Let's
face it, the Xperia Z1 is too big and heavy to be comfortably held and
managed with one hand. There are other big-screen handsets out there
that are much more compact, and still waterproof. Thus the smaller Z1 f
might be a godsend if you are looking for a powerful, but manageable in
terms of size, Android phone.
The mini Z1
sports a 4.3" 720x1280 pixels display that still returns very good pixel
density, and will likely be much better than the subpar viewing angles
on the Z1. It also is powered by a fast quad-core Snapdragon 800
chipset, which won't have to push the pixels of a 1080p display, and the
2300 mAh battery will likely get you much more mileage because of the
HD display, than the 3000 mAh unit in the Z1. The kicker is that the
sweet 20 MP camera with G Lens stays the same, so the Z1 f is Z1 without
most of its disadvantages.
If you are worried
about the Z1 f being available as a Japanese exclusive, there is strong
speculation that there will be an international version of the shrunken
Z1, dubbed Z1s for now, which will be announced at CES in the beginning of January. Such handset already passed the FCC,
so where there's smoke, there's fire, and the mini version of the Z1
could prove to be the little best Android handset after launch,
barring some unexpected surprise with its pricing. You can import it
right now from eBay at the princely sum of $1200, but we stay positive
that this pricing is due to scalpers, and not something Sony has in mind
for the international version.