It looks like Sony wants you to buy both their newest smartphone and tablet together. We found out today, from Xperiablog, that Sony will sell a dedicated micro USB cable for customers to charge their Xperia Z smartphone from their Xperia Tablet Z.
They also said that the much-hyped Xperia Z will not be the only device that you will be able to charge using the Xperia Tablet Z - other compatible phones for tablet to smartphone charging will be announced later.
The charging scheme makes sense, and it's surprising other mobile and tablet manufacturers haven't made this a standard feature by now, seeing as how tablets are increasingly gaining the power, features, and functionality that we normally associate with laptops. And you've been able to power up peripherals like smartphones from laptops ever since the first iPod was plugged into a PowerMac G4.
The Xperia Tablet Z isn't the perfect tablet to charge peripherals though. Because Sony wants it to be the world's thinnest tablet - coming in at a tich less than 7 mm - the power source, which is non-removable, took a hit. The Xperia Tablet only has a 6,000 mAh battery, compared to, say, the Nexus 10, which comes with a 9,000 mAh battery or the iPad's 11,666 mAh monster power source.
Still, a tablet battery, by definition, is bigger and has more capacity than the batteries of even huge smartphones like the Xperia Z, which has a 2,330 mAh battery. And while tablets are great for work and play, even in this modern age, sometimes you just need to make a call.
If you're a Sony-phile, own both of these mobile devices, and ever need to make a phone call but your Xperia Z's battery has gone out, you'll be able to charge it from your tablet - and who knows, there may be a way to do it underwater, seeing as how both Xperia Z devices are waterproof.