Traveling with my Xperia Z

I went to Europe without a camera. Before you start calling me an idiot and an absent-minded packer, let me explain.

I had my Sony Xperia Z with me.

For those who have an Xperia, that should be enough explanation. For those who haven’t, well, here’s a long-winded one.

I had gotten my Xperia a few weeks before at a media dinner launch organized by Patrick Larraga, who was then head of  the Philippines’ Sony Mobile business. A few weeks later, Patrick was given a larger role for Southeast Asia and Oceana and was posted to the Singapore office as senior manager for marketing activation and PR.

The dinner was also attended by Sony Philippines’ big boss,  president and managing director Yasushi Asaoka, director of brand activation division Alvin de Vera, marketing manager Vince dela Cruz, and manager of brand activation division Erica dela Cruz.

Held at the presidential suite of Peninsula Manila, it was attended by a small circle of lifestyle journalists who were asked to surrender their phones at the door, which left not a few of us with separation anxiety — particularly those addicted to Facebook and Instagram.

The dinner featured 12 courses served by white-gloved butlers. You know how tasting dinners go — small, fantastically plated portions but still they fill you that when it’s time for dessert, nobody wants to lift his spoon anymore.

At the launch, however, there was a pause before dessert and the butlers brought out covered silver trays and set them before each of us. On a cue, they lifted the covers to reveal an Xperia Z for each one of us, propped up on a bed of flowers, and already loaded with all our contacts and photos from our now old phones!

Patrick explained the features of the new Xperia and one of them is a 13.1-megapixel camera.

Did you just say 13.1 megapixels, Patrick? 

Yes, he did. And that’s why I didn’t bring a camera to Europe. I didn’t need to.

The coolest feature of the camera for me is the geotagging, which is more accurate, down to street level and has thumbnails of the pictures snapped and when you go to album view, each picture has a caption of where it was taken. I love using this feature as a map. You can retrace your steps if you’re out sightseeing or use it for navigation, which was what I did when, after a coverage in Belgium, I went to the Netherlands and Italy.  

The camera has touch focus, face detection, image stabilization, HDR, and sweep panorama. The video, too, wallops a punch with HDR and all the technology that Sony Bravia has built on is now in your 5.4x2.8-inch screen.

I’ve to admit that it did take a little of adjustment again for me because I had not used an Android phone for a few years. My last Android was an Xperia Ray, also a beautiful, sleek, slim phone designed for women. Then I went through two different OS’s.

After teaching us how to navigate the phone, Patrick said there was another feature that’s uniquely Xperia. He walked to table with a vase filled with water and dropped the phone inside and left it there.

You could hear the gasp from the guests. This is not just a rain- or sweat-proof phone, it’s water-proof and submersible (30 minutes if you want to try it) as long as all the small covers (for the battery plug, earphones, micro-SD slots, etc.) are closed properly.

The super-slim Xperia “is focused on creating balance and symmetry in all directions,” with subtly rounded edges and smooth reflective surfaces on all sides. Front and back are made of glass and enhanced with reflection coating to “mirror the world around you.” The glass is shatter-proof and scratch-resistant.

Xperia Z was designed with Sony consumer electronics experts for quality craftsmanship and consistent attention to details.

“OmniBalance design balances technology vs. design, letting you get so totally immersed in the content that the hardware disappears,” says Patrick.

Well, not quite, because the hardware is pretty impressive. The Android v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) phone has a long-lasting battery (550 hours of standby, 11 hours of talk time, 40 hours of music);  an internal memory of 16 GB and card slot for up to 64 GB. 

Web browsing is fast and easy with Chrome, so is setting up your e-mail account, Skype, and Viber while Facebook and Twitter for Xperia are built in, as well as Picasa and Google+.

The video and music player, needless to say, are superb. There’s Bravia for video and Walkman for music, which revolutionized the music industry and technology decades ago is as great in the digital age, with crisp, clear sound from your phone to your ear (a great option is a pair of Bluetooth-enabled headset).

Organizing one’s pictures is a breeze and it’s fun playing with the touchscreen — swipe to the right to zoom in your album (or pinch out) and swipe to the left to minimize them (60 plus thumbnails on your screen).

I took more than 400 pictures in Europe with my Xperia, all great quality (even those taken in low-light conditions): from the stunning colors of tulips in Amsterdam to the gray skies of an unwilling spring in Belgium to the ruins of Pompeii.

I just didn’t need a separate camera anymore — or a music and video player, a voice or video recorder, or a laptop.

Or an umbrella — even if I was out in the spring rain.