Sony Ericsson Z500
Average Ratings
My First Phone Ever
Looks:
The phone looks good in person except that it's big, but the antenna is internal, so it sort of compensates. Over time, the paint has chipped off some and it breaks into four pieces sometimes when dropped (front plate, back plate, battery, phone). The screen is STN (inferior to TFT), and what you see has inaccurate colors and noise.
Usage:
I think Sony Ericsson has designed a very scientific keypad and menu layout. It takes a day to get used to, and then everything makes sense with the back button and two big buttons that are otherwise labeled call and end. The menus are not the fastest, but very tolerable. I have experienced the blue screen crash before, but a negligible amount of times. (you just take out the battery). It charges quickly compared to my friends' phones. The battery life is decent. I charge about every two days, but I don't talk on it that much, like 5 or 6 short calls a day.
Media:
I bought a counterfeit USB cable in China, which has let me do file transfers between the phone and my computer. The pictures the camera takes are decent, it's actually the way the screen shows the pictures that disappoints most of the critics, I think. Ringtones and speakerphone sound great on this phone, which is a big plus for me. Video is alright, too. I made customized themes with Photoshop, and it's pretty cool. The sound for incoming texts has to be chosen from 7 (or so) preset ones.
Pros:
-simplistic design
-file transfer with USB cable (great)
-light weight
-durable (doesn't die)
-satisfactory battery life
-good address book
-very good voice dialing
-No external speaker
-Good speaker
-Lots of features (calendar, timer, etc.)
Cons:
-Button latency (slow for texting)
-Bulky
-Loose face plates if dropped too many times
-STN screen
-External screen is worse
-Undeletable chicken ringtone from Cingular
P.S. I called Cingular to give me the unlock code. I unlocked it via secret menu, and was able to use it in China...good thing.
boo!
this phone is terrible!
PROS:
I CAN GET A NEW ONE!
CONS:
Ugly orange light
ugly phone
stupid backgrounds
stupid ringtones
keypad sucks
phone crashes
phone makes weird sounds during calls
phone shuts off on its own
phone gives me a blue screen of death at least one time a week
quiet
vibrate is a little wussy
phone sucks dont buy it save you're money!
Wow this phone has been LAME
I have owned this phone since January 2005 and since the day I purchased its been pretty lame. I have had to phone replaced 4 times by cingular due to a manufacturer defect, its involves the speaker not working, I cant hear a word the caller says but the caller can hear me. The fifth phone sorta works, but yeah I mean hey you get what you give. Cool things you can record your own ringtones via the record sound function, and the picture caller id would be cool if the camera didn't royally suck. CONS this phone looks like a plastic brick [...], its big and bulky and fugly, also the camera is so pixelated at times its worthless and the user interface is confusing for the first day...
Ed. note: Cleaned up language
Worse phone I have ever own
I got this phone for free with a plan last December and I loved it at first but now I have learned that this is the worse phone ever invented. The only plus on this phone is that it was free.
The cons
~To big
~To loud when opening and closing
~constantly freezes
~Screen goes black
doesn't charge right
~The outside looks like crap from paint chipping off.
~You have to take out the battery and let it sit for a min to get it working when it freezes or the screen goes black
~Drops calls all the time
doesn't dail right, you have to hit the call button a few times for it too register
All in all its a piece of crap and if you want a decent phone avoid this phone at all costs!
Having this phone pretty much lowers the quality of my life
I bought this phone on a family plan with my fiance about a year and a half ago and was pretty happy with it at first other than the size. It's lucky for me that we have the same phone, because mine no longer charges. Whenever I have to charge the batter I have to switch our batteries and charge mine in his phone. I have dropped the phone a few times, but no more than I assume the average person would.
Pros
-Cheap
-Easy to use when working
Cons:
-Battery no longer charges
-Screen freezes and turns blue multiple times a day
-Phone randomly turns itself off, which has made me late to work as I use it for an alarm
-Too big!
-Clicks loudly when shut
-A couple pieces of my phone actually fell off right where it opens and closes, and I'm waiting for it to break in half at any given moment.
-A few of my buttons barely work now.
If you are planning on getting a two year contract with this phone, I'd start saving now for when you have to replace it with new phone priced at the ridiculous retail value like I have to do now.
I'm very Pleased
Before I purchased this phone I did a good deal of research on it. I read all of the reviews on this website plus more. I decided to go ahead with purchasing this phone at a retail pirce of $159.00. I wasn't able to get it cheaper because I am already in a plan. A day before I purchased this phone I went to my carriers location and asked to see the phone and use a working model. I had recently read on the reviews that people had been displeased with the size of the phone. I don't mind the size of the phone at all. I am 14 years old and it isn't much bigger than all of the phone that my friends have (V400) it is a quite bigger than the V220 but V220 doesn't compare to the Z500 with features. So when i finally got this phone I could not get it out of my hands. The features seemed to be endless to me. As myself being a teenager this is what we want in a phone. This phone had Music DJ which I was easily able to make a few cool ringtones on in the first day, 3D Darts, 3D tennis, a fighting game, a camera (that doesn't take THE BEST quality pictures in the world but its better than my past phone (nokia 3200) and the pictures are clear and I am please)a video camera, that I thought would be worse so I was also pleased with that and I was able to record a 3 minute video, MP3 ringtones, a Voice recorder, an outside colorscreen which you can take pictures with,and I liked the themes in on the phone when you set a theme as your wallpaper is has moving objets in the background. This phone has many things for a person to explore to go along with its loud speaker phone and good sound quality.
Pros:
Great Games
Outside Color Screen
Camera w/ zoom
Video Camera w/ zoom
MP3 player
Voice recorder
Loud Speaker phone
Sturdy built Feel
I also like how the buttons light up orange
Cons:
A LITTLE large but I like it
Screen could be bigger but I like it a lot
Overall I am very pleased with this phone and I would reccomend it to anyone.
Nice Phone
camera is not the best.
got freez few times.batery life is good.
4n is ROCK HARD. droped so many times on cement floors, parking lots.. but still works well.
Nice phone
An All Around Great Phone
This is my first Sony Ericsson and I have to say that I am more than pleased. Every aspect of this phone is wonderful. The only thing that I may be a turnoff to some buyers is its size. This phone is a little large, however not bulky or heavy. The larger size of this phone is actually the reason I purchased it.
Pros:
Nice software function
Crisp screens, inside and out
Nice feeling keypad
Loud ringtones
Loud, clear earpiece
Excellent speakerphone in any environment
Nice selection of wallpapers
Clear pictures and video
Memory
Great signal (Cingular: Pittsburgh, PA)
Cons:
There are absolutely no cons when comparing this phone to something like the Samsung x427
I'd reccomend this phone to anybody who is looking for a reasonably priced camera flip-phone.
SE is brilliant!
This phone has been amazing. I've been using it for quite some time now and I finally have taken the initiative to write a review about it. Ever since the day I bought it I have been finding new and fun things that it can do. It has great features for what I payed for it, but most importantly it does what it is supposed to do superbly...it performs as a cell phone connecting great calls.
PROs
-Large size and ergonomical shape makes it easy to hold in any size hand
-Internal and external screens are bright enough to read in direct sunlight
-Ringtone volume and call volume have a wide range and are easily heard
-Sound in call is crisp and at a comfortable volume
-Software is different yet ver intuitive
-Camera is decent for being VGA
-Everything about the phone is customizable, from the ringtone, to the wallpaper, down to the faceplates
-Phone hinge and overall phone is very sturdy
-Internal antenna leaves pocket users worry free
-Can be repeatedly dropped without narry a scratch
-Signal strength is superior to any other phones I've used (Samsung, Nokia, Moto, LG)
-Cingular: Gettysburg, PA
CONs
-Battery life could be improbed
-Screen is small for the size of the phone
-Ringtone selection on phone is poor although additional ringtones can be recorded through the recorder on the phone or downloaded
Overall I have been extremely pleased with this phone. The quality and usability of this phone have far exceeded any of my expectations out of a cell phone. This is undoubtably the best phone that I have ever came across, bar none.
Excellent phone that lacks Bluetooth
When I found out that Sony Ericsson was making a superior clamshell phone, I was excited. Now that I finally own it 9 months later, I am disappointed in a few ways. The phone lacks the interaction between other phones for file sharing. This phone has no Bluetooth or Infrared. The only way you can send other files is through email on your phone. Most unfortunate. Also, the screen might have 65,000 colors, but is much inferior in clarity to the K700i. (which has a phenomenal screen.) On the positive side, everything you have known & loved about Sony Ericsson phones is included. The best thing I have found about it is the reception. It seems to be stuck on full bars! My friend & I have Cingluar & we compared my Z500a with her new Motorola & the Z500a has almost 2 bars more in every location! Another awesome aspect of the phone is how fast it is. Going through pictures or menus is the fastest than any phone I have ever used. (ive been through 6 this year. Strange, I know.) The phone also feels sturdy in your hands. Not flimsy like some Motorola's I tried. With the inclusion of EDGE technology, the Internet is also much faster than GPRS.
Cons:
-No bluetooth or infrared
-Screen could be better
Pros:
-Great construction
-Extremely fast processor
-Extremely fast EDGE Internet technology
-Takes great pictures & video Capture
-Excellent reception everywhere
-Free downloads from Sony Ericsson
-Buttons feel great
-Phonebook is a major plus
Pick it up, the pros outlast the cons. Hope I helped!
