The Xperia Tablet Z is a

touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

Android tablet designed and manufactured by

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and was first announced in Japan in January 2013. It was then announced globally in

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at the

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on February 25, 2013. The tablet is one of the lightest and thinnest 10.1-inch tablet in the world with a weight of 1.09 pounds (495 grams) and is just 0.27 inches (6.9 mm) thick. The Tablet Z succeeds the

Xperia Tablet S The Sony Xperia Tablet S is a touchscreen Android (operating system), Android tablet computer, tablet designed by Sony Mobile as part of the Sony Xperia, Xperia series. It was announced at Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) 2012, and de ...

with a faster processor, a better front-facing camera, a higher-resolution screen, and Ingress Protection Ratings of IP55 and IP57, for dust-protected, water-jet protected, and waterproof in up to one meter of water for up to thirty minutes. It was released in May 2013. The device retails at $500 for the 16 GB (Wi-Fi only) version and $600 for the 32 GB (Wi-Fi only) version.

Hardware

The

capacitive touchscreen A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically layered on the top of the e ...

display measures 10.1 inches with a WUXGA resolution of 1920 × 1200 and a 224 ppi density. It includes Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 technology which is used in Sony's Bravia branded televisions. The tablet features a

Qualcomm Snapdragon Snapdragon is a suite of system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductor products for mobile devices designed and marketed by Qualcomm, who often refers to these SoCs as "mobile platforms". They typically integrate central processing units (CPU) based o ...

S4 Pro chipset comes with quad-core Krait CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz, Adreno 320 GPU, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 or 32 GB of internal storage. The tablet also has an external slot with micro SD card allowing expandable storage up to 64 GB. The rear camera of the tablet has 8 megapixels with Exmor R sensor and with full HD video recording capabilities while the front camera has 2 megapixels and is capable of 720p video recording. The Xperia Tablet Z is NFC (

near-field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...

) enabled which can be used with Xperia SmartTags, NFC enabled accessories such as speakers or for low value financial transactions, as NFC becomes more widespread in use, with the appropriate applications from

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. The tablet also comes with an infrared port and with the help of the TV SideView app the Xperia Tablet Z can be used as a remote control. The tablet is water resistant and can stay in one meter of water for 30 minutes.

Software

The tablet was released with the Sony UI on top of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It received Android 4.4.2 KitKat in June 2014. Xperia Tablet Z is also

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allowing users access to Sony's PlayStation Suite. In May 2015, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z received Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Variants

The device was sold in

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

and 4G/

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versions. The availability of the 4G/

version varied by country.

Reception

The Xperia Tablet Z has received very positive critical reception. The device has been praised for its design, performance, and low weight, while criticized for its somewhat high price.

PCMag ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Magaz ...

praised the device, saying that "The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is among the finest Android tablets available, combining an incredibly thin and light design with top-notch performance." The Xperia Tablet Z won EISA’s European Tablet of the Year (2013-2014) award, said to be "the perfect choice for anyone seeking a combination of unique style and technology". The Xperia Tablet Z was named the 4th best tablet of 2013 by TechRadar.

Successor

A successor to the Xperia Tablet Z was announced by Sony on February 24, 2014, with the unveiling of the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet. This tablet was released in March 2014 in the UK and July 2014 in the US.

References

External links

Sony Global website
{{Android tablets Xperia Z Android (operating system) devices Tablet computers introduced in 2013 Digital audio players