It was at the CES 2013 in Las Vegas when Sony announced the original Xperia Z handset. The device won the Best of Show and Best Smartphone awards at the same event.

Early Xperia Z sales earned a record of more than 150,000 sold units during the first week of release in Japan, setting its market share at an astonishing 24 percent.

Sony's Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3, and Xperia Z3 Compact are the latest in the company's series of high-end flagship models. While they share similar features, each one has something unique that makes it a cut above the rest.

All three models are built with innovative water- and dust-resistant technology, with the Xperia Z2 earning an IP 58 certification while the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact are both IP 68 certified.

Each model boasts multi-touch display, rear camera of 20.7MP, front camera of 2.2MP, Adreno 330 GPU, 16GB of built-in storage, expandable storage of up to 128GB with microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC and average talk time of 12 hours.

Both the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact were announced at the IFA 2014 in Berlin. The Xperia Z2 was also unveiled the same year at the Mobile World Congress.

Here are the other specs that one can consider in every handset. The Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact have the most number of similar features.

Xperia Z3. The Xperia Z3 runs on Android 4.4.4 and measures 5.75 x 2.83 x 0.29 inches. It weighs 5.36 oz and shares the same 5.2 inch display with Xperia Z2.

Resolution is set at 1080 x 1920 pixels at 424 ppi. It also features light and proximity sensors. Other features include Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AC, 3072 MB RAM and 3,100mAh battery, which delivers a standby time of 37.1 days (890 hours).

Xperia Z2. The Xperia Z2 is built with Android 4.4.4 and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AB chip. While its display of 5.2 inches is similar with the Z3, it is by far the heaviest among the three with its weight of 5.75 oz. Dimensions are measured at 5.78 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches. It shares the same 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution with the Z3 and the same 424 ppi count.

One thing that makes it unique among the three models is its scratch-resistant glass. It also has light and proximity sensors. Other things to consider are the handset's RAM of 3072MB and battery of 3,200mAh, which offers a standby time of up to 30.8 days (740 hours).

Xperia Z3 Compact. The Xperia Z3 Compact is the lightest among the models, weighing only at 4.55 oz. It boasts Android 4.4 OS and measures 5.00 x 2.56 x 0.34 inches. It also has the smaller 4.6 inch display that offers a 720 x 1280 pixel ratio and 319 ppi count.

Other features include the system chip of Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AC, RAM of 2048 MB, and battery of 2,600mAh, which delivers a standby time of up to 36.7 days (880 hours).