Отзывы о Смартфон Sony Xperia L
512 отзывов пользователей o Sony Xperia L
Пользовались
Sony Xperia L?
Поделитесь своим опытом и помогите другим сделать правильный выбор
Скроменый эксперт
13.05.2014
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
Once my flip phone died after a good 6 year life, I decided to finally upgrade to a smart phone. I work in medicine, so had previously purchased an iPod touch 5 (really an iPhone 5 w/o the phone) o that I'd have access to medical reference apps. Rather than carry two objects around (cellphone+iPod touch) it made sense to me to consolidate into one device.
My iPod touch is awesome, first off. Excellent camera, excellent display, thin, and well designed. I wanted an android phone though, because i liked the idea of a having a little more freedom, having the android file management system (I need to store a lot of documents on my phone), not being locked into the apple world, and significantly, wanted something I could get wet. After reading around about various android phones (w/ my irrational dislike of samsung), the xperia seemed like the best choice for t-mobile. Same size as an iPhone5, not too fat, and apparently good specs.
First impressions: (don't just read the bads)
BADS:
1. display colors are ... a little jarring. Blues aren't as vibrant or deep, reds are a little offensive, and shades of white and off-white blend together more than they should. When I look at the same photo of a sunny hawaii beach on the sony and iPod, it looks much better on the iPod.
2. Camera is worse than the iPod touch, for more or less the same reasons, plus more noise and less sharp. Photos actually look pretty good, but not iPhone/iPod good.
3. Design is clunky. Things aren't nearly as beautiful or stylish as in iOS. I hadn't used an android phone before, but expected it to work much the same way as iOS. Unfortunately, the phone comes preloaded with a gazillion apps, including both a sony version (I guess) and a google version. Mail vs Gmail? Messages vs Hangouts? Maps vs Google Maps? Facebook vs Xperia Facebook? Photo album vs Google Photos? Office Suite vs play books vs Google Drive vs Quickoffice. Initially each time you open something, it asks which app you want to use. Then it has other weird, nonfunctional programs like xperia privilege, sony select, movies. Not elegant. None of pdf reader apps (it comes preinstalled w/ like 3) let you preview 10 pages at a time, unlike iBooks, but Adobe reader seems to work the best.
4. A little buggy/not intuitive: For photos, both apps are clunky compared to iPhoto, and both like to dim the screen once you've selected a photo to look at, making it impossible to see them. I figure I'm doing sth wrong there, because I'm certain they aren't supposed to work like that. Screen brightness is a constant battle with this phone. When selecting brightness, the preview isn't what you get (reality is darker.)
Xperia on an apple computer: the phone installs some application on your computer to transfer files between computer and the xperia. It works pretty well if you don't care about organization so much. I have some beloved iTunes playlists on my computer and iPod, but you can't transfer playlists. You can transfer all the playlist songs easily, but have to manually recreate the playlist on the xperia. Pain in the ass. Photos transfer easily from iPhoto, but do not arrive in as organized a fashion. Besides these gripes, it works really well.
GOODS:
1. Android file commander is so much nicer to use than a 3rd party documents app on iOS. For someone who uses a lot of pdfs, it's very handy.
2. Radio app is awesome. Now I can listen to NPR anywhere!
3. V. customizable! There are a lot of themes you can download, which are fun and change the appearance of android. You can remove all the hideous large applets covering your display (no I don't want a flip book of movies on my desktop), and make your screen look pretty clean. Android is pretty easy to navigate once you figure it out.
4. All the initial headaches from changing from iOS to android are mostly over, and I use the device easily now.
5. Sony walkman is a cool music app. I just wish it preserved my playlists.
6. Waterproof? So handy..
7. External speaker is pretty good!
8. Battery life: as someone who doesn't have the phone out all day, I charge it every other day w/o worrying about it dying. It does a good job preserving battery life as it nears empty.
9. Attractive, solid feeling device. I played with my friends Galaxy, and that thing felt like a cheap POS.
Conclusion: I probably would have been happier buying an iPhone 4s, or waiting for the new iPhone to buy an iPhone 5, (largely because I didn't realize iPhones have a proprietary messaging system, which doesn't communicate great w/ android phones, and most of my friends/family have iPhones) but I'm pretty happy with this, and don't regret the purchase.
My iPod touch is awesome, first off. Excellent camera, excellent display, thin, and well designed. I wanted an android phone though, because i liked the idea of a having a little more freedom, having the android file management system (I need to store a lot of documents on my phone), not being locked into the apple world, and significantly, wanted something I could get wet. After reading around about various android phones (w/ my irrational dislike of samsung), the xperia seemed like the best choice for t-mobile. Same size as an iPhone5, not too fat, and apparently good specs.
First impressions: (don't just read the bads)
BADS:
1. display colors are ... a little jarring. Blues aren't as vibrant or deep, reds are a little offensive, and shades of white and off-white blend together more than they should. When I look at the same photo of a sunny hawaii beach on the sony and iPod, it looks much better on the iPod.
2. Camera is worse than the iPod touch, for more or less the same reasons, plus more noise and less sharp. Photos actually look pretty good, but not iPhone/iPod good.
3. Design is clunky. Things aren't nearly as beautiful or stylish as in iOS. I hadn't used an android phone before, but expected it to work much the same way as iOS. Unfortunately, the phone comes preloaded with a gazillion apps, including both a sony version (I guess) and a google version. Mail vs Gmail? Messages vs Hangouts? Maps vs Google Maps? Facebook vs Xperia Facebook? Photo album vs Google Photos? Office Suite vs play books vs Google Drive vs Quickoffice. Initially each time you open something, it asks which app you want to use. Then it has other weird, nonfunctional programs like xperia privilege, sony select, movies. Not elegant. None of pdf reader apps (it comes preinstalled w/ like 3) let you preview 10 pages at a time, unlike iBooks, but Adobe reader seems to work the best.
4. A little buggy/not intuitive: For photos, both apps are clunky compared to iPhoto, and both like to dim the screen once you've selected a photo to look at, making it impossible to see them. I figure I'm doing sth wrong there, because I'm certain they aren't supposed to work like that. Screen brightness is a constant battle with this phone. When selecting brightness, the preview isn't what you get (reality is darker.)
Xperia on an apple computer: the phone installs some application on your computer to transfer files between computer and the xperia. It works pretty well if you don't care about organization so much. I have some beloved iTunes playlists on my computer and iPod, but you can't transfer playlists. You can transfer all the playlist songs easily, but have to manually recreate the playlist on the xperia. Pain in the ass. Photos transfer easily from iPhoto, but do not arrive in as organized a fashion. Besides these gripes, it works really well.
GOODS:
1. Android file commander is so much nicer to use than a 3rd party documents app on iOS. For someone who uses a lot of pdfs, it's very handy.
2. Radio app is awesome. Now I can listen to NPR anywhere!
3. V. customizable! There are a lot of themes you can download, which are fun and change the appearance of android. You can remove all the hideous large applets covering your display (no I don't want a flip book of movies on my desktop), and make your screen look pretty clean. Android is pretty easy to navigate once you figure it out.
4. All the initial headaches from changing from iOS to android are mostly over, and I use the device easily now.
5. Sony walkman is a cool music app. I just wish it preserved my playlists.
6. Waterproof? So handy..
7. External speaker is pretty good!
8. Battery life: as someone who doesn't have the phone out all day, I charge it every other day w/o worrying about it dying. It does a good job preserving battery life as it nears empty.
9. Attractive, solid feeling device. I played with my friends Galaxy, and that thing felt like a cheap POS.
Conclusion: I probably would have been happier buying an iPhone 4s, or waiting for the new iPhone to buy an iPhone 5, (largely because I didn't realize iPhones have a proprietary messaging system, which doesn't communicate great w/ android phones, and most of my friends/family have iPhones) but I'm pretty happy with this, and don't regret the purchase.
Скроменый эксперт
25.07.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
First off, don't let the title fool u, i'm by no means an iphone fanboy, but I do appreciate Apple's build quality(and contribution to the tech world, but here isn't the place for that!). So on this end Sony really delivered, I'm getting the Z1 compact after having the hTc One M7 for a whole year, which, by itself, is an another engineering marvel, but I was still impressed by how well built that Sony phone feels in hand. So to avoid confusion, here are my notes on this phone:
-Built quality:very impressive, 5 stars with the glass front and back and metal trims in the middle(iphone design like?). The phone looks high end, with the Sony logo at the front, very elegant, well done Sony!
-Screen quality: again am comparing that to the htc One's quad HD screen, and again no differences noticed on daily basis whatsoever! Pics, vids and games all look & feel the same on both screens, with a pixel density of ~342 ppi everything seems really vivid, even if the phone isn't technically "HD"!
-Camera: what can I say? Sony did an amazing job as usual when it comes to photo quality, in door & outdoor photo quality is really impressive the camera will do all the tasks you may ask from it, and will impress you every time. It,by far, surpasses my old htc one & even the one before it, htc one X that I also had for almost a year! You might want to reduce it to 8 MP for a better, everyday life, experience.
-Processor: The quad-core processor does a great job executing all tasks I threw at it, no sweat! Games run fluently, multiple apps running at the same time doesn't seem to slow the phone down, 5 stars here as well!
Some other points worth noting is the fact that this is an unlocked version and it works on any GSM carrier like At&t and T-mobile (but not on Verizon or Sprint), without contract of course. It will also work overseas with any GSM carrier, since it's quad band, which is one of the main reasons I bought the phone! The phone is water resistant, don't forget that, it will come handy for any bad incident you may run across at the bar!
Also The size is really convenient, till now (after 2 weeks) I didn't feel like I'm missing my big 4.8 inch screen on my htc one, the 4.3 is really good enough and allows far better one handed handling as well.
Any inconveniences? Well, which phone (or any product really) doesn't have some!for that phone, it's a dust trap! it attracts every little piece of dust in my pockets, and also a fingerprint magnet, specially the back. Enough to take a star off? not really, the phone still gets 5/5 for 2 reasons, first it's well priced compared to the specs, I have only been buying flagship phones for almost the past ten years, and this phone feels like one, almost same flagship specs at a compact size & lower price, totally worth it! Second reason is when used with "Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Back Cover Hard Case" (look it up, you'll need it!) it doesn't attract dust as much,and needless to say the back isn't covered with fingerprints anymore, in fact since I have the yellow color, the black case with the yellow phone gives the phone more like a tough tools-like look that i got compliments for a couple of times!
The speakers quality leaves some more to be wanted, but does the job enough not to be worth taking a star off.
One thing that annoys me is that port for the charger to be used,though I know Sony had to add it to get the phone to have the "water resistant status", I still wish it wasn't there!However, using Sony magnet chargers ( look them up too, they are cool, I bought a cheap non branded one and it works gr8!)
The stock keyboard wasn't impressive, but u can download any keyboard from the play store, I personally use swype with my gmail account and it already learned all my typing style throughout the years, if you haven't done so already, start now and u'll thank me later! If you are more of a typer than a swyper I would suggest downloading swiftkey ( or even purchasing the full version, totally worth it)it's really good too.
You won't regret buying the phone, specially if you find it at a price point lower than $400 (as of 07/2014)
-Built quality:very impressive, 5 stars with the glass front and back and metal trims in the middle(iphone design like?). The phone looks high end, with the Sony logo at the front, very elegant, well done Sony!
-Screen quality: again am comparing that to the htc One's quad HD screen, and again no differences noticed on daily basis whatsoever! Pics, vids and games all look & feel the same on both screens, with a pixel density of ~342 ppi everything seems really vivid, even if the phone isn't technically "HD"!
-Camera: what can I say? Sony did an amazing job as usual when it comes to photo quality, in door & outdoor photo quality is really impressive the camera will do all the tasks you may ask from it, and will impress you every time. It,by far, surpasses my old htc one & even the one before it, htc one X that I also had for almost a year! You might want to reduce it to 8 MP for a better, everyday life, experience.
-Processor: The quad-core processor does a great job executing all tasks I threw at it, no sweat! Games run fluently, multiple apps running at the same time doesn't seem to slow the phone down, 5 stars here as well!
Some other points worth noting is the fact that this is an unlocked version and it works on any GSM carrier like At&t and T-mobile (but not on Verizon or Sprint), without contract of course. It will also work overseas with any GSM carrier, since it's quad band, which is one of the main reasons I bought the phone! The phone is water resistant, don't forget that, it will come handy for any bad incident you may run across at the bar!
Also The size is really convenient, till now (after 2 weeks) I didn't feel like I'm missing my big 4.8 inch screen on my htc one, the 4.3 is really good enough and allows far better one handed handling as well.
Any inconveniences? Well, which phone (or any product really) doesn't have some!for that phone, it's a dust trap! it attracts every little piece of dust in my pockets, and also a fingerprint magnet, specially the back. Enough to take a star off? not really, the phone still gets 5/5 for 2 reasons, first it's well priced compared to the specs, I have only been buying flagship phones for almost the past ten years, and this phone feels like one, almost same flagship specs at a compact size & lower price, totally worth it! Second reason is when used with "Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Back Cover Hard Case" (look it up, you'll need it!) it doesn't attract dust as much,and needless to say the back isn't covered with fingerprints anymore, in fact since I have the yellow color, the black case with the yellow phone gives the phone more like a tough tools-like look that i got compliments for a couple of times!
The speakers quality leaves some more to be wanted, but does the job enough not to be worth taking a star off.
One thing that annoys me is that port for the charger to be used,though I know Sony had to add it to get the phone to have the "water resistant status", I still wish it wasn't there!However, using Sony magnet chargers ( look them up too, they are cool, I bought a cheap non branded one and it works gr8!)
The stock keyboard wasn't impressive, but u can download any keyboard from the play store, I personally use swype with my gmail account and it already learned all my typing style throughout the years, if you haven't done so already, start now and u'll thank me later! If you are more of a typer than a swyper I would suggest downloading swiftkey ( or even purchasing the full version, totally worth it)it's really good too.
You won't regret buying the phone, specially if you find it at a price point lower than $400 (as of 07/2014)
Скроменый эксперт
25.07.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
First off, don't let the title fool u, i'm by no means an iphone fanboy, but I do appreciate Apple's build quality(and contribution to the tech world, but here isn't the place for that!). So on this end Sony really delivered, I'm getting the Z1 compact after having the hTc One M7 for a whole year, which, by itself, is an another engineering marvel, but I was still impressed by how well built that Sony phone feels in hand. So to avoid confusion, here are my notes on this phone:
-Build quality:very impressive, 5 stars with the glass front and back and metal trims in the middle(iphone design like?). The phone looks high end, with the Sony logo at the front, very elegant, well done Sony!
-Screen quality: again am comparing that to the htc One's quad HD screen, and again no differences noticed on daily basis whatsoever! Pics, vids and games all look & feel the same on both screens, with a pixel density of ~342 ppi everything seems really vivid, even if the phone isn't technically "HD"!
-Camera: what can I say? Sony did an amazing job as usual when it comes to photo quality, in door & outdoor photo quality is really impressive the camera will do all the tasks you may ask from it, and will impress you every time. It,by far, surpasses my old htc one & even the one before it, htc one X that I also had for almost a year! You might want to reduce it to 8 MP for a better, everyday life, experience.
-Processor: The quad-core processor does a great job executing all tasks I threw at it, no sweat! Games run fluently, multiple apps running at the same time doesn't seem to slow the phone down, 5 stars here as well!
Some other points worth noting is the fact that this is an unlocked version and it works on any GSM carrier like At&t and T-mobile (but not on Verizon or Sprint), without contract of course. It will also work overseas with any GSM carrier, since it's quad band, which is one of the main reasons I bought the phone! The phone is water resistant, don't forget that, it will come handy for any bad incident you may run across at the bar!
Also The size is really convenient, till now (after 2 weeks) I didn't feel like I'm missing my big 4.8 inch screen on my htc one, the 4.3 is really good enough and allows far better one handed handling as well.
Any inconveniences? Well, which phone (or any product really) doesn't have some!for that phone, it's a dust trap! it attracts every little piece of dust in my pockets, and also a fingerprint magnet, specially the back. Enough to take a star off? not really, the phone still gets 5/5 for 2 reasons, first it's well priced compared to the specs, I have only been buying flagship phones for almost the past ten years, and this phone feels like one, almost same flagship specs at a compact size & lower price, totally worth it! Second reason is when used with "Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Back Cover Hard Case" (look it up, you'll need it!) it doesn't attract dust as much,and needless to say the back isn't covered with fingerprints anymore, in fact since I have the yellow color, the black case with the yellow phone gives the phone more like a tough tools-like look that i got compliments for a couple of times!
The speakers quality leaves some more to be wanted, but does the job enough not to be worth taking a star off.
One thing that annoys me is that port for the charger to be used,though I know Sony had to add it to get the phone to have the "water resistant status", I still wish it wasn't there!However, using Sony magnet chargers ( look them up too, they are cool, I bought a cheap non branded one and it works gr8!)
The stock keyboard wasn't impressive, but u can download any keyboard from the play store, I personally use swype with my gmail account and it already learned all my typing style throughout the years, if you haven't done so already, start now and u'll thank me later! If you are more of a typer than a swyper I would suggest downloading swiftkey ( or even purchasing the full version, totally worth it)it's really good too.
You won't regret buying the phone, specially if you find it at a price point lower than $400 (as of 07/2014)
-Build quality:very impressive, 5 stars with the glass front and back and metal trims in the middle(iphone design like?). The phone looks high end, with the Sony logo at the front, very elegant, well done Sony!
-Screen quality: again am comparing that to the htc One's quad HD screen, and again no differences noticed on daily basis whatsoever! Pics, vids and games all look & feel the same on both screens, with a pixel density of ~342 ppi everything seems really vivid, even if the phone isn't technically "HD"!
-Camera: what can I say? Sony did an amazing job as usual when it comes to photo quality, in door & outdoor photo quality is really impressive the camera will do all the tasks you may ask from it, and will impress you every time. It,by far, surpasses my old htc one & even the one before it, htc one X that I also had for almost a year! You might want to reduce it to 8 MP for a better, everyday life, experience.
-Processor: The quad-core processor does a great job executing all tasks I threw at it, no sweat! Games run fluently, multiple apps running at the same time doesn't seem to slow the phone down, 5 stars here as well!
Some other points worth noting is the fact that this is an unlocked version and it works on any GSM carrier like At&t and T-mobile (but not on Verizon or Sprint), without contract of course. It will also work overseas with any GSM carrier, since it's quad band, which is one of the main reasons I bought the phone! The phone is water resistant, don't forget that, it will come handy for any bad incident you may run across at the bar!
Also The size is really convenient, till now (after 2 weeks) I didn't feel like I'm missing my big 4.8 inch screen on my htc one, the 4.3 is really good enough and allows far better one handed handling as well.
Any inconveniences? Well, which phone (or any product really) doesn't have some!for that phone, it's a dust trap! it attracts every little piece of dust in my pockets, and also a fingerprint magnet, specially the back. Enough to take a star off? not really, the phone still gets 5/5 for 2 reasons, first it's well priced compared to the specs, I have only been buying flagship phones for almost the past ten years, and this phone feels like one, almost same flagship specs at a compact size & lower price, totally worth it! Second reason is when used with "Terrapin Hybrid Rubberized Back Cover Hard Case" (look it up, you'll need it!) it doesn't attract dust as much,and needless to say the back isn't covered with fingerprints anymore, in fact since I have the yellow color, the black case with the yellow phone gives the phone more like a tough tools-like look that i got compliments for a couple of times!
The speakers quality leaves some more to be wanted, but does the job enough not to be worth taking a star off.
One thing that annoys me is that port for the charger to be used,though I know Sony had to add it to get the phone to have the "water resistant status", I still wish it wasn't there!However, using Sony magnet chargers ( look them up too, they are cool, I bought a cheap non branded one and it works gr8!)
The stock keyboard wasn't impressive, but u can download any keyboard from the play store, I personally use swype with my gmail account and it already learned all my typing style throughout the years, if you haven't done so already, start now and u'll thank me later! If you are more of a typer than a swyper I would suggest downloading swiftkey ( or even purchasing the full version, totally worth it)it's really good too.
You won't regret buying the phone, specially if you find it at a price point lower than $400 (as of 07/2014)
Скроменый эксперт
26.05.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
### a month later update 6/20/2014 ###
Battery life is solid 3 days with my normal use. I love that. I am using magnetic cable to charge the phone, no issues there, I got two one for work and one for home, so I would recommend it as accessory (buy two instead of one docking station).
I have never tested if this phone is really water resistant or not... kind of scary to test it.
Annoying thing is the "deleted" photo thumbnail management, as they stay on the phone even when you delete the picture, you need to clear cache and restart the phone to get rid of unwanted thumbnails pictures.
Calls are clear and I have LTE with T-mobile US in OR and NV.
I would still recommend it to anyone who needs battery life and don't like big phones...
##################################################################
I am using this phone for 3 weeks and so far and it has frozen twice only :-), it has recovered it self though.... Why is this a positive? When it froze, I was really pressing opening, closing apps and buttons and scrolling all over the place, actually I was trying to overload it to see what will happen. a.k.a. hard core responsiveness test. It held fine... by normal use the phone don't freeze of course and is very very very responsive. As responsive as any iPhone... I tested it! I also have Samsung tablet and if I would do the same test of "responsiveness", the tablet won't survive it and freeze until restarted.
This is my upgrade from nokia E6, too bad that nokia stopped the Symbian development. I was thinking to get an iPhone since the price is about same, but the battery life on iPhones is poor. - this phone is a iphone killer. I had the honor to test out Win8 phone and let me tell you that it is useless and I was most happy when I returned it back to the shop...
I don't understand why the compact version of Z1 is not on sale officially in US in Tmobile or ATT etc... this could be a cash cow...
One of my priorities was the battery life. with my normal usage the phone last for 2 days and on stamina mode even 2.75 up to 3 days (if I stretch it) which is close to what my old Nokia E6 was capable of. It says that the phone can be in stand-by mode for a week, never had the time to test it, but I will one day :-)...
Second was the phone/display size. just perfect. I don't like the big phones....
Third: open to all GSM, 3G, 4G frequencies (global phone). I am in OR on Tmobil network, and LTE/4G, 3G works fine on this phone
Fourth: FM radio and Free offline world wide navigation.
Overall: The phone is a solid build as described in other review. I put screen protector and cover from the day one, just buy it together to have the phone look new longer. I read that the display and phone back can be scratched easily so I just prevented it from occurring.
I am not app fanatic, so don't have too many all kinds of apps on it, but I am using Skype, Free offline Navigation most time and for general web surfing. I prefer to use mobile web page for yahoo, facebook rather than an app for it. I don't mind the extra log in/password... The FM radio is nice feature that I am using daily instead of interned radio. Saves battery life and data too.
I also have avast anti virus (free edition) and think about to upgrade to premium 15$ a year.
Camera is definitely an upgrade from what I had, but if we need to take nice good quality pics, we use the DSLR camera and not a phone, but it is nice to have that handy. It says it has 21Mpx, but it can't compare with the DSLR of course.
I also use this phone at work to sync my 2007 outlook calendar with the phone calendar (need those upcoming meeting reminders especially in meeting back to back..) I am using the exchange account setting sync over company wifi, to do that, which is fine. I know that there are apps out there that can do that too wireless.
I will post an update in few months.
I definitely recommend this phone over iPhone or any other 4in-isch smart phone.
Battery life is solid 3 days with my normal use. I love that. I am using magnetic cable to charge the phone, no issues there, I got two one for work and one for home, so I would recommend it as accessory (buy two instead of one docking station).
I have never tested if this phone is really water resistant or not... kind of scary to test it.
Annoying thing is the "deleted" photo thumbnail management, as they stay on the phone even when you delete the picture, you need to clear cache and restart the phone to get rid of unwanted thumbnails pictures.
Calls are clear and I have LTE with T-mobile US in OR and NV.
I would still recommend it to anyone who needs battery life and don't like big phones...
##################################################################
I am using this phone for 3 weeks and so far and it has frozen twice only :-), it has recovered it self though.... Why is this a positive? When it froze, I was really pressing opening, closing apps and buttons and scrolling all over the place, actually I was trying to overload it to see what will happen. a.k.a. hard core responsiveness test. It held fine... by normal use the phone don't freeze of course and is very very very responsive. As responsive as any iPhone... I tested it! I also have Samsung tablet and if I would do the same test of "responsiveness", the tablet won't survive it and freeze until restarted.
This is my upgrade from nokia E6, too bad that nokia stopped the Symbian development. I was thinking to get an iPhone since the price is about same, but the battery life on iPhones is poor. - this phone is a iphone killer. I had the honor to test out Win8 phone and let me tell you that it is useless and I was most happy when I returned it back to the shop...
I don't understand why the compact version of Z1 is not on sale officially in US in Tmobile or ATT etc... this could be a cash cow...
One of my priorities was the battery life. with my normal usage the phone last for 2 days and on stamina mode even 2.75 up to 3 days (if I stretch it) which is close to what my old Nokia E6 was capable of. It says that the phone can be in stand-by mode for a week, never had the time to test it, but I will one day :-)...
Second was the phone/display size. just perfect. I don't like the big phones....
Third: open to all GSM, 3G, 4G frequencies (global phone). I am in OR on Tmobil network, and LTE/4G, 3G works fine on this phone
Fourth: FM radio and Free offline world wide navigation.
Overall: The phone is a solid build as described in other review. I put screen protector and cover from the day one, just buy it together to have the phone look new longer. I read that the display and phone back can be scratched easily so I just prevented it from occurring.
I am not app fanatic, so don't have too many all kinds of apps on it, but I am using Skype, Free offline Navigation most time and for general web surfing. I prefer to use mobile web page for yahoo, facebook rather than an app for it. I don't mind the extra log in/password... The FM radio is nice feature that I am using daily instead of interned radio. Saves battery life and data too.
I also have avast anti virus (free edition) and think about to upgrade to premium 15$ a year.
Camera is definitely an upgrade from what I had, but if we need to take nice good quality pics, we use the DSLR camera and not a phone, but it is nice to have that handy. It says it has 21Mpx, but it can't compare with the DSLR of course.
I also use this phone at work to sync my 2007 outlook calendar with the phone calendar (need those upcoming meeting reminders especially in meeting back to back..) I am using the exchange account setting sync over company wifi, to do that, which is fine. I know that there are apps out there that can do that too wireless.
I will post an update in few months.
I definitely recommend this phone over iPhone or any other 4in-isch smart phone.
Скроменый эксперт
03.07.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
By far the best phone i have owned thus far.
Phone/Build:
-It is smaller than your average smart phone of today. (Slightly bigger than the iPhone 5)
-It is heavy compared to other phones (however, i am not saying it will drop your pants down when putting it in your pocket). I think heavy is good, gives it that super premium quality feel to it.
-The screen itself is great, but way over-saturated. Easily fixed with a free app called"Screen Adjuster". Just up the contrast to -40 and keep the Brightness at 100% and you are back at natural looking images.
-Camera quality is great during the day with a bunch of options. (Don't expect DSLR quality though)
-Calling speaker is crystal clear
-When on Speaker phone, i wish it was slightly louder like the HTC One Beats system.
-Speakers for music and video are average. Again i wish it was more like HTC One Beats audio system
-I like how it's water proof, but this does mean you need to open that annoying cover to charge it all the time. Luckily you can buy the magnetic charger for it to eliminate in opening the flap all the time.
-Headphones that come with the phone is average, nothing special. Good enough for hands free calling
-I love the RGB LED notification. I downloaded LightFlo to customize virtually any color for whatever app i want to be notified with.
Performance:
-Not much to say only that it is super fast with absolutely no lag.
Battery:
-Good Lord this battery is epic. With High Brightness, STAMINA mode Off, WiFi and LTE on. Light texting, constant Push emails, a few calls, some web browsing, and GPS for about 30 minutes, after a 16 hours off charge i am still at 36%. (my other phones would have died by then)
AT&T USA usage:
I am using this with AT&Ts network. Please note that AT&T's major LTE band is Band 17 (Which this phone DOES NOT SUPPORT). AT&T does have Band 2 and 4 for LTE in select cities (Which this phone DOES SUPPORT).
I received the UK version of this phone where as my friend received the Taiwan version of this phone (The only difference is the Flash Rom and the actual Box. Accessories and phone are physically are the same).
That said, i am based in Raleigh, NC, and am lucky that AT&T uses band 4 for LTE therefor i get full LTE speeds (35-40mbps down and 15-30mbps up)!!!
That said although we both get AT&Ts LTE signal and speeds , my friends Taiwan version of the phone will display 4G on his phone where as mine display's LTE. This is just due to where what region the phone came from. Some countries don't use the term LTE, just 4G.
Below is a breakdown:
ATT Stock Phones = Sony Xperia Z1c
2g = Edge (E)
3g = HSPA (H)
4g = HSPA+ (H+)
4g LTE = 4g OR LTE (This icon will vary depending what firmware region your z1c came from. but both mean the same thing, so if you get a 4G icon on your Xperia on an ATT network, then you are getting their LTE signal)
EDIT:
The Phone will support AT&Ts limited Band 2 and 4 LTE service:
The following cities uses Band 4: Phoenix, Raleigh, San Juan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Athens, GA and College Station, TX.
The following cities uses Band 2: Baltimore, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
If the city is not listed there then you are under Band 17 (again this phone does not support Band 17)
**Note: Although these cities are listed to use the band, the range coverage of these specific band is limited, and may not cover the entire city.
Phone/Build:
-It is smaller than your average smart phone of today. (Slightly bigger than the iPhone 5)
-It is heavy compared to other phones (however, i am not saying it will drop your pants down when putting it in your pocket). I think heavy is good, gives it that super premium quality feel to it.
-The screen itself is great, but way over-saturated. Easily fixed with a free app called"Screen Adjuster". Just up the contrast to -40 and keep the Brightness at 100% and you are back at natural looking images.
-Camera quality is great during the day with a bunch of options. (Don't expect DSLR quality though)
-Calling speaker is crystal clear
-When on Speaker phone, i wish it was slightly louder like the HTC One Beats system.
-Speakers for music and video are average. Again i wish it was more like HTC One Beats audio system
-I like how it's water proof, but this does mean you need to open that annoying cover to charge it all the time. Luckily you can buy the magnetic charger for it to eliminate in opening the flap all the time.
-Headphones that come with the phone is average, nothing special. Good enough for hands free calling
-I love the RGB LED notification. I downloaded LightFlo to customize virtually any color for whatever app i want to be notified with.
Performance:
-Not much to say only that it is super fast with absolutely no lag.
Battery:
-Good Lord this battery is epic. With High Brightness, STAMINA mode Off, WiFi and LTE on. Light texting, constant Push emails, a few calls, some web browsing, and GPS for about 30 minutes, after a 16 hours off charge i am still at 36%. (my other phones would have died by then)
AT&T USA usage:
I am using this with AT&Ts network. Please note that AT&T's major LTE band is Band 17 (Which this phone DOES NOT SUPPORT). AT&T does have Band 2 and 4 for LTE in select cities (Which this phone DOES SUPPORT).
I received the UK version of this phone where as my friend received the Taiwan version of this phone (The only difference is the Flash Rom and the actual Box. Accessories and phone are physically are the same).
That said, i am based in Raleigh, NC, and am lucky that AT&T uses band 4 for LTE therefor i get full LTE speeds (35-40mbps down and 15-30mbps up)!!!
That said although we both get AT&Ts LTE signal and speeds , my friends Taiwan version of the phone will display 4G on his phone where as mine display's LTE. This is just due to where what region the phone came from. Some countries don't use the term LTE, just 4G.
Below is a breakdown:
ATT Stock Phones = Sony Xperia Z1c
2g = Edge (E)
3g = HSPA (H)
4g = HSPA+ (H+)
4g LTE = 4g OR LTE (This icon will vary depending what firmware region your z1c came from. but both mean the same thing, so if you get a 4G icon on your Xperia on an ATT network, then you are getting their LTE signal)
EDIT:
The Phone will support AT&Ts limited Band 2 and 4 LTE service:
The following cities uses Band 4: Phoenix, Raleigh, San Juan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Athens, GA and College Station, TX.
The following cities uses Band 2: Baltimore, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
If the city is not listed there then you are under Band 17 (again this phone does not support Band 17)
**Note: Although these cities are listed to use the band, the range coverage of these specific band is limited, and may not cover the entire city.
Скроменый эксперт
21.02.2015
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
With about 9 months of use, I must say this is likely the best phone I ever owned – practically flawless but with major advantages I have yet to see in another phone. I live in an "agnostic" household; we use Macs and my wife has an iphone 5 s, so I have something current to compare to, besides the usual array of HTCs, Samsungs etc. I owned.
Here we go:
+ Size is perfect if you don't like phablets (though 4.6" of the z3 is also still ok)
+ Battery life is outstanding once you dial "stamina mode" in (cutting background processes and data when the screen is off), which is worth your time to expertiment. With regular email checks and intermittent web use throughout the day, I easily get 1.5 days between charges, often 2 full days.
+ Waterproof (within limits) is much more of a bonus that I thought – no worries in taking pix in the rain or snow, or dropping the phone into water when taking pix of a pool border (wonder how I know?)
+ Very good camera, approx. 24 or 28mm primary lens, plenty of adjustment options in manual (20 mp; auto pummels it down 8 mp). In addition, I often use an app called "Better Camera" which has much less compression so pix are ca. 13 mb in size versus the standard 5 mb or so with the Sony stock camera app.
+ Sturdy – two accidental drops (one a tiled kitchen floor, one the garage floor) caused one small dent in the magnesium (?) frame, nothing else.
+ Plenty of RAM - no lag ever, no space problems, no out-of-memory issues, smooth operation.
+ Relatively easy to root, even on a Mac. This gives you even more individualisation options than Android already offers.
+ Design: I'm from the modern-architecture-and-design-camp, so most phones, especially Samsungs pebble design, leave me cold. This one I really like. Really like as in "pleasure to hold and look at" like.
+ Int'l gsm version works in 4g in the US on t-mobile, as well as in Germany on t-mobile and O2. Nice.
A few niggles:
– Android 4.4 prevents any non-stock app using external memory cards (I use a 64mb card) unless the phone is rooted. This is TOTAL BS from google and an OS limitation, not Sony's fault. Root solves the problem, so the phone benefits from rooting big time.
– Speaker quality is fine but not excellent and could be louder in max. volume. No sweat: "SpeakerBoost" app to the rescue, problem solved.
– Scratch-sensitive back side, unless you have the Japanese model with a black glass back. To avoid scratches which happen very quickly, order a protective film for front and back right away, and you're in business.
If I lost this phone today, before the end of the day I'd buy the z1 compact – or the z3 successor – without even looking elsewhere.
Here we go:
+ Size is perfect if you don't like phablets (though 4.6" of the z3 is also still ok)
+ Battery life is outstanding once you dial "stamina mode" in (cutting background processes and data when the screen is off), which is worth your time to expertiment. With regular email checks and intermittent web use throughout the day, I easily get 1.5 days between charges, often 2 full days.
+ Waterproof (within limits) is much more of a bonus that I thought – no worries in taking pix in the rain or snow, or dropping the phone into water when taking pix of a pool border (wonder how I know?)
+ Very good camera, approx. 24 or 28mm primary lens, plenty of adjustment options in manual (20 mp; auto pummels it down 8 mp). In addition, I often use an app called "Better Camera" which has much less compression so pix are ca. 13 mb in size versus the standard 5 mb or so with the Sony stock camera app.
+ Sturdy – two accidental drops (one a tiled kitchen floor, one the garage floor) caused one small dent in the magnesium (?) frame, nothing else.
+ Plenty of RAM - no lag ever, no space problems, no out-of-memory issues, smooth operation.
+ Relatively easy to root, even on a Mac. This gives you even more individualisation options than Android already offers.
+ Design: I'm from the modern-architecture-and-design-camp, so most phones, especially Samsungs pebble design, leave me cold. This one I really like. Really like as in "pleasure to hold and look at" like.
+ Int'l gsm version works in 4g in the US on t-mobile, as well as in Germany on t-mobile and O2. Nice.
A few niggles:
– Android 4.4 prevents any non-stock app using external memory cards (I use a 64mb card) unless the phone is rooted. This is TOTAL BS from google and an OS limitation, not Sony's fault. Root solves the problem, so the phone benefits from rooting big time.
– Speaker quality is fine but not excellent and could be louder in max. volume. No sweat: "SpeakerBoost" app to the rescue, problem solved.
– Scratch-sensitive back side, unless you have the Japanese model with a black glass back. To avoid scratches which happen very quickly, order a protective film for front and back right away, and you're in business.
If I lost this phone today, before the end of the day I'd buy the z1 compact – or the z3 successor – without even looking elsewhere.
Скроменый эксперт
14.06.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
Well, first of all, I would like to add that I am used to the slow update phasing from Sony (since Sony Ericsson), so even if this would be a bad point for someone, it is not for me.
The phone is a little bigger than what I would call a small phone. However, it feels just right, you can still handle it entirely with just one hand.
Pros:
- The specifications, oh god the specifications, this phone is way too fast for its size.
- The battery performance is Superb, and with Stamina Mode, you will always have battery charge.
- Discrete, it will not be too catchy (unless you order the white version). But it still looks premium enough to feel proud about it.
- It comes with KitKat from out the box.
- The design, it fits your hand perfectly, it is not too square or too round, and it is perfectly straight from all sides.
- Water Resist! (iPhone who?)
- The Power button. Indeed, this Power Button will never break (or will take years to find that out). Sony is keeping this button for all their new phones and it is God send.
- Best camera in a compact phone. For those disappointed, stop using the Superior Auto Mode, the Manual Mode will make the 20.7 Megapixels worth gold.
- Second microphone, there is a second little Microphone at the top of the phone from the back side. This is useful when recording videos or using the main camera for Video Calls.
- Gloves Mode, still as responsive as any capacitive screen and usable with any kind of cloth before fingers.
- Responsive, no matter how thick is the screen protector you use, it's impressive how responsive the screen is.
- Fake colors, well, this could be bad from a point of view. But it is remarkable more than anything. The X-Reality of the screen makes every color vibrant and full of life.
- Personalization, even if the software feel is the same on every Sony Phone, for the newest models you can customize a lot. Feel and utility included.
- No "water resist door" for the headphones jack. These "doors" are not durable. And having a full water resist port without one of these for the most used port on the phone is greatly appreciated.
- Sturdy as hell. I got a Gorilla Glass phone display to shatter in pieces 8 times with some Samsung phones. This phone will shatter its entire bezel before the screen gets a scratch. (not to confuse the anti shatter protector that comes pre-installed, as this one can get scratched with ease. I am referring to the glass itself).
Cons [EDIT 7/12/2014, all software issues and battery drain issues were solved with 4.4.4 KitKat Update]
- Too Wide. The width is quite bad for a "compact" phone. It is supposed to be like this to hold a good battery, but still bad for pocket phone lovers.
- Fingerprint magnet. The back side will get fingerprints by just looking at it.
- Buttons on screen, there is a big black frame at the bottom that could have been used to place buttons (even capacitive like the Xperia Go), but they are part of the screen for this unit. Easy to get used to, but annoying sometimes. The good thing is that they disappear when not needed.
- Poor speaker. The sound coming out of it sounds like canned bottle air.
- Bloatware, a lot of apps that you can't uninstall and that you will never use. (Unless you are rooted)
Conclusion, this phone will perform like no other of its kind.
The phone is a little bigger than what I would call a small phone. However, it feels just right, you can still handle it entirely with just one hand.
Pros:
- The specifications, oh god the specifications, this phone is way too fast for its size.
- The battery performance is Superb, and with Stamina Mode, you will always have battery charge.
- Discrete, it will not be too catchy (unless you order the white version). But it still looks premium enough to feel proud about it.
- It comes with KitKat from out the box.
- The design, it fits your hand perfectly, it is not too square or too round, and it is perfectly straight from all sides.
- Water Resist! (iPhone who?)
- The Power button. Indeed, this Power Button will never break (or will take years to find that out). Sony is keeping this button for all their new phones and it is God send.
- Best camera in a compact phone. For those disappointed, stop using the Superior Auto Mode, the Manual Mode will make the 20.7 Megapixels worth gold.
- Second microphone, there is a second little Microphone at the top of the phone from the back side. This is useful when recording videos or using the main camera for Video Calls.
- Gloves Mode, still as responsive as any capacitive screen and usable with any kind of cloth before fingers.
- Responsive, no matter how thick is the screen protector you use, it's impressive how responsive the screen is.
- Fake colors, well, this could be bad from a point of view. But it is remarkable more than anything. The X-Reality of the screen makes every color vibrant and full of life.
- Personalization, even if the software feel is the same on every Sony Phone, for the newest models you can customize a lot. Feel and utility included.
- No "water resist door" for the headphones jack. These "doors" are not durable. And having a full water resist port without one of these for the most used port on the phone is greatly appreciated.
- Sturdy as hell. I got a Gorilla Glass phone display to shatter in pieces 8 times with some Samsung phones. This phone will shatter its entire bezel before the screen gets a scratch. (not to confuse the anti shatter protector that comes pre-installed, as this one can get scratched with ease. I am referring to the glass itself).
Cons [EDIT 7/12/2014, all software issues and battery drain issues were solved with 4.4.4 KitKat Update]
- Too Wide. The width is quite bad for a "compact" phone. It is supposed to be like this to hold a good battery, but still bad for pocket phone lovers.
- Fingerprint magnet. The back side will get fingerprints by just looking at it.
- Buttons on screen, there is a big black frame at the bottom that could have been used to place buttons (even capacitive like the Xperia Go), but they are part of the screen for this unit. Easy to get used to, but annoying sometimes. The good thing is that they disappear when not needed.
- Poor speaker. The sound coming out of it sounds like canned bottle air.
- Bloatware, a lot of apps that you can't uninstall and that you will never use. (Unless you are rooted)
Conclusion, this phone will perform like no other of its kind.
Скроменый эксперт
20.01.2015
2/10
Оценка пользователя
Ужасно
I wouldn't be surprised if every positive review on here was written within 3 months of purchasing their phone because that is about how long each of mine lasted me. Let me preface this with the fact that while my z1 compact was working, it was a great phone. I thoroughly enjoyed all the features, especially the camera.
Here's the con... NOT waterproof. I had my phone on me during a rainy day and getting a little rain water on it did it in. I do a little research after and find out that Sony not only KNOWS about this but are almost downright proud about not covering it in the warranty. Two phone calls to Xperia support later confirmed this.
OK, I'm thinking hey it was a nice phone, maybe i'll be a little more careful with moisture, treat it like a normal smartphone. Everything's going fine and dandy with the new one. I'm even finding new features and what not. about 3 months after buying the new one when I leave it on my nightstand (OH NO!). I use it as my alarm in the morning. I was playing boom beach right before bed and remember it working perfectly the night before only to wake up to a single, tiny, hairline crack in my screen rendering it inoperable.. Basically unless somebody broke into my home with the SOLE purpose of cracking my screen the thing cracked on it's very own. Once again, the research. Once again, the numerous forums and tech articles about this being a very common issue. AND once again, Sony doesn't cover it in their warranty. You can send it in apparently at your cost to be "evaluated" and possibly repaired but after reading dozens of people telling their experiences of $200-$300 repair bills for a sub $400 phone.
So basically what you're looking at is a $350 phone that may last longer than three months but if it doesn't, you have to buy a new one.
TL;DR: Great phone, horrible defects, Sony won't do anything about it.
Here's the con... NOT waterproof. I had my phone on me during a rainy day and getting a little rain water on it did it in. I do a little research after and find out that Sony not only KNOWS about this but are almost downright proud about not covering it in the warranty. Two phone calls to Xperia support later confirmed this.
OK, I'm thinking hey it was a nice phone, maybe i'll be a little more careful with moisture, treat it like a normal smartphone. Everything's going fine and dandy with the new one. I'm even finding new features and what not. about 3 months after buying the new one when I leave it on my nightstand (OH NO!). I use it as my alarm in the morning. I was playing boom beach right before bed and remember it working perfectly the night before only to wake up to a single, tiny, hairline crack in my screen rendering it inoperable.. Basically unless somebody broke into my home with the SOLE purpose of cracking my screen the thing cracked on it's very own. Once again, the research. Once again, the numerous forums and tech articles about this being a very common issue. AND once again, Sony doesn't cover it in their warranty. You can send it in apparently at your cost to be "evaluated" and possibly repaired but after reading dozens of people telling their experiences of $200-$300 repair bills for a sub $400 phone.
So basically what you're looking at is a $350 phone that may last longer than three months but if it doesn't, you have to buy a new one.
TL;DR: Great phone, horrible defects, Sony won't do anything about it.
Скроменый эксперт
24.08.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
This is a great phone! Pure and simple. Great performance and easy to use. Beautiful bright screen and great color. Excellent photos for a cell phone. Battery life is better than average. I can get a about 3 days with light to moderate use. It has some power saving options that I have not needed, but are nice to have when traveling, etc.
I have read that the screen and body scratch easily which I did not put to the test. Instead I solved the problem by using PThink Ultra-thin Tempered Glass Screen Protector for screen. LOVE IT. Very tough and easy to clean.
I use it Consumer Cellular (uses ATT network). I did have a little trouble getting data service set up, but I just kept calling back until they got it. As it turns out, all the issue was on CC side, not phone.
The only real complaint is the styling. This has very little. It is very square and so it doesn't fit the hand quite as nice at HTC One mini or as cool looking as IPHONE 5S. Pretty soon, you don't notice that so much as you do how well it performs. Which is really well. I am a pretty picky person and I am extremely pleased with this.
One more note, I connect it to a Power Mac with USB for music and photos. Sony has a "Sony Bridge for Mac" which is a little basic, but gets the job done nicely for moving pictures either direction (and is integrates with iPhoto library) and music into phone (and is integrated with iTunes library). Also, Sony has a "find your phone" app, which I really like...in case I leave it somewhere.
Just a general note. It has several things that just work as expected - EVERY TIME. For example, it connects to my home wifi and turns off cell data, connects to my car blue tooth, updates apps only on wifi, etc., EVERY TIME. My last phone did these most times, but when you needed it the most, it would not work. Its so nice that the the Compact does not have any funky glitchy things that can really spoil the phone experience.
Finally, I really like the size. I need to tuck it into my pocket and it fits easily. 4.3" screen is a little larger than iPhone, but not crazy big.
I read the 1 star reviews and my phone did not exhibit any of those issues. I do think that with manufacturers cranking out a million phones that some slip through that are lemons. But when it works as intended, it is pretty awesome.
I have read that the screen and body scratch easily which I did not put to the test. Instead I solved the problem by using PThink Ultra-thin Tempered Glass Screen Protector for screen. LOVE IT. Very tough and easy to clean.
I use it Consumer Cellular (uses ATT network). I did have a little trouble getting data service set up, but I just kept calling back until they got it. As it turns out, all the issue was on CC side, not phone.
The only real complaint is the styling. This has very little. It is very square and so it doesn't fit the hand quite as nice at HTC One mini or as cool looking as IPHONE 5S. Pretty soon, you don't notice that so much as you do how well it performs. Which is really well. I am a pretty picky person and I am extremely pleased with this.
One more note, I connect it to a Power Mac with USB for music and photos. Sony has a "Sony Bridge for Mac" which is a little basic, but gets the job done nicely for moving pictures either direction (and is integrates with iPhoto library) and music into phone (and is integrated with iTunes library). Also, Sony has a "find your phone" app, which I really like...in case I leave it somewhere.
Just a general note. It has several things that just work as expected - EVERY TIME. For example, it connects to my home wifi and turns off cell data, connects to my car blue tooth, updates apps only on wifi, etc., EVERY TIME. My last phone did these most times, but when you needed it the most, it would not work. Its so nice that the the Compact does not have any funky glitchy things that can really spoil the phone experience.
Finally, I really like the size. I need to tuck it into my pocket and it fits easily. 4.3" screen is a little larger than iPhone, but not crazy big.
I read the 1 star reviews and my phone did not exhibit any of those issues. I do think that with manufacturers cranking out a million phones that some slip through that are lemons. But when it works as intended, it is pretty awesome.
Скроменый эксперт
17.09.2014
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
Works Okay after a month of daily use, I recommend it.
I went to this phone which should work even if put in a fish bowl like on Youtube. No fishbowl tests, but life happens and things can get wet somehow. I've had it a month, still working. Battery life is okay, charge it once a day and don't leave any apps running that aren't needed. Use free wifi at all times. Battery life as others have noted is less than one wishes. (it does charge fast) A huge 3600amh battery is available for $90.
The sim card and the mini SD card go inside a nearly the same spot. A bit confusing and a small struggle to get them in with the battery. Look at the instructions closely, watch Youtube videos to get it right.
my S4mini dual would pick up a weak atnt signal in locations that the Sony does not at all, ... don't know why. Sony has same frequencies and 4glite. But the S4mini did a better job for me.
Camera is okay. Controls are a learning curve for me.
I like the physical keys on the S4mini for Back, Home etc, rather than the electronic image keys. That's me.
The waterproof/resistant feature is the major selling point given that the phone performs like other android phones by making phone calls and some internet activity. BUT this water repellency will go away as soon as the usb and/or headphone Jack covers break off. So I've purchased the charger and bluetooth headphones so that I don't keep messing with those covers and eventually break them off. (another $100) (By this time I've spent enough $ to justify buying a samsung Active... mmmm) But the Active is physically large in my pocket which I was trying to avoid. Tough to find the perfect phone.
The remote charger cradle runs $60 when other Sony Experia phones run half that or less. mmm not nice
I bought my charger from ebay and HK to save on cost. It's working great, still was $40.
The curve of the Sony is nice in the hand. It's lightweight and has bright clear colors. Volume and on/off on the same side is good, like it.
The phone is fine, still working after daily use of a month (it should be right?) and it's suppose to be water resistant.
I recommend it ... my logic is to avoid opening covers, and to use the charger and blue tooth.
I went to this phone which should work even if put in a fish bowl like on Youtube. No fishbowl tests, but life happens and things can get wet somehow. I've had it a month, still working. Battery life is okay, charge it once a day and don't leave any apps running that aren't needed. Use free wifi at all times. Battery life as others have noted is less than one wishes. (it does charge fast) A huge 3600amh battery is available for $90.
The sim card and the mini SD card go inside a nearly the same spot. A bit confusing and a small struggle to get them in with the battery. Look at the instructions closely, watch Youtube videos to get it right.
my S4mini dual would pick up a weak atnt signal in locations that the Sony does not at all, ... don't know why. Sony has same frequencies and 4glite. But the S4mini did a better job for me.
Camera is okay. Controls are a learning curve for me.
I like the physical keys on the S4mini for Back, Home etc, rather than the electronic image keys. That's me.
The waterproof/resistant feature is the major selling point given that the phone performs like other android phones by making phone calls and some internet activity. BUT this water repellency will go away as soon as the usb and/or headphone Jack covers break off. So I've purchased the charger and bluetooth headphones so that I don't keep messing with those covers and eventually break them off. (another $100) (By this time I've spent enough $ to justify buying a samsung Active... mmmm) But the Active is physically large in my pocket which I was trying to avoid. Tough to find the perfect phone.
The remote charger cradle runs $60 when other Sony Experia phones run half that or less. mmm not nice
I bought my charger from ebay and HK to save on cost. It's working great, still was $40.
The curve of the Sony is nice in the hand. It's lightweight and has bright clear colors. Volume and on/off on the same side is good, like it.
The phone is fine, still working after daily use of a month (it should be right?) and it's suppose to be water resistant.
I recommend it ... my logic is to avoid opening covers, and to use the charger and blue tooth.
Скроменый эксперт
05.05.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
Let me begin by saying there's no perfect phones on the market. I've heard problems with different brands from friends who had used their phones for at least 3 months. I did a lot of research before buying this phone. Understanding the pros and cons of the product really helps and I have no buyer's regret after 2 months of heavy usage.
Pros:
- Great camera (on the back) quality. Check out the "time-shfit" shots. I also downloaded the "defocus" camera app.
- Speedy phone with lots of ram (2GB) comparing to other phones of similar size. This helps when you play graphical intensive games or doing a lot of multi tasking. Extra ram also gives you faster web browsing.
- Great batter life. At the end of the day like midnight, usually it's around 30% battery level. That's with 1 hour of gaming and another hour of web browsing, texting, talk, etc. I enabled "stamina" mode to achieve this.
- Reliability. Usually web reviews won't or couldn't tell you if the phone is reliable or not.... like phone crashes, LTE went dead (i.e. you get no data when you KNOW for sure you are in a LTE zone), drop calls, screen don't turn on after phone call, GPS drains your battery like hell. With this phone, I only have one LTE went dead scenario but that's when I'm riding a moving subway train.
- Front and back glass design really gives a premium feel, not something cheap. This reminds me of 3rd gen APPL phone.
- Optional expandable 64GB storage
- Waterproof, if you care... there's no headphone plug cover so you don't have to worry about removing the cover every time you listen to music.
- KitKat 4.4 is already out and so far I haven't experience any bugs with this version.
Cons:
- USB plug cover. You need to remove the cover every time you charge. This is the draw back of waterproof feature. I got around this by buying the docking station. The docking station charging speed meets my expectation... like other phones I had before.
- Speaker quality not so great. If you use a headphone to listen to music, then it's not a big deal. Phone calls (putting on speaker) is good enough for me.
- Front and back glass is vulnerable to scratches.
Well, there you have it. I give it a 5 star because I just want a phone that looks and feels good in the hands, not too thick, battery last 24hrs, and speedy gaming and web browsing experience. And most importantly, reliability! No crash, no drop calls, no audio issues!
Pros:
- Great camera (on the back) quality. Check out the "time-shfit" shots. I also downloaded the "defocus" camera app.
- Speedy phone with lots of ram (2GB) comparing to other phones of similar size. This helps when you play graphical intensive games or doing a lot of multi tasking. Extra ram also gives you faster web browsing.
- Great batter life. At the end of the day like midnight, usually it's around 30% battery level. That's with 1 hour of gaming and another hour of web browsing, texting, talk, etc. I enabled "stamina" mode to achieve this.
- Reliability. Usually web reviews won't or couldn't tell you if the phone is reliable or not.... like phone crashes, LTE went dead (i.e. you get no data when you KNOW for sure you are in a LTE zone), drop calls, screen don't turn on after phone call, GPS drains your battery like hell. With this phone, I only have one LTE went dead scenario but that's when I'm riding a moving subway train.
- Front and back glass design really gives a premium feel, not something cheap. This reminds me of 3rd gen APPL phone.
- Optional expandable 64GB storage
- Waterproof, if you care... there's no headphone plug cover so you don't have to worry about removing the cover every time you listen to music.
- KitKat 4.4 is already out and so far I haven't experience any bugs with this version.
Cons:
- USB plug cover. You need to remove the cover every time you charge. This is the draw back of waterproof feature. I got around this by buying the docking station. The docking station charging speed meets my expectation... like other phones I had before.
- Speaker quality not so great. If you use a headphone to listen to music, then it's not a big deal. Phone calls (putting on speaker) is good enough for me.
- Front and back glass is vulnerable to scratches.
Well, there you have it. I give it a 5 star because I just want a phone that looks and feels good in the hands, not too thick, battery last 24hrs, and speedy gaming and web browsing experience. And most importantly, reliability! No crash, no drop calls, no audio issues!
Скроменый эксперт
26.09.2014
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
Ive had this phone for 5 months now. This is my first smartphone after years of having a dumbphone so its definitely a big upgrade. I spent a lot of time debating between this, the Z1 and the ZL. I was worried the screen would be too small compared to the others that have a 5" screen, but Im glad I went with the compact. The size is good and fits nicely in my hands any pocket. I got the Case Mate tough case which I highly recommend (there aren't many strong cases for this phone and that one works great) The processor is fast and I don't ever notice much lag, it runs games pretty well. Since this phone isn't a very popular one, you will notice there are some apps that are not compatible with this phone in the play store which is unfortunate, but not a big deal. The camera has a lot of cool settings and modes, but dont expect wonders just because its a 20.7 MP, you wont notice much of a difference. A big reason I got this phone was because its waterproof (my previous phone died after getting wet one day). Ive had it out in the rain and of course its fine and waterproof, but its doesnt really work while wet, it kinda jumps around and stuff, but thats not much of an issue really. I've yet to drop it so Im not sure how that holds up. Although it comes with a screen protector on the front, I suggest getting another one to put on top just to be safe. Being that its a Sony phone it has some unique apps and stuff that Samsung and htc phones don't have. I would definitely recommend it, especially for the price compared to other phones with similar features.
And just in case anyone is wondering, Im using T-mobiles pre-paid plan that comes with 100 minutes and unlimited data (first 5gb is 4G LTE) for $30. It works with any phone, you just put the SIM card in and register it to their website. I get LTE in most places, but that just depends on where you live. Tethering works well too, I recommend the PDA NET app to have unlimited tethering to your computer.
And just in case anyone is wondering, Im using T-mobiles pre-paid plan that comes with 100 minutes and unlimited data (first 5gb is 4G LTE) for $30. It works with any phone, you just put the SIM card in and register it to their website. I get LTE in most places, but that just depends on where you live. Tethering works well too, I recommend the PDA NET app to have unlimited tethering to your computer.
Скроменый эксперт
11.07.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
I bit and bought this phone from ebay for $390.00 unlocked. I was upgrading from a LG L9 for T-mobile because the medical apps I used (Omnio, Medscape, Epocrates) would take forever to open on it. The L9 also only had 4 GB of internal memory, with less than 2 GB usable.
The z1 compact completely blew me away. I wanted a phone that I can manipulate with one hand. Check. I wanted a phone that has lots of internal memory. This phone has 16 GB with a microSD card slot. Check. I wanted a phone that can open up my medical apps fast. The 2.2 Ghz quad core processor allows me to open up all three apps, Google Maps, Whatsapp, and ESPN Sportscenter all at the same time, with no lag or hiccups. The camera is sharp, beautiful, and has lots of modes to mess around with. The front camera takes decent photos and works well at video chatting. The lime-yellow color is brilliant (though I don't know why that color is not available in the USA). Typing with one hand is a breeze, and both the default keyboard and Swiftkey work quite well.
If I had to suggest a negative that would be the glossy plastic back. It is a fingerprint and hairline scratch magnet. I got a Minisuit case for it - http://www.minisuit.com/p-2172-ultra-thin-clear-air-case-cover-for-sony-xperia-z1-compact.aspx - it works okay but does leave residue on the back when it's on. The front panel also attracts dust and fingerprints like crazy but you can wipe/wash it off since it's waterproof.
I also suggest buying a magnetic charger (I bought this one http://www.amazon.com/Magnector-Performance-Magnetic-Charging-Adapter/dp/B00JEN5S6A) so you don't have to open and close the microUSB charging port every time you want to charge the phone.
Other than that one negative, I freaking love this phone. The IPS Screen has slick viewing angles. The Walkman app sounds wonderful and finds album art for me automatically. The power button is robust and use-friendly. The physical camera button is a lifesaver. Sony has updated the phone to KitKat 4.4.4 and left the OS mostly untouched.
If you can find a deal for the phone under $400 then just bite. You definitely won't regret it.
The z1 compact completely blew me away. I wanted a phone that I can manipulate with one hand. Check. I wanted a phone that has lots of internal memory. This phone has 16 GB with a microSD card slot. Check. I wanted a phone that can open up my medical apps fast. The 2.2 Ghz quad core processor allows me to open up all three apps, Google Maps, Whatsapp, and ESPN Sportscenter all at the same time, with no lag or hiccups. The camera is sharp, beautiful, and has lots of modes to mess around with. The front camera takes decent photos and works well at video chatting. The lime-yellow color is brilliant (though I don't know why that color is not available in the USA). Typing with one hand is a breeze, and both the default keyboard and Swiftkey work quite well.
If I had to suggest a negative that would be the glossy plastic back. It is a fingerprint and hairline scratch magnet. I got a Minisuit case for it - http://www.minisuit.com/p-2172-ultra-thin-clear-air-case-cover-for-sony-xperia-z1-compact.aspx - it works okay but does leave residue on the back when it's on. The front panel also attracts dust and fingerprints like crazy but you can wipe/wash it off since it's waterproof.
I also suggest buying a magnetic charger (I bought this one http://www.amazon.com/Magnector-Performance-Magnetic-Charging-Adapter/dp/B00JEN5S6A) so you don't have to open and close the microUSB charging port every time you want to charge the phone.
Other than that one negative, I freaking love this phone. The IPS Screen has slick viewing angles. The Walkman app sounds wonderful and finds album art for me automatically. The power button is robust and use-friendly. The physical camera button is a lifesaver. Sony has updated the phone to KitKat 4.4.4 and left the OS mostly untouched.
If you can find a deal for the phone under $400 then just bite. You definitely won't regret it.
Скроменый эксперт
22.07.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
I've had the phone for a month now, and I like it as much as the first day.
It uses a micro-SIM, so I had to go to the T-Mobile store and get my regular SIM replaced for $10. They also set up my APN for full data speeds.
The camera is great, almost a complete replacement for a regular camera (as normal for cell phones, it doesn't have zoom or a long video record time). It says 20 megapixel, but I think that's in manual mode only. Standard auto mode is 8 mp, which is still plenty. You can choose 4x3 or 9x16. Bright, clear pictures with true colors. Tap to focus, and using the side button pressed part way to lock the exposure settings are easy ways to help considerably with tricky sunset or backlight pictures, etc.
I had an issue with the battery life, the media server app at one point started sucking the life out of it. I tracked that down to bad media files or directory, possibly due to pictures I had loaded onto the SD memory card. I deleted the pictures, replaced the directory, cleared the cache, restarted and now it's fine. (That's an Android issue, not specific to this phone, as I learned online). Now with battery life options checked, no GPS (unless I'm using it with the Geocache app), no bluetooth or Wi-Fi, I can go all day with normal usage and still have 80% battery left. That's with checking e-mail and facebook at lunch, a little bit of game playing, several texts, and an actual phone call. I have no idea how people manage to go thru the whole battery in one day, even when I had the corrupted media problem I'd still have 30% at the end of the day.
They claim you can take pictures underwater, etc. but in the manual they really don't advise using it on purpose in anything more than a shower. It can probably take much more than that, and you can push it if you want, but I lost my last phone due to water, so I'm going to be careful.
This is as big as I want a phone to be, any bigger and it would be a problem sitting down with it in your jeans pocket. I put a slim case on it, just to be careful. It has a good feel, bright screen. No complaints :)
It uses a micro-SIM, so I had to go to the T-Mobile store and get my regular SIM replaced for $10. They also set up my APN for full data speeds.
The camera is great, almost a complete replacement for a regular camera (as normal for cell phones, it doesn't have zoom or a long video record time). It says 20 megapixel, but I think that's in manual mode only. Standard auto mode is 8 mp, which is still plenty. You can choose 4x3 or 9x16. Bright, clear pictures with true colors. Tap to focus, and using the side button pressed part way to lock the exposure settings are easy ways to help considerably with tricky sunset or backlight pictures, etc.
I had an issue with the battery life, the media server app at one point started sucking the life out of it. I tracked that down to bad media files or directory, possibly due to pictures I had loaded onto the SD memory card. I deleted the pictures, replaced the directory, cleared the cache, restarted and now it's fine. (That's an Android issue, not specific to this phone, as I learned online). Now with battery life options checked, no GPS (unless I'm using it with the Geocache app), no bluetooth or Wi-Fi, I can go all day with normal usage and still have 80% battery left. That's with checking e-mail and facebook at lunch, a little bit of game playing, several texts, and an actual phone call. I have no idea how people manage to go thru the whole battery in one day, even when I had the corrupted media problem I'd still have 30% at the end of the day.
They claim you can take pictures underwater, etc. but in the manual they really don't advise using it on purpose in anything more than a shower. It can probably take much more than that, and you can push it if you want, but I lost my last phone due to water, so I'm going to be careful.
This is as big as I want a phone to be, any bigger and it would be a problem sitting down with it in your jeans pocket. I put a slim case on it, just to be careful. It has a good feel, bright screen. No complaints :)
Скроменый эксперт
29.03.2014
4/10
Оценка пользователя
Ужасно
My biggest concern with this phone are the soft buttons that are enabled on the screen even in Chrome, PDF and so on. Even more, they don't rotate. So if you are reading some text horizontally what you get is some 4.0" of usable space. This is very bad as other devices I used (e.g. Nexus 7) always put the soft buttons on the bottom of the screen so if I am to read something I do have the whole width of screen. Howerver, youtube does use the whole screen so there is at least one good thing.
Usually I don't care about the top notch LCD quality - I had an LG L9 and was perfectly happy with its screen, knowing that its lower quality helps with the battery life. And it's not that it was that bad. Actually it was brighter than e.g. Samsung SG3 while having similar sharpness. The only thing that was missing were fake punchy colors amoled does.
When I heard about this special Sony LCD I said great - I don't need HD and amoled gimmicks, just give me something decent that is not a power hog. However, this Sony has the worst screen I've ever seen, from the first days of android. For example, the colors are all messed-up - it's like having an 8-bit picture and then you try to expand its dynamic range, colors, contrast etc. to make it punchy- that just doesn't work... Also, yet to see some nice black letters - they are all just gray and not so sharp.
To conclude about the LCD: when I put this phone next to a dirty cheap LG L9, it's screen looks way to small and ugly.
About the handling: When I take this phone into my hand it just feels wrong. LG L9 is some 1.5mm wider but also much thinner, resulting in the body that is much easier to handle - whenever I take LG L9 it fits right. Z1 never feels right. Actually, I was ready to accept this bulk because I need a sturdy phone but this one is just a way too big for a 4.0" phone.
Although I break phones easily, do need big battery, do need SD card and do want a smaller phone I finally sold it - would rather risk breaking another phone, or diving with it, than carrying this one with me anymore.
A note about the camera: It's just too crappy in the dim light due to the pixel size (Exmor RS BSI just can't help it as the pixel size is a way too small). Also, the camera software is very bad and full of useless gimmicks. Essentially, it fails to properly expose and properly use the flash. If you ever used the iphone camera or e.g. Lumix 925, you will know how crappy this camera software is.
Usually I don't care about the top notch LCD quality - I had an LG L9 and was perfectly happy with its screen, knowing that its lower quality helps with the battery life. And it's not that it was that bad. Actually it was brighter than e.g. Samsung SG3 while having similar sharpness. The only thing that was missing were fake punchy colors amoled does.
When I heard about this special Sony LCD I said great - I don't need HD and amoled gimmicks, just give me something decent that is not a power hog. However, this Sony has the worst screen I've ever seen, from the first days of android. For example, the colors are all messed-up - it's like having an 8-bit picture and then you try to expand its dynamic range, colors, contrast etc. to make it punchy- that just doesn't work... Also, yet to see some nice black letters - they are all just gray and not so sharp.
To conclude about the LCD: when I put this phone next to a dirty cheap LG L9, it's screen looks way to small and ugly.
About the handling: When I take this phone into my hand it just feels wrong. LG L9 is some 1.5mm wider but also much thinner, resulting in the body that is much easier to handle - whenever I take LG L9 it fits right. Z1 never feels right. Actually, I was ready to accept this bulk because I need a sturdy phone but this one is just a way too big for a 4.0" phone.
Although I break phones easily, do need big battery, do need SD card and do want a smaller phone I finally sold it - would rather risk breaking another phone, or diving with it, than carrying this one with me anymore.
A note about the camera: It's just too crappy in the dim light due to the pixel size (Exmor RS BSI just can't help it as the pixel size is a way too small). Also, the camera software is very bad and full of useless gimmicks. Essentially, it fails to properly expose and properly use the flash. If you ever used the iphone camera or e.g. Lumix 925, you will know how crappy this camera software is.
Скроменый эксперт
22.01.2015
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
Great little phone. So many cool features too.. the camera and the apps are great. My younger cousins love paying with all the AR affects and stuff, which I admit are super neat. The phones quality is very high, and it also has a nice heft to it (i dont care for featherweight phones) The reviews don't lie tho.. the back will scratch instantly, so order illumishield protectros (the come with front AND back) with the phone so you get them at the same time. The cases are all kinda bunk for this phone. Incipio makes a cuple that are expensive and the dualpro is probly the best bet.
The specs on this are amazing. it plays games and muti-tasks like a champ. sony's custom skin also alows for movable desktop like apps (think windows 7) which is way neat.. clicking and dragging apps with a finger. It is fluid and really just all around great. and this is a truly one handed phone, and the screen is sharp and easy on the eyes (not htc one quality, but who cares) i'm happy with it. And it supports every band imaginable so it works like a champ at full potential with ANY gsm sim card, which my htc one didn't. so all in all i like it. If i could go back in time.. id probably spend the extra 30 dollars and get a Nexus 5 or an extra hundered for the z2, for the bigger screen.
this will be my main cell for atleast a few months, and im happy with it.. oh yeah the waterproofing is pretty sweet too!
The specs on this are amazing. it plays games and muti-tasks like a champ. sony's custom skin also alows for movable desktop like apps (think windows 7) which is way neat.. clicking and dragging apps with a finger. It is fluid and really just all around great. and this is a truly one handed phone, and the screen is sharp and easy on the eyes (not htc one quality, but who cares) i'm happy with it. And it supports every band imaginable so it works like a champ at full potential with ANY gsm sim card, which my htc one didn't. so all in all i like it. If i could go back in time.. id probably spend the extra 30 dollars and get a Nexus 5 or an extra hundered for the z2, for the bigger screen.
this will be my main cell for atleast a few months, and im happy with it.. oh yeah the waterproofing is pretty sweet too!
Скроменый эксперт
06.10.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
Great, powerful, sexy android device. I didn't want a giant smartphone or an iPhone, and when I read the reviews on Sony's Z1 Compact, I was sold. The device is lighting fast and very smooth. Battery life is amazing. Screen resolution is perfect. I’ve only had the phone for few days now, but I’m loving it. In low light, without a flash, the camera works okay, but it’s not the best. In daylight, it functions great. I’m transitioning from an old HTC to a Sony, so I’m still getting use to all of the features, but so far I’m very pleased with my purchase. This phone works fine with T-Mobile. I get 3g, H+ and LTE. I did have to figure out how to turn the data on, but that didn’t take long to find in the settings. I tried several of Sony’s apps and their PC connect, but I was unsuccessful in transferring all of my settings from my old as heck HTC to this device. I’m sure it works seamlessly if you have a newer device. It’s nice to start fresh though. Why did I opt for the Z1 instead of waiting for the new Z3 Compact? Price was the biggest factor. For $400, it’s a steal. The Z3 also has a larger screen. I prefer the size of the Z1; it’s easy to use with one hand and not even noticeable in my front pocket. I also purchased the Sony DK32 magnetic docking station and Cruzerlite’s ‘Bugdroid Circuit Case.’ They work great together. There has been complaints about other cases not working with the docking station because they’re too thick, that’s why I touched on this. I’ve also read comments that the back of the Z1 scratches easily, so make sure you pick-up a case if minor blemishes bother you.
Скроменый эксперт
06.06.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
so after a ton of research, i decided on this phone...but it wasnt available in the US. when i found it on amazon, i saved up my pennies and bit the bullet. not disappointed. i use t-mobile and it took a bit of work (maybe an hour at the store) before i was able to get it to connect to the network. i dont remember the steps i took so please dont ask, lol, but it was involved. im a techie so it was not a big deal for me, but if you dont feel comfortable with going into the phone settings and changing stuff around, you might reconsider buying this phone. i was fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable rep on the phone (because the people in the store had never seen this phone before) and we were able to get it set up with minimal issues. I can connect to the LTE network in Dallas with no issues. this phone's size is what sold me...i cant stand the massive phones out there these days and most of the smaller versions are dumbed down versions of their bigger brothers. not this phone. a wonderful experience so far. finding cases for it is kind of annoying as there are not many out there(i went with cruzerlite bugdroid circuit case with some stupid graphics on the back as there were very few options). i still have to explore many of the in depth features of this phone, but so far, im very happy. OH, the camera...its good, better than my last phone, but with 20.1 megapxls i was expecting much better. its good, dont get me wrong, but its still not as good as the iphone's camera (and i hate iphones). the shutter speed is better than my last, but again, for whatever reason, not nearly as quick as the iphone's in my opinion. however, it does have a burst mode which is nice, you can burst and select the best photo of the burst...that would have been nice to have when i was at my last concert and the performer stage dove literally 1 ft away from me. anywho...i digress. long and the short of it, after a slightly annoying set up process (its not a US phone, what do you expect!), i brag about my phone to all my friends :)
Скроменый эксперт
28.02.2015
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
Great phone, really good screen clarity and easy to use, no real problems with quality of the actual phone itself, but there are 2 downsides for me..........
1) screen is very sensitive
2) can't find phone covers for this particular Xperia, except online
All the covers I've ordered had good prices and good fit, but what I need is considered a "Rugged" cover. One that comes out from the phone a little more and has a good rubber grip. If I cud find that, the screen sensitivity wudn't be an issue at all. (had nerve surgery several yrs ago and inherited one of the side effects listed.............did not affect the nerves in my hands. They work just fine. But it DID affect the skin on the underside of my fingers and hands/palms. Skipping any more boring details, bottom line is that I have trouble gripping some things now, skin's too soft, slick.) So I'm sure this isn't an issue for most anyway, but sure wish I cud find a bigger, rugged cover. That wud make this the absolute perfect phone. Hats off Sony, great product!
1) screen is very sensitive
2) can't find phone covers for this particular Xperia, except online
All the covers I've ordered had good prices and good fit, but what I need is considered a "Rugged" cover. One that comes out from the phone a little more and has a good rubber grip. If I cud find that, the screen sensitivity wudn't be an issue at all. (had nerve surgery several yrs ago and inherited one of the side effects listed.............did not affect the nerves in my hands. They work just fine. But it DID affect the skin on the underside of my fingers and hands/palms. Skipping any more boring details, bottom line is that I have trouble gripping some things now, skin's too soft, slick.) So I'm sure this isn't an issue for most anyway, but sure wish I cud find a bigger, rugged cover. That wud make this the absolute perfect phone. Hats off Sony, great product!
Скроменый эксперт
09.10.2014
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
I have had many android phones, this is one of the best I have had so far. It's small, so it fits your pockets really well. It's water proof and has that cool magnetic charge port that you don't need to open the water proof flap on the USB port to charge the phone. The camera on this phone is superior to the S4 I had (which BTW prior to the Z1 Compact had in my opinion one of the best cameras on any smartphone). The 2.3GHz snapdragon 800 chip in the phone is snappy, rung everything I throw at it without a hitch.
The most important thing on this phone I like is the battery life, I have had the best battery life on the Z1 Compact among all of the android phones I had so far between personal owned and work issued which includes several model of HTC including the One M7, Samsung S4, Nexus 4, 5. Aside from the old blackberry models, this smartphone has the best battery life, I get 3 days of normal use, and 2 days of heavy use out of it normally. For a single day use, I can use the GPS, read, play music, listen to audio books, browse the web, check email without concern for running out of battery, I have never seem less than 30% battery left after a full day of use yet so far. This is no Droid Maxx, but it is pretty damend good.
The only thing I think could make it better would be to have a replaceable battery (which may reduce the solidness of the phone overall), and to have the on screen menu rotate with the screen reorientation like standard android instead of being fixed in the SONY's customer UI.
The most important thing on this phone I like is the battery life, I have had the best battery life on the Z1 Compact among all of the android phones I had so far between personal owned and work issued which includes several model of HTC including the One M7, Samsung S4, Nexus 4, 5. Aside from the old blackberry models, this smartphone has the best battery life, I get 3 days of normal use, and 2 days of heavy use out of it normally. For a single day use, I can use the GPS, read, play music, listen to audio books, browse the web, check email without concern for running out of battery, I have never seem less than 30% battery left after a full day of use yet so far. This is no Droid Maxx, but it is pretty damend good.
The only thing I think could make it better would be to have a replaceable battery (which may reduce the solidness of the phone overall), and to have the on screen menu rotate with the screen reorientation like standard android instead of being fixed in the SONY's customer UI.
Скроменый эксперт
09.03.2015
8/10
Оценка пользователя
Хорошо
I wanted this phone to be my favourite phone. It is good, but a couple things hold it back.
1) The camera is quite good. This was a main selling point for me. However, in low-light conditions it REALLY struggles. I have never had a phone that does this poor in semi-low-light conditions. The Galaxy S4 seems to have a better overall camera quality and faster shutter speed.
2) This is not the phone for you if you want to install custom ROMs. Particularly anything AOSP. The development for AOSP ROMs is lacking; mostly because there are some camera features that developers are not able to implement due to propitiatory software (or something, I'm not entirely sure). While you can install something like cyanogenmod, the camera will not operate at its full potential. The quality will be nerfed.
That being said, it is a great phone. The pros have been thoroughly listed in other reviews. If it were not for these two issues, this would be the top android device I have ever owned.
1) The camera is quite good. This was a main selling point for me. However, in low-light conditions it REALLY struggles. I have never had a phone that does this poor in semi-low-light conditions. The Galaxy S4 seems to have a better overall camera quality and faster shutter speed.
2) This is not the phone for you if you want to install custom ROMs. Particularly anything AOSP. The development for AOSP ROMs is lacking; mostly because there are some camera features that developers are not able to implement due to propitiatory software (or something, I'm not entirely sure). While you can install something like cyanogenmod, the camera will not operate at its full potential. The quality will be nerfed.
That being said, it is a great phone. The pros have been thoroughly listed in other reviews. If it were not for these two issues, this would be the top android device I have ever owned.
Скроменый эксперт
01.11.2014
10/10
Оценка пользователя
Великолепно
I used to get bad vision from overly bright Sony Xperias since I didn't turn on the automatic brightness setting and didn't bother adjusting it to the right level, but now my eyesight is back and good.
There used to be trouble connecting my smartphones to the internet through "my" Wi-Fi router but really it's just because the router isn't compatible with the smartphone.
There was another problem of not being able to swipe my screen properly which was very frustrating for me and sometimes the touch response was very poor and annoyed me very much as well, but that was only because I bought it from the wrong shop. Now that I have the factory unlocked version of it, I do not have problems with it apart from battery life, but this is true of most smartphones anyway since most batteries are lithium made and lithium is not as effective and energy consuming as magnesium.
I'm just happy with my black Sony Xperia SP C5303 (it HAS to be C5303 and it HAS to be directly shipped from Japan or bought from Japanese Yamada Denkis or Yodobashi Cameras, only) now and even though I want this new white one I have no problems pretty much with my current phone except for the stupid battery that is just too drained so yeah I'm just content to keep my phone.
Love the white version of it though. Wish I had properly bought it instead of buying a 0 contract refurbished 2nd hand smartphone ;-(
There used to be trouble connecting my smartphones to the internet through "my" Wi-Fi router but really it's just because the router isn't compatible with the smartphone.
There was another problem of not being able to swipe my screen properly which was very frustrating for me and sometimes the touch response was very poor and annoyed me very much as well, but that was only because I bought it from the wrong shop. Now that I have the factory unlocked version of it, I do not have problems with it apart from battery life, but this is true of most smartphones anyway since most batteries are lithium made and lithium is not as effective and energy consuming as magnesium.
I'm just happy with my black Sony Xperia SP C5303 (it HAS to be C5303 and it HAS to be directly shipped from Japan or bought from Japanese Yamada Denkis or Yodobashi Cameras, only) now and even though I want this new white one I have no problems pretty much with my current phone except for the stupid battery that is just too drained so yeah I'm just content to keep my phone.
Love the white version of it though. Wish I had properly bought it instead of buying a 0 contract refurbished 2nd hand smartphone ;-(
Скроменый эксперт
06.11.2014
6/10
Оценка пользователя
Плохо
Positives: 1. Small and thin for easy carrying. 2. Android system works perfectly. 3. Price range for color phones 120+ somewhat OK. I love the Android OS, and I recommend it, but it collects way too much personal information on the user. Sadly, every big corporation seems to think it's their given right.
Negatives: 1. Storage of apps is a problem if you wish to add some of the neat available apps. Unlike my Blu phone that allows me store most of my apps on my micro-SD card, Sony seems to limit this function. The internal storage is almost full yet many apps that I would like to move to the external SD card can't be moved. This may be a real problem for app users. 2. The featured Walkman music player is not user friendly, and fouls up too many times. It plays OK much of the time, but fouls up at the most inconvenient times. 3. Start up way too slow.
This is my personal take on the Sony, and you may not agree: I would kick the Sony to the gutter in favor of the BLU Studio 5.0 C HD. Everything on Blu just works well. If you shop around the price rang on these phones is fairly close to each other. Warning: I have read bad reports on Blu customer service, but I hope I will not need to contact them.
PS The Google Talk feature works almost perfectly on both of these phone. Even mispronounced words get recognized.
Negatives: 1. Storage of apps is a problem if you wish to add some of the neat available apps. Unlike my Blu phone that allows me store most of my apps on my micro-SD card, Sony seems to limit this function. The internal storage is almost full yet many apps that I would like to move to the external SD card can't be moved. This may be a real problem for app users. 2. The featured Walkman music player is not user friendly, and fouls up too many times. It plays OK much of the time, but fouls up at the most inconvenient times. 3. Start up way too slow.
This is my personal take on the Sony, and you may not agree: I would kick the Sony to the gutter in favor of the BLU Studio 5.0 C HD. Everything on Blu just works well. If you shop around the price rang on these phones is fairly close to each other. Warning: I have read bad reports on Blu customer service, but I hope I will not need to contact them.
PS The Google Talk feature works almost perfectly on both of these phone. Even mispronounced words get recognized.
Скроменый эксперт
15.02.2014
4/10
Оценка пользователя
Ужасно
First off: it's cheap, unlocked, and runs something newer than Android 2.3. (4.1 to be exact) However, it's slow, text doesn't look sharp at all, and you don't want to use it for much. The camera is nearly worthless. It's OK if you have some patience and need something basic and unlocked, but I suggest spending the extra for a Moto G instead. I've occasionally had to pull the battery upon it freezing or going berserk, though that's not very often. (Note: on at least one of them, I need a flathead screwdriver to pull the battery if I want to avoid ruining my finger nails. This isn't the case with other phones I've dealt with.)
Now for the problem. My family bought two of these, one a few weeks after the other. One of them has been working fine, used for checking email, making calls, and texting. The other developed a bad spot on the touchscreen ~6 months in - like a big long spot near the right side of the onscreen keyboard. You can't type certain letters because of it, and it happens that you need to swipe through that spot to accept a call. (If I do it just right, it'll skip through that part and unlock.) So, I contacted Sony about the warranty. First, they told me to run their software to fix it and wipe the software. (Yeah, like that'll work.) That didn't fix it, no surprises there. (Plus, the software doesn't run on OS X 10.9 and consistently threw an error on Windows 8.1 after I'd installed it and gotten through half the process - I had to use Win7.) So, I had to call them back, get an RMA, and pay to ship it to them. They sent it back a few weeks later claiming that the microUSB port had damage that was customer abuse, and that they hadn't tried to fix anything. (There was a small bit of missing plastic in it, and I don't know how it happened - it belongs to another family member - but all the pins were there and it still worked fine.) The USB port has absolutely nothing doing with the screen issue. The screen wasn't cracked or anything, no visible damage/abuse whatsoever.
Congrats Sony, you just lost a customer and earned a negative review. Now to buy a replacement touchscreen and attempt to replace this myself, or go buy a NON-Sony phone to replace it.
Now for the problem. My family bought two of these, one a few weeks after the other. One of them has been working fine, used for checking email, making calls, and texting. The other developed a bad spot on the touchscreen ~6 months in - like a big long spot near the right side of the onscreen keyboard. You can't type certain letters because of it, and it happens that you need to swipe through that spot to accept a call. (If I do it just right, it'll skip through that part and unlock.) So, I contacted Sony about the warranty. First, they told me to run their software to fix it and wipe the software. (Yeah, like that'll work.) That didn't fix it, no surprises there. (Plus, the software doesn't run on OS X 10.9 and consistently threw an error on Windows 8.1 after I'd installed it and gotten through half the process - I had to use Win7.) So, I had to call them back, get an RMA, and pay to ship it to them. They sent it back a few weeks later claiming that the microUSB port had damage that was customer abuse, and that they hadn't tried to fix anything. (There was a small bit of missing plastic in it, and I don't know how it happened - it belongs to another family member - but all the pins were there and it still worked fine.) The USB port has absolutely nothing doing with the screen issue. The screen wasn't cracked or anything, no visible damage/abuse whatsoever.
Congrats Sony, you just lost a customer and earned a negative review. Now to buy a replacement touchscreen and attempt to replace this myself, or go buy a NON-Sony phone to replace it.
Показаны отзывы 289-312 из 512.
