When Sony announced the Xperia Z and the Xperia ZL at this year’s CES, they made a few waves in the Android community as the two phones were the first time that Sony seemed to deliver smartphones that both looked good, and could keep up with the competition. Coverage of high-end smartphones in Android news is never far away from hefty price-tags and when it comes to the Xperia Z and the ZL, the same is true. The Xperia ZL was supposed to be the lesser of the two flagships from Sony, confusingly its pricing doesn’t seem to reflect such a thing. The Xperia ZL is now available to pre-order directly from Sony, and starts at a hefty $720, and goes up from there. There are two models of the ZL on offer, one with LTE and one without – the LTE model (C6506) costs $759.99, while the 3G-only model (C6502) comes in at a more friendly $719.99.
If you’re unsure as to what the Xperia ZL can offer you, then take a look at the specs below:
- 5-inch 1080p Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA 2 technology
- Quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 pro processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 13MP Exmor R powered rear-facing camera; 2.2MP front-facing camera
- 16GB internal storage; expandable via micro SD card
- Android 4.1
- Battery 2370mAh
- 4G LTE connectivity
- There’s no IP55 or IP57 compliance for dust and water resistance on the ZL
- Android 4.1.2 at launch
All-in-all, the Xperia ZL is designed to offer the same experience as the Z, without such a hefty price-tag, and it does lose the water and dust resistance that you’ll find on the Xperia Z. If you’re hoping to find a better deal elsewhere, you can head to Negri Electronics who have the “international” version of the device for $654, which is still a lot of cash when you consider that the Galaxy S IV is rumored to come in at anywhere between $579 – $650. HTC’s latest and greatest – when they sort of their demand issues – will be hitting for around $700 or so.
Is the Xperia ZL worth what Sony are asking for it? Do they run the risk of pricing themselves out of the market?