Sony’s Xperia Z2 handset finally goes on sale in the US (sort of)

By Trevor Mogg July 21, 2014

Sony Xperia Z2 review front screen — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sony’s high-end Xperia Z2 handset went on sale in the US over the weekend, though the fact that it’s only available off-contract for a wince-inducing $700 (and that includes a special-offer $50 discount) may mean only the most ardent Sony fans will be rushing to grab one.

The device can currently be bought only through Sony’s online store – when it has some in stock, that is. At the time of writing, the smartphone is on backorder, with no information offered on shipping time or when a new batch is likely to arrive. Doesn’t sound like the smoothest of launches, does it.

It’s not clear if a US carrier will pick up the Z2 at some point, though reports a couple of months back suggested Verizon may start offering it in August. The phone has been available in other markets around the world for several months.

Features

The Xperia Z2, which runs Android 4.4 KitKat, comprises a 5.2-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage (a microSD slot allows for more).

Its rear shooter, which topped DxOMark’s smartphone camera test charts back in April, features a 20.7-megapixel sensor, and can also shoot 4K video.

Available in black, white and purple (at some point), the new handset has picked up a slew of favorable reviews since it was unveiled in February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

In his in-depth review, DT’s Simon Hill lauded it for its fast, powerful performance, attractive design, excellent display quality, and advanced camera, among other things.

However, he also suggested its size and angular design might make it too unwieldy for some users, and found the device to be a bit of a fingerprint and dust magnet, too.

You can read Simon’s review in full here.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Sony

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

The 6 biggest announcements we expect from Google I/O 2024

Google I/O 2019

Google will hold its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2024, on May 14 in Mountain View, California. The event is about a month away, and we're expecting a few big announcements.

As with any Google I/O event, this year's conference will start with a big opening keynote presentation from CEO Sundar Pichai. But what actual announcements are we looking forward to? Here are a few of the biggest things that we are likely to see at Google I/O 2024.
Android 15

Mobile

This crazy headband uses music and brainwaves to make you a better athlete

A person wearing the Alphabeats headband.

This company wants you to put on a headband and listen to music while the device's sensors in it read your brainwaves to help you focus and to increase your sporting performance. It’s called Alphabeats, and the electroencephalogram (EEG) headband combines with your choice of music and an app on your phone to help train your brain to either stay in its top-focused state or concentrate on its requirements in the moment, whether that’s relaxation, recovery, or sleep.

Aimed at professional ahtletes or highly motivated amateurs, Alphabeats won a CES 2023 Innovation award and is now available for pre-order. It costs $499 at the moment, but the price will increase to $689 after the promotional period ends. You probably won’t be surprised to learn (given the recent growing and unfortunate trend) that this price includes a year’s subscription to the service, but at the time of writing, there’s no information about how much the subscription will cost after the first year.

Mobile

Here’s how Apple could change your iPhone forever

An iPhone 15 Pro Max laying on its back, showing its home screen.

Over the past few months, Apple has released a steady stream of research papers detailing its work with generative AI. So far, Apple has been tight-lipped about what exactly is cooking in its research labs, while rumors circulate that Apple is in talks with Google to license its Gemini AI for iPhones.

But there have been a couple of teasers of what we can expect. In February, an Apple research paper detailed an open-source model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE) that is capable of media editing using natural language instructions from users. Now, another research paper on Ferret UI has sent the AI community into a frenzy.