Sony Xperia Z Ultra launched - Largest and Slimmest Full HD smart phone with IP58 Water Resistance

Sony has taken the covers off from its latest flagship device – Xperia Z Ultra which they claim to be the largest Full HD display ever fitted on a smart phone. With a massive 6.4″ screen, the Xperia Z is going head on with its phablet contenders particularly Samsung’s Galaxy Note II. Going big on display is just half of the story as it comes with top notch hardware and design. While smart phones with 6″ or higher isn’t entirely new, the Xperia Z Ultra display pushes a Full HD 1080p resolution which gives a respectable 342ppi. With the stylus becoming a trend with phablets right now, Sony has done something different with its advanced capacitive screen that recognises handwriting with a pencil or pen with a diameter of 1mm.

Powering the Xperia Z Ultra is the latest Quad-Core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor mated with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There’s a microSD slot to expand the storage that supports up to 64GB. Out of the box, it runs on the latest Android 4.2 operating system.

Design wise, it inherits the same omni-balance design of the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z with its waffer thin look with flat edges and rounded corners. Putting the trio together, the Xperia Z Ultra sits nicely in the middle offering tablet-like experience in a somewhat pocketable form. Thickness wise, the Xperia Z Ultra is the thinnest yet at only 6.5mm, which is 0.4mm thinner than the already super thin Xperia Tablet Z. In terms of width, the 6.44 incher is quite a stretch at 92.2mm compared to the 6.3″ Galaxy Mega (88mm) and Galaxy Note II (80.5mm). With a huge 3,000mAh battery, the Xperia Z Ultra weighs 212 grams.

Going with the water resistance bandwagon, the Xperia Z Ultra comes with water and dust resistance of IP58 rating which allows you to submerge underwater for deeper and longer duration than the Xperia Z. However the downside is that it lacks dedicated camera shutter button which might be a problem taking photos when submerged. Interestingly the headphone jack is exposed which means no annoying flaps when you use your headphone.

In terms of connectivity, the Xperia Z Ultra as expected comes with 4G LTE support like its high end siblings. However in the imaging department, it is a notch below the Xperia Z as they have placed a 8MP camera which strangely lacks LED flash. The Xperia Z Ultra comes in 3 colours – Black, Purple and White. It will be available commercially in Q3 2013. Stay tuned as we will be sharing our hands on experience soon.

Head after the break for official photos and videos of the Xperia Z Ultra.