 "Top reviews this week: Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, LG G2 and Sony Xperia Z1!")
This week, we got our hands on some smartphones that a lot of people have been waiting for, mostly because these are very camera-centric devices. Check out what we thought about them, in case you missed out on the reviews over the last seven days.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Review (6.5/10)A great smartphone if you’re more interested in the camera than anything else
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is clearly meant for those looking at a camera with a calling functionality. That seems like the only way to put it thanks to the phone’s form factor and heft. The camera performance is impressive and with a 10x optical zoom, the S4 Zoom is the only phone of its kind with that offering. So if you are into photography, and are waiting for huge optical zooms in cameras and don’t mind the hefty phone-camera, go for the S4 Zoom. However, don’t expect a low light wonder here as it performs like any other dedicated mid-range point and shoot where low light and high ISO increases noise in images. While such images can be shared online, making prints is not really the best idea. However, if you are willing to spend time with the camera and explore its various smart modes, then this is a decent camera phone for you.
LG debuts its strange button placement
The 16GB version of the G2 is priced at Rs 41,500 while the 32GB sits at Rs 44,500. Of course, you can find them for cheaper online which makes the G2 one of the most value for money flagships in the market. The lack of expandable storage is possibly the only major downside to this phone but if you make your peace with it, the G2 has all the bases covered. It’s very well built, blazing fast, has a gorgeous screen, has more gestures and features than you’ll ever need and very good battery life.
The Xperia Z1 certainly has looks going for it
With the Z1 retailing online for Rs 41,700, it’s hands-down a better option than the Xperia Z Ultra and worth the premium over the Xperia Z. Within the Xperia family, the Z1 is Sony’s best offering yet as it fixes most of the nagging issues from its predecessor, which is always a good thing. The Z1 excels in the media department, is waterproof and dustproof, has a powerful chipset and good battery life. The new camera is also pretty impressive for macros but fails miserably in low-light, which is a real disappointment considering all the hype around its imaging prowess. It does have some very interesting apps for the camera though, so we’ll give Sony credit for that. The heating issue and the poor sunlight legibility are the other two major niggles we had with the phone.
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