting almost two days, or at worst a day and a night, it is the first handset i have owned which is always ready for action. With cool little charging stands, the Xperia Z3, looks fab in a dock as a bedside clock and is so easy to pop on charge, i never forget.
5. Waterproof & Robust
Wanting to capture all the moments of the my sons early development, the bonus of a waterproof camera was a real winner! Plus, having a resilient childproof phone which could easily be cleaned and submerged without any problem was just common sense!
Cons. Everything turned out not to be waterproof or robust! READ MORE!
After making my decision to invest in the new handset, i couldn't wait to get it out of the box and i wasn't disappointed. It is simply a piece of art! I spent the first few days carrying it around in bubblewrap and cleaning its shiny beautiful glass front and back.
Trying to show everyone how stunning the Xperia Z3 Compact is, means not having it encased in layers of bubblewrap, so as the week went on, i became slightly more adventurous. This is where it all started to go wrong!
Defying Gravity & Finding Scratches
I have never known anything to slide off stuff as much as this phone. Its gorgeous glass front and back, means it will never sit on a surface without after time, just sliding off. It also collects dust in the process and if ever placed on a table surface, would find a grain of sand and scratch itself or mark itself, which stand out instantly and make a new phone look quite old very quickly.
As you can see from the photos, the hessian material has drawn itself to the device and instantly OCD takes hold and you want to clean it. Something i have never experienced before.
Due to the camera button and the silky slidyness of the phone and the glass on both sides, i do spend a lot of time trying to establish the front and the back of the phone when getting it out of my pocket, flipping it to find the font, to use the camera, you then need to flip it again to hold the button down, to draw the camera. As this can all be done with one hand, due to its compactness, it is also where accidents can quickly and easily happen.
Broken Glass & The Ugly Solution
It was with one of these slick single handed moves, that i dropped the camera whilst at a farm. As i was crouching with a child, it was only a small drop, but the consequences were disastrous! From reading various articles, i now question if the glass had already broken and it was the sharpness that made me drop it and then for it to smash further, but assuming human error, It was still devastating! My gorgeous phone, ruined forever!
Since i have only broken the glass on a phone once in my life before, but dropped plenty, i did come to some quick realisations. Firstly, because you never know which is the front and back of the phone, you are always flipping it around. Secondly, because you want to be able to quickly use the camera button, you don't want to have cases to contend with at the same time and Thirdly, you are twice as likely to smash the glass on this phone, compared to any other as it has glass on both sides!
I realise a case perhaps would have stopped any damage, but to keep this delicate flower in tip top condition, it requires a completely enclosing phone case, as the rubber bumpers easily dent and mark and the side buttons stick out and scratch... before you get to the terrifying glass on the front and back.
The Problem with all of the solutions, is that you then end up with a big bulky heavy phone which you can't easily get at. A phone which doesn't have all the gorgeousness that i fell in love with!
Most disappointingly (as i await for repair) out of the three months i have had the phone, it has already spent 6 weeks in the repair centre.
If your main reason for buying the handset is to put it in water and take photos... don't!
When i originally purchased my phone, i was counting down the days before the family went on holiday so i could test out my mobile phone under water! The excitement was building, i had never had one before and was ready to do some great things!
So off we went to test and try the phone. It started out great. Taking photos was simple, although video was a bit more of a fail, as you have to get it to start recording, before you disable the screen, so that it doesn't keep on flipping though menus and cancelling the record. Playing around with the features tho, was short lived as the screen flickered and went blank... and that was that!
The phone itself was working perfectly, but without being able to see the screen, i couldn't do anything. I then realised my problem when returning the handset to EE (new blog on disappointment and disappear coming soon) that potentially, i had no way of proving anything! How could i prove it was the phones fault? I had checked the flaps were closed and put it underwater, the outcome was water damage. Was it a hair, or a bit of dust in the flap, was it a fundamental problem with the phone?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The only way you know if your phone is 100% waterproof is by putting it underwater... if it isn't however, you instantly have a battle on your hands as proving anything is going to be tricky! I will never find out why i got a replacement phone... the repair centre said it hand't got any water damage and despite EE's best efforts, i was sent back a working phone.
Is my phone now waterproof? I don't know and i will never know - unless disaster strikes! But whilst the temptation to use the full features of my phone are still there - it simply isn't worth the risk!
Conclusion
Hopefully you haven't found this story too laboured and have come away with some useful notes on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. It is a gorgeous handset with great features... but if i had my time again and hadn't devalued it so significantly in our short relationship, i would have to say its time to say goodbye!
Whilst there aren't any equals out there, or phones which tick all the boxes on paper like the Z3, the only way to make it work, is to have it as an ornament or keep it in bubble wrap.
I am sure there are many phones which scratch, dent and mark as much as the Z3, but because of the features which make it such a great phone and its handheld size, it is significantly more likely to slide off a surface or slip out of hands. My iPad Mini is never out of its case and has never been dropped or smashed, because its big and because of how it has to be used. For some reason, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is like trying to catch an eel.
Jeremy Kyle would probably conclude, that although beautiful, the Xperia Z3 is high maintenance and hard work. It needs protecting more than most, which can be a burden and whilst, keeping it hidden from the real world, ultimately it wants to be free and the reason i am in love with it, is because when its free, its incredible, but the consequences are that it will be a rocky relationship which is expensive, tempestuous and will mean we will be forever splitting up and getting back together again.
Any outsider can see its not working and we should avoid being together, but there is something about this phone that puts the blinkers on!
