Sony Xperia ZR

Water and dust resistant ; Camera works underwater ; Compact design

A little thick ; No real wow factor ; No word on AU release

If you're annoyed by the trend of huge smartphones, the Sony Xperia ZR should be right up your alley. It's a smaller version of the flagship Xperia Z but it offers much of the same features and functions including water and dust resistance.

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE ; 4.55" 16M-color 720p capacitive touchscreen with 323ppi pixel density; Bravia Mobile Engine 2 ; Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean with custom UI ; Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU;...

It should be obvious by this point that the Sony Xperia ZR is not just another shrink-to-fit exercise like most of them minis. Instead of focusing on size, Sony chose to put the specs first, take it from there and see how compact it can get.

To sum up the whole, if you want a decent quad-core based Android smartphone with a dust-proof and water-proof body, the Xperia ZR is a great choice. The closest rival handsets we can list out in the price and performance category are the Samsung...

Water and dust resistant ; Camera works underwater ; Compact design

A little thick ; No real wow factor ; No word on AU release

Sizable display with very good pixel density ; Powerful chipset for flawless performance

Average call quality ; Average camera ; Bland visuals

Although there are a few compromises associated with the otherwise solid performance of the Sony Xperia ZR, it manages present users with a satisfying experience that will surely be appreciated by tech-savvy people. The thicker profile, uninspiring...

All in all, new Xperia ZR from Sony is an all rounder that will give you the chance to dive into the pool without much reasoning and delivers accelerated performance.