Sony Xperia Z smart phones are displayed during a Sony news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 7, 2013. Reuters/Steve Marcus
Boasting a Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, the Xperia Z is the first smartphone to integrate a full high-definition 1080 x 1920p
five-inch display and can capture High Dynamic Range video plus 13MP stills photos
Sony has been criticized in the past for producing handsets that, though attractive to look at, struggle to hold their own from a technological point of view when compared with other Android phones, particularly Samsung. For its new flagship handset, the company has tried to squeeze in as many high-tech features as possible from its consumer electronics range, hence the focus on an HDTV-like display, advanced video capture and digital photography performance.
What's more, Sony has incorporated what it calls Battery STAMINA technology, which prolongs the phone's life between charges by automatically shutting down power-hungry apps when the phone is on standby and the company also claims the phone is dust- and water-resistant to the point where it could be left to sit submerged in fresh water (to a depth of 1 meter) for up to 30 minutes without any ill effects.
As with all of Sony's latest high-specification consumer products, the Xperia Z is NFC-capable to enable wireless sharing between other Sony devices including Smart TVs, wireless speakers and tablets and offers 4G LTE connectivity.
The 7.9mm thick handset will launch globally in the first quarter of 2013 and will come ‘out-of-the-box' with Android 4.1 with an operating system update to 4.2 Jelly Bean to follow soon after.