Sony Xperia Z1 review
Android Kitkat was available for the Z1 so this review is based on this OS.
Upon meeting the Z1, I was impressed by the build quality, a chunky slab of glass and aluminium with a solid feel. Didn’t feel at all plasticky like some newer high end phones from some manufacturers
The Z1 is reported to be dust and water proof. To achieve this any holes in the body such as SIM card, SD card and USB socket have covers which clip into place. This made the phone even more elegant to look at. However I don’t know how water tight they are and I didn’t test this. The headphone socket oddly does not have a cover. So there must be some watertight fitting inside somewhere. Getting a SIM card into the phone is a bit fiddly. With a fragile slide out tray to hold the mini SIM in place. Powering up the device is different as the on/off button is at the side in the middle. Intuitively you head for the top of the phone. Not sure why they needed to do this.
The front of the phone is entirely glass and look amazing. The screen takes up a good chunk of the real estate and is a beauty. The 1080p display is really bright and clear. It wasn’t noticeably any worse than a recent iphone, Samsung Galaxy or HTC One. Watching BBC iPlayer was a dream. Of course being entirely glass meant that reflections in bright light were a problem. And you would sometimes end up looking at yourself as the mirror effect was so pronounced. But I don’t think this is any worse than other phones.
Power up is swift and Kitkat seems to be an improved mobile operating system. Motion through the menus was fluid and clear. The quad core processor made a real difference. There was very little lag on launching applications and even normal web browsing on the phone seemed a lot quicker. With the screen rendering images and text fast when on good wifi or 4G.
Sony has preinstalled lots of bloatware. With Walkman and Playstation brands present. And Sonys Video app which isn’t that bad actually. It makes you sign into all of these. I had an old Qriocity account from years ago which I used. Sonys app store is also available but you’ll find all you need on Google Play anyway which is still there. So everything is duplicated with a Sony and Google version of each on the phone.
The most commonly used app for me was mail. And this was the newer Google version and worked well with my multiple accounts including corporate mail via activesync. A range of options were available to stop you hammering the mail servers and your battery life. Typing on the screen seemed to suit my fingers better than other devices. Not sure why but it worked well.
The next common app was web browsing and for this there is only once choice and that is Google Chrome. No Sony version of another browser. I found google chrome good to use and on this quad core phone it was super fast.
The camera has a high megapixel count of greater than 20MP. On paper that sounds great. In practice the software is a let down. Some options which are becoming standard like selfie mode are missing. The range of things you can do are there with some odd but fun modes. It took some good snaps. But there are better camera phone out there with the same or more megapixels. I found the camera application also froze on occasion. Not sure if this was a glitch with Kitkat. The processor and RAM should make the camera fly but it doesn’t seem to. Still too many things to press in order to take a photo.
Battery life was good. Even with all my battery draining apps installed and wifi/GPS used wisely. I got more than 48 hours out of it without a charge. It also charged quickly and the percentage charge permanently displayed is a good idea. Power management options were also good with a couple of different modes to conserve juice.
In conclusion, I immediately got used to this phone. Build quality and looks are excellent. Just move that power button back and solve the fiddly SIM tray. The screen is superb and the glossy glass makes it classy to look at. The power of the processor and RAM make a difference which means everything you do is smoothly done. In use it was a dream just disappointed that the camera was not as fully featured and the pictures taken were more snapshot than glorious pictures. The Sony bloatware is un-necessary effort on Sonys part but I guess they have a couple of brands to promote.
Would definitely consider a Z3 with whatever improved technology is around when it is released today/tomorrow
