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Review: Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Form Basics Extras Wrap-up Comments 3

Menus Calls/Contacts Messaging Social Networking

Calls

Want to make a call with the Vivaz? Good luck.

With a dedicated send key, you'd expect it to be easy. Nope. Pressing the send key only opens the call log. From there, you can press individual call logs to dial the number. There's no way to launch the actual dialpad from the call log, however. If you want to dial a number, you have to exit the call log, then find and press the phone icon on the screen. Only then does the dialer pop up. Using the dial pad is a chore, mostly because the display is so buggy and slow. On top of that, the software send key is too small, and located too close to the options menu button. Half the time you intend to place a call, you accidentally open the options menu instead. This gets old quick. Of course, many people choose to make calls directly from the call log.

Once you are able to successfully dial and connect a call, the Vivaz completely fails at usability. Nearly every touch phone I can think of offers nice, finger-friendly buttons on the screen to press for in-call options. Not the Vivaz. It forces users to peck at the options button, and then interact with a painfully small text-based list of items.

The same is true for the call log. Sure, it is easier to re-dial numbers there, as well as send text messages or emails, but they are all difficult options to interact with.

Contacts

The contact application is very similar to the contact app on S60 phones. The default activity when it is opened is to search through your contacts. Because text entry on the Vivaz is so comically bad, I say skip searching and just scroll through your contact list. It's much faster, trust me.

Each contact card can hold four numbers, an IM handle, several email addresses, a postal address, and notes. Users can add more detail fields if they wish. There's no integration with Facebook or other social networks like there is on competing smartphones. It offers just the basics, and lacks any sort of visual appeal.

Next page: Messaging

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Sony Ericsson Vivaz

3.2" display 360 x 640 pixels
1,200 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Headphone Jack (3.5mm)

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