Which phone for me?

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oynaz

Platinum Member
May 14, 2003
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I am not paying for it, so price is irrelevant ;-)

But thanks for your input :)
 

Geekbabe

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 16, 1999
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www.theshoppinqueen.com
I did my fondling yesterday. Unfortunately, the Z3 and Z3c was not in stock yet, but of the remaining, the HTC One M8 was the best. Getting very close to too big, though. If the Z3 feels smaller, it might seal the deal.

My son has the M8 and loves it, the battery life and sound are quite good and he says it feels great in the hand.
 

oynaz

Platinum Member
May 14, 2003
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I finally got the chance to fondle the phones. The full-size flagships are simply too big, so I have narrowed it down to Samsung Galaxy Alpha or Sony Z3 Compact. Opinions?
 

Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
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I finally got the chance to fondle the phones. The full-size flagships are simply too big, so I have narrowed it down to Samsung Galaxy Alpha or Sony Z3 Compact. Opinions?

Of the two... Z3 Compact. Sony has a better handle on battery life, a superior camera and less irksome software. The Alpha is alright, but it really comes across as Samsung betraying its Apple envy (again) and making a lot of sacrifices in the process.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
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Z3c for much better battery and expandable storage, Alpha for better headphone output (see links above re: subpar Sony audio performance). I'd test-drive the Z3c with your earphones and music before buying it.
 

oynaz

Platinum Member
May 14, 2003
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Z3c for much better battery and expandable storage, Alpha for better headphone output (see links above re: subpar Sony audio performance). I'd test-drive the Z3c with your earphones and music before buying it.

As I read the audio review, the Sony is actually quite good? Or am I missing something? I am not a native English speaker, so sometimes meanings get lost.

Very good audio output

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact did fairly well in our audio quality test. The smartphone did a great job in the first test, where it's connected to an active external amplifier and posted very scores top to bottom. Its volume levels come up somewhat short of the average though and we have to point out its score were slightly inferior to those of the Xperia Z1 Compact.

Plugging in a pair of headphones did harm the stereo crosstalk notably, but had no effect on the other aspects of the performance. Once more, the volume levels were nothing worth writing home about, though, so we have to deduct a couple of points and give this one a very good, rather than a perfect mark.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
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As I read the audio review, the Sony is actually quite good? Or am I missing something? I am not a native English speaker, so sometimes meanings get lost.
They use nice language, but if you look at the measurements there hasn't been a flagship with such poor S/N, dynamic range, and crosstalk in years.
 

oynaz

Platinum Member
May 14, 2003
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They use nice language, but if you look at the measurements there hasn't been a flagship with such poor S/N, dynamic range, and crosstalk in years.

You are right and that is rather odd. I wonder if that is some mistake?

Anyway, I brought my headphones (Beyerdynamic DT 770 80 ohm) and listened to the Z3C, and it performs fine with audio. Definitely better than my S3 and my old iPod, both of which are underpowered for the DT770s, and on par with my wife's HTC One M7 (which is a great phone, you are right about that Denithor. If they had had stuffed the M8's hardware into the M7's body, it would have beed a no brainer).
So, I decided to get the Sony Z3C. Thanks for help everyone.