The Sony Xperia Z2 has landed to the UK market but how does it size up against its rivals, the recently released Nokia Lumia 1020 and HTC One M8?
The Sony Xperia Z1 was a hugely popular phone when it released last year and the tech giant has worked hard to improve on it and keep the phone in the game.
The Xperia Z2 packs in an amazing 20.7mp rear camera and a 2.2 megapixel 1080p front camera. It can also take 4k videos.
To help users get the most out of their cameras, Sony has its own range of filters and camera modes, as well as those provided by third parties, and there are also filters for the video too.
And it's now been updated to the Snapdragon 801 processor and runs on the newly released Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system.
It has a 5.2-inch 1920×1080 display, 19 hours of talk time battery life, and is waterproof rather than just water resistant. It's also dust resistant. The display is also nice and sharp, being IPS, and the smaller bezel helps to enhance the appearance too.
The design is angular, setting it apart from the much more curved HTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5, and that could work in Sony's favour in appealing to those who are a little tired of the predictability with other smartphone designs.
There is also an additional appeal for gamers, as the software can basically turn the Xperia Z2 into a pocket console and PS3 controllers can be used with the device to play PlayStation Network games.
Noise cancellation technology is another welcome addition to the phone.
The HTC One M8 similarly runs on Snapdragon 801 and the camera is good, being a 4mp dual-sensor Ultrapixel rear-facing and 5mp front camera with Duo Camera technology that allows users to re-focus the image after the shot has been taken.
There have also been some improvements to the design, being crafted out of a single piece of aluminium with some texturing on the back and a curve on the rear to make it more comfortable in the hand than its predecessor, the HTC One - and of course more comfortable than the flat Sony Xperia Z2.
The HTC One M8 has a slightly smaller display measuring 5 inches, with a 1080x1920 resolution, and it's also less robust, not being dust or water resistant.
However, the Nokia Lumia 1020 still has a stand-out 41mp primary camera with Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilisation, auto or manual focus, Xenon and LED flash. The secondary camera on the device is 1.2 MP.
The internals on the Nokia Lumia 1020 are good, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. But it runs on Windows Phone 8.1, which isn't everyone's cup of tea.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 also has a lot of catching up to do in the design department. The protruding lense means that the device never sits perfectly flat and we can't help but find that a tad annoying.
The Xperia Z2 is ready to ship in the UK so here's a round up of the deals.
EE is offering a 24-month plan with 4G and 2GB with unlimited minutes and texts for £39.99 a month and a £59.99 upfront fee for the phone.
Clove is offering the device SIM free for £450+VAT as part of a bundle which it claims includes £200 worth of products and contents, including Sony SRS-BTM8 speaker, 6 digital download films and 30 days of Sony Music Unlimited. They will not be shipping the device until May 9.
Vodafone's free 3G phone deals offer unlimited minutes and texts on 24-month contracts at £42 per month for 2GB and £47 for 4GB. They have a free phone 24-month contract and 5GB a month at £47 on the 4G plan, rising to £52 a month from 9GB and £57 a month for 13GB.
Phones4U has an EE deal listed for free phone, 4GB of 4G, and 1 Year Gourmet Society Membership, for £37.99.
