Sony has been making some pretty decent phones, following the trend of big and massive devices. But now, they threw that idea aside and tried another way: a smaller phone, but specifications like a real hero. Can they pack all this high-tech hardware in a little smartphone? Sony thinks they can, and we’ve checked if they got it all right.
The Xperia Z1 Compact promises big things in smaller dimensions. It has a 720p 4.3 inch screen. It doesn’t have the 1080p on its specs list, but who needs Full HD anyway on a phone, right? If you put them next to each other, you’ll probably notice the difference, but it’s so little, you shouldn’t be put off just because of this. It still is really crisp, and it has this fine technology called an IPS screen, which gives better viewing angles than other used displays. The compact device delivers in performance too with its Snapdragon 800. This is a first in a small phone, and this alone makes it clear Sony really doesn’t want to make compromises. It does everything you throw at it smoothly. 1080p videos are displayed smoothly, you don’t surf the web, you fly over it, and gaming is handled with the best graphics. They packed NFC and 4G in there too. It’s really impressive for this little device. The camera might be a selling point too. It packs a huge amount of megapixels, 20.7MP to be exact. Photos snapped are beautiful, it’s their best camera yet and somehow they packed it this small chassis. It’s great in low light; pictures are almost always clean, balanced and detailed. People who use their phone as their always-on-hands camera won’t be disappointed.
With all this power, we of course already hear everyone asking: what about the battery life? The Z1 Compact houses a 2300mAh battery, which is considerably smaller than its big brother’s. To our surprise, even in this department the device excels. Battery life is amazing; it outperforms a few of the biggest phones out there from HTC, Apple and Samsung. Sony has something under their sleeve here, and they call it Stamina Mode, which will shut down data whenever your screen isn’t on. With this feature, it will give your phone a whole day of juice. Besides these features, what I liked most is that the Xperia Z1 Compact is waterproof and comes in a range of colours. It’d be difficult for me to chose between the black and silver, while I wouldn’t mind keeping the keeping the pink one with me as well. Let’s take a look at the spec quickly:
- 720p, 4.3 inch Screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
- 2GB RAM
- 20.7MP Camera, 1080p Video Capture
- 16GB Internal Storage, up to 64GB with microSD
- NFC Enabled
- 4G Enabled
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 2300mAh Battery
- Android 4.3 (upgradeable to KitKat in future)
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact doesn’t have the best screen out there, but it’s a fine display nonetheless. Hence the name, it’s a compact device, but it packs the best specs of today; a processor that performs like it should, a camera with a lot of megapixels that shoots pictures the way you want them to look, and a battery life that won’t disappoint, even for the heavier users out there. In short: this is a small smartphone that really deserves the title ‘smart’. Sony promised a small, powerful device, we say they delivered one.
Stay tuned for more tech reviews from Brad and Me. And, as always, special thanks to Kevin for his support.
Amaya, Gifu, Japan