Sony Xperia ZL

SONY XPERIA ZL REVIEW

The Sony Xperia ZL has been available for purchase since March 2013, but we have yet to see the AT&T version which made its way through the FCC earlier that same month. Unfortunately for those who have been looking to pick up a subsidized version of the Xperia ZL, the only way to get your hands on the device. With the Sony Xperia ZL, the company decided to take a two-device approach to their flagship offering. We have the fully waterproof and impressive 5-inch 1080p powered Xperia Z. Then they dropped the slightly different, thicker, and not waterproof Xperia ZL in a shorter package. It’s available unlocked for US carriers as we speak, but today we’ll be giving it a closer look so read on after the break for our thoughts on this flagship top-tier Sony smartphone. The Xperia ZL’s design is simple but not basic, and elegant without being flashy. Edge-to-edge glass dominates the front, leaving just enough room for the earpiece and mic, with nary a navigation button in sight. Around back the textured plastic tapers just enough to let the speaker do its thing when sitting on a flat surface. A slight curve to the edges makes it comfortable to hold. Chrome lines this edge and surrounds the Xperia’s one distinctive feature: a round, metal power button in the middle of the right edge. It’s an unusual place to put that button as it almost ensures accidental pressing. Combined with the other two buttons on that same side – volume and camera shutter – the edge is a bit cluttered. Still, we admire the power button styling. The Sony Xperia ZL we have the exact same specs almost entirely that they delivered with the Xperia Z. Those include a 5-inch 1920 x 1080p full HD BRAVIA 2 powered display, which looks gorgeous and crisp. The entire device isn’t quite as long and the back lost the easy-to-break glass in favor of a textured rubbery back. You’ll still enjoy a 13 megapixel camera on the rear and a 2 MP shooter on the front, and the internals are the same too. The Xperia ZL extends Sony's smartphone portfolio at the top of the range.

SPECIFICATION & FEATURES

DISPLAY & SCREEN

Type:	TFT capacitive touchscreen
Display Protection:	--Contrast ratio: 1294:1 (nominal) / 2.352:1 (sunlight) -- Shatter-proof sheet on scratch-resistant glass --Timescape UI --Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 --Screenshot capturing
Technology:	TFT
Colors:	16M colors
Touchscreen:	Yes, up to 10 fingers Multi-touch
Size:	5.0 inches
Resolution:	1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel density:	441 ppi
Display Features:	Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass

BODY & DESIGN

Device type:	Smart phone
OS type:	Android
Dimensions:	(5.18 x 2.75 x 0.39 inches) / (131.6 x 69.8 x 9.8 mm )
Weight:	(151 g) / (5.33 oz)
Keys and Input Methods:	Capacitive touchscreen with on-screen QWERTY keyboard

GENERAL TECHNOLOGY

2G Network:	GSM 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz - C6502, C6503, C6506
3G Network:	HSDPA 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1700 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 MHz - C650, C6506 HSDPA 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 2100 MHz - C6503
4G Network:	LTE 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1700 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2100 MHz - C6506 LTE 800 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz - C6503
Data:	LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS
Positioning:	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Navigation:	Yes
SIM card type:	Micro-SIM
Announced:	07 Jan 2013
Released:	07 Mar 2013, Available

HARDWARE & MEMORY

Processor:	Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait
Graphics processor:	Adreno 320
System memory:	2048 MB RAM
Built-in storage:	16 GB storage
Card slot:	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC up to 64 GB

MULTIMEDIA & SOUND

Alert types:	Vibration; MP3 ringtones
Audio quality:	Noise -88.2dB / Crosstalk -88.9dB
Audio features:	--xLoud Experience – audio filter technology from Sony --3D surround sound --Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) --Music tones (MP3/AAC) --TrackID music recognition* --“WALKMAN” application --3D games --Motions gaming --PlayStation Certified --Sony Entertainment Network (selected markets only) --Video streaming --YouTube* --Facebook application*
Loudspeaker:	Yes, (Voice 74dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 82dB)
Headphone:	Yes
3.5mm jack:	Yes
Additional microphone/s:	Hearing aid compatibility: M3, T3
Music player: Filter by: Features:	Yes Album, Artist, Playlists Album art cover, Background playback, Music recognition
Radio:	Yes, (FM radio)

CAMERA

Camera:	Photo & Video
Primary  Camera quality:	13 megapixels, 4128x3096 pixels, (Exmor RS camera with photo flash and auto focus)
Flash:	Pulsed LED and Photo light flash
Aperture size:	F2.4
Features:	Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Auto focus, Touch to focus, Digital image stabilization, Face detection, Exposure compensation, White balance presets, Burst mode, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Sweep Panorama, Scenes, Effects, Image stabilization, 16x digital zoom, Red-eye reduction, Scene recognition, Self timer, Send to web, Sony’s Exmor™ R for mobile CMOS sensor
Primary video camera:	--Camera video resolution: 1080p (Full HD, 1920x1080) --Camera video frame rate: 30 fps --Video playback frame rate: 30 fps
Primary video camera features:	High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Video calling
Secondary camera:	Yes (2 megapixels), 1080p@30fps

CONNECTIVITY

WLAN:	Wi-Fi 802.11 (a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot)
Bluetooth:	Yes (v4.0 with A2DP)
USB:	Yes (v2.0 MHL)
Connector:	Micro-USB
Features:	Mass storage device, USB charging
HDMI:	via microUSB
Infrared port:	Yes
NFC:	Yes
GPRS:	Yes, (Up to 70.4 kbps)
EDGE:	Yes, (Up to 236.8 kbps)
Speed:	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
Other wireless connectivity:	Bluetooth wireless technology
Other:	TV-Out, NFC, DLNA Certified, MHL support, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, Infrared, GLONASS*, IR Remote, Media Go, Media Transfer Protocol support, Native USB tethering, PC Companion, Throw, Synchronisation via Exchange ActiveSync, Google Sync and Facebook, eCompass, NeoReader barcode scanner

INTERNET

Built-in Online services support:

YouTube (upload), Picasa

APPS

Pre-loaded applications:

--Google Play --Google search --Google Voice Search --Google Maps for Mobile with Street view and Latitude --Web browser (WebKit) --Google Talk application --Google Mail

FEATURES

OS:	Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset:	Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064
CPU:	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait
GPU:	Adreno 320
Sensors:	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer (C6502 only)
Messaging:	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
Browser:	HTML5
Phone Book:	Yes
Charging:	Charger
Call Records:	Yes
SMS:	Yes
MMS:	Yes
E-Mail:	Yes
Instant Messaging:	Yes
Predictive text input:	Yes, T9 input
Voice message:	Yes
Voice dialing:	Yes
Voice commands:	Yes
Voice recording:	Yes
Radio:	Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS:	Yes, (with A-GPS support and GLONASS)
Accessibility features:	TTY/TDD
Java:	Yes, (via Java MIDP emulator)
Colors:	Black, White, Red
Notifications:	Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Others:	--SNS integration --TV-out (via MHL A/V link) --Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic --MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player --MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV/Flac player --Document viewer --Photo viewer/editor --Voice memo/dial --Predictive text input

BATTERY

Battery Type:	Non-removable Li-Ion battery
Capacity:	2370 mAh battery
Stand-by time:	Up to 500 hours (2G), 20.8 days / Up to 500 hours (3G), 20.8 days
Talk time:	Up to 10.00 hours (2G) / Up to 13.00 hours (3G)
Music play:	Up to 40 hours
Battery life:	Endurance rating 44 hours

SONY XPERIA ZL PRICE

Price in USA $515

Price in UK £399