Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review: Specifications, Design and User Interface

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review: Specifications, Design and User Interface
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Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a multimedia centric smartphone which sports really good hardware specifications: 720 MHz processor, 8 MP camera which can record 720p video at 24 FPS and almost all the standard connectivity options. It runs on the Symbian S60 5th edition OS and has a 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen display. It is priced a bit high though; you can get an Android smartphone with similar specifications for just slightly more.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Specifications

  • Dimensions: 107 x 51.7 x 12.5 mm
  • Weight: 97 gms
  • Display: 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen display, 360 x 640 pixels, 16 M colors
  • OS: Symbian S60, 5th Edition
  • Processor: 720 MHZ processor, PowerVR SGX Graphics
  • Memory: 75 MB internal memory, upto 32 GB microSD
  • Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with DLNA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, microUSB 2.0
  • Camera: 8 MP camera, 3264 x 2448 pixels with autofocus and LED flash, 720p video recording at 24 FPS
  • Radio: Stereo FM Radio with RDS
  • GPS: GPS with A-GPS
  • Battery: Standard Li-Po battery, 1200 mAh

Design (3 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a stylish smartphone with a candybar design. It is very compact with dimensions of just 107 x 51.7 x 12.5 mm and it weighs less than 100 gms. The build quality is pretty good and the phone feels nice in the hands.

The front face is covered by the 3.2 inch touchscreen display and the three small keys below it: Call, Menu and End. The left side sports the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port. The right side hosts the volume rocker and the camera keys. On the top, there is the power key while the back houses the 8 MP camera and the LED flash with the battery compartment.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz has a 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen display with a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and supports upto 16 M colors. The display quality is pretty good and the contrast is excellent but the sunlight legibility is poor. Also the resistive touchscreen isn’t as good as capacitive touchscreens found in other smartphones in this price range.

User Interface (3 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz runs the Symbian S60 OS 5th Edition but the interface implementation is very different from the Nokia Symbian phones. It is very similar to the Satio’s UI. The interface has five tabs which you can customize and add different functions to, like favorite contacts, album gallery, shortcuts, animations, a Twitter widget etc. The main menu can be arranged in a grid or list format. It also has a file manager application built in which allows you to perform file operations and search for your files.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is powered by a 720 MHZ processor and a PowerVR SGX Graphics processor. The user interface is fluid and responsive and is easy to use. It sports the standard phonebook and messaging options. All in all, no complaints on the UI, though the Android phones and the iPhone have a much better UI for touch phones.

Multimedia (5 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz comes with the Media Center app, similar to the one found on most Sony Ericsson phones. It offers access to all the images, music and videos on your phone through a single interface. The photo gallery application allows you to access all the images on your device. It has support for tagging and allows you to view images as a slideshow or as a grid.

It also comes with the Walkman music player which has support for tracks, albums and playlists. It has a nice intuitive interface and has the basic playback controls. The video player on the Vivaz can play 3GP and MP4 videos in both landscape and portrait modes. The 3.2 inch display makes watching videos a nice experience. It also has a built in FM Radio with RDS. The FM reception is great and it supports the TrackID feature which lets you identify songs. The audio quality of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is really good; it can easily double up as a PMP when used with good headphones.

The Vivaz comes with a superb 8 MP camera which can capture images at a resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels. It also has autofocus and LED flash. The camera interface is detailed and easy to understand. It gives you access to a lot of advanced customization options for both images and video recording.

The Vivaz has one of the best cameras among smartphones. It produces excellent images with vibrant colors, great detail and good contrast. The camera can also record 720p HD video at a resolution of 24 FPS. The video recording quality is really good.

Connectivity (4 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz comes with all the connectivity options you could need in a smartphone: it has GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with DLNA as well as Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and microUSB 2.0 connectivity. It comes with the S60 Webkit based browser which is quite decent. It also comes with a GPS transceiver with A-GPS and comes with the WisePilot navigation application.

The Verdict (4 out of 5)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a good option if you are looking for a multimedia centric smartphone. However, if you can increase your budget slightly, you could get a phone like the <strong>Samsung Galaxy S</strong> or any one of the <strong>Top 10 Android smartphones</strong>. They offer a much better OS and comparable multimedia capabilities. Even the upcoming <strong>Nokia N8</strong> would be a great option.