Sony Xperia Z5 Compact E5823 2GB/32GB 23MP 4.6-inch 4G LTE Factory Unlocked (BLACK) - International Stock No Warranty

Phone arrived in 2 days. I am a US customer looking to use the unit with ATT. I received it on Tuesday, and end of day Thursday today, the phone is fully setup customized and functional, but for the carrier. I had some lingering items to wrap up on my old phone, and today I'll be getting ATT service connected. My goal was to keep a smaller phone (~4.5") like my previous unit to preserve the 1 handed capability, and convenient pocket fit. I don't want a tablet for a phone, and have struggled to find a good modern model match for my needs. The Z5C looked to be a great match, and so far, it's a perfect fit for me.Package appeared to have been opened, however carefully, and then re-sealed. I suspect the reason it was opened was the addition of a US plug adapter for the EU style plug the unit comes with, as it does not look like a Sony converter. Where the phone uses a pretty standard 5V, 1500mA mUSB charger, of which I have a bunch, this wasn't a big deal. All other packages in the box (headphones, USB cable, extra earbud cushions, documents) were all intact and looked brand new, untouched. Phone itself still had original sticky film and packaging, and was in perfect new condition.Phone turned right on, and was ~60% charged. I was prompted quickly to change the language (second or third screen) as I ran setup from German to English I organized the OS as I prefer my phone laid out and set up and connected to wifi. The phone immediately ran two major system updates in parallel, and then after a restart, ran another. I'm now on Android 5.1.1, and admittedly, I'm not sure what it shipped with before the updates as they happened so fast.I love the square edges, which allow for some grip in a smartphone world where everything is slick and like holding onto a watersock if you don't have a cover on it. The phone looks like a sleek, black slab of sexy tech. Seriously, what a cool looking, striking design. The photos don't do it justice. I did buy a low profile cover for drop protection, and have used it intermittently. Compared to the IPhone 6 or the new Galaxy Edge, this is much easier to hold one handed without worrying about it squirting onto the pavement. That said, it's still a pretty slick and smooth piece of hardware in general, and I'd suggest a cover/protection.The phone is a great unit, and a perfect fit for my needs. I love the frosted glass back, the large screen/body ratio, and the charcoal colored polycarb frame.. I know some people take stars away for not liking the case/finish (non metal), but I find that odd. If you don't like it, why'd you drop $500 on it? It's a first class material, so the rest is just opinion. It actually has a pretty metallic look anyways. No one's going to look at this and say "man, what a cheap looking phone. I promise. Phone does get a bit warm (which I really only experienced during the initial startup/setup), but there's a lot of horsepower in there, and that's to be expected. Nothing that bothered me.The fingerprint tech is awesome, and responds quickly and flawlessly. I have a few different fingers stored so that it's a comfortable unlock both righty and lefty. The hardware is clearly sufficient, as I've had a dozen things going on at once including downloading, a bluetooth beam, installing and updating apps, surfing a few internet tabs and writing a note all at once, and Android ran smooth, slick, quick and didn't break a sweat. Phone a very *solid* feel, very high quality, and certainly a first class phone that can be discussed in the circles of the current high end smartphone competition.Two minor drawbacks that I didn't think were worth removing a star for:1) No wireless charging. If the unit didn't have the rapid charge capability, this may have been a -1, but it charges so damned fast, and keeps charge so long, I couldn't do it. Still would be cool to drop it on those powermats at starbucks. Oh well.2) Volume buttons are too low on the thumb side (righty.) These should have been up top. I'm guessing there was a hardware conflict, but either way, it's a nitpick worth mentioning.Setup with personal and work emails was seamless, and calendar, emails and contacts all downloaded via wifi quickly and easily.I'm headed to ATT to finalize my new account and get the carrier service completed. Unless you see a follow up note from me, assume it also went smoothly.

TL;DR PRO/CON list at bottom.I will start off this review by saying that I really wanted to love this phone. It does have some very good qualities about it. But the phone has its faults, which are enough for me to not give this phone a recommendation. I have used the phone for approximately 6 months.By background is that I worked in the cell phone industry selling phones for years, before moving into corporate IT and networking. I have been a amateur phone enthusiast and have easily had over 30 phones in my day. I also take exceptional care of my belongings, electronics getting special care. Seeing as this phone is a bit expensive for the size, it was a bit of a treat for myself as the specs and design looked like everything I wanted.HardwareScreen is a nice size for one handed use. Is very crisp and easy to see inside and outside in bright sunlight. Physical buttons are a tad awkward being so low on the device, but worked well for how I hold a phone. They provide enough click, but are a little hard to "feel out" and press during a call. Volume on the dual speakers is adequate for a small phone and produce decent sound. Sound through earphones is very good. 2 GB of RAM is more than enough to power the 720p screen and the 810 processor never lets up. The fingerprint scanner is top notch. Works very fast and recognizes fingers well. It allows 5 fingers to be registered. I did my wife's thumb, left index, right index, and my right thumb twice for better accuracy on my main digit. Sometimes I would pull the phone out of my pocket and it would already have registered my thumb and unlocked itself.UI, Performance, and Battery LifeThis phone came with Android Lollipop and is now updated to Marshmallow. The UI runs well. The fast processor and 2 GB of RAM don't let this phone slow down much if at all. Sony's take on Android is a very clean and minimal. Although there is plenty of Sony "bloatware" apps that come preinstalled and cannot be removed. You can "disable" them so they are no longer active and don't appear in the menu, but still live on the device. The Snapdragon 810 does still tend to get hot at random times. An app may be running in the background and you can feel the phone get much warmer. Never hot that you feel in danger, but warm enough to warranty a reboot in my opinion. Once back up the device was cool again. Battery life on the phone is decent, but not close to the expectation that Sony has set with previous devices in the series. It will get you through a day easily with moderate to heavy use, and can easily stretch to two days with light use. Recharge time however is very long. If you plug into a PC to charge expect at least 3 - 4 hours to charge it up. A quick charge adapter is a wise investment if you get this phone.Apps and GamingI largely got this phone for remote play on the PS4; that feature worked wonderfully with no issues. While the small screen was a little hard to see at times, I never had an issue with pairing the PS4 controller via bluetooth or playing over WiFi. The stock messaging app always gave me trouble with MMS messages, even with the correct settings from AT&T. I constantly got a you have an MMS to download message even though I already read the message. Textra fixed that issue and is a much better messaging app in my opinion. I don't really play any other types of mobile games, but companion apps for Destiny, Metal Gear Solid V, and standard apps like The Weather Channel all ran great on the device. As mentioned before there is A LOT of Sony branded items that are just flat out annoying and not needed.CameraWonderful camera. Loved to take pictures with this phone. They almost always come out clear and sharp. With the latest updates the camera opens quickly. The phone does a good job of fast auto-focus as promised. The shutter key on the side of the device is great for open the camera quickly and nice to take a picture. Finger placement while holding the phone is a bit awkward as the camera is very close the the top edge of the phone and gets covered easy if you are not careful. I spent most of my time in superior auto mode which produces 8 mp images. Going into manual will give you an overwhelming amount of options and allow full 23 mp pictures.DesignLooking at the phone it screams premium. Add waterproofing to the device and that is just piece of mind that some rain or accidental spills will not harm the device. No flap for the charge port is also wonderful as I've seen my share of them get damaged on phone such as the Galaxy S5 which kills the waterproofing of the device. The phone has a heafty weight to it that also feels good. The frosted glass back looks very nice and does not attract fingerprints. The phone is very slippery. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being course grit sand paper and 10 being metal coated in Teflon covered in olive oil, this phone is a 9 easy. The phone literally wants to slide out of your hand whenever you hold it. If nothing else a case is needed to provide some grip to the phone. Having a glass front and back also made me extra cautious and nervous about potential cracks. But I have always taken care of my devices and never cracked a screen.Phone callsPhone calls on the device were clean on my end every time. There were issues for the other caller especially when I used speaker phone. Callers would often complain that they heard themselves or that they could not hear me until I went back to the earpiece. It also appeared that using the speaker phone only used the bottom speaker and not both.DurabilityThis phone is by its very nature fragile. With over 90% of the outer casing being glass, you better believe this baby is delicate. The phone came with a pre-installed screen protector, but it became cruddy very fast. I normally don't use a screen protector and have never had an issue. I somehow managed to put a small scratch on the screen while it was in my pocket with NOTHING else in it one day while hiking. It was no big deal, as I couldn't see it when the screen was on, but I knew it was there and worried me that it got damaged so easily. Now just recently a friend placed my phone near a counter edge, and a got a few messages in a row that made the device vibrate right off the edge. Of course it landed face down on kitchen tile. Screen completely shattered and the touch screen stopped functioning altogether. I am not knocking this phone because of my stupid mistake, not many phones if any would survive a fall like that. Instead it just goes to show that a rugged case is just about required for this device. Which is a huge bummer since the phone looks so good.TL;DR and PROS/CONS ListPROS-- Nice screen for a smaller phone-- Beautiful design-- Great camera-- Fast performance-- Sony's UI has a good design-- Waterproof-- Native PS4 remote playCons-- Sony bloatware that cannot be removed, just disabled-- Slippery-- Fragile-- Poor speaker phone quality for the other caller-- Awkward button placement-- Very slow charge time-- Expensive-- Sony is slow to update UIConclusion and thoughtsThe phone is not worth the price. The camera is very nice and waterproofing is a big plus, but a few nice features do not outweigh the fact you are terrified to accidentally drop such an expensive phone. If you don't let anyone else touch this phone, and put it in a really hard-core case, it may last you a good while. If you live in the real world where you may leave you phone on a desk, give it to someone to take a picture of you, or bump into something with the phone in your pocket it may be dropped and will break.