Sony followed a quite unusual way with its
flagship smartphones in 2013: it designed the hardware 2 times. Xperia Z seemed
to the star of the show with 2 glassy water-proof bodies, but it’s releasing
with Xperia ZL, an equally healthy but simpler sibling. On the specification
sheet, there’s no clear reason for ZL to survive when it has the almost similar
things that are equivalent to the thinner and more fashionable Z model.
However, it’s the one who focus on the
function more than on exterior can be the winner at present. Sony advertised ZL
as the most compact 5-inch smartphone on the market, which can win the heart of
those who think large-screen phone is an inconvenience. But is that enough to
challenge the normal thinking about large phone, especially under fiercer
competition? And is there anything special hiding under the retouched case of
ZL? Stay tune and we will let you know if the second device in the strategy of Sony
is strong enough to surpass Z – and more importantly, its competitors.
Sony
advertised ZL as the most compact 5-inch smartphone on the market, which can
win the heart of those who think large-screen phone is an inconvenience.
Hardware
If Xperia Z is an epitome of the OmniBalance
design of Sony, highlighting the flat surfaces and suitable angles all over the
phone, Xperia ZL avoids the rules a little bit. While a quick glance on the
front shows nothing but regulation outrun, a quick flip on the back shows some absolute
divergence – specifically, they’re shallow angles and the curves. They are not
as outstanding as on Lumia 920 of Nokia, but they still lead to more
comfortable grip. We highly appreciate turning to the rough and soft plastic
back. Though the material doesn’t feel as premium as the glass on Z, it usually
plays a part as a buffer against fingerprint and drops.
And there’s a trump ace of ZL: you can use
it with one hand, at least easier than Z. these curves make the phone thicken
from 7.9mm (0.31 inch) of Z to 9.8mm (0.39 inch), but they’re much more
comfortable while helping Sony reduce 7.3mm (0.29 inch) from the height, mostly
at the chin. The actual effect is that a 5inch phones doesn’t feel as large as
your eyes see. You can reach for most of the parts on the phone without having
to stretch your thumb, even 2-handed typing is very easy on the screen.
And
there’s a trump ace of ZL: you can use it with one hand, at least easier than
Z.
The design tricks of Sony are enough to
deliver an impression which other phone manufacturers place their preference
backward in treasuring thinness more than safety and efficiency. While we
normally prefer the thin devices, actually, we have to reason but to agree with
Sony after comparing this one to some rivals. 5-inch ZL is shorter and easier
to use than both 4.8inch Galaxy S III and 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus, not even
mentioned the face-to-face 5inch rivals such as Droid DNA/Buttefly of HTC. It’s
not that other devices can’t be used with one hand in some cases – it’s just
that Xperia ZL is much more suitable.
Regretfully, there’re some compromises
beside the advantage of being easier to put into your pocket. For example, ZL invests
in its waterproof ability. While that provides non-cover ports, it also means
that you have to hide your phone in the rain. Moreover, the additional size
doesn’t result in any advantage which normally comes with more space. The
battery has the higher capacity of 2,370mAh, but it’s still not removable. Sony
doesn’t provide more than 16GB of internal storage, too. Maybe some will reach
for the microSDHC slots, which moved to a position under a door that also hides
micro-SIM.
Turn the phone around and you will find
some other elements in the familiar and reachable places, even volume rocker on
the top right corner, the aluminum power button at the middle of the right, and
the headphone jack on the top. Unfortunately, this also means that the
micro-USB hole seated on the top left corner instead of on the bottom. This can
be forgiven, partially, because there’s a two-stage camera button on the right
bottom, which we feel regretful for lacking on Xperia Z. The rear 13MP camera (with
LED flash) this time seems to bulge more safely, and Sony still tries to jam in
the 2MP front camera on the bottom uniquely despite the thinner chin.
Regretfully,
there’re some compromises beside the advantage of being easier to put into your
pocket. For example, ZL invests in its waterproof ability
Unsurprisingly, the duration of several
weeks between the release of Z and ZL doesn’t leave Sony doesn’t leave any
place to upgrade the processor. To remind you, it’s not too bad. 1.5GHz
quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2GB RAM still deliver powerful performance, as
you will see later. In fact, most of our concerns focus on how Xperia ZL compares
to the rivals. It appears right when a wave of rivals based on faster Snapdragon
600 is just released – like the devices such as HTC One and the specific Galaxy
S4 versions. Not everyone cares about the speed battle, but these kinds of
people don’t scorn to give Sony just a glance.
Screen
The actual market for the 5inch smartphones,
1080p is still small: Sony was the only company we know releasing a screen like
that on the global scale until Galaxy S4 released. The equivalent products, for
example, Butterfly of HTC, Oppo Find 5 and the LG Optimus Pro version of NTT
DoCoMo are mainly the device dedicated for the region. So, OptiContrast LCD shared
between Xperia Z and ZL is still able to make an impression, especially in
countries which one of these devices is the only 1080p phone provided (even
Canada, counting from this article).
And it’s true, in some respects. You can’t
ignore the 443ppi screen density – it’s a masterstroke when the websites look
like the printed pages, or when HD movies express all of their details. You
will also see that colors are rich when watching everything apple-to-apple. Mobile
Bravia Engine 2 of Sony brings the intensification in the gallery, movie and YouTube
apps, by increasing the saturation, making the images sharp and increasing the
contrast. However, sometimes it goes too far. The grape fruit which already has
a striking orange in real life turns into a neon light when the software of Sony
processing it. obviously, it has some places to improve.
We also remind you that the term used here
is “face-to-face”. As Xperia Z, ideal viewing angle on ZL is remarkably
narrower on Droid DNA and most of the same-sized devices. With a awry look at LCD
at any significant degree, the colors are quickly washed-out, reversed or
deviated from their intentional colors. We continues to wonder why a company
renowned for pushing the limit of the TV is unable to break the legend of wide
viewing angle in mobile field while the much smaller rivals such as HTC or ZTE does
a better job with the screen they usually outsource for the components
providers.
As
Xperia Z, ideal viewing angle on ZL is remarkably narrower on Droid DNA and
most of the same-sized devices.
At least the images are bright – some time
too bright, because the black can turns into the dark grey. LCD struggles in
outdoor direct light, though clarity is still better than phones with the
new-generation AMOLED screen, such as Galaxy S III.
