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Xperia Z

Review

• Sony has a history of late upgrades and updates. After a long await Sony after the Xperia T, TX, V, J, etc. which at launch had Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), recently in 2013 are getting their Jelly Bean Updates.
• Far behind on the list, Sony with their latest and greatest Xperia line-up have caused stir in the android market. Xperia Z/ZL announced at the CES 2013 were the first and latest FULL HD phones of 2013 to be released. Global release was fast with India getting this phone in the month of March whereas some countries got the Z/ZL now.
• None the less Sony with these phones have definitely gone up on the list. Still to beat Samsung but, hey it’s right next to it now. Sony has shown to the world that its best is capable and is now ready to face the ever growing competition Amongst the Android.
• The Xperia Z phone was launched in the month of March in India and is available in Black, White and Purple options.
• The Xperia Z in this review is the C6603 Black Xperia Z.

• Specifications:
  • Operating system– Google™ Android™ 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
  • Processor– 1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064+MDM9215M Quad Core
    • Really handy for multitasking and handling phone functionalities. It’s such a powerhouse that till now I haven’t had my screen frozen or hung up to such an extent that I had to reset to the factory settings.
• GPU– Adreno 320
  • With the latest Processor Xperia Z houses the latest GPU of the start of 2013(Now is the 330). Graphics are outstanding on this phone. Playing games on it is treat.
• Size– 139x71x7.9 mm
  • Hesitant at first but, after a while the form factor started to grow on me. At first it felt that it might be a little too big but, in the end it turned out fine.
• Weight– 146 grams
  • Lighter than a feather, obviously in world of phones.
• SIM card– Micro SIM
• Main screen
  • Colours 16,777,216 colour TFT
  • Resolution 1920×1080 pixels
  • Size (diagonal) 5.0 inches
  • Scratch-resistant Shatter-proof sheet on scratch-resistant glass
  • Input mechanisms
  • Text input On-screen QWERTY keyboard
  • Touch screen Capacitive
  • Touch gesture Yes – multi-touch, up to 10 fingers supported

Though the 1080p display with the BE2 technology is all so good to hear but, in actuality the screen lacks in balancing some of the colours (Primarily the whites and blacks), and the side viewing angles could seriously use some improvements. Other than that it’s a treat to watch movies and play games since only during this that the BE2 kicks in and balances the colours.

• Memory
  • RAM- 2 GB
  • Flash memory Up to 16 GB*
  • Expansion slot microSD™ card, up to 32 GB
    • If you can format a 64 GB memory card to FAT 32 then you can use it on the phone.
• Camera
  • Camera resolution 13.1 MP
  • Digital zoom 16x
  • Photo light Yes – Pulsed LED
  • Video recording Yes – HD 1080p
  • Front Camera Yes – HD 1080p for video chat and 2.2 MP for camera capture

The Camera is one of the highlights of this phone, classy shots and crisp videos can be taken on this phone. It’s got the latest ExmoRS sensor from Sony that makes this baby really worth having if you’re into photography and looking for a great phone.

• Sensors
  • Accelerometer Yes
  • Proximity sensor Yes
  • Ambient light sensor Yes
  • Magnetometer Yes
  • Gyroscope Yes
• Networks
  • C6602: UMTS HSPA+ 850 (Band V), 900 (Band VIII), 1700 (Band IV), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I) MHz
  • GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
  • Data transfer speeds
    • GSM GPRS Up to 107 kbps
    • GSM EDGE Up to 296 kbps
    • UMTS HSPA+ cat 6 (upload) Up to 5.8 Mbps
    • UMTS HSPA+ cat 24(download)
    • Up to 42 Mbps
• Battery:
  • Talk time (GSM) Up to 11 hours(Roughly)
  • Standby time (GSM) Up to 550 hours(Roughly)
  • Talk time (UMTS) Up to 14 hours(Roughly)
  • Standby time (UMTS) Up to 530 hours(Roughly)
  • Music listening time Up to 40 hours(Roughly)
  • Video playback time Up to 5.5 hours(Roughly)

• C6603:UMTS HSPA+ (Bands 1, 3, 5, 8 or bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 8)*
  • GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
  • LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)*

• Battery (Embedded): 2400 mAh typical/2330 mAh minimum

Now that that’s over, now for some inside scoop from experience. The Xperia Z has everything that you would expect from a Flagship. A classy good Camera, power house and a full on entertainment house. With the power of Google at its disposal, Sony doesn’t disappoint. Sony, gives away this phone with its own sweet apps such as Walkman, Movies, Album, Sony Select, Car Mode, Scoialife, etc.

In addition to that there are the Sony entertainment services, here in India Sony is offering its Sony LIV and Jive services for free for 6 months of purchase. It’s a perfect combo if you’re a Vodafone user since they too are offering an enticing 3G data plan, 8 GB of data for each of the coming two months of purchase(Well for 2 months of placing that sim into the phone).

Call quality is great on the Xperia Z. Some have complained about the call quality on the Xperia Z but, on mine the other end has really appreciated the quality and clarity of sound received.

Battery life, is okay. You heard it right, I said “Okay”, with such a powerhouse packing so many great features you would expect that the company would place in a great battery to power the beast. But, unfortunately the phone’s battery is just, “sufficient”!

Apps to take note of:

Socialife: Takes all the feed from all the social sites and sources such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. and combine in a well arranged manner to present it on one single app. Helps to keep track of all the updates that matter to you without opening many apps at once.

Walkman: Shakes your world with Clear Audio+ functionality and if you’re not happy with that you always have the option of getting back to changing the audio settings to your desire.

Album: Neatly arranges you’re photographs and places them on various geotagging animations.

MOVIES: Hall of entertainment is what I like to call it. It can play almost all formats of videos and totally has the best way presenting you’re collection that I have ever seen in any smartphone.

Performance can be seen below:

Some of the shots:

Performance wise the Xperia Z doesn’t disappoint, consistent scores in the geekbench application should confirm that for you.

I would like to conclude by simply saying that I give this Smartphone a BIGGGGGG THUMBS UP! If you’re thinking of making it your daily driver than without a doubt buy it, for every bit of penny spent on it, is totally worth the services and the power you get from this phone.