The tip top model in Sony's Xperia series is the Z1, but the Z Ultra is bigger by far, with a near-phablet-sized screen, tough glass waterproof casing and a supercharged processor, but a lesser camera.
It's on sale now for around £500 SIM-free.
Design It's quite the beast at 179x92x7mm and weighing 212g -- way too big for the average pocket, and slipping into phablet territory with its 6.4-inch screen. Like its Z brethren the casing is made of toughened glass, though without the Z1's aluminium banding. MicroUSB port, SIM and microSD card slots are all hidden behind discreet metal panels so you can immerse the Z Ultra to a depth of 1.5m for up to half an hour with no ill effects.
Sony says the screen is the world's largest full HD smartphone display and we can well believe it. Despite the screen's large dimensions, it manages to deliver a full HD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, which looks terrific whether you're watching HD movies or picking the small print bones out of complex websites.
Processor, software and Android The powerful quad-core processor is clocked at 2.2GHz and backed by a full 2GB RAM. Those are pretty big numbers, and sure enough, in a month of record breakers that's included the LG Optimus G2 and Sony's own Xperia Z1, the Z Ultra came out in front with an Antutu performance benchmark score of 35,066. The LG G2 scored 28,668, at the time the highest we've seen from any Android phone, beating the Galaxy S4 Active -- the next highest at 25,964 -- hands down. Basically, that means it's fast, and it certainly nipped through the menus at the speed of thought, opening apps very briskly indeed and with no obvious signs of lag whether we were opening busy web pages or putting pedal to the virtual metal in HD games like Real Racing 3.
The operating system is Android 4.2.2, which as advanced as you'll find at the moment anywhere outside Google's new Nexus 7. Sony's tweaks to the interface may mean that an update will take a while coming but you won't be missing out on much.
There's a healthy 16GB of memory on board but you can add another 64GB via microSD card.
Photography It doesn't have the new Xperia Z1's monster 20-megapixel camera, or even the Z's 13, but instead settles for 8 megapixels. There are quite a few settings to play with including scenes and effects aplenty and of course it comes with Sony's Exmor sensor for improved low-light shots. Picture quality isn't bad, but it pales in comparison with its cousins, struggling a little to cope in varied light conditions and suffering from lack of detail on occasion. Video records 1080p full HD at 30fps and there's a pretty good 2-megapixel camera on the front for video calls.
It's a big handset, with a big 3,050mAh to match, but don't expect miracles -- we got a good day's worth of heavy use out of it, but not a whole lot more.
Conclusion The Sony Xperia Z Ultra looks gorgeous but its size makes it very much a niche product. Too big to fit in a pocket, and too big for many to feel comfortable holding it to their ear for a phone call, it certainly isn't for everyone. But it's fast, and that screen is gorgeous -- if you want a phablet but don't want to carry a phone as well, it's worth a look. Otherwise consider the Xperia Z1.
Software Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly BeanProcessor Quad-core 2.2GHz QualcommMemory slot YesDisplay 6.4in TFT, 1920x1080 pixelsConnectivity Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0Ports microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jackCamera 8 megapixel with LED flash, auto focusand Exmor R sensor; 2 megapixel front-facing cameraVideo playback MP4, H.264, H.263, WMVAudio playback MP3, eAAC+, WMA, WAV, FLACRadio YesBattery 3,050mAhSize 179x92x7mmWeight 212g
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