Think of a leading phone maker. Apple and Samsung might come to mind — maybe even HTC, maker of the well-received One. But you’re probably not thinking Sony, a company better known for its TVs, cameras and video game machines.
With the new Xperia Z, Sony shows it can play in the smartphone big leagues.
The Xperia Z, unveiled Wednesday in the US, helps Sony catch up with offerings from Samsung and HTC, but one feature stands out: Its water-resistant shell means you can submerge the phone. That’s great if you’re a lifeguard, or if you’re prone to dropping your phone in toilets or spilling coffee near it. You can also take underwater video and use the phone during rainstorms.
Sony also enhances the Android operating system made by Google, without cluttering the phone, as Samsung Electronics and HTC do with their Android customizations. There’s still some junk from Sony and its partner, T-Mobile, but not a lot.
I particularly like the idea behind a battery-saving feature called Stamina. It’s supposed to block apps from checking for updates when your screen is off. Calls and texts will still come through, and you can add exceptions such as email and Facebook. In practice, I got a few email updates when I wasn’t supposed to, but the blocking seems to work most of the time, especially after I reset the phone to its factory settings. There’s also a separate feature for dimming the screen and turning off some functions automatically when the battery drops to a certain level.
The Xperia Z got attention when it was announced in January at the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas. It has been sold overseas, but hasn’t been available in the US until now. It’s one of the first major phones that No. 4 carrier T-Mobile is getting exclusively in the United States. T-Mobile US Inc. will start selling it next week, though you can get it right away from a Sony retail store.