Tag: sony ericsson

  • Sony Ericsson Cedar Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2010 Sony Ericsson Cedar review page. Released in early 2011 SE Cedar is a completely conventional candy bar style mobile phone. There is nothing special or outstanding about this phone except that it has been designed to be environmentally friendly through the use of re-cycled or eco-friendly  materials where possible. The SE is often part of a under $80 pre-paid package (2011) which means it is a very good deal. The SE Cedar is not a mid-range or high end phone so it can't be compared to the latest touch screens or other GPS or Wi-Fi equipped.  The  Cedar is the latest refinement of traditional mobile phone.  Lots of people do not want or need a large iPhone like touch screen and this is the phone designed for them.  The SE Cedar looks good in real life and it feels light but good to use and won't attract attention remaining anonymous to thieves who target the slab phone users - you get the message. In the hand the SE Cedar is a strange mix of the past and present.  The back of the phone feels light and smooth much like the old Nokia 3120 with changeable covers.  The keypad on the other hand feels solid with the key presses cushioned and feeling distinctly high end, probably the best feel of any design currently available.  The larger buttons also means that most with larger fingers will be able to use it too. We like it and you will too. The user interface is the latest version of the flash based system used by Sony for the last decade.  It works in the same fashion as when the k800i first appeared all those years ago.  We don't have any complaints since it works faster or in a more fluid fashion than previous version. The SE Cedar has 3G capabilities which means you can still get all the mobile phone optimized websites to work at a good speed, albeit on a small screen. The signal reception quality is very good along with the voice quality and the sound of the loud speaker. The battery life is is amazing at about 2 weeks on stand-by and We can't really say much more about the SE Cedar since it is designed to meet the needs of the average user. It hasn't been design to lead the category with fancy functionality apart from environmentally friendly materials. Overall the SE Cedar does the basics very well.  Text, talk and email notifications. You can write emails too but that's difficult without a proper qwerty keypad.  As a basic or traditional mobile phone it looks good and works well, if that is all you need than this is a perfectly good choice. In fact its probably one of the best conventional candy bar phones you can buy in 2011. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Cedar
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Tri-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Candy bar
    • L111 x W49 x D15.5 mm Weight 84 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 2MP
    • Video Camera 320x 240 pixel main video camera 15FPS
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2.1
    • CPU XXX
    • Memory Up to 280MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features Web Browser JAVA Apps 3.5mm headphone socket Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 1000mAh battery Up to 19 days Standby Up to 12 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $39 AUD November 2011 (Pre-paid) From $59 AUD June 2011 (Pre-paid) From $79 AUD January 2011 (Pre-paid)

  • Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2010 Sony Ericsson Experia X10 Mini Pro review. The SE X10 Mini Pro is the smaller brother to the X10 and the bigger bro to the X10 Mini that doesn't have a slide out keypad. It is also one of the company's first Android based mobile phones, although running the old version 1.6.  The X10 Mini is available from all networks including the Telstra NextG compatible. We are going to be completely blunt to say the this review is going to be really short.  The main reason is that we simply lost interest in going too deep into the user experience. The user interface uses the first version of the Google Android operating system and it shows.  It cannot do a lot of things you would expect in a mobile phone priced in this category for 2010.  Cheaper Sony Ericsson phones like the Vivaz have a better user experience.  While everything worked smoothly it was a relatively slow experience. The quality of construction is good but it does not give the impression of premium quality.  Even the cheaper HTC Wildfire and Samsung Wave look and feel better.  The X10 Mini Pro may have a good keypad but that doesn't compensate for the bigger screen size required for an interface that is designed for touch screens.  The small and low resolution 240 x 320 pixel screen doesn't help matters wither.  The surface of the X10 Mini may be small but the keypad makes it quite a thick phone. We tried to like the X10 Mini Pro since it had high level marketing but in the end it does not live up to expectations.  There are better phones in the Sony range and for cheaper prices.  The 2010 X10 Mini Pro is what we can call a good phone but not at its present price. In all honestly this phone is perfectly suited to sell as a pre-paid package price? - say under $350 because the HTC Wildfire priced under $350 is a better phone.  Without a low price tag the X10 Mini Pro has short falls in design that cannot be overcome.  In the lower price bracket it would be our recommended model but until then there are better models. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Tri-band 3G 850/1900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 10.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Touch screen and QWERTY
    • L90 x W52 x D17 mm Weight 120 grams
    • Display/s 2.6 inch External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 5MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 30FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2
    • CPU 600Mhz
    • Memory Up to 128MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email Andriod Store FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 930mAh battery Up to 360 hours Standby Up to 4 hours Talk Time
    • Price history Under $500 AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Spiro Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2010 Sony Ericsson Spiro review/information page. The SE Spiro is marketed as a Walkman phone so you can expect a fully functional music player on board.  However it is only a GSM phone which means it will be reasonably priced.  It hasn't been released yet so we can only tell you the basics of what's included on the Spiro. Essentially if you like listening to music or the radio then the Spiro has you catered for.  It can do the usual voice, SMS and Facebook, Twitter and email too if required but due to the lack of 3G it won't be a fast experience.  It will come in a wide range of colors too so even the boys will be happy with one. Overall this should be a reasonably cheap phone for people with basic communication needs but want fully functional music system. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Spiro
    • Network Dual-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Dependent on country)
    • Design Slider
    • L92 x W48 x D16.75 mm Weight 90 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 2MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera Yes
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 5MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 13 days Standby Up to 10 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Zylo Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2010 Sony Ericsson Zylo review/information page. The SE Zylo is the bigger brother to the basic Spiro.  The most important difference and inclusion is 3G capability. The Zylo is branded a Walkman phone and so has a fully functional music system.  Apart from that it appears to have all the features of the current W9xx series phones although SE have not said if it will have an A-GPS chip but they have included geo-tagging and Google maps!  Aside from music it has all the communication options that you need in a mobile phone for 2010! All the latest Sony Ericsson mobile phones use the latest Flash based navigation system and are genuinely decent regardless of model.  The OS is relatively simple and easy to learn and use.  Assuming that competitors phones have the same hardware features the only reason why you'd pick another brand is just based on how it looks and feels and price. To sum up the Zylo appears to be a very decent presumably mid-range but music focused mobile phone.  The PR images show an old school cassette tape as a animated graphics which the younger crowd will think quite quaint since they have never seen one before!  Should be decent phone. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Zylo
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 900/2100 HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Slider
    • L103 x W52 x D16 mm Weight 115 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 3.2MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera Unknown pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 260MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS??? Accelerometer Gesture control JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 13 days Standby Up to 10 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the 2010 Sony Ericsson Vivaz review page. The SE Vivaz is one of the brand's first fully touch screen so is something of a star during release.  However there are two versions of the phone the regular Vivaz and the Vivaz Pro! The regular Vivaz can be described as a high end touch screen phone in terms of standard functionality and apes the iPhone in terms of features.  Standouts: the display screen is very good, the camera is HD or high definition but only 720p which is not really full HD but it better than the rest.  Tests by much more reputable websites show that the pictures produced by the camera are close to the average still camera and the video quality is outstanding for a mobile phone.  We do post some pictures in the past but since this is a BLOG now we don't bother. First off, the feel when you get it in your hands is strange.  You expect the Vivaz to have metal accents and have a bit more weight to it.  Of course you get neither, this is a all plastic of good quality and very light mobile phone - for a touch screen. It definitely does not feel like a high-end phone. The buttons on the phone has a nice feel but not the best.  Anyway the weighting is and feel is not the selling point. The selling point is related to the HD decals on the phone! The usual user interface has been redesigned for touch screen use and at first it is different to the usual standard by other brands.  Strangely it uses Symbian OS (aka Nokia) under a heavily customized graphic interface and it does work although takes time to work out which gestures are required at which point. it is hard to tell that it is related to Nokia's S60.  Overall the interface does work well and flashy too but there are lags every so often.  It is just as fast as the iPhone or any other high end touch screen mobile phone currently available.  It does not work as well as the Apple - probably due to the way its kinetic scrolling has been designed. Another standout: there are also a number of data input options on the Vivaz and they include a onscreen Qwerty keypad, regular numeric keypad, stylus input for hand writing recognition.  This is a first we've seen and clearly able to cater to all types of people. A few standardized features will help convince you the the Vivaz will not cost too much in terms of propriety accessories!  For example you get a microSD card and microUSB! As a high end mobile phone it does have all the features you could want!  Voice, video calls, SMS, Email, IM, Facebook, Twitter, MS-Office reader, Youtube, MS Activesync compatible.  The music and video is catered for by an updated Sony music bar! The web browser is based on the standard S60 version so it does work well with FLASH compatibility built in. There are few apps compatible with the phone at the moment so inbuilt applications are very important and in this regard it does have all that you need. Overall it is something different to the iPhone and in many ways the Vivaz is better.  There is a ton of functionality programmed into the phone! The only thing missing is a more expensive feeling case.  So if you want the best camera and video phone available to date then the Vivaz is the one to get. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Vivaz
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 10.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Touch screen
    • L104 x W50 x D15.5 mm Weight 97 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 360 x 640
    • Camera 8MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera 720P(1280x720) pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2 DLNA
    • CPU 720Mhz Separate graphics processor
    • Memory Up to 75MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS Accelerometer JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free Li-Po 1200mAh battery Up to 18 days Standby Up to 13 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Anio Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Sony Ericsson Anio review/information page.  The SE Anio is marketed as a feature and fashion phone so it has some interesting functionality included.  Again at the airport we gave it a quick test and thought it was pretty decent. For a phone with a large screen and a slider it was surprisingly light and thin.  The quality of materials is pretty good plastic too with hints at former SE design and quality.  The Anio is a touch screen phone although it has a slide out keypad.  As a bonus you also get a desktop stand and a matching bluetooth wireless headset.  The screen resolution is also pretty good too. The user experience is pretty good too, using the latest FLASH based interface, which means some nice screen transitions and animations however it is nothing exceptional.  It is also a relatively quick phone without any significant lags so overall a very good impression.  However the it is also a hybrid touch screen phone where some of the functions can be controlled by the screen but the rest rely on the hardware buttons.  It's all a bit weird like the Samsung's version so needs to be improved. All your communication options are available. SMS, Voice, MMS, Email and MS-Active Sync.  The Anio can do it all and some more thanks to what is getting to be a decent Netfront web browser with RSS capabilities. Once again like most SE phones the Anio is packed with the latest hardware for 2010.  It features 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Web browser with FLASH, A-GPS and a 8Mp camera so all the latest and probably essential features of a mobile phone in the years ahead. You also get a app that allows you to use the phone as a controller for your PS3 which actually works quite well but still no match for a regular controller.  You could probably control other devices through the Anio since it has DLNA but known SE propriety bias it is unlikely to be compatible with the latest equipment - only time will tell. Overall this is something different to the iPhone and if you don't need or want to spend you cash on largely useless apps then this is a perfectly good alternative.  Just don't pay too much for it. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Anio
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 85-/900/1900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Slider
    • L104 x W50 x D15.5 mm Weight 134 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 432 x 240
    • Camera 8MP LED Flash
    • Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 280MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 13 days Standby Up to 10 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Aspen Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Sony Ericsson Aspen review/information page.  The SE Aspen will be released later in 2010 as SE answer to a growing number of Qwerty based mobile phones.  However Sony have also included a touch screen which is a first for us anyway. The Aspen like most new Sony Ericsson mobile phones is packed with the latest hardware for 2010.  It features 3G, Wi-Fi, decent Web browser (WinMobile7), A-GPS and a 3.2Mp camera so all the latest and probably essential features of a mobile phone in the years ahead. Despite all that the most interesting thing about the Aspen is that it will probably run the latest version of Windows Mobile 7 underneath the Experia Panels interface.  So until Windows Mobile 7 is finally released don't expect the Aspen!  Overall looks like a great phone but there are many alternatives to choose from. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Aspen
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Qwerty based
    • L117 x W60 x D12.45 mm Weight 130 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 320 x 240
    • Camera 3.2MP Auto-focus LED Flash
    • Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 100MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 25 days Standby Up to 8 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Yari Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Sony Ericsson Yari review. Welcome to the Sony Ericsson Yari review/information page.  The Yari is another slider phone from SE and we can not understand why you'd pick this one ahead of 'the other' slider the Hazel.  We assume that it was released as a stop gap measure until the Hazel was finally relased!  It seems like a entirely regular mobile phone. We haven't managed to get our hands on a real one yet so this page is 'reserved' for the full review when that happens.  So until then here are our comments. The PR says that it is a gaming centric mobile phone with motion sensitive games and pedometer for walking/running.  Apart from that there does not seem to be any exceptional about the phone.  We reckon a perfectly acceptable mid-range mobile phone but you really need to standout with something more these days.  Perhaps a more attractive design? Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Yari
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 850/900/1900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Candy bar
    • L100 x W48 x D15.7 mm Weight 115 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 5MP Auto-focus LED Flash
    • Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 60MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS Accelerometer sensor JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 18 days Standby Up to 8 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $XXX AUS 2010 (Outright)

  • Sony Ericsson Hazel Review

    hyp4mhz
    Welcome to the Sony Ericsson Hazel review/information page.  The SE Hazel is a deceptively fully functional mobile phone.  The Hazel in hindsight is essentially a repackage Elm but in a slider phone format and like its sister phone it boasts a ton of hardware and software features you would actually use. We don't know why its called the Hazel but this naming system is what SE are doing these days with all their phones. We haven't managed to get our hands on a real one yet so this page is 'reserved' for the full review when that happens.  So until then here are our comments. The Hazel is packed with the latest hardware for 2010.  It features 3G, Wi-Fi, Web browser with FLASH, A-GPS and a 5Mp camera so all the latest and probably essential features of a mobile phone in the years ahead.   Front on it looks like a regular chocolate bar phone until you see the side profile and it has a curved back!  Yes it uses real metal and rubberized plastics so should feel good in the hand and use.  Should be a decent mobile when it is released. Specifications
    • Sony Ericsson Hazel
    • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Dual-band 3G 900/2100 (Dependent on country) HSDPA 7.2 Mbits data speed (download) HSUPA 2 Mbits data speed (upload)
    • Design Candy bar
    • L102 x W49.5 x D16 mm Weight 120 grams
    • Display/s External TFT 240 x 320
    • Camera 5MP Auto-focus LED Flash
    • Video Camera 640 x 480 pixel main video camera 24FPS
    • Connectivity Wi-Fi Bluetooth V2
    • CPU ???Mhz
    • Memory Up to 280MB available to user MicroSD up to 16Gig
    • Ring tones MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
    • Features A-GPS Accelerometer sensor JAVA Apps Music and Media player Organiser/Calender SMS, MMS, IM, Email JAVA MIDP 2.0 FM radio with RDS Speaker Phone/Hands free BST-43 3.7V 1000mAh Up to 18 days Standby Up to 10 hours Talk Time
    • Price history From $xxx AUS 2010 (Outright)