Sony Xperia Z1 Smartphone Review

Introduction

We’re in a crowded market in Singapore where a huge
percentage of the consumers have at least one high end smartphone. The two
big names which come into everyone’s mind when we talk about the top of the
line smartphones will definitely be Samsung and Apple, both having their own
fair percentage of market share in Singapore. However, it seems that the game
is finally starting to change with strong competitors coming into the arena.

Not long ago, Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra 6.4” smartphone created
quite some commotion and noise in the market, threatening their competitors of
market share. The Xperia Z Ultra was able to capture the attention of many
thanks to many of its innovative features and never seen before technology. However, there were also some who found that the Xperia Z Ultra was a bit too big for
their liking. Fear not as Sony has just launched the Xperia Z1 smartphone in an answer to those calls for a high end mainstream smartphone.

The Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone stands side by side with the
other flagship smartphones from other manufacturers. In this review, we are
going to go through the different aspects of the new smartphone and see where
are the points which makes it the top of the line smartphone for the market.

Specifications


Dimensions	144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5 mm
Weight	169g
Screen size	5.0 inches
Screen resolution	1,920 x 1,080
Screen type	Triluminos LCD with 16 million colors
Battery	3,050mAh Li-ion (non-removable)
Internal storage	16GB (12GB free)
External storage	MicroSDXC, up to 64GB
Rear camera	20.7MP (1/2.3-inch sensor, f/2.0 lens with 27mm equiv. focal length)
Front-facing cam	2MP stills, 1080p video)
Video capture	1080p
NFC	Yes
Radios	HSPA+ (850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100); GSM GPRS / EDGE (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20)
Bluetooth	v4.0
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974)
CPU	2.2GHz quad-core Krait 400
GPU	Adreno 330
RAM	2GB
Entertainment	MHL, USB OTG, WiFi Direct, DLNA
WiFi	Dual-band, 802.11a/ac/b/g/n
Wireless Charging	No
Operating system	Android 4.2.2 (Sony-specific UI)

Design and Aesthetics

Previously codenamed Honami, the Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone is finally here. Greeting the consumers in Singapore with a strong price point and compelling aesthetics, Honami is sure to take away the hearts of many. Let’s take a look at the overall structure and design adopted by Sony for the Xperia Z1.

Xperia Z1 has subtly rounded edges and smooth, reflective surfaces on all sides, which are held together by a skeleton frame made from aluminium. The phone features tempered glass covered by shatterproof film on front and back.

As compared to the BlackBerry Z10 device, the Xperia Z1 is a bit thinner at a width of 8.5mm. However, this thickness is more proportionate to the Z10 as the phone is significantly larger in terms of screen size and dimensions as well. This gives a better grip for users while still maintaining a decent overall look and feel.

The Xperia Z1 remains to have a 5.0″ display, identical to the one found in its predecessor – Xperia Z. In comparison to the BlackBerry Z10 which has a 4.2″ display, one will realise that despite the screen size difference, the bezels on the Sony Xperia Z1 are made thin, resulting a large screen yet still compact smartphone.

The Xperia Z1 has a 1080p 1920 x 1080 resolution which seems to be the bare minimum for all flagship smartphones on the market these days.

As Xperia Z1 is rated to be IP55 and IP58, all ports are covered with a cover to ensure that the smartphone remains waterproof and dustproof. Over here, we can see the microUSB charging/data ports as well as a microSD card slot.

At the bottom of the phone lies the speakers and a lanyard hole.

On the other side of the phone features a camera shutter button, a volume up and down button as well as the power button. Sony has realised that a phone equipped with such a great camera should also come with a camera button and decided to incorporate it with the Z1. The Sony Xperia Z Ultra smartphone which was also launched not long ago did not have this button.

The microSIM card slot is also found under the hoods of the protective cover.

A 3.5mm jack is placed at the top of the smartphone. The placement of the jack is perfect for different types of earphone plugs as it allows cable to run freely from the pocket to your ears.

Lastly, the back of the smartphone has a simple and clean design with a Sony branding in the middle and a Xperia logo at the bottom. The camera is placed at the top left hand corner instead of the center.

Core Features and State of the Art Technology

The World’s Best Smartphone Camera

The key highlight of the phone is the 20.7 megapixel camera, paired with Sony’s in-house G lens and its image processing algorithm called, BIONZ. Sony’s G branding to lenses is only accorded to lenses of the highest performance as defined by their standards. Sony G lenses stand side by side with outstanding Carl Zeiss optics. This means that in terms of camera hardware, Sony Xperia Z1 has definitely got the best from their own technology. Sony has even claimed that their camera on the Z1 is on par with the one found on the Lumia 1020.

The Best Colours represented on Smartphones

It seems that Sony’s ‘1’ initiative to bring technologies from their different product segments into all their products are starting to show off its advantages. Within the display of Sony Xperia Z1, there are two technologies from Sony’s flagship Bravia TV. We’re truly getting the best of the best technology from Sony.

The two technologies incorporated into the Sony Xperia Z1 are Triluminous Display and X-Reality. Although some may think that they are just a little more than marketing names, let me explain what these two technologies brings to users and let you decide whether it really performs as good as it is said to do.

The Sony Xperia Z1 is also one of the few 1080p Full HD display smartphone of its size. Imagine having a huge 50 inch full HD TV shrink down to a size of a smartphone. The kind of pixel density and clarity that you get out of this new smartphone is almost unimaginable.

Dust and Waterproof

Have you ever thought of using your smartphone in the bathroom while you’re bathing? How about taking photos of marine life? It is now possible with Sony Xperia Z1 as it is rated to be waterproof. It is IP certified to be water resistant and also dust-proof (IP55/58). By definition, this means that :

Limited protection against dust ingress – harmfull amounts cant get in
Protected against continuous immersion in water no deeper than 100cm – pool or pond light
Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions – strong spray with hose pipe

Just by putting the phone under water, we can see that the screen exterior is hydrophobic and the stream of water will immediately become droplets of water, flowing down the screen.

Camera Tests

The Camera App

Various Camera modes for selection

We’ve found the camera app on the Xperia Z1 to be extremely user friendly and easy to use. For most users, they can just stick to the Superior auto mode to take photos. It is the first time we are seeing an option for “AR effect”, and so we decided to give it a try.

Upon tapping into the AR effect mode, we were greeted with the choice of AR effect. In the example shown above, we used “Fairytale” mode which augments various cute characters and houses on our live camera view. We can take photos directly with these little icons.

If we were to move our phone closer to these characters, we can also see many other details of them, giving users a true augmented reality experience. This feature is fun to play with, but I don’t think we will use it on a daily basis. Probably just to show off the capabilities of the app.

Picture Effect mode applies various image filters to the live camera view and show us the preview in real time. The performance processing these images is great and we were able to choose the right filter for the image effect we wanted easily.

Moving on the manual mode, we had the choice to change various camera settings on the Z1. Some of the most basic includes self-time and Burst with longpress modes. Burst mode works impressively with the ability to take up to 30 photos at a time.

We can also change the settings of the camera according to different scenes.

White balance can also be set manually.

As stated, the app is capable of taking photos up to 20 Megapixels in size.

Photo Sample Shots

Sony Xperia Z1 Test Shot

BlackBerry Z10 Test Shot

Sony Xperia Z1 Test Shot

BlackBerry Z10 Test Shot

Sony Xperia Z1 Test Shot

BlackBerry Z10 Test Shot

Sony Xperia Z1 Test Shot

BlackBerry Z10 Test Shot

Sony Xperia Z1 Test Shot

BlackBerry Z10 Test Shot

Comparing the test shots of both smartphones, we think that the Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone works quite well in low light situations as compared to the 9 month old BlackBerry Z10. Colours in low light photos are recreated vibrantly and we thought it is really where the camera shines. Usual daylight photos taken from both phones are decent and little differences can be seen. We did realise that the light sensors when set to auto on Xperia Z1 responds better to the environment, taking photos in a more appropriate setting.

Despite minor differences between the taken test shots, the capability of Xperia Z1 to take 20 Megapixels photos already puts it a step in front of many smartphones.

Performance and Benchmarks

In AnTuTu benchmark, Sony Xperia Z1 performed extremely well, living up to its name of a flagship smartphone from Sony. It’s significantly faster than flagships from other brands such as the HTC One and Galaxy S IV. This is attributed to the snappy quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor.

Moving on the 3D benchmarks which determines actual gaming experience on the smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone excels too. It maxed out both 3DMark Ice Storm standard and Extreme versions and we had to use the Unlimited test mode to push the phone further. In Unlimited mode, it was shown that Xperia Z1 scored 15789, faster than the Xperia Z Ultra. However, it is still 455 points away from the LTE-A version Galaxy S IV which has its CPU clocked at 2.3GHz instead of 2.2GHz. These benchmark results do not mean anything much as both scores are still considered to be extremely high and not significant in real world performance in games and applications.

With AnTuTu screen tester, we also realised that the display on the Sony Xperia Z1 supports up to 10 touch points on the screen at one time.

Sony Xperia Z1 has a whopping 3000mAh battery capacity. Many will be contented with the battery life of this smartphone on a single charge as it is said to provide about 15 hours of 3G talk-time, and the 35 days of 3G stand-by time. If you’re using the handset in a 4G area, stand-by time should be just a bit lower at 31 days, which is still a great achievement.

Conclusion

Sony Xperia Z1 has definitely got what it takes to be the best smartphone on the market. Its camera stands out from any other flagship Android smartphone on the market with the latest and greatest camera technology from Sony. Stunning photos can be captured from the Z1.

It has a great battery life thanks to its 3000mAh battery, something which is really lacking in most smartphones today. Moreover, display technologies like TRILUMINOUS and X-REALITY just recreates a whole new viewing experience for users on the smartphone, putting the Xperia Z1 at the top of the ladder when compared to the other smartphones.

Overall, the Sony Xperia Z1 is a great phone with great hardware and performance. It’s sexy design also makes it the choice for many. Personally, this would definitely be my choice for an everyday smartphone.

Available in white, black and purple, Xperia Z1 from Sony Mobile will retail in Sony stores, Sony centres, Xperia concept stores, authorised outlets as well as all telco operators from 04 October 2013 onwards at a recommended retail price of S$998 without contract.

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Sony Xperia Z1 Smartphone Review

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Introduction

Specifications

Design and Aesthetics

Core Features and State of the Art Technology

The World’s Best Smartphone Camera

The Best Colours represented on Smartphones

Dust and Waterproof

Camera Tests

The Camera App

Photo Sample Shots

Performance and Benchmarks

Conclusion

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