Join the 500,000+ people using Shoeboxed to streamline accounting and bookkeeping. Turn a pile of receipts into digital data to save time, money and hassle.
Thin is certainly in, at least where gadget design is concerned, and although other Android-handset manufacturers claim to have the thinnest model, Sony has swooped in with a large phone that really is thin. The company that brought us the Walkman and the PlayStation likely figured that being the thinnest phablet on the market would give the Xperia Z Ultra an edge over its large competitors. Not quite.
Sony's latest entry in the smartphone market, the Xperia Z Ultra is as big as big phones get—and, as I mentioned, it's also the thinnest. But while it comes equipped with some powerful internals, it misses the mark on other features that could have made this enormous Android handset a winner among phablets.
When big phones become ridiculous
Image: Michael HomnickWhoa! That's a really big, really thin phone.
Sony used to be at the forefront of gadget design, but its recent line of Android handsets seems to be stuck in time. At least you can't say the company is inconsistent.
The Xperia Z and ZL handsets were rectangular and awkward to hold, and even though their glass exteriors were more pleasing to look at than Samsung's polycarbonate creations, they still felt antiquated in their design. Sony stuck with the same angular body for the Xperia Z Ultra, but flattened it out so that it's extremely thin. Unlike the HTC One Max or Nokia's Lumia 1520, it's not at all bulky or heavy to hold, but it does feel too dainty, as if I could bend it in half if I really tried.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon