When it comes time to buy a new hi-tech gadget, we all have a great lust to buy a piece of hardware that money can (or can't) buy. It often turns out to be a things that's too deep in price, but our pockets cannot reach that far. That's why I was thinking about the strategy: better get a new decent phone for amount of money I can spare, than buy an used one that someone threw away (after all I'm an unemployed student, so I can't risk my cash on broken piece of hardware). However, this year I decided to spare more cash and get for a first time high end Android device. I still couldn't save that much, so I thought that a barely used device might be a good buy. So, here comes my first meeting with a premium product. I had two Sony phones earlier, and I'm really into this brand, because they provide solid phones, and in the last two years up-to-date software updates.

Here it is. Xperia Z1. I got mine from one really nice and polite woman and she swore that phone is in perfect condition, already updated to latest 5.0.2 without any usage marks and she is such a perfectionist. There was only downside: it was white. For me, it isn't big deal, because you can get cases of another color, and front side is black anyway. I gave her $250, and became a new user of an old phone. So, how good or bad could it be?

This phone is 6 months old, and it is already two years after official release. That means if we get the fact that Sony does support their high end devices up to two years, this device's life span has come to its end. There are positive sides: it is still expected from Sony to give a few more updates, and there is also a good community support for aftermarket firmwares.

Ok, let's see what we have on table.

Build and design



When it comes to size, this is pretty big phone. And that's with no reason. For example, Xperia E4 and Samsung Galaxy S4 are smaller at same screen size. Also, phone is a bit heavy. It does contain front and back side made of glass, and in the middle it is metal - probably aluminium. There is only small amount of plastic near the screen and back cover. In hand phone feels solid and it has that premium feel. Sweet.
Screen is very clear and bright, even it is old TFT technology, but anyway, it is enough crisp and sharp, so you shouldn't have any problem reading your messages when you expose the phone to sun.
One more thing about a size - unused space under the screen should be filled with illumination bar. That's one cool feature I had on Xperia M2. Only reason I got rid of that phone is dust under the screen that came through usb port which was unprotected. I was also waiting for Lollipop update, and it still has to come. So, now I have it and I am very satisfied. There is also a memory bug in this 5.0.2 firmware. However, I didn't experience any problem up to now.
Luckily, LED notification is still there. It is under earspeaker. Great stuff, but when you are far away from phone, you will hardly notice it's blinking.




Back side of phone reveals 20.7 megapixel camera with tiny, and barely useful flashlight. It is ok when there is some light in room, but in dark don't expect much from it.
Photos on daylight are gorgeus. Well, from my perspective. It is comparable, but for my needs it makes great images. Especially I need to shoot near objects. It produces readable text, and great amount of details in macro mode. Camera software, however, offers Auto mode which limits you to 8 megapixels, but it can predict a scene for image you are taking. Good thing if 8 megapixels are enough for you. It has BIONZ processor which can render images, and improve overall quality.

Here's one image I shoot with Z1: