Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact review (H8314)

In September, I decided it was time to get a new phone to replace my LG G5 that I got in November 2016. The straw that broke the camel's back was the GPS stopped working while I was out of town.

Here is the list of issues I was having with my LG G5:

• Didn't like to stay connected to LTE
• Screen retention
• Poor battery life (tried a replacement battery, but was unable to find an official one from LG)
• GPS would only work after a reboot, then finally quit altogether
• Software had not been updated since January (and still hasn't!)

My wish list for a new phone included:

• Smaller phone for a better one-handed feel
• Great screen and not curved (preferably LCD)
• Fingerprint reader (preferably on the back)
• Consistent updates
• Preferably a Snapdragon 845 processor
• Nice to have: Wireless Charging
• Good price to value ratio

That boiled down to 2 phones, the yet to be announced Google Pixel 3 or the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact. In the end, I went with the XZ2 Compact because of three reasons. First, it was immediately available. Second, it was on sale for $500 vs at least $650 for the Pixel. Third, my wife's Pixel 2 did not feel/look much smaller than my LG G5 and I wanted something that was easier to use with one hand.

Now onto the review. I purchased the XZ2 Compact in Silver on September 8th from Best Buy for $500 ($450 if purchased with Cricket Wireless Sim and Refill card) plus tax. I immediately put it into a clear slim TPU case and put a tempered glass screen protector on it. I have had the XZ2C for a little over 3 months, and it has been a joy to use.

Pros:

• Monthly software updates (was a pain when I first got the phone that I had to install 5 updates)
• Android Pie released in October
• Battery life has been phenomenal, some examples:
• on WiFi with light browsing:
• 4 hours of on screen time in 16 hours with 60% battery left
• 6 hours of on screen time across 48 hours with 22% left
• 3.5 hours of on screen time across 72 hours
• typically go at least 2 days between charging
• One handed feel is great and easy to use
• GPS and Fingerprint reader are quick
• Close to stock android
• Venom, Halloween, and Christmas Themes have been fun to play around with

Cons:

• Sometimes miss the bigger screen
• Screen has slight curve at the edges so screen protectors either don't cover the whole screen or only adhere at the edges
• Miss the ability to pin apps to not be accidentally swiped away
• Miss the convenience of the headphone jack (Added 2019-01-28)

Marvel Future Fight: 44 week update

This is my 44 week update. I have reduced the frequency of updates since my roster is not changing as much.

Update 4.2 (Ant-Man & Wasp) was released. New characters include Ghost, Wasp (Nadia) and Goliath. New uniforms for Ghost, Giant-Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp. New Tier 3 for Thor and Ant-Man.

Update 4.3 (Deadpool) was released with a new epic quest. New characters include Deadpool, Fantomex, Domino, Psylocke, and Stryfe. New uniforms for Colossus and Cable. New Tier 3 for Deadpool.

ABX has been switched to a 2 week rotation.

Update 2018-08-30:
I forgot to mention that I unlocked Apocalypse and am saving up crystals for Psylocke.

Characters

New Uniforms:

• Rocket: Infinity War
• Giant Man: Goliath

Newly Tier2:

• Baron Mordo (materials)
• Rocket
• Star-Lord
•  Hellstorm (materials)

Summary:

• Tier 3: 0
• Tier 2: 61
• 6*: 100

Marvel Future Fight: 32 week update

This is my 32 week update

The second part of Infinity War was released as Version 4.1.

They launched new uniforms for War Machine, Hulkbuster, Star-Lord, Rocket, Raccoon, Dr Strange (350 Crystals!), Scarlet Witch, Cull Obsidian (Black Dwarf), and Ebony Maw. They also reduced the cost of several old uniforms to gold instead of crystals.

They launched Tier 3s for Iron Man and Spider-Man. To get the materials required, they opened up World Boss Ultimate for Cull Obsidian (Black Dwarf) and Corvus Glaive.

They revamped the Shield Lab. The deploy missions now give tokens for refreshing the store. The store only displays 6 items at a time and takes 6 hours to refresh. This was the biggest disappointment of the entire update. It makes it harder to get Gear Up Kits and Norn Stones. However, it has increased the ability to get Bios, if you have the gold.





Quicksilver also received a nerf to his 4th skill. It does about half the damage it used to.

The several week long event giving out 6* characters and one Tier 2 ticket continued.

Content

• Dr Strange: Quest complete
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Proxima Ultimate
• Stage 12: Beast, Wolverine, Hulk
• Corvus Glaive Ultimate
• Stage 9: Elsa, Quicksilver, +1 (Need Hyperion to unlock 10)
• Stage 4: Winter Soldier, Angel, Shuri
• Cull Obsidian Ultimate
• Stage 9: Ancient One, Dr Strange, Baron Mordo
• Stage 5: Star-Lord, Iron Man, Sharon Rodgers
• Leveling up Cable and Scarlet Witch to unlock Apocalypse
• Shadowlands: Clearing 25-27 floors depending on what fights show up
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~75k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: >100k
• Combat Hero: >100k
• Blast Male ABX: >100k
• Universal Villian: ~100k
• Speed Hero:>100k
• Co-Op:
• Stage 6
• Timeline Battle:
• Platinum
• Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man

 

Characters

New Uniforms:

• Silk: Web Suit
• Red Hulk: Marvel Now
• Dr Strange: Infinity War
• War Machine: Iron Patriot and Infinity War
• Black Window: Secret Wars
• Venom: Secret Wars
• Thor: Secret Wars
• Bullseye: Secret Wars
• Ant-Man: Marvel's Ant-Man
• Falcon: All-New Captain America
• Kingpin: Secret Wars

Newly Tier2:

• Wiccan (materials)
• Silk
• Kraven

Marvel Future Fight: 28 Week Update

This is my 28 week update

Version 4.0 was released. They revamped the whole UI and World Boss Ultimate. They also launched new uniforms for Spider-Man, Ironman, Captain America, Black Widow, Winter Soldier, Ebony Maw, Proxima, Thanos, and Thor.

The have also launched a several week long event giving out 6* characters and one Tier 2 ticket.

Content

• Dr Strange: Quest complete
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Can clear Proxima Ultimate (1) with 5 different teams
• Leveling up Cable and Scarlet Witch to unlock Apocalypse
• Shadowlands: Clearing 18-25 floors depending on what fights show up
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~75k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: >100k
• Combat Hero: >100k
• Blast Male ABX: >100k
• Universal Villian: ~100k
• Speed Hero:>100k
• Co-Op:
• Stage 6
• Timeline Battle:
• Platinum
• Hulk, Quicksilver, Spider-Man

Characters

Level 50+ and Tier2:

• Sharon Rodgers
• Iron Fist
• Spider-Man
• Thor
• Wolverine (native)
• Dr Strange (native)
• Elsa
• Captain America (materials)
• Black Bolt (materials)
• Moon Knight
• Magneto (materials)
• Yellowjacket
• Shuri
• Rogue (materials)
• Kate Bishop (materials)
• Storm (materials)
• Satana
• Cyclops (materials)
• Beast (materials)
• Ironman (materials)
• Punisher (materials)
• Quicksilver (native)
• Venom (materials)
• Cable (level 52)
• Hulk
• Loki
• Black Panther (materials)
• Angel (materials) 
• Gwen-Stacy (tier 2 selector) 
• Medusa (tier 2 selector)
• Sandman (materials)
• Mantis
• Skurge
• Black Widow (materials)
• Gwenpool (materials)
• Winter Soldier(materials)

Ready for Tier2:

• Baron Mordo
• Hela
• Ancient One
• Klaue
• Kraven
• Robbie Reyes
• Heimdall

Uniforms:

• Sharon Rodgers: Starlight -Mythic
• Iron Fist: Marvel - Heroic
• Spider-Man: Homecoming - Legendary
• Thor: Ragnarok - Mythic
• Loki: Ragnarok - Legendary
• Hulk: Ragnarok - Heroic
• Hela: Ragnarok - Rare
• Dr Strange: Marvel - Legendary
• Elsa: Monsters - Mythic
• Venom: Anti - Normal
• Yellowjacket: Marvel Now - Mythic
• Captain America: Marvel Now - Heroic
• Satana: Marvel Legacy  - Normal
• Punisher: Marvel Legacy - Normal
• Black Panther: - Legendary
• Winter Soldier: Infinity Wars - Normal
• Ironman: Infinity Wars - Normal

Marvel Future Fight: 24 week update

This is my 24 week update.

Version 3.9 was released launching Colossus, Angel, Magik, and Emma Frost. The Colossus event was quite good allowing me to recruit him and get 140 of his bios, which won't be enough to max his gears, but should make him usable with a MRUT. Angel looks to be quite good and is available thru a new dimension rift. Magik is behind the new X-Men bio subscription, and Emma Frost is available for crystals.

The have also launched a month long event giving out 3 x 6* selectors and one Tier 2 selector. Typical restrictions apply.

Content

• Dr Strange: Quest complete
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Can clear Cable with 5 different teams
• Leveling up Quicksilver to beat Cable in 15s
• Shadowlands: Clearing 18-23 floors depending on what fights show up
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~75k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: >100k
• Combat Hero: >100k
• Blast Male ABX: >100k
• Universal Villian: ~100k
• Speed Hero: ~75k
• Co-Op:
• Stage 5
• Timeline Battle:
• Platinum
• Sharon Rodgers, Spider-Man, and Thor (with anti-web custom gear)
• Have problems with Quicksilver and Wolverine (with damage immunity)

Characters

Level 50 and Tier2:

• Sharon Rodgers
• Iron Fist
• Spider-Man
• Thor
• Wolverine (native)
• Dr Strange (native)
• Elsa
• Captain America (materials)
• Black Bolt (materials)
• Moon Knight
• Magneto (materials)
• Yellowjacket
• Shuri
• Rogue (materials)
• Kate Bishop (materials)
• Storm (materials)
• Satana
• Cyclops (materials)
• Beast (materials)
• Ironman (materials)
• Punisher (materials)
• Quicksilver (level 56 and 17-18 Gears)
• Venom (materials)
• Cable (level 50)

Ready for Tier2:

• Hulk
• Loki
• Gwenpool
• Sandman
• Black Panther (low priority)
• Baron Mordo
• Hela
• Ancient One
• Klaue
• Black Widow
• Kraven

Uniforms:

• Sharon Rodgers: Starlight - Legendary
• Iron Fist: Marvel - Heroic
• Spider-Man: Homecoming - Legendary
• Thor: Ragnarok - Legendary
• Loki: Ragnarok - Legendary
• Hulk: Ragnarok - Heroic
• Hela: Ragnarok - Rare
• Dr Strange: Marvel - Heroic
• Elsa: Monsters - Mythic
• Venom: Anti - Normal
• Yellowjacket: Marvel Now - Heroic
• Captain America: Marvel Now - Rare
• Satana: Marvel Legacy  - Normal
• Punisher: Marvel Legacy - Normal

Shadowlands

Here is my most successful run:

Floor	Type	Enemy	Boosted Type	Char
1	Relay	Ironman	Speed	Winter Soldier-, Gwenpool, Falcon (5*)
2	Rumble	Black Widow	Combat	Black Panther, Moon Knight+, Black Dwarf (1*)
3	Relay	Captain America	Blast	Storm+
4	Wave	Starlord	Heroes	Hulk, Red Hulk (1*), Amadeus Cho (3*)
5	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Wiccan, Quake, Songbird
6	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Elsa+
7	Rumble	Red Hulk	Blast	Cyclops+, Ironman+, War Machine (5*)
8	Relay	Ghost Rider	No Fire	Black Bolt+, Gorgon (1*), Hogun (2*)
9	Wave	Captain America	Villians	Magneto+
10	Rumble	Hulk	Blast	Ancient One, Crystal, Klaue
11	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Rogue+
12	Boss	Rocket	Heroes	Iron Fist+, Daredevil (5*), Luke Cage
13	Relay	Sister Grimm	Speed	Spider-Man+
14	Rumble	Wasp	Speed	Kate Bishop+, Vulture, Kraven
15	Entry	Sharon Rodgers/Hawkeye	Heroes	Beast+, Wolverine+, Robbie Reyes-
16	Relay	Ghost Rider	No Fire	Thor+, Jane Foster (1*), Sif (5*)
17	Boss	Loki	No Ice	Dr Strange+
18	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Yellowjacket+, Mysterio, Baron
19	Wave	Starlord	Heroes	Quicksilver-
20	Entry	Sharon Rodgers/Hawkeye	Heroes	Captain Marvel, Sharon Rodgers+, Luna Snow (2*)
21	Relay	Thor	No Electric	Punisher+, Rocker (3*), Starlord (3*)
22	Boss	Kingpin	Physical Reflect	Satana+, Hellfire (5*), Dormie (1*)
23	Rumble	Spider-Man	Combat	Carnage, Captain America+, Venom+
24	Boss	Hawkeye	Combat	Failed

Marvel Future Fight: 20 week update

Sorry this is 4 weeks late, forgot to hit publish.

This is my 20 week update.

No new content was release.

I became the alliance leader as ours went to an Alliance Conquest focused one, but promised to return. I purchased some new unis and got a couple of t2 tokens. I am saving one for Satana as I only have one more gear to max out.

Content

• Dr Strange: Quest complete
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Can clear Quicksilver with 5 different teams
• Getting close to being able to clear Quicksilver in 15s
• Shadowlands: Clearing 15-19 floors depending on what fights show up
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~15k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: ~75k
• Combat Hero: >100k
• Blast Male ABX: ~75k
• Universal Villian: ~100k
• Speed Hero: ~75k
• Co-Op:
• Stage 5
• Timeline Battle:
• Platinum
• Sharon Rodgers, Spider-Man, and Thor (with anti-web custom gear)
• Have problems with Quicksilver and Wolverine (with damage immunity)

Characters

Level 60 and Tier2:

• Sharon Rodgers
• Iron Fist
• Spider-Man
• Thor
• Wolverine (native)
• Dr Strange (native)
• Elsa
• Captain America (materials)
• Black Bolt (materials)
• Moon Knight
• Magneto (materials)
• Yellowjacket
• Shuri
• Rogue (materials)
• Kate Bishop (materials)
• Storm (materials)

Ready for Tier2:

• Hulk
• Loki
• Gwenpool
• Sandman
• Ironman (will use materials)
• Black Panther (low priority)
• Cyclops (will use materials)
• Beast (will use materials)
• Baron Mordo
• Hela

Uniforms:

• Sharon Rodgers: Starlight - Legendary
• Iron Fist: Marvel - Heroic
• Spider-Man: Homecoming - Heroic
• Thor: Ragnarok - Legendary
• Loki: Ragnarok - Heroic
• Hulk: Ragnarok - Heroic
• Hela: Ragnarok - Rare
• Dr Strange: Marvel - Rare
• Elsa: Monsters - Legendary
• Venom: Anti - Normal
• Yellowjacket: Marvel Now - Advanced
• Captain America: Marvel Now - Rare
• Satana: Marvel Legacy  - Normal
• Punisher: Marvel Legacy - Normal

Sony Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi BDPS3700

As my BDP-BX110 was showing a black screen about a third to half the times a blu-ray was started and with the great black friday deals, I decided it was time to replace it. The question was with what model. I looked at several standard blu-ray players in the $50 range and 4k blu-ray players in $150 range. Considering the price difference of the players and the fact that 4k blu-rays cost more, those players were quickly eliminated. After looking at the online reviews from other users, I decided to go with the Sony BDPS3700.

TLDR: 4/5 stars

Pros

• Small size and design
• Remote can turn on TV
• HDMI-CEC can control player
• Includes Netflix and Amazon Prime Video

Cons

• Occasional noise of spinning disc
• Sometime takes a while to recognize there is a disc in
• Brick style transformer plug

Design

I was was happily surprised by the fact that this player is smaller than my old one. The player is only about 9 inches wide, 1.5 inches tall, and 7.5 inches deep. I am also pleased that it has a flat top which makes it better for putting the dvd case on top of the player.
However, I was disappointed to find that it now uses a rather large transformer style plug, but at least the wire detaches from the back of the player to allow for cable routing.
The fact that the entire front plate aside from the buttons drops down when the dvd tray pops out is a cool factor. The only thing that would have been slicker would be if it was a slot loading.

Remote

The remote has shrunk quite a bit and the buttons feel a little bit crammed, but at least they fixed the creaking battery cover from the BX110.

BDPS3700 remote on left; BX100 remote on right

Wi-Fi

The wi-fi setup was fast and straight forward. The connection is strong, but I also keep it near the router :-)

Noise

Occasionally, the player makes a large amount of noise when spinning DVDs. It sounds like the disc is not quite balanced. I have not been able to pinpoint the cause. If I find more information, I will update the post.

Update 2018-08-23

I was able to source the noise to the blu-ray player running into a small plastic bar next to it. The player does seem to walk a tiny amount with use.

Marvel Future Fight: 16 week update

This is my 16 week update.

Since my last update, version 3.7.0 had an update bringing new character Luna Snow. However, I was not even able to get her to 3* due to bad luck on the rng of farming her bios.

Also version 3.8.0 was released bring new characters Killmonger (bio sub), Klaue, and Shuri. It also had 3 new uniforms (Black Panther, Killmonger, and Shuri). I am using all my bio selectors on Shuri and should hopefully get her to 6* soon.

Alliance hit level 24 granting the extra Skill Cooldown, which has helped. I was also forunate enough to get a CTP of Transcendence, which I put on Spider-Man to help in ABX and Timeline battle.

Content:

• Dr Strange: Quest complete
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Can clear Quicksilver with 5 different teams
• Shadowlands: Clearing 15 floors
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days
• Co-Op:
• Stage 4
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~15k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: ~50k
• Combat Hero: ~50k
• Blast Male ABX: ~50k
• Universal Villian: ~75k
• Speed Hero: ~50k
• Timeline Battle:
• Platinum
• Sharon Rodgers, Spider-Man, and Thor (with anti-web custom gear)
• Have problems with Quicksilver and Wolverine (with damage immunity)

Characters

Lvl 60 and Tier 2:

• Sharon Rodgers
• Iron Fist
• Spider-Man
• Thor
• Wolverine
• Dr Strange (still needs gear upgrades)
• Elsa
• Captain America (materials)
• Black Bolt (materials)
• Moon Knight

Ready for Tier 2:

• Hulk
• Loki
• Magneto (will use materials)
• Gwenpool
• Kate Bishop
• Rogue (will use materials)
• Sandman
• Ironman (will use materials)
• Black Panther (just need to max some skills)

Uniforms:

• Sharon Rodgers: Starlight - Heroic
• Iron Fist: Marvel - Rare
• Spider-Man: Homecoming - Heroic
• Thor: Ragnarok - Legendary
• Loki: Ragnarok - Heroic
• Hulk: Ragnarok - Rare
• Hela: Ragnarok - Rare
• Dr Strange: Marvel - Advanced
• Elsa: Monsters - Legendary
• Venom: Anti - Normal

Shadowlands

Below are my results from my last 2 Shadowland runs.

Legend:
    + means T2
    - means 6*, but less than lvl 17 gears

-->

Floor	Type	Enemy	Boosted Type	Char
1	Relay	Ironman	Speed	Winter Soldier-, Gwenpool, Black Widow
2	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Crystal, Ironman, Storm-
3	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Elsa+
4	Wave	Starlord	Hero	Hulk
5	Rumble	Lash	Villian	Hela, Baron, Yellowjacket
6	Relay	Ironman	Speed	Kate Bishop, Rogue, Quake
7	Rumble	Black Widow	Combat	Captain America+, Carnage-, Punisher(5*)
8	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Sharon Rodgers+
9	Wave	Starlord	Hero	Spider-Man+
10	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Ancient One, Dr Strange(5*), Wiccan-
11	Relay	Winter Soldier	Male	Thor+
12	Boss	Rocket	Jar	Iron Fist+
13	Relay	Modok	Villians	Ronan-, Loki, Vulture(4*)
14	Rumble	Black Widow	Combat	Venom, Sandman, Moon Knight-
15	Entry	Sharon Rodgers/Hawkeye	N/A	Beast, Wolverine, Cyclops (5*)

-->

Floor	Type	Enemy	Boosted Type	Char
1	Relay	Ironman	Speed	Winter Soldier-, Gwenpool, Black Widow
2	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Crystal, Ironman, Storm-
3	Relay	Ronan	Universal	Black Bolt+
4	Wave	Starlord	Hero	Hulk
5	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Dr Strange
6	Relay	Spider-Man	Combat	Black Panther, Moon Knight, Captain America+
7	Rumble	Black Widow	Combat	Sandman, Venom, Groot
8	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Elsa+
9	Wave	Starlord	Hero	Spider-Man+
10	Rumble	Punisher	Blast	Ancient One, Wiccan-, Cyclops (5*)
11	Relay	Sif/White Tiger	Female	Sharon Rodgers+
12	Boss	Valkarie	Hero	Thor+
13	Relay	Hulk	Villians	Ronan-, Loki, Quake-
14	Rumble	Black Widow	Combat	Iron Fist+, Carnage-, Punisher-
15	Entry	Sharon Rodgers/Hawkeye	Hero	Beast-, Wolverine, Magneto-

Marvel Future Fight: 12 week update

This is my 12 week update.

Since my last update, version 3.7.0 was released bringing new characters X-23 and Adam Warlock. It also had new uniforms for Satana, Falcon, and Punisher.

I am holding onto my Tier 2 ticket for a couple days until I can max out Elsa's gears. My other option would be Hulk or Loki, but both can already clear World Bosses and a Shadowland floor I feel that it would be better used on another character.

Content:

• Dr Strange: Farming Satana Bios (will use 5* rank up ticket on her, saving 4* ticket for Clea)
• Wolverine: Quest complete
• World Boss:
• Unlocked Quicksilver
• Recruited Quicksilver and all of the Black Order including Thanos
• Shadowlands: Clearing 10 floors
• Alliance Battle:
• Can clear normal mode on all days except speed
• ABX:
• Combat Villian: ~15k
• None: >100k
• Universal Hero: ~25k
• Combat Hero: N/A
• Blast Male ABX: ~25k
• Universal Villian: ~25k
• Speed Hero: ~25k

Characters

Lvl 60 and Tier 2:

• Sharon Rodgers
• Iron Fist
• Spider-Man
• Thor
• Wolverine (still needs gear and skill upgrades)

Ready for Tier 2:

• Hulk
• Loki
• Captain America (will use materials)

Cards:

Crafted my first mythic card (Marvel Zombies), which was a nice upgrade. Will be going for a mythic Loki next and hope to get some more attack stats. I am still looking for a Groot or Star Lord 4/5 star upgrade as well. However, rolling the SCD has been challenging.

Rank	Quality	Name	First Stat	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth
★★★★	4	Avengers #318	Max HP 7%	Ignore Def 7%	All Attack 5.1%	SCD 5.4%
★★★★	4	Groot #5	Crit Dmg 7%	Ignore Def 7%	Max HP 5.1%	SCD 5.4%
★★★★	4	Star Lord #2	Ignore Defense 7%	Crit Rate 7%	Dodge 5.1%	SCD 5.4%
★★★★★	6	Loki #17	All Attack 9%	SCD 9%	Mind Resist 5.1%	All Def 5.4%	Activation 5% crit attack +20% Physical Attack
★★★★★★	4	Marvel Zombies #2	Dodge 9%	SCD 9%	Crit Dmg 5.1%	Attack Speed 5.4%	Energy Def 5.7%	Crit Rate 6%