February 6, 2014 at 18:46We disassemble Sony Xperia Z1 Compact: a small smartphone with the heart of a large flagship
Today, an unusual smartphone Sony Xperia Z1 Compact went on sale and immediately fell into my hands. Of course, it is impossible to write a full review based on the results of several hours of acquaintance, but here we can disassemble the device, look at its insides and evaluate maintainability. It is this analysis that is brought to your attention.
What is unusual smartphone? The fact that, despite the reduced dimensions, it retained almost all the characteristics of the flagship Xperia Z1. The only compromise was the screen resolution: 1280 × 720 pixels instead of 1920 × 1080. But if you remember that the screen diagonal is only 4.3 inches, you don’t have to worry about the decreased resolution, because the difference between Full HD and just HD is not felt at all. As compensation, Sony this time used an IPS-matrix with almost perfect viewing angles.
The rest is a real Z1 in a compact package. In Sony, by the way, they ask in no case to name the new Mini smartphone, because this word is “spoiled” by other companies that, under the guise of smaller flagships, are selling frankly low-cost solutions. Z1 Compact is not cheap - they ask for 22 thousand rubles for it. I’ll write about how good he is at work later, but for now, inside, inside, reader!
In terms of dimensions, the Z1 Compact is comparable to the iPhone 5 (an external comparison with the large Z1 can be seen here) The back cover of it, unlike the large model, is not glass, but plastic. This is neither good nor bad, but the cost is likely to be slightly lower. It is held on a double-sided tape, and to remove the cover, the device must be heated with a special hairdryer or held at a soldering station. Master Levchenko and I chose the second option.
Under the lid we are greeted by an NFC antenna and a 2300 mAh battery. This is less than 3000 mAh in Z1, but the screen area has also decreased significantly, so you need to spend less energy on the backlight.
We remove the battery and come across the first surprise. For previous Sony flagships, access to the electronic filling began immediately after removing the cover (the gutting Xperia Z1 can be seen here) Here you need to remove the battery, and then another intermediate part made of plastic. On it is part of the antennas.
In addition to the bolts, this part is mounted on a double-sided tape, which provides moisture resistance to the structure. It is impossible to remove the part without damaging the adhesive tape. Therefore, if you decide to do something similar on your own, I recommend that you get a supply of this adhesive tape, or put up with the fact that after assembly the smartphone can not be dipped in water.
Another surprise was waiting for us when removing the motherboard. All connectors are underneath. And if it is relatively easy to snap them off into the blind, then reconnecting is already a problem. I remembered how, as a child, I wound film onto reels, putting it and my hands inside an old sheepskin coat. Honestly, it didn’t always work the first time. So in this case, master Levchenko coped only with the third attempt, which for him, to put it mildly, is uncharacteristic.
The motherboard is almost bare from the back, which is no wonder - the battery fits tightly to it.
The front part is arranged quite tightly. The chipset is covered with thermal grease from the heart. It may not be as aesthetically pleasing as thermal scotch tape, but it’s cheap, reliable and practical.
What else is worth paying attention to?
Most antennas do not use latches, but pads.
There are only two microphones, so the noise reduction system is unlikely to demonstrate miracles of efficiency. However, I remember the times when a pair of microphones was considered more than sufficient.
Pleased with the main speaker. This is a classic design, and wherever I have not met it. Both in Nokia 5800 and in Microsoft Surface ... Everything flows, everything changes, but the speaker remains. A film on the back is also for protection against water.
The camera moved to the Z1 Compact from the previous model. They promise that the software in it is improved and it should be decent to shoot. But I have not had time to check it yet.
A little surprised by the design of the headphone jack and headset. It is not monolithic, as is usually the case, but collapsible.
Given that the nest can be constantly exposed to moisture, this is rather a plus: it is cheaper to replace parts of the structure than the whole thing. But before such a decision we did not have to meet.
What can be summed up?
Placing a powerful filling in a small case is not an easy engineering task. Sony dealt with it with dignity, there is nothing to complain about seriously. True, disassembling and especially assembling a smartphone has become much more difficult compared to the older version, and you certainly should not do this yourself. And not every workshop can handle it.
It is purely psychologically difficult to accept that a small smartphone costs as much as a large one. Therefore, the Z1 Compact was made cheaper - at the start it costs 22 thousand rubles. For the sake of this, the design was slightly cheaper (a plastic back cover instead of a glass one), but on the whole the device makes no less “expensive” impression than the big Z1. At first glance, a very correct combination of power and size. But we will appreciate this in two weeks, carefully reading the Z1 Compact in action.
You can read about my experience with using a smartphone here .
And goodbye - a small video recorded during the parsing.
PS> The author thanks Alexander Levchenko ( www.tech-town.ru ) for his help in preparing the material.
What is unusual smartphone? The fact that, despite the reduced dimensions, it retained almost all the characteristics of the flagship Xperia Z1. The only compromise was the screen resolution: 1280 × 720 pixels instead of 1920 × 1080. But if you remember that the screen diagonal is only 4.3 inches, you don’t have to worry about the decreased resolution, because the difference between Full HD and just HD is not felt at all. As compensation, Sony this time used an IPS-matrix with almost perfect viewing angles.
The rest is a real Z1 in a compact package. In Sony, by the way, they ask in no case to name the new Mini smartphone, because this word is “spoiled” by other companies that, under the guise of smaller flagships, are selling frankly low-cost solutions. Z1 Compact is not cheap - they ask for 22 thousand rubles for it. I’ll write about how good he is at work later, but for now, inside, inside, reader!
In terms of dimensions, the Z1 Compact is comparable to the iPhone 5 (an external comparison with the large Z1 can be seen here) The back cover of it, unlike the large model, is not glass, but plastic. This is neither good nor bad, but the cost is likely to be slightly lower. It is held on a double-sided tape, and to remove the cover, the device must be heated with a special hairdryer or held at a soldering station. Master Levchenko and I chose the second option.
Under the lid we are greeted by an NFC antenna and a 2300 mAh battery. This is less than 3000 mAh in Z1, but the screen area has also decreased significantly, so you need to spend less energy on the backlight.
We remove the battery and come across the first surprise. For previous Sony flagships, access to the electronic filling began immediately after removing the cover (the gutting Xperia Z1 can be seen here) Here you need to remove the battery, and then another intermediate part made of plastic. On it is part of the antennas.
In addition to the bolts, this part is mounted on a double-sided tape, which provides moisture resistance to the structure. It is impossible to remove the part without damaging the adhesive tape. Therefore, if you decide to do something similar on your own, I recommend that you get a supply of this adhesive tape, or put up with the fact that after assembly the smartphone can not be dipped in water.
Another surprise was waiting for us when removing the motherboard. All connectors are underneath. And if it is relatively easy to snap them off into the blind, then reconnecting is already a problem. I remembered how, as a child, I wound film onto reels, putting it and my hands inside an old sheepskin coat. Honestly, it didn’t always work the first time. So in this case, master Levchenko coped only with the third attempt, which for him, to put it mildly, is uncharacteristic.
The motherboard is almost bare from the back, which is no wonder - the battery fits tightly to it.
The front part is arranged quite tightly. The chipset is covered with thermal grease from the heart. It may not be as aesthetically pleasing as thermal scotch tape, but it’s cheap, reliable and practical.
What else is worth paying attention to?
Most antennas do not use latches, but pads.
There are only two microphones, so the noise reduction system is unlikely to demonstrate miracles of efficiency. However, I remember the times when a pair of microphones was considered more than sufficient.
Pleased with the main speaker. This is a classic design, and wherever I have not met it. Both in Nokia 5800 and in Microsoft Surface ... Everything flows, everything changes, but the speaker remains. A film on the back is also for protection against water.
The camera moved to the Z1 Compact from the previous model. They promise that the software in it is improved and it should be decent to shoot. But I have not had time to check it yet.
A little surprised by the design of the headphone jack and headset. It is not monolithic, as is usually the case, but collapsible.
Given that the nest can be constantly exposed to moisture, this is rather a plus: it is cheaper to replace parts of the structure than the whole thing. But before such a decision we did not have to meet.
What can be summed up?
Placing a powerful filling in a small case is not an easy engineering task. Sony dealt with it with dignity, there is nothing to complain about seriously. True, disassembling and especially assembling a smartphone has become much more difficult compared to the older version, and you certainly should not do this yourself. And not every workshop can handle it.
It is purely psychologically difficult to accept that a small smartphone costs as much as a large one. Therefore, the Z1 Compact was made cheaper - at the start it costs 22 thousand rubles. For the sake of this, the design was slightly cheaper (a plastic back cover instead of a glass one), but on the whole the device makes no less “expensive” impression than the big Z1. At first glance, a very correct combination of power and size. But we will appreciate this in two weeks, carefully reading the Z1 Compact in action.
You can read about my experience with using a smartphone here .
And goodbye - a small video recorded during the parsing.
PS> The author thanks Alexander Levchenko ( www.tech-town.ru ) for his help in preparing the material.