Sony have just launched 4 new products at the IFA technology conference in Berlin. I got a hands-on demo this week and here are my initial thoughts.
XPERIA Z3 and Z3 compact
My current device is the Z2. People’s first reactions are always about the size - I’m much more concerned with the battery life and the Z2 excels in its class. The Z3 goes even better. Sony has slimmed down the handset and claim to have added enough battery to get you through two full days. The processor is even faster with a 2.5ghz quad-core processor which should handle 4k video a little better than the z2 does.
Sony have also upped their waterproof rating for all devices in the range, which is something competitors haven’t yet attempted. I’ll have to see this to believe it, but certainly my Z2 will get me through a day and a half in Stamina mode. This is what tech fans have been asking for, Sony appears to be listening.
The Z3 compact is a dead ringer for the iPhone, but has the same claims to battery and the same quality camera. The only real difference is the size of the screen. If this doesn’t poach iPhone users, I’m not sure what will: it’s very slick, and a great compact form for such serious tech.
Smartband Talk
I’ve been using the Smartband for a while now but I’d like a bit more interactivity. The new Smartband has a microphone and speaker so you can take calls, it also has voice programmable actions so that you can teach your phone to do certain things by voice command alone. This feature may sound very Dick Tracy, but if you have to struggle to hear or talk, it could end up being a gimmick, only time will tell.
It has an e-ink curved always-on display that gives you notifications, time and so on, while maintaining a powerful battery life. It also has new built-in accelerometer and altimeter sensors to better track your movements and fitness in the Lifelong app.
Smartwatch 3
Smartwatch is the first to use the Android Wear OS for a Sony device and as such a quick hands-on demo won’t really tell us how well Sony have implemented an OS that has taken its fair share of criticisms. That said, I love the look of it and screen-swishing is smooth and fast and the face can replicate almost any app from your phone on to your watch, so applications are endless.
Even more impressive is the ability to store 4GB of music and play to your Bluetooth enabled headphones without the need for a phone - something runners have been waiting for. It’s also waterproof, so if you’re running in the rain, you don’t need to worry about your watch, which in Ireland at least, is a pretty critical feature.
Z3 tablet Compact
Finally, a new tablet rounds off the family. The form factor is a lovely feel for eight inches and allows for a supposed 13 hours video playback, which sounds literally unbelievable. If they can manage even 11.5, that would be an enormous achievement for a tablet with this sort of spec.
It's again waterproof with a stunning display that will give you great detail on your PS4 games if you are using it as a remote screen, a new functionality introduced for both the phone and the tablet in the series. It has a really nice leather-style back that won't slip that reflects the premium tablet market that it will probably be priced towards.
Some say tablets are on their way back down in popularity, it will be interesting to see how this goes down. As a beautiful piece of kit, is it coming to the market at the right time?
This is just a quick review of the back of the announcement, we’ll be looking more in-depth the tech properly over the next few weeks on technology on the Right Hook, Monday nights from 6.30 on Newstalk.
