The rumoured Sony Yuga and Sony Odin finally have a proper name, face, and category (no, it isn't a soap case, although it can be used as one!).

Sony unveiled the Xperia Z and the Xperia ZL at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 and by the looks of the new phones, guys, Sony is back in reckoning in the smartphones domain.

The Japanese tech giant seems to have left no tap unturned in loading some striking features into the new device – the new Xperia Z smartphone will work under water for up to 30 minutes; so you can take it to shower or dunk it in a basin for fun. Why would you do that? Just because you can!

In addition, it’s dust-proof (a much-needed feature here in dusty UAE), boasts of a stamina mode that will, according to Sony, double the stand-by battery life, and claims a one-touch mirroring or connectivity with a willing and able partner (a TV or a hifi).

“It doesn’t mind getting dusty – or wet,” claims Sony, and adds that, for the first time, a smartphone comes loaded with HDR video.

The device unveiled at the CES 2013 is exactly what it was expected to be, featuring a 5-inch 1080p HD Reality Display (1920 x 1080), 2GB of RAM, a 13.1MP rear camera, 2.2MP front-facing camera, 4G LTE data speeds, and a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor.

Many an analysts are claiming that the new Xperia phones are Sony’s answer to Apple’s iPhone 5 as well as the soon-to-arrive Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphone that is rumoured to be launching in the first quarter of this year.

We, on the other hand, believe that with the news Xperia line of phones, Sony is actually questioning the supremacy of leaders Samsung and Apple in the smartphones domain, and in the worst case scenario, will give newbies Nokia Lumia 920, LG Optimus G, HTC One and Motorola Droid Razr a run for their money.

The Xperia ZL, by the way, is the non-water-resistant mutant of the two – so don’t dunk that under water.

The Xperia Z and ZL are both Android-powered smartphones, and use a new version of Sony’s Mobile Bravia engine that is supposed to boost contrast and make colours pop.

While design and specs of the Sony Yuga (the Xperia Z) were ‘inadvertently’ leaked numerous times in the run-up to CES 2013, the actual phone does in fact do justice to all the rumours and promise of an iPhone 5-killer and a Galaxy S4-slayer.

Sony didn’t say when the phone will be available in-store or what would it cost to grab one, but did say that it is aiming to launch it in the first quarter of this year – around the same the Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to materialise.

And just to reiterate the ‘take me to shower’ feature of the new Xperia Z, Sony’s stand at the CES 2013 has an Xperia Z attached to a robotic arm that repeatedly lowers it into a bowl of water. Gulp!

PS: I'm definitely going to look for a 5" soap case and see if I can use that as the Xperia Z's cover.

Check out the Xperia Z's features here