Ninetology U9Z1 VS Sony Xperia Z Ultra

I rarely do comparison when come to electronic stuffs. Everything has pros and cons and difference user has difference preference. Well, I am given chance to review this both phones and here, I am telling you which is better and why. For individual review, click on Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review and Ninetology U9Z1 Review.

For starter, lets begin with the spec. Assuming bigger, faster, thinner and lighter is better.

Display

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra definitely had advantages in terms of spec compare with the Ninetology U9Z1. The Z Ultra had bigger screen, beautiful Triluminos display with full HD resolution though people tend to said the 1080p and 720p won't have much difference. Well maybe yes maybe no. Here sample photos of comparison in terms of screen.

Processor, RAM and ROM

The Z Ultra gain advantage by equipping fastest processor at the moment, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 which running on cortex-A15 while the Ninetology U9Z1 using Mediatek mt6589 that features cortex-A7. Both quad core but definitely in real life Z Ultra will perform much better when come to heavy application and gaming. Not to mention 2GB RAM onboard help multitask smooth sailing. Xperia Z Ultra also come with expendable microSD slot.

Physical Design & Built Quality

With omnibalance design, Sony Xperia Z Ultra is made with 2 glasses on front and back with aluminium frame on side. It is definitely feel solid on hand especially the weight is a bit heavier than Ninetology U9Z1. Not to mention it is one of the slimmest full HD display smartphone with 6.5mm thickness. Meanwhile, I said before that Ninetology U9Z1 easily been mistaken as Samsung phone from front while back resemble alot HTC Sensation XL. The Ninetology back casing was built with aluminium too. I won't deny that the U9Z1 feel solid on hand too. Realistically, it is more practical to have Ninetology U9Z1 due to size and able to hold it with one hand than the giant size Z Ultra. But who can resist the sexy beast? :P


Camera

This is the part where Sony really did poorly. Megapixels is not everything but what Sony always lack on their smartphone is the better image processing hardware. The details easily get smudge and not sharp. No doubt Ninetology U9Z1 image is sharper (too much sharpening! and look abit artificial) and look much better than the Z Ultra.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra ISO Test (100% crop)

Ninetology U9Z1 ISO Test (100% crop)

Well not until when come to indoor shooting where the U9Z1 white balance tend to screw up and show warm color. Sony still manage to retain the neutral white balance but not the best too. Ninetology U9Z1 had advantages too on 5MP front camera to compare with Sony Xperia Z Ultra 2MP only. Unfortunately the front lens is fixed focus in the U9Z1. For more photos, click on Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review and Ninetology U9Z1 Review.

Video Playback and Speaker

Here I did a video for both phone. Personally, it is much better experience viewing on Sony Xperia Z Ultra due to the size and also Triluminos display.

Extra Features

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is waterproof smartphone rated IP58. The Ninetology U9Z1 came with wireless charging features.

Battery Life

The Z Ultra has larger battery life than the U9Z1. However both has come to the point where it can easily achieve SOT around 5-6 hours. It is pretty impressive for both devices. However Sony Xperia Z Ultra came with remarkable Stamina Mode that extended the battery life during stand by.

User Interface (UI) and Android Version

 

Both run Android Jelly Bean 4.2. Sony Xperia Z Ultra skinned with their very own Timescape UI while the U9Z1 is running vanilla Android with minor customization. Naturally, Sony Xperia Z Ultra provided more software features such as Walkman, Play Station and more eye candy themes while vanilla Android is just plain. Nothing much to shout.

Price

Not surprising, with impressive spec came with high price. Sony Xperia Z Ultra is one of the top notch smartphone when come to performance and the RRP fixed at RM 2,299. The U9Z1 is more on budget concious phone that come with high performance, if it is last year flagship that priced at RM 1,199. It is almost 50% cheaper than Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Verdict

Both are very capable phone for your daily usage. Of course, if performances is much more important to you, Sony Xperia Z Ultra will be better choices. If budget is one of the reason to constrain, I have no reason to say why not Ninetology U9Z1?

Ninetology U9Z1 will have direct competitor such as Google Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC Desire 600, Huawei Ascend P6, Huawei Ascend Mate, Alcatel One Touch Idol X and many mores. Sony Xperia Z Ultra will be facing current latest flagship such as Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Note III, Sony Xperia Z1, HTC One and mores.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review

Finally, I am given chance to review the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. I mentioned before during the Z Ultra launch, if I would use big size phone, to be exact more than 5 inch, it will be one and only Sony Xperia Z Ultra. Why? I wouldn't mind hold a beautiful phone which is thin but also heavy in the same time. It is definitely feel solid.

Before I going further review, here quick key specification of Sony Xperia Z Ultra

• 6.44" with 1080p resolution, Triluminos screen with X-Reality Engine
• 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 Krait 400
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB internal memory with microSD slot
• 8-megapixel back facing camera with Exmor RS sensor
• 2-megapixel front facing camera
• IP 58
• 3,000mAh
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Design & Built Quality

While being huge, Sony Xperia Z Ultra still come with both OmniBalance design language and also Waterproof (rated IP58) which rather appealing compare with alot competitors. Being covered by gorilla glass and also dragontail in both side, Sony Xperia Z Ultra also come with aluminium frame on the edges which no doubt look very good! However, be ready your device to be fingerprint magnet on black unit.

The same signature power button is present as well which very user convenience. 80% my thumb was rest at there regardless I am using it or just holding it which allowed me have quick access to it. Other than that, we get sealed micro USB, micro SIM slot and also micro SD slot because of the waterproof ability. The 3.5mm headphone jack wasn't covered because it was waterproof. So no worry dip in your phone into the water.

The build quality is top notch - there are no squeaks, creaks or any other disturbing sounds to be heard when handling the phablet and it generally feels extra solid.

User Interface (UI)

Sony Xperia Z Ultra come with Android 4.2.2 out of box with Timescape (Xperia Launcher) skinned. I updated it to the latest firmware once I got it (14.1.B.1.532), hence it come with new features such as multiple small apps, new search on app drawer and of course, the X-Reality Engine.

For those who not familiar with Xperia Launcher, the launcher gives you the option to add or remove homescreen panes (you start with five) and assign any of them as the default. You can't have more than seven panes at any given time though, nor can you change the order they're in.

Adding stuff to the homescreen is done with a tap-and-hold on a blank area or using the pinch-to-zoom gesture. A context menu appears, allowing you to perform various customizations on your phone - add widgets or shortcuts, change the wallpaper and the theme. You can also add shortcuts from the app drawer by holding your finger over an icon and dragging it across to the homescreen area.

One thing I like about Sony Xperia Z Ultra is it comes with 6 X 6 rows and line for the homescreen instead of normal android 4 X 4. It actually too many rows until I had difficulty to think what else short cut app I gonna put LOL

The notification area features a few toggles (Sound, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Brightness by default). There's also a quick shortcut to the settings menu. This time around the toggles are customizable. You can choose between 16 different quick toggles and have up to 10 accessible from the notification area within two rows of shortcuts. You can even opt out of having the Settings key.

The menu with those settings is accessible via a swipe from the left edge of the screen and you can also search and even uninstall apps from there. If you tap and hold on an app, a green Add to Homescreen area will appear on top of the app drawer. Just drag the icon there and you will go back to your homescreens where you can put a shortcut.

Of course, small apps is one of the key features in Sony Xperia line. You can download more Small Apps from the Play Store or you have the option to turn your favorite widgets into Small Apps. Just hit the Plus key at the top of the list and choose a widget.

Other than that, the behaviour pretty much the same with others Android device.

Camera

Sony Xperia Z Ultra come with 8 Megapixel camera. However if you use the Superior auto mode you get stills of 7 MP resolution but more on Superior auto a little later.



The camera interface is plain and simple. Left side is more to setting while on right side is shutter button or video recording button. Of course the shortkey on the left is customizable.

Here some photos sample of Sony Xperia Z Ultra

Disclaimer : All shot are captured using Manual and Superior auto. No editing is done on the photos except resizing.

Personally, I think the white balance in Xperia Z Ultra is pretty neutral. It doesn't try to go too warm nor too cold. However, Sony still suffering heavy compression in the mobile camera where most of the time images lost details especially low light. Not to mention, the contrast tend to be higher than others.

The camera in Sony Xperia Z Iltra is decent, not to best if to compare with others. The lack of flash might be trouble too for users.

Stylus

One of the gimmick in Sony Xperia Z Ultra is the ability to use stylus with any pen or pencil. Not exactly any but as long as it full fill this 2 criteria :

• The head at least 1mm diameter
• It has to be able to conduct electric

Love it or hate it, it seem to be good to be able to use any pen or pencil as stylus. You don't need to worry when you lost it as you could easily get replacement. However the ability to sketch not as good as it's competitors, let's say Samsung Galaxy Note series. Sony Xperia Z Ultra stylus ability lack of digitizer where you can rest your palm on the phone screen while sketching and also press pressure sensitivity. It also lack of responsive rate.

Video & Song Playback

Definitely one of the best I ever had. Who don't love big screen for big entertainment? Thanks to the Triluminous display, watching video with Sony Xperia Z Ultra is very pleasing. The color appeared much vibrant and natural as well.

I am not a serious audiophile. For me, Sony Xperia Z Ultra perform quite well for the speaker. It is loud enough to get your attention when your phone ringing or when you're listening to song. But it is still weak to be compare with others competitors.

Battery

Packed with 3000 mAh battery and paired with Sony Stamina Mode, it is decent enough. It easily last me 1 and half days or most 2 days with Stamina mode on. I could also easily get 5-6 hours on screen time with most of the time spending on gaming and also web browsing.

Verdict

GOOD	BAD
Beautiful 6.44" Triluminous screen and also X-Reality 6 X 6 icon rows on homescreen IP58 rated device Snapdragon 800 processor Use any pen/pencil as stylus Good battery life	Unwieldy size for a phone Non user-replaceable battery Weak camera performance No camera flash or camera shutter key

In my opinion, Sony Xperia Z Ultra was designed with tablet mind concious instead of smartphone. It is huge, thin but lack of camera flash. It is good for entertainment purposes - Watch movie, web browsing, playing game. Sony Xperia Z Ultra is special and has advantages in it's own class since others 6" and above screen spec doesn't bump that high. If you can live with the huge screen (not wieldable single handed), weak camera and speaker performance, I can't see why not for Xperia Z Ultra?

If you looking for others 6" and above phone, take a look at Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Huawei Ascend Mate which come in cheaper price tag compare with Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Sony Malaysia officially launches Xperia Z Ultra

Today, Sony Malaysia officially launch a brand new Android smartphone, Xperia Z Ultra, a bigger brother for the Xperia Z. It is also Sony first attempt in creating phablet because this giant is come with 6.44" screen size.

The event started with welcome remarks by emcee and followed up by product presentation by Jason Smith, Director of Marketing, Southeast Asia & Oceania, Sony Mobile Communications.

If you followed up my Twitter & Faceebook, I mentioned before that how much I dislike on big size, thin and light phone. Reason being is I has a small hand and big sized phone doesn't allowed me to have single hand operation. I dislike phone thin & light because it feel soulless. But, I change my mind now. I would't mind had a Xperia Z Ultra as my main phone because it is truely beauty! Beautiful!

Oh well, beauty or not, it is depend on individual taste. Nevertheless, here are the main spec of Sony Xperia Z Ultra :

• 6.44" with 1080p resolution, Triluminos screen with X-Reality Engine
• 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 Krait 400
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB internal memory with microSD slot
• 8-megapixel back facing camera with Exmor RS sensor
• 2-megapixel front facing camera
• IP 58
• 3,000mAh
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Check out my first hands-on on the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra is the first Android smartphone with 6.4" full HD Triluminos Display & powered by X-Reality mobile engine. It is as slim as 6.5mm, waterproof and dust-resistant rated as IP58. It also one of the first mobile phone that packed with latest processor from Snapdragon, which is Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor that clocked on 2.2Ghz quad core. Sony Xperia Z also allowed write and sketch with any pencil and selected stylus or pen.

On first glance, the physical design is resemble alot on Sony Xperia Z itself. It might look like an up scaled product but actually they do have a little difference on side.

On right side, only micro USB port available while left side, the 3.5mm jack (none covered and it is water resistant), microSD & micro Sim card slot, Sony signatured powered button and volume rocker can be found. While on bottom right is the speaker itself.

Unfortunately the launcher itself wasn't running the latest one as I seen on Youtube during the international launch on June. Not to mention it is still powered by Bravia Engine 2 instead of X-Reality. According to a XDA senior, 14.1.B.1.414 update and onwards will have the new UI and X-Reality display. I hope Sony Malaysia will roll out the update as soon as possible because the new launcher indeed looks better and much polished. Not to mentioned the X-Reality will make the user experience much better especially on media comsuption.

I have abit mixture between love and hate on the writing/sketching ability in the Xperia Z Ultra. It is good idea that the phone allowed you to write or sketch with any pencil, pen or stylus as long as it met this two criteria - at least 1mm diameter and also can conduct electric. I said it is good idea because you don't need to worry when your stylus gone missing. You can simply replace it with pencil. Of course, don't worry you will scratch the screen. The only thing I hate it was it doesn't come with touch pressure like Wacom. Your hand can't rest on the phone during sketching. Nevertheless, it is pretty good innovation. I had yet to try putting a paper on top the phone and try to sketch.

Sadly the camera a little bit let down. It doesn't come with LED light though I actually doubt is anyone care using it for photography. The low light performance wasn't that superior either since the sensor size is small.

* SBH52, Smart Bluetooth Handset that allowed use to use it as handset or music by pairing it via NFC. It is splash proof as well *

* Sony Smartwatch 2 *

* Sony official leather flip case *

Some quick comparison between the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and my HTC One. My phone look like midget...

Sony Xperia Z Ultra will be available in all Sony store from now with RRP RM 2,299. Sadly it is HSDPA version instead of LTE. In conjunction of Hari Raya celebrations, Sony giving out free premium phone casing worth RM80 along with 8GB microSD card and also an Xperia t-shirt for whoever purchase the device. Sony will have roadshow at Lowyat Plaza starting 5-11 August.