Sony Ericsson Z520 / Z525
Average Ratings
Rotten Little Phone!
This phone was the cutest little thing I've seen in a long time! When I got ready to renew my contract, this phone was in my mind for months! I played with it in various Cingular stores, and jumped the first day I was eligible for a new contract. Then I got the phone home.
What a bummer this phone is. The PTT button on the side is huge in comparison to everything else on this phone. I get so sick of hitting it every time I want to use the phone. The voice quality on the phone is pathetic - it sounds like you're talking with two cans and a string. The speaker phone is even worse. I couldn't understand roughly half of the other party's part of the conversation. Its probably a two way problem since every speaker conversation I had had the other person saying "huh" or "what" every third word. Then there's the chargers. I received the wall charger with the phone, and bought a car charger at the same time. Within less than 7 DAYS the car charger was broken. Broken to the point where it is not usable at all. The end clips broke in two, and it won't stay plugged into the phone. So I went home to look at the quality of the home charger, and the metal/gold contacts are about 1/2 broken off. I'm not throwing these things around or letting my dog chew them, this is through unplugging and plugging this phone in - carefully I might add, since they did always seem a little delicate.
The pro's on this phone are few and far between - It's still the cute style phone I loved when looking at it online and in the store, and I still like the lights when it rings... Beyond that, I'm taking it back today, 3 short weeks after purchasing it.
Terrific Phone
This phone is just so kewl. I haven't dropped a call yet. While driving my phone is stored in dash and works great. I'm using a Motorola HS850 that I wish was better. The ease of synchronizing up with my Mac is worth the price of the camera alone. I think Sony Ericsson really got this one right. Pictures and video are what I expected and the rest of the features are really kewl
Love this phone,
RJ
Los Angeles, CA
Great little phone beats all SE ive used
This phone is the sheezy!! it is small and sleek yet packs the features of a much bigger and more expensive phone. this phone has great reception in my area, maine. which is the giant killer of cellphones. it has bluetooth, video, pics, and media player for playing ringtones and sounds youve recorded. it has infared, quad band roaming and dual color displays, i mean crap stack this thing up against the moto fakr and it blows it away. i like the way this phgone feels in my hand and i like the cool haptics lights in the shell. the only thing i think this phone coulda used was Egprs and a memory slot. but i dont think youd be getting this phone at this size or price if it had either of those things.
Almost Perfect!! 2 things missing
This phone is perfect for me but its still missing some features.
Pros:
3D Games
World Clock
Bluetooth
Infrared
65k TFT Display
VGA Camera and Video
Sync Features
Quad Band World Roaming
New Loop Style Antenna
Exchangeable Faceplates
MP3 and MIDI ringtones
Media Player
GPRS class 10
Speakerphone/Loudspeaker
Long Battery Life
Light Effects
And Much More....
Cons:
No EDGE
Display is 128x160 pixels, should have 176x220 pixels for this phone.
OUTSTANDING!!!!!!
Cons-if I have to list something it would be the small text on the outside screen but its really not that big an issue
Pros-Crystal clear reception, hangs on to a signal like a tiger, great light show, solid phone, fast internet connection, great camera, great bluetooth reception, super loud ringtone, so many pros to this fun little phone!
I got my phone on Friday and used it for an out of town trip I had no less than 3 bars of service even in spots that were previously dead zones for my old phone (Motorola V220) this phone is crystal clear and hangs on to even the weakest signal (50 miles of my trip was thru the backwoods of a military base in which no one I know with ANY carrier has reception). I even dropped the phone and expected it to be worthless after that but despite the smallest nick on the antenna bar it was fine, the camera button is a little sensitive, but not as bad as the reviews that I had read and the pictures were beautiful. The little light show is cool and makes it easy to know when you have an incoming call (for those who drive with the radio way to loud) and the ring on this phone is really loud. It logs on really fast to internet and is very easy to send an IM also texting is a breeze with this phone. I didn't find the backlight to be an issue at all. The bluetooth function is also crystal clear. All in all I LOVE THIS PHONE! I will never own anything, but a Sony Ericsson from now on BYE BYE MOTOROLA
Z520 A nice little phone for the price
I've had this phone for approximately 2.5 weeks. Overall I like the phone. My last phone was a Motorola i830 which was a very easy phone to operate. Prior to purchase I reviewed all the user comments and the main issue always appeared to be the poor location of the exterior camera button, having this in mind I was very mindful when I put this phone into service and still took several unwanted pictures. I've pretty much corrected this problem by changing the placement of my hand on the phone when talking. My thumb cradles the bottom of the phone and my index finger rests on the top which is the antenna. (No reception difference) Most of the reviews indicated the interior screen scratches very easily. The interior screen has a protective plastic film over the screen. This film does scratch just by looking at it, remove the film and your problems are gone. Removing the film will take some effort in locating an edge to peel it off. The film is not that easy to detect if the white tab is missing from the film, but trust me it's there. Pros: Small, Good sound quality, Good reception (Cingular) San Diego, Interior screen brightness settings ( Conserves battery life), Loud interior ear speaker, Sound quality is good during a call. Cons: Exterior screen is very hard to see, Camera button should be inside the phone, Exterior volume control button can only be operated during a call, so in other words volume can not be checked prior to making a call, Exterior speaker could be louder, This speaker also shuts off when you close the phone, Voice mail alert does not give a continuing alert after receiving a text or voice mail, During a call if you activate the camera button and don't realize it, the interior/number buttons will not function and and the exterior volume control button now becomes a camera function. Overall I really like the phone. Just give the phone a chance,( More then 2 hours ) It also has alot of other nice features. Read the specs before you buy.
AWESOME, Z520 ROCKS !!
I got the phone today and i been trough most of its features already, i finally got it, i was waiting for this cellphone like 3 months ago, and now is mine :) !!! I also found more Pros than Cons, check this out
PROS:
+Sony Ericsson
+Light weight and design
+Both screens look great(matrix effects)
+Full-Duplex speaker
+Sound quality
+Camera and Video
+MP3 player and MPG4 Video
+Lights up when recieve a call, or msg
+Full customizable(Themes,covers,etc.)
+Menu is easy to use
+Good signal
+Very small
+Bluetooth
+Infrared
+USB for data
+Picture/Video/Ringtone DJ !!!
+Keypad is big and smooth(Nice blue light)
+Go to Sonyericsson site for free downloads
CONS:
+Lack of 1.3 camera and flash :(
+Camera quality is so so
+Smart camera key is so easy to press
I recommend this phone to everyone, its a awesome for a good price, it has everything you need. Also some guys were saying that the phone has a interface error, bulls**t, the phone works perfectly, trust me ;). If any question feel free to ask me impactbulsi@hotmail.com
Impressed with the SE Z520a
I bought this phone a few days ago from Cingular for $200 with out a contract. I recieved it today, and I am really liking this phone. I had the Nokia 6620, and Motorola MPX220 before, and the SE Z520a is replacing them. I am glad I did. This is my first Sony phone. Here's the breakdown...
Pros:
- This Sony Ericsson has an Excellent, well designed UI. Menus appear fast, and are responsive.
- Menus are easy to navigate
- front/back face plates are customizable
- Camera is Good compared to the MPX220 (and that has 1.3 MP)
- Light effects around the keypad are a nice touch
- Reception seems good, MediaNet works well.
- Small, and Light
- Keypad feels good and sturdy for dialing or text messaging.
Cons:
- No EDGE. Why didn't Sony leave EDGE ? the older model of this phone had EDGE.
- No settings to change the Backlight (it goes off in 20 seconds)
- No memory card slot
Very Very Pleased
This phone has everything that one should expect to get out of a mid range camera phone. Read the specs
*Bluetooth
*VGA camera w/ video
*Speakerphone
*MP3 ringtone capeable
*Quad Band GSM
On top of all of these awsome features, this phone has 16 MB of memory. Compared to is closest rival (on Cingular) the moto v551's 5 MB, the 16 MB on the z520 is excellent.
The only cons about this phone that I have are nit-pickey ones.
*no MegaPixel camera
*no EDGE
But for a phone that's under $100 you are not going to find one better. PERIOD.
Good phone, but not quite "perfect"
This is definately an improvement from my previous phone. I changed providers due to a growing history of problems with my previous provider and carefully weighed my phone options. I wanted something with bluetooth, had good responses from other users, from a reputable company, and reasonably priced. I would have preferred not to have a camera since that requires me to get special permission from my management to carry the phone (which is not easy, btw). I've run into some problems, however. I'll basically summarize what I can below.
Pros:
Good small size and lightweight
Solid feel
Bright visible display on inside
Various options for ringtone formats
Bluetooth
Good battery life (so far anyway)
Speakerphone
Large memory for a phone (it's a phone, not a media device or high end digi cam...if you want these devices, then this is not for you)
Good sound clarity
People I've called say I sound clearer now
Keypad is fairly easy to use
Keeps cool (as in temperature, old phone got warm)
Cons:
External buttons easily pushed while in pocket or when opening flip (got a few pics of the inside of my pocket earlier)
No way to disable or lock these buttons or change their function (at least as far as I can see)
Backlight timer not adjustable (at least as far as I can see)
Easy to obstruct antenna with hand (in low signal areas, this is a noticeable problem)
No EDGE
No contact groups (at least as far as I can see, old phone, released 3 years ago, had this)
Phone has crashed once so far (was playing with ringtones that came with the phone and it made an odd sound and shut off)
This is a very nice phone with very nice features, but some of these cons are detracting heavily from the pros. I'd give this phone a 4.5 or 5.0 if it wasn't for the side button problem and the backlight timer problem.
