Sony Xperia Z Ultra C6833 Factory Unlocked International Version No Warranty LTE LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 3G 850/1900/1700/900/2100 White

OverviewI've had the Sony Xperia Z Ultra for over a week now and I can't help but be impressed by the gorgeous screen and just how absurdly massive it is. At first you won't believe just how thin it is despite its size. Its practicality becomes questioned immediately after holding it in your hands for the first time and you wonder if you made the right choice buying it. Of course with most things, as time passes you'll start to grow fond of its hefty girth. Its charming design and elegant screen becomes translucent to the fact that it is too big to hold. If by now you haven't noticed, for the rest of my review you'll probably be hearing a lot of words that have to do with it being big and beautiful.DesignI haven't had the pleasure of owning any other Sony handset so this is my first impression of the design language in question. The handset sets standards to what a "premium" phone should be. I have just upgraded from the Samsung Galaxy Note (N7000) and have also dealt with a number of Samsung devices and honestly, it is refreshing to have something in my hands that isn't made out of poly-something-plastic. I am not going to goad on Sammy's devices, but Sony nails the design with the Z Ultra. The power and unlock button located on the right side is big and prominent and easy to feel out when you're not paying attention. The volume rocker unfortunately sits directly below it prompting accidental locking of the phone, it'll take some getting used to. The glass back and huge screen induces paranoia of dropping it and shattering into pieces so you'll end up gasping for dear life whenever you bump into something. The water resistant design incorporated into the chassis gives it a complete look unhindered by port holes. The ports are enclosed by flaps that protect it from the elements which is a really neat feature if you plan on going all-terrain with an expensive fragile phone. I won't go into the screen size that pretty much covers the entire front because I'm pretty sure I'd said enough at the beginning. The screen is gorgeous (I've run out of adjective to describe this phone's beauty). Viewing angles are wide and color saturation is minimal, but present. It is a 1080p resolution so watching movies at anything less would be unpleasant because of the noticeable pixilation. Higher resolution however is a joy to watch, which goes without saying.User InterfaceAs I have already stated, I have been a long time Samsung owner and for a brief time, I have owned the HTC Sensation and in my opinion, Sense is the best Android overlay. I have not had any experience with Sony's User Interface. My first impression with it is, very minimal in design and features. Sony was probably not going for any thing drastic, but that UI becomes intuitive and straight to the point without any of the gimmicky things other OEM's have stuck into their UIs. I like the fact that the homescreen allows for resizable widgets for both stock widgets and others downloaded from the Play Store (ie. Beautiful Widgets) allowing for easy homescreen filling. The app drawer is your usual run-of-mill affair except for the organizing tab found when swiping from the left. The drop down notification shade allows the user to customize quick setting toggles which makes it easier to toggle the things most important to you. One other thing worth noting that for some odd reason other OEM tends to omit from their devices is the battery percentage.PerformanceOut of the box you get the Snapdragon 800 processor and yada yada, I'm not going to waste time talking about specs. This is my real-world experience with the handset. It is fast and when I said fast, this thing is fast. Regular tasks such as swiping on the homescreen or opening apps responds accordingly and without a hitch. Graphic intensive games such as NOVA 3 play just fine without any stutter. However, prolonged playing results in overheating. Not sure if the game is too much for the phone to handle or it might be some defect. I've played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on max settings and Modern Combat 4 to test its capability and I am impressed. This thing is a beast. I did notice slight overheating for both games as well, but it is to be expected.The battery is rated at 3050mah, which according to most reviews I've watched and read should last almost the entire day with moderate to heavy usage. However I have yet to simulate the same results. On average if I kept it off the charger with heavy web surfing I'd say it'll last about 5 hours. I still find myself keeping a charger in my bag. Stamina mode is exactly what the name implies; it boosts your phone's battery life. However it does this by turning off all radios when you lock your device. It'll automatically reactivate them upon unlocking of your device.ConclusionThere's not much else to say about this device that I haven't said already. It is a monster of a phone both for its size and specs. It is for those who are looking for a device that is more tablet than phone, which is exactly why I bought it. If you are tired of lugging a 7inch table everywhere and a phone than look no further than Sony Xperia Z Ultra. It is a device that is sure to turn heads and drop jaws. It is a powerhouse and a media-centric device that is sure to fill that void.Update 3/13/14I noticed that the screen is prone to greasy smudges from the oil from your fingers. It is hard to wipe off with just a rag or paper towel, I find myself having to wash it with water and wiping it down. Also found that the problems other reviewers have with the screen glitching stems from the smudges left on the screen.update 9/14/14unfortunately I have recently found out that while the device is water/dust resistant, this is not the case with its screen and body. It is EXTREMELY prone to scratches. Usual stupid stuff like sliding it in and out of my pocket I noticed new stretches on the screen. So if you're aspiring to buy this device, make sure you buy a case (unfortunately hiding it's beauty) and a screen protector.

I've had the phone since November 2014. It is huge. I loved it, especially for gaming. At the end of April 2015, I ran the battery down to 1%. I plugged it in to charge overnight. In the morning, it was still 1%. It would not take a charge. I tried resetting with the red button and the power/vol up technique. I tried several chargers/cables, etc. Nothing worked. Totally dead. I'm waiting for Sony to validate my warranty. I also bought an insurance policy from Securranty since the title says no warranty. Sony did honor the warranty, but it is worthless. The sent back my phone say that the PCB (mainboard) was beyond economic repair. They did not send me a replacement since the noted some corrosion spots (slight discoloring) on some metal in the phone. The check boxes for Physical abuse, Tampered unit, Active moisture indicator, etc were NOT checked. I was & am still furious. When I spoke to the customer service rep, I asked how can Sony accuse me of causing internal corrosion in a sealed waterproof phone? I guess I'm SOL.I opened a claim with Securranty & i'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Using an old LG sucks. It makes me appreciate the responsiveness I had with the Ultra, but at least the old LG phone works. I will try never to buy a Sony product again. They have the worst customer service & warranty.Aside from this major charging issue, other irritating quirks are: 1) clicking sound from the screen turning on in my pocket by accident, 2) one hand operation is difficult, 3) the screen is not that bright especially outside, and 4) the speakers are not loud at all. In comparison, my wife's One Plus One has a much brighter screen & way better speakers.

If you're looking at this phone, it's for the size. Otherwise get a Z3. But if you can't afford one of those, this is the best deal for the biggest smartphone in the world. It lives up to it's hype. It is almost 2 years old and still is one of the nicest phones you can buy that runs android--hell any mobile OS really. All the options....jeez...the triluminos screen...this is a 7 inch beautifully crafted, designed Sony 1080p TV in your hand. This is also Sony Walkman with the best equalizer and sound processor on the market. For audiophiles, no android phone offers the clarity as the Walkman app. The Walkman's on eBay use the same technology and go for $500 still from like 5-10 years ago.....so....this phone is worth it in just one of these two features of this phone. It's completely waterproof. It's dust proof. It has SD card option...It has a Sony camera case to use Sony slr lenses. it has a dock. it compliments the Sony smart watches which the sw3 is the best android wear device currently because it's the most functional watch and integrates perfectly with this phone. There is an optional Walkman Bluetooth headset accessory you can purchase separately. It has a nice charging dock. (optional). You can write on it with any pen or pencil and that is really a nice thing because they are precision point accurate with the tip so when you draw, you draw like you would naturally with that medium-be a pen or a pencil. I charge it every day as much as I can, but sometimes I'm away from chargers and I am on this phone like from waking up to going to sleep. The battery can carry me all day and I do a lot of different things on my phone all day. I can never go back to normal sized smartphones I fear, because there isn't anything like being able to work on this phablet. Nothing compares, not even note 4's with their 2k screen. I'd get it while you can. I should point out that it has a 10 point touch screen, so its pretty sensitive, but it's perfect for me, even though every once in a while does it double click or something of that sort of nature when I single click, but I can manage since this phone can do anything, from controlling ps4 to hooking up playstation controls natively to the device to using xbox smarglass, to pc remote and stream movies, games, music to and from your phone. It has dlna,....nfc chip, noise canceling mic for speakerphone. Since the price competes with nexus5 and things of that nature, you just wont find a phone this powerful for this cheap. This is the flagship phone of Sony for the past 2 years, whereas a nexus5 is wimpy. Only thing about this phone that is amazing to everyone, there isn't a flash. Not that you need one, but it's not there.