Sony Xperia Z4 10.1 inch Tablet with Keyboard (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 3Gb RAM, 32Gb storage, WLAN, 4G, BT, Camera, Android 5.0)

This is my third Android tablet and far and away the best I've ever had (the first was admittedly the Motorola Xoom, one of the first ever Android tablets so not much of a comparison, but the second was Google's own Nexus 7).The first thing you'll notice about the Z4 when you take it out of the box is its weight, or rather lack of it. Compared to other tablets I've used it's like a feather. I tend to do a lot of web browsing and watching films on the go and at no point has it felt uncomfortable. Holding it in one hand while using the touchscreen is no problem whatsoever.The screen itself is fantastic. As above, I watch a lot of films on it, many of which are in HD and on the Z4 they look amazing. Colours really stand out and the screen is still visible in moderate sunlight. It can be difficult to see in bright sunlight but that's a problem I've had with every tablet and phone and one which nobody seems to have solved outright.In terms of battery, I've found it to be sufficient for purposes. I can watch a film or two with the screen brightness of maximum (if you're paying this amount of money for such a good screen why waste the quality?), do some light web browsing and listen to several hours of music via headphones (with the screen turned off) and still have battery left when I come to charge it at the end of the day.In terms of apps it has full access to Android Play although my only criticism is the bloatware that Sony builds in which cannot be uninstalled. I tend to disable those apps from the settings so that they don't show up in the app drawer and get in the way. No big deal.If you have a PlayStation 4 then the Z4 comes with RemotePlay built in. This allows you to connect to your PS4 over WiFi and remotely access it, whether to browse media or play PS4 games. This works fantastically in my experience and plays games with little to no noticeable lag. Touchscreen play for PS4 is less than ideal but if you have a PS4 Dualshock these connect via Bluetooth for easy gaming.Over here in the UK we have no choice about the bundled keyboard, which I think is an optional extra elsewhere. This drives up the minimum price and I found this an annoyance when deciding to take the plunge, although now I have it I find myself using it a lot more than I expected to and am actually quite happy that I have it. The tablet slips into a grip like protrusion at the back of the keyboard, where the angle can then be adjusted to whatever suits best. The tablet connects to the keyboard via Bluetooth (both devices have NFC so simply touching them the first time pairs them). When connected, the tablet turns into "laptop" mode, which introduces a Windows-like start menu, and a customisable list of favourite apps along the bottom. The mousepad works fine, with adjustable sensitivity. I find it works well for some functions (such as selecting a precise position in a word document) but less so for others, such as general navigation, but you can switch between touchscreen and mouse by simply using either so you get the best of both worlds.The keys on the keyboard are relatively cramped, which is to be expected from this size device. However, I've used it many times for writing word documents and emails, and after a few minutes of initial adjustment I've had no problems to speak of. It includes hot keys to adjust things such as device volume and turn the screen on and off, which are particularly useful when I use my tablet as a music player on my desk at work.I've opted for the WiFi only version, which was a bit of a gamble for me as I've only ever used 3G/4G tablets previously. Considering the price difference between the two models, it isn't a decision I've regretted. Films and articles are downloaded before leaving the house, and if there's any browsing I want to do when I don't have a WiFi connection then I can always tether the device to my phone. (Speaking of which, if you have an Xperia phone there is an app called Xperia Connect which manages all of the Internet sharing for you through NFC).Overall I'm incredibly pleased with the Z4 and would definitely recommend it. The price is steep but the product is premium and made especially good value if you use it in coordination with the Sony ecosystem such as Xperia phone and PS4.I'm happy to answer product questions if the review hasn't covered particular areas.

This my first tablet, so I can't say whether the Sony Xperia Z4 is a better or worse choice than a tablet made by anyone else. What this is, is a review written by someone who has used a number of Android smartphones and who has now taken the plunge and got himself a tablet. And though I had a few initial irritations, after over a month's use I've got used to the tablet and am now extremely happy with it.The technical specifications of the tablet are widely available; indeed, they're further up this page under the description of the tablet, so I shan't repeat them. This is more about the look and feel of the thing, how easy or difficult I have found it to use, what's been good and what has been less so; and I hope that's useful for you.So, on we go. The tablet came with a keyboard - when I ordered it there wasn't a choice about this - and I'll comment on that later. The first thing I noticed about the tablet was just how thin it was; this was commented on in the reviews I read prior to ordering but it was still something of a surprise when I opened the box. It feels stable enough in use - no noticeable flex or bend, it sits easily in the hand and it's survived me mistakenly sitting on it when it was on the sofa - but it really is surprisingly narrow, and very light too. It arrived partially charged (about 70% full) which was useful as I didn't need to wait to get started. The on/off switch is on the left hand side of the screen if you hold it in landscape mode and doesn't protrude much; just enough to let you feel it easily, but not so much that it catches on things.Then there were a few annoying things. I had a small problem putting a micro SD memory card in; the cover for the slot has such small gaps around that I couldn't get it open with a fingernail. Instead I had to, very carefully, use a small screwdriver to prise the cover open. Once the memory card was in, I also had to press it down with the screwdriver to get it to lock in place. After that, the cover slotted back in place very easily (it irritated me at the time, but since I only had to do it once that's worn off). The screen is covered by two plastic films. The instruction manual suggests taking one off and leaving the other in place, which isn't the sort of thing I'd expect on a tablet with the premium price this has. A number of reviews have commented that the tablet doesn't have the tough gorilla glass found on other top-end devices and I think it would be better if it had. As it was I left both plastic films in place and the tablet works just fine with them there.After that though, things have all been good. Set-up was straightforward and though Google tried to put every app I've ever used onto the tablet, which was annoying and meant I had to stop things uploading, delete some and add some others, this is a fault caused by Google not by the tablet. I found the interface Sony have put on the tablet easy to use; not too intrusive and though there are things they've added I'm unlikely ever to use, it's not a big issue for me. The screen is bright and colours are good, and though it can be a little difficult to see in strong direct sunlight, I'm never likely to try and use it in such conditions.I've used the tablet to watch a couple of programme through the BBC iPlayer app and these generally work well. The first one I tried to watch stopped playing for no apparent reason a couple of times, but when I started watching again the programme resumed just a few seconds behind the point at which it has stopped, which was good. The second programme was just fine. I also used the tablet to watch a film purchased through Google play. I used the tablet to connect to my TV through the wireless router in the house and this was fine; the film looked great but if I'm being super-critical, the dialogue was just a tiny bit behind the image. Not enough to be annoying, and this may be the fault of connecting things wirelessly rather than of the tablet, but it was enough for me to notice. When I'm next on holiday I'll load up a few films to watch on the tablet and I think that'll work very well.The sound from the tablet is great, whether through headphones or the tablet's speakers; while I was watching one TV programme the sound seemed to be coming from a soundstage that extended wider than the tablet's screen, with good stereo separation too. I'm not sure where the speakers are inside the tablet, but they're pretty good.The cameras on the rear and front of the tablet are perfectly useable; not outstanding, but that's not an issue for me as I'm unlikely ever to use them for anything other than snaps. There are a range of fun and creative modes available to explore and even a manual setting, so you have options to do more than just take snaps should you want to. I suspect that all of this would be more use on a phone than a tablet, but it's good that the capabilities are there. Whilst we're on photos, I've been using the tablet for some photo editing with Lightroom on Adobe Creative Cloud and this works very well on the tablet. It's not the equal of using a desktop PC for anything complex, but for general post-processing it's fine.And then there's the keyboard. I would have been unlikely to buy one had I been able just to buy the tablet but since I didn't have a choice, I've got one; and from this unpromising point of view and some initial problems getting the tablet to recognise it, I've come to like it a great deal. It was a pain getting it connected and the supplied instructions didn't help much either. With bluetooth turned on, the tablet would recognise that the keyboard was there but then fail to connect. I eventually got the tablet and keyboard to talk to each other by telling the tablet what kind of keyboard layout I wanted: this was extremely irritating at the time but now the two are now playing happily together.The keyboard itself is very slim; slimmer even than the tablet. Despite this the keys have a reasonable depth of travel so that you aren't left wondering whether you've pressed something or not. The main problem I have with the keyboard is caused by my fingers being on the large side, so sometimes I inadvertently press two keys together and this means that spell-checking is a must (I do apologise if I've missed anything, as I'm writing this using the tablet and keyboard). If I'm being picky, the shift key on the right hand side of the keyboard is awkwardly placed by the direction arrows which makes it difficult to press accurately; if you're more than just a two- or four-fingered typist (which is about my level) this may cause you problems but I'm not that accurate so it's only an infrequent issue for me. The trackpad is fine, at least once you've realised that there are right-click and left-click options available at the bottom of the trackpad, you just can't see them. But on the whole I like the keyboard, which I have used to type this review, and together with the tablet you have something that can be a tablet when you want it, and something like a touch-screen enabled netbook when you want that too. The keyboard and tablet can also be folded closed too, so the keyboard makes a cover for the tablet.One further point to note about the keyboard; though the tablet is waterproof, the keyboard isn't. If you plan to use the tablet in the bath (which I won't) or the kitchen (which I have) then take the keyboard off first.So after a month or so's use of the tablet, I'm very happy with it and suddenly that premium price seems like money well spent. At first I rated this as four-and-a-lot stars but now I'm happy to give this the full five. As someone new to tablets this, together with the keyboard, has seen me using both phone and desktop PC a whole lot less. I'm very happy with it and if, like I was, you're looking for a first step into tablets and are willing to invest a not-insubstantial amount of money, give this one a go. If you're more familiar with tablets and looking for a new one, then I'm sure you'll have a range of questions about this that I didn't, but you might want to have a look at this as your next step. In the short time that we've been together become my new technology best friend, and it might well become yours too.