Sony
finally introduced the long-rumored Xperia Z1S at its CES 2014 press
conference. Basically, it is like an Xperia Z1 but made for T-Mobile.
Accompanying them was a smaller handset - the Xperia Z1 Compact. Think of it’s
as a shrunken down variant of the Sony Xperia Z1.
The Xperia Series is everything you expect in a premium smartphone, beautifully crafted to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. Capture stunningly beautiful photos and videos using the same technology as featured in our compact digital cameras. Easily move all your valuable content from your smartphone to your new Xperia Z1 Compact with Xperia Transfer. Best of all, the Xperia Z1 Compact and Xperia Z1s are waterproof* and comes in a range of colours.
Design :
Distinctively
an Xperia device of some kind, more so when it boasts the usual design elements
we’re accustomed to seeing with Sony’s lineup of Xperia smartphones, the Z1S is
undoubtedly premium in almost every facet. It’s a solid effort no doubt, made
more profound by its glass finish and sturdy metallic bezel. Everything meshes
well together to give it that high-class feel to warrant it as a premier
flagship smartphone.
Improving
upon last year’s Sony Xperia Z,
the Z1S has an IP58 rating, which means that it can completely submerged in
freshwater up to 4.9 feet for 30 minutes – giving it a waterproof nature, as
opposed being water resistant. And rightfully so, it’s able to show us right
away that it’s not afraid to take a dip in water, as long as all of its side
ports are appropriately covered. Interestingly, the 3.5mm headset jack is left
exposed, but the folks from Sony assured to us that it’s treated to withstand
water exposure – so there’s no concern about it being damaged.
Display :
The display of Z1s is almost perfect. At full 1080p resolution with
Sony’s Bravia mobile engine, it’s as sharp and crystal clear as I’ve ever seen
on a smartphone. It’s super bright too, even at 75 or 50% brightness. Its
viewing angles are terrible, though, which is a common problem that plagues
Sony’s devices. There's also a noticeably large bezel here that adds a sense of
style to the Z1s, though some will undoubtedly (and rightfully) find it
obtrusive.
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The Xperia Z1 Compact is just as nice as the Z1S and has all its
features – it’s just smaller. It’s the size that a former iPhone owner would
love – a little wider than the iPhone and more comfy, but not a total screen
monster. It is slightly thicker than the Z1S, but not by much.The Z1 compact
sports a 4.3 inch diplay which has an average pixel density of about 340 and
its sadly droped to the last generation 720p panels
Hardware and Performance :
The Xperia Z1s is fast. Super fast, even, thanks to a 2.2 GHz
Snapdragon 800 processor and 2 GB of RAM. It’s also long-lasting thanks
to a whopping 3,000 mAh battery. This thing should have no problem getting you
through your day.
The Z1 Compact breaks a song and dance with a powerful 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, which, at that screen resolution, should run circles around all the benchmarks and 3D games you throw at it, and enables LTE connectivity, too, should your carrier support the tech. Aided by 2 GB of RAM, multitasking with the phone should be top-notch, and in addition to the 16 GB of internal storage (12 GB user-available) we get a microSD slot. The battery gets downsized to 2300 mAh from the 3000 mAh unit of the Z1, which, thanks to the power-hungry TN display, doesn't sport a good battery life anyway, which will hopefully not be an issue with the Z1 Compact, for which Sony quotes up to 12 hours of video playback on a charge.
Software :
The Xperia Z1s is still running Android 4.3
Jelly Bean, but updating it to 4.4. KitKat is already on Sony’s to-do list. It’s also
running Sony’s custom UI that takes some getting used to but is most certainly
worth the learning curve. It’s got some super cool features for both
productivity and play – things like the hovering quick apps.
The Z1 compact surely runs on android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and we are expecting further android updates as it has
enough RAM to run the latest android-KitKat.
Overall the performance provided is snappy and does not has any kind of lag in
the system.
Camera :
Surely
the Z1s is a photo-centric thing, it’s packing number crunching 20.7-megapixel
auto-focus camera. Thanks to the large sensor size, the pixels are of
decent size, despite their greater number. The Exmor RS sensor is accompanied
by f2.0 lens, Sony’s BIONZ for mobile engine and an LED flash. It’s not something we’d
classify as class leading, but the 1080p video recording quality of the Xperia
Z1S is still pleasant enough for us to accept. Sure, it might not produce the
sharpest details, but its gradual exposure, clear audio recording, smooth
recording, and instantaneous focus is something we gladly take with open arms.
The
Xperia Z1 Compact also sports the same type of Camera As we have seen in the
Z1s, the 20.7 megapixel camera takes excellent shorts not like the Nexus 5. It has
the ability to record videos at full HD 1080p resolution.
Pricing and Final Thoughts :
Yes,
these are the few flagship phones we can take into the shower with us. In
addition, it’s a premium feeling and made smartphone that puts those other
plastic ones to shame. However, knowing that we’re getting into that fun part
of the year when NEWER flagship announcements are right around the corner, it
begs the question whether or not the Sony Xperia Z1S and Z1Compact will be
future proof. Since the phones
are not yet released in India the overall price expected for this device is
more than 25,000 INR. The phone is available for preorders for about 600$.
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