Sony Ericsson Z500
Average Ratings
sucks
ok, its not a bad phone, but
1. its huge
2. camera sucks
3. the snap.
4. and its ugly.
but theres one good thing, it records ringtones. which is good.
but overall, this phone sucks, and im switching back to verizon when my contracts up.
I like this phone!!!!!
I purchased this phone used on Ebay and found this sight looking for info.on it. After reading the first page of reviews I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Low and behold it arrived the next day.And after figuring out how to navigate through it I actually like it. I have rather large hands and the biggest complaint I had read was the size, I think it's perfect. Don't let the negative reviews scare ya...
Adequate but bulky by today’s standards
Ordered this phone unlocked from the net. Larger than what I had expected and, my last phone too, a .Motorola V400. It was branded Cingular but worked fine with my T-mobile service in south Florida with the exception that one time I had to actually change networks from T-mobile to Cingular while traveling, even thought it was set to do this automatically it showed no service until I switched it myself. Maine gripe was the call log. The phone by default does not display the calls dialed, answered, and missed in chronological order by the time that the call was dialed, answered and missed. Instead it will place a call that was dialed at the top of the list over a call that was answered closer to the actual time it was received. It only holds a maximum of 30 calls and if more calls are dialed than missed it will pull from the others and replace them with more received calls and you will not have the last 10 calls that you dialed or missed. And it only leaves one telephone number in each category so if you dialed, missed, or answered a call 3 times it will only show the last time. Also in the call log if you put someone in the phone book it only displays the name not the number you must select options and then edit or exit and go to the phone book. A nice waste of time, in all there are better phones out there itâs old and showing its age.
Pros:
Good volume on handset & speaker phone
Reproduced clear mp3 ring tones
Loud ringer volume
Camera & video
Cons:
Poor phone book, 1 number per contact canât display SIM & phone stored number simultaneously
Poor resolution main screen, almost impossible to see in direct bright sunlight
Poor battery life compared to what is claimed, needed to recharge every 2
No USB, must buy special data cable to sync to computer
No red/green keys all are silver with minimal amber lighting
Worst phone i have ever owned!!!
Well i got this phone because it was a real basic phone, i don't care about internet or camera, just making basic calls ok. However this phone can't even do that!!! Blue screen of death happends ALOT where you phone freezes up like others have been saying charging is a joke you have to stuggle for it to charge or else your battery will DISCHARGE and you will have no battery in the morning. The screens are slow laggy and freeze alot. I got 2 more replacements of this phone and they all do the same things. I would imangine its the software on this phone just SUCKS!!! Reception is HORRIFIC my Nokia had 4 bars Vs this one got 1, voice quality is also worse then a Moto (Is that possible?) with this phone yes. I will never buy another SE again after having to deal with the nightmare of this phone.
stay away
i signed up for a 2 year contract and got this phone free. it looked good but when i got it things changed. the phone is a really cheep plastic that just pops off second my phone would just restart for no reason and sometimes it would get "the blue screen of death" and stop responding i would have to putt he battery out to restart it. the phone is large and heavy i thought sony ericsson was a good cell phone manufacture but something went wrong with this phone the only good thing i have to say is the phone itself hold up well i through this thing at the wall and the as hard as i could at the ground the only thing that happened was the plastic covers pooped off but to my surprise the screen did not break and it did not snap in half. DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE
Easy to use, clear signal/sound, handy speakerphone
Previously, I've used numerous Nokia phone, which I think are great, except their deep menus.
The Sony Ericsson Z500a has been a great phone with handy features. I would recommend it for those not needing Bluetooth.
Pros:
- Flip phone so main, inside screen doesn't get scratched.
- Good size. Slightly larger so you can actually hold it and not lose it.
- Easy to use / good menu
- Clear signal/sound
- Speakerphone works great
- Outer display shows date/time and who's calling
- Phonebook takes multiple numbers, email under one name/entry (rather than only one number per name)
- Long battery life
- Fun ring tones
- Camera is good for screensavers and sending photos to other phones (use a real camera for large shots).
- Nice button surface, not slippery, doesn't show prints.
- No Bluetooth, we didn't want it as bluetooth is not yet secure enough.
Cons:
- Small number buttons
- Internet interface could be faster
I love this bulky phone.
I love this phone because I like the personalization and easy to use menu. I can record my own ring tones! I love that. I am a college student, and I personalize ring tones for each friend. It's great. It is big, but you had to know that before you bought the phone. That is what the research tells you. I like the clicking when I open and close it, but some people don't. I don't need fantastic looking picture quality. I can not access the internet with my cell phone plan, so it's not like I'm sending photos or anything to anyone. Just text messages. There is an outside screen that will tell me who's calling. I can put a picture to everyone in my phone book as well as a ring tone. Loud ring tones if you need them to be. . One part I do not like is: it is big, so when I drop it... it bounces! So I am working on that. All in all.. I love this phone!
it works for me
I've had this phone for a year and a half, so I've spent quite some time with it.
PROS:
Very customizable - wallpapers, profiles, shortcut keys, screen saver/start up screen, etc.
Speakerphone is quite loud, as are the ringtones and the vibrate is very strong. I can be walking down the streets of NYC and if I have my phone on the highest volume, you'll hear it. It's almost deafening! Which is a good thing, for me at least.
Extremely sturdy. I'm a total klutz, I tend to drop my phone when I'm in a rush running to class, and this phone has survived.
CONS
Side button is easily hit, so the shortcut you select for that button is almost always open.
Sometimes the screen goes blank. For no reason at all. If you push a few buttons it works again - I think this is just because I've dropped it so many times it's finally dying out on me.
You can't change the ringtone for the appointments, it's a really obnoxious sound.
Screen is hard to see in bright daylight.
The ringtones that come with the phone are horrendous but you can easily download one or have a friend send you one.
OTHER
The buttons are flat. It doesn't bother me at all, but some people prefer buttons that are raised slightly.
Quite big. Like I said, it works for me because I drop my phone from time to time, so I don't want to have a SLVR and break it after one drop.
The menu buttons are for the recent calls and some other pointless shortcuts. Since the phone is really customizable with the shortcuts, it wasn't an inconvenience for me at all.
All in all, I don't have too many complaints. My battery is running low and sometimes if my battery is on the orange setting it shuts itself off in the middle of a phone conversation and actually shuts my phone off completely. THAT is the reason why I'm upgrading my phone in less than a month!
Not Great
not good
messes up all the time but that could be because i left it in the hot car\
pros
tough
easy to talk on
cons
aweful battery life
aweful pictures
not enough memory
too many buttons
not easy to use
could go on and on but i will not
however i can see y cingular discontinued it
The Biggest Mistake of my Adult Life
This is the worst phone ever to have been created - a cruel joke played on the world by the evil people of Sony Ericsson.
My friends refer to it as the Zack Morris cell phone because it is simply huge. There's no reason for any phone to ever be this large. If you buy this phone, your friends will regularly ridicule you.
The phone routinely freezes with the blue screen of death and you have to let the battery die (which can be for an entire day - great way to ruin a relationship or ostracize friends after you have made plans). Also, when you plug in the A/C cable to charge it only works about half the time, so you have to mess with it constantly to try and get it to charge. The battery life might be 30 minutes, but that's a stretch.
Pros:
-Lifting up to your ear is a great arm workout
-Your friends can spot you across the room in a crowded bar as the idiot holding the plastic brick up to his ear
Cons:
-This phone is literally the size of a mailbox
-Blue screen of death will make you lose your mind - always happens at worst possible time
-Pictures look like 4-year-old sketches (i think Sony may have added software and done extra work to make sure no pictures come out remotely clear) - awful camera
-Small SMS memory - must constantly erase inbox and outbox
-Ringtones are so horrible and embarrassing I've kept this phone on vibrate since the third day I owned it
I was tricked into buying this phone January 2005 and am a month away from an upgrade. I feel like a huge weight is going to be lifted off of my shoulders. Everytime I get a call, it actually puts me in a bad mood because I have to look at/use this phone.
