We know, Sony’s Xperia Z is all the rage at the moment, what with its waterproofing and all, but the ZL deserves a turn in the spotlight too. After all, the two are nearly identical. Also, if you don’t visit the Sahara every other week and usually empty your pockets before going for a swim, you might find the ZL to be more appealing.

With us so far? If so and if you’re residing in Australia, we have big news for you – the ZL is up for grabs in those parts. Only from MobiCity so far, but other retailers and carriers should follow suit soon.

Then again, if you can’t wait to see what the competition has to offer, MobiCity’s deal will do just fine. The ZL goes for $699.99 outright (with “fast delivery”), which is considerably less than what folks in Mother Russia have to pay for the phone.

It’s also close to the official pricing in India, so all in all it’s probably what most retailers down under will be charging for the off-contract ZL. Meanwhile, the Z is at least 50 bucks pricier (including from MobiCity), so it’s all nice and fair.

Only the black version of the ZL is available in Australia at the moment, but expect a white model to come soon as well. As for specs, you probably know them all by heart already, but just to be sure here’s what you can expect in a nutshell – 5-inch Full HD screen, quad-core 1.5 GHz S4 Pro CPU, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, microSD support, 13 MP camera, 2,370 mAh battery, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Z or ZL? That is the question.