The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is available in Australia starting today. At launch the only available model is the 16GB option in black, but there’s a microSD slot if you want to expand that up to a further 128GB. RRP is a cool $499. You can pick one up from Sony Kiosks and the Sony Store Online.
As far as mid-range Android tablets go, the Z3 Tablet Compact is absolutely one of the ones you should be paying very close attention to. It’s thin, light, powerful and IP65/68 waterproof – so you don’t have to worry about coffee table spillages, or even using it in the bath or swimming pool.
Gamers should also perk up their ears. Like the Z3 and Z3 Compact phones, the Z3 Tablet Compact comes ready to run PlayStation Remote Play. That means you can use it as an emergency screen in case the TV is being hogged by any resident non-gamers. It streams the video wirelessly from your PS4 to your tablet instead of the TV. We’ve had a test run with the technology at a Sony event at it was flawless, although how it would work in the next room depends very much on your house’s layout and your WiFi network.
Feather-light heavyweight
The most intriguing part of the Z3 Tablet Compact isn’t its 8-inch 1920 x 1200 (approx. 1080p) display, or its powerful quad-core 2.5GHz processor backed up by 3GB of RAM. Nor is it the 4500mAh battery that Sony claims will give you around 15 hours of continuous video playback.
These things are all certainly appreciated in a $500 tablet, but to be truly impressed you need to look at the size and weight.
It’s just 270g and 6.4mm thick. That’s about 12% lighter than an iPad Mini with Retina display. Sony managed to cram one of the most powerful CPUs on the market, 3GB of RAM, a 1080p panel and a 15-hour batter in to the thinnest, lightest compact tablet on the market.
Granted, similar claims were made about the Z3 Compact phone’s ’48 hour’ battery life, and that turned out to be a distinctly one-day wonder in the hands of a serious user, but even without the battery that’s a lot of impressive hardware in a tiny, light package.
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
