I've had this a little while now but had wanted to wait for a few charge cycles and a few weeks of use before writing a review. I'm sure that a question that will be high on people's list when it comes to this phone is whether or not it really last 2 days. The long and the short answer is yes. The least I have got from it is just over 38 hours or so and this is when I was using it constantly- Kindle, Audible, Spotify, Camera and general fiddling to get used to the phone. On the current cycle, with a bit less use but still some tinkering and watching of videos on Youtube etc, it's at 2 days, and 9 hours- admittedly it's on 1% and about to die but I think that as smart phones go, with the specs the Z3 has, this is impressive. I have my phone on Stamina mode and wifi only activates when it picks up a known network which also helps with battery consumption. Have a nano sim ready so you can use it straight away. I knew it took a nano sim so I had that before the phone itself arrived. Easy to get it swapped over. I am with O2 but I would guess the process would be similar with other networks. I had wanted the aqua phone but was not prepared to pay the full price from Carphone Warehouse and I had a number of amazon vouchers to use.I may compromise and get the aqua phone cover when it is released but happy with the cover I have at the moment and the aqua phone cover is pricey. I agree with the bloatware comments but having come from a Samsung, I can't say this bothers me too much- I just ignore it. I have not experienced any over heating at all. Any warmth I have felt I think has more to do with my own body heat when I hold it for prolonged periods of time than anything else. Sound quality is impressive from the phones speakers and also with earphones plugged in. No tinniness at all and a good bass. I had an S3 mini previously and it blows this out of the water when it comes to sound quality which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. The camera is incredible. It's fast and takes incredible shots. So much so that a friend of mine I was chatting to via what's app and sending images to asked what phone I had as it took amazing photos. I haven't noticed any lag at all. It is extremely fast. I hit a key and it does what I want it to do immediately. No momentary pause- just straight to it. The screen is nice and sharp. If you would like a screen protector (I highly suggest you do for some extra protection), I recommend the same ones as Beanie: 6x Savvies SU75 UltraClear Screen Protector for Sony Xperia Z3 Compact D5803. The phone itself is super sleek and great for use in one hand. For me it was never a question of going for the Z3 over the Z3C as I just don't like big phones and the marginally better screen and slightly higher specs were not enough to entice me. For a bit of extra grip, I'd recommend one of the silicon phone cases (Yousave Accessories Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Case Black Silicone X-Line Cover). The smoothness of the phone did make me paranoid I would drop it but I don't think I would have done.The silicon case adds a bit of grip that eradicates this feeling without adding bulk to the phone and detracting from how streamline it is. I have purchased a magnetic USB charger for less than £3 from ebay that works a treat. I don't feel that the flap over the USB socket would wear out but for £3, better safe than sorry. I honestly can't fault it. I tend to take very good care of my electronic gadgets. I have friends and family that just have to look at their phone and it gets scuffed! I can see me having this for a good few years. 5 stars after 2 weeks of use but should any issues/faults crop up I will most definitely be back to update this review. *****UPDATE 20/10/2015***** I lost my phone and got a replacement through my insurance in January. I wanted to update this review to say that the headphone jack has started to play up. As long as I keep the phone still and don't knock the headphones close to where they are plugged in, it's fine but if you do knock it, which is easy to do, the sound cuts out. This is annoying as I use Spotify a lot to listen to music. I imagine I have just been unlucky as I went 9 month with this particular phone with no issues but wanted to update my review accordingly.

More a concise personal view than a full technical summary, which can be easily sourced by the professional sites. Very simply it's stunning, although the copper is more of a rose tinted gold which is neither masculine nor feminine, and should work for both genders. Battery life is astonishing and hits two days with reasonable use, although charging time is quite high and can take between three to four hours. I'm averaging about 34 C when using the phone indoors, although temperature only appears to be an issue when using the camera. 4K recording is available but clearly needs to be rationed. You may be aware that the phone is both dust and waterproof, although sound quality doesn't appear to have been compromised, in that the audio from both the external speakers and headphones is excellent. Compared to their previous handsets, sony appear to have pushed the boundaries with regard to both audio range and screen brightness, although note that the screen has a slight blue tint which I understand to be a consequence of the battery saving technology adopted. A thread is presently running on the xda forums as to whether this can be compensated for within the settings menu, although the average user will be completely oblivious to it, unless they're looking for issues and choose to jump on the bandwagon. All in, it's a stellar handset which prioritises battery life over nominal advancements in screen technology introduced elsewhere this year. The only two concerns I have, which are food for thought more than anything else, are the longevity of the waterproof port covers, together with the less practical relationship between internal and external storage. The first is easily offset by a magnetic charging adapter which avoids the need to charge via micro usb, but limits you to charging alone insofar as data transfer is not possible magnetically. As an aside, I'm presently using a Magnector-X adapter and heavily recommend it, particularly as Amazon are stocking them directly. The second concern, in contrast, is not really a flaw with the phone but a consequence of where Android is at right now, and whilst workarounds will come you may want to hold back on an expensive sd card until the more recent android limitations have been fully considered. At present, rooting is only available for those who choose to unlock their bootloaders, which may lead to a loss of features protected by DRM technology, such as bravia image enhancement and improved camera performance in low light conditions. The point to note, however, is that apps2sd functionality is not supported out of the box removing your ability to transfer apps from internal to external storage, and this model is limited to 16 GB alone, which then reduces to 11-12 GB given the separate elements required to be reserved. If this isn't enough for you then you'll need to be confident rooting your phone, or at least consider the dual sim variant which comes with 32 GB of internal storage, but may need to be imported.

My original review with 5 stars is shown below. However, I am here to warn all fellow amazon buyers; think and choose wisely. I will share my experience here and you better read it to understand the risk you are putting yourself in when buying this now-490GBP smartphone. After all, purchasing this Z3 is identical to binding yourself to a contract with Sony under warranty. And I am here to tell you that such contract they have prepared for you as an end user is unjust for situations of my sort. Conclusion first; buy this phone IF and only if you do not mind risking throwing away the money you paid. No product should come with such risk, but I assure you this one does. If you want to know why I can say this, then please keep on reading. Otherwise, just take my word for it. *If you're bothered, search SBE extranet; these are the people your device will be sent off to for repair work in case of a fault. See the reviews on Google? As of 10/12/14, there are 79 reviews and scores 1.7 stars out of 5. Would you want them to fiddle with your 500 pounds?* I purchased this as soon as it was released, started using from early October 2014. As my previous review states, it was a brilliant phone; only given that it works as advertised. After exactly a month(November 2014) Z3 abruptly stopped dead, screen backlight bright as ever but nothing shows on the display. Reboot, software installation, re-charge nothing helped so I shipped it off for a warranted repair service. (I will also warn you about the seller on amazon "total digital stores" which I chose due to its highly positive rating, but turns out they do not care at all about selling a defective product for 500GBP and refused to have it replaced/returned; apparently their return period is a laughable 14days) The repair took a week, and when I received it indeed, it was back and healthy. Now this isn't too bad; they may have sold me a faulty piece but such things do happen, and I won't blame too much on them as long as they do have substantial after -care service. But in 2weeks, the phone encountered the exact same issue. Naturally, doubtful of their "repair" work, I requested a replacement and not a repair. I mean, the same problem happening twice? in a month and a half? Already (supposedly) "repaired"? Such quality for a brand new 500GBP smartphone? Still, I contained my frustration and had it shipped off again for yet another repair as SONY insisted upon it. Now, it came back last week (4 Dec) and prepare to laugh people; it broke on the 6th of December. How can this not be enough evidence that the SONY repair centre engineers(...are they?) are not capable of handling this particular issue? Clearly, this calls for a replacement but I guess this is the difference between SONY and APPLE; to my surprise, they refused to replace it. **I will go on further with detail on the impeccable logic SONY has talked to me over the phone, but if this is getting tedious, here's my point; Sure, buy the Z3 or any SONY product. That is if and only if you are prepared to, in case given a defective product, to undergo the risk of handing it over to incompetent repair service and probably never get a replacement and pretty much end up paying 490GBP for a handful of "we're very sorry for the inconvenience but we won't do the most obvious thing that would fix the issue and keep trying the method that has clearly shown to be non-effective so here's a middle finger to you and we'll still take your money"** Be wise, this is powerful than the iPhone 6 but if you want to be stress-free in case of a defect, this as well as all SONY products are NOT the choice for you. Now, this sums up the conversation I had with SONY over the phone; Me:"This is the third fault in the past 2 months, and you're still telling me to send it for repair which has proven enough to be useless for this matter?" Sony:"Yes" Me:"It says in the warranty that you will either repair or replace it. Why not replace it already?" Sony:"We will replace it if our engineers are unable to fix it" Me:"Which clearly is the case given that 2 consecutive attempts have not worked" Sony:"No, it worked on the engineer's side and if it turned on without a problem on your side, then that's repaired" Me:"This is a smartphone. That definition of "repair" is silly because the last time it broke in 48hrs" Sony: "That still means it has been repaired" Me:"So if this goes on forever, say 10, 20 times of repair during the warranty period and if it turns on at least once, that's not enough to get it replaced?" Sony:"No. It's case by case" Me:"But it's the same device having the same problem. This should not at all be considered to be functioning as a smartphone for daily use, no? Even if they are distinct issues, 3 malfunctions in 2 months is more than enough to show that the phone is clearly vulnerable and faulty than what has been advertised" Sony:"There may be different causes so it is case by case" Me:"(Sigh, Man these people are like preprogrammed answering-machines)Sure it doesn't say in the warranty that there is a set number of repair attempts to be made before replacing the device but don't you think 3 repairs in 2 months is rather absurd?" Sony:"That's what the warranty is for. It covers you for 24 months"(i.e. we don't care about the inconvenience caused as long as we can keep hold of your money) So 1. Sony's definition of "repair" is apparently if it turns on at least once when it gets back to you and even if it doesn't a minute later, it still qualifies as "repaired." 2.There's a trap in the warranty; NO SET NUMBERS OF REPAIR ATTEMPTS BEFORE REPLACING. In other words, we don't have common sense or we don't care or we're both so you send in your device 10,20,30...100 times if need be as long as we can "repair" it(i.e. from the definition above, "as long as we can make it turn on at least once when it reaches your hand") Don't get me wrong, I am(was) a SONY lover my PC, tablet, HDD, phones were all SONY. But now that I have seen how truly ridiculous they are(if they really think they can get away with 500GBP of someone's money with a product and after-care/repair service like this) and how customer satisfaction is next to second on the priority list(you won't see this like I didn't until you get unlucky enough to be in a situation like this), I will, from now on, never purchase a SONY product and further do my best to prevent my friends, family anyone I can contact(Facebook, Youtube, amazon) from buying SONY products in order to save them from the risk of undergoing the same frustration, anger, and waste of time, energy and money as I have experienced. Sure SONY, you think "Yeh, sod off it doesn't even bug us to lose one customer out of millions." You'll see in the long run, you won't be losing just a handful. I have exams coming up now but once they're done, I'll keep sharing this horrible experience and exposing the true "SONY way" of treating customers. Still of course, it is for the potential customers to decide if they will try your products. But for their good, I will try my best to convince them otherwise. "Demand Great" was it? Z3? No, for me, this was "demand great, receive a bowl full of apologies" I have learned a hard lesson at a very expensive lesson fee, but it won't go in vain. I will spread word to the maximum of my power and ability for as long as SONY remains this way; deceptive promises, ludicrous logic, pathetic engineers. So I repeat one last time. Unless you want to risk what I have endured, leave this page now. Do not type "SONY" or "Xperia" or "VAIO" in the search bar. Other major smartphones may not stand out as much as the Z3 is advertised to, but believe me, that is a smarter choice and promised for a more stress-free future. And good thing I didn't buy the smartband talk, was very interested and determined to buy it but Z3 is already enough stress, not willing to agonize myself with more of their products and unreliable "service" (The following is my previous review when I was naive and before I found out how SONY is seriously lacking common sense) ------------- Incredibly nice piece of tech. The design is very good, the curves make it easier to hold with your hands. I can even do easy things with one hand, maybe for texting, two hands are needed. It's very light weight for its size and measure too. Screen is beautiful and vibrant, even web browsing gives you an eye opening screen display performance. Simply beautiful. The speed is very fast too; at least a 10000 times better than the previous phone I had, Xperia J. 3GB RAM is definitely doing it's job, I see I'm using 1.3-5 GB RAM just for apps in general, so 2GB phones are a bit too....meh. If you are having problems with the speed, it's either your wifi or 3G provider, not the phone's fault! In general,application usage is smooth and swift, stress-free. The sound quality is fair too, I have no complaints using it both via speakers and headphones. If you have a problem with this phone or not happy, either that you were unlucky and got a faulty one or you're looking for a phone from the future. Though...one complaint I might make to Sony, not the phone, is that .... why would you not release the protective case for Z3 at the same time? Having trouble getting it, I pre ordered the official Sony case on amazon but it takes a while until release and further more for arrival. Don't see the reason why not, I'd say it makes more sense, and smarter, to release it at the same time. So, no problem at all with the phone, cool just having it in your bag, convenient web browsing and app using. Fully recommended, especially for the price, unlike most of the over-priced phone out there with no-big-deal quality packed in.

Can't fault the phone. Everything as described, beautiful screen, razor sharp processor, great camera. Definitely recommend the phone. Also make sure you buy a case of some sort for this phone as the naked phone can be hard to grip/hold and the glass exterior and screen can be fragile causing fracture if dropped even lightly. Would not recommend this seller however. Initial handset sent to me worked fine, however the back casing of the phone was partially detached from the outside frame, and a small area of the screen display was defective. Not the seller's fault necessarily. Emailed the seller, got a replacement sent out. However, the replacement handset sent to me turned out to be an Xperia z3 prototype model, not meant for end users at all and should not have been sent. It didn't even have the CE label that all phones should have. This model runs at an earlier android version and cannot be updated. This is the seller's fault for sending this. Returned both of these handsets for a full refund and bought the phone again elsewhere. It must also be noted that the replacement handset was sent immediately and received within days of my request, and the refund was received again within days of the return of the two phones. Qudos to the seller for their quick customer service, despite their poor earlier behaviour.

My new Sony Z3 phone arrived today. Bought it after my Z2 had to go back to Amazon after it completely died on me after 4 months. Fortunately Amazon is giving a refund for it. First impressions. Feels more ergonomic than the Z2 and a bit lighter. Hoping the new flaps design will stay closed better - they look more promising. UPDATE: Been using for a few months now and the flaps and edges of phone are a big improvement over the Z2... I am much more confident of taking the phone near water than I was with the older version. Thankfully my Z2 magentic charging dock and sony z2 phone case still fit with the new Z3. I am alittle ddisappointed that at £500 the Z3 does not come with the NC31 noise cancelling earphones, whereas the Z2 did. That is another £20 cost I hadn't bargained for, as I like the noise cancellation feature on my train journeys. Shame I posted the old NC31 headphones back with the faulty Z2. You can see my Z2 review for a lot of the features such as sound, camera and video that I found great on the old Z2 and will be just as good here. I understand the screen is brighter now, so will add a further post once I have considered how noticeable such enhancements. Given the new phone uses a nano sim, as opposed to the micro sim in the Z2, it will take a few days until I get the new sized sim and start using it as an actual phone! 1st update: Got the nano sim today. Just needed to pop into Vodafone store and they replaced it straight away. Had to later take the sim out and reinsert it though for things to work. Used the phone today on hr long trip to London. Must say that the screen is fantastic! Whereas I used to struggle to view things when sun shining through the window, the bright screen coupled with matt screen protector means practically no reflection and great to use. Update: Had phone about 9m now. Still really liking it. Great for skygo, netflix and Web browsing, and yes, as a phone. Practised with the camera settings while on holiday this summer, and pleased with the manual setting, as it is possible to adjust the extent of exposure.

I did check this one and the Z3 and iphone6 out in the phone shops first before deciding on this one. The screen size suited me more than the larger Z3, and the price was way better than the iphone! Coming from a Nexus4, its actually a bit smaller. Others have given some very good reviews on the overall phone, and now I've now had it a couple of weeks, some initial thoughts on those areas that were important to me in a new phone: BUILD Its a good build but as other people have said, it is a bit slippery on the back. When I put it onto a table it does slide. I'm careful with phones but I bought a soft case anyway to stop this. Otherwise, its very good. A lot like the iphone5 in appearance really (which is a compliment). I do have to mention the waterproof aspect. The blurb says its good for 30mins in a pool (not the sea though). I decided to do a dunk test early on to see this if this really does work, and can happily say it really does work. Full immersion in a pint of water, dried it off and it was fine. I thought initially it was a bit of a novelty, but having been out in the pouring rain and taking pics, I can see the practical uses too. BATTERY This was one of the main reasons I got this My last phone (Nexus4) had an appalling battery and would last about 2/3 of a working day. With this one, it really is wonderful. I put it in stamina mode (which disables the data and wifi when the screen is off, but you can allow specific apps through anyway) with email set to bypass it. Unplugging on Saturday at 7am, it lasted through to Monday at 7am with about 25% remaining. Usage was fairly light, Typically, I' charging every other day. Charging itself is also quick. A half hour will easily do about 20%. The magnetic charge point is great as the micro usb slot is covered to ensure it remains water/dust proof. I bought the magnector lead and that works just fine. Its early days so I'll be interested in seeing how it does after 6 months, but early signs have me very impressed here. CAMERA Another big reason. I wanted a phone that would take decent shots quickly. A very unscientific test in a shop with the iphone 6 put the iphone as very(very) slightly quicker at taking a shot. I do think the iphones take great pics, and are so easy to use. I've only left it on auto mode so far, but picture quality wise, the Z3compact does a good job here. Standard point and click does an impressive job compared to my old Nexus4. There are a whole host of options to play with, which may be confusing for some, but so far, I've ignored them. SOFTWARE The Nexus4 I did have was a pure Google phone. I quite liked it, so I was pleased here that Sony haven;t really messed with the basic interface too much. There are a few smaller things Sony have improved. I can't compare to HTC sense of Samsung here, but its a pretty clean and intuitive interface. It does come with a load of Sony software, some useful, a lot not, Luckily, its easy to uninstall those you don't want, or at least disable if it won't let you uninstall. OVERALL Its met all aspects that were bugging me on my old phone. I'd say surpassed them in fact. I can honestly say this is a great phone. Recommended if you don't want a phone with a massive screen.

Previously owned an iPhone 5, then an Xperia Z1 and have now owned the Xperia Z3 since its launch It is the best phone I have ever owned. I have had zero faults or issues with it so far, it has been absolutely stellar in every respect. - noticeable jump in battery life, it is absolutely superb - screen is beautiful and goes very bright which makes it perfect for use in strong sunlight - camera is first class plus it has a fantastic dedicated camera button - I like the design changes such as the stereo speakers on the front of the phone - legendary build quality, the form factor is slim, curved edges and feels like totally quality product, worth its price - the phone is still very fast, and I realised recently that I've never had it crash on me so far - it has an even better waterproof rating then previous xperia phones. No worries using it in the rain - and very easy to transfer all content from old phones, iPhones onto the xperia thanks to the software Sony provides with the phone. But I think what has become the biggest pro point for me, (unexpectedly), is the look of the phone. The copper z3 seen in real life is possibly the most beautiful phone that has ever been designed, and it's a joy to use such a beautiful phone that stands out so much from everybody else's boring phones. Many people have made great comments to me about the phone, and ask about it, this phone will stand out from the crowd in a fantastic way. All in all the Xperia Z3 excels It is a phone that will make you proud to own, and it is top class in all areas 5/5

I wanted to upgrade my Samsung S3 mini that I've owned for the past three+ years, I set myself some strict requirements that the new handset needed to fulfill. Processor speed, battery life, price budget, ease of use, small enough to fit in any pocket comfortably but big enough to view emails etc clearly to name but a few, after researching online reviews and comparing handsets the Z3 compact shone through every time so I took the plunge. And i'm glad i did because after just 10 minutes of use I was hooked and wondered how I had put up with my old handset for so long, super fast processor speeds means no more waiting for screens to load or buffering, battery life with medium use via WiFi or 3G using Whatsapp messaging, checking facebook, emails and general surfing the net, 2days before needing a recharge. Slightly bigger than my old S3 but not uncomfortably so, it doesn't look like you have a laptop stuck to your ear whilst making or taking a call. Easy to navigate operating system with lots of added extras like the transfer system for contacts, diary dates, passwords etc which made the transition simple and hassle free. Would I recommend this handset ? definitely. Is it an improvement from my old handset ? 100% Not the cheapest sim free phone on the market but worth the extra price tag once you start to use it and personalize it. I hope this short review helps, there are many more good points I could ramble on about but the ones mentioned were some of the most important to me.