My brief first impressions

[stevo_125]

Got my device yesterday, played with it most of the day. Overall very impressed!

Build quality feels good, got around 7hrs screen on time out of the first charge with variety of browsing, music, app installing etc etc Screen is very good with punchy contrast (much better than my Nexus 4) Loud speaker is plenty loud enough (again, louder than Nexus 4 IMO), vibration is strong so no missed notifications when silent. Only made one call on it so far, quality seemed fine, and no complaints on the other end about not being able to hear me clearly. Performance is great as expected, no slow downs when browsing and such.

There are plenty of reviews on the camera over in the Z1 section, so without repeating what's already been said: avoid the "superior auto" mode and spend a few seconds configuring the manual mode for the shot you want to take, and you get some great results. The superior mode seems to suffer particularly badly in poor light as it drives the ISO up sky high and produces horrible grainy photos.

Only negative comment I have is the screen protection, or lack-thereof. The screen its self is "scratch resistant" but there is a cheapy plastic film on top which I grazed within minutes, I'm told this can't be replaced or removed without losing the warranty. Sony do include a screen protector of sort that you can apply on top of this in the box, unfortunately its one of the god-awful 10 for £2 type plastic things. I'd suggest buyers budget an extra £20 for a good quality film or tempered glass protector to go on top. This is for me the biggest disappointment with this phone; having had my Nexus 4 "naked" most of its life, and suffering no damage, I'm very frustrated that my new £450 phone has to be covered with a cheapy plastic sheet to protect the screen - not good.


Any questions fire away and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[dtosun]

Thank for review. What about led notification? Can you share photo for it?

Sent from my MI 2S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

 

[stevo_125]

Thank for review. What about led notification? Can you share photo for it?

Sent from my MI 2S using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

LED notification is nice and bright, I've set up "light flow lite" to customize the colours / blink rate etc and all is well. I've tried to take a quick photo here, but it doesn't really do it justice. (excuse the terrible screen protector fitting, I threw it on in a bit of a huff. Waiting on a better one to arrive)

Side by side with Nexus 4

XDA home page vs Nexus 4. (Note nexus 4 is using SlimRom with custom colour profiles etc. Have its set quite cold ad my preference)

 

[progosu]

does it feel better in hand than nexus 4? it looks like nexus 4 is almost the same size as z1c... I thought z1c will be more of a compact phone.

 

[sl1p1990]

does it feel better in hand than nexus 4? it looks like nexus 4 is almost the same size as z1c... I thought z1c will be more of a compact phone.

It has to. It's much more narrow and the screen is definitely smaller.

 

[adey64]

Thank you for your insightful input! One thing so important to me is screen and software responsiveness and fluidity...and you're the perfect person to tell me how fluid it feels compared to the nexus 4 and I will be eagerly waiting your response!

---------- Post added at 04:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:04 PM ----------

how is the charging time? is it quick charge enabled?

 

[Milltach]

Hi, can you also please put the z1 compact on the top of your nexus? It makes me easier to recognize the size difference

 

[stevo_125]

Answers to a few questions:

Charge time from almost flat seemed to be in the region of 2.5 hours, which is pretty good by my reckoning.

It feels a lot smaller than it looks. The reduction in width makes the most difference, and after 2 days using the Z1c the Nexus 4 feels chunky to me now. I don't have my Nexus to hand for size comparison photo now I'm afraid, but laying the Xperia over the top of the Nexus 4 allows you to see 2-3mm on all 4 sides. Next to no difference in weight, through the Sony feels more dense/solid to me - Gives a premium feel.

The phone operation is very fluid and smooth, I went through numerous custom roms and kernels on the Nexus 4 to get the kind of smoothness that the xperia offers right out of the box. Launching the camera app is very quick: Maybe 2 seconds from sleep (via the shortcut button), and near instant from the menu shortcut. Shot-to-shot time is very impressive too - This is one thing where the N4 was always poor in my opinion.

I haven't missed the screen size at all, others may I guess, but personally I prefer being able to operate the whole screen comfortably with one hand!

 

[adey64]

Thanks great to know the xperia ui doesn't slow the experience

 

[stevo_125]

Headphone sound quality

Hi Guys,

Some more feedback on my experiences with the phone.

I'm noticing improved WiFi reception compared to my Nexus 4, My desk in the office is a bit of a black spot normally. My laptop frequently disconnects from the wireless, the Nexus hardly ever managed to connect, the Z1c seems to obtain a connection here and I'm streaming music over it without dropouts :victory:

On a related note, The sound quality through the headphones is very good too. I'm using Logitech Ultimate ears 200, previously had fauxsound on the Nexus 4 for improved volume, and whilst this did allow my N4 to go louder than the Z1c does, the sound quality is definitely better here, stereo separation in particular seems to be better.

 

[Steve_God]

Mine arrived in the mail this morning, and I'm impressed so far
Still setting it up mind, but it's the perfect size for my hands (pretty much the same size as an iPhone 5 with a case on)

In comparison with my current Android phone (HTC One X), although in physical size it's only a little smaller to look at, it feels much smaller in the hand, and more usable (no over-stretching of the thumb, reaching for the on button, etc...)

And as for the responsiveness, it's genuinely on par with the iPhone 5 too!

I'm glad I took the gamble to pre-order! :good:
(Just need to set-up the SmartWatch that came with it next...)

 

[TheKingOfPain]

Any impression about the ringer volume? I've got a Z, and I had to use a mod (replaced the Fusion3 file) in order not to lose notifications and calls.

 

[Pytte]

quite surprised to see they did not include headphones.. I guess they gotta sell some bluetooth headsets..

Initial impressions coming from an Samsung Galaxy S2 with kitkat.. I miss the settings button And don't understand why they could not put the buttons on the empty field below the screen instead of using the screen .. :\

Laying the Z1c on top of my sgs2 is pretty much same size.. although the Z1c is a little thicker than the SGS2

 

[alpha beta gaga]

quite surprised to see they did not include headphones.. I guess they gotta sell some bluetooth headsets.

if you care about audio quality, you'll already own decent headphones/iems and have absolutely zero use for any included iems which would stay wrapped up and un-used and be a waste of sony's dosh. much rather sony spent the money they will save by not bundling cheapo iems on a phones build quality etc

 

[Zoidy]

Mine from O2 came with earphones And surprisingly they are actually quite good but the rubber buds slide out the my ears.

Sent from my D5503 using xda app-developers app

 

[vboechat]

if you care about audio quality, you'll already own decent headphones/iems and have absolutely zero use for any included iems which would stay wrapped up and un-used and be a waste of sony's dosh. much rather sony spent the money they will save by not bundling cheapo iems on a phones build quality etc

+1

i dont care about included audio piece.. got my own AKG k450, pretty good stuff

 

[tiru.adi13]

Would you guys recommend this over a Nexus 5?

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[adey64]

Very important question for me!

 

[OCEP]

Would you guys recommend this over a Nexus 5?

Sent from my Nexus 4

I don't own a Z1 compact (yet) but I had two Nexus 5 devices - both sent back to get a refund because Nexus 5 has some serious issues with its microphone. The audio recording is terrible during video footage and a lot of users complain about crappy quality during phonecalls (on the receiving end).

Here's a link: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/0hvTK4eMVGk

 

[mkiki]

First impressions too

To share my first impressions: I received mine yesterday, and I spent the afternoon playing setting up the phone .

The size and weight are about the same as my previous phone (a HTC sensation).it fits well in my hand and well in my pocket too.

The built seem of quality, the flap are easy enough to manoeuver (and allow to plug cable easily), and seems built to last. Overall it gives an impression of quality. I don’t have any issue with the plastic protection screen.

On the software side, everything run fast, and smooth. I have been really impressed by the 4G: it seems merely as fast as at home. All the connections are running well (no issue with gsm, wifi, Bluetooth, nfc). Phone calls are clear, and the micro works greatly according to the “test” I made.

The only drawbacks I found are linked with my experience on my previous phones, and are softwares linked (it might be possible to solve them, but I have search yet to do so): I found the keys of the keyboard to be a bit too small; The intelligent dialer is not as good as I wish (start to look in the phone number before looking at name); I am missing the HTC clock which was also indicating the weather.

If you have any question, feel free!

Franck