Review: Sony Xperia Tablet Z

Out of the box the two most noticeable things are how light it is and how it has a nice screen, which is suitable for watching home movies or videos. A resolution of 1920×1200 is not up there with the latest iPad, but only a true technology trainspotter would notice the difference – trust me, it is still pretty impressive. Where we were less impressed was its camera. The rear facing one is 8 megapixels while the front facing one is 2.2 – pretty standard fare, but the pics we took seemed a little grainy. Ditto with the HD recording. Again, thought it Ok, but not overly impressed. To be fair, video and still camera recordings have always been add-ons as opposed to a main feature of the functionality of the device.

 

The speakers are Ok, but again, not the best out there in tablet-land.  Okay for watching a movie, but if you want to play some sounds via the FM radio app or Walkman, don’t be too disappointed if it comes out sounding a little tinny.

 

It comes will all the expected apps on the user interface – Skype, news and weather, Linkedin, gmail, Google+ – you know the score.

 

Overall, if you’re after a tablet that offers most of what every other one does, but am prepared to pay a little more for the waterproof feature, then the Xperia Z could be for you. Is it ground-breaking and sticking its head above the parapet compared to other tablets out there? Not really, but it’s certainly worth consideration along with the other main players in this increasingly crowded marketplace.

 

Pros: Great screen, waterproof, good battery life
Cons: Takes a while to charge, a little pricey

 

3.7 Shacks Out Of 5

 

RRP: From $549 (wifi 16GB version)