Amazed by iPhone 6?s reviews and sneak peaks? Well, the Sony Z3 will match it word for word. Be it design, looks or features, the Z3 is truly the most magnificent Android that was ever produced. After a long history of not making profits, the Japanese tech major has hit the bull?s eye with this device and it may soon drive up its profit shares at least in most emerging markets. But what is it that makes the device so special, let us take a closer look at it.
w Design and looks: Although the design is based on the Z1 model, the Z3 has curved edges and a metallic finish. Many may face problems with the metallic finish when it comes to grip but it is the same that gives the phone a bold new look. The phone sports a power button at the side, headphones jack at the top, volume controls just below the power button and a camera button below the volume control panel. The charging port is on the other side. Another new feature that Sony has added for the Z3 is the nano-SIM slot which comes along with a
microSD slot as in most Xperia flagship devices.
w Display: With a 5.20 inches touchscreen sporting a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels with 16 million colours, the Z3 brings to the table Sony?s X-Reality and Trilumious HD display for mobile that improves the viewing quality of photos and videos after you take them, giving you clearer, sharper and more natural. X-Reality for mobile is turned on by default, but you can turn it off if you want to reduce battery consumption.
The Xperia Z3 is one of the most waterproof and dust resistant phones in the market. It is IP65/IP68 rated, which means it can not only spend longer underwater (two metres for 60 minutes) but also is better able to withstand jets of water flung at it. It also has IP6X dust rating too, which has been added for a while to let you throw the phone into all manner of dusty environments and not have those pesky granules invade the phone?s innards. So basically you can stuff the Z3 in a rugged case for the weekend and you?ve got the smartphone that won?t crack, break or fall apart just because you fancy a spelunk.
w Hardware: Powered by a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and a 3 GB RAM, the phone doesn?t hang at all even when its data storage limits are pushed. While the internal storage is 16 GB, users have the option to expand external storage upto 128 GB with a microSD. Coming to connectivity, the Z3 supports 4G/LTE enabled for blazing fast internet speed along with NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Well if you ignore all that the Z3 has to
offer, you can?t ignore the camera. It is simply too sweet to let go. Yes, it has a 20.7 MP camera with Exmor RS technology via a G Lens. Sony has boosted the ISO settings to 12800 in
order to improve the low light performance of the phone. The wider shots certainly do add something to your photos. The best one can get from the camera is putting it on auto. In a world where the iPhone is the most popular camera, the need to offer a really powerful yet simple point and shoot experience has never been greater, so it?s good to see Sony making the jump for the Android. There are nearly eight modes in the camera and the social mode which allows users to share pictures on Facebook as soon as it is clicked has been retained from the older versions. The front camera, which is 2.2 megapixel, is also powerful and can help take excellent selfies.
w High resolution audio: There are somethings that don?t change and they shouldn?t like the Walkman tech for Sony. Once used a platform to sell music phones, the Walkman app is more competent than any other music players on the Android platform. Now, another addition to the party is high-res audio, which allows the use of both Hi-Fi quality files and the upscaling of normal tracks.
The latter, through a technology called DCEE HX, seems to work pretty well, but it was really hard to say definitively whether it made that much of a difference, as each change to the setting was followed by a two-second pause. Like the previous models, the adaptive sound has been retained which scales down music volume to protect the human ear.
w Apps and interface: The phone comes with a slew of apps. The addition seems to be the Sony TV channels app that lets you enjoy television on the go and get updates via the Web. There is again the Sony social life app and the Xperia Lounge. The phone comes preloaded with Kobo?the e-reader app, office suite, Line, Evernote, LinkedIn and AVG Anti-virus which were not seen in earlier models.
Sony knows that battery-life is a very important factor when it comes to smartphones and hence the Z3 has three power options mode?normal, stamina and
ultra-stamina mode. Users can choose their power options
depending on the use.
Verdict: The Z3 is an awesome device and can truly compete with the iPhone 6. The new design is the result of Sony?s chassis-folk finally getting it right, and if that camera can function better in low light then Sony might finally have made a class-leading cameraphone to rival a compact..
Estimated street price: Rs 51,990
