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Sony Xperia Z2 mobile fun - review

Cape Town - Sony wants you to think fun with the Xperia Z2 - billed as a waterproof smart device on sale in South Africa.

It's designed to go where you go and deliver a fun time doing it.

Living with the 13cm display Xperia is easy because the flagship smartphone performs as expected - especially when you consider the price range.

Under the skin is a blistering 2.3GHz quad core processor with 3GB of RAM, and checking for slowdowns on the current crop of apps is a bit redundant.

Xperia has been going through an evolution rather than revolution as Sony looks to grow its premium smartphone brand awareness.

As the Samsung smartphone juggernaut shows signs of weakness with softer than expected sales of the Galaxy S5, rival manufacturers sense blood in the water and Sony has been eager to show off the Xperia's street cred.

Photography

In terms of the waterproof boast, the Sony leads the industry and manages to look great doing so. None of that old-school industrial looking waterproof covers.

It's hard to believe that the elegant body is also tough (it survived a run-in with preteens with al-Qaeda level destructive power) and you don't have a cardiac episode if it falls into water.

But there's more: Sony has employed its Bravia television engine into the display into the Xperia, and it is deigned to add light to darker video as well as reduce glare from bright shots.

On the whole, it does what it says on the box, but some videos shot in the Superior Auto setting look a little artificial as the camera tries to compensate for low light.

Watch this video of a Sony executive explaining the top features of the Xperia Z2:


The 20 megapixel main camera with f/2.0 aperture takes mobile photography to the next level, and makes it difficult to see how digital point and shoot cameras are going to survive.

There is surprisingly little grain on the photographs taken in low light and there are a number of settings to keep you happy experimenting with lighting.

On the 4K video setting though, the phone takes mobile video to the next level and in addition, there are several manual settings to produce better images under a variety of conditions.

Price

On board, the Xperia has a number of editing tools for all those pictures you will no doubt take - some of them under water.

You can also display your pictures by location, folders or faces as facial recognition technology improves.

Sony is also driving at multiple screen content and the Z2 can automatically display content from connected devices on your home network in the Gallery.

You can also edit video on the phone though the tools are basic, it is an indicator that Google is building Android to increase functionality beyond simply making calls.

Of course the Sony Xperia Z2 retails in stratospheric territory and one naturally expects that it should be perfect.

It's a bit on the smartphone heavy side at 163g and Sony could have made the screen slightly larger as there is significant wasted space on the face of the handset.

As a bonus, the imminent launch of the Z3 means that there should be healthy discounts for the Z2 on the horizon.

The Xperia Z2 is available from FNB at R399 per month over 24 months. On Vodacom, it retails at R469 per month with 250MB of data, while MTN offers 100MB.

Watch a video of the Xperia Z2 taking a swim here:



- Follow Duncan on Twitter

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