The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a 2013 Android

phablet A phablet (, ) is a mobile device combining or straddling the size formats of smartphones and tablets. The word is a blend word of ''phone'' and ''tablet''. The term was largely unused by the late 2010s, since average phone sizes eventually morph ...

designed and manufactured by

Sony Mobile Sony Mobile Communications Inc., originally Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, was a Multinational corporation, multinational consumer electronics and telecommunications company, best known for its Mobile phones, mobile phone products. The ...

. Codenamed ''Togari'' and marketed as "the world's slimmest

Full HD 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the scre ...

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

it is the first phone that allows users to take notes or draw on with a regular pen or pencil. Like the Sony Xperia Z and Z1, the phone is dust protected, low pressure water jet protected, and waterproof, allowing immersion under 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes (IP55/58), as well as being shatterproof and scratch-resistant, making it the world's thinnest IP certified smartphone at the time of release.

Design

The Xperia Z Ultra uses the same "Omni-Balance" design as Xperia Z. Combining tempered glass on both the front and rear with a metallic frame, the phablet is described as an "attractive-looking gadget" which has "minimalistic" yet "stylish" appeal and "premium feel". Designed to be the same width as a passport, the device will fit normal jacket pockets.. The metal frame also makes it more comfortable to hold with one hand. Sony Xperia Z Ultra is available in three colors: black, white and purple. File:Sony Xperia Z Ultra back.jpg, Sony Xperia Z Ultra back File:Sony Xperia Z Ultra side.jpg, Sony Xperia Z Ultra side

Hardware

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra has a 6.44" display, is slim (175 x 92 x 6.5 mm) and lightweight (212 g); it is also dust protected, low pressure water jet protected, waterproof ( IP55/IP58), shatterproof and scratch-resistant. It has a 2

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

front camera and 8

rear camera with an Exmor R sensor, 16x digital zoom with auto focus, 1080 p HD recording, HDR, continue burst mode, face detection.FM RADIO with stereo. On the inside, the Z Ultra is first smartphone announced with the

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor. It comes with a sealed 3050 mAh

Lithium polymer battery A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly, lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly, and others), is a rechargeable battery derived from lithium-ion and lithium-metal battery technology. The primary differ ...

, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of flash storage, and also has a

microSD Secure Digital (SD) is a proprietary hardware, proprietary, non-volatile memory, non-volatile, flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA). Owing to their compact size, SD cards have been widely adopted in a variety of port ...

card slot (up to 128 GB). For connectivity, the phone has

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC,

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 screen mirroring. Sony will also release a Smart Bluetooth Headset (SBH52) that allows answering calls without taking the phablet out, as well as reading call logs and text messages, listening to music and FM radio. The headset has NFC for single-touch pairing with Xperia Z Ultra, and it is also water-resistant.

Features

The 6.44"

(

1080p 1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...

) 342 ppi

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 ...

display uses Sony's Triluminos™ and X-Reality for mobile technology, with an OptiContrast panel to reduce reflection and enable clearer viewing even in bright sunlight. The screen is highly responsive and compatible with stylus as well as regular pencils or metal pens. Being waterproof means that users can use the phablet in the rain, or take it to the pool or beach. Although lacking a rear LED flash, the phone's cameras are capable of taking pictures/videos at any light. The Xperia Z Ultra was originally shipped with Sony's custom version of Android 4.2.2, and as of 27 June 2014, the Xperia Z Ultra has received the Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) update. In addition to Sony's own applications like

Walkman is a brand of Personal stereo, portable audio players manufactured by Sony since 1979. It was originally introduced as a portable Compact Cassette, cassette player and later expanded to include a range of portable audio products. Since 2011, ...

, PlayStation Mobile, battery stamina mode, several

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

apps also come preloaded (

Google Chrome Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

, Google Voice Search,

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

, NeoReader™ barcode scanner). On 2 November 2014, the Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition received an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop. On 4 December 2015, the international version of the Xperia Z Ultra received the Android 5.1.1 update from Sony. Because of its size, the phone's on-screen keyboard and dialer can be switched to either sides for users to easily reach all keys with only the thumb. For gaming,

DualShock 3 The DualShock (originally Dual Shock, trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK, with the PlayStation 5 version as DualSense) is a line of gamepads developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) for the PlayStati ...

is natively supported. C6843 variant with 1seg

TV tuner A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the digital vi ...

is sold in Brazil.

Variants

All variants (except SOL24) support four 2G GSM bands 850/900/1800/1900 and five 3G UMTS band 850/900/1700/1900/2100.

Reception

Sony Xperia Z Ultra is praised for its "very classy" exterior, "stunning" massive Triluminos display, stylish premium design, slim form, light weight, impressive build quality, durability (water and dustproof), interesting pencil/pen compatibility, and powerful specs. CNET's editor Aloysius Low wrote that "

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

has set a very high benchmark with the Xperia Z Ultra", challenging the leadership position in the

market. PhoneArena wrote that the Xperia Z Ultra is "an engineering marvel" "towering above all other phablets not only in screen size, but also in specs and design". Its performance is described as "blazing fast", claimed to be the "fastest mobile device they've tested so far" (as of 13 August 2013). According to ExpertReviews, the Xperia Z Ultra is "more than twice as fast as a Galaxy S4".

References

External links

* {{Sony phones Android (operating system) devices Mobile phones introduced in 2013 Discontinued flagship smartphones Sony smartphones Phablets