Z1 compact on the way.

[shortylickens]

Reports of flash bleed starting to pop up for some users.

Think I am still ordering it. Clove has it for $550 to the US. Cheapest I've seen anywhere.

My least important concern in a smartphone is the flash.
Next from the bottom is camera.

If photos were important to me I'd carry around my T3.

 

[abaez]

I'm not too worried either, but for some people it looks like it makes the camera completely unusable at night: http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...a-so-poor-Comparison-shots/m-p/541415#U541415

 

[WelshBloke]

Yes, but if you hadn't cut off my post, I then compared it to the Moto X, which is the flip side of that coin. I would rather a small screen phone with some bezel and a good battery than a big screened phone with no bezel, or an even smaller screen phone with no bezel and crappy battery.

Its fine that you prefer it but its still got a small screen in a medium sized phones body.

Would have to disagree there. The side bezels on the One are about as small as you can get and still have a nontouch section to grip. The top and bottom simply 'look' larger because they sport front facing speakers, an excellent use of bezel space. Scrapping the capacitive bar on the bottom and going with on screen buttons would give the m8 an amazing design.

The top and bottom dont just look bigger, they are bigger. Moto X has the same sized screen and is nearly 1CM shorter. Hell, the G2 has a much bigger screen in nearly the same sized package.

 

[Deeko]

Its fine that you prefer it but its still got a small screen in a medium sized phones body.

Not really, no.

Z1 Compact: 127 x 64.9 x 9.5
HTC One Mini: 132 x 63.2 x 9.3
Galaxy S4 Mini: 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9

Moto X: 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4
HTC One: 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3
Lumia 1020: 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4

It's smaller, albeit slightly, than the Moto X in every dimension, and the Moto X is regarded as strikingly compact for its size, not a regular mid-sized device. Compare it to the HTC One or the Lumia 1020 and it's not even close. It clearly fits in with the other "Mini" phones, it's only close to the Moto X because it is very small for its class, not because the Z1 Compact is large.

 

[Deeko]

So I've had it for a couple of days now. Initial thoughts:

-I'm on AT&T and have yet to get LTE. As I understand, it supports 2/3 bands that AT&T broadcasts LTE, but that the one it's missing (700 MHz) is the most common, so I'm probably not the only one who would have this issue. However, I've been planning to switch to T-Mobile anyway, so that's not a big deal.

-The size and build are very, very good. I love the size and weight of it, it's easy to use one handed, and feels very premium / well put together. Haven't tested the waterproofness yet (who drops their new $550 phone in water), but it's good to know it has it. That said, the flaps are annoying. I'm going to look into the magnetic chargers, it's annoying to have to buy them, but they're only $6 on Amazon.

-Performance is great. Even running Sony's stock build, it outperforms my Nexus 7 (2013) by a long shot. This is the first Android phone I've ever owned that doesn't have any noticeable stutter or lag - although sometimes that comes with time. We'll see, but so far so good.

-Screen quality isn't bad, isn't great. I love the size of the screen, and it's very sharp, but colors are a bit washed out. It's not as bad as the Z1 - no issues with viewing angles - but it would be nice if the colors were a bit more vibrant. Still, it's pleasing to look at.

-Camera is disappointing. Most of my shots so far have been indoors, and while the color reproduction is very accurate, the pictures are very noisy. My Lumia 920 takes much better pictures. This seems to be a post-processing issue, so hopefully Sony releases some sort of an update to improve things here. I have a Sony point and shoot that doesn't have this problem, so clearly it's something they understand.... but, that said, it takes better pictures than any non-Lumia phone I've owned.

-Battery life is so so. It's always hard to tell right after I get a phone, because I use it a lot. I'll have a better idea over time, but as of now, I would say better than my HTC One was, worse than the Lumia 920. There's some Sony process (com.sonyericsson.android.wakeup) that wakes the phone from sleep over 1,000 times per hour, can't be helping things, and it can't be disabled. Maybe a root / custom rom would be better.

-The Sony skin isn't that annoying. They subtly changed pretty much everything, but unlike Sense or Touchwhiz, the spirit is still the same as stock. I'm not overly concerned with it, although I'm sure I won't use any of Sony's add on apps.

I think that's all I've got for now. So far, I like it - a lot better than I did the HTC One Mini, that's for sure.

 

[Rdmkr]

I'm jealous of the Z1 camera specs; 20MP, large 1/2.3 sensor, fast f/2.0 lens... what could go wrong? but still I read things about this thing having problems and not being "generally" that good...

 

[vbuggy]

Z1 Compact: 127 x 64.9 x 9.5

Wut

Could you confirm those dimensions?

I was expecting something a lot more iPhone/Lumia 620-like when they said Compact.

 

[Deeko]

Wut

Could you confirm those dimensions?

I was expecting something a lot more iPhone/Lumia 620-like when they said Compact.

It's a 4.3" screen. The iPhone has a 4" screen, the Lumia 620 3.8". Of course it's going to be bigger than them. That said the iPhone 5s is 124 mm tall, it's not exactly that much smaller (that direction).

 

[WelshBloke]

There's some Sony process (com.sonyericsson.android.wakeup) that wakes the phone from sleep over 1,000 times per hour, can't be helping things, and it can't be disabled. Maybe a root / custom rom would be better.

That's the process they use to put the root kit on your computer.



It's to do with fast dormancy on your network. Its a power saving feature but if your network doesn't support it it can cause problems.


http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2382680

 

[vbuggy]

It's a 4.3" screen. The iPhone has a 4" screen, the Lumia 620 3.8". Of course it's going to be bigger than them. That said the iPhone 5s is 124 mm tall, it's not exactly that much smaller (that direction).

The 5s is pretty much the tallest I'd want in a completely one-hand-usable phone. That it's taller and significantly wider makes it a lot less attractive than I was first assuming.

 

[shortylickens]

Wut

Could you confirm those dimensions?

I was expecting something a lot more iPhone/Lumia 620-like when they said Compact.

Its compact compared to the Z1, which is a massive beast.

 

[vbuggy]

[testy look]

 

[porter_m]

Looks great. Very sexy phone and similar specs to the full size Z1 which is a nice change from the gimped specs of others like the one mini and s4 mini.

Couldn't agree more. Looks great

 

[Rdmkr]

Are there people here who have used 5 inch 1080p screens and went back to 4.3 ish inch 720p? If so how did you experience that transition?

 

[master7045]

Are there people here who have used 5 inch 1080p screens and went back to 4.3 ish inch 720p? If so how did you experience that transition?

I originally bought an LG G2, but swapped it out for a Moto x for several reasons. First the device was too big for me. It was annoying in my work pants and the goofy LG launcher was annoying. I just couldn't get over all the nonsense LG had enabled by default. I got sick of going into the settings and disabling everything. Plus, the buttons, couldn't get used to them. Although that was with a VZW phone, I hear the ATT version was better.

I like more of a simplistic approach (old iPhone user). The Moto X with Aviate launcher fits the bill perfectly for me. Decent screen size, compact phone, etch. Biggest downside of the X is the camera, but that's for another discussion.

Overall I think a 4.3 to 4.7" phone is the right size for me. I'm 6'2" as well for reference.

 

[Rdmkr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50eMGyeTxk

there's a size comparison to the LG G2's at 0:55. The regular Z1 should be about the size of the G2.

I'm personally a little underwhelmed by the size difference.

 

[shortylickens]

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/126823-sony-xperia-z1-compact-review

 

[shortylickens]

Unfortunately it also comes with a full size price tag.


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Xperia-Co...rds=z1+compact