Sony Xperia Z hits local retail shelves @Php32,490

The Sony Xperia Z (C6603) has hit the shelves of retail stores this weekend. The suggested retail price is Php32,490. Street prices are as low as Php30,790 cash.

The Xperia Z is Sony 2013 flagship smartphone. It has a large 5-inch Full HD 1080p display and powerful Qualcomm S4 Pro quad-core Krait processor. It comes with 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable via a microSD card. The phone has a 13 MP primary camera and a 2.2 MP front camera.   For software, it comes with a Sony themed version of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The phone supports LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600. This should make it compatible with Globe and Smarts LTE networks. Keeping all this running is a 2330 mAh battery.

This phone even has some pretty unique features being IP57 certified dust and water resistant smartphone and having a dedicated hardware camera button.

This is certainly the best Android smartphone available in the country, and hardware wise the best smartphone in the Philippines. Still, it might be a bit too little, a bit too late. Announced in January 2013, I think this phone made it here a bit to late to have a big impact. With the Samsung Galaxy S 4 slated to hit local shelves in a month or so at the same price range, with a more vibrant display, the newer Qualcomm processor and Android operating system, having what looks like the best camera on a Android phone ever,  and a user replaceable battery, it is slated to become an also ran pretty soon.

Still, if you really don't like Samsung's plastic and the HTC One does not appeal to you, this glass cased phone might be the one for you.