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Sony Xperia ZR in the flesh, first impressions

Announced back in May, the Sony Xperia ZR is a somewhat toned down yet more affordable version of the Xperia Z.

The Xperia ZR has a smaller screen size, a similar design as the Xperia ZL and the same IP58 rating for water and dust resistance. What makes the ZR more palatable is the fact that it has a user-removable battery.

This brings us to wonder how it could maintain the water-resistance properties despite the seemingly normal design and construction which easily exposes the internal parts to foreign objects.

Sony’s simple yet elegant solution was to properly protect the electrical components with a rubber enclosure which means once the back cover is sealed in place, those tiny rubber dike prevents entry of water and dust (see the dark red rubber in the back plate above as well as the duct on the battery compartment that seals them together).

Event he speaker grilles at the bottom end of the back cover are also protected by a fine mesh of water-resistant screen that still allows air to pass but keeps water out.

The other ports found in the exterior of the handset are also sealed with a rubber flip cover, just like in the Xperia Z.

This slight departure in the original execution of the IP58 rating resulted to making the Xperia ZR a bit chunkier than the Z at 10.5m. It’s not much really and could be a pleasant trade-off to the other benefits that came with it.

The smooth, matte finish on the back side kind of feels a bit slippery though and since we’ve been using a lot of 4.7 or 5-inch smartphones, the 4.55-inch size of the Xperia ZR felt a bit smaller than we expected.

From the hardware side, the Xperia ZR practically offers everything you’d expect from a flagship smartphone.

Sony Xperia ZR specs:
4.55-inch LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels, 323ppi
Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2
Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 1.5GHz quad-core
Adreno 320 graphics
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
3G/HSPA+ 42Mbps, LTE 100Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, WiFi Direct
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
FM Radio Tuner
13MP rear camera, LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps, HDR
VGA front-facing camera
Li-Ion battery @ 2,300mAh
IP58 certified – dust and water proof
131.3 x 67.3 x 10.5mm (dimensions)
139 grams (weight)

Though it’s not yet officially launched in the Philippines, the Sony Xperia ZR sells for about Php22,990 over at Widget City {see listing here}. We also apologize for the color but this is the only remaining color variant we’re able to get our hands into.

Updated: Sony Philippines has set the local launch of the Xperia ZR on July 19.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

26 Responses

  1. Avatar for dvancleef dvancleef says:

    The main price difference is due to the ZR export-model only coming with 8GB of flash. The home-market version (Xperia A) comes with 32GB and sells for more than an Xperia Z

  2. Avatar for Blue Blue says:

    I’m a girl – straight, as girly and as kikay as they come with makeup that exceeds the stocks of department stores. I get the apology for having only this color because I personally wouldn’t be caught dead with this kind of color for a smartphone (unless naka-super sale). I love hot pink lipsticks but prefer my phone to either be in black, carbon or red color. White is tricky, it works for iPhone but not necessarily for other phone. Usually magenta or hot pink colors for me makes a gadget look like a cheap china gadget.

  3. Avatar for vector vector says:

    Downside is the Front Facing Camera (VGA) compared to the 2.2MP cam of the Z. No good Selfies here girls.

  4. Avatar for paul paul says:

    I want to know. Does the zr fits well on hand?

    • Avatar for vector vector says:

      Paul,

      ZR is much smaller but a little thicker than Z.
      answering your question, yes it fits well.

      Xperia Z : 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm
      Xperia ZR : 131.3 x 67.3 x 10.5 mm

  5. Avatar for Matthew Ames Matthew Ames says:

    I guess yuga’s apologizing to those people who want to see this smartphone in its standard/original color. People here should know how to read harder.

    • Avatar for red red says:

      oh, i really didnt know that we have a so-called “STANDARD” or “ORIGINAL” color for smartphones. :) thanks for that.

    • Avatar for nemeses nemeses says:

      @red
      idiot much, eh? of course, when we talk about “standard/original color”, it’s actually the color that’s defined by manufacturer as the most common one or basically the color that is being considered the most by the designer. man, let your brain cells move next time, dork!

    • Avatar for red red says:

      what’s your catch? and what’s your rant? oh haha. so seriously your comment is the product of cells moving from your brain? :0

    • Avatar for nemeses nemeses says:

      @red
      i said “let your brain cells move” not “let your cells move from your brain”. your comment is a prime example of how should people let their cells move out of their brain. i’m afraid that your level of understanding isn’t even on par with a mosquito’s understanding. poor you.

      also, your lack of capability of making a proper reply to my comment further exacerbates your lack of proper understanding.

      go make your early consultation to a nearest st.peter’s branch for your early planning of your memorial plan. you gonna need it later because the more you read and comment here, the more you let your cells go from your brain which will eventually cause your inevitable death: a death that will benefit mankind.

    • Avatar for red red says:

      hahaha are you writing a novel here? you are using TOO MUCH nouns, adjectives ah oh is that a verb? how’s thesaurus accompanied you so well? *popcorn mode*

    • Avatar for nemeses nemeses says:

      @red
      seriously, is that what you’re going to say?
      you can’t just think of a proper reply to my previous comment because your brain is at “rigor mortis” state. making a statement that will give you enough of an excuse for your lack of understanding?

      die already, maggot-brain! hahahahahaha!

    • Avatar for nemeses nemeses says:

      @red
      don’t worry, if you die today, there’ll be a place waiting for your arrival. fortunately, hell had vacancies.

      seriously, no medicine can treat that rotting brain disease of yours. still, i can’t believe i’m forced to write such novel for a worthless person – i mean piece of rotting trash like you. thank you for wasting my valuable time that’s better spent in killing @abuzalzal.

    • Avatar for Dr. Philthy Dr. Philthy says:

      @red
      Hah! So…still can’t accept that your brain’s rotting? As @nemeses said, worry not. You’re going to die soon and hell had vacancies.

      Heaven is no place for a filthy bastard like you. Make a proper reply to @nemeses’ comment regarding the “standard/original color” thing and we’ll stop extending your suffering and pain.

    • Avatar for anon anon says:

      @red
      When we say original/standard color, yun ang kulay na originally intended para sa phone. Kawawa ka naman, hindi mo man lang alam kung ano yung original/standard color? Get off this blog!

      You’ll end up making the blog a porn site!

    • Avatar for red red says:

      hahaha so these guys are “over reacting” to my post that there is a so-called ORIGINAL color? so how about a FAKE color? when we say ORIGINAL it means UNIQUE, UNUSUAL, NEW, PRIMARY. well if i am going to correct you guys that MAGENTA is the PRIMARY COLOR. check my post. please stop using WORDS without even know its etymology.

    • Avatar for red red says:

      so upon checking other yugatech blog posts, those names above mine are AVID pongy critics. and seeing their post with even nasty and horrid vernacular response, make me to think: they are here everyday! HAHA. hence, another man yells “Get off this blog!” strongly dictates: “We own the space for comments!” LOL. well, the site owner can even check my IP or email address, and let see “WHO IS WHO”. :D I dont want to engage further with your “rubbish”

  6. Avatar for Jay Jay says:

    I’m thinking that the author feels that only male techies read this blog hence the apology for the “feminine” color of the unit.

  7. Avatar for fartswor fartswor says:

    “This slight departure in the original execution of the IP58 rating resulted to making the Xperia Z a but chunkier at 10.5m. It’s not much really and could be a pleasant trade-off to the other benefits that came with it.

    The smooth, matte finish on the back side kind of feels a bit slippery though and since we’ve been using a lot of 4.7 or 5-inch smartphones, the 4.55-inch size of the Xperia Z felt a bit smaller than we expected.”

    Please check. You’re referring to the ZR in these paragraphs right? Not the Z.

  8. Avatar for meh meh says:

    This costs more than an xperia Z, the Xperia Z now sells new for around 22k with dock…

  9. Avatar for Jan Jan says:

    the xperia zr’s water resistance is actually higher than that of xperia z’s ip57.
    as with the removable battery, we have the xperia v remember.

  10. Avatar for Lgbt also Lgbt also says:

    you make all of us look narrow-minded. pink is an unusual color for a phone, period.

  11. Avatar for Lgbt rights Lgbt rights says:

    Why do you have to apologise for the colour? What is wrong with the colour pink?

    • Avatar for Abe Olandres Abe Olandres says:

      We wanted to show the usual color like the black or the white one.

    • Avatar for red red says:

      oh you dont have to apologize! in fact, it is a magenta color. one of the primary color. and it’s beautiful… you are just creating a wrong connotation that one must feel “sorry” if we do have a magenta or pink devices. just saying

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