[Sony Xperia Z Ultra] Benjiro:
Personally i find the X2 better priced then the P8Max ... the difference in size is not so much but in return you get more screen, better battery and the same specs. And it helps when the price is only 350/400€ ( 2GB/16GB vs 3GB/32GB ).

Its not like anybody will really call long time with a phatablet anyway.

After having the Sony Z Ultra for almost a year and half ( technically it was older then that because i got it second hand ), i noticed a few things that any successor for it needs:

* Better battery: The Sony's 3000mAh is not bad but i feel at times that it handicaps me to a power plug too much.

* Removable battery dilemma:

This has become a fairly big point in my eyes. I am starting to HATE phones with non-removable batteries. In the past you where able to take out the battery and put in a bigger one with a higher capacity. Your phone grew a bit in size but it was manageable. Now because of those non-removable batteries, your forced to use battery cases, that massive increase your phone's size. You lose the water protection partially because in general those battery case's are not water tight, so while your phone may survive, your battery case is a different matter. And the bulk they add ... 1cm to the left, another to the back, some more top and bottom...

So my opinion has become fairly simple: Big phonetablet = lots of surface space. Do not wast that space by making it ultra thin. Most people end up using a cover case anyway to protect it, making it 5+mm thinker anyway. Use the space to the max. And frankly the Mediapad X2 is the first phonetablet that i have seen that pushes the battery to a very nice acceptable range ( 5000mAh ). The P8Max with its 4300mAh is not bad also ( still a fairly big jump up from the Sony Z Ultra's 3000mAh ).

In other words: non-removable battery? Compensate with a huge battery inside so people are not forced to use a ridiculous battery case. Another problem with those battery cases is: They do not direct feed the phone. So if the battery case for instance has a 3000mAh battery in it, it will only at best provide 70% of that battery power to the phone ( it charges the phones battery = heat = loss of efficiency ). So you think you have 3000 + 3000mAh = 6000mAh available but the reality is, you get maybe 2100 + 3000mAh.

And your stressing your internal battery more because its more charging instead of a single charge = your battery will lose efficiency more faster. A Li-Ion battery has the best efficiency at 30 to 70% ( it loses the minimal of capacity per year in that range ). When your battery is non-removable ( or lets just say, hell to remove safely ), maximizing your battery life for x years become more of a priority. Unless you buy new phone's on a regular basis. Stressing your battery with constant charges = reduces the batteries life.

The bigger the main battery in your phone, the better. Its as simple as that.

* Bigger screen ( without increasing the size too much ): How strange that may sound, in my opinion when reading comics for a long time, it start to strain my eyes too much. I always had the impression that the ZU wasted some space that might have been used more usefully.

Sorry for the long rant but this was on my mind for a long time. Up to now there was almost no viable alternative for the Sony Z Ultra, as Sony seems in no hurry to make a new Z Ultra 2 that fixes the current one's limitations. And i personally think that even if Sony brings out a ZU2, it will at best have a 3500mAh battery to compensate for maybe a higher resolution screen ( what technically almost nobody sees the difference anymore after 1080p ).

So i am glad to stumble upon these topic. It looks to me that the MediaPad X2 is a very good alternative for the ZU with the battery capacity to drive a big screen.

Advantages that i see:

* Price: So far the prices are very reasonable. No crazy 600€ prices that they ask these days. I got my Z Ultra for 350€ second hand ( what was a steal at that time because the retail price was closer to 500€ at that time ). The X2 for 16GB is being reported for 350€... Maybe a lot of people like to spend 50€ more on 32GB internal memory but in my experience your better off just buying a 64GB SD card ( good brand, high speed cost 27€ anymore ). And now with 128GB cards on the horizon ... I never filled up my ZU's 16GB internal storage ( 5GB free and the biggest app was my GPS software + maps, that got forced there because of the 4.3/4.4 update. And they solved that problem. Never got around to moving it out again *lol* ). 2GB memory = plenty. With android 5 and all the apps loaded that i normally use, i still have 700MB free ( another 60MB can also be saved because the darn xperia keyboard uses 65MB! ).

* Dual sim support is another advantage that the Chinese manufactures these days have. And with Android 5.1 having dual sim support build in. More advantage.

* Screen size being 0.6" bigger with 120 line more ( 1080vs1200 ).

* Huge 5000mAh battery vs 3000

* Only 35g more heavy despite the massive battery increase... and only 4x11x1mm bigger in size.

* Pure IPS screen. The Sony's ZU screen is definitely not bad but in my opinion nothing beats a pure IPS screen. This is coming from a guy that spend 1500€ in the past to get IPS screens shipped from the US because Dell did not bother selling 22/24" IPS screens at a reasonable price here ( talking years ago ).

* LED ... thank you very much! Those camera LED's may not be the best but it makes a huge difference. You do not know what you miss, until you do not have it. So many times when the room is slightly less lite, i noticed how terribly grainy my pictures are. Some pictures in half dark rooms where i can see perfect in, my pictures end up as black grainy blobs. I can forgive the 5MP camera but not the lack of proper light handling.

Disadvantages:

* Is it big like the ZU? yes ... do i use it to actually call people? No ... i noticed that most of the time i never put the ZU against my head. Very rarely if i want privacy but most of the time i simple use speaker when at home ( and i talk into the phone like a StarTrek ( TOS ) communicator ). Or i end up using wechat / whatsup with my wife etc ... And we text or voice message. Do i get strange looks? Most of the time not. Did have my new boss asking me during a work interview what that thing was, that i carried around. :D So the little big bigger size of the X2 does not scare me that much.

* ****ty GPU ... yea ... compared to the Q800 series the GPU seems to be fairly poor. So unless you play a lot of games, its not a device for you. Luckily for me ... i hardly play games on my ZU. Still miss controls too much and most games are designed for lower grade GPU's anyway.

In short: if i compare this to a wish list a few users posted in 2014, this phone actually has a lot of them. So, another guys opinion ;)