Sony has made numerous forays in the smartphone market, but none of the phones packed quite as much punch as the new Sony Xperia Z. The 5 inch display handset is definitely huge, just shy of a tablet dimensions. However, despite the huge size it does not weigh too much at 149g.
The handset is beautifully designed with a monolithic glass and a glassfibre frame. There are no plastic exteriors or rubbery buttons; this is every inch a premium phone with a very luxurious feel to it. It is glossy all over which definitely makes it look really classy but also makes the exterior vulnerable to scratches, dust, fingerprints and more. Whether the phone would be able to age gracefully as it sits in your pocket day in and day out remains to be seen. It is completely waterproof provided all the rubber covers over the connections and ports are in place.
The phone has adequate power with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset that has 1.5GHz quad-core power. A 2GB RAM further enhances the performance. The phone performs smoothly and is capable of managing the most taxing tasks despite the fact that the specs are not really top of the line. A Snapdragon 600 or 800 would have been more in keeping with the premium stature of the handset. It has 16GB internal storage which can be expanded considerably thanks to a microSD card slot. The phone boasts the entire gamut of connections including NFC and 4G LTE.
The greatest strong point of the handset is definitely its display. A full HD, 1920×1080 resolution spread across the 5 inch screen provides it a 440ppi pixel density which is definitely good. Detailed images and sharp pictures make it a pleasure to use. However, considering the rather huge dimensions of the phone using it one handed can take a little getting used to. There is a new feature that allows you to control the battery usage to make the 2330mAh cell last through the day. A good 13megapixel rear camera along with a 2megapixel front one completes this amazing phone.