CES 2013: 5-Inch Sony Xperia Z Announced, Supports Battery STAMINA Mode

Sony Xperia Z

After a long time of waiting, Sony finally announced its brand new flagship: the Xperia Z smartphone at CES 2013. This gadget has a 5-inch 1080p screen, a quad-core S4 Pro processor, a 13 MP camera and 4G LTE. What makes it special is the IP55 and IP57 dustproof and waterproof performance. What's more, the Sony Xperia Z supports a Battery STAMINA Mode, in which is 4 times runtime than in normal mode.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 139 * 71 * 7.9 mm
• Weight: 146g
• Display: 5-inch 1080p display
• OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, able to upgrade to 4.2 version
• Processor: 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon
• RAM: 2GB
• ROM: 16GB
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, HSPA+
• WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC supported
• Cameras: a 13 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front facing camera
• Battery: 2,330 mAh non-removable battery
• Release date: Q1, 2013
• Price: Unknown

Highlights

1080p display with BRAVIA Engine 2. Seems like a 5'' or even larger display has become the standard configuration for flagships nowadays. Look at those big screen monsters at CES 2013: Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD, Huawei Ascend Mate, ZTE Grand S, etc. And what makes the Xperia Z difference is the screen processing software from Sony’s HDTV range, Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2. This technology does real-time processing to make video content more bright, colorful and engaging on the 5'' TFT LCD HD Reality Display. Sounds sweet,right? It should be very comfortable to watch HD movies or play PowerPoint on Xperia Z, I think.

5-inch display with BRAVIA Engine 2

Battery STAMINA Mode. Equipped with a 2,330 mAh battery, the Xperia Z supports 14 hours  of UMTS talktime or up to 510 hours of LTE standby. Besides normal mode, an energy saving option called Battery STAMINA Mode was added to the phone as well. When Battery STAMINA Mode is turned on, background data will be turned off while the screen is turned off. User can manually select specific apps to a white list and makes them active, system will also learn user's habbit. When STAMINA mode is turned on, runtime can be extended up to 4 times.

IP55 and IP57 dust and water resistance. The Xperia Z is able to survive in clean water for up to 30 minutes without any problems.

Sony Xperia Z in the water

Aluminum power button. Sony's research found that the power button is average pressed by user 64 times per day, so an Aluminum made button would be more durable.

Variation. As the previous reports, the Sony Xperia Z has a variation model: Xperia ZL (former name Xperia X). The ZL model shares almost all of the specifications as the regular Xperia Z, but it's shorter, thicker and not waterproof. Which model with carriers would be available for the US market is currently unknown.

Xperia Z (left) and Xperia ZL

Sony hopes the flagship can put the company back on one of the top manufacturers on smartphone market. If the price strategy is reasonable, the Xperia Z could be a hot-selling gadget in this year. Furthermore, I think Google could picked Sony for the latest Nexus devices, just like last year's LG Nexus 4.


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