14 DAY TRIAL // After being heavily rumored lately, the Wi-Fi only version Xperia Z Ultra has been officially launched in Japan as a mini-tablet.
Sony has taken away the cellular radio capabilities embedded in the smartphone, and now offers a nice looking little tablet with high-end specs.
This strategy might not make sense for many, but at some level Sony knows what it’s doing. When originally launched, the Xperia Z Ultra came bundling one of the largest display seen in a phablet (6.4-inch 1080p screen).
Sony is apparently trying to blur the line between tablets and phablets, with the Wi-Fi Xperia Z Ultra which can conversely be thought of as a mini-tablet.
The device manufacturer is probably trying to draw customers in with a more economical version, a re-brand of a popular model that a lot of consumers are familiar with. The only problem might arise if customers end up confusing the two versions.
Apart from being stripped of its phone features, the new mini tablet sports pretty much the same features as the original Xperia Z Ultra.
The new Xperia Z Ultra tablet edition will come bundling a Snapdragon 800 MSM8074 SoC processor, Adreno 330 GPU, a beautiful 6.4-inch screen, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage. Moreover, there’s dual cameras on board (8MP camera on the back and 2.2MP in front)
The default operating system is Android 4.2 and there’s no information yet about Sony making any plans to update the new tablet to Android 4.4 KitKat.
Sony says the screen is perfect for streaming crisp video or other content on the “big screen” or even reading eBooks.
Those interested in grabbing the Wi-Fi Xperia Z Ultra should know the product will be available starting January 24 for a price of $498 / €367 in both black and white flavors. Note the tablet is both waterproof and dust proof, so it will not be damaged easily.