Buying a new X Compact now

[Andre9]

This is not quite the same as the topic where a possibly refurbished phone is being bought off EBAY, hence a new topic.

My X compact is still serving me well after almost 3 years, but did die in my pocket on the weekend. At the time I was unaware of the restart with volume & power button trick, so I don't know if that would have worked. I was in a mall and happened to walk by a small repair shop when I discovered my phone was dead so aksed if they had any ideas. They tried a few things unseccessfully then opened up the phone, unsoldered and resoldered the battery and the phone was alive again, and still is. But this has rung an alarm bell as it is the first time this happened.

My service provider still has a few X compacts in stock and, since I like the compactness and most other features, and could possibly get a good deal, I will be happy with a new one. So this is a new phone imported through the right channels. I know there are no more new updates available, but will the phone update to the most recent level once it is on the network and I check for updates ? Or will it remain at the same as level as taken from the box ?

[pseudonym]

One thing to keep in mind - from personal experience - Many of the supposedly new X Compacts are currently being sold from Hong Kong. It's been my experience (and others I've read about on XDA) that these phones do not seem to be amenable to upgrading to Android 8.0, that they stay at version 7.1.1, or, if you are offered 8.0 and do install it, it triggers a persistent "WarrantyTimeService" notice, or worse.

Maybe the majority don't have this problem, but you might want to be aware. The X Compact I bought from HK was shrink wrapped in a new box, looked cosmetically fine, but was already charged to 100% (think about it!). Communication with Sony established that the phone had already been used in 2017, and that the warranty period had expired. Also, the persistent "WarrantyTimeService" notice appeared. Again, this may not be typical. Caveat emptor!

[Jonas]

Hi @pseudonym, thanks a lot for this information.

Yeah, it's always tricky when you buy devices online and that some sellers are more interested in just getting some quick cash and don't care about their reputation.

Most of the time I'm able to see at least what kind of software customization there is in the device with the IMEI number, sometimes it also shows the activation date, but that doesn't really do much since you probably can't get a hold of the IMEI number before you have received the device.

Just gotta hope that the service you use to purchase the device has a very good system set in place for either returning the device and getting your money back, or if can create a dispute since the product you received is not what the seller wrote. If you are really unlucky the device can be stolen and be IMEI blocked and you can't even connect it to a mobile network.

Thanks again for your input and sorry to hear that you had to experience this.

[pseudonym]

I hear that there may be a new Sony Compact phone on the horizon, possibly as early as February of 2020. I understand that the dimensions might be about 135mm x 65mm. This will be of particular interest to us compact phone enthusiasts.

[Andre9]

Wow, I will keep an eye out for that.

I have not done much regarding the new X compact, it's this crazy time of year when everyone wants stuff done they didn't do earlier. Also, from the investigations I did it seems uncertain whether the phone is still available, different people, different stories.

For those concerned about where the phone will be coming from, it's from my service provider. The X Compact was on offer when I renewed my contract so that's how I landed the current phone. I heard there was still a small quantity in their warehouse somewhere, but no clarification on that. So it's not some online, buy from an unknown source type deal, not interested in that.

But if there is a new compact on the horizon it's worth waiting for. I just hope the service provider will have them on offer. Currently I don't think there is a single Sony in the catalog, mainly Samsung and Huawei, plus a few other ods and sods and i-phone of course.

[Jonas]

@pseudonym, interesting and that would be very nice for those that really wants a compact model and not just a "smaller" device like the Xperia 5.

Rumours will always be rumours though and as always, time will tell!

@Andre9, It feels like everyone is just stacking up stuff that they want help with until the last possible time of the year and then they go "I have a couple of things that I need help with".

I can imagine working in retail at this time of year with Black Friday, holidays and so on, must be very hectic and I don't even them at all.

[pseudonym]

Considering that I tend to hold on to Sony's compact phones for years (while larger models from other manufacturers come and go in my "stable"), I'd be willing to pay a higher price than I generally do for another truly compact phone. 🙂

[Jonas]

@pseudonym, yeah.

I'm not quite sure why the trend is going towards bigger and bigger devices. It probably has to do with people spending more and more time watching movies and so on.

For us that does not do that, a Compact device is much more handy and doesn't take up unnecessary space in for example, a pocket.

I'm not sure if it could also have something to with OLED screens and that it's more expensive to make them smaller (does not really make sense, but perhaps they are made in a certain way that makes it cheaper to create a 6.5" than a 5.2").

Hopefully the rumours are true, but it's very hard these days to get a Compact device, with flagship specs.