Sony and Verizon Wireless have had an erratic relationship. While Sony's phones and tablets are generally considered high quality, the phone company hasn't wanted to invest much in CDMA devices. So we saw a few Sony phones on Verizon back in 2005, then the unusual Xperia Play gaming phone in 2011 - then nothing.
Well, Sony's back, and Verizon says this time it's to stay. It's not coming with a phone, though: Verizon will be the exclusive carrier for the LTE version of the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet, a high-end, waterproof Android tablet.
Sony Z2 and Tablet Z2 hands-on
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There's bloatware, of course. This is an Android 4.4.2 tablet with Sony's and Verizon's additions. (Verizon didn't have anything to say about a potential Android L upgrade.) Verizon's contributions include NFL Mobile, an account manager and Redbox Instant, which adds to the various movie-downloading options on the tablet. The tablet will also come with a three-month subscription to Sony's music-streaming service and six pre-selected movies including The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain Phillips, and This Is The End.
Most striking about the Xperia Z2 Tablet, as was the case with the Xperia Z Tablet as well, is how thin the device is. With a thickness of just 6.4 mm and weighing just 439 grams and an even lighter 426 grams for the Wi-Fi only version, Sony once again manages to pack in top of the line specifications in a sleek and light body. While it can get quite tedious to lug around a 10-inch tablet, the amazingly low weight of the Xperia Z2 Tablet makes it a pleasure to work on, even for long periods of time.
Not much has changed between iterations as far as the design language is concerned, but the sides are smoother and more rounded, which not only looks better, but makes the tablet easier to hold. The large bezels make a return as well, that makes the 10.1-inch display of the device actually seem small, but on the flip side, it allows you to hold on to the tab very easily, without running a risk of accidentally tapping on something on the screen.
It's become a bit of a cliche, but a year really is a long time in technology. Less than 12 months ago, Sony launched the ridiculously slim, light, and powerful Sony Xperia Tablet Z, and it seemed like a tablet ahead of its time.
Now the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is here with subtle improvements across the board. But while it remains a stylish and accomplished 10.1-inch tablet, the arrival of some outstanding competition in the intervening months has left it feeling a little less special.
The Xperia Z2 Tablet is competing at the top of the full-sized tablet tree, with prices starting from 399 (around $660, AU$710) for the 16GB model, and the 32GB unit costing 449 (around $745, AU$800).
That's the same price as the iPad Air, and is a similar price to the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 (which you can currently get online for less than its 449 RRP). With two of the strongest full-sized tablets around as its main competitors, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet really needs to step up its game.
Sony hasn't messed with the basic design of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z here, and that's just fine by us. Now in a slightly slimmer, lighter shell, we have no compunction with calling the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet the best-looking Android tablet on the market.
I found that this plastic edging was susceptible to marking. A relatively light contact with my MacBook when carrying both together left an unusual dink running across both white and silver plastic sections - something you feel probably would not have happened with a Samsung tablet, and certainly not with an iPad.
The tablet's main camera lens is placed right in the top left corner. In other, bulkier tablets this can lead to some irritating finger-in-shot moments, but thanks to the Xperia Z2 Tablet's slight build, I never found this to be a problem here.
Elsewhere, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet's edges are unusually featureless. Other than the 3.5mm jack on the bottom left (which can be awkward if you want to prop up the tablet on a table with a set of headphones plugged in), and the slightest of ingresses for the charging dock connector (sold separately) to the right, it's all pretty much flush.
This helps with Xperia Z2 Tablet's tidy looks, but it can be a little irritating when you're scrabbling around to put it on charge - especially when you have the tablet's software warning you every time a port is opened.
That extreme skinniness has come at a slight cost however. While the iPad Air's metal body is incredibly sturdy, with little flex anywhere, the Z2 Tablet feels much less secure. It's not difficult to give the entire tablet a slight bend in your hands -- I don't imagine it would come off too well if it was accidentally sat or leant on.
That's not helped by the enormous black bezels which surround the screen -- 22mm on either side, to be exact. That's a hell of a lot of wasted space. Apart from making the tablet look like a less premium device (cheap slates often use wide bezels) it means the body is needlessly wide for the screen. Sure, it allows you to easily grip it without activating the touch screen, but I'm sure there's a happy medium.
Sony states that the tablet uses some of the same 'Triluminous' display technology from its line of TVs, which promise brighter, bolder colours. Whatever Sony has done, it works well. Colours are rich and deep, without looking bold to the point of being unnatural. If you're not keen on the colour balance, you can pop into the settings and tweak the hues to get something more to your taste.
Gameplay was very smooth in "Riptide GP 2", and I saw the same high frame-rates in zombie shooter "Dead Trigger 2" and in "GT Racing 2". There was generally very little I could find that the slate wasn't able to handle well. Whether you want a tablet to tackle the latest high-definition games from the Google Play store, or just want to watch Netflix or browse the Web on the sofa, the Z2 tablet will cope admirably.
It's not all good though. With more intense use (gaming, for example) the processor seems to go into overdrive, draining the battery incredibly quickly. It also seems to take much longer to charge up than I would normally expect to see. Those two points together meant that I regularly found the tablet lost power even when it was plugged in to the mains.
That's very worrying if you're down to your last few percent of life and desperately want to keep racing in Asphalt 8 as the tablet isn't drawing in enough power to make up for the amount it's using. Inevitably, the slate will just run out of juice and shut down.
It also doesn't seem to hold its power well in standby mode. When the screen was off, I found the tablet to have lost around 10 percent of its charge over a period of about four hours. Even if you only plan on using it for moderate use, you'll still need to pack a charger if you're going away for a few days.
Tucked into the top-right corner on the back of the tablet is an 8-megapixel camera. Having a camera on a tablet this size is arguably a little unnecessary -- you're not likely to be carrying it around all day using it as your main camera -- but it's handy for those quick snaps in the home that you'd miss if you were to spend time fishing your phone from your jeans.
The Verizon version of the Xperia Z2 tablet packs 32GB of internal storage and comes with a few free goodies from Sony, including 90 days of free music streaming via Sony's Music Unlimited app and six free movies to download from the Video Unlimited app. The free movies were a cool perk, but in standard definition, I didn't experience the "wow factor" of the super-HD screen quality and (full disclosure: as a Spotify user) the Music Unlimited trial didn't sway me from my existing streaming services.
If you've been hankering for a tablet to add to your wireless plan, the Sony Xperia Z2 is a mighty fine addition to the family. Its price may be steep, but keep in mind premium tablets with 4G LTE capabilities cost a pretty penny, and at its current $500 bundled price, the Xperia Z2 offers one of the best values.
Round the back the tablet is still noticeably plastic, which detracts from the premium price tag the Xperia Z2 Tablet is flaunting, and the level of flex in the frame when pressure is applied is a little disconcerting.
The Z2 Tablet runs on Google Androit 4.4 KitKat, which comes with voice-enabled search. The Pro Office Suite gives you a way to read and edit common word files and spreadsheets. It also includes backup and restore through SD card or USB storage to prevent data loss should the device become inoperable. The Play Movie and TV app and the Video Unlimited app give you instant access to additional content available for purchase and streaming. The Remote Control app lets you sync up your home TV or another device with the tablet so you can control it from your mobile tablet.
If I take the mid-range scores 694 (ST) and 1960 (MT) to be a fair representation of normal operations. Performance-wise, the Xperiza Z2 Tablet is comparable to the Nexus 7, the LG G Pad, which are two good tablets as well. On GFX (previously known as GLBenchmark), running the Manhattan and T-Rex tests in 1080p off-screen mode, the Xperia Z2 Tablet scored 11.7 fps and 27.2 fps respectively when freshly turned on with no other applications; and 11.6 fps and 27.5 fps after being in use for a while, with a few competing programs. The XPERIA Z2 tablet scores particularly well with legacy OpenGL ES applications.
After a series of disappointing releases, Sony found success in the tablet market with the Sony Xperia Z. Based on the Xperia Z phone, the tablet was a hit thanks in large part to its ultra-thin design and excellent display.
Underneath the flaps are a micro-USB port, microSD card reader and a microSIM card slot. The bottom edge is home to a pair of pogo pins that can be used in docking the tablet, along with a specially designed waterproof 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.
The lightly-skinned Android 4.4.2 KitKat interface hums along with nary a hiccup, and even hardware-intensive games run reasonably well. In a real-world tablet comparison, the difference is clear. The Sony Xperia Z2 easily outpaces the iPad Air and Galaxy Note 10.1 in virtually any task. 2ff7e9595c
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