Sony Xperia Z3 8-inch Tablet Compact (Black) - (Qualcomm 2.5GHz, 3GB RAM, 16GB Memory, Android 4.4 Kitkat)

Heres a review for the LTE model1st let's get the bad points out of the way.The power button is in a rediculous position, right where you hold the tablet.Too much bloat, not enough useful features.No headphones included, the LTE model is £400 Sony!!!.No magnetic charger lead or stand included either.Tabs cover slots which are also recessed making removal of cards and sims a bit of a pain.Vibration device is noisy.LTE requires a nano sim card.Now the good points.Super slim and lightExcellent quality screenSignal strength is better than any phone I've ever ownedSpeakers are forward facing unlike most rivals.Now my thoughts.Having gone through several tablets over the past few years (Original Samsung 10.1 Tab, 3 Nexus 7's and a LG Gpad 8.3) I've grown to use them pretty much constantly for leisure use but due to an upgrade in my accountancy software, I wanted one for business to save me carrying around a laptop to produce invoices. I looked at several options and decided that if possible I'd just like to carry the one device rather than tether a tablet to my phone. The Z3 stood out head and shoulders above everything else because it does calls as well as data meaning no rip off data only sim card required, I could swop between phone and tablet at my convenience - once I got a nano sim off my provider, quite why Sony went down that route is ridiculous...The tablet doesn't do normal phone options, you cannot hold the tablet to your ear but that said you'd look pretty stupid doing so. You have a choice of either speakerphone output or via Bluetooth or headphones - neither of which are supplied in the box! This bit got my goat a bit as it is penny pinching from Sony, headphones from my LG G3 worked in a fashion but the keys on them did not, so that was another £26.30 for some NC31's that are designed to go with the later Z series of devices. Next problem I came across is the USB connector, not only is it hidden by a flap but it is also difficult inserting the cable in poor light as it is recessed quite a bit in the unit. Sony fit a proprietary magnetic connector which is a doddle to use but again no dock or lead or even adaptor is included so that's another £24.95 for a dock and £9.95 for a 3rd party lead to make use of the function.But enough of the penny pinching from Sony, whad do I think of the tablet to use?Short answer is its brilliant. Yes it doesn't have the high resolution screen of some of its rivals, nor next gen tech such as OLED but it is VERY bright on high settings so so problem viewing in daylight and the colours are very good and blacks pretty black - the only issue I've had is with screen glare so yup, another £3 on a couple of matt anti glare screen protectors... The performance of the tablet is excellent, next to no lag and as mentioned earlier the signal strength is better than any smart phone I've ever owned, I get a signal where I couldn't previously with this and 4G signals remain accessible much further away from their broadcasting masts than they did before.Sony has (as most manufacturers do) stuck a load of bloatware on the device which means of the 16gb of memory less than 12gb is available - still, could be worse eh Samsung! Also in sticking on all this bloatware hardly any of it is useful, there's no multiscreen options, no caller blocking, no caller announcement, so these need to be added (Mr Number and ecid work fine doing this job), no decent note taking software and the video player lacks a load of codecs (unsurprisingly seeing as Sony are involved in Hollywood's rip off business) so duplication of their apps is required and as per usual you cannot remove theirs. I have also found that because of where they decided to stick the power button and the device having thin side bezels icons on your home screens have a habit of moving accidentally because theirs no way to lock their position - another oversight by Sony. Battery life seems about on par with what Sony claimed, I am getting around 10 hours daily use, far better than I have previously experienced with my other tablets and I should mention that the noise cancelling feature works well with the (OPTIONAL) NC31 headphones and not only that but the volume has quite a healthy amount of oomph - something that's usually lacking in today's H&S madness obsessed world.The form factor of the tablet is however its by far it biggest strength, it might be 8" in size but the tablet fits easily into my jacket pockets and also the side pockets of my work pants and it is light enough to hold for long periods but could do with being a bit more grippy so again I've ordered a silicone skin...Overall I strongly recommend one of these, it isn't perfect and Sony are asking a lot and supplying little in the box but overall it is the best tablet I've owned or used to date and as one that can replace a phone as well then its got to be a good buy.

I bought one of the second hand like new display models and it came like brand new, the only real difference being the fact that the box was not sealed. But the device works perfectly and was in pristine condition. So far I've had an iPad gen 1, iPad mini and iPad Air but decided to give Android a shot so I chose the Z3 and am glad I made the switch. The main reason is that I'm a huge gamer and the PS4 remote play was a big incentive in choosing a Sony tablet over any other Android. Although it's not as good as playing on the TV, I find that the remote play function works great and is really handy especially when someone else is using the TV. Also, the added advantage of being able to play in bed instead of having to sit in the living room is a bonus. There is the Playstation app pre-installed as well as a PS video app, but you have to download the remote play app (free).In terms of size, like it says in the name it is very compact and fits easily into any handbag (and also my white coat pocket). Compared to the iPad mini, the Xperia is very thin and light so it doesn't weigh you down on the go. When I started it up, there were a lot of apps pre-installed and some of which I don't use so I just deleted them. Customising is very easy to do, and there are a number of themes albeit not many available to download from the play store. Also, there are a few animated backgrounds too. It's very easy to use, customise the home screen, add widgets and shortcuts etc. which is something I really like which is not a feature on iOS devices. The memory is only 16GB, but it takes a micro SD up to 128GB, and file transfer is easily done from any computer. The Xperia software automatically downloads once you plug it into your computer. You can also transfer data from an old iOS device as well as Android, so it makes the transition a lot easier.A couple of reviews mentioned a lot of bloating, but Sony seemed to have released a few updates to reduce this. The device is very fast and fluid, the display is excellent and pretty much on par with Apple. The batter life is also pretty long and can be extended if you put it on batter saving mode. I like the feature of being able to set it so that the it automatically goes into batter saving mode at any % you like, be it 30% or even 70%. Comparing it to the iPad mini, it does not have a finger tip sensor to unlock it, although you can set a passcode. The touch screen is equally as sensitive, which is great. In terms of the power button, it's in an awkward place (about 1/4 of the way down the right side ) and I find that I accidentally press it when holding the tablet. It would have been easier if it were at the top instead. Another issue is that I find it hard to create folders for my apps in that they keep sliding all over the place whenever I try, so I find myself fighting with them to get into a folder without wiggling away.Overall: Excellent product and a great choice of PS4 owners out there. Also very compact but not too small, fluid and fast with a lot of room for customisation.Quality: 5/5Speed and Functionality: 5/5Ease of use: 4/5Ergonomics: 4.5/5Design: 5/5PS4 Remote play: 4/5