Sony is a smooth operator

The Xperia Z1 is an impressive offering that lives up to its billing

For the last one year or so, Sony has been consistently delivering mobile handsets that make you sit up and take notice. First came the Xperia Z, then followed the Ultra and now comes the Xperia Z1, each strengthening the company's portfolio. We take a closer look at the latest, the Z1.

At first glance, it's hard to not think the Z1 is an identical twin of the Z, but the former has an aluminum frame and certainly looks much better. It is also taller, wider and slightly heavier. With the screen off, it certainly is very good looking. We won't blame you if you get confused between which is the front and which the back part.

One of the better innovations has been the waterproof feature. You can dip the Z1 in five metres of water and nothing happens to it. It sports a five-inch full-HD display, with a resolution of 1,080x1,920 pixels, and a density of 440 ppi. Like the Ultra, it uses Triluminos, which gives the screen a vibrant look. However, from different viewing angles, the display is not up to the mark. The screen is also a finger-print magnet. The Z1 comes with 16GB of storage, expandable through the microSD card.

SONY XPERIA Z1

• Price: Rs 49,999
• Display: Five-inch capacitive TFT touch screen (1,080x1,920 pixels resolution)
• Processor: 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor
• RAM: 2GB
• Battery: 3,000 mAh battery
• Camera: 20.7-megapixel camera, 1,080p video recording, 2-mp front-facing

The biggest upgrade in the Z1 is its 20.7-megapixel camera. Only Nokia Lumia 1020, with a 41-megapixel camera has a better offering. It's a powerful camera and extremely responsive and delivers good pictures. Though you might be a tad disappointed at the low-light images, the Z1 delivers. But that's perhaps because the expectations shoot up when you have a 20.7-megapixel camera. It shoots clear videos.

The other striking feature is the processor. It's a very fast phone and comes with Qualcomm's latest 2.2GHZ Snapdragon 800 processor. Be it checking mails, playing games or browsing the web, the Z1 works at an impressive speed. Sony has certainly upped the ante and compared to the Z or the Ultra, there's a marked difference in the phone's performance.

The battery, too, is much improved in the Z1 (3000mAh). It lasts for six-seven hours after heavy usage (playing games, watching videos and a lot of browsing).

At Rs 44,990, it's a premium smartphone and lives up to its billing. Powerful, good-looking, good camera, the Z1 is extremely impressive and delivers on almost all counts. Sony is betting on the camera to be the clincher for Z1 and, though not exceptionally good, it will certainly work for those who click photos for social media. In the overcrowded Android market, it is getting difficult to stand out with new phones being launched every second week. Sony, though, seems to be on the right track and the Z1 will certainly help the company to stand out.