Up Close with Sony's Gorgeous New Smartphone and Tablet
BARCELONA — We’re just beginning Mobile World Congress, one of the largest tech exhibitions of the year, but Sony’s newly announced Z2 smartphone and tablet have taken an early lead in my pick for top gadgets of the show.
Sony makes gorgeous devices, and these are no different. The smartphone especially is one of the most beautifully built gadgets I’ve seen in some time. The centerpiece is a bright, beautiful five-inch display. The sides are metal and the back is a glossy glass.
The device is also surprisingly thin and light. The five-inch display is quite large, so far as smartphones are concerned, but you hardly notice the size of the phone when holding it. Same goes for the 10.1-inch tablet – Sony’s really got thinness down to a science with these devices.
What’s even more impressive is what these devices can do. The company sprinkled feature demos around the booth, including, most notably, a shielded centerpiece in which both Z2 devices were being doused by water fountains, but kept on ticking.
It’s great to see truly premium devices get the waterproof treatment. If you’re going to spend a good chunk of change on a gadget, it ought to be able to withstand what life throws at it.
The Z2 smartphone can also capture video in 4K, an ultra high-definition standard that is emerging on some expensive new televisions. While the Z2’s own display can’t handle ultra high-def, plugging the phone into a 4K TV does the trick – and thankfully, Sony had a few of those lying around.
For most consumers, 4K is a luxury at best. Few actually have a 4K TV at home, so there’s really not a lot of point in a device that can shoot in the format. Sony’s among the companies making a huge push toward the technology, however, and in the next few years, the price is likely to come down as adoption increases.
And when that time comes, the Z2 will be ready, shooting some truly gorgeous video.
