Now with solid backup in the midrange, returning to the fiercest battle in the mobile market is Sony's top priority. The Xperia Z, which leads the charge, got us properly impressed in a recent hands-on and if it walks unscathed from a complete review, we'll know the Japanese have hit the form of their life. Sony is the first of the major manufacturers to bring 5 inches of 1080p goodness to the market, which not only is a morale booster, but will get cash registers chiming too.
Key features
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE
5" 16M-color 1080p capacitive touchscreen with 441ppi pixel density; Bravia Mobile Engine 2
Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean with custom UI
Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geo-tagging, HDR
1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR mode, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
2.2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
IP 57 certification - dust resistant and water resistant
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
MHL-enabled microUSB port
Bluetooth v4.0
NFC
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Glass front and back panels
Main disadvantage
Low contrast display with below-par viewing angles
Non user-replaceable battery
13MP camera hardly any better than some competitors' 8MP units
Feeble loudspeaker
The Sony Xperia Z is stuff geeks' dreams are made of, it's designed and built to the highest standard and has raw processing power to spare. IP57-certified - on top of that - for dust and water resistance, it's tougher than most competitors. High-end smartphones aren't quite fit for the beach or white water rafting, but the Xperia Z won't be at odds with your active lifestyle.
