Sony Vaio Tap 11 Review

Introduction

Sony's engineering chops are really showing this year, across its phones, tablets and convertibles portfolio. The Vaio Tap 11 is just the next in the line of slim, sexy looking devices Sony churns out, and as far as Windows tablets go, it can brag with “the thinnest” title, too.

Despite the record for a full-size Windows tablet 0.39” (10mm) thickness, the Tap 11 manages to pack a Haswell processor line, 11” 1080p display, and plenty of storage. It also comes with an Active Pen stylus, and a completely detached keyboard that snaps on magnetically to serve as a screen cover, and charges from the tablet itself then. 

Surprisingly enough, given the specs and the fact that it runs fully featured Windows 8, not the RT version, Sony managed to keep the Tap 11 pricing competitive, starting it at $799. If it sounds too good to be true, there's the inevitable catch, as this slim body fits a smaller battery, and the Tap 11 battery life is half of said iOS or Android tablets. Will this turn out to be just an inconvenience compared to the tablet's other virtues? Read on to find out...

Design

Sony's creation here is one of the prettiest Windows tablets out there, period, and not only because it is so slim and comes at just 1.7 pounds (770 g). Sony has dressed the soft-feel magnesium alloy slate in white, and has included a kickstand to prop the display when using the tablet as a laptop, as the keyboard is not attached to it with hinges, or a dock connector. We can't say we dig the “unhinged” concept, with anything larger than 10”, as the screen part becomes somewhat uncomfortable to hold while watching videos on a long flight, for example. Sony's execution with the thin kickstand doesn't help in that respect, too, though it is good for desk work. 

When we saw the relatively thin kickstand initially, we had qualms about its rigidity, but the weight is very well balanced, and the tablet doesn't wobble even when you poke at the touchscreen. Moreover, it allows you to adjust the screen at any angle in an 85-degree range, unlike Microsoft's new Surface line, which limits you in two positions. You still have to keep prodding the back and adjust the kickstand each time you need a simple screen tilt, unlike a laptop where you simply push back or pull forward the screen part. 

The tablet and the keyboard only come together when the keyboard plops keys down on the screen, attaching itself with magnets as a protective cover, and only a small connector at the top goes into the tablet part for charging. 

You can tell a real Windows tablet from the bevy of ports and slots around it, and the Tap 11 doesn't disappoint here. Since the goal has obviously been to make a standalone slate, the screen part houses all the ports and slots, and the keyboard only serves for typing and screen protection. You get a full-size USB 3.0 port and mini HDMI under a protective lid on the left, as well as a SIM card and microSD slots up top, again with a protective flap, and next to a Sony Assist key that enters the BIOS and troubleshooting mode. 

The USB port has a sleep charge regime, so you can top off your electronics from it even when the tablet is not active. The very short and stubby plug of the wall charger feels a bit insecure, though the purpose of this has been to prevent the tablet from flying off your desk when you trip in the power cord. The power brick has a separate USB port, too, so you can charge a phone, for example, while juicing the tablet.

The power/lock key and the volume rocker on the right are easy to feel and press, with nice clicky feedback. The circular metallic lock key is done in the Omnibalance design tradition of recent Xperia phones and tablets, immediately implying this tablet is a Sony, regardless of the operating system. We get a physical home key with the Windows logo on it underneath the display, which is a bit too recessed and hard to easily press, with shallow tactile feedback.

Magnetic keyboard

The keyboard is rather thin in its turn, and with brushed aluminum looks on the back. It snaps magnetically onto the display, serving as a screen protector. The keys are recessed, so you needn't worry they'll scratch the panel, and there is a nice touchpad in the middle of the palm rest, with clicky one-piece mouse keys underneath. The touchpad dots are slightly elevated to mark its existence, but otherwise patterned in the palm rest's color, giving the keyboard an uninterrupted look.

The Bluetooth keyboard is just 4.5mm thick, so even when it's tacked on, the Vaio Tap 11 is still thinner than an ultrabook. Decked up in white with aluminum back, it looks rather nice with its chiclet buttons, and despite the thin frame, we get decent 1mm of key travel, making it very suitable for some serious typing. There aren't any charging ports around it, which probably contributed to the slim profile, and the keyboard latches onto a small three-prong dock connector in the tablet itself, juicing up from it when it serves as a display cover. It has an on/off slider at the top, along with an LED charging status indicator.

Active Pen input

The other input method Sony provides with the Tap 11 is a metal Active Pen stylus, powered by a small AAAA battery inside. It doesn't have a silo to become integral part of the tablet, but rather a clip-on holder, which can be a bit flimsy, so you have to keep it in mind always. Sony's responsive digitizer allows you to preview content such as titles, messages or pics, by just hovering the stylus over, similar to Samsung's Air View feature on the Note line. Sony has preinstalled apps like Note Anytime, which are meant for stylus use and let you quickly jot down notes, annotate with VAIO Paper, clip pics and web site content with the VAIO Clip app, or straight out draw on the display.

Display

The 11.6” Triluminous LCD display of Sony is with the pretty 1920x1080 pixels of resolution, returning 190 pixel per inch count. Granted, there are tablets with much higher pixel density out there, but for most every need 1080p is more than enough on such a screen size.

The panel sports flashy, somewhat oversaturated colors, especially when running media, and deep enough black levels for an LCD screen, which make video playback a joy. Brightness levels are pretty high for a tablet, and screen reflections are kept in check, so when you need to take it outside, the Vaio Tap 11 won't disappoint. 

Viewing angles are also great, with barely a shift in brightness and contrast, even at extreme angles. High-res tablets like the Vaio Tap 11 are worth it for their screen alone, especially if you are coming from a crappy laptop HD display of yesteryear, where a movie can be watched by only one person, for example, as the slightest screen tilt deteriorates the picture badly.

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Review

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Introduction

Last year marked the time when phablets ganged up on the 6” display diagonal barrier, and the barren at the time market niche, suddenly started teeming with competition from every major manufacturer, like Samsung, HTC, LG and Nokia. Sony outed the jaw-dropping 6.4” Z Ultra phablet then, cramming top-shelf specs in an ultrathin, waterproof body.

This year, Sony is on a quest to conquer the midrange in the category, with the Xperia T2 Ultra - a 6” handset with a more affordable price tag that features a 720p screen, and a Snapdragon 400 processor, but sweetens the pot with a 13 MP camera, and a large battery. Can this price-to-specs combination make the T2 Ultra take the phablet universe by storm? Let's find out...

In the box

• In-ear stereo headphones
• microUSB cable
• Wall charger
• Warranty and information leaflets

Design

There's no going around how big the T2 Ultra is – it is a 6” phablet. Thankfully, it's also thin and light.

There's no escaping the fact that the T2 Ultra is a giant handset, like the rest of its fellow 6-inchers. It is about the size of the HTC One max, and is taller, but less wide than the Lumia 1520. These phones' dimensions make the 5.9”G Pro 2 appear acceptable, for instance, and LG's phone is by no means something to carry around comfortably. Sony, however, made the phablet the slimmest of them all, at 0.3” (7.65mm), and comparatively light for such a big device, at 6 oz (172g), so at least lugging it around won't be a literal burden. You can forget about one-handed operation, though, this thing has to be held and managed with both palms the vast majority of the time spent with it.

The phone is all around plastic, with the side rim trying to imitate metal with limited success. There are two speaker grills at the front, but only the top one houses an earpiece, while the bottom grill just hides the main microphone, which is aided by a second one on the back, for noise-canceling purposes. The back cover is not removable, and the 3000 mAh battery is sealed inside. That same back cover is made of glossy plastic that is a fingerprint and pocket lint magnet, attracting every piece of thread thrown at it, so it has to be wiped often. We have the white version, so we can only imagine how the back of a black T2 Ultra will look like after some time spent with the handset. The T2 Ultra isn't waterproof like the Z Ultra, but Sony kept the protective flaps over the card slots for a more uniform look on the sides. We have the dual SIM version, so on the right are the two microSIM card slots, covered with a flap. Further down below are the power/lock key, the volume rocker, and the two-stage camera shutter key, all of which feel a bit cheap and flimsy, with shallow tactile feedback. The left houses the memory card slot, as well as an open microUSB port up top, which makes the phablet a bit uncomfortable to use with the charging cable plugged in.

Display

What the 6” screen lacks in pixel density, it somewhat makes up for in color presentation, brightness, and viewing angles.

The screen is where it's at with those 6-inchers, but the 720x1280 pixels of resolution on the Triluminos display of the T2 Ultra would be disappointing for some. The panel is with a 245 ppi pixel density, which would be deemed decent just a year ago, but now is somewhat aging. Small detail and zoomed-out text in the browser appear jagged, and not as discernible as on a 1080p display. It's not that bad, though, as you'd be looking at the T2 Ultra further afar from your eyes than, say, you would do with a 5-incher, so for the general user this resolution would be fine – if not with small text, then with pictures and video.

We measured the screen's color temperature to be 7071K - pretty close to the reference 6500K, so the whites appears right on the spot and not cold. Color representation is slightly off on the phablet, predominantly with the greens, which appear a tad oversaturated, but overall the display looks good, and only a picky eye would notice. Another strong point is the screen's brightness, which we measured as 508 nits – on the high mark for a good LCD display. Unfortunately, the panel's coating is rather reflective, so outside under direct sunlight you may have too much light bouncing back to your eyes if you don't hold it at the right angle. The viewing angles are a bit more narrow than on the best IPS-LCD panels, but still very good, and a far cry from the poor ones on the Xperia Z or Z1.

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Review

Introduction

Well, we've asked for it, and a smartphone maker has finally delivered. A truly high-end Android phone in a compact body – that's what we've been looking for time and time again, but all there was out there were those 5” beasts and their smaller, weaker sidekicks. Now that Sony has stepped forth with exactly the type of proposition we've been yearning for, though, it appears there's a new question we have to ask ourselves – are we ready to leave the 5” displays that we've just started to get used to, in exchange for the comfort that a smaller phone would bring?

We don't necessarily have to view the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact as an alternative to the popular Android flagships that are currently available. There is another function that Sony's latest handset might be willing to perform, and that is to compete with the iPhone 5s – not the way other Android flagships do (which is by differentiation), but by facing it directly and fighting for the very same customers. While this certainly doesn't sound like an easy challenge (we can't think of other phones that have tried to do it – besides the early Androids, and those failed miserably), the Xperia Z1 Compact seems surprisingly fit for the task, as it's got both the looks and the heart of a winner.

So, two questions that we'll seek to answer: the Xperia Z1 Compact as an alternative to an Android flagship, and the Xperia Z1 Compact as an iPhone rival. Let's get going!

Design

Sony's beautiful OmniBalance design in an appropriate form

The Xperia Z1's glass-and-metal design is undoubtedly beautiful, but the stylish, rectangular shape and sizable bezels have ultimately resulted in a gadget that is much more difficult to handle and carry in a pocket than many of the other offerings in the same class. As far as looks go – yes, Sony's so-called OmniBalance design is very appealing, however, the Z1's massive footprint has made it a bit difficult to enjoy.

All of this means that the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is just the right size to showcase Sony's premium design in its finest form. Now that having a bit of an extra bezel around the screen isn't such a big deal, we're simply delighted to hold and interact with the classy exterior of the Xperia Z1 Compact. The front side is made of durable glass, while the back uses a plastic material. The surrounding frame is made of sturdy metal. As a result, the Z1 Compact is a beautiful product with a high-quality construction that can easily best most of the competition.

The physical keys of the phone are mostly well-made, though the volume rocker could, indeed, be better. Still, the power/lock key and the two-step camera shutter react well to the touch, so you should have much trouble in this department.

In terms of dimensions, the Xperia Z1 Compact (5.00 x 2.56 x 0.37 inches (127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm)) is significantly smaller than the other high-end Android handsets. For example, here are the dimensions of the Xperia Z1: (5.69 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches (144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5 mm)), and of the Galaxy S4: (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches (136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm)). Yes, the Xperia Z1 Compact is slightly thicker than most flagships, but overall, it's considerably smaller. And, just in case some of us have forgotten the advantages to having a smartphone that isn't as big as a chopping board, we'll have to say that using such a compact handset is definitely easier, mostly due to the fact that you can easily operate it even with one hand only. Plus, it takes less space, and it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable when you want to sit down, while it's still in your pocket.

If we have to compare the Z1 Compact directly to the iPhone 5s, we find that Sony's marvel is just a bit bigger than Apple's fingerprint-identifying jewel. However, let's not forget the fact that the Z1 Compact sports a slightly larger screen, which brings us to..

Display

Sony has finally embraced IPS – the LCD technology that makes this the company's best mobile screen yet.

There's no denying – after so much time, going back to a 4.3” screen on an Android smartphone feels a bit weird, but this only lasts for a day or so. It's safe to say that re-adapting to a 4.3” panel is about as easy as it is to adapting to a 5” one. Sure, staring at the Z1 Compact's relatively small screen for longer periods of time may tire your eyes quicker than doing so with a larger display, but unless you are a very heavy user, the difference in the overall experience will be close to negligible.

If someone's willing to view the Z1 Compact's 720 x 1280 screen resolution as a compromise, we'd have to disagree, because at 4.3 inches, that works out to a fairly high pixel density of 342 ppi (versus 326 ppi for the iPhone 5s). The image isn't as perfectly clear as on a 1080p screen, but once again, the difference is more than negligible. Everything looks super-clean and easily readable on the Z1 Compact's display.
What we're especially glad to report, though, is that Sony has finally embraced IPS technology, which means that the company's high-end phones will no longer suffer from poor viewing angles and insufficient color vibrancy. It's a much-needed tech in a modern smartphone, and we're glad that Sony has finally integrated this must-have feature. Here's to hoping that the company will keep outfitting its future devices with IPS (in-plane switching) as well!

The Xperia Z1 Compact is equipped with one rather potent display. The 4.3” panel has a maximum brightness of 515 nits, which is more than what most Android flagship phones can offer you. However, the screen can't get very dim, meaning that it might be a bit uncomfortable to read in the dark. Color temperature is around the decent 7200K zone. This translates to an image that appears just slightly colder than what's considered the reference point: 6500K. To give you some perspective, the iPhone 5s' color temperature is about 7150K – and it has an awesome display, so the Z1 Compact certainly doesn't disappoint. Delta E (grayscale), though, is a bit high, at 5.11. It's still decent, but it shows that there's some brightness disbalance, which is also visible in the gamma of 2.68. The Z1 Compact tends to display some of the darker areas a bit darker than they should be, potentially resulting in some lost detail in the shadows (the dark areas of images). In terms of colors, the Xperia Z1 Compact's IPS screen manages to stay away from any significant deviations from the correct values (Delta E rgbcmy of 5.06). Color gamut range is a bit bigger than the reference, sRGB range (110% of sRGB), though the display's actual coverage of the sRGB standard's colors stands at 97%. For the most true-to-life color experience, it's recommended that these two numbers (110% and 97%) are as close as possible to 100%, and in this case, they aren't quite there. Finally, viewing angles are good enough with the Z1 Compact – and much better than those of the other Xperia handsets.

Sony Xperia Z2 Review

Introduction

Sony the underdog. That's not Sony's official nickname in the mobile industry, buy it might have as well been, given that the company has long struggled to return to prominence in a market dominated by... well, Samsung and Apple. Ever since current CEO Kazuo Hirai took the helm at the company, though, Sony has been slowly but surely clawing its way up the food-chain. It all started with a solid foundation in the Xperia Z. However, Sony's new boss didn't just direct the company to craft a solid piece of machinery – he was well aware that the short-term success that comes with a single smartphone model won't be enough to resurrect the company.

Behind the scenes, Sony was instructed to adopt healthy design principles that would allow it to build upon the success of the strong foundation. With uniformity and simplicity in mind, Sony's engineering team went on to improve the Z's formula with the Z1; however, the new model didn't came a full year later, as it was customary for the industry, but rather – just half a year later. The shortened upgrade period allowed Sony to flexibly evolve its top smartphone offering – reacting to market feedback and keeping up with technology in a quick and timely manner. Still, while the Xperia Z1 managed to further solidify the company's new image, it wasn't quite the breakthrough success it needed it to be. Another half a year later, though, and it seems that Sony has finally positioned itself at a vantage point. At MWC 2014, the Xperia Z2 was announced to substantial critical and consumer acclaim. With a design that builds upon the Z1's fancy glass-and-metal body, as well as a top-notch specs sheet that leaves little to no room for criticism (in its stricter form), the Xperia Z2 turned out to be a surprisingly formidable challenger for theSamsung Galaxy S5 – a phone which many thought would be the juggernaut of 2014. Needless to say, the Galaxy S5 is already available and it's said to be selling very well; however, after some short delays, the Sony Xperia Z2 has now joined the fray as well, as it's becoming available to customers in an increasing number of countries.

The time has come to see if Sony has gained enough momentum to challenge Samsung for the top. 5.2 inches of IPS screen, Snapdragon 801 processor, 20.7 MP camera, 3200 mAh battery, microSD card slot – it seems next to impossible to find a weak spot in the Xperia Z2's armor (which is water-proof, by the way). Well, let's see if it's really so unyielding then!

Design

Solid build and exquisite looks – these are the virtues of the Xperia Z2's design.

Staying true to Sony's successful design language, the Xperia Z2's exterior is mostly made of glass, with a nice metal frame adding contrast and integrity to the body. It's not really exactly the same design, though. While the contrasting, gray metal elements covered the Xperia Z1's edges, in the Xperia Z2, the metal area is the central part of the frame. This creates a more iPhone 4-like appearance, and it's actually quite likable. It does make the Z2 look cooler than the Z1, so it's a job well done by Sony in this department.

In terms of size, the Xperia Z2 is a rather big phone, just like its predecessor. Once again, there has been some small tweaking of the design, as the Z2 is slightly higher than the Z1, but also ever so slightly narrower and thinner. Having a very long phone (5.78" / 146.8 mm) isn't so cool, but having a very wide phone (2.89” / 73.3 mm) is even worse, as it makes it more difficult to hold, so we don't mind these latest tweaks to the dimensions of the Sony flagship. Still, it's a very big and relatively heavy phone, with all the practical annoyances that this brings. Thankfully, the Sony Xperia Z2 isn't a large handset just for the sake of it, as it comes with a rather large display. But more on that in a while.

The metal frame is also where some key elements lie. First and probably most important is the power/lock key, which is protruding from the surface and is very easy to find by touch. Right next to it is the smallish volume rocker, and near the bottom edge of the right hand side is the two-step camera shutter. Sadly, none of the physical buttons, except for the camera shutter, function very well. They are all somewhat shallow and not clicky. The two-step camera key isn't particularly great either, but it's decent and gets the job done. On the opposite side is where you'll see the proprietary dock connector, sitting completely exposed there, as if some part that's used to cover it is missing. Thankfully, at least the parts used to cover the microSIM card slot, microUSB and microSD card slot are there, providing a uniform look and enabling water- and dust-resistance for the handset.

Speaking of ruggedness, the Sony Xperia Z2 is IP 58-certified. This means it's considered completely water-proof and very dust-resistant. Well, it's mostly not a good idea to just leave it in a glass of water for the night, or to go to the beach and put the phone on the sand, but generally, you should have the peace of mind that you can only have with a truly rugged device, such as the Xperia Z2.

Other design elements of note in the Z2 are its front-facing stereo speakers – always a much-appreciated affair, as well as the 20.7 MP G lens camera with LED flash on the back. There's a hole for a lanyard in the bottom-left corner, while the top edge opposite to it houses the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

All in all, it's a decent experience to hold and work with the Sony Xperia Z2. Due to its size, the handset is definitely clunky, but the quality materials and stylish exterior kind of make up for it.

Display

Larger-than-life display with LCD IPS technology – exactly what Sony fans wanted.

A massive upgrade – that's how we'd describe the Xperia Z2's screen, after comparing it with last year's Z1. Finally, Sony's finest has embraced the beloved IPS (in-plane switching) technology, in order to deliver a superb viewing experience, with eye-catching color reproduction and viewing angles that are on par with most of the competition.

The 5.2” panel has a standard high-end resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. The resulting pixel density is 424 ppi – more than enough to guarantee an extremely clean picture quality. An interesting detail that Sony touts is the company's Triluminos display tech featuring the so-called Live Colour LEDs. What it does is that it uses blue LEDs in combination with red and green phosphor and color filters in order to display better red and green colors, all of which supposedly working towards achieving a brighter, deeper, and truer-to-life image, with a wide range of displayable colors.

The display has a tolerable maximum brightness of about 460 nits, resulting in a decent outdoor experience. We wouldn't advise you to read a book on your phone while having some relax-time in the park, but it's good enough for a quick email check or a web look-up. Sadly, minimum brightness is a bit high, at 16 nits, so viewing in the dark may not be as comfortable as with some other phones like the iPhone 5s (5 nits) or 

Color temperature of the Sony Xperia Z2's 5.2” screen is about 6900 K, which is pretty close to the reference point of 6500 K. This means that colors, as a whole, will appear just a bit colder (bluer) than what's said to be the standard, but the deviation won't be that big. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a color temperature of 8100 K (when using Standard display mode), the iPhone 5s' one is 7150 K, and the One (M8)'s one is also about 7150 K.

The average gamma of the Z2 screen is 2.59 (reference value is 2.2). This makes this aspect of the screen somewhat inaccurate, as the brightest areas (highlights) of the content you're viewing won't appear as bright as they should be, but slightly darker. High gamma usually makes for a slightly more contrasty image, and we mean slightly more contrasty than normal, so that's probably what Sony was looking for. As we can see from the CIE chart, which is accessible through the 'Display measurements and quality' data below, it really wasn't Sony's goal to go after a realistic and standard-conforming image. Instead, it has boosted the colors of its flagship, achieving a more vibrant and saturated color reproduction than what's outlined by the globally-accepted sRGB standard. That's all well and good if you just want to enjoy your content, but one should still keep in mind that this screen will not be able to reproduce colors exactly the way they were meant to be seen, since you can't just color-calibrate the display of your phone the same way you can calibrate your PC's monitor, for example. Anyway, the Delta E (grayscale) of the Z2 proudly stands at 2.95, suggesting a rather good balance between the three primary colors: red, green, and blue.

Needless to say, the Sony Xperia Z2 also features the so-called X-Reality image enhancement engine, which makes sure to add some oomph to images and videos you're viewing on the phone, in the form of sharpness, contrast and color tweaks. X-Reality does make the photo and video content you're viewing on the phone look more vibrant, but most of it as at the expense of color accuracy.

At the end of the day, what you should take away from all this data is that the Triluminos-powered screen of the Xperia Z2 is definitely a very high-quality one, though not exactly as accurate as we'd have liked it to be (of course, it's way more accurate than Samsung's AMOLED displays). There's still some room for improvement ahead of Sony!

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact Review

1. 

Introduction

Roughly two months ago, Sony unwrapped its latest trio of devices – apart from the newestXperia Z3 flagship and its smaller-sized iteration, the Xperia Z3 Compact, the company also announced a new 8-inch tablet from the same device family. Dubbed the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, it's Sony's second slate for 2014, packing top-of-the-line hardware specs in a svelte water-tight body, alongside some of Sony's newest software features (such as Ultra Stamina mode) that arrived with the Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact. On paper, it looks as if this 8” tablet could be among the best slates money can buy you at the moment, but is this truly the case with the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact? Let's delve in and find out. 

In the box:

• tablet
• wall charger
• microUSB charging cable
• warranty and information leaflets

Design

A compact, light as a feather body meets Sony's OmniBalance design sans the premium feel

Sony's previous tablet, the 6.4mm-thin Xperia Z2 Tablet was the slimmest tablet available. Well, it has been now dethroned by the 6.1mmApple iPad Air 2 and a slew of others, but Sony's craftsmanship has once again proved that the company can continuously amp up its game. At 6.4mm, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is still among the most slender and compact 8-inch slates in the wild. It also tips the scales at merely 9.52 oz (270 g), which makes it as light as a feather. The slate is slightly tall, though, at 8.40” (213.4 mm), yet rather narrow at 4.87” (123.6mm). This makes it an exquisite catwalk star that is not afraid of the water, as it is IP65/68-certified, which is one of the highest ingress protection levels. This means that it will survive a water dip for up to 30 minutes in depths of no more than 1.5 meters. 

Once you take the Z3 Tablet Compact in the hand, you'll most probably feel as if you are holding a blown-up version of the Xperia Z3 smartphone. The OmniBalance design is omnipresent, yet the tablet does not have an all-glass back like the Xperia Z3/Z3 Compact, for better or for the worse. The rear of Sony's newest slate employs a soft plastic, which is pleasant to touch, provides a fair amount of grip, and virtually holds zero fingerprints. The same soft plastic material also encircles slight bits of the side frames of the device. Sony says that the very corners of the device are made of stainless steel, though they're indistinguishable from the gray plastic that is used in the side frames. The 6.4mm-thin side frames are definitely not as grippy as the back of the slate, mind you. The front of the tablet is, unsurprisingly, adorned with an all-glass panel. As a whole, holding and operating the slate is a pleasant experience.

One can find the speakers of the device at its top and bottom, neatly hidden between the side frames and the glass panel. At the right side of the tablet, we can find the power button and the volume rocker. Both are protruding outside the frame and are easy to find, yet the power button is a bit more wobbly than we'd like it to be. The audio jack can be found at the top of the right side frame of the tablet. In the meantime, the left side frame of the device provides access to the microSD and nano SIM slots, while the microUSB port is on the bottom frame of the 8-incher. All of these are protected by water-tight detachable flaps, which snap out easily despite the snug fitting in their respective housings. However, the slate does not feel as premium as some of its rivals (iPad mini, for example) – Sony could have done better. For example, adopting the glass back of the Xperia Z3/Z3 Compact would have been a more premium solution. 

It's not impossible to hold the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact with one hand in portrait orientation. However, it's extremely comfortable to hold the razor-thin device in landscape mode with both of your hands, as you can rest your thumbs at the bezels. Due to the small weight, toting it with a single hand in landscape orientation is convenient as well, though a little unwieldy.

Display

A mixed bag which performs surprisingly well in certain aspects, yet leaves a lot to be desired

The 8-inch IPS LCD display of the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has a resolution of 1200 x 1920 pixels. This works out a rather good pixel density of 283ppi, which is far from from some of the more pixel-rich rivals, yet Z3 Tablet Compact's Triluminos display is sharp enough and we had a relatively hard time discerning any individual pixels. 

The display once again employs Sony's Live Color LED technology, which promises a wider color range with better vibrancy and luminance aboard. The display is (typical for the Z3 line) once again way colder than we'd like it to be - with a color temperature of 9034K (far from the 6500K reference), the white is predominantly bluish. At the same time, its color accuracy is completely disappointing – its readings fail to match with almost all of the targets on the sRGB chart.

The default display mode, X-Reality, promises to deliver vibrant and sharp-looking images with enhanced contrast, but enabling or disabling it won't fix the domination of the blue color by a margin. It's also unnatural of Sony to expect its customers to tinker with the unfamiliar (for most) white balance settings of the display. All in all, the display bears a hefty improvement over Xperia Z2 Tablet's one (mostly in the viewing angles segment), yet it leaves a lot to be desired.

The display reflects quite a bit of light. Fortunately, it's bright enough – the slate achieved a maximum brightness of 590 nits during our benchmarks (as a side comparison the Apple iPad mini 2 stands at 450 nits), which means that using the tablet under direct sunlight is a hassle-free experience. The minimum brightness, on the other hand, stands at 14 nits and this will definitely make your eyes squint if you are using it right before you fall to sleep. The viewing angles of Z3 Tablet's Compact are excellent, and you'll hardly experience any color distortions.