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 portmanteau of ''phone'' and ''tablet''. Phablets feature large displays that complement screen-intensive activity such as mo ...

designed and manufactured by

Sony Mobile Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. ...

. 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 screen verti ...

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

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 The Sony Xperia Z was announced by Sony at CES 2013 and was released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. The Xperia Z was initially shipped with the Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system. The smartphone h ...

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.

Design

The Xperia Z Ultra uses the same "Omni-Balance" design as

Xperia Z The Sony Xperia Z was announced by Sony at CES 2013 and was released on 9 February 2013 in Japan and 1 March 2013 in Singapore and the UK. The Xperia Z was initially shipped with the Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system. The smartphone h ...

. 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 image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

front camera and 8

rear camera with an

Exmor R Exmor is the name of a technology Sony implemented on some of their CMOS image sensors. It performs on-chip analog/digital signal conversion and two-step noise reduction in parallel on each column of the CMOS sensor. Exmor RS is the world ...

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 () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...

Snapdragon 800 This is a list of Qualcomm Snapdragon systems on chips (SoC) made by Qualcomm for use in smartphones, tablets, laptops, 2-in-1 PCs, smartwatches, and smartbooks devices. Before Snapdragon SoC made by Qualcomm before it was renamed to Snapdr ...

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 of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyt ...

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

microSD Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...

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

Bluetooth 4.0 Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limit ...

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

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 local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

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

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 screen vert ...

) 342 ppi

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

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 Android Jelly Bean, or Android 4.1 is the codename given to the tenth version of the Android (operating system), Android mobile operating system developed by Google, spanning three major point releases (versions 4.1 through 4.3.1). Among the dev ...

, and as of 27 June 2014, the Xperia Z Ultra has received the

Android 4.4.4 Android KitKat is the codename for the eleventh Android mobile operating system, representing release version 4.4. Unveiled on September 3, 2013, KitKat focused primarily on optimizing the operating system for improved performance on entry-leve ...

(KitKat) update. In addition to Sony's own applications like

Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...

PlayStation Mobile PlayStation Mobile (formerly PlayStation SuiteHinkle, David. (2012-06-04 HTC is first partner for 'PlayStation Mobile,' the new name for PlayStation Suite pdate: Press release added Joystiq. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.) was a software framework us ...

, battery stamina mode, several Google apps also come preloaded (Google Chrome, Google Play, Google Voice Search, Google Maps, 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 Android Lollipop ( codenamed Android L during development) is the fifth major version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google and the 12th version of Android, spanning versions between 5.0 and 5.1.1. Unveiled on June 25, 2014 ...

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 named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...

is natively supported. C6843 variant with 1seg

TV tuner A tuner is a subsystem that receives radio frequency (RF) transmissions, such as FM broadcasting, and converts the selected carrier frequency and its associated bandwidth into a fixed frequency that is suitable for further processing, usually be ...

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 ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

's editor Aloysius Low wrote that "

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

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 The Samsung Galaxy S4 is an Android smartphone produced by Samsung Electronics as the fourth smartphone of the Samsung Galaxy S series and was first shown publicly on March 14, 2013, at Samsung Mobile Unpacked in New York City. It is the succe ...

References

External links

* {{Sony tablet Android (operating system) devices Mobile phones introduced in 2013 Discontinued smartphones Smartphones Z Ultra Phablets