Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Review
On paper, the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is a dream come true
for most. It has comfortable dimensions for one-handed use, specs worthy of
being the former flagship's mini sibling, and waterproofing. The question now
is how all these will wort together in producing the ideal compact.
The Z1 Compact blends the right mix of ingredients for its
body: glass up front metal on the sides, and a plastic back. The rear's
material may sound like a turn-off, especially compared to the glass back of
the original Z1, but it doesn’t hinder the overall premium feel of the device.
If anything, it helps keep the weight down, since you already have to deal with
Its rather thick 9.5mm profile. After a few weeks of use, though, you can
expect scratches to appear.
The Z1 Compact
blends the right mix of ingredients for its body: glass up front metal on the
sides, and a plastic back
Like most high-end Sony devices, the Z1 Compact has solid
waterproofing. We’re happy to report that after taking underwater shots with it
in a pool, the phone remained undamaged, and we were more than happy with the
results of our photos and videos. It helps that there's a dedicated shutter
button for the camera, allowing easy underwater operation.
On land, however, the 20.7-megapixel camera didn't always
deliver what we expected of it Despite the high resolution, details easily got
lost due to the over-processing of photos. This is fine in dark environments or
indoor situations, since you want the phone to remove as much noise as
possible, but the lack of sharpness in broad daylight hindered otherwise
picture-perfect shots.
The 20.7-megapixel
camera didn't always deliver what we expected of it
What makes the Z1 Compact truly special in the sea of
downsized flagships is its robust spec sheet The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 is
fast and we mean fast. With the help of the near-stock Android OS and
relatively low screen resolution (which still manages to be 342ppi on the
4.3-inch real estate), the user Interface rarely experiences any hiccups, and
response to touches is as near-instant as that of an iPhone.
The unit we received came shipped with Android 4.3 Jelly
Bean, which can be upgraded to 4.4 KitKat We decided to run benchmarks on both
versions to see how much of a difference the update would make, and we were
surprised by the results. The AnHiTU and Quadrant scores went down from 35194
and 21709 on Android 4.3, respectively, to 34269 and 19405 on 4.4 KitKat. This
was a surprise to us, but luckily, actual usage didn’t show signs of slowing
down.
Sony Xperia Z1
Compact back view
Without a doubt the Z1 Compact does everything its bigger
counterpart does, but with handier dimensions.
Conclusion
The Z1 Compact is a big win for consumers, thanks to a
non-gimmicky package that gives users what they’ve been wanting all this time.
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Details
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Os: Android 4.4 KitKat
·
Display: 4.3-inch iPs lCD (1280 x 720)
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Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (Quad-core, 2.2GHz)
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Battery: 2300mah
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Price: $580
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