Gadgetory

outstanding performance in the sighs for you that's the tagline Sony uses on its website to promote the Xperia z1 compact and the message is seductive big power without the need for a big casing it's something we've long called for and now Sony is saying it's here so how does the Xperia z1 compact deliver let's find out I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is our video review of the Sony Xperia z1 compact as we mentioned in our comparison video earlier in the week this device comes to us on loan from our friends at clove technology and we thank them for the review unit if this phone seems like something you'd like to take home follow our example visit clove code at UK linked in the description and order one for yourself now compact might not be the sexiest brand name we've ever heard of but if nothing else it's accurate this incarnation of Sony's premium smartphone line maintains the glass sandwich build of its bigger siblings but Slim's the casing down to much more palm friendly dimensions the only thing that suffers as a result is the screen size which had 4.3 inches is smaller than most modern flagships but that's the only real hit against it at 720p it makes for a pixel density of 342 PPI which on a screen like this is more than enough plus we're happy to see that Sony has finally fixed its off-axis visibility problem this display is vibrant from almost any angle beneath that screen is one of the very best power plants you can find in a smartphone today Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 it's backed up by the usual suspects in terms of GPU RAM and storage options and the whole thing is wrapped up in a shadow resistant casing that feels much more solid than its 137 grams would suggest it's available in several colors but the classic black with gunmetal trim is quite striking while the port covers on the sides are just as cumbersome and clunky as ever there is small price to pay for the phones water and dust resistance a capability that in 2014 is still more rare than it should be and though the phone is one of the easiest to dirty up with skin oil and pocket-lint it's bare chassis is pretty enough that you probably won't want to cover it up with a case looks feel pocket ability power Sony is in great form with the z1 compacts hardware the company is no slouch in software either at least in terms of aesthetics yes this is skinned Android which means that yes we're looking at an older software build with delayed updates and all the other sacrifices that come with it but what you get in exchange isn't some stuttering mishmash of nonsense it's pretty it's cohesive and it almost never bogs down even when the phone is doing a lot of work in the background that said we do have some complaints some apps which run very well on other Android phones don't do so well on Sony's skin Google Maps in particular crashes pretty routinely which is annoying the hardware camera key is a great shortcut for launching the camera right from standby but sometimes it just doesn't work and Chrome has a strange bug that results in random zooming unless you're using the very tip of your finger all the time these are oddities we also encountered on the Xperia z1s so it seems pretty clear that Sony's skin across the whole line could use an update here's hoping that update doesn't change the camera dumb because this thing is a joy to shoot with from the fun to the practical the compact has it all bundled up in an easy-to-use viewfinder and though there's no oh is the digital stabilization makes for a very smooth shooting experience on screen it's all wonderfully thought-out and executed Sony's also put a lot of work into solving its image quality problems of the past the compacts 20.7 megapixel camera defaults to an over sampled 8 megapixels out of the box but you can shoot in full resolution using manual mode it's a shame that mode doesn't offer more tweak ability we especially miss manual focus but you'll probably be better served by superior auto anyway this automatic mode does a very nice job tailoring the camera settings for different lighting situations and the digital noise that was characteristic of Sony smartphones has really really been toned down here it's still there if you look hard enough particularly in low-light shots where the device is apparently doing a lot of post-processing so we're still not in lumia territory here you'll probably want to switch to manual mode to try amping up the exposure rather than resorting to the flash in low-light situations the so-called flash bleed problem doesn't show up in every shot but it's definitely there in some in camcorder mode the compact is impressive automatic shooting and good lighting produces video that's a pleasure to look at colors are well balanced automatic adjustments are speedy and sound capture is a little muddled compared to other devices but it's clear enough for most situations underwater video comes out crisp and clean with the autofocus still nice and snappy just like the still shot if you've watched our camera test of the Xperia z1s this won't come as a surprise it's the same hardware and it does just as good a job here Sony's claim of the best camera on a waterproof compact smartphone is awfully narrow but as far as we can see it's also spot-on for full-size versions of these photos and many more shots see our full review at pocket now linked in the description below we tested the z1 compact over a 6 day period between Massachusetts and Maine on t-mobile's 3 and 4G networks we didn't run into many reception problems and battery life was reasonably solid though it varied a little more than we're used to seeing on its first charge we used it quite heavily and it endured for over 10 hours but that kind of endurance wasn't consistent possibly due to our office being in a fringe coverage area voice calls were quite nice on our end with crisp loud side tone and plenty of ear piece volume though callers didn't seem to understand us quite as well as when we used other phones gaming as you might expect with a Snapdragon 800 inside is excellent about the only place the z1 compact is truly underwhelming is in its speakerphone even when bone-dry it's a thin sounding tinny little module that's easy to accidentally block with the finger despite that huge grill with a price tag north of $500 we'd expect nothing less than premium level performance from the z1 compact petite package or no unfortunately we're left with a smartphone that delivers just that it loses points for audio performance and a slightly buggy and already outdated build of Android but it gains a whole lot too for delivering on the promise of a palm-sized smartphone with almost no compromise our numeric score is available in our full review at pocket now so we'll close here by saying if big phones aren't your bag your hunt for mid-sized quality should definitely begin with a very close look at the Xperia z1 compact one more time folks if you want more details about our impressions of the z1 compact we have a lot more that we couldn't fit in this video but that we did fit in the full written review check it out it's the first link in the description below the full review at pocket now including sample photos you didn't get a chance to see in this video and a whole lot more and be sure and visit our friends at clove clove code at UK if you want to see one compact of your very own before you go anywhere like this video please if you did enjoy it and drop us a comment down below if you have some follow-up feedback a question and be sure to follow us on social media so you don't miss a future content on the z1 compact and every other smartphone or tablet and wearable we can get our hands on until next time it's been Michael Fisher with PocketNow thank you so much for watching and we'll see you soon