Just got an Xperia Z1 - First impressions

[I Can Be Your Hero]

(mods if these types of threads aren't allowed, or are supposed to go into a particular thread, feel free to delete)

Hi All,

So I've jumped onto the Xperia Z1 have having the HTC One which I loved and then the Nexus 5 which I thought was alright. Main reasons for jumping ship off the HTC One was the whole stock android, fast updates, no bloat etc etc. Well that stuff was nice, however I did miss out on the HTC One software features. I felt the N5 had a pretty poor camera, bad battery life and a terrible loudspeaker (especially just coming off the HTC One). While I like the N5, those three things irritated me to the point where I thought I'd just get a new phone. So read around a little and a brand new (sexy) purple Z1 for me it is.

First off, the phone is gorgeous. Beautiful design, feels great in the hand. The difference in feel between the Z1 and N5 is night and day. The Z1 feels like a really solid, premium device. Instantly when I picked up the Z1, I thought 'wow'. I felt like that when I first held the HTC One as well. Both One and Z1 are the best feeling phones IMO. I'm impressed with how thin the Z1 is while having a 3000mah battery inside. Pretty great technological feat. I like the power button, feels cool and love the dedicated camera button. Love how it activates the camera by pressing the button.

The screen is very very good as well. I don't think I'd edge it out ahead of the HTC One, but it's a very close second best. I can see how people say when you tilt the screen, it becomes washed out, which is true, but honestly that doesn't bother me, as when I'm using the phone, I'm looking at it head on, and at that angle, there's no issue. It's a great screen from what I can tell.

The camera is one thing I haven't had a chance to really give it a good run through just yet. The software seems nice, seems like a lot of things it can do (which is a nice change from the anaemic options the N5 had). I've only taken a handful of snaps which have turned out really good, but I'll hold judgement for now until I really give it a workout.

The Xperia software is alright. I like that it's well designed, fast, and has a personality/character than a lot of other UI's. The UI is pretty consistent and pretty well featured. I haven't gone into all the Xperia stuff to check out. One thing which is a bit disappointing is that you can't uninstall some apps (like I want to get rid of Facebook/Twitter because I don't use them). And I don't want to root/flash this phone at all either.

At the end of the day, if I don't like the Xperia UI, I can always turn it off and use a custom launcher or the GEL if I want. Plenty of options out there.

So first impressions are very good. Very attractive kit, snappy and camera/battery seems very promising.

 

[karmamule]

That lines up pretty well with my impressions too, though I'd also add I love how headphones sound on it, and I'm happier with the camera (after a week of use) than reviews made me think i would be.

And battery life is great, though be sure to check out and use Stamina Mode. It let's you white list what apps get to stay active when the display is off.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Yeah battery life is really damn good.

Setting up the phone yesterday, lots of app installs, trying ringtones, web browsing etc the phone only dropped to 70% which is really good. Seems to have a lot of juice.

I'll check out stamina mode. Thanks.

Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk

 

[Phalgun Gujjar]

Good review. I'm still deciding between note 3,, the z1 and the nexus.

Sent from my HTC One

 

[Phalgun Gujjar]

Also how do you find the screen bezel compared to the n5. Lot if complaints of it being too big

Sent from my HTC One

 

[anon(8312128)]

I'm considering buying the Xperia Z1 as well. I've heard some complaints that there's supposedly a built in screen protector on both sides of the phone. Is this really a problem? It seems like folks' first inclination is to remove it.

With the stock launcher, does it allow you to delete unwanted home screens?

Do the port flap/covers stay firmly closed, or do they tend to pop open?

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Also how do you find the screen bezel compared to the n5. Lot if complaints of it being too big

Sent from my HTC One

Side or top and bottom bezels? I don't have issues with either to be honest, but you're better off going to a store and play testing one as everyone has different opinions on that sort of stuff.

The round edges of the phone feel really comfortable to me.

I'm considering buying the Xperia Z1 as well. I've heard some complaints that there's supposedly a built in screen protector on both sides of the phone. Is this really a problem? It seems like folks' first inclination is to remove it.

With the stock launcher, does it allow you to delete unwanted home screens?

Do the port flap/covers stay firmly closed, or do they tend to pop open?

Yes there are screen covers on both the front or back but they're not like normal screen covers and are not supposed to be taken off. You can't tell there are screen covers and it just feels like a normal phone.

Yes you can remove unnecessary home screens with the stock launcher. Just long press on your home page and there's a little x on the top corner of every homecreen to delete. There's also a little home icon so you can set whichever as your default home screen.

The flap covers are really firm. To the point where if you don't have nails, it's kind of hard to pick the flaps open.

I'd like to stress that the battery life of this phone is amazing. 2 he's 30 mins screen time and I still have 60% battery life. So on track to hit over 5 hours screen time. This is with NO battery saving features turned on.

Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk

 

[sauce_a_poutine]

there's supposedly a built in screen protector on both sides of the phone. Is this really a problem?

They have that on all their recent Xperia phones.

That glass is pretty tough, even without the plastic. My phone is a Xperia ZL, which sports the same glass. It was purchased in April, an I peeled it off my phone on day 1. Eight months later, one really has to look for the scratches on it, even if the phone shares a pocket with car keys on a regular basis. The few scratches on it are really hard to see, and don't diminish the viewing experience at all. I'm using a Incipio, and must admit that I've dropped it a few times, and so far, the phone's doing fine without it's "Anti-shatter" film. Removing it isn't a must, but personally, I like bare glass. When my last phone died, It was still in it's Otterbox Defender, an I realized I had spent over 2 years with an annoying, scratched plastic screen protector only to have the phone die on me with a perfect screen, which I hadn't had the chance to enjoy at all. I figured that this time, I'm going to enjoy the pure 100% unadulterated view of plastic-free.

I think the viewing angle thing is way overblown, after these are phones, not theater screens... As subjective as it may be, I prefer having a narrow viewing angle then having to live with over saturated colors. I read E-books on this thing for hours on end, and don't suffer from from eye fatigue at all, and in my book, that's quite a good screen quality test. Currently reading Tom Clancy's Cardinal of the Kremlin

 

[anon(8312128)]

They have that on all their recent Xperia phones.

That glass is pretty tough, even without the plastic. My phone is a Xperia ZL, which sports the same glass. It was purchased in April, an I peeled it off my phone on day 1. Eight months later, one really has to look for the scratches on it, even if the phone shares a pocket with car keys on a regular basis. The few scratches on it are really hard to see, and don't diminish the viewing experience at all. I'm using a Incipio, and must admit that I've dropped it a few times, and so far, the phone's doing fine without it's "Anti-shatter" film. Removing it isn't a must, but personally, I like bare glass. When my last phone died, It was still in it's Otterbox Defender, an I realized I had spent over 2 years with an annoying, scratched plastic screen protector only to have the phone die on me with a perfect screen, which I hadn't had the chance to enjoy at all. I figured that this time, I'm going to enjoy the pure 100% unadulterated view of plastic-free.

I think the viewing angle thing is way overblown, after these are phones, not theater screens... As subjective as it may be, I prefer having a narrow viewing angle then having to live with over saturated colors. I read E-books on this thing for hours on end, and don't suffer from from eye fatigue at all, and in my book, that's quite a good screen quality test. Currently reading Tom Clancy's Cardinal of the Kremlin

Thanks for the response. I just think it's strange that Sony would put this on their device as standard equipment. This is a first for me - never seen any other manufacturer do this. I suppose it wouldn't make any difference to me if I couldn't tell if it were there anyway. Seems to me, if you simply use top quality Gorilla Glass, it wouldn't be necessary to pre-install screen protectors.

Not a deal breaker, as long they're installed with precision and I can't see them, no big deal. I still think it's strange, though

 

[doublestack1]

Does this device work on ATT LTE channels? I read that there are different models but the whole 700 frequency thing leaves me confused.

 

[anon(8312128)]

Anyone experiencing idle/standby battery drain issues?

 

[Orlan2]

Thanks for the response. I just think it's strange that Sony would put this on their device as standard equipment. This is a first for me - never seen any other manufacturer do this. I suppose it wouldn't make any difference to me if I couldn't tell if it were there anyway. Seems to me, if you simply use top quality Gorilla Glass, it wouldn't be necessary to pre-install screen protectors.

Not a deal breaker, as long they're installed with precision and I can't see them, no big deal. I still think it's strange, though

this phone doesn?t have Gorilla Glass, it uses Dragontrail(same on Galaxy Nexus screen), which I heard is really good, as far as the ASF(Anti Shatter Film) I?ve read from many user that even though it supposedly prevents the shatter of the glass to spread or to let the glass go loose, it scratches pretty easily, so easy that it?s scary and u might end up with a scratched up phone, since I don?t mind about using clear protectors, I bought front and rear clear protectors that I placed on top of the ones that came per default installed on the phone so I protect it and I don?t go pulling the out the ASF coz if I take the front one the Sony logo is going to go and I really like how it looks in there, as far as the back part if u remove the ASF the logos will stay since they aren?t baked in the AFS like in the front one.

 

[anon(8312128)]

this phone doesn’t have Gorilla Glass, it uses Dragontrail(same on Galaxy Nexus screen), which I heard is really good, as far as the ASF(Anti Shatter Film) I’ve read from many user that even though it supposedly prevents the shatter of the glass to spread or to let the glass go loose, it scratches pretty easily, so easy that it’s scary and u might end up with a scratched up phone, since I don’t mind about using clear protectors, I bought front and rear clear protectors that I placed on top of the ones that came per default installed on the phone so I protect it and I don’t go pulling the out the ASF coz if I take the front one the Sony logo is going to go and I really like how it looks in there, as far as the back part if u remove the ASF the logos will stay since they aren’t baked in the AFS like in the front one.

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[TonyHove]

Anyone experiencing idle/standby battery drain issues?

Had this phone for 3 months now. Trust me, you won't have any battery problems

Posted via Android Central App from my Sony Xperia Z1

 

[cdd543]

Regarding the screen...I'm 24 hours in with my z1s and it has two vertical scratches and one other odd looking blemish. It has barely been out of the house and never been in a pocket with keys.

 

[sauce_a_poutine]

That would be on the stock anti-shatter film. Yes, it does scratch easy, but I'm happy with a naked screen, and though I can't really speak for other, I believe most would also be quite content without that film....

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Little update after a week of ownership:

Still amazed with the battery. Can't believe how good it is. It might sound weird but I'm actually kind of angry that I can't drain the battery down. I take it off charge probably at 10pm put it on my bedside table for the alarm, wake up at 7am, go to work, use the phone throughout the day at work and get home still with 50% battery. Usually with other phones I'm on 20% or so and only have an hour or two before I need to put it on charge, but not with the Z1. I don't even have to turn on the battery saving stuff, the battery life is amazing as is.

I also really like some of the little stuff:

- The AR effects on the camera. Taking photos of my 3 year old nephew with a pirate hat, eye patch and mustache or walking around with dinosaurs is hilarious.

- Love the quick camera open with the physical button. Much better than having to press the power button the swiping the camera app in. Having the half press focus and full press capture is great.

- The screen brightness has auto adjust, but then you can tweak the 'base' of the auto adjust. This is great because I usually find the auto screen brightness on phones too dim, so this allows you to keep the auto adjust function but allows you to increase/decrease the base level on which the auto brightness scales off.

- Stock UI is pretty minimalist, non-intrusive and lightning quick. I don't even run a custom launcher over the phone. Stock launcher is great.

- The camera is the best camera I've had on an Android phone. Had the Nexus 5 prior to this (which had a horrible camera), and now finally to have a camera that takes consistently good, clear, detailed shots with great camera UI. It's so refreshing.

- The magnifying glass when you move the typing cursor around. Works like the iPhone one and works well. Nice touch.

- Option to sound alarms even if the phone is on silent. FINALLY! I like to put my phone on silent when I go to sleep, however it usually silences the alarms I set in the morning, so I'd have to just put the ringtones lower before I went to sleep. Now I can just put it on silent and the alarm will still play in the morning. Simple, yet great addition.

- The Sony album application allowing pinch to zoom on the gallery. I can pinch out and it'll animate all the thumbnails to shrink in size and I can pinch in to increase the thumbnails. Great feature that avoids the issue of having to scroll through thumbnails and thumbnails to finally see that photo you're after.

This is the first Sony smartphone I've ever owned and I'm surprised at just how much I like this phone. I love the design, software is great, camera and battery life are outstanding. Sony have done a great job and I look forward to see what hey do in the future.

As far as I'm concerned, the Nexus phone series is now dead and buried to me. Both the HTC One and Xperia Z1 I found to have better software functions (UI stuff and camera software) than stock Android and the hardware on both are miles ahead of Nexus. I think 2013 was the year where phone OEM's beat Google to the better phone products and I can't help but think the gap will be even further in 2014.

Sorry for the long post, just really happy with the phone.

I mean look at this battery life!!

4 hours screen time, 20 hours off charge and 40% battery life remaining?! Are you freaking kidding me? I can't get over how good it is.

Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk

 

[skullfreak]

Little update after a week of ownership:

Still amazed with the battery. Can't believe how good it is. It might sound weird but I'm actually kind of angry that I can't drain the battery down. I take it off charge probably at 10pm put it on my bedside table for the alarm, wake up at 7am, go to work, use the phone throughout the day at work and get home still with 50% battery. Usually with other phones I'm on 20% or so and only have an hour or two before I need to put it on charge, but not with the Z1. I don't even have to turn on the battery saving stuff, the battery life is amazing as is.

I also really like some of the little stuff:

- The AR effects on the camera. Taking photos of my 3 year old nephew with a pirate hat, eye patch and mustache or walking around with dinosaurs is hilarious.

- Love the quick camera open with the physical button. Much better than having to press the power button the swiping the camera app in. Having the half press focus and full press capture is great.

- The screen brightness has auto adjust, but then you can tweak the 'base' of the auto adjust. This is great because I usually find the auto screen brightness on phones too dim, so this allows you to keep the auto adjust function but allows you to increase/decrease the base level on which the auto brightness scales off.

- Stock UI is pretty minimalist, non-intrusive and lightning quick. I don't even run a custom launcher over the phone. Stock launcher is great.

- The camera is the best camera I've had on an Android phone. Had the Nexus 5 prior to this (which had a horrible camera), and now finally to have a camera that takes consistently good, clear, detailed shots with great camera UI. It's so refreshing.

- The magnifying glass when you move the typing cursor around. Works like the iPhone one and works well. Nice touch.

- Option to sound alarms even if the phone is on silent. FINALLY! I like to put my phone on silent when I go to sleep, however it usually silences the alarms I set in the morning, so I'd have to just put the ringtones lower before I went to sleep. Now I can just put it on silent and the alarm will still play in the morning. Simple, yet great addition.

- The Sony album application allowing pinch to zoom on the gallery. I can pinch out and it'll animate all the thumbnails to shrink in size and I can pinch in to increase the thumbnails. Great feature that avoids the issue of having to scroll through thumbnails and thumbnails to finally see that photo you're after.

This is the first Sony smartphone I've ever owned and I'm surprised at just how much I like this phone. I love the design, software is great, camera and battery life are outstanding. Sony have done a great job and I look forward to see what hey do in the future.

As far as I'm concerned, the Nexus phone series is now dead and buried to me. Both the HTC One and Xperia Z1 I found to have better software functions (UI stuff and camera software) than stock Android and the hardware on both are miles ahead of Nexus. I think 2013 was the year where phone OEM's beat Google to the better phone products and I can't help but think the gap will be even further in 2014.

Sorry for the long post, just really happy with the phone.

I mean look at this battery life!!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/29/e6ugejev.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/29/me3udeva.jpg

4 hours screen time, 20 hours off charge and 40% battery life remaining?! Are you freaking kidding me? I can't get over how good it is.

Sent from my Xperia Z1 using Tapatalk

I have been eye balling this phone for a while now do you use att?
Also have you picked up a case or screen protectors yet?
Can you even use screen protectors sense it has them on it already but it needs to be protected from scratches.
Thx

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

I have been eye balling this phone for a while now do you use att?
Also have you picked up a case or screen protectors yet?
Can you even use screen protectors sense it has them on it already but it needs to be protected from scratches.
Thx

No I'm not on ATT. I live in Australia, so don't have that telco here.

I don't use a case or screen protectors. Should be a crime to use a case on a phone this great! You could put a screen protector on the anti-shatter protection if you want. I haven't noticed any scratches on mine yet, but I've read it does scratch up.