Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review

After quite some time, through the Xperia Z Ultra, Sony has initiated its move into the upper midrange segment with a serious foot forward, since the segment, created by Samsung, has so far been dominated by the Note division of Samsung.

A 6.4" phablet, while of course not expected to generate the level of sales that a proper mainstream device like Xperia Z is expected to, however it does speak volumes about the company’s level of confidence in the product line. With market leaders still dominating the sales in this domain, Xperia Z Ultra has staked its contention, and made a bold statement at the same time, challenging the Samsung line to come up with something to again wrestle the lead. In the Xperia Z Ultra, with the looks and powerful hardware combined, it is almost certain to pull a lot of market in its direction.

While unboxing the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, you will get everything inside the retail box that you need to get started with this phone.

• Sony Xperia Z Ultra handset
• An A/C adapter (will use the USB cable for charging)
• MicroUSB cable connector for A/C adapter for charging
• Earplugs
• Additional earphone tips
• Docking station
• Additional docking section
• Device protection sleeve
• Headset jack cover

The Xperia Z Ultra has a 6.4" 1080p Triluminos display, supported by the X-Reality engine from Sony, who want to boast the modifications made on the screen end to the max. The pixel density is 344ppi, which though not up to par with 1080p against a 5" diagonal, but it's still much better than the iPhone 5's Retina. There is a marked improvement in the viewing angles on the device, which has been the source of a lot of the problems lately. This time around, the angles are pretty wide, and color shift or contrast loss can only be identified at extreme tilts.

The original contrast of the Xperia Z Ultra display is pretty neat, and colors are rendered very nicely. If you like something more in your images and videos, you can enable the X-Reality engine, which improves sharpness, enhancing contrast and saturation in the process and, it does a very good job of it. Unfortunately, the Xperia Z Ultra's screen is fairly reflective, causing some problems in the sunlight. The phablet is performs only average when used outdoors in daylight.

Overall, the Xperia Z Ultra definitely has the best screen on a phablet at present. The screen size, the resolution, and the great performance in other important aspects, see the Z Ultra stand way ahead in the lead to its competitors.

The Xperia line has made OmniBalance designing and the water resistance a key feature this time around. Also, the device is large in terms of length, going to around 6.4” in very impressive screen size, but the balance provided with the thinness and reduction in width makes it something easy to be handled, and one of the coolest gadgets released this year and for this, we would like to acknowledge the great work the design team has put in for this device.

On the downside, the material selected as well as the large size of the device make up for one big cleaning job, which needs to be done on a regular basis, to remove all the smudges on the device, though, in some packages, a sleeve is included to reduce this issue.

The earpiece is assisted on the left by the front-facing camera, and on the right lies the ambient light, proximity sensors as well as the LED status light. The microphone is at the bottom. The right side contains the power key, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the volume rocker but there is an absence of a dedicated camera key. Under a piece of plastic on the same side are the microSIM and microSD card slots. On the back is located the secondary microphone on the top with the 8 megapixel camera lens and the small logo indicating where the NFC transmitter is and the speaker at the bottom. The flash, on the camera is missing, meaning photography and videos in dim light will not be providing the expected level of results, which is disappointing. On the left is another plastic lid, under which is the microUSB with USB host support, as well as the docking pins.

The Xperia Z Ultra has Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, enhanced with the custom modifications by Sony. The basic option for multiple home screens is present here too, though the range is between 5 and 7 home screens, not that much in the offering. Adding content is also consistent to Android defaults, using tap and hold or the pinch to zoom option – these can be used in case users want to add widgets or shortcuts on the home screens. The moving of shortcuts / widgets by tap and hold on the shortcut / widget and then moving it around is also consistent.

Sony has provided some custom widgets for services, which make the device look more Sony. Notification contains Sound, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Brightness by default, though more can be added. Google Now is also implemented, with its own set of features available for the user’s ease. We noted that the Xperia Z Ultra’s large display lets users get the most out of this option.

The FM radio is available on the device, with the ability to ID the track being played on the radio, as well as the option to post a status on Facebook. The FM this time around is much more stable than with previous devices from Xperia. Many themes also make the user interaction and device display more appealing to users.

The calendar and notes control is pretty standard, though users can create handwritten notes as well. The background, text color etc can be set for notes. There is also the option to integrate with Evernote. Sony also has a Backup and Restore app, which can utilize the memory card, the internal storage or attached USB devices as well to backup or restore. Backups can be made of the apps, respective data of apps as well as any other files, media or otherwise.

The Google Chrome is the degault browser for Xperia Z Ultra, refined to a decent level by Google. Tab switch, resize is all standard, though the tabs can be arranged pretty neatly on this device. Also, the browser sync feature of Chrome allows users to be able to sync their browsing session between the device and PC, creating a more catchy experience. Another new feature, the Reduce data usage lets chrome compress the webpage to display minimal data from the URL, while keeping the full functionality of the site.

The Xperia Z Ultra has Office Suite 7 by default, which makes document view that much simpler. Plain text files, along with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files can be viewed, though for edit capabilities, the Pro version is to be purchased.

The Xperia Z Ultra snapper has an 8 MP camera going up to 3264 x 2448 pixels pictures in Normal mode. The camera interface has two panes, the right one containing four virtual buttons - a shortcut to the gallery, a toggle option two switch between primary and secondary cameras, and video and still shot shutter keys. The left side has a key in the top corner to select the shooting mode, followed by three customizable shortcuts, and the last option opens a pane with all available settings for the shooting mode selected.

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra shutter has all kinds of features, including smile shutter, face detection, touch capture, geo-tagging and the HDR mode. There's also a quick launch mode, using which a shortcut can be set, so that it on the lockscreen the user can perform the option to open the camera. The additional option to start snapping / recording as soon as the camera is launched is another beneficial option for many snappers.

Other than the Normal and Superior modes (taking up to 3104 x 3228, with a 7 MP quality), there is Burst (which can take multiple shots), with three shooting modes - High ( up to 1280 x 720 resolution), Mid (3104 x 1746) and Low (1920 x 1080), the Picture effect (consisting of different effects and filters) and the Sweep Panorama, which can captures a landscape panorama image. The correct balance in light provides some difficulty, especially in overcast conditions. Other than that though, the detail is pretty decent, even if a bit inferior against the recent competition.

For video recording, the Z Ultra can go to 1080p video footage at 30fps only, though we would have thought it could go upto 60 fps with a heavy duty processor like the Snapdragon 800. The device cannot do HDR capture. Images can be taken while recording, but the quality is so low, it is better not to use it. The camera and camcorder apps are almost the same, with the camcorder one showing some additional settings that are video-centered, some of which are manipulation of settings like exposure, metering, focus mode, digital video stabilization, timer and others.

The Xperia Z Ultra performs very nicely regarding the details, with good quality video, smooth action and quick focus. The camera view is also decently wide, and no issues were raised where backing up from the target was required.

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra has complete 2G and 3G connectivity, and support for a majority of the LTE bands. HSPA speeds of up to 42 Mbps for downloads and 5.76 Mbps for uploads can be achieved.

Local connectivity is provided in the form of Wi-Fi dual-band, DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct, so that content sharing is easy. Additionally we have Bluetooth 4.0 with the A2DPas well as NFC.

MicroUSB can handle charging and PC connectivity, and there is a USB On-the-go support present as well which can let you attach external flash drives to the smartphone. The MHL-enabled microUSB port also has support for HDMI connections to be made to an external monitor.

A minor nuisance is caused due to the microUSB port and the docking pins being on the same side of the device meaning that if both options are to be used simultaneously, there is a hassle to find a comfortable position.

Sony also provides its TV SideView app, which users can get from the Play Store for free. It serves as a remote control for BRAVIA TVs and Sony DVD/Blu-ray players which are DLNA-capable. Its versions range from simple channels switching up to more advanced options like mouse input and disc history view. This however, only works over the Wi-Fi connection.

As is with other thin devices, being slim means some loss on the battery end. However, the 3,050mAh has performed decently, especially considering that the modified Snapdragon processor also improves the power efficiency overall. However, the screen size does take up quite a lot of battery on offer.

The battery for talk time, can for nearly 24 hours, one of the best in terms of such performance. However, a disappointing 5 hours were performed in terms of web browsing and video playback was just average at nearly 9 hours.

Overall considering the device’s primary purpose, though, it does come up short, as this will include a lot more web browsing and watching videos than talking.

As is visible from the above review, the Xperia Z Ultra does live up to many of its expectations and more. Below are some shortcomings that the device does possess:

• Battery is non-exchangeable (device is single piece)
• The device is not comfortable for many people due to its size
• Sound quality is not that great
• Device easily gets messed up with fingerprints both on the front and back, giving it a somewhat dirty look
• Video playback decoders have to be installed separately
• Absence of flash

Is it a phone, is it a tablet? Sony would probably go with, it is both. Though, the latter certainly seems to suit the Sony Xperia Z Ultra just fine. And, on top of that, a phablet that is both dust and water resistant, and with an ultra-responsive screen that can work with any metallic pointer, which is great for stylus dependent users minus the stylus dependency well that is all the better for users.

Xperia Z Ultra is a sexy device, which is also impressively powered by four cores which can go up to 2.2 GHz and, with the Snapdragon 800 chipset supported by 2 GB of RAM, its a combination that will never leave you short on processing power. Sony has also improved on the complains regarding the viewing angles using the new X-Reality-powered Triluminos display.

Xperia Z Ultra, standing at 6.5mm, is certainly the slimmest device with a screen over 6-inches, and one of the slimmest devices around period. The camera is also a solid performer, with pretty good video recording quality.

Obviously, the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has its weak spots, but thankfully there are no major ones. The battery being non-removable may be a concern to some, while the absence of a flash is for others. And then there is the not-loud loudspeaker. Also, another 1,000mah of battery power might have been better. Still, this phablet from Sony's provides performance unmatched by others in the segment – a very quick browser, speedy loading apps, and the best screen seen on a phablet so far.

Though it may soon be overcome by the LG G2 or the Galaxy Note III (releasing very close to Xperia Z Ultra), even then it will be a device that will be remembered for quite a while. It has become a device with which Sony can be proud of.