Sony Xperia Z raises the stakes in smartphone battle
With the Xperia Z phablet, Sony has finally recovered some of its lost pride.
SONY XPERIA Z
PRICE: Rs 38,990
SPECS: ANDROID V4.1.2; 5-INCH CAPACITIVE TOUCH DISPLAY; 1.5GHZ QUAD-CORE PROCESSOR; 2GB RAM;16 GB INTERNAL STORAGE, UP TO 32 GB EXPANDABLE; 3G, WI-FI, BLUETOOTH, NFC; 13.1 MP; 139 X 71 X 7.9MM; 146 GRAMS; 2330 MAH BATTERY
After the Xperia Arc S, no Sony phone has been really able to capture our, or anyone else's, attention. The company has been struggling for a while to get both the specs and the design right on its smartphone. But, finally, it seems to have learnt from past mistakes and found the right mix with the Xperia Z .
PERFORMANCE
Along with the water-resistant design and camera, this phone also stands out for its overall performance. Quick to power up, it launched heavy apps with ease. Even though the camera app consumed a lot of resources, multitasking and browsing were smooth. On the Quadrant Benchmark test the Xperia Z clocked 8117, much higher than the new HTC Butterfly's 7674. The battery easily gave us a day with the average use.
DESIGN
The Xperia Z sports great looks despite its 5-inch frame - it is 7.9mm thick and 146 grams heavy. In a departure from its design style, this Xperia has a glass front with a flat back panel. Since this is a water-resistant phone, there are flaps to plug the 3.5-mm jack, charging port, SIM card and microSD card slot. Sony claims the phone can survive under one meter of water for around 30 minutes. Plus, it is dust-resistant and the glass shatter-proof. The 1080p display running on the Sony Mobile Bravia Engine 2 makes everything looks sharp and clear.
CAMERA
Remember the Cyber-shot series that once used to offer the best imaging among smartphones? Sony is trying to conjured the same magic with the Xperia Z's 13MP camera. It is easy to operate with a wide range of settings and options. We were impressed by the scene modes like anti-motion blur, backlight correction HDR, handheld twilight, high sensitivity, gourmet and pet. The panorama mode was seamless too. The 'Superior Auto' mode, which tries to detect the scene and change settings accordingly, was special. For instance, in low-light conditions it automatically shifted to the night mode and switched from landscape to portrait as needed. Although, the mode selection is very accurate, you also have the option of shifting to a normal mode. In normal mode, the 13MP camera captured images at 4128x3096p and switched to 12MP at 3920x2940p in the superior auto mode. The images were always sharp and replicated real life colours.
WHY WE FELL FOR IT? A perfect phablet with almost everything you are looking for.
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PRICE: Rs 38,990
SPECS: ANDROID V4.1.2; 5-INCH CAPACITIVE TOUCH DISPLAY; 1.5GHZ QUAD-CORE PROCESSOR; 2GB RAM;16 GB INTERNAL STORAGE, UP TO 32 GB EXPANDABLE; 3G, WI-FI, BLUETOOTH, NFC; 13.1 MP; 139 X 71 X 7.9MM; 146 GRAMS; 2330 MAH BATTERY
After the Xperia Arc S, no Sony phone has been really able to capture our, or anyone else's, attention. The company has been struggling for a while to get both the specs and the design right on its smartphone. But, finally, it seems to have learnt from past mistakes and found the right mix with the Xperia Z .
PERFORMANCE
Along with the water-resistant design and camera, this phone also stands out for its overall performance. Quick to power up, it launched heavy apps with ease. Even though the camera app consumed a lot of resources, multitasking and browsing were smooth. On the Quadrant Benchmark test the Xperia Z clocked 8117, much higher than the new HTC Butterfly's 7674. The battery easily gave us a day with the average use.
DESIGN
| SONY XPERIA ZL( Rs 36,900) {mosimage}A slightly cheaper sibling of the Xperia Z is the Xperia ZL. The phone has identical specs but is not water-proof or dust-resistant. It is also slightly shorter and weights a couple of grams more. The front facing camera has also been downgraded to 720p. The Xperia ZL also has a different 2370mAh battery. |
CAMERA
Remember the Cyber-shot series that once used to offer the best imaging among smartphones? Sony is trying to conjured the same magic with the Xperia Z's 13MP camera. It is easy to operate with a wide range of settings and options. We were impressed by the scene modes like anti-motion blur, backlight correction HDR, handheld twilight, high sensitivity, gourmet and pet. The panorama mode was seamless too. The 'Superior Auto' mode, which tries to detect the scene and change settings accordingly, was special. For instance, in low-light conditions it automatically shifted to the night mode and switched from landscape to portrait as needed. Although, the mode selection is very accurate, you also have the option of shifting to a normal mode. In normal mode, the 13MP camera captured images at 4128x3096p and switched to 12MP at 3920x2940p in the superior auto mode. The images were always sharp and replicated real life colours.
WHY WE FELL FOR IT? A perfect phablet with almost everything you are looking for.
Your favourite tech magazine Gadgets & Gizmos has gone digital! Grab your copy now!
