Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Mobile Phone

[Humberto]

Introduction

With fine surface finish in hand, we hereby present the U5i, better - known as Vivaz from Sony Ericsson, which is available in either Ruby Venus, Cosmic Black, Galaxy Blue Moon Silver colors or at market prices from some 350 EUR (RRP 499 EUR). Sony Ericsson sees Touch Multimedia Phone to be particularly suitable for the HD era - with the built-in video recording function that can be used for recordings in 720p. Still one for Imaging, 8.1 MP sensor is available. With the face recognition function, the camera automatically detects the face in the viewfinder and can focus on it. Of course, the Vivaz brings the ability to upload prepared images and pictures directly to the Internet. The quad-band phone with WLAN, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and 3.2-inch display is fully compatible with YouTube, which makes content sharing easy. Incorporated into the modern device, there is also A-GPS. Using MediaGo, media data can be transferred via drag and drop files between PC and mobile. Instead of relying on a proprietary development in the operating system - as in the past, standard practice at Sony Ericsson - Symbian S60 comes in 5th Edition. How the proposed Vivaz is in everyday life, explains our review.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Mobile Phone - Modern multimedia phone with HD capabilities

Processing Features

1. First optical impression / special features to support the design - Compact touchscreen mobile phone in glossy plastic with handy shapes and stylish appeal.

2. Housing material / surface quality - Smooth plastic surface, excellent surface finish - a real leap forward.

3. Housing Dimensions - With a weight of 97g and dimensions of 107.0 x 52.0 x 12.5 mm, the Touch phone is compact and not too thick application.

4. Quality of the keypad / precision of the touch screen - Overall, precise response of the touch screen with vibration touch included, to confirm the touch screen (if desired). Reacted somewhat sensitive to cold hands.

5. Goodness (sharpness / resolution) of the display - HD 16:9 touch screen TFT display with 16.7 million colors and a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels. Perfect color and sharp display, deep black, high contrast.

6. Implementation of the folding or sliding - NA.

7. Quality of the battery compartment cover - The battery compartment cover is made up of plastic and can be easily opened, closed and sits fit in hand.

8. Scope of the supplied accessories - Manual, battery, charger, headset, 8 GB Micro SD memory card; We point out the included accessories may vary by network provider. Our data refered to the additions in the test sample, which we have received from Sony Ericsson.

9. Processing Results - This beautiful mobile phone is made up of excellent quality plastic. With the handy dimensions and weight, it is perfectly acceptable and sits perfectly in your hand. The touch screen scores equally. The HD TFT display of 16.7 million colors provides sharp and clear display. The accurately fitting battery compartment lid made up of plastic for the Vivaz as well as accessories including an 8 GB memory card scores again for the phone.

Back of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Cell Phone


The battery compartment cover is made up of plastic


Soft-key sound, and video and camera buttons


USB, headphone jack for 3.5 mm jack plugin and speaker

[Humberto]

Business Features

1. Supported networks - Quadband, GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS / HSPA 900/2100.

2. Data / GPS Features - Bluetooth 2.0, USB, WLAN, TV-out, aGPS.

3. Reception and voice quality - The Sony Ericsson Vivaz has a good reception quality, even if the network coverage is not so perfect. The voice playbacks at medium volume but sounds a little overcast and livid.

4. Voice quality of the speakers - The voice playback at medium volume is barely understandable. At higher but tinny and muffled.

5. Battery life (with normal use) - 2-3 days.

6. Storage capabilities of Contacts - First name, last name, phone, telephone, email, video call, internet phone, Push To Talk, company, job title, synchronization: Private, Public, No add; details: Title, Second first name, suffix, nickname, mobile phone, mobile phone (private) , Mobile (est.), telephone, telephone (home), telephone (est.), email, email (private), email (est.), car phone, video call, video call (private), video call (est.), fax, Fax (private), fax (est.), Pager, DTMF, Internet phone, Internet, phone (home, Internet phone (est.), Push To Talk Broadcast / SIP, department, job title, assistant name, phone no. Assistant, spouse, children, web address, web address (private), Web address (est.), address, address (private), address (est.), birthday, anniversary, memo.

7. Profiles - General, Silent, Meeting, Outdoor, Pager, Flight mode, all profiles are preset and can be easily adapted to their own needs.

8. Calendar settings - Options: Open, New entries: Meeting: Subject, location, start time, end time, start date, end date, a reminder: on / off, repeat: no repeat, Daily, Weekly, every 2 weeks, Monthly, Annually; synchronization: Private, Public, None; Memo: Subject, start date, end date, a reminder: on / off, sync: Private, Public, None; Anniversary: Event, date, a reminder: on / off, sync: Private, Public, None; Task: Subject, due date, a reminder: on / off; Priority: High, Normal, Low, Synchronization: Private, Public, No change; View Week, Day, Tasks, Go to date, select Settings: Calendar alarm tone: Default tone or from library ; alarm snooze mode: 1 minutes to 60 minutes; standard view: Month view, Week view, Day view, task view, Week starts on: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Week view title: calendar week, weekly data, help and exit.

9. Notes function - New note: Option: Delete, Write Language: German, French, English, Italian, Romansh, etc; handwriting, small QWERTY keyboard, large QWERTY keyboard, Alphanumeric Keypad, Insert Symbol: OCR: Insert word, education, writing language, number mode; text input enable / disable, uppercase, numeric mode.

10. Built-in voice recorder (Dictaphone) - Add Sound clip, delete, rename, sound clip, Send: via message via audio message, via email, via Bluetooth, on the Internet, go to the media, settings: Memory in use: phone memory, Micro SD, recording quality: MMS-compatible, Standard, High; Help end; sound clip to use: as a ringtone, add (Playlist), title information: name, artist, album, track number, year, Play Meter, file type, size, duration, Created: on / around, position. The voice recorder provides only average results. Noise in the background and a slightly muffled voice playback can be mentioned as a criticism.

11. E-mail functionality - Connection type: POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP. Setting the e-mail accounts is done in a few steps. Even the download is done very quickly. Retrieving emails are done at a very fast speed. Annexes are also uncompromisingly presented after a short download time, if they are not too large.

12. Internet functionality - The loading of the website takes minimal time. Our clear view is presented, even for complex pages from Vivaz. One can easily switch between different pages viewed, and scroll ago also. Even faster browsing goes, if the Vivaz - which all worked perfectly - using the wireless home network with DSL installed.

13. PC synchronization - The required USB cable is included. As usual, Sony Ericsson, also runs the synchronization of data for Vivaz by totally uncompromising and error free usage from Outlook.

14. Additional Features - TrackID, Media Server download chat, IM, conversation Msg, SMS preview, YouTube, PlayNow, Location services: Google Maps site.

15. Business Results - The quad-band mobile phone with HSPA provides fast data transfer and Bluetooth for all kinds and 2-3 days battery life is also commendable for a mobile phone with such equipment. Calendar, profiles and contacts correspond to the usual standard and show no special deficits and highlights. The memo is praised by their different input types. The dictating machine, unfortunately, does not give good results. We were somewhat disappointed by the result of the recording. The email account is easy to set and retrieving the messages depending on the size and notes are done very quickly. Finding and opening themselves in lavishly designed website to a ready Vivaz has got no problems and hardly takes any time. Uncompromising and accurate synchronization takes place also with Outlook. A USB cable is also included.

The memory expansion via Micro SD cards are up to 16 GB (unfortunately under the battery compartment cover)

[Humberto]

Multimedia Features

1. Camera equipment - Photo Settings: Self-timer: Off, On 2 seconds to 10 seconds; Resolution: 2 MP (4:3), 2 MP (16:9), 6 MP (16:9), 7 megapixel (3:2) , 8 MP (4:3); light: on / off, white balance: Auto, incandescent, fluorescent, daylight, cloudy, Image Stabilizer: On / Off, Effects: Off, Negative, Solarize, Sepia, Black & White, Shutter Sound: Sound 1, 2, 4, Off; Setup: Auto review: on / off; geo-tag: on / off, auto-turning: on / off, reset; scenes: Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Document, Night Portrait, beach / snow, shooting mode: Normal, Panorama, Smile Detection, Touch trigger; AF: auto, face detection, macro, infinity; Exposure: -2 to +2; auto modes: on / off; Finishing options: Info: name, type, size, created on / around, image size, memory location, zoom, print, edit: Add Effect: Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, Zoom out: 320x240, 640x480, 800x600, 1280x960, 1600x1200, 2592x1944, 3264x2448 crop;: Manual, wallpaper, turn right, insert balloon, insert clipart, add text, insert poster effect, frame, sending red-eye correction, monochrome, sepia, negative;: via message, via email, via Bluetooth, enlarge the Internet; Decrease /; Print, adapt to the screen, help end; Use as: contact picture, wallpaper, photo call, day slide show.

2. Camera quality - In daylight and normal lighting conditions (indoors), the camera of the Vivaz achieved encouraging results. The authentic reproduction occurs on the neutral designed mobile phone display, but also on the PC monitor accurately calibrated and very well expressed. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consistent results in the darkness due to the absence of a flash - the Vivaz only has a photo light. Our standing for direct comparisons are available like for Sony Ericsson W995 achieved significantly better results, and have done so earlier with Sony Ericsson C905, at the end of 2008, one of the first mobile phone with 8.1 MP camera, points at the Vivaz Imaging Still is visible in the barriers.

3. Video equipment - Self-Timer: Off, On 2 seconds to 10 seconds; Video Format: 720p (1280x720), VGA (640x480), QVGA (320x240) for picture messages; lamp: On / Off, White Balance: Auto, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight , Cloudy; Effects: Off, Negative, Solarize, Sepia, Black & White; Setup: on / off; geo-tag: on / off, auto-turning: on / off, reset; Finishing options: delete: Sending via message, via email, via Bluetooth, on the Internet; info: title, file type, file size, created on / around, duration, location, bit rate, repetition: on / off.

4. Video Quality - In daylight outside and in normal lighting conditions indoor and outdoor video seem realistic and clearly presented. Even in different lighting conditions it can quickly adapt. At the highest level of resolution - 1280 x 720 Progressive - the Vivaz secures a recommendation by the very good results - is only important that you keep the phone quietly. If we choose lower resolutions, the results are ok, but not at extremely high levels. Pixel veil with fast movements worsen the image impression. Despite video light and night mode, when shooting in the dark, only partially suitable results are achieved. Significant loss of color intensity and contrast are visible here.

5. Equipment for built in music player - Format: MP3, AAC, artists, albums, songs, playlist, audio books, podcasts, my recordings, fast forward, rewind, pause, stop, delete;, Send: via message, via email, via Bluetooth, on the Internet; ringtone: General, Silent , Meeting, Outdoor, Pager, adding: New Playlist; info: name, artist, album, track number, year, Play Meter, file type, size, duration, Created and geographical location, Shuf: on / Customize; volume.

6. Sound quality of the music player - The speaker is positioned laterally next to the USB port. In medium and low frequency songs sound pretty good. The midrange seems a little formless and shallow. Even at higher sounds or songs with more bass activity, it proves to be playing rather than biased, the headset fits in its cheap workmanship rather than a classy phone like the Vivaz and is also uncomfortable. Nevertheless, it sounds pretty good - it provides a spatial and natural sound.

7. Radio yes / no, sound quality of radio - 30 channels can be placed; Channel Listen: Rename, Delete, Save station automatically speakers: on / off, Save Manual tuning, station, background play, support to quit, immediately on the radio was held from Vivaz 18 slots. These will be played, depending on the orientation of the antenna (headset or headphones) is dynamic, clear and almost without any distracting noise. Channel names can also be renamed (by) or added. The character limit for this lies with 20 characters per frequency.

8. Storage Capacity / position of the memory card - 75MB dynamic memory - far too little. At least 1 GB would be appropriate. Memory using SD cards up to 16 GB (32 GB here would be state of the art). The card slot is also under the battery compartment cover.

9. Multimedia Results - The camera equipment of Vivaz is easy to use and has useful settings. The results of the 8.1 MP camera is very outstanding. The results of the video footage only score points if you avoid quick movements. The HD recording quality is otherwise excellent. The built-in MP3 player can be used very easily. Playlists are fairly simple and easily applied. An FM radio with 30 slots is inbuilt in Vivaz too. The mobile phone has only 75 MB of internal memory but is expandable to 16 GB. Unfortunately, the insertion of the Micro SD card is under the battery compartment cover.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Smartphone with 8.1 MP camera


The Vivaz owning a camera and a separate video capture button


Headset of Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i

[Humberto]

Handling / Menus

1. One-handed operation for the main functions available - Yes, partially.

2. Call execute (with menu "contacts") - Running a call and finding contacts runs smoothly. The display is clear and is very commendable.

3. Adding / Creating / editing contacts - No restrictions on creating, adding or editing of new and existing contacts.

4. Readability of the display - On the day and at night, very good readability of the display. In direct sunlight or exposure to light, its contents are difficult to recognize. However, it is, like almost all other mobile phones, on the attitude of the subject and the background image.

5. Pressure point on the keypad response of the touch screen - Smooth and precise response of the touch screen.

6. Handling the navigation elements to prospect the menus - NA.

7. Clarity of the menus - The menu has easily recognizable symbols. The design is clearly arranged and easily readable.

8. Scope of the menus - The menu has a relatively large extent, but most meaningful sub-menu. More likely, however not to be.

9. The design of the menus - The graphic design is typical from Symbian phone with easily recognizable menu icons. 3 themes are available for selection.

10. Message Handling - Send, Add recipient, content Add: Picture from pictures, new picture, video clip from the media, new video clip sound clip from Media, New sound clip, business card, side note, notice as an appendix, original, New Presentation, presentation from the media and other file; message headers: CC, BCC, Subject, sending options: Message: auto, text, MMS, fax, paging, character encoding: Limited support, full support, message details: date, time, type, font size: Standard, Large, Normal, Small, writing language End: German, English, French, Italian, etc.; assistance; text input: Enable / disable; uppercase, lowercase, number mode, insert image, OCR: Insert word, education, writing language, number mode, handwriting, small QWERTY keyboard, large QWERTY keyboard, Alphanumeric keypad, 160 characters per SMS.

11. Photo and video camera operator - The settings are fairly easy to find and easy to set.

12. Operation of Music Player - The music player is easy to use and simply decorated. The overall handling and creating a playlist is understandable for normal users.

13. Reading Memory - Reading from Micro SD cards for Vivaz is done reasonably quickly. Existing data from the memory card, as far as possible from the format and file type are shown without any problems. Unfortunately, the memory card slot under the battery compartment cover.

14. File Management - Easy to create your own folders and move data.

15. Results - The Vivaz is easy to use and less overwhelmed by settling-in period no. Running a call, adding contacts, and the readability of the display speak for the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. Messages are quickly prepared by the various input methods on the touchscreen-phone. The ease of use of the photo / video cameras, each with separate trigger keys and the MP3 player are further plus points. In addition, in the Vivaz, memory can be read quickly and smoothly, and the data so far on the format or type here can play very well. Unfortunately, the memory card slot under the battery compartment cover. Moving your data is done easily and without compromise.

Answer, Menu and End keys

Overall Conclusion

The Vivaz offers an attractive market price with very good facilities including 720p recording capability. With good workmanship and chic design, it is excellent in the hand. 720p videos should indeed be created with a steady hand, but the results are then really good. Still images obtained for the 8.1 MP camera gives good results, while external light is clearly perceptible. It also scores points with a relatively simple operation. A photo-video light, although present, but the results in the dark can not really convince anybody though. The internal music player scores with ease of use and gives good sound, although the speakers are rear-positioned. The headset is of cheap quality, but it sounds pretty good. The playback quality of the radio is in good alignment of the antenna (headset) that is quite scratched-and noise-free. Web pages load quickly and are very well presented. Thanks to HDSPA 7.2 and WLAN, the possibilities for fast data transfer is done appropriately extensively. Emails can be easily downloaded and are great to read. Even attachments are easily downloadable and well presented, if they are not too large. The response of the touch screen is uniform. At least 1 GB of user data would be desirable. While the storage by low-cost Micro SD card is externally expandable - but only up to 16 GB, while Micro SD cards are already at 32 GB. Accounting is a very elegant and of high quality for Vivaz occurring cell phone, which is likely to find because of its attractive design. Also, the fair market price is not a hurdle on the way for buying.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i with very good quality HD recording

[alexjems41]

"It is, unfortunately, a resistive touchscreen display, rather than capacitive which you'll find on the majority of rival smartphones, marking the Vivaz out as strictly mid-range."

A capacitive screen is not the mark of a high-end phone and only fools who can't see beyond the iPhone would ever try and argue such a point.

A quick search of GSMArena backs up what I have to say, with 163 smartphones either available or coming soon that use resistive screens, as opposed to a mere 50 that have capacitive ones.
Even when you remove the few lower-end handsets such as the Nokia 5230 or 5530, there are still far more high-end handsets that use resistive screens than capacitive ones.