Slim and lightweight, gorgeous screen, powerful processor, waterproof and dust resistant, fine camera, sturdy build
Some unnecessary tweaks to Android, camera not as good as it should be
Last year's Sony Xperia Tablet Z has had an update with the Xperia Z2 Tablet -- thinner, lighter and with an upgraded processor, but retaining the elements that made the original special.
It's on sale now from £399.
Chassis
It really does feel like a lovely bit of kit. Wafer thin at a sliver over 6mm, it's only slightly slimmer than its predecessor but you really notice the difference when you pick it up and feel that it carries its 439g very lightly indeed. Sony hasn't skimped on the build quality though, which feels solid and tough despite the lack of its predecessor's glass back, now replaced by plastic.
There's also a docking station on one side for use with Sony's keyboard and charge docks and an IR blaster on the opposite side so you can use it as a remote control.
It has the usual Xperia water and dustproof qualifications too, with micro USB, microSD and 4G SIM card slots all covered by plastic flaps. So you can immerse it in water up to a depth of 1.5m for half an hour with no ill effects. How long can it be before all tablets are made this way?
Screen
The 10.1-inch screen is much the same as previously but then there's not a lot that needs improving. Sony has some fancy names for its screen technology, but what you really need to know is that it offers a stonking better-than-HD resolution of 1,920x1,200 pixels and good viewing angles too. It goes bright if you don't mind burning the battery; colours are vibrant, blacks look deep and rich plus the contrast is sharp and defined. It's a beauty, in other words, great for browsing or for watching movies -- and the despite the slim casing, the speakers kick out a pretty good sound too.
Software
The latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat is the operating system, as we'd expect on a high-ender like this. It comes with Sony's usual, fairly minor tweaks to the icons. There's a rather irritating change to the icons menu though -- you still press and hold to add one to your home screen, but the home screen tray only appears for a fleeting second, making it touch and go whether you can add it or not. Irritating.
Processor
The quad-core processor is clocked at 2.3GHz and is backed by a full 3GB of RAM. That's powerful stuff, and sure enough it delivered an impressive AnTuTu benchmark score of 27,915 which may not be the highest we've recorded (step forward the LG G Flex phone) but it's at least within shouting distance of it. The battery held up fairly well, comfortably delivering a day's worth of use, though you'll be lucky to get very much more.
Photography
The 8.1-megapixel camera comes with Sony's Exmor RS sensor and LED flash plus a range of modes including HDR, burst, panorama and touch focus plus face and smile detection. Focusing seemed to take longer than was strictly necessary however and picture quality tended to be so-so rather than good -- a bit of a disappointment overall. There's also a 2.2-megapixel camera on the front for video calls. To save your pics and HD vids there's 16GB of memory on board but also plenty of room for more -- you can add up to 128GB via microSD card
Conclusion
The Sony Z2 Tablet improves on its predecessor with a lighter, slimmer casing and more powerful processor, while retaining its fine screen and perfectly good camera. It's around £399 for the cheapest 16GB version, rising to £449 for 32GB and £499 for one with 4G networking capability. The 4G version is perhaps a little on the pricey side, even for a high-end tablet, but the basic 16GB model has almost the same spec for a full £100 less.
In short, bloody brilliant.
Software: Android 4.4 KitKat
Processor: Quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm APQ8074+MSM8974AB
Memory slot: Yes
Display: 10.1in TRILUMINOS with X-REALITY, 1920x1200 pixels
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
Ports: microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera: 8.1 megapixel with autofocus, Exmor RS sensor, LED flash; 2.2 megapixel front-facing camera
Video playback: 3GPP, MP4, M4V, MKV, AVI, XVID, WEBM
Audio playback: MP3, 3GPP, MP4, ADTS, AMR, SMF, XMF, OTA, RTTTL, RTX, iMelody, WAV, OGG, FLAC
Radio: Yes
Battery: 2300mAh
Size: 172x266x6mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
