First unveiled over a month ago, Sony Mobile has today officially brought the brand new Xperia Z Ultra, the world’s slimmest smartphone with the largest full HD display, to sunny Malaysian shores. Sony’s first ever phablet packs impressive class-leading hardware and is also the only waterproof large-screen smartphone in the market.
OmniBalanced, UltraBeautiful
Xperia Z Ultra is impressively thin and lightweight, featuring the signature OmniBalance design as seen on the Xperia Z and Tablet Z. in fact, it’s the world’s slimmest Full HD smartphone, as claimed by Sony. The beautiful tempered glass front and back is housed in a solid metal frame. All this packed in a 6.5mm thin body and weighing only 212 grams. The fit and finish is excellent, and its clean lines and premium materials looks the business.
Size does matter
You’ll never fail to notice the 6.4″ touchscreen Full HD display featuring Sony’s TRILUMINOS Display technology for mobile, that creates a wider palette of rich natural colours, expertise derived from Sony’s own BRAVIA TV. The Full HD display is optimised to experience at least 60% more of the screen than most other smartphones.
Water and dust? No sweat
In line with the Xperia Z and Tablet Z, the Xperia Z Ultra is not only elegant, but also durable. The new device boasts an impressive water and dust resistant rating of IP55 and IP58, scoffing at splashes and air particles. You can even film in Full HD underwater. Utilising Exmor RS for Mobile, HDR for both photos and film, and Superior Auto mode, the camera automatically activates HDR and noise reduction when needed, especially in low light conditions.
World’s fastest smartphone processor. Check.
Under the hood (if there was a hood) is the world’s fastest smartphone processor – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor running at a whopping 2.2Ghz. The zippy processor comes together with HD voice, that when coupled with Sony’s ClearAudio+ mode and Xloud loudness enhancement, delivers unsurpassed voice and audio quality, on top of class-leading speed and performance.
WALKing entertainment
Xperia Z Ultra’s massive screen offers the best entertainment experience for watching movies, playing games, reading books and web browsing. Naturally, Sony’s famed “WALKMAN” as well as Album and Movies media apps make discovering online and offline content easy.
Doing it write
An outstanding feature of the Xperia Z Ultra is that the handwriting recognition technology is compatible with any pencil and selected stylus or pen (capacitative stylus or metal pen with tip diameter of over 1mm). Or your fingernail. Amazing stuff. You can also jot down notes or sketch during calls. A toggle-able keyboard makes it easy for one-handed input.
Connect with NFC
With NFC built-in, Sony is pushing connectivity with a wide range of NFC-enabled Sony devices. A couple of accessories joining the fray are:
- The SBH42 dynamic Smart Bluetooth Handset with OLED display. With a single- press, you can easily answer phone calls. You can also listen to music tracks in your smartphone or to the built-in FM radio with RDS. Available in September.
- SmartWatch 2 SW2 is a multifunctional digital watch and phone remote – receive notifications, control your music and answer calls. Water-resistant, you can use it as a standalone watch or pair it with your smartphone. There are currently already over 200 apps available for the first generation SmartWatch, and new apps are expected to flood the new SmartWatch 2, thanks to Sony’s open API. Available in September.
- The Magnetic Charging Dock DK30 features an innovative magnetic pin that holds your Xperia Z Ultra in place while charging.
Long-lasting
The Xperia Z Ultra comes bundled with a big 3,000mAh battery and complemented by Sony’s Battery STAMINA mode that should give it a full day of use on a charge.
Xperia Z Ultra key features
- 6.4″ Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile powered by X-Reality™ for mobile engine for the ultimate viewing experience
- Ultra slim, waterproof** and dust resistant (IP55/IP58) durable design
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 processor with 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU and HSDP
- Write and sketch with any pencil and selected stylus or pen (capacitive stylus or metal pen with tip diameter over 1mm
- 8 megapixel camera with “Exmor RS for mobile” sensor and HDR for videos and photo
- Full accessory ecosystem for premium entertainment and connectivity
- Battery STAMINA Mode for outstanding battery life
Price and Availability
The Xperia Z Ultra is available now in black or white, at an RRP of RM2,299 for the HSDPA version. No word on whether the LTE version will be made available soon.
Sony is offering a special promotion in conjunction with Hari Raya celebrations. For every purchase of the Xperia Z Ultra, customers will receive a free premium phone casing worth RM80 along with an 8GB microSD card, and an Xperia t-shirt. Details can be found at Sony Mobile’s roadshow at Lowyat Plaza, happening from 5-11 August.
What we think
The Xperia Z Ultra is an outstanding hardware showcase with its attractive design, class-leading processor platform and brilliant Full HD display. The device exudes quality, class and ultimate sexiness. We think Sony has done everything right with this, aside from the exclusion of a camera flash (which really is quite baffling). The phablet (or a phablet in general), of course, isn’t for everyone. But for those who are looking for one, this may just be THE big-format smartphone device that your pocket wants to empty for. We say go for it.
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