IT Pro Verdict
The Xperia Z2 is the best 10in Android tablet we've tested to date. It's lightweight, waterproof, has great battery life and a beautiful screen
Pros
- +
Wafer-thin and light; Large screen; Water-proof; Good battery life
Cons
- -
Hard to use one-handed in portrait mode; Fewer apps optimized for a 10in display
It's so light. The first thought you'll have when you pick up the 10.1in tablet. Weighing in at 426g and with a cardboard-like thickness of 6.4mm, the Xperia Z2 is an engineering marvel.
The soft-touch back makes the device easy to grip and Sony has packed in the same waterproof coating you'll find in the Xperia Z2 smartphone. The IP55/58 rating means you can drop the tablet in a bath and it'll escape unscathed, as long as the port covers are closed.
Despite being designed primarily as a multimedia consumption device, Sony does tout the business benefits of the Xperia Z2 tablet. It includes basic enterprise features such as the ability to encrypt all data on internal and microSD card storage with 256-bit AES security. Xperia Mail supports messaging through S/MIME. And if something goes missing, "My Xperia" lets users remotely wipe the tablet to remove any sensitive data.
It's also possible to manage the tablet using a raft of third-party management tools designed for Android.
All Xperia devices ship with Office Pro 7 allowing you to create and edit documents. There's also a BKB10 Bluetooth keyboard accessory, which can be used to turn the device into an Android-style netbook and Sony claims will last three months on a single charge.
Made for multimedia
The 10.1in panel is the main attracttion with its 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution putting it in "Retina" territory. The 224ppi density is lower than you'd find on the smaller 9.7in iPad Air and the pocket-sized Nexus 7 (323ppi) but it's still pin-sharp.
We measured a maximum brightness of 382 cd/m2, so it's not going to be as usable outdoors as the iPad Air (420 cd/m2) or the Panasonic ToughPad FZ-M1 (493 cd/m2).
The Z2's 16:10 ratio fits movies, websites and books onto the screen well. You won't see as many black bars in movies as you would on the iPad's 4:3 screen.
Colours are deep and accurate due to a combinations of Sony's Triluminos hardware and the X-Reality software engine. The IPS panel produces good whites and colours appear less saturated than Samsung Android tablets.
