Along with its next-generation SmartWatch 2, Sony announced its Xperia Z Ultra smartphone though with its robust size the handset is more of a phablet. Measuring in at a lengthy 6.4-inch screen, the Xperia Z Ultra is rich in new display features and a solid battery life. Sony expects to launch the device sometime in Q3 but has yet to decide on a hard date for U.S. availability.
According to PC Mag, Sony claims its new Xperia Z Ultra boasts the slimmest and largest full HD display compared to any other smartphone on the market. The 1920 x 1080 resolution display comes complete with Japanese electronics conglomerate’s Triluminos technology aimed at producing richer colors and a sharper picture. It also, according to them, “analyzes each image and reproduces lacking pixels to optimize quality for the sharpest videos.”
The gadget will operate on Android’s 4.2.2 version of its Jelly Bean mobile OS, making it snuggly compatible with the SmartWatch 2 it announced this morning as well, and will be powered by a 3000 mAh battery to provide up to 14 hours of talk time, 120 hours of music-listening time, and 5.5 hours of video playback. The phablet will run on a respectable 2.2-GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, meaning speedy functionality and seamless multitasking.
Underneath the hood, the Xperia Z Ultra will offer 16GB of storage, 11GB of which will be accessible when taking into account apps and items, and users will have the support for an additional 64GB through microSD.
Other goodies include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 16x zoom, HD video recording, auto focus, continue burst mode, face detection, geo-tagging, image stabilization; a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter with video chat functionality; NFC capabilities, again perfect for the newly minted SmartWatch 2; and Battery Stamina mode to recognize when the display has gone idle while still allowing notifications to transmit.
Similar to how Samsung updated its Galaxy S4 Active to be water-resistant and dust-proof, Sony has made its Xperia Z Ultra to be completely water-poof to the point that it can shoot video footage in full HD for up to 30 minutes in five feet of water.
As noted before, the Xperia Z Ultra won’t be released until sometime in Q3 and there’s been no word yet on a cell carrier or price tag. As for how it will fare, it’s hard to say. The Xperia Z Ultra sounds like a vacationers dream, having the ability to film while, say, snorkeling or hitting the beach, and appears to rival even the GS4 and HTC One in terms of display clarity.
That being said, however, Sony just don’t have the kind of brand recognition in the smartphone realm as Samsung or Apple. When people think of buying a phablet device, Sony devices probably don’t even crack their top five. In order for Sony to make this next-gen handset successful, it will need to put in the same kind of marketing efforts it does for its PlayStation 4 or even the kind of guerilla marketing campaigns Nokia has, openly basing rival smartphone manufacturers’ technologies.
Let us know what you think of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra in the comments section below.
