I just bought my Z1s about 5 days ago. Right out of the box I put on the ZAGG screen and backside protectors. The back is matte, and adds grip, so that's nice.
I'm finicky about color accuracy on my phone displays, coming from an iPhone 5. My girlfriend has the iPhone 5S, which is also a very accurate display. The colors and white balance on the Z1s display are appealing...but the gamma is all over the place with values ranging from 1.2 to 1.6, and they should be 2.2 for all colors. That being said, it is very nice display and imho, closer to "real life" than any flagship display out right now, except for the iPhone 5C/5S. Viewing angles are not a major deal breaker for me personally.
That being said, the camera drives me nuts. I was excited about the 1/2.3" sensor and G glass with BOINZ processing but the so-called "Superior Auto" is spastic at best. I wish I could select "Aperture Priority" as a mode with the full 20MP. As a flat smartphone camera, the hardware definitely has potential but the software seriously gimps the camera. I hope a firmware and software fix come in the near future from Sony.
Switching from at&t, I've noticed much better reception here in the Denver Metro area. Calls between my girlfriend and I sound so much clearer, almost like the HD voice in Facetime audio between iPhones. The Z1s has a very nice sounding earpiece but the bottom speaker is hindered by the waterproofing. But definitely loud enough to function for speakerphone.
Coming from a finely crafted machined device like the iPhone 5, the plasticky feel of the bezel was a bit disappointing but I'm used to it already.
Compared to my girlfriend's 5S, with similar usage patterns, and auto brightness, I have about 30% more battery at night when I'm going to bed and putting it on the charger than her iPhone.
I really like this phone and it's design. Sleek, flat and minimalistic. Loving the side power button placement and the dedicated camera button. Hold for instant access to the camera!
My only gripe is that the XReality/Bravia engine only work in the default Sony Album and Movie apps. It definitely adds some punch to visuals. It'd be nice to crank those up in MX Player.
I'm on Jump, so I will see what comes down the pipe for Tmo, but overall I'm pleased with this device. Its definitely got enough top shelf specs to be relavent for some time. At least with Sony adopting a 6 month flagship release schedule, I'll be able to pick and choose for the foreseeable future, a nice phone from them at my leisure.
Also, this phone needs root so that I can install greenify and Adaway would be awesome. I'm liking the choices Sony made for their Android skin...they took a light touch approach. Can't wait for them to release KitKat though!
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