Sony seems to be determined to remake itself as a manufacturer of high end mobile phones, and with news of the XperiaZ coming out of CES, it looks like Sony will have a winning handset on its hands.
To whet the appetite of those waiting for the new Xperia handset, Sony has posted transcripts of Q&A sessions it held online, and some of the details look nice and juicy. While you can visit Sony’s official product page for the XperiaZ, we thought these questions showed a good insight, in plain language, into what the XperiaZ has to offer.
When is Xperia Z launching in “my country”?
Xperia Z is launching globally this quarter (Q1) – we give local operators and retailers the chance to detail specifics on pricing and availability, so please check in with them for the latest info.
Will Xperia Z receive Android 4.2?
Xperia Z launches on JB 4.1, but will receive 4.2 shortly after launch. As always, we’ll share more info on this over the coming weeks on the blog.
Can you tell us about Xperia Z’s internal memory?
Xperia Z has 16GB’s worth of internal memory and supports every SD card up to 32GB – lots of internal memory but also the capacity for plenty of extra space should you need it.
How important is the water/dust resistance feature to the overall product?
It’s a quad-core smartphone with a 5″ full 1080p HD screen, HDR video & a million other features, water and dust resistance is just one of them. Research and feed back from consumers tells us that this is a requested feature in a smartphone, and we feel it really adds a unique aspect to the phone. We have put a lot of effort into including this feature in Xperia Z – without compromising on the stand out design. We believe we’ve simply built an amazing smartphone, that’s also water and dust resistant.
Can you suggest any Xperia Z functionality that might help with productivity?
Battery STAMINA Mode shouldn’t do productivity any harm, it can improve the standby time by four times or more. It’s really intuitive – apps are automatically shut down when your phone’s in standby mode and then fired up again when you turn Xperia Z back on. Having a phone that still works when others around you have run out of juice – that’s productivity for you.
Are there any standout camera features – can we see example imagery?
There’s too many to mention But, Superior Auto Mode has to be a personal fave!
Xperia Z’s camera comes loaded with many of the features found in Sony’s cameras – Exmor RS for mobile is also worth highlighting – it’s the world’s first image sensor with HDR video for smartphones. We’ll be posting example shots over the coming weeks, so you can see for yourself!
Can you tell us about the quality of the glass?
Unfortunately we can’t/don’t mention supplier brands by name, but Xperia Z uses tempered glass with an anti-shatter film on the front and back. It’s the same stuff that’s actually often used as a substitute in cars and industrial electronics! All in all, specs and strength are equivalent to Gorilla / Dragontail.
Is PlayStation Mobile available in every country?
PlayStation Mobile is currently available in selected markets, we’ll share more info on rollout in other areas as it happens.
How does Xperia Z fare as a gaming device?
Xperia Z is PlayStation Certified, and loaded with the latest Adreno 320 graphics chip and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor (clocked @ 1.5Ghz).
In short, this means mobile gamers have both the best in class content and hardware at their disposal for flawless gaming on-the-go.
When will different carriers get the coloured versions of Xperia Z?
Xperia Z’s colour range will vary by both market and carrier – more details on this will be announced over the coming months. Again, for more details on this, please drop your local operators a note.
Can you shoot video underwater on Xperia Z?
Sure – we’ve used Xperia Z to capture video underwater, the results were sweet. We’ll look at sharing some of this footage further down the line on the blog.
The anti shatter film on the front of the phone. Won’t that film be prone to scratches, unlike gorilla glass?
Like any phone now days, you’d buy a screen protector.
“a million other features” Umm really? Can we see them listed 😛
So if this phone can shoot underwater video, would one be correct to assume it also shoots photos underwater?
I honestly can’t wait for this phone to be released.
The more and more I hear and look at this phone I want it.
I just hope Sony dont get upstaged by what ever is announced at MWC. Just have to wait and see what turns up.
Sony seems to be pushing hard this year, and the Z phones are much more interesting than the Xperia S and Ion from last year.
Hopefully they sell a few before Samsung steps in and crushes all.