Just wanted to share my review of Sony Z3 compact.
1- Does not look as bad as you expect - It has plastic edges compared to its bigger brother but it still looks and feels adequately premium.
2- I consider these factors very important.
i - screen to size ratio - Z3C is over 70% screen at the front which is decent enough for me.
ii - battery size - Most importantly, Z3 has a 2600mAh battery which is equal to S4 but on a 720P screen. I have used it for three days with moderate usage and it still had 15% left. It can vary a lot depending on your use but it is tested to give among the highest on screen times by gsmarena and phonearena alike.
iii - Single handed use (Compatness) - is probably the second best feature of this phone - 4.6' display has proven to be the ideal size for me. I had a HTC Evo 3d (4.3' display) previously and I never like the idea of screens larger than 4.8'. I have a tablet for my browsing and reading needs so keeping a pocket friendly phone was important. It has exactly the same size as HTC Evo 3D but slimmer, much lighter and has a 0.3' larger screen with a much larger battery life.
iv - Future Proof - It has the latest Snapdragon 801AC and with a 720P screen giving it little headaches, it is blazing fast. Anyone who has used my handset has complemented the speed of the GUI. Sony has a decent history of updates so with this processor and medium PPI screen, I expect it to last me a few years.
3 - Camera (not as good as you expect) - Of course 20.7MP sensor by arguably the biggest image sensor producer in the smartphone world raises expectations but the default mode is superior Auto which shoots at 8MP. It is decent but not amazingly good as you would expect. Of course you can switch to manual and shoot 20.7MP pictures after experimenting with settings yourself and achieve much better results.
4 - No Gorilla Glass - This is probably the only vice. Front is shatter proof glass which is probably dragontrail and the handset comes with a a matte protector (which is very durable) as I haven't seen a single scratch on the protector after seen some dusty hands work on my phone. Back is plastic so if you want to keep the shine and great looks for a long time, purchase a back protector glass or film immediately. Tips: Do not use the transparent soft gel covers. They make this phone especially ugly.
5 - Sound - Speakers do sound a bit muffled.I bought my phone from the local market and does not come with the noise cancellation headphones touted in some markets but it does come with very decent MH750 headphones which I saw priced at around 21GBP in some sites. For me, that is adequate.
6 - Charging Time - Strangely, I felt it charges faster using my USB 3.0 port on my laptop than the factory charger but that is probably not calculating it very accurately. It charges slow compared to other flagships but its high battery life means you charge it little and still be sure it won't quit on you.
7 - Misc - It is said to be waterproof. I haven't tried testing the waters there. It does not have the 441PPI or higher like other flagships but I upgraded from a 256ppi phone so for me this is good enough. Anything over 300 is fine for me so this phone fits the bill.
Summary: I can recommend this phone to anyone who wants the ideal mix of performance, compact size, good looks, adequate camera, and long battery life.
** On a side note, I found virtually unused Z3c handsets on OLX but with no accessories which probably were stolen handsets brought from UK. Has anyone got information on the source of these virtually new sets rife on OLX but always without accessories. That was just an intelligent guess as the cost was way lower than a new one. I chose to buy a new one though. If you can afford a new one, please do not risk your halal earnings on a used, probably buggy and stolen handset over a new one.
