Sony Announces New Super-Sized Phablet the Xperia Z Ultra

Sony is the latest company in the increasingly growing number of companies producing out monstrously large phones. The new phablet, the Xperia Z Ultra has a giant 6.4 inch Full HD display and the latest SnapDragon 800 processor.

The Xperia Z Ultra happens to be amazingly thin, in fact, it’s the world’s thinnest 1080p Full HD display smartphone at only 6.5mm. It is quite heavy though, at 212g.

The Xperia Z Ultra’s 6.4 inch display comes with Sony’s new X-Reality and OptiContrast tech and is of Full HD 1080p resolution. It’s also super-sensitive just like the new Lumias and Galaxy S4, which means you can virtually use any object to work on the phone, including pencils.

The Xperia Z Ultra is the world’s first phone to pack a SnapDragon 800 processor. It comes with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal expandable storage. The back hosts a 8 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video recording and HDR mode. LED Flash is missing here unfortunately.

The Xperia Z Ultra happens to be water-resistant. It comes with IP58 certification which means it can dive deeper than 1 meter for more than 30 minutes.

The phone runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Here are the full specs of the Xperia Z Ultra:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 6.5mm thick
• Weight: 212g
• 6.4 inch display with 1080p Full HD resolution
• Super-sensitive, shatterproof display
• IP58 certified water-resistant
• 2.2Ghz quad-core SnapDragon 800 processor
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 16 GB internal expandable storage
• 8 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD and HDR mode
• Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, USB-OTG, NFC, 4G LTE
• 3050 mAh battery

The phone will be available in Q3 this year for a price tag of 719 Euros which will be equivalent to around PKR 95,000. That price tag might be tough to swallow but due to its high-tech specs, it will probably find quite many buyers.

Sony Announces the Second Iteration of its SmartWatch

Sony is taking another shot at wearable technology by announcing the successor to the not-so-successful original SmartWatch, the SmartWatch 2. The new SmartWatch 2 packs a 1.6 inch display with 220 x 176 resolution.

The new watch features an aluminium redesign and will be able to take phone calls, read messages and emails, use mapping services, show social networking updates, controlling music and more. Controlling presentations and using the watch to take photos through the phone will be possible too.

Just like the new Xperia Z Ultra, it is also water-resistant (IP57 certified). It comes with built-in NFC, microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 3.0 for connectivity. The latter is used to connect with almost all devices running Android 4.0 or later. 

The battery life is quoted to last about 4 days on average usage. It can also work as a normal watch when not connected. According to Sony, there are over 200 unique apps currently available for the watch.

The SmartWatch 2 will be available from September onwards and will come with a large range of wristbands (along with a stainless steel band which comes along in package). Pricing details are unknown though.

HP Announces the Slate 21 All-in-One Android Tablet

The notion of using tablets as your primary computers has been much considered lately but never went beyond the point of, well, a notion. HP however thinks different and it’s just because of that precise reason that they’re announcing the new Slate 21, which is an Android Jelly Bean-running tablet with a 21 inch display.

The Slate 21 even comes with its own keyboard and mouse.

The specs

The star of the show in the Slate 21 is its gorgeous 21 inch IPS display with Full HD resolution, promising crystal clear images. The display is also a touchscreen, naturally, and supports pen input. Behind it is the kickstand which can be toggled in a variety of positions.

Under the hood is a Nvidia Tegra 4 processor running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. An unknown amount of RAM is welded inside the tablet along with unknown amount of storage but does come with a SD card slot.

For connectivity, the tablet uses Ethernet, 3 (full-size) USB ports, Wifi and headphone jack. It must also be taken into consideration that the tablet doesn’t come with a battery inside and thus, is required to be connected to power at all times. That’s still not bad though as this tablet wasn’t meant to be portable in the first place.

The Slate 21 comes with dual speakers. It will also come with its own keyboard and mouse so HP is trying its best to make you feel at home.

The tablet will be available is September for a very tempting price of $400.

Huawei Unveils the MediaPad 7 Vogue Tablet with Call Functionality

Huawei has outed yet another tablet in its MediaPad line of Android tablets. The new MediaPad 7 Vogue is a 7 inch tablet with a quad-core processor and the ability to make voice calls.

The tablet’s 7 inch display comes with a resolution of 600 x 1024 pixels, which is just fine considering the price bracket. The design is a bit bland too. The OS running is Android 4.1 customized with Emotion UI.

Beneath the surface though is a 1.2Ghz quad-core Cortex A9 processor with Huawei’s K3V2 chipset. The amount of RAM set is 1 GB while there’s 8 GBs of internal storage too (expandable via a microSD card slot).

At the back is a 3 megapixel camera. For connectivity the phone uses Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0 and Wifi Hotspot.

Here are the full specs of the tablet:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI
• 7 inch display with resolution of 600 x 1024 pixels
• 9.5mm thick
• 335 grams heavy
• 1.2Ghz quad-core Cortex A9 processor
• 1 GB RAM with 8 GB expandable internal storage
• 3 megapixel camera
• Front-facing camera
• Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB 2.0, Wifi Hotspot, GPS, DLNA
• 4100 mAh battery

The MediaPad 7 Vogue will be launching this month. Pricing details can only be guessed at the moment but looking at Huawei’s history, we are almost certain that the  MediaPad 7 Vogue won’t be costly.

Samsung launches Ativ Tab 3 and dual boot Ativ Q Tablet

Samsung launched a number of new Android and Windows 8-powered devices at a special event. The list includes Android-based Galaxy NX camera, the Ativ Q Tablet and the world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet, Ativ Tab 3.

Ativ Tab 3 is a Windows 8 tablet which Samsung claims is the world’s thinnest at only 8.2 mm thick.

The 10.1 inch screen with 1366×768 pixels is bundled with SPen and is powered by an Intel ATOM Z2760 processor, 2GB RAM and 64GB Hard Disk Space. The device also has one micro USB 2.0 port, micro HDMI and a slot for a micro SD card.

Ativ Q is another Windows 8 tablet that comes with dual-boot ability, which means that it also runs Android 4.2.2 side by side. Not only will the users could access Android apps via Google Play but also be able to transfer files from Windows 8 to Android.

According to Samsung Ativ Q has the world’s highest resolution. It has a QHD+ HD screen at 3200×1800 pixels at 275 ppi for the 13.1-inch screen size. It is powered with an Intel Core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 4400, has 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD and provides up to 9 hours of battery life.

Both Ativ tablets have SideSync which allows users to switch from PC mode to an Android-based Samsung smartphone.