Sony Xperia Z3 release date, news and features

I've been using a BlackBerry Curve for the past two years and what I'm really attached to is it's QWERTY keypad, the instant email notifications and ease of sending emails plus the copying, cutting and pasting functions.

I used to own a HTC touch screen before the BlackBerry and what annoyed me was that my cheeks would accidentally brush the End Call button when speaking to someone. This has been the main reason why I stick loyally to my BlackBerry. I can't avoid the fact that hardly anyone makes phones with QWERTY keypads anymore and I would have to make the inevitable change once my BlackBerry dies.

My research on phones begins today...Here's what I found on Techradar.com

After months of leaks and rumors Sony has unveiled its next flagship: the Xperia Z3. Despite all the speculation surrounding it there's not actually been as much buzz around the Z3 as there normally is with a high profile flagship, due in large part to the fact that rumors pointed to a device very similar to the Sony Xperia Z2.

As it turns out those rumors were right for the most part, but the Xperia Z3 is still an improvement in a handful of areas and even includes a few surprises. Here's everything you need to know.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The successor to the Sony Xperia Z2
• When is it out? Autumn 2014
• What will it cost? TBC, but probably similar to the Xperia Z2

Sony Xperia Z3 release date and price

This is still a bit of a mystery. Sony has announced that the Xperia Z3 will be launching globally from autumn 2014, but it hasn't got any more specific than that. It's just about autumn now though so we doubt we'll be kept waiting long - October makes the most sense.

The price is even more of a mystery in that Sony hasn't actually announced one. But it's bound to have a flagship price tag and we'd hazard a guess that it will probably be priced similarly to the Xperia Z2. We can tell you that when it goes on sale you'll have a choice of black, white, copper and silver green colours.

Sony Xperia Z3 design

The overall look of the Sony Xperia Z3 is almost identical to the Z2, with an aluminium frame, a tempered glass back and a symmetrical design. A PVD coating was rumoured, but that appears to be AWOL.

The placement of ports and buttons is much the same as the Xperia Z2 as well, with power, volume and camera shutter buttons along one side, along with a covered microSD card slot, a headphone jack at the top and dual front-facing stereo speakers, while if you flip the phone over there's a camera and flash on the top left corner, just like on the Z2.

The only real physical changes, other than a different selection of colours, are the dimensions and weight. The Sony Xperia Z3 is a super-slim 146 x 72 x 7.35mm and 152g, making it marginally smaller, slimmer and lighter than its predecessor.

The Sony Xperia Z3 is also ever so slightly more water and dust resistant than the Z2, with an IP65/68 rating, so you can feel even more confident about taking it swimming and then into a high pressure car wash, if that's really something that you want to do.

Sony Xperia Z3 display

It was rumored that the Sony Xperia Z3 would have an identical display to the Xperia Z2 and indeed it does, more or less, with a 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920 screen, for a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch.

That still puts it on a par with most flagship phones in terms of resolution and we didn't necessarily want it to be any bigger, but it pales in comparison to the QHD LG G3. Still, we were big fans of the Xperia Z2's screen and you can hardly expect enormous improvements just six months later.

However Sony is plugging it as having the brightest display of any leading smartphone, with 600 nits of brightness making it 50% brighter than the predecessor and should make it easier to use in bright sunlight.

Sony Xperia Z3 power

One area where the Sony Xperia Z3 has improved is in the power department, though still not by leaps and bounds. It has a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM, up from a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM on the Xperia Z2. It also has the same Adreno 330 GPU.

It would be great if Sony had stuck a Snapdragon 805 in there, but there's always the Z4 for that and on paper this should still be one of the most powerful smartphones around.

Sony Xperia Z3 operating system

The Sony Xperia Z3 runs Android 4.4.4 as you'd expect, but Sony has put its own interface over the top. However it's not a million miles away from stock Android, simply covering it with a Sony-themed skin and tweaking a few elements, much like the company has done with other phones.

A few apps and features of Sony's own making have been included too. There's Xperia Transfer for example, which makes it easy to transfer existing contacts, music and photos from your old Android, iOS or Windows Phonehandset.

The Sony Xperia Z3 also supports High-Resolution Audio, though you'll need compatible headphones to make use of it. More interestingly the Z3 includes Sony's DSEE HX technology, which allows it to upscale tracks that aren't in Hi-Res quality. Sony's noise cancelling technology is also present and correct in the Xperia Z3.

Sony Xperia Z3 camera

Sony's ever popular 20.7MP 1/2.3" ExmorRS camera has made a return on the Xperia Z3, but this time it includes a 25mm wide-angle Sony G Lens, so you can fit more into your shots. For the first time in a smartphone there's also ISO 12800 sensitivity, which should allow you to shoot in increased detail and capture superior low light shots.

The Xperia Z3 includes improved SteadyShot technology when shooting video, so it will better be able to compensate for camera shake and it can shoot in up to 4K resolution. There's also a 2.2MP front-facing camera which can shoot video in 1080p.

Sony has included some new camera modes too, such as 'Face in', which allows you to simultaneously capture an event and your reaction to it.

There's also 'AR fun' which allows you to add animations and scribbles to pictures, 'Movie Creator' which allows you to combine photos and videos into a movie, 'Multi-Camera' which allows you to film from multiple angles if you have more than one Xperia device and 'Sound Photo' which, well, adds sound to a photo.

Sony Xperia Z3 battery

The Xperia Z2 delivered solid battery life and we're expecting the Xperia Z3 to do a similarly good job, though its 3100mAh battery is actually 100mAh smaller than its predecessors.

Sony promises up to two days of life from it or more specifically up to 14 hours of talk time, 10 hours of video or 890 hours of standby and STAMINA mode makes a return, so if it gets desperately low and there's no charger to hand you can stretch it out further by turning off background functions.

Sony Xperia Z3 connectivity

Connectivity options are largely what you'd expect, with Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC all making an appearance. It also comes with 16 or 32GB of storage and a microSD card slot which supports cards of up to 128GB, so it's a full house really.

Yet that's not all, because the Sony Xperia Z3 also supports PS4 Remote Play. So in other words if you have a PlayStation 4 you can remotely play the games on your Z3's screen. Along with the Xperia Z3 Compact this is the only smartphone which currently offers that functionality.

• Stay tuned, because we're expecting a whole lot more from IFA 2014.

Source: James Rogerson for www.techradar.com