News & Reviews:   Sony Xperia Z

This time around it is Celcom's turn to offer the Sony Xperia Z with two new plans added to their already quite large number of plans. These new plans are the Mobile Internet mPro + Celcom First Voice and Celcom First mPro Plus + FREE 60 minutes + 60 SMS.

Combining bundled data with voice calls and SMS, the Mobile Internet mPro plan offers 5GB of Data at RM88 with a choice of Prime 40, Premier 80 or Elite 150 Celcom First Voice plans for the price of RM1288. The Celcom First mPro Plus plan offers the same 5GB of Data at RM88 with Free 60 minutes and 60 SMS at RM1388. Both mPro plans are for 24 months and have penalty fees for early termination of the contract.

Sony Xperia Z fans out there should rejoice as U Mobile is now offering the smartphone for as low as RM999 on the U Premium bundle or from RM1688 to RM 1488 via their U58 and U88 bundles respectively. The U Premium bundle in particular offers the Sony Xperia Z at a subsidized price of RM999 with a monthly of RM187 and 5GB worth of data. Bear in mind that the U Premium bundle is only available for the first 50 units of the Sony Xperia Z only and that the U58, U88 and U Premium bundles are going for 24 month contracts.

As reported earlier here at Mobile Mega Mall, some Sony Xperia Z owners have been affected by a sudden shut down bug, causing their Sony Xperia Z smartphones to shut down randomly for no reason. The fix for this bug has just been released by Sony with the first-time update of the Sony Xperia Z.

Users affected by it can download the update over-the-air or through the PC Companion App but according to Sony the update will be released in stages for now (so don't be too impatient).

Despite being waterproof, scratch-proof and dust-proof, the new Sony Xperia Z isn't completely proofed from every threat as some owners are finding out. These owners are reporting that their Sony Xperia Z smartphones are shutting down for no reason and then not turning back on again. Some have reported success at bringing them back online by doing a hard reset (through a combination button press of the power and volume buttons) but some have not been successful. So far there have been no indications as to a common reason why something like this could have happened.

Following the release of their flagship Sony Xperia Z, Sony has released the Xperia L. This mid-range smartphone was designed as the upgrade for the Xperia U and while it features many of the same tech specs it comes with a larger screen along with a better camera. Tech specs for the Sony Xperia L include:

• 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4.3-inch TFT screen (854 x 480 pixel resolution)
• 8GB of storage + microSD slot
• 8MP camera (Exmor RS sensor, HDR video recording)
• 1900 mAh battery
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• NFC capable

Sony's hype onslaught continues for the Sony Xperia Z with this unorthodox "review" of the Sony Xperia Z smartphone's water resistant capabilities. Us long time reviewers were having a good laugh at it but we're not sure how it would make the hot pot taste afterwards. ;)

Sony Xperia Z Pros:

Stunning display quality from the full 1080p screen, supported by the Bravia Engine 2 (the same engine used in the Bravia range of TV's). The 5" screen boasts post-400 PPI, or Pixels Per Inch. The large screen allows for an even wider range of apps to be used on the phone that may be cumbersome or unwieldy on smaller-screened smartphones. Uses Dragontail, a new glass technology engineered to combine a thin screen with tough protection, and of course it's scratch resistant.

Water resistant up to 1 meter and dust proof, with Ingress Protection ratings of IP55 & IP57. The 13-megapixel camera takes very impressive pictures even in low light, in part thanks to the mobile Exmor RS sensor. Screamingly fast 1.5GHz quad core processor can run multiple apps at once with barely a murmur.