Sony Xperia Z: a tough phone that can take the knocks

If you've ever dropped your mobile down the loo, into a glass of lemonade, or the Jacuzzi, then you spend far too much time on the phone. If you can't let go, then the Sony Xperia Z is a dream come true.

The phone is waterproof and can withstand half an hour underwater, while also taking pictures and video. But keep it in the shallow end, as it can withstand only 1 metre of water. It is also dust and sand-resistant, but every access point is covered with a flap, which becomes tiresome whenever you want to charge the phone or insert the headphones.

At first glance the Xperia Z is an attractive phone, slim and shiny with a tough tempered glass front and back. The glass is robust and has so far endured no damage rustling around in my handbag - always a top-grade test since the previous Xperia model and every other smartphone I've had have sustained a few scratches after just a week in my bag.

The Xperia Z runs Android's Jelly Bean operating system and has a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor with a Sony Bravia Mobile Engine 2. It is a powerful phone and applications run quickly and smoothly.

The hefty 5.47x 2.79inch full HD screen is sharp and bright and with a 13 megapixel Exmor camera, pictures and videos are crisp. Just stay away with greasy fingers. The glass surface is a magnet for fingerprints.

The phone weighs 146g and has an expandable 16GB of storage.

The Xperia Z is supposedly the best of Sony in a smartphone. The company claims to have whittled all its expertise in imaging, display and entertainment into the phone. It has done a decent job, but it is hard to pinpoint one standout feature. It will face a tough time competing with Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's One, both of which have set the bar higher in the innovation stakes, but the Xperia Z is sharp enough to contend with them.

thamid@thenational.ae