The Sony SmartBand life logging wristband is a companion to the Xperia Z2. Molouk Y. Ba-Isa Saudi Gazette If you're looking for a great Android smartphone to give as a gift to (yourself) or others this Eid holiday, please consider the Sony Xperia Z2. With its gorgeous display, amazing camera and camcorder, waterproof build and excellent battery life, it's a premium mobile tool that enables communication in so many ways. Saudi Gazette's engineers put the Xperia Z2 through its paces for two weeks and it didn't disappoint. First, we'll give you the specs. With a megapixel count of 20.7 and a sensor that's 30 percent larger than the standard smartphone, the Xperia Z2 competes with compact digital cameras. With phone in hand, shoot clear, vibrant images anytime, anywhere. The Xperia Z2 also records 4K video to playback on a television in ultra-high definition. The Xperia Z2's screen is a high-resolution 5.2” Full HD TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile. The smartphone's 16GB of built-in storage can be expanded by up to 128GB. Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard, and Sony also includes NFC. We wish it had added infrared remote control. Use this smartphone anywhere. It's waterproof (IP55 and IP58) and dust resistant on the outside. On the inside the Xperia Z2 is running Google Android 4.4 (Kitkat) and a 2.3 GHz Qualcomm MSM8974AB Quad-core processor. Its 3200 mAh battery is a delight - up to 19 hours talk time and up to 10 hours video playback. The Xperia Z2 has some nice accessories, too. The SmartBand SWR10 is a waterproof life-logging wristband with notification alert and music remote. It works with an app in the Xperia Z2 to automatically record physical, social and entertainment activities. By tracking body movements, the SmartBand will gently vibrate to wake you up at the best time based on your sleep cycle. The SmartBand is in constant contact with the smartphone via Bluetooth. A vibrating alert lets you know if a call, message or other notification comes in. Even when you're out of range of your smartphone, this wearable technology saves information about what you do and automatically passes it on when you re-connect. In addition to the SmartBand, try Sony's Digital Noise Cancelling Headset MDR-NC31EM to effectively block out intrusive noises. There's also the easy to use Stereo Microphone STM10 which gets the best sound for Xperia Z2 videos thanks to its high sensitivity stereo condenser microphone. While we're discussing audio, note that the Xperia Z2 has a set of stereo-front speakers. This is an audio improvement for playing games and watching movies. The speakers are good, especially indoors, but not great. More powerful output would have been better so we didn't revert back to the headset outdoors. The other concern with the Xperia Z2 is that while our engineer loved its aluminum frame with glass panels, his wife found it a little too large to comfortably hold. Phone size is a matter of taste and the Xperia Z2's size isn't unusual at 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm and 163 g. The phone also proved to be reasonably rugged, surviving intermittent use by two small children, which included teething along the edges and a few crashes to a tile floor. The Xperia Z2 is definitely an entertainment device. It's PlayStation Certified and offers the Walkman app for total music control. There are plenty of other pre-installed apps such as YouTube, Facebook and a bunch of Google tools. There's also access to Sony's international entertainment offerings and of course everything at Google Play. Final verdict? The Sony Xperia Z2 is a premium phone that offers premium performance. With this smartphone, you're the life of the party everywhere. Better still, the Xperia Z2's rugged build and long battery life encourage constant use. Talk on it. Snap photos with it. Record videos. Play games. Share good times - all the time.
