Sony Xperia T2 Ultra a phone that also delivers tablet capabilities

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Sony introduced a cheaper alternative to its premium phablet Xperia Z Ultra in the form of Xperia T2 Ultra. The 6-inch sleeker phablet comes at a more affordable price, accepts dual SIMs, sports 13 MP rear camera and a large battery.

The company is eyeing the mid-range segment with this new phablet who are looking for premium features with some specific requirements.

Features: The midrange phablet gets decent hardware configuration. It comes with 720 x 1280 pixels IPS LCD triluminos display, 1.4 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 chipset, 1 GB RAM with Adreno 305 graphics. It has 8 GB of internal memory in which only 4.68 GB is available to the user, thankfully storage can be upgraded up to 32 GB with microSD card.

Additionally user can get 50GB of free Box storage for life, if register by 31 December 2014, but surprisingly, the Box app isn't preloaded. The phablet runs over Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and offers two Micro-SIM slots that work on dual standby mode. It has Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP support, A-GPS support and GLONASS along with a range of different sensors including accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass.

Body Design, Look and Build: It is slightly thicker (7.7mm) than its elder sibling Z Ultra (6.5mm) and lighter (171 grams) due to lack of the glass. It is a giant handset like the other 6-inch devices, taller than HTC One Max and less wide than Lumina 1520. The plastic body phablet is available in three colours- black, white and purple. The backside of the device is highly prone to scratches, attracts fingerprints easily and the glossy context is high as well, something that comes guaranteed with a plastic casing. The edges are rounded off; the right one is crowded with power, volume rocker and camera buttons. At the top of the right edge, the 3.5mm jack and dual SIM slots are placed. On the left side edge, company has placed the microSD card slot and Micro-USB port for data transfer and charging.

Camera: The 13 MP rear camera with LED flash is fairly good for clicking still images and shoot videos in daylight. It delivers nice pictures with natural colours for indoor and outdoor shots that can be shared on social channels and would not look shabby but lacks when try to zoom too much. In our testing, it can capture nice close-ups. In lowlight, noisy images disappoint. Considering the price of device, thankfully it is more than satisfactory and the camera interface is easy to use. Front facing 1.1 MP camera is average, and better to not expect much.

Battery: I would love to call it a powerhouse; the non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery can last for up to 9 hours. I was able to watch two movies on it and still about 30 per cent battery was available. With normal usage it can perform much better and can offer more than one day battery backup.

Verdict - Our experience of using the device was quite pleasing. People who are looking for a device with capabilities of phone and tablet as well as a device with excellent sound, display and battery, Sony Xperia T2 Ultra is made for them. Its display offers decent net surfing and watching video experience with crisp and vivid colours. The default browser Chrome is adequately fast performer. Moto X and Gionee Elife E7 are the strong competitors of T2 Ultra, but if your requirements are specific such as battery life and 6-inch screen, then T2 Ultra is the best choice at the moment.

(This product review was originally published in PCQuest)