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Sony Xperia Z1 review
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OUR VERDICT
It's a Range Rover for the school run. A gold toilet seat. Having all the sport and film channels on a telly in the shed. You'll feel awesome with one in your pocket, but for an all-round device, it feels like Sony has dropped the ball on design and screen technology and gambled too hard on camera - a move that didn't pay off fully.
PRODUCT FEATURES
- Built-in Memory : 16 GB
- Rear Camera Resolution : 20.7 Megapixel
- Battery Talk Time : 14 Hour
- Screen Resolution : 1920 x 1080
- Processor Core : Quad-core (4 Core)
FOR
- Good battery life
- Waterproof
- Some clever Sony additions
AGAINST
- Loads of Sony bloatware
- Disappointing indoor photos
- Erratic screen technology
UPDATE: Sony has now upgraded the Xperia Z1 to run on Google's Android 4.4.2 KitKat release. We've updated the review again to reflect this.
Sony was the first of the big-name manufacturers to launch a new 2013 flagship smartphone back in March of last year, with the Sony Xperia Z, a 5-inch model outwardly rather similar to the new Sony Xperia Z1.
The Xperia Z beat the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 to market, offering a quad-core processor, 1080p display, 13MP camera, 2GB of RAM, and water and dust resistance. It was awesome.
But a new Sony flagship arrvied for the autumn/winter 2013 season, in the large, glossy shape of the Xperia Z1. There's a more powerful processor inside, a higher-spec camera and a new metal chassis, but it's still recognisably related to the older Z, both in design terms and the software it runs.
It's a premium model too. The Z1 launched last year for a stonking great £599 in the UK, and even though it's just been usurped by the all-new Xperia Z2, it's still a hugely expensive phone with an unlocked price of around £479.
As with the Xperia Z, the Z1's 5-inch screen displays at full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution. The key upgrades here are hidden inside, with the Z1 powered by a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset clocked at 2.2GHz and backed up by the same 2GB of working RAM as the Z.
There's also an upgraded aluminium chassis that rounds off the sharp edges of the Z in favour of a gentler, colder, metallic feel. The headline feature is the 20.7MP camera sensor, on paper a vast upgrade over the 13MP unit inside the older Z.
The Z1 is certified to IP standards for dust and water resistance, so ought to be 100% impervious to the more mundane threat of pocket fluff.
Indeed, the phone's ports - microSD, USB and micro-SIM - are all hidden behind rubber stoppers, to keep water, dust and fluff at bay.
The Z1's 3.5mm headphone jack is open to the elements on the top-left corner of the phone, so Sony's done a bit of useful work here to waterproof that and do away with the rubber stopper.
I thought the addition of a flap over the USB connector would be a first-world problem-causing frustration on a daily basis, but thankfully I was wrong.
It pops out easily. It pops back in easily. It's a second and a half worth investing each day in return for a fully waterproof phone.
Holding the Sony Xperia Z1 is a treat to the senses too, as the Z1 features a full glass exterior as well as a smooth, featureless and button-free front.
The back's so shiny you could mistake it for a display, albeit a broken display that's stuck showing the Sony logo in the middle.
Sony's designers have ensured that the Z1's plastic sides extend by a fraction of a millimetre over the phone's glassy rear.
This acts as a shock absorber and means the glass should be protected from casual tosses onto hard surfaces - although I've scratched the back a little already. But that was probably from chucking it in the sea to check its water resistance, so I have only myself to blame.
It feels big and wide, although thanks to also being rather tall as well it manages to balance pretty nicely in the hand. It's also cool to the touch, with the aluminium sides giving your hand the odd chill when it's been out on a table for a while.
Sony's also stuck with its idea of putting the power button on the side of the phone a little above the middle, meaning it's easy to find and naturally appears where your fingers tend to sit when holding a phone of this size.
But being so slim and smooth has you worrying. Putting it in a pocket makes you stress that it's so slick it's surely only a matter of time before it somehow works itself up and out onto the floor.
But that's not happened to me yet. I am probably just worrying too much. It encourages you to worry, as it's such a large lump of a phone you're always aware of its presence.
Thanks to the positioning of the power button it is just about possible to use the Xperia Z1 in one hand. It's not entirely comfortable to hold, though, as the angular slab design and glass back has you panicking that it's a very droppable item.
Your fingers end up seeking out the docking port as the only gripping spot, as that's the only feature on the left-hand side of the Z1 that isn't completely smooth and flush.
The front... no, wait, this is the back. The back looks like the front. It's all glass and smooth, although I suspect it's not made from stuff as tough as that which covers the front, as a fair few tiny scratches have developed in a little over a week of use.
The right-hand edge features the microSIM card tray - which can be pulled out with a fingernail - power button, volume up/down toggle and the camera shutter button, the latter of which can be used to open up the camera by holding it down for a second or so.
The SIM tray is peculiar, housing an impossibly flimsy piece of plastic that's used to insert the SIM, which is so thin it's bordering on paper-like. If you're a regular SIM-swapper it'll be a nightmare, as this teeny holder is definitely one of the few weak spots in the Z1's design.
The left-hand side has the microSD slot and USB connectors, which sit above the docking station pins, while the bottom edge is all speaker grill.
It's not the best place for a speaker as, what with this being such a huge phone, you often end up supporting it with a finger or thumb while using it - blocking or at least changing the level of the audio when simply adjusting your grip. Not a massive flaw, but a minor annoyance all the same.
The bottom of the display is allocated for Android's software buttons, which are presented here in standard Back, Home and the Recent Apps multitasking button.
There's enough chin beneath the display to ensure these software buttons aren't too low down the Z1's body, again helping to make one-handed use a little easier. No mean feat when dealing with a 5-inch monster.
Huawei P8 review
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OUR VERDICT
The Huawei P8 has all the right ingredients for a top smartphone, but something's not quite gone to plan in the baking stage. The lower price point certainly helps, but the mainstream flagships can rest easy.
FOR
- Premium design
- Decent display
- Feature packed camera
- Attractive price
AGAINST
- Emotion UI remains
- Slightly laggy performance
The Huawei P8 is the Chinese firm's latest foray into the flagship market, and it's arguably its best handset to date after the comparably sedate Ascend P6 andAscend P7 of the past couple of years.
The "Ascend" name has been dropped in favour of the cleaner Huawei P8 moniker, which tidies up its previously messy naming regime.
In terms of price you're looking at €499 (around £395, $580, AU$760) for the 16GB model, or €599 (around £465, $680, AU$900) for 64GB of internal space, making the Huawei P8 comfortably cheaper than the current fleet of 2015 flagships.
There's a 5.2-inch full HD display up front, while the metal unibody design comes in at just 6.4mm thick - making the Huawei P8 thinner than the iPhone 6and Samsung Galaxy S6.
Picking up the P8 I found it to be well weighted, manageable in one hand and indeed it does look and feel premium.
The slightly curved, chamfered edges provide a little extra grip, although the completely flat rear and super slim 6.4mm profile means it's not the most comfortable to hold. It does however, slip effortlessly in a pocket.
Huawei made a point of saying how solid the aluminium unibody is on the P8, and while there's no obvious cause for concern in terms of bend-ability I look forward to seeing others applying more pressure to see if it goes the same way as the iPhone 6 Plus.
While the Huawei P8 does sport a premium metal body, it doesn't quite match the same style and grace of the iPhone 6 or HTC One M9.
The all metal unibody just doesn't look or feel quite as premium as its rivals - whether it's the finish Huawei has chosen to apply or use of cheaper materials, it's not clear.
It feels like there's something still missing to really push it into the design stratosphere, but it's another positive step forward and the Huawei P8 is still a premium device.
The metal power lock key is situated about half way down the right of the P8, in a slightly recessed dip making it easier to find when you run a finger along the edge.
The volume rocker sits above it, while below are two trays - one for your 4G nanoSIM and one for a microSD card (up to 128GB in size) which also doubles as a second nanoSIM port.
There are both single and dual SIM variants of the Huawei P8, so the handset you get may not have the clever second SIM functionality in the microSD bay.
You can pick the Huawei P8 up in four colours; mystic champagne, carbon black, titanium grey and prestige gold. The champagne and grey only feature on the 16GB model while black and gold are reserved for 64GB.
Something for you eyes
The full HD display may not match the 2K Galaxy S6 and LG G3 in terms of resolution, but with the Sony Xperia Z3 and HTC One M9 both sporting full HD panels it's not really being left behind by the QHD crowd.
That means it has a pixel density of 424ppi - matching the One M9, although the Xperia Z3 wins here thanks to its smaller 5-inch screen giving you 441ppi.
It's bright, colourful and responsive making everything look clear and easy to read, and bezels have been kept to a relative minimum apart from the area of dead space below the screen.
You'd expect to see a physical home key or some touch navigation keys here, but Huawei doesn't deal in home buttons and it's moved navigation on screen leaving a bar of blank space.
This isn't unique to the P8 - plenty of handsets have additional space on the front - but it's surprising Huawei hasn't seen fit to even stick its logo here.
At 5.2 inches it's on the cusp between manageable and slightly too big for one handed use, so if you have smaller palms it may be a little tricky to reach all areas of the screen.
It doesn't break any ground, but it doesn't need to, and the display on the Huawei P8 provides a strong level of performance, allowing you to enjoy the on-screen experience.
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