14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Xperia Z1 Compact went on pre-order at Telstra last week, and the rumors claimed that the smartphone would hit shelves sometime in April.
However, Telstra’s reps unofficially confirmed that the Xperia Z1 Compact might in fact go on sale in Australia much earlier, on March 18. Well, it appears that they were right, as AusDroid reports that Sony Xperia Z1 Compact can now be purchased via Telstra for $552 (€360) off-contract.
Potential customers who cannot afford to pay the upfront price for the Xperia Z1 Compact can get it for free, but they must commit to one of Telstra’s select plans starting at $63 (€41).
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact is exclusively available in Australia via Telstra, so unless you want to pay for the unlocked version that is now available at Mobicity for no less than $620 (€405) outright, you are restricted to getting it from this particular carrier.
It appears that Telstra’s exclusivity over Sony Xperia Z1 Compact sales will end in 60 days, but it’s unclear if any other Australian carrier will offer the smartphone in the future, especially since the Japanese handset maker plans to launch its Xperia Z2 flagship device in less than a month.
Still, it appears that Sony Xperia Z1 Compact would be quite a good deal for Sony and Android fans alike, as Telstra has priced the smartphone as low as possible. In fact, this is one of the lowest prices for the Xperia Z1 Compact that we’re aware of.
To make things even more interesting, the carrier also throws in a free Sony DR-BTN200B Bluetooth headset for all customers who order the Xperia Z1 Compact by March 31.
In addition, customers who purchase the Xperia Z1 Compact from Telstra will automatically qualify for a draw to win 2 tickets to the FIFA World Cup Australia versus Netherlands game in Brazil.
Although the smartphone ships with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, word is that the Xperia Z1 Compact will receive an upgrade to Android 4.4.2 KitKat sometime in April.
For just $550 (€360), users will get a powerful smartphone armed with quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2GHz and an Adreno 330 graphics processing unit.
The handset also sports a vibrant 4.3-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution and features shatterproof and scratch-resistant glass coating. It’s also worth mentioning that Xperia Z1 Compact is IP58 certified, which makes it both dustproof and water-resistant.