Sony seems to be following Samsung, HTC, and Motorola in offering a mini version of one of their larger devices – the Xperia Z1 Compact. Other than the screen resolution dropping to 720p, the internal specs seem to be the same as its larger brother, as well as sporting Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. However, one of the features is that if you pre-order the Xperia Z1 Compact on Sony’s website for $740, they will throw in a freeSony SmartWatch 2, a $250 value with deliveries starting the end of February.
This is great news for people who really like Sony’s smartphones, but felt they were just a little too large for their hands. The Xperia Z1 Compact will come with the 4.3-inch display – the sweet spot for many in device size – and even though it will only have 720p, on that size of screen you are still looking at 340 PPI, which is higher that iPhone’s vaulted “retina display” of 326 PPI. The Z1 Compact still employs the dust and water-resistant technology, the same glass and metal construction, 4G LTE, Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.2GHz and 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card to expand, and even keeps the 20MP camera. To carry the same sort of specs as the Xperia Z1s we just reviewed in such a small device is pretty surprising.
The Sony SmartWatch 2 is still relatively new and does not have the range of apps that many of the other wearable watches currently have, but it is a great foundation on which to build. We just reported on a new app, Remote Widget, that allows the SmartWatch 2 to display any widget that you use on your smartphone…pretty cool stuff, that greatly enhances your overall experience with your devices.
What a great time to purchase a great smartphone and get an equally awesome free SmartWatch 2 at the same time. Currently, this offer is only good in the United Kingdom, but hopefully this device (and offer) will find its way to the U.S.
Please let us know on our Google+ Page if you would like to see the Xperia Z1 Compact come to the U.S. – would this form factor push you over the top to make a Sony smartphone purchase.