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Sony Xperia Tablet Z hands-on

posted by Ray S. / Feb 25, 2013, 11:53 AM

One of the most intriguing devices at this year's Mobile World Congress was definitely the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. The legendary Japanese company has tried its luck in tablets before with the Tablet S and Tablet P, but even though those models weren't so bad, they failed to generate any significant buzz. But it looks like Sony isn't willing to give up. The manufacturer is back once again with a new, and this time we believe it has a much bigger chance for success.

The Xperia Tablet Z is a remarkable tablet for many reasons. First, we really like its design, as it's extremely thin and light... for the size, that is. And it's not a small tablet. The Tablet Z features a 10.1-inch display, so it's definitely among the bigger tablets out there. Oh, by the way, speaking of the screen, the device has a spectacular resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, which makes for the awesome pixel density of 224 ppi. This may not sound like much, but it's actually very good figure for a big tablet screen. In addition it's also powered by Sony's Reality Display technology and the Mobile Bravia II engine, so you can be sure that videos and pictures will look very well on the screen of the Tablet Z.

As we said, the device is quite light for its size. At only 17.46 oz (495 g), it really is among the lighter tablets in its class, which we really appreciate, because weight is extremely important in the tablet world. You know holding a big tablet with one or even two hands while trying to use it at the same time can be a bit difficult or tiring, so the lighter the weight the better.

You won't notice much customization with regards to the software running on the device. It comes straight with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and even though Sony has added a thing or two here and there, it's really nothing that can hamper your experience. The manufacturer has customized some icons, and has also added some sweet functionality like the small apps, which can be brought up from an expandable dock at the bottom of the screen. Think the mini-apps from Samsung's Galaxy Tab series. Another custom feature is the remote control, which can be used to control a compatible Sony TV.

While we were testing the device, we noticed that it had very little to no lag. Actually, it performed superbly, and this was reflected in the preliminary benchmark test that we ran. Running Quadrant Standard on the Tablet Z, we got a score of 7856, which is a great result for a device with that kind of screen resolution. The Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor under the hood is really doing a good job here, and with the 2GB of RAM available, it's just one very well equipped device.

Unfortunately, Sony hasn't announced any release timing for the Xperia Tablet Z, and we sure hope that it won't be long before the manufacturer launches the product on the market. For now, we're just very excited about it, knowing that it's so well built and appealing, and are definitely looking forward to testing a final, retail unit of the Xperia Tablet Z!

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

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PhoneArena Rating:

9.0

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.3

Based on 8 Reviews

Display 10.1" 1920 x 1200 pixels

Camera 8.1 MP / 2.2 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Quad-core, 1500 MHz

Storage 16 GB + microSDXC

Battery 6000 mAh

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29 Comments

1. XPERIA-KNIGHT unregistered

finnally, a tablet that is acutually worth my money AND interest! i think would gladly pay 400 for this tab..... do a comparison between this and the nexus 10 guys, please and thank you :)

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:07 PM 10

9. PhoenixWright

Posts: 102; Member since: Feb 11, 2013

Yeah, it's worth my money too. If I had any as of the moment :D

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:05 PM 2

12. nikenturd unregistered

You must be rich, this damn tablet is priced in a Sony fashion lmao

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:37 PM 5

16. cheetah2k

Posts: 2297; Member since: Jan 16, 2011

Massive border. Bring a tablet with edge to edge display and I'll jump at it!

posted on Feb 26, 2013, 3:01 AM 0

2. emadshiny

Posts: 1144; Member since: Dec 05, 2012

perfect tab

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:12 PM 9

3. BigBoss10

Posts: 279; Member since: Aug 31, 2012

This year Sony ROCK!!

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:18 PM 11

4. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

It's a gorgeous tablet. Too bad it is not $399 and too bad the Xperia Z is too big or I would have traded my Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 combo for this. They should have also kept the Tablet S design and the 9.4 inch screen size. I loved everything about the tablet S except for the screen resolution.

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:24 PM 6

11. BattleBrat

Posts: 1476; Member since: Oct 26, 2011

I love the 9.4" screen too, did you know the Xperia tablet S is only one of a few tablets that will fit in an iPad sleeve? And with it's ability to use full sized SD cards I can have 192GB (64+128) on the go! Thing is the Z is larger, and since I'm carrying around two tablets (Three if I take the surface pro along) I wonder if the reduced weight would compensate for the larger size.....

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:26 PM 0

5. DigitalMD

Posts: 226; Member since: Feb 17, 2010

Big yawn...... if its priced above IPad, no one will buy it , so why bother making it. By the time they cut the price due to lack of sales it will be outdated.

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:31 PM 0

19. pyradark

Posts: 895; Member since: Jun 10, 2012

sorry poor!!

posted on Feb 26, 2013, 5:27 AM 0

6. DigitalMD

Posts: 226; Member since: Feb 17, 2010

SO Sony will sell ten of them for $600 each and drop support. You like that? Buy it.

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:44 PM 1

7. erdpov

Posts: 67; Member since: Dec 07, 2012

Sony is about to fall again after s4 presentation. No chances. Another fail.

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:49 PM 3

8. emadshiny

Posts: 1144; Member since: Dec 05, 2012

come on, this is a tablet whats the relation between this device and S4 butthurt fanboy

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 12:53 PM 8

10. erdpov

Posts: 67; Member since: Dec 07, 2012

Sammy knows how to win, remember 2010 year. When the first ipad was released, it was such a hit. Sammy's tablet was much worse BUT they redesigned it and made the real contender to compete with ipad. It happened so quickly that people were surprised how could the company to make a completely new tablet so instantly. It's sammy's custom concentrate and to release something really strong enough to defeat its glorious enemies)))

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:26 PM 2

14. UrbanPhantom

Posts: 949; Member since: Oct 30, 2012

You have to give Samsung it's credit: nobody copies Apple technology better than the South Koreans ;o)

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:47 PM 6

29. heyhi

Posts: 137; Member since: Feb 19, 2013

Apple fanboy detected! before you say sammyfanboy, yes i'm a fan of sammy, but also most android phones...what technology r u talking about? the design i agree, but tech?? you're tripping...or yes, i forgot, applefanboy...what about htc? did they "copy" apple's tech?? thats what apple says...do you agree??

posted on Feb 26, 2013, 9:00 PM 0

13. darac

Posts: 2156; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

IPad got so trashed by this, both in the build quality and design department. How about that. Seriously, I can't find any flaw on this tablet.

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 1:47 PM 5

15. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

Wait till you hear about the price :)

posted on Feb 25, 2013, 2:05 PM 0

17. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

Told ya! :)http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sony-Xperia-Tablet-Z-pricing-and-availability-info_id40232

posted on Feb 26, 2013, 3:42 AM 0

21. pyradark

Posts: 895; Member since: Jun 10, 2012

for a water,dust & shatter proof!! so what with the price. atleast you get somethin New than the old lame iPad hahaha BOOM

posted on Feb 26, 2013, 5:30 AM 2

18. kobainez

Posts: 454; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

I didn't see any comments from sammy fanboys or sony haters about the viewing angles... The screen must be really good and has good viewing angles. Definitely IPS