Sony's new version of its flagship smartphone is the phablet sized Sony Xperia Z. Here's our hands-on review of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
The Xperia Z Ultra looks much like the regular Xperia Z smartphone but there are a number of differences. We'll start by tackling the size of this device. At 6.4in the Ultra can't really be classed as a smartphone or a tablet – not in our book anyway. So it's a 'phablet', a relatively new category of device. See: What's the best phone you can buy in 2013?
Sony has decided to join the phablet market and the Xperia Z Ultra is the biggest we've seen so far. As you can see in the picture, it's significantly larger than the already substantial Xperia Z.
So you get plenty of real-estate with the Ultra and the Full HD display looks great, just like the original despite the drop in pixel density. This is all great if you want to watch a film or browse the web. However, the handset can't be used effectively with one hand and you look like a bit of a chump holding it up to your face to have a phone call – two major issues.
Sony seems to have thought about this, unlike other vendors. An optional NFC-enabled SBH52 Smart Bluetooth Handset lets you leave the Ultra in a bag or pocket but still make calls, view text messages and listen to music stored on the main unit. It's even a stand-alone FM radio but we don't have a price for this almost essential accessory yet.
The Xperia Z Ultra is astonishingly thin at 6.5mm (the Xperia Z is 7.9mm) which helps to keep the weight down. It's got glass on the front and back plus aluminium running around the edges. It's every bit a premium device in terms of design and build and has waterproof and dustproof capabilities.
Internal specifications are very impressive with a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. We couldn't get the Ultra to lag at all. There's also 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, NFC and support for 4G LTE networks.
The main camera has been downgraded to 8Mp compared to the Xperia Z's 13Mp shooter. However, the selection of test shots we took showed good quality. We'll give this, along with battery life, a full test when we get our review sample.
The Xperia Z Ultra is running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Sony's usual skin on top including the Walkman app, battery saving Stamina mode and Sony's Entertainment Network.
We need to talk about the screen again because Sony has made it so that any regular pencil works with it. We can confirm this works, and works very well avoiding dirtying the screen with fingerprint marks. You can use a pencil just like a stylus and when you are, two options appear in the notification menu to take notes or create a sketch. It's not a flawless experience with a bit of lag when drawing or using the handwriting recognition but nevertheless, it's a great feature.
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