Sony Xperia Z: Quick Pictorial Review

06-03-2013

We've had the Sony Xperia Z in the test centre for some time now, prior to the official launch of the device in India today, and we've put it through a detailed photo shoot. The Xperia Z certainly does seem to be a willing model!

Considering what the rival Android smartphone makers are up to, this is the time when Sony has no real headroom for getting it wrong, at least as far as their flagship offering is concerned. The Xperia Z is the first quad-core powered Android smartphone from Sony, and is essentially gearing up for competition with the likes of the HTC Butterfly, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, the HTC One and even the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S IV, to a certain extent.

In terms of the phones available in the market, the Xperia Z (Rs. 38,990) has pretty much the same specs as the HTC Butterfly. However, it will be competing with very competent Android phones in the high-end price bracket. Just to give you an idea of what the latest Sony flagship is up against, here is a spec comparison with some of the top Android phones – some that are already in the Indian market, and some that will be arriving within the next couple of months. For the consumers who are looking at things like usability, longevity and even factor in brand loyalty, the newness of a product does not always remain the top criterion.

Model	Sony Xperia Z	HTC Butterfly	Samsung Galaxy Note II	HTC One	LG Optimus G E975	HTC One X+
SoC	Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon	Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon	Exynos 4412	Qualcomm APQ8064T (Snapdragon 600 chipset)	Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon	NVIDIA Tegra 3 AP37
Cores	4	4	4	4	4	4
Clock Speed (GHz)	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.5	1.7
RAM (GB)	2	2	2	2	2	1
Display Size	5	5	5.5	4.7	4.7	4.7
Display resolution (pixels)	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080	1280 x 720	1920 x 1080	1280 x 768	1280 x 720
Display type	LCD - Reality Display	S-LCD3	Super AMOLED	S-LCD3	IPS Plus LCD	S-LCD2
Pixel density (ppi)	443	441	267	469	318	312
Graphics	Adreno 320	Adreno 320	Mali-400MP	Adreno 320	Adreno 320	GeForce 2
Built-in Storage	16GB	16GB	16GB	32GB / 64GB	32GB	64GB
Expandable memory?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Primary Camera	13.1MP	8MP	8MP	4MP UltraPixel	13MP	8MP
Battery	2330mAh	2020mAh	3100mAh	2300mAh	2100mAh	2100mAh
Platform	Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)	Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)

Before we get down to the serious benchmark and testing bit, we put the phone through the photo-shoot paces, to give you a better idea of the build quality and the persona of the device.

It is a big phone, and the Xperia Z shows that off without any shame!

The clean look up front, with no hardware or touch keys below the display. The three keys are integrated in the UI throughout.

The 5-inch display has, what Sony calls, shatter proof glass. The Bravia Reality Engine 2 is the evolution of the same feature seen in 2012 Xperia phones.

While the phone has an enamel white finish, the glass layer on the back does mean it will get scratched very easily.

The Sony Xperia Z has the IP57 rating for being water and dust resistant. Hence the classy covers for all ports and slots.

On one side are the micro USB slot and microSD ports, both with covers that enable the Xperia Z to be water resistant to a certain rating.

The opposite spine has the power key, the volume rocker and the tiny handsfree speaker. For a design that has most elements flush with the chassis, the power key is a contrast.

The redone UI looks much better than the predecessor. Maybe because we were bored of it by now!

There is a new way the widgets and home screens are handled. The range of widgets remains pretty much the same, apart from the Google Now feature with the new OS.

Typing on this keyboard is a bit weird. The three key strip at the bottom means the keys are placed higher than they should be. Good key spacing though.