Reviews
Photo Galleries
Guides
SMB
Startups
Trending Topics
Resources

Accounting Security Telco Laptops Tablets Smartphones Printers Storage

Reviews Photo Galleries Guides SMB Startups Trending Topics

Accounting Security Telco Laptops Tablets Smartphones Printers Storage

Resources

Log In

Email:

Password:

Remember me | Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register now!

See Sony's very, very big Xperia Z Ultra waterproof phone

It's waterproof, has a bigger screen than the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S4 and is one of the more interesting big-name smartphones we've seen in a while. See the photos of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

By Staff Writers on Aug 6 2013, 6:17PM

0 Comments

1 of 10

You won't see a lot of images like this involving big-name smartphones. Waterpoofing is something you can get for your iPhone by buying a special case, but the Xperia Z Ultra doesn't need one. So what does Sony mean by "waterproof"? Click to see the next photo to find out.

Sony claims the phone can be put 1.5 metres underwater for up to 30 minutes. You can actually use the phone while you've got wet fingers, according to Sony, so in theory if you need to make a call while you're working outside in the rain it should be ok. Interestingly, the claim about the phone being ok for 30 minutes underwater is for freshwater specifically. There's something else that makes this phone standout, which is....

...it's big. Look at that photo. So how big is it? The phone has a 6.4 inch screen, which is as you can see, makes it look more like a mini tablet than a phone. That's bigger than any iPhone, and even the Samsung Galaxy S4, which has a 5 inch screen. Sony claims it is the world’s largest full HD smartphone display. As we've found time and time again though, just because something is the "world's largest" doesn't necessarily make it a great phone.

For some perspective, here's what the phone looks like in a hand. If you do a lot of web browsing and prefer a large screen for things like reading documents and emails, then this might be quite handy. By the looks of it, it might also be lighter and easier to hold in one hand than an iPad and possibly even an iPad mini.

The screen resolution is 1920x1080p, which in theory means the screen is going to be very sharp. That's the same resolution as the well-regarded Samsung Galaxy S4. What else is interesting about this phone? Click for the next photo...

It's thin - thinner than a Samsung Galaxy S4 and thinner than an iPhone 5. The phone is 6.5mm thin. On the other hand, it's actually heavier than both of those phones (212grams, vs 112g for the iPhone 5). The price of having a larger screen.

Other important features: The Xperia Z Ultra is an Android phone (running version 4.2), and it has an 8 megapixel camera which takes some of the sensor technology from Sony's digital cameras, which stands it in good stead in terms of picture quality. Another feature also caught our eye...

...which is that you can use an ordinary pencil as a "stylus" on the touchscreen. This makes us wonder whether it leaves pencil marks all over the screen, but we assume not - you can find several video demos online showing this, and so far we haven't seen many comments addressing this. There's a feature which converts your hastily-written handwritten notes into text, which could be quite handy...if it works well.

We were interested to note this image among the official Sony press images. There are some very specialised waterproof phones built for "tough" environments, but we're willing to bet many tradies are happy with a "regular" phone. Will they be tempted by the Sony's waterproof (and dust proof) feature?

Battery life can be important when you're buying a phone like this. Sony is talking up the battery on this phone, but we're yet to see any battery life ratings, so this is something to look into before buying.

Linked Articles

Take a sneak peak at Sony's Xperia Z Ultra

Tags:

Hands on review: Huawei Nova 7i smartphone

Huawei Mate 40 Pro smartphone review

Poly Elara 60 W mobile phone station review

Newsletter Signup

Get the latest business tech news, reviews and guides delivered to your inbox.

I have read and accept the privacy policy and terms and conditions and by submitting my email address I agree to receive the Business IT newsletter and receive special offers on behalf of Business IT, nextmedia and its valued partners. We will not share your details with third parties.

Latest Comments

Poll

What would you like to see more of on BiT?

News

Reviews

Features

How To's

Lollies

Photo Galleries

Videos

Opinion

View poll archive

Most popular tech stories

# Kill all you see. The tragic, real world consequences of Facebook’s algorithms

Expect dramatic value chain disruptions every four years: McKinsey Global Institute

COVER STORY: Data centre sustainability scrutiny puts emissions in the spotlight

Didier Bonnet, Ray Wang, Kristine Dery, Gerd Schenkel and Bill Ruh tackle digital transformation

Cashless Australia?: Woolworths transactions hit 90 per cent digital, bank withdrawals tank, Paypal surges
Digital Nation has relaunched

State of IT

Telstra 'gamifies' cloud cost reduction efforts among internal teams

Coles keeps a close watch on its Azure cloud costs

Defence hands IBM $42m for SAP case management system
PwC Australia acquires Sydney MSSP WebSecure Technologies

MOQ Group names new CEO

Melbourne's Acurus helps update Bakers Delight to SD-WAN

HTC’s Focus 3 more than VR hype, say two Aussie resellers

Transpire taps Telstra Purple talent to lead foray into cloud
Giving water utilities IoT technology "freedom"

Digital tech is the future, but a new report shows Australia risks being left in the past

Microsoft joins with Nokia, SA govt to explore 5G, space tech opportunities

Under the pump over sewage leaks, TasWater turns to IoT

Telstra-led consortium to build out NSW's digital twin

OTHER TECH SITES: CRN | IoT Hub | iTnews

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Log In

Don't have an account? Register now!

Email:

Password:

Remember me | Forgot your password?

See Sony's very, very big Xperia Z Ultra waterproof phone

It's waterproof, has a bigger screen than the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S4 and is one of the more interesting big-name smartphones we've seen in a while. See the photos of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Linked Articles

Related Articles

Hands on review: Huawei Nova 7i smartphone

Huawei Mate 40 Pro smartphone review

Poly Elara 60 W mobile phone station review

Most popular tech stories

# Kill all you see. The tragic, real world consequences of Facebook’s algorithms

Expect dramatic value chain disruptions every four years: McKinsey Global Institute

COVER STORY: Data centre sustainability scrutiny puts emissions in the spotlight

Didier Bonnet, Ray Wang, Kristine Dery, Gerd Schenkel and Bill Ruh tackle digital transformation

Cashless Australia?: Woolworths transactions hit 90 per cent digital, bank withdrawals tank, Paypal surges

Digital Nation has relaunched

State of IT

Telstra 'gamifies' cloud cost reduction efforts among internal teams

Coles keeps a close watch on its Azure cloud costs

Defence hands IBM $42m for SAP case management system

PwC Australia acquires Sydney MSSP WebSecure Technologies

MOQ Group names new CEO

Melbourne's Acurus helps update Bakers Delight to SD-WAN

HTC’s Focus 3 more than VR hype, say two Aussie resellers

Transpire taps Telstra Purple talent to lead foray into cloud

Giving water utilities IoT technology "freedom"

Digital tech is the future, but a new report shows Australia risks being left in the past

Microsoft joins with Nokia, SA govt to explore 5G, space tech opportunities

Under the pump over sewage leaks, TasWater turns to IoT

Telstra-led consortium to build out NSW's digital twin

Log In