TECH REVIEW ….SMART PHONES.. Sony Xperia Z , LG Optimus G

TECH REVIEW ….SMART PHONES.. Sony Xperia Z , LG Optimus G

Sony Xperia Z

SPECIFICATIONS 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels), quad-core 1.5 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 16GB + microSD, waterproof/dustproof, 13MP rear/2.2MP front camera, MHL, Android 4.1, 2,330 mAH, 146 grams Waterproof and dust resistant, good price, great performance Screen & glass back scratches easily, recessed headphone jack, odd speakerphone placement

Sony’s new flagship Xperia has some big shoes to fill. The market for 5-inch superphones is beginning to heat up and there’s not a lot of room for error. On the upside, the Xperia Z has a fresh design (older Xperias had the same design, just with different screen sizes) and it feels premium (mostly made of metal and glass). It’s also superthin at just 7.9mm throughout. The highlight is the IP57 water and dust resistance — it’s protected against dust and can stay underwater (up to 1 metre deep) for 30 minutes. This is great for adventure sports enthusiasts or if you just want to use your phone in the rain without worry. On the downside, the water proofing comes at the cost of flaps covering all the ports. It only stays waterproof if all flaps are tightly closed. The speaker is located on the lower edge of the phone, right where your index finger would be if you hold the phone to watch a video — ergo, the audio always gets muffled unless you alter your grip. Performance is fantastic — nothing manages to slow down the phone. As far as Android phones go, it's pretty much at the top of the heap. Sadly though, the screen falls short of expectations — yes, it is full HD and does have the highest pixel density of any smartphone screen, but contrast and saturation could have been better. HTC’s Butterfly has a screen with much more impact. The camera offers features like HDR & acceptable quality photos. With the HTC One and Galaxy S4 just around the corner, competition for the Xperia Z is fierce. It may not the best 5-inch Android superphone around, but the good part is that the Xperia Z is already much cheaper than its closest competitor. If priced about 10k less than the nearest competition, it stands a good chance of finding favour with those who have limited budgets. Rs. 38,990


ALSO SEE HTC Butterfly 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels), quad-core 1.5 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 16GB + microSD, 8MP rear/2.1MP front camera, MHL, Beats audio, Android 4.1, 2,020 mAH, 140g Rs.45,990

LG Optimus G

SPECIFICATIONS 4.7-inch (1280 x 768 pixels), Snapdragon S4 quadcore 1.5Ghz, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, 13MP/1.3MP camera, MHL port, Android 4.1, 145 g, 2,100mAh Build quality and design, great display, topnotch hardware, zippy user interface All-glass design makes it a fingerprint magnet, non expandable storage, average camera

LG's Optimus G is a new entrant to the high-end smartphone segment with the latest hardware. The all-glass design and the silver ring around the front edge looks classy but also makes the device a smudge & fingerprint magnet. The bright 4.7-inch display (1280 x 768 pixels) provides sharp details and vibrant colors. We did find it to be a tad too reflective which consequently made it hard to see in sunlight. It runs a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 2GB RAM and the latest Adreno 320 graphics. Storage is capped at 32GB (no microSD slot) but it should be enough for most people. You can also connect external USB drives using USB host. LG has worked some magic on the Optimus User interface — everyone just loved how refreshingly zippy it is. Even with all animation effects, the phone works much faster than Samsung's flagship phones. LG’s QSlide is great for multitasking — it allows select apps to run in a floating mode over other apps. You can adjust the transparency of the overlayed app and it gives the Samsung Multiview a run for its money. Performance from the 13MP camera is average. It takes sharp images in the day, but with oversaturated colors. Indoors and in low light conditions it suffers from lots of noise. There are some interesting features like Time Catch (it captures 5 images even before pressing the shutter — so you do not miss the moment). The battery life was just over a day — like most Android smartphones. For the same price, consider the Samsung Galaxy SIII if you want expandable storage. Rs.34500


ALSO SEE Samsung Galaxy SIII 4.8-inch super amoled (1280 x 768 pixels), 1.4Ghz quad-core, 1GB RAM, 16GB + microSD, MHL port, 8MP/1.9MP camera, Android 4.1, 133g, 2,100mAh 30,950