Sony Xperia ZU

Sony is apparently working on a super-sized smartphone - a phablet if you will - over in Japan as it eyes up the market currently dominated by the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

The handset originally leaked as the Sony Togari, but since January it's blossomed into the Sony Xperia ZU, and even more recently the Xperia Z Ultra - a naming regime which highlights that this will be a top of the range device.

Like it or not, the phablet market is continuing to grow as more and more manufacturers join Samsung in the oversized phone arena, so it's no great surprise that Sony is looking to jump on the bandwagon with LG, Huawei, Acer and ZTE.

There have been a number of leaks and rumours floating around the web for the past few months, so we've gathered them together to bring you an overview of what Sony might be planning.

Sony Xperia ZU release date and price

While there's no clear indication of a Sony Xperia ZU release date, we reckon we have an idea when the Japanese firm will unveil its super-sized smartphone.

Over in Germany Sony has sent out invites to an event on June 25, while in France invites to a July 4 event show a slender handset propped up to one side while claiming Sony Mobile has a "big surprise" in store - how exciting!

If the Xperia Z Ultra does indeed make an appearance at one or both of these shows then you can probably expect the handset to hit stores towards the end of July/beginning of August.

And you might want to start saving now, as you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be arriving on the cheap.

Sony Xperia ZU display

There seems to be some confusion of the size of the screen on the Xperia ZU, but one common theme from all the leaks we've seen so far is that it's going to be over 6 inches.

The first round of rumours suggested the Sony Togari (as it was known then) would sport a mega 6.44-inch, full HD display which would trump the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate and Samsung's recently announced 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega.

This report was backed up a few months later by a couple of different sources - the latter of which also quoted a 342ppi pixel density on an IPS LCD screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution.

However there's a twist in this 6.44-inch tale, as the most recent spec leak for the Xperia ZU points towards the Sony handset having a slightly smaller, 6.21-inch display with a 1,824 x 1,080 resolution.

Sony Xperia ZU OS

There's not been a great deal of talk surrounding the operating system the Xperia ZU could be running. Perhaps that's because everyone assumes Android is at it's heart, but only recently has Google's platform actually been name checked.

According to a series of leaked screenshots claiming to show various details of the Xperia Z Ultra, you can expect the latest version of Google's software to adorn this phablet - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

To be honest we struggle to see how it will be anything else. There's the tiniest of outside chances Android 4.3 Jelly Bean may make an appearance, but considering the Xperia ZU launch is potentially days away we reckon Google may have already piped up with a release of Android 4.3 too.

Sony Xperia ZU processor

What goes hand in hand with a big screen? Big power, of course. And the Xperia ZU looks set to follow that trend with reports pointing towards a meaty 2.3GHz quad-core processor will be found inside.

This has also been quoted by another source, with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 looking like the chip of choice for the ZU.

Another source has suggested it will pack four cores clocked at 2.2GHz - but perhaps that's a little typo - backed up with a decent 2GB of RAM.

Sony Xperia ZU additional specs

In terms of built-in storage the Xperia ZU looks set to come with 16GB, although a microSD slot looks like a nailed on certainty as it follows in the footsteps of the flagship Sony Xperia Z.

Early leaks suggested we may see a beefy 20MP Cyber-shot camera complete with Carl Zeiss lens slapped on the back of the Xperia ZU, but more recent rumours seem to play down this powerful camera.

The Xperia ZU looks more likely to actually sport a more reserved 8MP snapper instead, while on the front we could be looking at a 1.3MP option.

With such a large screen and powerful processor the Xperia Z Ultra will need a battery big enough to keep it alive, and we're hearing it could arrive at around the 3000mAh mark.

This would be a touch smaller than the 3100mAh battery found in the Galaxy Note 2 and considering the Xperia ZU is supposed to be sporting a larger, higher resolution display battery life could be an issue.