Sony Xperia Z1 - A review

A short review of the new Sony Xperia Z1

Sony Xperia Z1

The Xperia Z1 is one of the flagship devices from Sony. It boasts of a top of the line specifications in the mobile industry. It is hard to miss out on the following specs, 20.7-mega pixel Exmor RS camera,Snapdragon 800 chip set, and well the water and dust-proof to add on.

The Z1 is an improved version of the original Xperia Z. The poly-carbonate casing is replaced with an aluminium one and squarish rectangular design with little tapering. The aluminium casing compliments the glass on the front and back of the phone. The phone is little on the heavier side but it feels solid in hands. Its a little bit thicker than the Xperia Z. The phone boasts of a bigger battery with 3000mAh capacity and a new camera. At 170 grams the phone is on the heavier side compared to other smart phones.

For the first time in Xperia series, the camera button on the right edge provides with a two-stage capture. Alongside you will find the volume rocker and power button with a Sim-card slot. The left edge has flaps, one for micro-SD card and another with the USB connector. It also has the dock connector on the left. On the top you will find the 3.5mm headset connector, and the speaker is placed at the bottom. Overall the design and look of the phone is pleasing.

Water resistant

With a display of around 5 inches and ~441 ppi, the screen is stunning. Colours look lively on the device and it a definite visual treat for the eyes. It has TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16M colours at 1080 x 1920 pixel full HD.

The X reality engine- Sony's software for colour enhancement in image viewer. Viewing angles are not so great. When the phone is resting on the desk, the quality of display is lost. The image looks washed out.Shooting pictures underwater is a definite score above the other phones. You will see very crisp images, and watch 1080p videos in native. Colours are pretty true to life.

Shooting Modes

Performance of the Xperia Z1 is great, nothing to complain about thanks to the quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm processor coupled with 2Gb of RAM. Blazing fast OS, no logging. All apps, including HD games open in a flash. Switching between apps is quick. Game performance is amazing. Graphic intensive games run butter smooth. The Adreno 330 GPU takes care of everything. Xperia Connectivity is an addition to the stock android settings.This phone runs on Android 4.2.2.

Auto Focus in Xperia Z1

Camera has multiple shooting modes. Manual selection lets you shoot at full 20Mp, Superior auto lets you shoot only at 8Mp. There is an AR mode that incorporates some funky background. A welcome move is the live share with Facebook, which lets you share Live video of 10 minutes.

Sony was always strong in the field of multimedia, in the Xperia Z1 it has Sony's Walkman player, an FM radio, full HD video playback and access to Sony's media library.

Battery modes

The phone discharged in under 8 hours. Charging the batteries takes a long time, and is not pleasing. With 3000mAh under the hood, I expected the juice to stay a little longer. May be some minor fixes in the updates will ensure better battery backup.

Summary:

• Great design
• Excellent Camera
• Performance is smooth.
• Water proofing is a welcome plus.
• Display could have been better, esp on the viewing angles
• Battery backup is not so great.