The Sony Xperia Z3 is once again up for grabs from T-Mobile.
Earlier this month, T-Mobile said the Xperia Z3 would be dropped from its website. When a customer posted on the official T-mobile Twitter account that the phone could not be located on the company's website, T-mobile replied that the phone was no longer available, just less than six months after its debut.
Surprisingly now, if one verifies the Xperia Z3's webpage on T-Mobile.com, not only is it offered again for purchase, but the carrier even put the handset on sale, reducing the price to $499.92. This shows a $130 cut from the smartphone's original $630 price before it was puzzlingly withdrawn. You can also opt for a T-Mobile installment plan, for just $20.83 per month for two years.
From the beginning, the Xperia Z3 was offered by only two carriers, T-mobile and Verizon Wireless. For a short period, only one of them continued to. This may have scared away consumers from purchasing this smartphone.
Upon checking the Verizon Wireless product page, one finds that the carrier is still selling its version of the mobile phone, the Xperia Z3V, so it's not likely Sony has dropped the phone completely. The only Sony phones currently offered by T-Mobile, however, are refurbished models of the Xperia Z1S and Xperia Z. Now, the Xperia Z3 is back.
Sony gadgets have been weighed down by sluggish software updates for a while now. Although competitor mobile phones were being updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop even during their launch, the Xperia Z3 didn't get the Android 5.0 Lollipop until last month.
Of course, it's a great possibility that Sony has been focusing its efforts on the Xperia Z4, and has reduced the manufacturing of its predecessor. Also, while the Xperia Z3 is a powerful smartphone with a great camera and slim waterproof design, it lacks any particular high-profile features, such as a quad-HD display, found in its rivals.
The Xperia Z4's appearance is equally similar, but it now boasts a 5.5-inch quad-HD screen, which may give it an equal footing against flagships from Samsung and LG.
We can only wonder if the Xperia Z3 is on the way out, seeing how Sony promotes its successor, the Xperia Z4, though it was only initially made available in Japan.
Photo: Maurizio Pesce | Flickr
