Sony is out with a new phone that catches up with offerings from its main rivals, while adding a water-resistance shell for underwater use. With the Xperia Z, Sony joins the big leagues. Here are the technical details on the new Sony device along with Samsung’s Galaxy S4, HTC’s One and Apple’s iPhone 5.
Tech specs for Sony Xperia Z:
— Manufacturer: Sony Corp.
— Display: 5 inches (diagonal) with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (443 pixels per inch)
— Keyboard: Touch screen only
— Memory capacity: 16 gigabytes, expandable with microSD card of up to 32 gigabytes.
— Size: height: 5.47 inches; width: 2.79 inches; depth: 0.31 inch (139 by 71 by 7.9 millimeters)
— Weight: 5.15 ounces (146 grams)
— Cameras: 13-megapixel camera on back, 2-megapixel on front
— Video recording: high-definition (1080p — comparable to the resolution of a 40-inch flat panel TV)
— Battery life: 2,330 milliampere-hours. Talk time of 12 hours, according to manufacturer. Battery cannot be replaced by user with a spare. Software adds power-saving features to Android.
— Processor: 1.5 gigahertz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
— U.S. wireless carrier: T-Mobile
— Operating system: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
— Other features: Water resistance certified for up to 3 feet deep for up to 30 minutes. Near-field communications; a chip lets the phone act as a credit card at some payment terminals and share data wirelessly when tapped against some other phones.
— Availability: Arrives in U.S. in July.
Tech specs for Samsung Galaxy S4:
— Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics Co.
— Display: 5 inches (diagonal) with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (441 pixels per inch)
— Keyboard: Touch screen only
— Memory capacity: 16 or 32 gigabytes, expandable with microSD card of up to 64 gigabytes.
— Size: height: 5.38 inches; width: 2.74 inches; depth: 0.31 inch (136.6 by 69.8 by 7.9 millimeters)
— Weight: 4.59 ounces (130 grams)
— Cameras: 13-megapixel camera on back, 2-megapixel on front
—Video recording: high-definition (1080p — comparable to the resolution of a 40-inch flat panel TV)
— Battery life: 2,600 milliampere-hours. Talk time is 17 hours, as provided by phone carriers. According to T-Mobile, up to 69 hours of audio playback and 11 hours of video playback. Up to 8 hours of Internet use on 3G and 4G, 10 hours on Wi-Fi. Battery can be replaced by user with a spare.
— Processor: 1.9 gigahertz quad-core
— U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, among others.
— Operating system: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
— Other features: Near-field communications; a chip lets the phone act as a credit card at some payment terminals and share data wirelessly when tapped against some other phones. One variant called Active offers water resistance, but the feature is not standard.
— Availability: Launched in the U.S. in April.
Tech specs for HTC One:
— Manufacturer: HTC Corp.
— Display: 4.7 inches (diagonal) with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (468 pixels per inch)
— Keyboard: Touch screen only
— Memory capacity: 32 or 64 gigabytes. Not expandable with memory card.
— Size: height: 5.41 inches; width: 2.69 inches; depth: 0.37 inch (137.4 by 68.2 by 9.3 millimeters)
— Weight: 5.04 ounces (143 grams)
— Cameras: 4-megapixel camera on back, 2.1-megapixel on front. Back camera sports larger sensor pixels promising better low-light shots.
— Video recording: high-definition (1080p — comparable to the resolution of a 40-inch flat panel TV)
— Battery life: 2,300 milliampere-hours. Talk time of 27 hours on GSM, 19 hours on CDMA, according to manufacturer. Battery cannot be replaced by user.
— Processor: 1.7 gigahertz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
— U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile.
— Operating system: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
— Other features: Near-field communications; a chip lets the phone act as a credit card at some payment terminals and share data wirelessly when tapped against some other phones.
— Availability: Launched in the U.S. in April.
Tech specs for iPhone 5:
— Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
— Display: 4-inch (diagonal) with a resolution of 1136 by 640 pixels (326 pixels per inch).
— Keyboard: Touch screen only
— Memory capacity: 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes. Not expandable with memory card.
— Size: height: 4.87 inches; width: 2.31 inches; depth: 0.30 inch (124 by 59 by 7.6 millimeters)
— Weight: 3.95 ounces (112 grams)
— Cameras: 8-megapixel camera on back, 1.2-megapixel on front.
— Video recording: high-definition (1080p — comparable to the resolution of a 40-inch flat panel TV) up to 30 frames per second with audio
— Battery life: Apple does not list battery capacity, but reports pin it at 1,440 milliampere-hours. According to Apple, talk time is up to 8 hours on 3G. Internet works for up to 8 hours on 3G and LTE and up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi. Up to 10 hours of video playback. Battery can be replaced by service personnel only.
— Processor: Apple A6 chip. Apple does not list its speed.
— U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and others.
— Operating system: Apple’s iOS 6. New operating system expected this fall.
— Availability: Launched in the U.S. in September 2012. New model likely this fall.
