Sony Xperia Z review

The flagship of Sony - the smartphone Xperia Z - is already familiar to Habr, but this time he fell into my hands for a longer test. I’ll tell you about the results of several days of living together with this device under the cut.

To get started - a general summary of the characteristics:

Display:  5-inch 1080 x 1920 Full HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 technology
Processor:  Qualcomm APQ8064 asynchronous quad-core Snapdragon S4 1.5 GHz 
OS:  Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), followed by updating to 4.2.
Memory:  2 GB RAM, internal flash memory up to 16 GB, microSD support up to 32 GB
Camera:  13 MP with Exmor RS matrix for mobile devices, HDR video support, Superior Auto mode and noise reduction function, thanks to which it is possible receiving crystal-clear images and video in any conditions. 
Front camera:  2 MP with an Exmor R sensor
Battery: 2330 mAh, Battery STAMINA mode, increasing the standby time by at least 4 times

Design and ergonomics

The main design principle of Xperia Z is symmetry. Even the power button is made almost in the center of the side panel. However, in addition to the aesthetic function, this arrangement has a practical function: even with short hobby fingers it is easy to reach it from almost any position - which is very important for a five-inch smartphone. The button itself unexpectedly resembles a watch factory wheel - it is quite original. She does not speak out strongly, and under no circumstances clings to anything and does not interfere.



Directly above the button is a SIM card slot, covered with a plug. Below is the two-shoulder volume key and speaker. At the very bottom is the obligatory and inevitable eyelet for the strap.





On the left are the contacts for the connection with the docking station. The Xperia Z will go on sale with the docking station in the kit, but only the device came for the test, so I can only show photos from the last review:



The contact brought out allows you to connect the smartphone to the dock with one movement, without opening the connectors and other body movements - it’s just put to the base and starts charging. However, at the cost of convenience it turned out that this contact is only suitable for charging, data transfer through it is impossible, therefore, unfortunately, it will not work to connect a mouse or keyboard to the docking station.



Above the contact end-to-end there are connectors for a microSD card and an MHL port that combines a connector for an HDMI adapter and microUSB. They are fitted so tightly that you can simply not notice them - with a cursory glance you may not even see that there is something else above the memory card slot. At the same time, they themselves are subtle and elegant - those who saw the “armor” of the first waterproof Sony Xperia a couple of years ago will appreciate this evolution. The best defense is invisible.



At the top end there is also an audio output closed with a plug.



The back panel is covered with a single piece of glass, in which only the holes of the external microphone and camera are cut out. At the same time, the camera itself is hidden flush with the surface of the phone, without breaking its symmetry. The glass is additionally covered on top with a thick protective film - like the front, by the way.

Water resistance at home

Some in vain perceive the waterproof case as a passive factor. In fact, its presence also opens up new cases for using a smartphone. The simplest and most obvious is to take it with you to the bathroom, for example. You never know, you are waiting for a call. Although, for example, I used it as an Internet radio - it’s great when there is an opportunity to listen to your favorite music or news in the shower. Special shower radios are sold, but this is the beauty of the smartphone concept: all in one, a gadget for all occasions. However, you need to be careful with the jets of water: if you fill them with a speaker, it will “stall” for some time and the sound volume will drop significantly. Later, when the phone dries up, everything returns to normal.



Girls and bachelors will appreciate the opportunity to keep the phone close to their side while washing dishes. In summer, the phone will not be scared to dunk even under the most heavy rainfall. And the technology with the playful name “wet fingers” allows wet hands to be controlled with the touch screen - everything works as it should. In principle, you can continue to fantasize, but in my life there is little connected with water, so I will stop here for now.

Iron

As befits a top-end smartphone, Xperia Z hardware demonstrates impressive characteristics, the numbers of which are confirmed by test results:











On board the smartphone there is only a 4-core Qualcomm APQ8064 processor with a clock frequency of 1.5 GHz and 2 gigabytes of RAM. The phone’s own memory is 16 GB, of which 5 gigs are reserved for the OS. The remaining 11 are available for user needs.
A slot for a memory card allows you to expand the memory. The officially supported supported size of expandable memory is up to 32 GB, but in fact Xperia Z can work with cards in 128 GB. But in this case, it's better to check compatibility anyway - just in case.
I believe that Xperia Z allows you to download files from torrents at a speed similar to that on a computer, also there is a merit of impressive hardware.

Communication

One of the toughest stress tests for a mobile phone is the elevator in my staircase. As a rule, the network (Megafon and MTS in my case) disappears as soon as the access door closes behind me. In a rare case, catches to the elevator doors. Sony Xperia Z showed slightly better results - it holds the network to the elevator doors and, fragmentarily, catches between floors.
In addition to the mandatory Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, on board there are also the standard for the top NFC and LTE smartphones (Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20).

Software

Android 4.1.2 is already quite familiar to all fans of this OS, so I will not particularly describe it. I only note that soon the digit after the decimal point will change to a deuce: we are waiting for the update of Xperia Z to Android 4.2. So far I have not seen him, and therefore I can’t tell anything about him.





A pleasant trifle, which I noticed: the next time the SIM card was “moved” to a new phone, this time not only the numbers saved but also dialed from the previous phone were synchronized. This is very convenient when you need to call back to a number that you have not added to the phone book. There are still no standard options for transferring SMS to Android, but you can use the data recovery application, which by default is available in all Xperia.
An unpleasant trifle that is inherent in this particular version of software from Google is the lost functions of selecting / copying / cutting text. To copy the URL from the address bar of the browser, I have to share it. And the icons that replaced the text hints (copy / cut, etc.), you just need to learn.

Battery

The main consumable item of the battery is predictably a huge display. For the loss of appetite in standby mode, two useful things are responsible at once: the energy-saving mode and Battery STAMINA, which allow you to discourage the phone from eating the battery in standby mode, so its duration increases to several days.

Equipment

In addition to the docking station mentioned above, but for the test that didn’t make it, the Sony Xperia Z comes with expensive and very good Sony DR-EX300iP headphones with a microphone and remote control. Checked: if you plug them deeper into your ears, then you can’t even hear the metro in them (unless, of course, you turn on the music or radio). I am not an audiophile, but the difference in sound quality compared to the stock "ears" of Sony from older phones is striking. The same headphones, only without a microphone, are sold separately - about 1600 rubles approximately. Given the presence of the docking station, we can say that the Xperia Z was packed solidly.



The rest is standard: in addition to the ears, a charging box and a USB lanyard got into the phone box.

Summary

Honestly, praising the Sony Xperia Z is already too awkward (: Nevertheless, this is a great instance of its kind and really worthy of the brand’s flagship at the beginning of 2013. As always, Xperia has a recognizable look, sustained in the style of many dear to the heart Sony-style. And although show-offs are bad, but if you want to show off your phone, black, white or violet Xperia Z will help with this, and for those who are especially unimpressive, you can dip him in a decanter with water in front of your interlocutor. the trick is just acting interestingly;)

It finally came out with us, and is sold, including the official Sony Store, at a price of 29,990 rubles .