Check out our review of the Sony Xperia Z smartphone.
Selling unlocked handsets seems to be a growing trend in smartphones and Sony’s the latest company to join in with an unshackled Xperia Z available in the U.S. store. It’s the HSPA+ version though. LTE is playing coy at the moment, but that could change.
The Nexus 4 showed carrier-unlocked phones are desirable and HTC is offering a similar service with the One. This is definitely a trend we like. The Sony Xperia Z will sell online for $630 with no contracts attached. Last time we checked it was “In Stock” so it looks like you can nab one right away.
All color options are available: black, white, and purple. The Xperia ZL (with LTE) has dropped from $760 to $630 as well, but isn’t unlocked unfortunately. Looks like we still can’t get LTE support without selling our soul to one of the big guys. If you need a refresher on the Xperia Z, it ships with Android 4.1 running on a 5-inch 1080p display. There’s a 13-megapixel camera on the back, and a 2-megapixel on the front. Powering it all is a 1.5GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM. Sony wasn’t kidding when it said the focus was on premium hardware now.
At CES earlier this year, the Xperia Z basically stole the show. Now, however, Sony has to compete with the likes of LG, Samsung, and HTC who have all released a flagship device over the last few months – though Sony has a head start in sales. So where it once ruled the roost, the Xperia Z is now flanked by equally precious gems.
With that in mind, are any of you planning on picking up a new Xperia, unlocked or otherwise?