Sony teases Xperia Z Ultra phablet in invitation for July 4th event

Looks like Sony is bringing the big guns to the phablet battle. An invitation from the company for a July 4th event in Paris teases the latest Xperia smartphone, which is most likely the company’s rumoured phablet Xperia Z Ultra.

The picture shows a super slim handset, and there’s a stylus in tow urging the invitee to not forget the appointment. The text of the invitation lends credence to the phablet rumour with reference to a ‘big surprise’.

The phone in the image is very much in line with the other 2013 models in the Xperia line, with Sony’s now-signature aluminium power button displayed prominently. There’s bad news for those hoping for a waterproof phablet, since the image shows the 3.5mm headphone jack exposed. The right edge of the phone also follows Sony’s new design approach which we first saw in the Xperia Z.

The invitation for the July 4th event with the teaser (Image credit: Xperia Blog)

We do have some inkling of the specs of the Xperia Z Ultra from earlier rumours, which revealed the handset's codename Togari. It’s said to have a massive 6.44-inch 1080p Triluminos display with Sony’s X-Reality for Mobile technology. The display is said to be manufactured by Japan Display Inc, a joint venture of Sony, Toshiba and Sharp display divisions. The Z Ultra won’t be lacking firepower if word about a Snapdragon 800 chipset with a 2.2GHz quad-core CPU and Adreno 330 graphics is to be believed. It’s also said to be carrying 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and a microSD card slot.

The main camera of the Z Ultra is allegedly an 8-megapixel unit unlike the 13-megapixel camera on the Xperia Z. The lower-specced camera module could be included to control costs of production. On front, there’s said to be a 2.2-megapixel camera. The handset is expected to launch with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. While none of these specs are confirmed, we won’t have to wait too long to get an official specs sheet from the company.