Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review: A slimmed down Sony that doesn't skimp on specs

Mobile phones, you’ll have noticed, have bigger screens than they used to. We used to be happy with a display measuring 3.5 inches – this size suited the iPhone for over five years – but the lure of high-resolution displays big enough to watch movies on has led to handsets routinely sporting 5-inch screens.

But not everyone wants to stretch their fingers round hefty gadgets. The problem is that manufacturers mostly save their top specs (best camera, fastest processor, richest screen and so on) for big-screen flagships.

There are occasional exceptions, like the HTC One Mini which kept most of the features of the beautifully designed HTC One. And now Sony has taken its popular but big Xperia Z1 and shrunk it to create the Z1 Compact with a 4.3-inch display instead of the Z1’s 5-inch screener.

It was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year and is due out soon.

The first thing you notice is the colour. Sony is sensational with colour  –  Nokia’s Lumia and Asha phones and the iPhone 5c are rare examples of colour being put to equally good effect – and the new pink and lime green models look tremendous. The styling is identical to the full-size Z1: glass back and frame with anodised aluminium edges. The glossy back and matte edges work well together. The phone feels solid and intensely comfortable in the hand.