Go ahead and really use it

Bigger and just as tough, the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is up to every task

 Sony’s mobile devices are vastly underrated. The Japanese powerhouse does have some really good stuff, but it’s just not getting traction. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is no exception.
The Tablet Compact was among the slew of Z3 gizmos Sony launched recently, and is the big brother of the lot — sort of like a stretched version of the Z3 smartphone. It still retains its smooth styling, though, like Sony’s power button on the centre of the right side — a personal fave. It’s also just slim enough to accommodate the 3.5mm headphone jack.
With its 8” Triluminos Display, holding it comfortably will depend on how large your hand is. Start it up and you’ll see a nice display but, for me, its vibrancy is a tad short compared to the tablets it competes with. It’s blessed with an 8.1MP main camera, and you can doodle around with Sony’s own app, just like the others in the Xperia range. It reacts rather quickly, but there are times it takes a little time to start up, so there’s a small chance you’ll miss something. Low light results are good enough.
As for battery life, an impressive 15 hours of video playback time is advertised; of course, there’s always that “actual times may vary” thing. Basically, you’ll need to tinker around with the settings to get that kind of battery life. In our own little video looping test — on full brightness — it dropped pretty quickly to 12 per cent. And yes, the highlight of it all is that it’s rated IP65 and IP68, meaning it is dust- and water-proof.
Much like what I did with the Z3 smartphone some time ago, I took it for a dip in my little aquarium at home and nothing went bonkers. Oh, and it’s compatible with PS4 Remote Play. Yippee!
AND SO…
There are a lot of positives with the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, but one drawback would be its price — there are others that offer the same for less, or more for the same price. The real plus is the water-proof feature, perfect for all those underwater pics this summer.  - alvin@khaleejtimes.com

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