I've got the Xperia Z1. You've got questions. Let's do this.

[Alex Dobie]

I'm reviewing the Xperia Z1 for AC.

You probably have questions about it.

Here's the place to ask them.

....

GO!

 

[nipcarlover]

The camera? How is it?

Also, the screen. Outdoor visibility?

EDIT: 100th post!

 

[lsimms1983]

Do you feel there will be a google play edition? I love sonys hardware and have for quite some time but their ui irritates me

 

[crispybbq]

As I've been pondering in a G+ comment thread....
Are the bezels really that bad?

 

[Alex Dobie]

The camera? How is it?

Also, the screen. Outdoor visibility?

EDIT: 100th post!

Camera's really good in daylight. 20.7MP sensor but takes pics at 8MP oversampled most of the time, which also gives you some leeway for zooming in. Low-light is passable ? almost HTC One level, but not quite. Outdoor visibility is great.

Do you feel there will be a google play edition? I love sonys hardware and have for quite some time but their ui irritates me

The Sony UI is nicer in a lot of subtle ways. No lag at all. As for GPe, I'd heard from two reliable people that the original Xperia Z was supposed to be Sony's GPe, but that didn't happen. Now supposedly the Z1 is a candidate, but who knows how that'll pan out with Sony's US track record being the way it is.

As I've been pondering in a G+ comment thread....
Are the bezels really that bad?

Yes. One of my two main issues with this thing (the other being the damned plastic screen protectors on both sides that you can't remove.)

 

[plotsy_aces]

Is it significantly larger than the original Xperia Z? And compared to the One and GS4 size wise, how is it?

 

[sri745]

So what's the point of the 20.7mp sensor if it takes pics at 8mp? Sorry, I haven't had my coffee yet and I'm struggling with that response. Also, how is real world use battery life? Before Android I went through quite a few Sony Ericsson phones and loved the camera. Do you think this competes with the Lumia 1020?

 

[Alex Dobie]

Is it significantly larger than the original Xperia Z? And compared to the One and GS4 size wise, how is it?

It feels slightly larger than the original Z (I don't have one here to compare.) The One and the GS4 are both significantly easier to palm. In the GS4's case, smaller bezels and a more hand-friendly shape are big factors.

 

[Nandeep Devendra]

I am thinking of ordering the white version through Clove , and i reside in USA. Do you think its a good idea ? The reason i wanted to order through clove was they are giving away a free sony smartwatch2. Please let me know the battery life asap , as long as it lasts a whole day . I will just pre-order it. Let me know

 

[Alex Dobie]

So what's the point of the 20.7mp sensor if it takes pics at 8mp? Sorry, I haven't had my coffee yet and I'm struggling with that response. Also, how is real world use battery life? Before Android I went through quite a few Sony Ericsson phones and loved the camera. Do you think this competes with the Lumia 1020?

On the first point, oversampling ? basically you can get more accurate images by combining multiple pixels into one. Battery is humongous (3000mAh) and has held up really well in real-world use so far, though I need to do more testing. I haven't used the Lumia 1020 but it's easily one of the best Android phone cameras around. And Sony seems to be going for the same tactic as Nokia in shipping a large megapixel camera that then outputs at lower resolutions most of the time.

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I am thinking of ordering the white version through Clove , and i reside in USA. Do you think its a good idea ? The reason i wanted to order through clove was they are giving away a free sony smartwatch2. Please let me know the battery life asap , as long as it lasts a whole day . I will just pre-order it. Let me know

In the U.S. you won't be able to get LTE on a European Z1. Again, battery life seems to be good but I'll need to do more tests.

 

[sri745]

On the first point, oversampling ? basically you can get more accurate images by combining multiple pixels into one. Battery is humongous (3000mAh) and has held up really well in real-world use so far, though I need to do more testing. I haven't used the Lumia 1020 but it's easily one of the best Android phone cameras around. And Sony seems to be going for the same tactic as Nokia in shipping a large megapixel camera that then outputs at lower resolutions most of the time.

- - - Updated - - -


In the U.S. you won't be able to get LTE on a European Z1. Again, battery life seems to be good but I'll need to do more tests.

Thank you! So is there any use of that humongous sensor where the pictures aren't reduced? Really looking forward to your reviews on this as this might be a first non-Nexus device I'm considering in a long time.

 

[obi5683]

Is there an HDR option while using the Panorama? I noticed the purple flare in the Pano that you took. What about the HDR video feature from the Z?

 

[Alex Dobie]

Thank you! So is there any use of that humongous sensor where the pictures aren't reduced? Really looking forward to your reviews on this as this might be a first non-Nexus device I'm considering in a long time.

You can still shoot 20MP images if you want, in manual mode. All of the scene modes shoot at 8MP though, as does Superior Auto.

Is there an HDR option while using the Panorama? I noticed the purple flare in the Pano that you took. What about the HDR video feature from the Z?

Not in panorama mode, but there's a backlight-corrected HDR scene mode in the regular camera. (I think that was on the original Z too.)

 

[borfig9000]

I've been waiting for this device for a while now because of the camera.
1. Just to be clear you think the low light shots are not as good as the HTC One?
2. Any insight into which US carriers will support this phone?
3. Any of the preinstalled Sony apps pertain to the Smartwatch 2?
Thanks

 

[Nandeep Devendra]

i spoke to Tmobile USA, they said it should support the 4g LTE, since it has the bands 700/2100? Could you let me know why it won't work ?

 

[Nandeep Devendra]

On the first point, oversampling ? basically you can get more accurate images by combining multiple pixels into one. Battery is humongous (3000mAh) and has held up really well in real-world use so far, though I need to do more testing. I haven't used the Lumia 1020 but it's easily one of the best Android phone cameras around. And Sony seems to be going for the same tactic as Nokia in shipping a large megapixel camera that then outputs at lower resolutions most of the time.

- - - Updated - - -


In the U.S. you won't be able to get LTE on a European Z1. Again, battery life seems to be good but I'll need to do more tests.

I spoke to Tmobile USA, they said as there are the required bands 1700/2100 the C6603 would work ? Could you please tell me why you think otherwise

 

[GarDeady]

Curious to know why you?re not a fan of the screen protector? (that can be removed ? with a little work ? but as the SONY logo is baked on to the screen protector you will lose that if removed). Having seen a few videos where the screen has been tested with knives, blades etc, the screen protector did an amazing job at protecting the screen.

What disadvantage is there to having it on the phone?

 

[Stephen Allocca]

Any release date for the USA yet...every other phone that has been announced recently has at least started taking preorders...I hope they don't wait as long as they did with the z and the technology in it gets outdated

 

[josephnero]

tell us about screen plz.some pics would be nice

 

[same_game_name]

How much ram is left after the OS and how much ram is left after the bloatware loads after boot?

(Reason I ask is the Ion only had about 600MB left of 1GB and then bloatware would take about 200 of that.)