Hands on: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact reviewForGreat innardsVibrant screenAgainstHeftier designMore expensive than 'mini' phones Hands on: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review Is the solution to the Z1 conundrum to make it smaller? By Gareth Beavis 7th Jan 2014 | 01:000 CommentsSony might be late to the 'mini phone' party, but it might have just taken the lead with this impressive phone.
The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is an odd phone for a number of reasons - but not many of them negative.
For starters, this isn't a handset that's meant to be based on the larger model but been stripped of functionality - with the Z1 Compact, there's pretty much the exact same internal make up as seen on the Sony Xperia Z1.
Consider that for a moment: that means you're getting the 20.7MP G Lens sensor, a Snapdragon 800 quad-core chipset, the same metallic surround and all the waterproofing you could want.
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Well, provided you don't want to plummet to a depth of over a metre, and for no longer than 30 minutes, of course.
On top of that the same Bravia and TriLuminos technology has been wedged into the screen, which has been upgraded to include the same in plane switching (IPS) LCD technology as seen on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
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This is a massive move, as anyone who's played with the Z1 and original Z will have noted that the screen can look washed out even when viewed head on, and even worse when you tilt the phone. As a result colours look amazing on the Z1 Compact, making it a real upgrade over its bigger brother in this respect.
Of course, there is that pesky notion of physics to deal with, meaning that the smaller phone will have to have a tinier screen - although it's still an iPhone-busting 4.3-inches on offer. It's sadly been dropped to 720p, which means a PPI of 340.... again, higher than that seen on the iPhone 5S.
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It begins to bring the question of how Apple can charge so much for its flagship phone to the fore once more - while there isn't a final Sony Xperia Z1 Compact price, it's going to be up to three tiers below the iPhone 5S with arguably superior technology on board.
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It's not as well designed as Apple's offering, or even the HTC One Mini, as although the metallic chassis is back from the Xperia Z1 (and feels better in the hand, as the compact dimensions of the Z1 Compact make it fit much more nicely in the hand) it still has an element of chunk about it, as the rounded metal gives the impression of higher heft.
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It's not a terrible thing, and I like it more than the larger variant. The screen sharpness isn't a problem either - anyone that can tell the difference in the resolution when using the phones generally has eyes that should be certainly donated to science.
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One of the other big changes is to introduce colour to the party, with the Z1 compact available in white, black, pink and yellow. The hue is embraced throughout the design, and is even pushed into the metal itself, making it feel much more premium than if you just shoved a third party cover on the top to create the same effect.
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The battery may cause some problems again, despite Sony's cries of its excellent Stamina mode –the Xperia Z1 was all that long-lasting despite having one of the best chipsets on the market, and with a battery reduction to 2300mAh some users might experience battery drain a little ahead of what they might expect.
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That's not really a fair assumption to make at this point though, as with Android 4.2 on board (yet to be confirmed for final release) things could have been tweaked and optimised a-plenty and therefore working a lot better even with a reduced power pack.
Beyond that, there's not very much that's different with the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, as it works in precisely the same way as the Z1, which means the speed under the finger is insanely good, the web browsing is beyond what I'd have expected and the music service, with the Music Unlimited offering built right in, is something that should be more lauded than it is.
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And as I mentioned, video really looks killer on the Z1 Compact thanks to that improved screen - I've become used to using the larger screened phones so everything seems a little more squashed down, but considering that the main target of the Xperia Z1 Compact is going to be the upgrader from an iPhone or another handset from two years ago, the screen size won't be that much of a miss.
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You can tell Sony is looking to make its name as a the leader in changing over from one phone to another, as it's introducing the Sony Xperia Transfer Mobile - a service that will allow you to connect to another phone and in an instant see all your contacts, messages, calendar entries and media, and switching them across to your new handset.
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This will be possible even with the iPhone, and while I've heard several murmurs of other manufacturers interested in the same thing, it looks like Sony has made the jump first.
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The most impressive part of Xperia Transfer Mobile is that it will scan your old Android or iPhone and work out which apps are on there - and will match it to the current catalogue to allow you to port over.
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This will be in the form of a list of links, but is really only useful to iPhone defectors, as if you've properly backed up your Android phone then Google will auto-download your apps anyway.
Early verdictI've seen the rise of the mini phone die and then become reborn again - what's interesting is that three years ago Sony Ericsson was really making waves in this area, with the likes of the Ray showing that a decent smartphone didn't need to cost the Earth, so it's odd to see that the company took so long to get back into this arena again.
But with very few compromises to talk about, there's definitely a different vibe going on here - the Compact isn't a Mini, if that makes any sense. Sony didn't want to go down the route of the Xperia Z1 Mini as that confers the notion that this phone is a diluted version of the original.
While it's not fair to say that, it's still very close to something like the HTC One Mini, which is only marked as different to this handset thanks to only having a dual-core set up.
But with the range of colours, the larger amount of technology and the fact it's waterproof, Sony may have entered the 'compact phone' market just at the right time - to the point where I'd worry about anyone wanting the Z1 any more.
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