Sony Xperia Z Ultra review: Thinking big

Introduction

With the Xperia Z Ultra, Sony is finally turning its attention towards a market segment it has avoided so far. The market headstart of their flagship Xperia Z along with the subsequent releases in the upper midrange has set quite a serious foundation for Sony's mobile phone business creating an excellent possibility for experimenting in a niche that has been invented and so far dominated by Samsung's Note series.

   
Sony Xperia Z Ultra official images

Of course, a 6.4" phablet stands little chance of matching the sales of a proper flagship such as the Xperia Z, but it's all about sending a message. And the message is loud and clear: "Be my guest, Galaxy Note III". There's more to it of course - it's about the company's level of confidence to venture into unknown territories. Indeed, it's not every day that we see a device that not only dwarfs the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, but is getting ready to challenge the Note III. It takes courage to stand up to the standard-setter but, at least on paper, the Xperia Z Ultra has the looks and the powerful hardware to pull it off.

Before we proceed any further, here's the cheat sheet for this review.

key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with 42Mbps HSPA; 150Mbps LTE
• 6.4" 16M-color 1080p capacitive touchscreen Triluminos display (344ppi pixel density); X-Reality engine
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with custom UI
• Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset
• 8 MP autofocus camera with geo-tagging, HDR
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
• IP 58 certification - dust resistant and water resistant
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA; Wireless TV out
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
• MHL-enabled microUSB port
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Gorgeous design and impressively slim waistline
• Ample 3050 mAh battery

Main disadvantage

• Unwieldy size for a phone
• Non user-replaceable battery
• No camera flash or camera shutter key
• Below average loudspeaker performance (probably due to the increased water tightness)
• No proper video playback decoders (XviD, DivX) out of the box

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is one beast of a smartphone (although at this size it already steps on tablet territory). The Snapdragon 800 chipset brings a meaningful performance improvement over an already very snappy Snapdragon 600, while the screen packs all the latest technology Sony has its hands on. The Triluminos display of 1080p resolution promises to solve the long-standing viewing angle issues in Sony's lineup, while the X-Reality enhancements means punchy colors and impressive contrast.

  
Sony Xperia Z Ultra at ours

With the screen and chipset bagging two industry firsts for the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, you'll forgive us for being overly enthusiastic at the start of this review. There's quite a lot to test still and we are itching to see Sony's latest brave our review routine. We start with the design and build right after the break, followed by a closer look at the display before we treat you to a lengthy tour of the UI.

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue review: Budget extravagance

Introduction

A bit odd actually that no one thought of it so far. We mean, the ultras come by the dozens, and so do the pluses, ones, plays and, obviously, droids. The question is though, do we need to be wary of anything called Vogue and coming from China.

Oh well, the MediaPad 7 Vogue isn't front-page stuff obviously - not the cover of the namesake magazine anyway which, apropos, has had a Chinese edition for nearly ten years now. But that's not the point, far from it. It's a tablet signed by Huawei, whose devices have been consistently delivering good bang for your buck.

    
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue official photos

While Huawei have been raising its own bar slowly but determinedly, the MediaPad 7 Vogue isn't actually an upgrade. The 7" tablet lineup is being built top to bottom obviously. The original MediaPad, which we quite liked more than a year and a half ago, was followed by a trimmed down MediaPad 7 Lite. In 2013, the MediaPad 7 Vogue joins the ranks alongside the MediaPad 7 Youth.

All those sequels are focusing on affordability - the screen resolution is down from WXGA (800 x 1280) to WSVGA (600 x 1024). On the other hand they're a tad more compact and lighter than the original, and powered by quad-core chipsets.

Here's what the Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue has to offer and what didn't make the cut.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; dual-band 3G with HSPA
• 7" IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen, 600 x 1024
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI 1.5
• SIM card slot with data and telephony support
• Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9, 16-core GPU; Huawei K3V2 chipset
• 1GB of RAM
• 3.15MP fixed focus camera, 720p video recording; VGA front-facing camera
• Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• 8GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot, side-mounted, hot-swappable
• microUSB port with USB host and MHL 2.0
• Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, EDR
• FM radio
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Plenty of juice in the ample 4100 mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• Lowest resolution to have on a tablet
• Reflective screen with poor sunlight legibility
• Screen lacks any sort of additional scratch protection
• No microHDMI port

It's the second generation of seven-inch MediaPads, but building on the predecessor in every way possible wasn't an option for Huawei. To get some breathing space in such a busy market, the MediaPad 7 Vogue had to strike a fine balance between its level of equipment and affordability.

Two generations of the Nexus 7 are tough competition even for reputable manufacturers like Samsung and Acer, but Huawei might as well have found a way to make their offerings relevant. It may look like they threw in the towel by settling for the lowest tablet resolution, but the MediaPad 7 Vogue isn't entirely clueless about what users want.

The full telephony capabilities, a side-mounted microSD card slot and solid battery life sound like the right things to put forward. Good thing the Vogue has kept the unibody design of the original MediaPad - who would say no to the good looks and solid build, entry level tablet or not.

 
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue live photos

Anyway, the build and finish are next on the menu, followed by the user interface and features. Shall we?

Sony Xperia M review: Morning show

Introduction

Sony has made some great entry-level Android phones, but it's been a while since we saw a new model. The Xperia M injects new blood into the segment with both single and dual-SIM options. Based on the trademark Xperia design, the M scores high on looks and build quality.

  
Sony Xperia M official images

The Sony Xperia M shares many of the design features that made its Xperia Z sibling such a looker, including the signature power key. It also has a hardware shutter key along with a couple of other features that are becoming quite rare in the smartphone world - a removable battery and a microSD card slot.

The Xperia M also offers a relatively big and sharp screen, 4" FWVGA of 245ppi, and a dual-core Krait processor, plus 720p video capture with its 5MP camera. These are specs that can be hard to find in the Xperia M's price bracket. Most entry-level Androids either have Cortex-A9 CPUs (or A5/A7), or record only VGA video or have sub-WVGA screens, which is why entry-level Windows Phone handsets are such an enticing alternative in the price range.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual or quad-band HSPA support
• Also available in a dual-SIM variant, called Xperia M dual
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixels) at 245ppi
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Dual-core 1 GHz Krait CPU, Adreno 305 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8227 Snapdragon chipset
• 1 GB of RAM
• 4 GB of built-in storage (2 GB user available)
• microSD slot (cards up to 32GB supported)
• 5 MP autofocus camera, single LED flashlight, geo-tagging, touch focus, HDR, hardware shutter key; VGA front-facing camera
• 720p @ 30fps video capture
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
• NFC support
• ANT+ support for connecting low-power wireless sports accessories
• GPS with A-GPS; GLONASS
• PlayStation certified
• Accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack; Walkman music player with many audio enhancements
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging)
• Built-in LED strip provides a breathing light and notification light
• 1,750mAh Li-Ion battery, user-replaceable

Main disadvantages

• Still and video camera quality not great
• No Mobile BRAVIA engine for the screen
• Screen has sub-par viewing angles
• Poor video codec support out of the box
• Limited internal storage for installing apps

Sony may have hit a spot that Samsung, LG and HTC haven't thoroughly covered, which bodes well for the young Xperia M. The optional dual-SIM is great too, since a good smartphone with a second SIM slot can prove harder to find than you would expect (with screen, camera and chipset considerations in mind).

The Sony Xperia M runs Android 4.1 with Sony's magic sprinkled over many of the apps, including a Walkman music player with a dazzling array of sound enhancement options, plus the Album and Movies apps, which have some unique media management skills.

   
Sony Xperia M in our office

The bold Purple and Yellow colors are a plus too, with an excellent, soft touch plastic on the back - a welcome break from black-or-white options and the prevailing glossy plastics. Hop over to the next page to see what's behind that back cover, as well as whether the screen and camera live up to the expectations and more.

Samsung Galaxy Core review: Two for one

Introduction

Dual-SIM devices are almost exclusively a money-conscious affair and the Samsung Galaxy Core sticks to the playbook. It's just that when you look to optimize you monthly mobile spending by taking advantage of two different contracts, you don't usually want to spend big on a high-end smartphone and look for value-for-money offerings.

Despite its sub-€200 price tag the Samsung Galaxy Core, which also comes in single-SIM flavor, still offers a dual-core CPU, very reasonable 217ppi screen and a 5MP camera, as well as a styling reminiscent of the Galaxy S4 flagship. And it's all squeezed in a 9mm slim body, which while no longer impressive in the higher market tiers is quite the feature with entry level smartphones.

    
Samsung Galaxy Core official images

The Android version is charge of the Samsung Galaxy Core is also very respectful - 4.1 Jelly Bean is basically as good as it gets in this price range. It should keep things nicely smooth thanks to its Project Butter Optimizations and it's easily more functional than Windows Phone 8, which is the main Android rival in the lower market segments.

The spec sheet is often louder than words so check it out.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; optional Dual-SIM with dual stand-by and 3G on both SIMs
• 4.3" 16M-color WVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen; 217ppi
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
• Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A5 CPU, Adreno 203 GPU
• 1GB of RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 480p video recording @ 30fps
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS
• 8GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• microUSB 2.0 port
• Bluetooth v3.0
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• 1,800mAh battery; user replaceable

Main disadvantages

• No HD video recording
• No NFC
• No ambient light sensor
• Feeble chipset

Of course the dual-SIM smartphone market is no longer the wasteland it was a couple of years ago, so the Samsung Galaxy Core will face some stiff competition. Devices like the HTC Desire 600 or Sony's Xperia M are ready to take advantage of any chinks in the Galaxy Core armor and when you read the fine print you realize there are quite a few those.

 
The Samsung Galaxy Core at HQ

The CPU core count and clock speed are quite nicely sounding, but its Cortex-A5 nature certainly puts a big question mark over the performance. And while we have seen some pretty good 5MP snappers from Samsung this particular one fails quite miserably on the video front.

Then again it's not about setting benchmark or pixel density records in these parts of the market. What matters here is that least corners are cut and the smartphone performance is well balanced. Those are the two things we are about to test right now - join us after the break as we give the Galaxy Core a thorough hardware examination.

Motorola Moto X review: Talk to me

Introduction

As the first smartphone developed entirely after Google's purchase of Motorola, the Moto X arrives under the spotlight carrying great expectations. The smartphone is Motorola's first multi-carrier, high-profile launch in the United States since the days when the RAZR was still a flip phone. More recently, the company's devices have mostly been Verizon exclusives in North America, but we are glad that's not the case with its latest flagship.

   
Motorola Moto X official photos

With the Moto X, Motorola has taken a rather unorthodox approach towards designing a top-shelf Android smartphone. Instead of focusing solely on putting together the most powerful hardware available on the market, Motorola's engineers have put more emphasis on ergonomics and software goodies. To top things off, the Motorola Moto X will be built in the United States with an unprecedented set of appearance customization options.

Here go the key features of the Motorola Moto X and its turn offs.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band UMTS/HSPA support
• 100Mbps LTE with a second dedicated antenna
• 4.7" 16M-color 720p RGB AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 316ppi pixel density; Gorilla Glass
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with stock UI
• Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon Pro chipset with dual-core 1.7GHz Krait CPU; Adreno 320 GPU;
• 10 MP autofocus ClearPixel camera with LED flash
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with HDR, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 2 MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
• Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi Hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS; GLONASS
• 16/32GB of built-in storage; 2GB of RAM
• microUSB port with MHL and USB host
• Bluetooth v4.0 LE
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Dual-microphone noise cancellation
• Touchless Control, Active Notifications
• Ambient light; accelerometer; proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Superb handling and overall ergonomics
• Moto Maker user customization program
• 50GB of free Google Drive storage
• 2,200mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• More expensive than more powerful competitors
• Non-expandable memory
• Non user-accessible battery
• Moto Maker is exclusive to AT&T at launch
• No FM Radio

Only a quick look at the spec sheet of the Motorola Moto X is enough to tell us that the handset is not the typical Android flagship. Based on hardware specs alone, the smartphone fits the shoes of today's lower mid-range Android offerings better.

Curiously, we can't help but see great similarity between Motorola's unusual approach towards the design of the Moto X and the philosophy used so successfully by Apple with the iPhone. The Moto X puts powerful hardware second, and focuses on ergonomic and user experience (the voice control operation) instead. It's certainly a gamble, but it's one that might pay off nicely.

The one Moto X feature which its manufacturer is boasting about the most is Moto Maker. It offers you the option to design your own Moto X by choosing from hundreds of combinations and you also get to tune your boot animation and wallpaper before you have even received the smartphone. It is a clear sign that innovation hasn't dried up at Motorola, but we are yet to see how well it will be received by the market.

   
Moto X live photos

As always, we'll kick the review off with an unboxing, followed by a design and build quality inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include some of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our home office and test lab. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the device in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!