Sony Xperia Z Ultra - Review of an insanely large smartphone that I was afraid to redeem

09.04.2014

Lyrical introduction

Once upon a time, I tried to use a small seven-inch tablet as a smartphone-phone. Oh yes, it was funny. But I can't say that I liked it a lot. At least, I never felt like repeating the experiment.

Sensors. Standard set. Accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, light sensor, proximity sensor.

With the software update to Android KitKat, some "Step Detector" and "Step Counter" also appeared in the list of sensors. Yes indeed. The counter can count steps. Checked it out. By the way, something intuition tells me that these "sensors" are purely software, a kind of software add-on over the accelerometer-gyroscope.

Communication with the outside world

There is support for LTE. It works without problems, as well as the "classic slow" 3G Internet.

Wi-Fi dual-band (2.4 + 5 GHz), the sensitivity is good, there are no problems with the speed either.

Bluetooth, NFC - yes, there is.

Connecting external USB-devices (USB-OTG) is, it works without problems.

There is MHL - the ability to output a video signal using a special adapter from the Micro-USB output of the device to the HDMI input of TV monitors. The same features of work as in the Xperia Z1 - the interface is forcibly rotated to horizontal mode, but at the same time in "vertical" toys it safely returns to the desired position.

Screen

Huge screen with a diagonal of 6.44 "and a resolution of FullHD (1920x1080). The official type of screen is called" Triluminos. "It seems to be some kind of IPS, although Sony is clearly not talking about this anywhere.

In general, the screen itself is not bad ... And you think so until you remember that we have a super-duper flagship that costs a lot of money.

No, he's really good. I am telling you this as a person who has been using Ultra in everyday life for quite some time. But when you start comparing it with other screens, it immediately becomes clear what can be better. Ultra's screen is too shiny, when viewed from angles it behaves imperfectly. I'm not talking about the film.

Yes, they say, the factory film is glued to the screen. But it is well glued, it is not visible. It can only be determined by scratches. Such micro-scratches usually do not occur on normal glass screens. In general, the film is good, slippery.

Oleophobic coating ... I suspect that it was here on the tape. I repeat, I am clearly not the first in this instance of Ultra. And right now the screen gets dirty very, very actively. And I cannot say that prints are well and easily erased. So maybe the coating is just worn out.

The sensor is good, clear, 10 simultaneous touches.

The official description says that the sensor should respond to the touch of "all types of pencils and metal pens." In reality, things are a little different. It is quite possible to use an ordinary blunt pencil instead of a stylus. And if you take a mechanical pencil with a thin lead (0.5 mm) - then no. Headphone plug - good luck. Or a teaspoon. But the sensor did not want to communicate with ballpoint pens at all. Do not know. Probably, they are "not metal". Work with gloves not supported. At least in those woolen striped ones that live in my jacket pocket. But it is quite possible to work through a cloth for cleaning screens, as you can see in the video with unpacking.

The maximum screen brightness is 315 cd / m2 (good) with a contrast ratio of 860: 1 (excellent). The minimum white brightness is about 23 cd / m2 (satisfactory). White point - 7600K (good), sRGB color gamut - 99%.

Operating system and other software

When the smartphone came to me, it was equipped with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. Just before the end of testing, a fresh 4.4.2 KitKat "flew" through the air.

I can't help but mention the desktops. Each of them can accommodate as many as 6 x 6 = 36 icons! Plus the bottom row, the same for all tables. Six more icons.

If you are planning to upgrade to KitKat - do not forget about one funny and unpleasant thing. On Sony smartphones on devices updated to KitKat, file manager programs lose the rights to modify files on memory cards. Roughly speaking, you will not be able to delete the file from the memory card or move it from the smartphone memory to the memory card. It sounds crazy, but it really is.

Strangely, this stupid limitation does not apply to flash drives connected via USB-OTG.

Battery

Battery capacity - 3000 mAh. Those. exactly the same as that of the Sony Xperia Z1. To be honest, I was fully confident that the battery would be in trouble. Still, the screen is noticeably larger and, logically, power consumption should also be higher.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the test results of these two devices practically coincide! How they did it - I have no idea. Wonders.

In short, a very decent 157% of the standard for which I have adopted the Galaxy S4.

Battery and LTE. With LTE I have only done one test, "Internet 3G". Lifetime dropped noticeably, from 6:50 to 5:20 (at the same internet speed - it was forcibly limited to a very modest 64 kbps).

As for the eternal question for how many days the battery will last in "normal" mode ... No answer. On average, I took about 50% of the charge per day. And during an illness, when I was lying in bed and reading a lot, in the late afternoon I had to put my smartphone on charge - it definitely did not live up to nightfall.

	Xperia Z Ultra, Full Discharge Time	Xperia Z Ultra, One Hour Discharge	Xperia Z1, Full discharge time	Xperia Z1 One Hour Discharge
Video	8:50	11.2%	9:40	10.4%
HD video	6:30	15.4%	6:40	15.1%
Easy game	6:10	16.3%	6:00	16.8%
Telephone	32:50	3.1%	45:10	2.2%
Music	71:00	1.4%	70:20	1.4%
GPS on 3G window	8:00	12.5%	8:30	11.8%
GPS on wifi window	9:30	10.5%	10:20	9.8%
White screen	11:10	9.0%	12:40	7.9%
White screen 100%	6:40	15.0%	7:50	12.8%
White screen 0%	18:40	5.3%	17:10	5.8%
3G Internet	6:50	14.6%	7:00	14.3%
Internet Wi-Fi	8:00	12.4%	8:50	11.3%
Slow torrent 3G	25:20	3.9%	23:30	4.3%

When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, everyone, after 10 years of using Nokia and BlackBerry, was amazed at the huge display of Apple's phone. Six years later, a 6.44-inch 1080p screen seems to be commonplace.

Although I'm unsure about the huge phone, the Z Ultra seemed like a pretty nice device to me, but you will find out from the review. Inside the news, it's all about the Z Ultra's shortcomings and, of course, its merits.

Specifications

- Android 4.2.2
- 6.44 '' screen, 1920 x 1080, 342 ppi
- Rear camera Exmor RS 8 MP, no flash
- Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2 GHz
- Video core Adreno 330
- 2 GB RAM
- 16 GB of internal memory, microSD slot
- NFC, GPS, USB OTG
- 3000mAh battery
- Dimensions: 179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5 mm
- Weight: 212 g.

It should be noted right away that the Z Ultra is currently the world's largest Full HD smartphone. From the photo above, you can see how much the phone is larger than the iPhone 5. In the photo below, you can also see how much the phone is. same like a tablet from Samsung.

The most interesting thing is that nowadays it is customary to classify "shovel phones" as the middle segment in the mobile market: the same Galaxy Mega from Samsung does not have the best filling and costs around 15 thousand rubles. Sony took a different route. Xperia Z Ultra is a premium smartphone, with a powerful filling, excellent build, well, branded moisture and dust protection.

With a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800, the latest Adrena 330 and 2GB of RAM, the Z Ultra has some incredible AnTuTu numbers.

Only the Nvidia Shield, which is designed specifically for games and has a Tegra 4-chip on board, is gaining more.

It is impossible to find any glitches, no slowdowns in the Z Ultra, Android works like clockwork on it: everything is smooth, beautiful and “timely”.

Inside is a proprietary shell from Sony. I can’t argue how good it is, but I have always enjoyed a naked Android, so I can’t say anything positive about the Xperia UX. Cool unlock screen, yes.

Returning to the topic of premium, I want to tell you about a completely unacceptable thing: the lack of a flash on the camera. It's not entirely clear why Sony dropped it, but I'm pretty sure it was in favor of the main flagship. Possessing the same characteristics and a price of almost 20,000 rubles, the Z Ultra could easily bypass the Z, which is not very good, because the target segment of the "shovel" is completely different people. Oh yes Sony, ah yes marketers!

By the way, the camera itself in the Z Ultra does not have superpowers: it usually shoots at the level of the iPhone 4S.

But what the Xperia Z Ultra can boast of is its excellent viewing angles and, in general, an excellent display, which is much juicier and of higher quality than its counterpart without the "Ultra" prefix.

With IP55 / 58 protection, Z Ultra can be immersed in water for 30 minutes no deeper than 1 meter. Actually, this is where all the plugs in the phone come from. But this whole story is painfully familiar to me from virtually all new products from Sony, so I would like to touch on the fact that the speakers, due to moisture protection, are a little quieter than on the iPhone 5 and Xperia Z, so carefully read this side of the phone before buying it ...

Returning to the design, I would like to criticize the proprietary button from Sony.

Honestly, she's been tired of her for a long time: she has neither charm nor attractiveness. Just a corporate identity and all that. I'll take this opportunity and take my own words from the video review:

As always, Sony does not move away from its proprietary button, which, in my opinion, is already a burden for it: as if the child lied that he went to school, but has already said - so there is nowhere to retreat. Here is Sony with its own button as well.

Well, and, probably, the final touch in the column of disadvantages. The headphone jack is on the side of the phone, not on the top or bottom. Say what you like, but this is a minus, a big and obvious minus.

In our country, the cost of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra hovers around 25 thousand rubles, although the gray market offers a new product from 20 thousand. The official price generally forces you to close your eyes and never open them again - 29,990 rubles.

Conclusion: Sony Xperia Z Ultra is good, very good. The phone is pleasant to use, it is very thin (thinner than the iPhone 5). To the touch, it looks like candy. Hence the conclusion that in the absence of disgust with "shovels" and the desire to buy 2 in 1 (phone + tablet) - Z Ultra is definitely the best that the market can offer at the moment.

When large smartphones, or phablets, were just beginning to appear, they caused surprise and a desire to troll both the devices themselves and their owners. Then this format became more common and today the display diagonal in the top smartphone ranges from 4.7 to 5.2 ″. But Sony decided to go further and released a smartphone that surprises, but does not make you want to joke about it. It's just that the Sony Xperia Z Ultra trolls itself perfectly, because I did not find a brick that was bigger.

The Xperia Z Ultra is already a completely tablet device, with a 6.44 ″ display diagonal, the smartphone is very close in screen size to the Nexus 7. Therefore, using this smartphone is convenient if you do not let go of the tablet. If so, pairing it with your phone is a good idea. But even after the Galaxy Note 3, the Z Ultra was oversized for me. Something like this:

But besides the Galaxy Note 3, I also use the iPhone 5s. Compared to it, the Z Ultra resembles a bus parked next to a children's Gnome bike.

My hands are rather big, but even in them the smartphone looks big. In the two weeks that I have used it, I have found both advantages and disadvantages of this size. The latter are associated, to a large extent, with the transportation of the device. While Galaxy Note 1, 2 and 3 are pretty comfortable for me to carry in the front pocket of my jeans, then the Z Ultra does not fit there. You need to put it in your breast pocket, if you have one, or in your bag.

But I think that the buyers of this gadget know exactly what they need from a large smartphone, and the advantages in their eyes will be much more than inconveniences. It was not for nothing that I mentioned people whose tablet does not get out of hand. Event planners, designers, hipsters - a smartphone can be loved by many. Moreover, it is favorably distinguished from competitors by its water resistance.

The smartphone is available in three colors: black, like ours, white and purple. Other models of the manufacturer can be found in the same colors.

After Xperia Z, which came out interesting, but with a lot of "sides", Z Ultra has become a qualitative step forward: it has a better display, more convenient elements placed on the body. For example, the headphone jack is not covered with a cap here, which I did not like at all about the Z-ke. The Z1 did the same, but the screen quality in it turned out to be the same as in the first generation Z. That is, the Z Ultra is currently the best display quality among Sony smartphones.

The case is protected according to IP55 and IP58 standards, the device can be immersed to a depth of 1.5 meters and kept there for up to 30 minutes. Waterproofing smartphones is very cool, you don’t worry when they call you on the street in rainy weather, you don’t worry when you put your smartphone on the kitchen table, and I even used a similar device on vacation to photograph reefs and fish.

On the sides of the Xperia Z Ultra there is a MicroUSB connector, slots for a memory card and a MicroSIM card, a lock key and a volume rocker below it.

Considering the size of the device, I can call the location of all this convenient. For example, it would be foolish to place the volume rocker above the waterline of your smartphone, because no thumb can reach it. Right there this key is located at the bottom - it is quite convenient.

The smartphone is made of glass and plastic, although the side edging is similar to metal. Nevertheless, the structure is very flexible in torsion, the rigidity is low. If you forget to take your smartphone out of your back pocket and sit down somewhere, you can easily get a shattered screen. Nothing critical, but the design could have been made more rigid, because the tablets are larger, but many of them are much more rigid.

Display

The smartphone has a 6.44 ″ display, matrix type - IPS. Even at this diagonal, Full HD resolution yields a pixel density of 342 ppi. That's more than the 4 ″ display on the iPhone 5s. But the main thing, as I said above, is the screen quality, it is much higher than in the Xperia Z and, unfortunately, than in the new Z1. There are good viewing angles, the picture does not turn into a solid light background at an angle, the information is easy to read. It is convenient to read on such a screen, so the minimum brightness is very important and comfortable, but the maximum brightness may not be enough for viewing content on a sunny day. In general, I was extremely pleased with the screen. It is not the best, but it is large and of high quality, and for a Sony smartphone, a high-quality display is already good. But it has another feature that not every smartphone on the market can boast of - the ability to use pencils, keys, knives and other conductive objects as a stylus. It's cool, but there are two “buts”. First, if you compare it with a stylus, for example, the S-Pen in the Galaxy Note 3, if you need to enter something with it, the stylus will always be in your smartphone, and a pencil or other conductive object is not always at hand. Second, the same S-Pen is remarkable not for what it is, but for the fact that it is an electronic analogue of a pen / pen / pencil. The harder you press, the thicker the print - everything is like in life. Such a pen recognizes up to 1024 gradations of clicks, but a pencil or a key is not capable of this. Nevertheless, the availability of the ability to use third-party items for control and input pleases.

Camera

Photos of this device are not the main trump card. This is exactly the case when I say: "For documents - just right." True, there is no flash, in a dark room and they can get blurry. In good light, the pictures come out decent, as do the videos.

The stock camera app turns out to be almost more functional than the Z1, which is clearly more focused on photography. Here, for example, right at hand there is the inclusion of HDR-mode. And a sea of possible scenes like Beach, Gourmet, etc.

Sample photos

Specifications and software

As far as I understand, Sony Xperia Z Ultra became the first smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and Adreno 330 graphics. In this regard, there is no need to talk about lags in the interface, as well as in games. The device is expectedly fast in any task, but in demanding games such as the RR3, the heating is quite noticeable. The case does not get hot, but in the summer it will be a little uncomfortable to play, I think. RAM - 2 GB, available for installing applications and content - 11 of the claimed 16 GB.

The autonomy was not impressive, as I expected, at 3000 mAh, a miracle did not happen, the tablet autonomy of the Z Ultra is far from it. A smartphone simply falls short of the night if you use it regularly. Twitter, FB, browser - this is the power of the Z Ultra battery, but after playing a little, watching the video, the lack of battery capacity becomes obvious.

Dimensions: 179 x 92 x 6.5mm.
Weight: 212 g.
Operating system: Android 4.2.2 JB.
Processor: Quad-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974), 2.2 GHz
Graphics: Adreno 330.
Display: TFT, 6,44 ′ ’, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 342 ppi
Memory: 16 GB flash.
RAM: 2 GB.
Camera: main - 8 MP, video recording in 1080p, front - 2 MP.
Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC.
Interface connectors: 3.5mm headphone jack, Micro USB.
Battery: Li-lon 3000mAh battery.

The Android version of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is 4.2.2 JB. Above it is installed a proprietary Sony shell. Small applications are one of the main features of the interface. These are windows with applications that you launch on top of the home screen. For such a display, the thing is convenient.

Conclusion

Sony Xperia Z Ultra is clearly not a mass product. But he is definitely able to please many, it is convenient to show a presentation on it, watch a movie and even edit a document. I'm not talking about reading any more, because the screen here is completely comparable in size to readers. It is also more convenient to play on the device than on 4 or even 5 ″ smartphones. Add water resistance to this, and you don't have to take a tablet on vacation, and in the evening, taking a bath, you can re-read the entire feed on Twitter and RSS.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! We continue to cooperate with Sony. And today, at the next review of smartphones, we have a novelty in the field of large smartphones or small tablets (as it is convenient for anyone). Phablet(English phablet from PHone + tABLET; also flanchet or plafond from Russian. Tablet + TELEPHONE) is a term denoting a class of mobile devices with a touch screen with a diagonal of 5 to 7 inches. The phablet combines the qualities of a smartphone and a mini-tablet. Also known as "Tabletphone", which is more understandable for the Russian-speaking population. This name itself in the form of "Phablet" can already be considered the official designation of this kind of devices. For those who are not yet aware of everything that is happening, I will only say that the screen diagonal of our "baby" is only 6.44 inches. In this review, I will try to call this gadget the old-fashioned way, namely "smartphone".

About SONY.

The year of Sony's founding is considered to be 1946, when former colleagues from the defense enterprise Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka met in Tokyo bombed by American planes. Friends drank sake, congratulated each other on the fact that they had survived the war, and immediately decided to organize some kind of production.

The initial capital of the partners was small: 84,500 yen, or 375 dollars at the exchange rate of the time, most of which Morita borrowed from his father, a successful distiller. This money turned out to be enough for the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company, which employs 20 people (all of these people were former employees of the same defense plant) - to start working on the second floor of a dilapidated shopping center on May 7.

Telecommunication Engineering Company finally changed its complicated name in 1958. Akio Morita, who by that time became responsible for the promotion of the company's products, assured not without reason: “To gain a foothold in the global market, we need a different name - simple, short, easy to pronounce and memorable. And instead of hieroglyphs, you need to use the international Latin alphabet. " For example, Americans could not pronounce not only Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, but even the abbreviation Totsuko - and selling a product made by a company with an unpronounceable name in the United States would be, to put it mildly, difficult. At first, Morita and Ibuka wanted to shorten the name of their brainchild to three letters - TTK, but then problems would inevitably arise in the domestic market. After all, TTK is very similar to TKK, the Japanese railway company. And then, rummaging through the dictionaries, friends fished out the Latin word sonus - "sound", which, in their opinion, ideally reflected the direction of the company. After slightly modernizing it, Morita and Ibuka came up with the word sony, which was destined to become the international name of the company.

Sony is now one of the five leading brands in the world along with Coca-Cola, Apple, Gillette and McDonald's. All of these industrial giants, except McDonald's, were created either at the end of the last century or at the turn of the century. But the history of the Japanese corporation Sony is only 50 years old. The founding fathers of the company started with a small workshop in dilapidated post-war Tokyo. Today Sony is one of the fastest growing companies in the world; even during economic crises, its shares continue to rise in value, and experts estimate the value of Sony at $ 37.5 billion. Sony is America's No. 1 brand, ahead of Coca-Cola and General Electric, according to a Harris Statistics poll. Upon learning of this, Akio Morita said: "I knew that in the end Sony would become an American brand."

Technical characteristics of the device.

General characteristics.

Standard - GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G.
Type - smartphone.
Operating system - Android 4.2.2.
Case type - classic, monoblock.
Body material - metal, glass, plastic.
Construction - waterproof.
SIM card type - micro SIM.
The number of SIM cards is 1.
Weight - 212 g.
Dimensions (WxHxT) - 92x179x6.5 mm.

Screen.

Screen type - color TFT, 16.78 million colors, touch.
Touch screen type - multitouch 10 touches, capacitive.
Diagonal - 6.44 inches.
Image size - 1080x1920.
The number of pixels per inch (PPI) - 342.
Scratch-resistant glass - yes.

Calls.

Type of melodies - polyphonic, MP3 melodies.
Vibration alert - yes.

Multimedia capabilities.

Camera - 8 million pixels, 3264x2448.
Camera functions - autofocus.
There is a front camera, 2 million pixels.
Audio - MP3, FM radio.
Headphone jack - 3.5 mm.
Video output - MHL.

Connection.

Interfaces - USB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, Bluetooth.
USB-host - yes.
Satellite navigation - GPS / GLONASS.
A-GPS system - yes.
Internet access - WAP, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA +, email POP / SMTP, email IMAP4, HTML.
DLNA support - yes.

Memory and processor.

Processor - Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974, 2200 MHz.
The number of processor cores is 4.
Video processor - Adreno 330.
Built-in memory capacity - 16 GB.
The amount of RAM is 2 GB.
Support for memory cards - microSD (TransFlash), up to 64 GB.

Nutrition.

Battery capacity - 3000 mAh. Built in.
Talking time 16 h.
Waiting time 820 h.

Other functions.

Speakerphone (built-in speaker) - yes.
A2DP profile - yes.
Sensors - illumination, proximity, gyroscope.
Features protection level - standards IP55 / IP58.

Protection level.

All of Sony's latest flagships are IP55 / IP58 waterproof and dustproof, and ours is no exception.

The IP rating (Ingress Protection) has been adopted by the IEC-International Electrotechnical Commission. It consists of two numbers and defines the ability of a computer or new device to resist the penetration of solids and liquids. The first number indicates the level of protection against the ingress of dust and other solids, the second number indicates the level of protection against the ingress of liquids.

Protection against the ingress of solid particles (first digit).

0 - No protection.
1 - Protection against the penetration of solid particles with a size of at least 50 mm (hand).
2 - Protected against penetration of solid particles with a size of at least 12 mm (fingers).
3 - Protection against the penetration of solid particles with a size of at least 2.5 mm (tools, cable).
4 - Protected against the penetration of solid particles with a size of at least 1 mm (thin tools, wire).
5 - Protection against the ingress of dust in quantities that do not affect the performance of the product.
6 - Complete protection against dust penetration.

Protection against penetration of liquids (second digit).

0 - No protection.
1 - Protection against vertically falling drops of water (condensation).
2 - Protection against water drops falling at an angle of no more than 15 ° from the vertical.
3 - Protection against rain drops falling at an angle not exceeding 60 ° from the vertical.
4 - Protected against splashing water from all directions.
5 - Protection against water jets from all directions.
6 - Protection from waves.
7 - Protection against water penetration when immersed to a depth of 1 m.
8 - Protection against water penetration during prolonged immersion under pressure.

According to this table, it can be judged that Sony Z Ultra can withstand water jets from any side and direction, as well as immersion in water to a depth of 1 meter and no more than 30 minutes. Immersion in seawater is not recommended.

Packaging, equipment.

The smartphone comes in a white cardboard box. Moreover, all the packaging is the same size as the smartphone itself. On the front side there is a picture of the smartphone in color, and on the back side there is a brief technical information. Opening the box, you can see that there is a shipping film on the screen. The rest of the package is at the bottom of the box.

A story from life. I have a friend who really wanted this device, but there was no money for a new one. I decided to buy a flea market on the Internet for 19 thousand rubles. Upon examination, it turned out that the back of the smartphone was badly scratched. The seller, represented by the girl, lamented the lack of covers when buying a smartphone. As a result, the price was easily reduced to 15 thousand rubles. The seller did not know that the scratches were only on the protective film. It's just that the film is glued so perfectly that it is simply invisible in everyday use.

Equipment.

1. The smartphone itself.

2. Charger.

3. USB cable.

4. Docking station.

5. Warranty card.

6. Quick start guide.

In general, a bad tradition has recently gone on not to equip top-end smartphones with at least the most elementary headphones. You feel strange after buying a device for 25 thousand rubles. and not finding the included headphones. It feels like something was stolen from you. If it goes on like this, then soon only the smartphone itself will be sold and nothing else. The package bundle looks especially poor against the background of the Sony Xperia Sola. A distinctive feature of almost all smartphones from Sony is the presence of factory-glued protective films on the smartphone screen. In our case, the film is glued to the front and back.

Appearance, design.

It's Sony Style, baby! There are not so many companies on the market that monitor the appearance of their products. Sony is one of them. Ultra continues the uniform style of all the latest flagships of the company. How is this unified style expressed? And everything is very simple! No matter how you pick up a Sony Tablet Z, a Sony Xperia Z smartphone and a Sony Xperia Z Ultra smartphone, they do not differ at all in appearance, this is the same style in everything. The front and back parts of these devices can be said to be exactly the same, and only perhaps the camera's peephole, and the other colors give slight differences. Let's say the black Sony Xperia Z Ultra looks exactly the same from all sides. This is a strict and elegant line of the body. No round corners or protruding body parts. A business device if you like. The thickness of the smartphone is only 6.5mm. and it is the thinnest smartphone in the world considering the size of the FullHD screen. Ultra looks great with a business suit, or is perfect for the role of an image gadget at a corporate meeting, this is not the kind of smartphone that you can carry in slippers or trekking. The screen size is 6.44 inches, which can hardly be called comfortable for one-handed operation. Even if you hold it with one hand at the very base, then the maximum where you can reach with your thumb is the middle of the screen, the rest of the area remains inaccessible. With the release of this device, the company has closed the entire size scale.

There is a 5-inch smartphone, a 10.1-inch tablet and a sweet spot in the face of our smartphone. First of all, this smartphone is suitable for those who are not 5 inches, and 10.1 is already a lot, and believe me, there are a lot of these people. The frames around the perimeter of the screen cannot be called thin. On the right and left sides it is 6mm., From the bottom 17mm. Such a wide framework in our case is not for nothing. As already mentioned, the thickness of the smartphone is very small, but it was necessary to place the "iron" part somewhere, so I had to go this way. However, you get used to this aspect pretty quickly.

Various colors are available: black, white, purple:

Manufacturing materials.

Well, as they say, everything is in chocolate! No plastic whatsoever. And only the volume rocker is made of plastic. The smartphone has an all-aluminum base painted black. This base is in the form of a metal edging along the entire perimeter. Even plugs for connectors and those made of metal. The back part as well as the front part is covered with protective glass. The type of glass is the company's own development and its name does not appear anywhere officially, although many argue that it is nothing more than Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The power button remains unpainted and contrasts quite strongly against the general black background. Here we actually have such premium materials used in the manufacture of this smartphone. Few people on the market use this combination of materials to make flagship devices. For this indicator, of course, the company should be praised. But keep in mind that glass and metal do not tolerate drops on a hard surface very well, the likelihood of breaking the back or front is high. However, at the moment, there are already many different cases for this smartphone on sale.

Build quality.

Sony is also very responsible in the manufacture of its products. This smartphone is protected from moisture and dust, which naturally imposes certain moments during manufacture. The body is completely monolithic and non-separable. At home, it is impossible to disassemble a smartphone without damaging it. Naturally, there are no creaks, backlash or gaps, and even more so. If you want to imagine what a perfect build looks like, then the Ultra certainly meets this standard.

Compared to Huawei Honor and Samsung NOTE II:

Functional connectors on the device body.

And so let's see what connectors the manufacturer has equipped his device with:

1. An additional microphone is located at the top.

2. On the right end in the upper part there is a 3.5mm headphone hole. For the first time in smartphones, this connector is not covered with a cap. The contacts are brought out to the outside of the connector. Slightly below is a plug under which there is a slot for a memory card (hot-swappable) and a slot for a Micro-SIM card. Power button and brightness control button.

3. There is a lace hole in the bottom right corner. Many manufacturers have already forgotten an element so important for some.

4. The main microphone is located at the bottom end.

5. On the left side there is a Micro USB connector hole and a contact pad for installation in a docking station.

6. On the front side: distance sensor, light sensor, front camera lens, status indicator, Sony logo. Touch control buttons are placed on the screen itself. Both speakers are also located on the front side.

7. On the back of the main camera, NFC detection area, Sony and Xperia logo.

Functional elements.

Screen.

As mentioned above, in our case we have just a giant 6.44-inch screen. TFT-IPS capacitive with support for 16 million colors. Full HD, 1920 x 1080 pixels. But since the smartphone control buttons use part of the unused screen area, the true resolution is 1836x1080 pixels. The pixel density per inch is 342 ppi. However, even with this value, individual pixels are not visible on the smartphone screen. Multi-touch up to 10 touches.

This type of screen supports the ability to enter information with any metal object. You can use a fountain pen, paper clip, or nail if you like. The viewing angles are maximum possible.

In the sun, the picture practically does not fade and the information can always be read. It just so happened, but the quality of the screen is better than in the same Sony Xperia Z, there is no obvious transition to gray tones when you change the position of the screen tilt. This type of screen has no air gap, which contributes to even better color reproduction, the image is as if right at your fingertips. X-Reality technology noticeably improves the image quality, although this is noticeable only when viewing any content on the screen itself. Very good contrast, the colors themselves are quite natural, you can even say such as they are in nature. As it seemed to me, there is not enough brightness at the maximum value. However, we still have one of the best screens on the market.

Camera.

Main camera Exmor R 8MP. The company deliberately limited the module so as not to compete with the already released Z and Z1 smartphones, and in fact, Ultra loses to them in terms of image quality. This module is nothing supernatural. There are some minor flaws with the white balance, and even in low light, noise in the frame is very noticeable. Taking pictures in the dark will not work as there is no flash. There is autofocus and digital stabilization. The maximum resolution for photos is 3264 x 2448 pixels and video is 1080p @ 30fps. The camera is very fast, pictures are taken and saved almost instantly. The pictures themselves are still of good quality, sharpness in the frame is present. The camera interface is not overloaded with settings, everything is very accessible and understandable. The only thing I thought was that the camera was overdoing it with the HDR mode in the "Best Auto Adjust" mode. The front camera has a 2MP resolution. and naturally only suitable for video communication. Working in Skype did not cause any problems.

Examples of pictures:

Video example:

Android OS and interface.

Ultra runs on Android 4.2.2 operating system.

A well-known proprietary interface from Sony is installed on top, everything from the dialing window to the color of the main menu has been redesigned.

An update to 4.3 is on the way. The main menu is built according to the 5x6 formula; these are two desktops with installed programs.

Widgets were removed from the main menu and now they are activated by a long press on the main screen, wallpapers and themes are also concentrated there.

The bottom line for the most frequently used applications can accommodate 7 icons. The most important innovation is the ability to use the smartphone completely horizontally both on the main screen and on the application screen. This is true if you use a smartphone while it is in your docking station. The interface itself works very smooth and fast, there are no hints of lags or brakes, the sensor instantly reacts to your touch.

Traditionally, let's quickly go through the most significant applications in a smartphone:

Walkman.

Actually branded and one of the best music players. Displays your music collection. You can sort by artist, track, album, or create your own list.

Sony Select.

Games, apps, music and videos - all the best just for you. Sony Select selects only the best apps and services so you can easily access them. What's more, Sony Select only shows you the apps and services that are guaranteed to work on your Xperia device. Some kind of alternative to the Play Store, if in one word.

Smart Connect.

What happens when you connect your Xperia smartphone to another device? With the free Smart Connect app, you decide for yourself. Any device you connect to your smartphone - whether it's a SmartTag, a headset, or a charging dock. Smart Connect will activate any apps or functions that you have specified for a specific accessory. You can choose one or several actions. When you plug in a headset, Smart Connect launches the music player. When you connect your Xperia smartphone to the charger late at night, the Smart Connect app puts it in night mode - activates the alarm and silent mode.

Sketch.

Quite a good and functional application that allows you to use your smartphone as a drawing tablet.

OfficeSuite.

The program provides creation, viewing and editing of Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on a mobile device. OfficeSuite includes support for Microsoft Office files. The program works great with text editors, providing opening and viewing DOCX files, editing Microsoft DOC files and RTF, TXT formats.

Xperia Privilege.

Not so long ago, Sony introduced its unique application that can be used exclusively on devices of the Sony Xperia line. The purpose of this program is simple - with its help, each owner of these gadgets will be able to access the most diverse and unique content. The Xperia Z1, Z Ultra and Tablet Z offer an exclusive entertainment package with great movies. Enjoy them through the Xperia Privilege app, which can be found on the app screen of your smartphone or tablet, or downloaded from the Google Play store.

In work, testing.

CPU. The smartphone has the most top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 central processor. There is of course a more recent version of the 805, but smartphones based on this processor are not yet on sale, so we consider our processor to be the best at the moment.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC is designed for flagship smartphones. According to the creators, it provides 75% more performance than the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro. The Snapdragon 800 uses 28nm technology. The main components of the Snapdragon 800 are the quad-core Krait 400 CPU up to 2.3GHz and the Adreno 330 GPU. The latter has twice the performance of the Adreno 320. The SoC supports dual 800MHz LP-DDR3 memory chips with a maximum memory bandwidth of 12 , 8 GB / s. The single-chip platform includes a Hexagon V5 digital signal processor, an LTE modem that provides data transfer rates up to 150 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth wireless modules, a USB 3.0 controller and a radio receiver. Supports video playback and recording with UltraHD resolution. Thanks to the presence of two image processors, the single-chip system is compatible with cameras up to a resolution of 55 megapixels. The Snapdragon 800 supports DTS-HD and Dolby Digital Plus audio processing technologies, and can display images on screens with a resolution of 2560 x 2048 pixels. This processor also supports 4G data transmission and is compatible with Russian standards. We buy a SIM card with a 4G tariff and more.

Needless to say, at the moment this is an ideal solution if you use a smartphone for games. At the moment, there are simply no games that could put this smartphone on the shoulder blades. All tested games starting from N.O.V.A. 3 and ending with Dead Trigger 2, as they say, just fly on this tablet. There is one small drawback. During the game, the area with the touch buttons is not removed from the screen and therefore false presses take place, which leads to the exit from the game. Considering the huge screen and prohibitive performance, it is a pleasure to play on this smartphone.

Synthetic test graphs:

Memory.

The main memory in the smartphone is 16GB. When the system and all applications are loaded, 11GB remains for free use. Installation of games and applications on the memory card is not provided. Supported work with cards format MicroSDXC. RAM 2GB. and after downloading 1.2GB remains. Oh, when such a bright moment will come when the developers of top-end smartphones will understand that the presence of 16GB. memory, but in fact less is too little for this kind of devices.

Wi-Fi works perfectly, did not reveal any problems during operation. Naturally, the smartphone itself can act as a Wi-Fi access point. Wi-Fi Direct has not gone anywhere either - allowing devices to connect directly to each other without an additional intermediate link in the form of a router. There is also Wi-Fi Display - provides wireless transmission of image and sound from one device to another, located nearby, using a simple and secure procedure for detection and connection. For example, a web page opened on a PC can be displayed on a nearby TV, and a picture viewed on a smartphone is simultaneously visible on a smartphone screen.

GPS / GLONNAS.

Simultaneous support of two navigation standards of the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS has been implemented. As a result, a cold start takes about one minute. It is impossible to select the GPS or GLONNAS mode separately, they work in pairs, such a tendem provides a large detection of satellites or more accurate positioning on the ground. In my case, 22 satellites were displayed, which is a very good indicator and a new record for the entire time I tested smartphones with the GPS / GLONNAS function.

Speech quality.

The smartphone has two microphones, which naturally only had a positive effect on the quality of transmitted and received speech.
Moreover, the design of the latter is made very well, they do not overlap with hands and have a large area of sound absorption. The interlocutor is very well heard, as well as you. The earpiece speaker is just as great. No complaints were found on this aspect. I was pleased with a fairly strong vibration signal given the finite dimensions of the smartphone.

Video.

Out of the box, the smartphone perfectly digests all known video formats, so you won't need to install a third-party player for the first time.

Sound.

But according to this parameter, the smartphone upset me. The sound is quiet, and very quiet. Even at maximum volume, the sound is easy to miss and you don't even need to be in crowded places for this. So, I advise you to select melodies with the maximum bitrate. Moreover, the state of affairs is not saved by any software enhancers. This is the payback for the protected case of the smartphone. Otherwise, the sound quality is good enough. Since there were no headphones in this package, this item was left aside in the tests.

USB-OTG.

The smartphone supports the connection of various peripheral devices. So, you can connect without any problems: a mouse, keyboard, USB flash drive, joysticks, etc. For example, in Dead Trigger 2, the joystick from the PS4 works great.

Accessories.

Docking station DK30.

The package includes a docking station for charging Sony Z Ultra. The complete charger has a power of 1.5A, which allows you to fully charge your smartphone in 3 hours.
The magnetic connector allows you to securely attach your smartphone to the docking station with one hand. The magnet directs the charging port of the smartphone to the dock connector and establishes the connection. Adapters included. With the included interchangeable earbuds, you can use the Xperia Z Ultra Smartphone Dock with or without a case. The smartphone installed for charging is located at an angle convenient for viewing. You can check messages or view the contents of your smartphone. Your Xperia Z Ultra is docked securely and snugly.

Headset Sony SBH52.

A rather interesting Bluetooth headset was also given for the review. You can make calls like from a regular phone, or listen to music and receive calls hands-free. When you receive a call on your smartphone, you can see who is calling you on the display of your headset. You can use the headset to view recent calls and make calls. You can move around by leaving your smartphone in your pocket, bag or other place within the Bluetooth range (up to 10 meters). You can connect the headset to your smartphone with one touch using the NFC module, just touch the back of your smartphone to the back of the headset. You can use headphones with a headset to listen to music. We just plug the headphones into the headset. You can see the artist name and song information on the display of your headset. Also, using the headset, you can read the received SMS message. The headset has a built-in FM radio that supports RDS (Radio Data System). The headset itself is splash-proof and can be used in the rain.

Autonomous work.

The capacity of our battery is 3000mAh. Considering the huge FullHD screen and a rather powerful processor, it will be quite interesting to test this parameter.

1. Work in the "just phone" mode, only calls. This is not the total talk time, but a certain number of calls - 57 hours.

2. Work in mixed mode: calls, Internet, video, games - 11 hours

3. MP3 file playback in headphones, maximum volume - 65 hours.

4. Video playback, sound and screen brightness for a maximum of 5 hours.

5. Work in 3D applications (games), sound at maximum, screen brightness 75% - 4 hours.

Conclusions.

This is a rather stylish and interesting device from Sony. I must say right away that the device is not for everyone. It is unlikely that this smartphone will look laconic in a woman's hand because of its size. During a week of testing, when I was talking on this smartphone, people look askance at you, especially when you put such a paddle to your ear. Before buying, you need to clearly understand why you need such a device. In principle, already this size can be attributed to the category of mini-tablets, but where else can you buy a mini-tablet with Snapdragon 800? If you use it as a phone, then I think the use of the above-described headset is simply necessary.

Who are the competitors? Yes, actually no one! If we take all the characteristics in one whole, then it turns out that this product has no competitors. To anyone interested, you can simply compare the size of the following products: Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, Huawei Ascend Mate 6.1, OPPO N1 5.9, HTC ONE MAX 5.9, Nokia Lumia 1320 6.0. But none of these smartphones can match the performance and quality of the Ultra. And only Nokia Lumia 1520 with a 6-inch FullHD screen has the same processor, twice the main memory and the best battery, but it runs on Win 8, and it's not entirely appropriate to compare two different ecosystems ...

PROS:

1. High-quality screen.

2. Excellent workmanship.

3. Protection against water.

4. An abundance of various branded accessories from Sony.

5. Productivity for the future.

6. Docking station included.

MINUSES:

1. Lack of flash.

2. Very quiet speaker.

That's all ! Thank you all for your attention who have given their time to this review. Thanks to DNS for the review platform. Thanks to Sony for providing the smartphone for review.

One of the largest and yet thinnest smartphones we've tested

One of the largest and yet thinnest smartphones we've tested.

Equipment

There is nothing superfluous in the branded box. In addition to the whopper, you will receive a power supply, a microUSB cable, and a quick start guide.

Design

In the fall of 2012, only the lazy one did not joke about the dimensions of the then new iPhone, which were strikingly different from the previous model. Most of those jokes apply to the Xperia Z Ultra as well. This is exactly what the flagship Sony Xperia Z would look like if it was driven on a roller. The external similarity is maximum, only the dimensions have changed. The curvatures of the body, the slightly rounded corners and the austere but undoubtedly stylish design remain the same. In addition, the phablet is also waterproof and dustproof and is IP58 certified.

Most of the huge front panel is occupied by an equally large screen, surrounded by classic and not the narrowest frames.

The entire front panel is covered with protective glass, under which there is also a webcam, an event indicator, as well as light and proximity sensors.

All accessible connectors are located on the side faces and are tightly closed with plugs.

Except for the headphone slot, which is always open.

The right panel also houses a round power and unlock button, as well as a double volume rocker.

The entire rear panel is also covered with protective glass. She looks amazing!

Of the functional elements, there was a place on it only for the main camera. The NFC symbol is also applied there.

The smartphone weighs relatively little for its size - about 212 g.

The device is available in white, black and purple colors.

Display

It uses a 6.44-inch TFT-matrix with FullHD-resolution. To say that the Triluminos screen is gorgeous is to say nothing. The display has maximum viewing angles, natural color reproduction, high levels of brightness and contrast.

Watching movies on such a screen is a pleasure. And thanks to X-Reality technology, videos and photos will be displayed with less noise, even richer colors and clearer pictures.

Ergonomics

The Xperia Z Ultra is huge without a doubt. The device is large, but not heavy. And even if the smartphone does not fit into every pocket, its dimensions have for the most part had a positive effect on ergonomics.

Front and back edges are covered with scratch-resistant protective glass. As already noted, the case is protected from moisture and dust. And this is often one of the important components when choosing a smartphone.

The device lies well in the palm of your hand, but only a few can use it with one hand. On the other hand, the on-screen keyboard is so large that typing with two hands is easy. The layout has a lot of settings for personalization, input with a stroke, as well as typing with one hand.

The smartphone did not receive separate touch buttons, so the Back, Home and Open Apps keys are part of the interface. When watching videos in full screen, they prudently hide so as not to interfere.

Sound

The small speaker can easily compete with the acoustics found in tablets. The Xperia Z Ultra delivers loud, rich sound with excellent frequency balance. You can not only watch movies, but also listen to your favorite music without using headphones. Although in high-quality headphones you will get even more aesthetic pleasure from musical compositions, regardless of their genre.

A large number of parameters and settings will allow you to customize the sound to your liking. Or turn on the ClearAudio + mode for automatic optimization.

Interface and software

The device runs on Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system with a proprietary interface and a sufficient number of pre-installed applications.

The user is traditionally greeted by an unlock screen with widgets.

If protection is not selected, then you just need to slide your finger up or down.

You can create up to 7 desktops containing widgets, application shortcuts, and icon folders. You can change the background and also choose one of the color themes.

The touch keys perform their standard functions. But in the menu of open programs there are shortcuts to frequently used applications.

The shutter has up to 10 quick setting buttons that can be changed in the corresponding menu item, and the date and time are displayed, as well as active notifications.

In the applications menu, programs are located on the workspaces that appear on the right. A panel appears on the left that allows you to change the grouping and sorting of programs, find, remove or download new add-ons.

Pre-installed clients Evernote, Facebook, Messenger Hangouts, McAfee antivirus, NeoReader for reading barcodes and QR codes, OfficeSuite 7, as well as a file manager.

Smart Connect helps you connect digital devices to your smartphone and set up events.

SociaLife combines various web feeds and sites, as well as social networks for easy reading and news tracking.

Sony Select Is an online marketplace with recommended apps and games.

TrackID helps to identify the artist and the name of the song being played.

Update Center simplifies the process of updating the system and preinstalled applications.

In addition, applications are preinstalled for taking notes, meetings, copying and restoring the system, as well as creating drawings and sketches.

Performance

The smartphone is equipped with the latest mobile technology. It features a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 processor with four 2.2GHz Krait cores, an Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage expandable with a microSD card up to a maximum of 64GB.

In most synthetic tests, the gadget took first place in the ranking. And in everyday use, even half of the computing resources are not used, so the smartphone can easily cope not only with high-quality video, but also with the latest resource-intensive games. And when surfing the web, the pages are drawn almost instantly.

Camera

The main 8 megapixel camera is equipped with autofocus and digital stabilization, but did not receive a flash. You will have to use the screen as a flashlight. The maximum photo resolution is 3264 x 2448 pixels, and the video is 1080p, 30 fps.

The camera interface is as simple as possible and is not burdened with unnecessary settings and buttons. The application launches almost instantly, so you have every chance to capture even the most unexpected moment of everyday life.

A large number of modes are available to the user: automatic, normal, continuous shooting, graphic filters, scene modes and, of course, video shooting.

There are settings for white balance, exposure, sensitivity, as well as HDR photography and image stabilization.

Photos and videos are of high quality, natural color reproduction and minimal noise levels.

Examples of photos:

Sample video:

Communications

The standard set of interfaces for this year's top smartphones includes Wi-Fi 802.11b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS with support for A-GPS and GLONASS, as well as Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA technologies. All of them are included in the Xperia Z Ultra, which means there will definitely be no connection problems. In addition, there are 4G versions of the smartphone.

The set of wired interfaces is also quite standard. On the right side edge, behind a long flap, there are slots for Micro-SIM and microSD cards.

On the opposite side, at the top, there is a microUSB connector with support for MHL technology, and in the center there is a proprietary connector for connecting to a proprietary docking station.

Working hours

Despite the slim body, the smartphone has a non-removable lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 3050 mAh. It delivers unexpectedly long battery life, even with a gluttonous huge screen and powerful hardware. In order to fully discharge a smartphone, you need to talk on the phone for more than a day, watch a video for about 9 hours or browse the Internet.

In moderate use mode, which includes an hour of talking, a couple of hours of surfing the web, and one full-length movie a day, the device will easily last two days.

Power saving modes can significantly increase the operating time. This is especially true of the STAMINA function, which turns off the voracious Wi-Fi and mobile data when the screen is off.

Impressions

We were left with mixed feelings after using the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. A huge smartphone on the one hand, and a rather compact tablet with the ability to make calls on the other. In any case, the inimitable Full HD screen, powerful stuffing, nice interface and wonderful sound quality can hardly leave anyone indifferent. Moreover, instead of two gadgets, you need one. The main thing is not to be embarrassed when you answer a call.