Sony Ericsson Z520 / Z525
Average Ratings
Great Phone
This is a great phone with a ton of features. You can look at the info to find out what it has and all of the features are pros.
Probably the most important things to people to know are the battery life, camera quality, call quality, etc. So here is what I think:
-Camera/Video: Very good quality. I took some really nice pictures and they turned out very well. The Video is a little choppy but it's a phone and I don't expect super high quality video. It's good for a camera.
-Battery: It's been ok so far. I haven't really had the phone long enough to give a good opinion about it. It's not as good as my previous Sony Phone.
-Call Quality: I wish the volume would go up higher because I think if I'm ever in a very loud setting, I won't be able to hear well. I haven't tried it out yet in a loud place though and so far, the call quality is good. I get good reception and the speakerphone works very well.
I guess potential users will also want to hear what the cons are and here are my nit-picky dislikes about this phone.
-The antenna will take some getting used to but I don't think it really distracts from the phones attractiveness(is that a word?).
-The outer camera button is pushed sort of easily.
-The inside screen darkens quickly but that's not really a problem.
Otherwise, I have no other problems with the phone. I really like it and I would recommend it to anyone. I hope this helps.
Z520a Very Good Mid-Level Phone
I am a Cingular Agent and just bought the Z520a. I have a Motorola V3 as well, but I really liked the look and functionality of the Z520 and wanted to give Sony Ericsson a shot.
PROS:
Calls very clear.
Signal seems powerful (around the same as the V3)
Quad-Band
Easily Changeable Faceplates
30 sec+ video capture
Small form factor
Different backgrounds for Ext. CID and main screen
Long battery life
Ring lights
Mp3 Support
Full-Duplex Speaker
Infrared
Bluetooth
CONS:
Can't manually select a network
New charger, different from old SEs
Menu system not very customizable
Weird Siemens CF62 Spoiler Antenna
Overall this phone is great and I do not regret my purchase. I use the phone when I go out because it is not as fragile as the RAZR. While it doesn't sport the crazy megapixel cameras or expandable memory, keep in mind it is a mid-range phone. To get it for the price you can, some things had to be sacked. But for the average-high user, the Z520a is a great choice.
This Phone Is Great!!!!!!!!!
This phone is the best phone ever--
I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Yes all phones have their pros and cons but thee only thing wrong with this one is that the screen just the back light doesn't stay on=]
Other then that GREAT PHONE'!!
;]
Love My New Z520
I just bought the new Sony Ericsson Z520 and out of all the phones i've had, this phone is the best one.Its design is very unique.It comes in the color of silver and blue. Of course you can change that because it has interchangeable faceplates in a variety of colors.The phone is slim and sheek with the 4x Digital VGA Camera on the external part of the phone that takes great clear pictures.You have the basics that comes with the phone which is text messaging, mms to send videos, pictures and audio to your friends,add your favorite mp3 ringtones on the phone such as 50 Cent and more,and play your favorite games in which it comes with the demos of New York Nights, Lemonade Tycoon, and so on. It has great battery life up to 12 hours of talk time in which my Motorola V551 doesnt.I can add up to at least 35 mp3 ringtones and probably more and on my v551 i can only add up to at least 20. On the z520 i find the ringtones sound louder on that phone than on my moto v551.You can also change the equalizer on the ringtones if you want to add more bass to it or if you want to hear more of the voice or it you want more treble which i find pretty cool because my v551 didnt have all of this.Not even the so call Razr phones in which i bought and thank god exchanged it for the z520. Also, it is bluetooth capable in which i can transfer all of my ringtones,pictures,contacts,and videos from the v551 to the z520.Great reception and more storage space on the z520.It has special light effects too. My z520 lights up when the phone rings and you can also set the motion of it the way you want it to light up when it rings.Pretty cool ain't it? It has Mobile Instant Messaging such as the popular AOl, Yahoo and more. Cool themes and wallpapers on the phone.It also has Photo Id for your contacts.Overall, i love it. This phone is great and it's a must have.I recommended it to all my friends and they actually liked it. It maybe small but it's loaded with great features.
Nice Phone
I just bought this phone a few days ago, and am trying it out. I think it is a fabulous phone with only a few things that bother me. The picture button is a little sensitive, but isn't bothersome; it hasn't taken unwanted pictures of my pocket only those of when i didn't mean to hit 'take picture'. I am looking to compare it with the LG CE 500, in the city, but am very satisfied with this phone. Another problem of mine is that the outside side buttons are '+' and '-' but they do not change ring volume only the volume of the level while you are talking. and although there are no 'talk' and 'end' buttons this doesn't matter; when you enter the number of whom you want to dial the soft buttons allow you to call and end the call.
THIS PHONE IS OFF THE CHAIN!!!
I renewed my Cingular contract for 2 years, getting the LG 2000 for free. The phone kept loosing it's charge and dropped calls so much I decided to call customer service to see what could be done. Since if have insurance on it I was able to replace it at no cost. I had 2 choices: the moto V551 or the SE z520. My last phone before renewing was the moto v300. I wasn't happy with the dropped calls and bad, or sometimes, no signal. So while I was on the phone with the rep I went online to phone scoop & sony SE to get as much info on the z520 as I could. I was very, very impressed with all of the features and was more impressed with those I didn't even know existed. I've had the phone for over 2 weeks now and this phone is the bomb!!!!
Pros:
LONG battery life
Good signal
Pics taken a very viewable on screen
Ringtone caller id
Light effects for different callers
Organizer
Per-set ringtones are the cutest
Settings easy to navigate
Can enter address & birthday info for each contact in the address section
I could go on but I'll be here all night
Cons:
No generic accessories out yet
Backlight ends too quickly; no way to extend it
Can't change the shortcuts for the main left/right buttons
At this time I can't find any other problems..but if I do..I'll be back..
One solid good phone!
This is one nice phone! I've only had it for 4 days but it is easily one of the best phones I've used. The form factor is nice, not too big and not too small, solid reception, the keypad is oh so nice, similiar to the Motorola's V3 with the blue back lit, plus the lighting is spread evenly thoughout the keys not once leaving one dull. Voice quality is crystal clear, better in my opinion than the V3, and its quite load too, should be easily heard in a loud area. The phone is simple, not overly loud( won't attract excess attention ), solid build quality, and features. Overall Im satisfied with this phone and will likely hold onto this for a long while. When this phone hits the states, for Cingular and possibly T-Mobile, I can honestly say it will be huge in sales in my opinion.
Pros:
+ Solid phone reception! (quadband being another plus)
+ Good build quality, doesn't feel like it will break if dropped
+ Bluetooth
+ VGA Camera
+ Excellent call clarity, and very good microphone
+ Speakerphone
+ Blue keypad lights and blue light effect( which can be turned off if so choose to)
Cons:
+ None!
Hits & Misses - Summary
I've had many phones in the past with 5 different carriers (and counting). My current carrier is Cingular and I have had the V635 and V551 before that.
I look for two things when choosing a phone, signal strength and earpiece loudness. My feelings are that the phone should work like a land line. Yes, I'm a tough critic and I have very strong opinions on this subject. I hate poor signal strengths, weak signals, statics, echoes, unnatural digitized sounds, and.....(drum roll please) freakin' low earpiece volumes.
Sometimes, it's the fault of the carrier but mostly it's an issue with the phone manufacturers. That's why I stay away from unproven technologies from Samsung, LG and any Korean made phones. I had good luck with Sanyos (Sprint only) in the past. Motorolas are Hit & Miss, depending on whether they were engineered by Americans or Chinese/Taiwanese (prefer the latter).
With this backdrop, let me provide you with my impressions on my first Sony Ericsson phone, the Z520a:
- Signal Strength = Excellent. I think on par or better than the Moto V551/V635.
- Earpiece Volume = Excellent. Again, better than Moto V551 and much better than V635.
- Phone Clarity = Good. The person on the other end doesn't sound digitized, it has more of a natural sounding voice.
- Menu System = Excellent. Very fast and intuitive, blows Moto out of the water. On par with Samsung & Sanyos. Better than the over-rated & outdated Nokia phones.
- Screen quality = Good. Main screen is very bright and easy on the eyes. Outer screen is low-res, but not a big issue.
- Features = Good. Has Bluetooth, speakerphone, GSM quad-band, internet access and that's all you really need.
Cons:
Here's my biggest gripe with this phone. The freakin inner-screen gets scratched very easy when flipping the phone open. It took me 1 minute to get 4 scratches.
In consclusion: If you need a high-end phone for an entry-level price, choose this phone. :-)
Thought this was the one
Had the phone 2 hours before I decided to return it. I really thought this phone was going to be the best cingular phone yet. I know every phone has its pros, and cons. No phone is perfect. I'll just get to the good, and the bad.
Pros:
1. NICE DESIGN, SMALL AND LIGHT
2. GOOD FEATURES FOR THE PRICE
3. BEST 640X480 CAMERA I HAVE SEEN
4. AWESOME RECEPTION
5. KEYS ARE VERY EASY TO USE, AND FEEL COMFORTABLE WHEN DIALING OR TEXTING
6. COOL BLUE LIGHT SHOW
CONS:
1. 4,096 COLOR OUTSIDE SCREEN. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO MAKE THIS SCREEN 65,000 COLORS???
2. CRACKLING NOISE FROM SPEAKERPHONE
3. CAN'T USE SPEAKERPHOHNE WHEN PHONE IS CLOSED
4. EARPIECE VOLUME NOT THAT LOUD. SOUNDS LIKE THE PERSON YOU ARE TALKING TO IS IN A TUNNEL
5. WHEN YOU START TO OPEN THE PHONE THE SCREEN LIGHTS UP, AND WHEN YOU FULLY OPEN THE PHONE THE SCREEN GOES BLANK FOR A SECOND THEN LIGHTS UP. WHATS UP WITH THAT?????
6. WHY HAVE A MEDIA PLAYER WITHOUT A MEMORY CARD SLOT
7. NEED GLASSES TO READ THE TIME ON THE OUTSIDE DISPLAY
8. CAN'T SET THE TIME THE BACKLIGHT STAYS ON
525a-Crashes more often than a model airplane
I got phone hoping for the best. Not so much. The software is extremely bug ridden. The phone crashes once or twice in a row every 2 days. Really, as a maintenance issue you need to shut it off every day to keep it from happening. It also is quite prone to staying on and continuing to keep the call timer going but neither side can hear each other. To sum that up-lots of dropped calls. The phone also makes some pretty horrible noises from time to time while you're on it. I know the battery life is supposed to be spectacular, but I didn;t see that. I had to charge mine every day because it gave me the warning each night. I got about 3 hours talk time out of it. Maybe I just got a bad battery.
PROS:
Good signal strength, so long as it doesn't drop the call
Easy to use menus
Good, loud speakerphone
Cool customizable flashing lights when getting a call or message
Great memory capacity
CONS:
Drops calls
Shuts down every couple days with no warning
Delays/spaces out when the screen goes dark
Screen isn't bright enough for daylight use
