The Sony Ericsson Z520a is a clamshell for the fashion and trend conscious. Offering numerous ways to customize, users can express the way they feel, who they are, and what they want to say. As a quad-band phone, the Z520a works on GSM networks worldwide. Featuring dual color internal and external screens, an ingenious caller-ID function using perimeter flashing lights combined with music alerts users of incoming callers. Also containing a 4x digital zoom VGA camera, the Z520a supports infrared and Bluetooth connectivity, 16 MB memory and Mobile Java 3D gaming... [Continue reading Sony Ericsson Z520a Review]
Sony Ericsson Z520a Features
GSM quad-band technology for communication around the globe
Innovative caller ID and associated light effects to let users know who is calling
Built-in VGA camera with 4x zoom and video recording capabilities including easy photo sharing through Sony Ericsson's QuickShare solution
40-chord polyphonic sound engine
Conference calling and integrated hands-free speaker
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) for sending pictures, animations, wallpaper, icons and ring tones
J2ME MIDP 2.0 support for application, ringer, wallpaper, graphic and game downloads including 3D gaming through Mascot Capsule 3D engine
Convenient PC synchronization for through Bluetooth, infrared, and SyncML
Sony Ericsson Z520a User Reviews
1. Posted by peryus88
Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:15 am
I received this phone free from Cingular after replacing my “bug friendly” Siemens S66, and have been using it for over 2 months. I have always liked Sony Ericsson’s because of their performance and reliability, and this is no exception. Anyway, here is my review.
Body: At first, I was hesitant getting this phone because I prefer the bar style instead. But, after a week of fooling around with this phone, I got used to the flip style. Body feels very firm and sturdy…no creaking whatsoever. I like the “rubbery” feel of the phone overall. It makes you feel secure that the phone won’t drop from your hands. The close/open positions of the phone feel secure, for that you can hear a clicking sound when in these positions. The clicking sound wasn’t a big issue for me, but it might annoy other people (which is understandable; considering Moto’s flips are quiet…especially the popular RAZR). People who like opening up their flip phones with one stroke of their hand may find it a bit harder doing it on this one (without having to dig in the groove with your fingernail, accidentally causing you to scratch the internal screen). Otherwise you’re going to be forced to open the phone with two hands. It’s probably because the bottom part slightly juts out a bit more than the upper part of the flip. This is probably due to the fact that there are lights integrated in the phone outlining the keypad. The lights would go off when: the phone rings, or when the alarm/timer goes off. There are a bunch of preset light sequences that you can choose from if you don’t prefer the standard SE. The keypad, at first glance, looks really cramped…especially the D-pad. However, everything on it is well-placed. The feel of the keypad feels the same as the interchangeable faceplates, which made it very convenient when texting people. The look of the keypad when lighted is a treat, especially when the outlining lights are going off. I also like the fact that you can change faceplates. If you’re going into a more business-type environment, just slap on a black faceplate, and your good to go. And if you’re out and about, just slap on a more vibrant color.
Screen: I got to admit, images displayed on this screen is pretty clear and crisp…especially for a screen this size…and I’m used to the displays of the S710a & the K750i. Images are not as bright and vibrant as compared to the ones displayed on the aforementioned models, but it is still a treat. If you care for the screen, you might want to purchase a screen protector. I’m just saying this for the people who, like me, are adamant on using the one-handed-stick-your-thumb-in-between motion to open their flip phones. Like I mentioned earlier, more than likely you’re going to scratch the screen while trying to open the phone. However, I succumbed to opening it with 2 hands. Oh well.
Camera: Let’s face it. A 0.3MP is not really worthy of having it alongside your 5.0MP digital camera. However, it is a nice bonus whenever it calls for picture time & you don’t have your digital with you. The pictures are a bit grainy at times. But in proper lighting, pictures are somewhat decent. Only bad thing I have to say is the location of the dedicated camera button. Sometimes you find yourself having taken a number of pictures if left in your pocket or bag. This also holds true if talking on the phone and your thumb is placed right next to it. Next thing you know, you hear a snapshot sound. It would’ve been nice if there was a feature to lock the camera button. This is not really a big deal for me, I just had to change the way I hold the phone now when I’m talking. It’s just that now I sometimes look like I’m holding a glass of wine instead of a phone. Note: if you want to take out the snapshot sound, just put your phone on silent.
MP3 Player: What can I say; it does have an Mp3 player…even though it only has 16MB of memory. But hey, you can probably get away with 3 to 8 complete songs depending on the size. It’s not comparable to the W series of SE, but sounds are clear and somewhat deep. At least it’s better than some phones that actually say that “yeah, I can play MP3’s, but it’s just there”. I mean what can you do with just 5-7MB of memory? Hello Moto?!
Phone: Reception on this phone is great; it is a quad band after all. I would have to agree with some of the other reviewers that the loop antenna was a bit sensitive. I just placed an antenna booster, and that worked out fine for me. Just like many of the other SE’s, the interface is completely simple to understand. I only referred to the manual twice and that was it. Navigating through the menus was quick; no lag times as opposed to some of the older SE phones.
Overall, this is highly recommended when considering a mid-level flip phone. My other previous phones are the SE T637, S710a, and the K750i. So I pretty much prefer more of a business look to a phone. However, the flexibility of this phone with its interchangeable faceplates makes it an exceptional choice…for fashion & trend conscious consumer, as well as business consumers. I guess one word is somewhat synonymous with Sony Ericsson by now; features. So much features. The only things I saw wrong were: it was hard to open the phone with one hand; the position of the dedicated camera button; there was no USB cable or PC Suite software (although you can download it from the SE website) that came with the phone. But if you can overlook these minor issues, then you would be very pleased with this phone.
Was this review helpful? ::
179 out of 185 people found this review helpful.
2. Posted by xshocker
Tue May 30, 2006 2:20 am
I've had my Z520 for about 7 months now. I think it is one of the best phones in it's price range and from cingular.
First of all, it's a pretty sleek phone and smaller than most phones in it's category. This gets pretty damn good reception. If you know of other people with the same provider who get better reception, your phone is defective. I also happen to like the loop antenna it gives it a smoother feel; I hate stubs. Plus external atennas are obviously a better choice than internal as far as maximum reception goes.
The voice quality is very nice on the earpiece and speakerphone. It sends the voice pretty well to my headset.
The bluetooth transmitters not bad, I get around 30 kb/s transmission over my computer's dongle; my friends v360 gets 10. But I have met people that have class 2 bluetooth devices who can detect stuff that I can't at first. It takes a while but I'm not sure it's my device. I've never had a problem with pairing or dropping a connection if i was within a reasonable distance. Hell i was surprised when i went outside my house, 10 ft away with a wall in the way, and I still didn't lose the connection. Bluetooth connectivity rocks.
You can use bluetooth remote profiles on your phone and even create some with k700 Remote Profiler which is not made my SE. That's probably one of the coolest things about SE, the fanbase.
Next to Motorola, it has lots of fan programs. The best I'd say probably being FMA (Float's mobile agent - fma.sourceforge.net), with it you can do lots of little nifty littly things. Including wirelessly manipulating WinAmp and Windows Media Player AND going through songs and playlists from your phone (need bluetooth adapter for computer). Also there is My phone explorer which I'd say is probably the best organizer so far for SE the only reason I prefer FMA is becauase of the scripts. There are also SE programs to help you intergrate your phone into your electronic life.
There's Sony Ericsson's Phone Suite or whatever it's called, Theme Creater, even a Remote Profiler that are all FREE, unlike Motorola's $50 phone tools. The best part is it's really easy to use unlike the trouble I've had with Motorola modding. That's the icing on this delicious Sony Cake; ease of use.
The user interface is one of the best I've seen. There is no list menu that u have to scroll for and wonder what it is. There is a nice 3x4 icon menu. And in all submenus there are picture icons next to the text (I only look at pictures). Also instead create tons of submenus they've been using an ingenious tab system, so you can always see your different options when looking through your calls (missed, dialed, answered, and all) or all the setting options (connectivity, general, display, etc.) There also many shortcuts.
In the main menu each icon can be chose by their respective numbers. (top left is one, top middle 2, bottom right is #, etc.). The directional pad short cuts which are usually chosen and branded by the manufacture are chosen by you. I use right for the media player.
I actually use the media player unline most people. With a variable bit rate, mono sound, and a decent compression the soungs don't sound bad at all. I love going running and only taking my phone. I listen to music while I run, time my laps at the same time, intercept calls at any time with the push of the button on the mic, and can take pictures of the squirls (or hot girls) i see along the way. It rocks. I can fit a whole album with the 15 megs. Also have pictures for everyone (small pictures just big enough for the phone - don't need 640x480), a ringtone for the people that actually call me. However they are Midi. You can use mp3's but I like saving the space for my album. Besides I only give mp3 ringers to the one's i like, and I like changing there ringtone to the songs I have at the time. 15 megs rocks the v557 and 6102i has like 5 or less.
More would be cool but, I got a few games, a few apps, pics for all, and album to go along, all to entertain me when I'm not talking to my friends.
Oh yeah SE also has an update service for firmware and makes lots of accesories. Get em off ebay for a lot less than MSRP.
The only bad thing I see about this phone is it's camera, but it's decent.
also Seems to be a problem with quality consistency, make sure connection at the bottom is good, never drops if jiggled. Also make sure reception is good and software too. I blame cingular. but newer ones don't have the bug. In fact all new ones that I know of are perfect. Just get a new one and your fine, beware of used.
Pros:
-Bluetooth!
-Has a Camera
-Battery Life (lasts a lot longer than most phones)
-External COLOR LCD
-Beautiful internal Screen
-15 megs (great for price and class, 6102i have less than 6)
-Sleek
-Infrared for connections with old phones
-LED's on side
-MP3 player ( an ok album)
-Lots of programs
Cons:
-No flash
-No EDGE
-Camera not great
-Not expandable
Was this review helpful? ::
102 out of 107 people found this review helpful.
3. Posted by FLsurf32903
Tue May 02, 2006 9:26 pm
What up everyone
I just got this phone 2 days ago and so far i love it, i had the previous model of this phone, and i really liked it, but it was a bit to big and the speakerphone was very quiet. so blah blah i got this one and it had all the great features the old one did, and fixed the all the bad ones.
People have complained about the camera goin off in your pocket, but that doesnt happen at all to me, you have to hold the button down anyway. The keypad is my favorite, it feels so nice just to press the buttons, and the lights are sick. They light up when a call comes in which is a new twist.
The phone itself looks really nice, i thought it was kinda girly at first but, not really. The body is also very solid and smooth and just feels good in your hand. My gf loved it and thats gotta say a lot, shes soo picky.
The internal screen is soo nice and bright, the external one is nice, but could be a lil bigger.
The battery lasts FOREVER, when i bought it it had less than half a bar of battery left and i never turned it off and was constantly online, texting and doin stuff and it still hasnt died till this minute, wow!
The only bad thing about the phone is the atenna, i did have a phone drop but its cus my hand was covering the antenna all the way, but it does have great reception.
I was stoked to get this phone and i love it, if u need a phone from cingular get this one. Everything is awesome!
Was this review helpful? ::
32 out of 34 people found this review helpful.
4. Posted by rabie
Tue May 23, 2006 10:39 am
I bought 2 of these phones for my teenage daughters. The first phone had lots of issues, freezing, lost calls, ...etc. When my other daughter still wanted it because of the "cool" features, I looked into it with Cingular. After speaking with several cingular reps at different locations, I finally spoke to someone who let me know cingular was indeed going to address the problems. They eventually pulled this phone off the shelves and corrected the main issues. If you contact Cingular help line they will send a return authorization and replace your phone if you have the original one. I have since purchased a second phone and it works great.
The way to tell if you have the old version is to open your phone and (under battery I believe) see if you have a little yellow dot sticker. If you have the sticker, yours is the fixed version, if no sticker, you can send it back for repair or replacement. They kept my daughter's and sent a replacement phone out first, so she didn't have to worry about losing info, you can use bluetooth to transfer to new phone, then pack up and ship old one back.
The camera button still clicks while in pocket! The main issues repaired were freezing of screen, unable to answer all calls, and a text alert issue. You have to laugh at the high tech "yellow dot" system!
Both of my daughters love this phone mainly because you can just press record and save music right off the radio to use as ring tone or message alert. Won't be long now when paying to download a ring tone is a thing of the past! Or will it? Not good for the industry, big money maker!
Was this review helpful? ::
30 out of 32 people found this review helpful.
5. Posted by Yuri Hyuga
Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:30 am
This review is from the viewpoint of a college-aged college student. I recently changed, due to the merger, from AT&T Wireless to Cingular and had to replace my phone. This phone stood out as a solid compromise of functionality and price, so I ordered it and am very pleased with the results.
The phone itself is smaller and lighter than I expected which is nice since my previous Nokia phone was also small and light. Despite the light weight, it feels very solid in my hands, not fragile and weak. It looks very simple and clean; not gaudy razzmatazz at all. On the left side of the phone are a camera button, which must be held down for a few seconds to activate, a volume control, and at the bottom, an infrared I/O port. The fliptop opens briskly and is not spring-loaded. The phone is not heavy enough to warrant a spring-loaded fliptop, I believe, however the top snaps in open and closed positions firmly. The front houses a tiny camera lens, and a small external LCD display. The external and internal screens can be customized to display any image on the phone, and since you are able to transfer files to the phone via infrared, Bluetooth, or through a "not provided" cable that they sell, you can put literally anything on these screens.
When opened, the phone's keypad lights up beautifully with a powerful, blue light. Dialing numbers in the dark is absolutely no problem, and the keypad itself is well-placed and is comfortable to use. The internal LCD screen is bright and colorful as well, and everything turns off as the phone is closed and the external LCD is activated once more. Further still, there are subsurface lights on the edges of the face of the phone that light up on incoming calls and messages. These lights can be set to respond in a certain way or can be turned off entirely.
Call reception is as good as can be expected with your service (the phone supports Quad band,) and the loop antenna seems more sensitive than the previous internal antennae to which I am accustomed. The speakers on the phone are reasonably loud, produce clear sound, and can be heard even in somewhat boisterous conditions. The loudspeaker is somewhat less effective and can be heard in a relatively quiet room, but this is sufficient since lots of noise would irritate the person on the other end of the line. The phone, by default, will answer an incoming call when it is opened, however this feature "Open to Talk" can be turned off. One annoyance is that the external LCD is too dim on "sleep mode" so the time cannot be read except in direct light. This isn't a problem for me since I use a watch, but still defeats the purpose of the time display.
The phone operating system is easy to navigate and leaves little to ponder. Everything is laid out in a more or less intuitive manner such that I didn't need to read the instructions at all. Thus far, I have not experienced any crashes or glitches, which were a common occurrence on my old Nokia phone.
Battery life seems to be quite good: I am able to talk continuously for more than 4 hours at a time using only 55% of the battery life. My old Nokia phone would not last for more than 3.5 hours and that just didn't cut it when my girlfriend had a looong day to talk about.
The camera on the phone is totally useless. It produces a lousy 0.3 megapixel shot and does not have a flash at all. I'm not sure why this was even added since it does not contribute to the phone in any fashion and it is faster and easier to whip out my digital camera to take photos, and at 5.0 megapixels no less.
To summarize:
YAY
! Solid construction
! Small and light-weight
! Looks simple, clean, and cute
! User-friendly operating system GUI
! Various methods of connectivity: Bluetooth, infrared, etc.
! Pretty screens and lights
! Good sound quality and reception
NAY
? Utterly useless camera
? Time cannot be easily read on external screen when "sleeping"
? The side camera button has no lock (only a problem if pressed for a while)
Overall, I would certainly recommend this phone to anyone looking for one specifically in this price range. I don't believe I could have found a better one.
Was this review helpful? ::
167 out of 179 people found this review helpful.
6. Posted by artimasz
Sat Nov 26, 2005 4:31 pm
Having been using exclusively Moto Phones (last one being v505), I decided to try another brand when switching from ATT Wireless to Cingular.
When moving to Cingular I had originally requested the v551, but I was disappointed with the quality of the phone. It seems with motorolla it's either a hit or a miss; well this one was a miss.
When the new replacement Sony Ericson arrived, it was immediately apparent that it was very easy to use. Without reading the included instructions I was able to navigate the phone much like copernicus did the globe. Menus and features are very easy to use.
Call quality and reception are also very good. The loop antenna is really sensitve, which can be a good and bad thing at times. With normal use, this phone has above average sound quality and the ear piece is loud enough on default settings.
Connectivity and features on the phone are also very good. The only thing I would have like to see on the phone is a quick profile toggle, which was included on my old moto phone. Other than that everything else is just fine.
The Good:
+ Sound Quality
+ Build Quality
+ Ease of Use (Menus & Dialing, Etc)
+ Connectivity / Features
+ Screen(s)
The Neutral:
+/- Antenna Sensitivity.
+/- Speakerphone... Its okie.
The Bad:
- Accessories. Very few compared to the Moto I had previous.
- Again, Accessories. Travel Charger in paticular is tougher than should be to remove.
Thats about it.
Was this review helpful? ::
228 out of 245 people found this review helpful.
7. Posted by liz2oo1
Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:41 pm
I just got this phone. Overall, I think it's a great buy.
Pros
-Definitely easy to navigate to find what you are looking for.
-My reception has definitely improved from my last phone(i would only get 1 or 2 bars at my home, now i get at least 3).
-The volume for the phone is decent (speaker & handheld).
-It has handy features, as you might have read(calendar, calculator, world clock,etc).
-It has a camera/video, but don't recommend if you want high quality pics/video.
-You can store a few songs (more if you compress the files)
Cons
-what comes in the box:phone, battery, charger (i wish they would of included usb connector to add music and download pics to computer)
-does not have universal headphone insert, but can purchase bluetooth or headphone that connect to the charger slot
-design of antenna
Was this review helpful? ::
100 out of 108 people found this review helpful.
8. Posted by darkcobra007
Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:41 pm
The Good
Long battery life
Includes lots of features
Interchangeable face plate
Very clear and vibrant display
Decent software preinstalled
Decent games installed
Adequate voice call quality
Latest gen of Bluetooth (2.0) for "slightly" faster transfer rates
Very low priced
16MB of internal memory
The Bad
Not easy to open with one hand as other phones
Very poor photo quality
No flash for camera
Navigation key is awkward to use
May feel too small for adult hands
Games are trial versions only
Bluetooth software not included in package (but can be downloaded)
Weak speakerphone compared to other phones
Bluetooth software is a little clumsy and slow
Memory is not expandable
The Rundown......
If you read the review given by mobiledia then you'd probably notice that this phone tries to include every popular mobile feature out there today and shove it into the smallest package they could. I applaud Sony for doing this, as the features are much appreciated considering the price of the phone itself. All functions seem to work as advertised but there's just isn't anything about this phone that makes it stand out from the crowd. The only real unique features is the the way it lights up when a call comes in and the loop antenna. Those features aren't enough to make you wanna buy it over any other phone.
Now this phone claims to have a 9 hour battery life and I don't doubt it one bit because I was able to talk on it for about 4 hours straight and the battery power still showed at least 40% - 50% remaining. It's actually the first phone I've had that was even remotely close to the battery life claim and its quite possible that this phone has the longest battery life of any cell phone on the market today. I noticed that the screen goes dim if a button wasn't pressed within 15 seconds and then goes completely dark after 30 seconds. I understand the reasoning for that but it seems to be much quicker going into that state than any of my previous cell phones (and there's no way to adjust the timing on either of those). Another complaint that I have is with the battery charger. They really should have designed it so that it VISIBLY fits only one way. If you look at the connector on the phone itself and then at end of the charger, it makes it hard to determine the correct orientation so you basically try both positions until you figure which way it was designed to connect. They should have done away with that connector type altogether and just gone with a RCA-type connector.
The phone supposedly has interchangeable face plates but I have yet to find one in any local Cingular store any other cell phone accessory store.
The display is small and only shows about 65k colors, but that's a given considering the size of the phone. The screen is very clear (as most Sony cell phone screens are very clear). The 3D themes that run in the background is a nice touch as well. The color outter display is almost too small and I personally would have settled for an monochrome outter display that just showed caller ID, battery life, the time, and signal strength.
The keypad buttons feel nice and aren't slippery or anything. They may be a little too small for larger hands thus making it really hard to press just one key. I can see that really being a problem for those trying to use the navigation key including the key located in the center of it.
The 16MB of internal memory is only useful for taking pictures because that isn't nearly enough space to hold more than 10 mp3's. The average picture size is about 25k which should leave room for hundreds of small pictures (if taken at low res). The camera says that it can do 4X digital zoom but not from the factory. You have to download and update the phone first and then you can zoom in further (otherwise you're limited to only 2X zoom). Picture quality is pretty bad to say the least. Colors end up being very washed out and blurry when compared to other phones taking the same picture. There isn't a flash on the camera which is another problem under certain situations and lighting conditions. Memory isn't expandable so this phone is definitely not designed for someone who wants to use it as an MP3 player as well.
Sound quality when talking to a person, playing back music or ring tone is pretty average. The speaker phone is probably below average as it is very weak and kinda muffled but I'm sure it's weak to conserve battery power.
Bluetooth software is not included in the package so you have to download it from Sony (not that big of a deal). Bluetooth is disabled by default. It was very easy to install and get connected but the software itself is very slow and transfer rates should be better consider it's using the latest version of Bluetooth (2.0).
If I had to rate this phone on a scale of 1 to 10 then I would give it a 6/10. It has all the features you'd probably want in a phone and then some but isn't stellar at any of them (just adequate or below average).
Was this review helpful? ::
47 out of 52 people found this review helpful.
9. Posted by TheoLeo
Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:10 pm
I got my new Sony Ericsson Z520a yesterday. So far, it has been a great little phone. Much better than my last phone, anyway (Motorola V60... blech! I've been living in the stone age). I seem to get service everywhere I could not with my old phone. The battery seems to last a long time though mine is almost dead because I have been playing with all the fancy gadgets that come with the phone. The camera is pretty nice, I've taken several pictures that are of decent quality. Your end of the speaker-phone is doesn't really sound like it would if you were talking the normal way but it does not bother me. People I have talked to told me they could not tell at all that I was on speaker-phone. Everyone I have shown the phone to has been impressed. Some thought the antenna was odd, but they said it made it look more unique... unique is good, right? The phone is very small and fits well into any pocket I want to put it in. The ring tones sound great, though I don't think it came with any non-musical type ringtones, but that doesn't bother me as I'm a teenager and all I use is the musical ones, anyway. The flashing lights that alert you to a call are pretty nice. Also, I think the menu is easily navigated. The keypad, at first, was a little different (from my old phone, anyway) but I got used to it very quickly and the lights look very nice. Also, the lack of "send" and "end" keys does not bother me at all. Additionally, I really enjoy creating my own semi-original ringtones with MusicDJ -- it's pretty awesome. The only things I can see that are not quite perfect about the phone are the delay of the camera-to-screen and the fact that I can't figure out how to make the side volume buttons how to actually affect the volume. For some reason, the button causes the phone status information to pop-up, but I'm sure I can fix that with a little exploring of the manual. All in all, it seems to be a very good phone and it is definitely a MAJOR improvement over my old phone. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a flashy and reliable (so far, anyway) phone.
Was this review helpful? ::
66 out of 78 people found this review helpful.
10. Posted by mobile21
Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:43 pm
everyone seems, to like to the new sony z520a. I don't see anyone talking or discussing the phone's main issues. Yes the phone has a couple great benefits, bluetooth, irda, quickshare, external caller id with space for pictures, view of appt. without opening the phone, software works pretty fast, especially compared to my v551, 16mb of memory, loud (enough) speaker( you don't want someone else hearing you now do you, an example would be telling your girl what you want her wear tonight. anyway all joking aside, there's a couple problems with the phone and it's software that no one really addreses, so let me be the first one. number 1, the camera button, it's quite impossible to open the phone or talk without touching it, you would assume that sonyericcson would be smart enough to deactivate it when you're on a call. that of course we all know about and atleast it doesn't get in the way of your conversation. 2, no call timer per phonecall, only total, nothing major. 3 speakerphone, very clear yes, but you cannot close the phone like a moto v551 when it's on, that to me is common sense. 4 if youre on a call for more than 30-60 seconds the speakerphone feature dissappears, and you have to press more twice to get it back on. 5, the loop antenna, that's really an opnion, but it doesn't make the phone extremely comfortable to hold. 6, bluetooth wqorks great, except that it doesn't have automatic call pickup, in other words you still have to press the button on the headset to take the call, also maybe a preference(moto had this) 7, no edge, but quad band, honestly just felt like bringing that up, as edge isn't that much faster, i had it on the v551 as you've probably figured out, especially when this is not an internet phone or message phone. 8 back to the bluetooth, voice activation works well through the phone, with the headset you have the say or maybe even scream the persons name to call, moto did this much better, also the v551 let you record voice names through the bluetooth headset for better voice control. 9, bluetooth again, if you're on bluetooth you can activate the call with the phone or the headset, except that if you use the phone, the call automatically goes to the phone, not the headset that you would be on( yes there is a point to this in theory, not in real life) and vice versa, if you use the phone to make a call, for example someone in your phonebook, after it starts the call it asks whether you want the call transfered to the phone or headset, once agin in theory good, real life bad. the only good thing is the phone can play a pre-recorded name of the caller to tell you who it is, and it has voice answer(don't know how well it works haven't had time to try) but you cannot use an mp3 ringtone with that feature, only midi or wav, nowadays most of us have mp3 ringtones. 10, hard to open for a flip phone, you basically need both hands. 11, menu isn't fully customizable, but not that bad at all. overall, this phone isn't too bad, as with all phones they have some good and probably a lot of bad as well, as with any product, these issues aren't to hard to fix. The good thing is the price is cheap, i paid 50 for a 1 year contract, and you can find free or pretty cheap with a 2 year, as all carriers want you for two years, synchronizing with my palm is great, memory is good, menu works fast and is user friendly for the most part. camera is decent at best, yes for those that don't know to turn the click sound off in camera mode press the and hold the #key, as for how to get to 4xzoom, maybe i'll discuss that next time, i've run out of steam for now. again overall this phone beats thje razr on specs, and is probably more reliable, as the razr and the v551 share the same platform, good but slow and tends to freeze up, for the money it'sa decent phone, but has issues. also don't know why cingular took it off their site, maybe they're fixing the issues, does anyone know. my rant is finished for now.
Was this review helpful? ::
60 out of 73 people found this review helpful.
11. Posted by scidoc
Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:46 pm
I have had this phone for a couple of months now and its is really great for our family's phone needs (everybody in the family has the same model - it simplifies explaining things to the technology-averse members). The bluetooth and IR tranfers are really nice and the software that you can get free from SE for syncing the phone to your appointment software is a nice touch too.
I don't have the trouble that some report with the camera button taking unwanted pictures. But I was glad to learn from other posters how to turn off the loud shutter click (go into silent mode).
One of the real nice features is the slide show of pictures that the camera has taken (especially when you turn off the icons). Another thing that I learned is that the slide show pictures look a whole lot better and take up the whole screen when you rotate the picture 90 degrees.
On the down side is the absence of a flash (or so far a flash attachment for the camera).
Great Job SE!
Scidoc
Was this review helpful? ::
32 out of 40 people found this review helpful.
12. Posted by tedi
Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:04 pm
I had a Nokia 6102 prior to this z520a. I returned the Nokia after 14 days because it had a horrible keypad.
It's my first Sony Ericsson phone and so far its excellent.
I had some doubt about getting a Sony Ercisscon cellphone before because my friends cant set a personalized message alert tone. Fortunately, the z520a could do it, either an mp3, wav or MIDI file could be selected.
The keypad feels much better than the smallish keypad of my Nokia 6600. The GUI is excellent as well.
And for all the guys out there: This DOESNT feel at all like a girly phone, as long as you don't replace the covers with girly colors such as pink or violet.
Positives:
-Small and light,
-Very loud (and cool) ringtones/message alert tones installed
-Customizable themes, ringtones, message alert tones
-Easy to use keypad
-Excellent GUI
-Good signal reception
-Infrared and Bluetooth
-Quad band phone
-Reliability could be as good as my previous Nokias
Negatives:
-the side photo button which easily triggers the photo mode
-it hanged twice when I was answering a call. Fortunately, it turns on quickly automatically
4 1/2 stars out of 5.
Was this review helpful? ::
36 out of 46 people found this review helpful.
13. Posted by mastergnatman
Sat Jan 14, 2006 9:04 am
This phone was giving to me as a christmas gift, and i love it, the screens are bright enough to see, despite what people say, and the camera, is cool, if you have problems, jus adjust the brightness, but outside, its a jewel to use. The reception is clear, and the speakerphone is great!!, ringtones are so good they warn you that high ringtones can damager your ears. this phone has great features, you make your own vidoes, you can edit pictures, choose wether you want the camera to shoot, in different styles, like shoot 3 phones in 1, or shoot 4 different photos at one time. and with the videos, you can add music, and then send it to the person, or keep it. Also with the pictures, you can add backgrounds to the photos, you can change the color to black and white, or this yellowish color called sepia. Also you can choose 2 different versions for the video, a high quality*over a minute* just to keep, wich they say is hard to send, and a mulitimedia one to send the videos *30 seconds*. When you put the phone in silent mode, the camera shutter turns off, for those annoying shutter sounds. The text messages are easily sent, and i can instant message my hearts content. The phonebook holds alot of information, say you foget someones emaildress, you can look under their name in your phone, and there it is , you can also store brithdays, and pictures for the person, set a ringtone, and the light effects you can change how it looks when someone calls, they are so many things you can store in your contact list, its awsome. The phones has great memory also that way you can store information and pictures, also you have voice control, you can say the persons name after a push of the middle part of the side buttons, and say the name,and it dials for you, of course after you set the name of course. the entertainment doesnt stop on this phone, therese a media player, sound recorder, music dj *makes music*, games, photo dj, and video dj. Say you need to turn off feartures for your phone, no problemo, change your profile, you can choose which one, after you edit, also the lights around the endside of the phone can be turned off, which is really great. The wallpapers are crystal clear on this phone, some move and some dont. also people have problems, with after a certain time the phone goes blank, no problem for me, saves power, haha..lolz, also the external display is bright enough to see the pictures, and time and date and reception, of course the wallpapers can move also, and in sleep mode, the clock tends to be hidden, but it doesnt bother me, its not like your gonna stare at it, plus it saves engergy. did i mention how great the batery life is, ive never talked the full 9hrs, but i like the fact that you dont get the little bars for battery, you get this picture of a battery, and the green slowly withers down, and i like that i can judge it from the persent, those bars are no help at all, but this yes!!!!, and it doenst help it turns orange, then red when it gets 50 percent of lower.
bottom line:
if your looking for a phone thats an entertainment package, small and light for hiddeness, bright screens, and loud ringtones and speaker, this is for you, look no futher, you want this phone
Was this review helpful? ::
31 out of 42 people found this review helpful.
14. Posted by AmyG
Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:56 pm
I've owned this phone for about a month and it is the must frustrating thing I think I've ever owned in my life. After reading a number of positive reviews on this Forum I decided to get the z520a instead of the Razr - what a mistake!
The signal drops to nothing if you have your hand anywhere on or covering the external antenna, so the only way I can use it is by carefully holding it at the tips of my fingers or with a bluetooth headset. In addition, it is almost impossible to open or pick up the phone without hitting the camera button on the side. Using this phone is an absolute nightmare.
Pros:
long battery life
easily synced with my Mac
key pad
bluetooth
Cons:
poor reception in general anywhere indoors, even near a window
antenna fails to get signal if any part of your hand is covering it
hard to open phone without hitting camera button
inside screen scratches very easily
software sometimes freezes up for a couple of seconds when moving through menus
Was this review helpful? ::
38 out of 57 people found this review helpful.
15. Posted by rickrock
Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:44 pm
I just got this phone, and while the phone seems to have all the features I want, and does have great reception, it does have a few faults. Here's what I don't like:
1) No way to quickly adjust your ring volume and switch between silent, vibrate, soft, loud etc. All other phones I've had allowed you to press the side buttons on the phone (when not on a call) and adjust the ring style. Sony gives you "phone status". What's that? Who cares! You can switch between "silent and ring" with the "#" key, but it's not at all as easy or user friendly as every other phone I've had (and I've had a lot!).
2) No One-touch speed call. Every other cell phone I've ever had allowed you to press and hold a number (e.g. "2") and it would dial the speed call number associated with that number. Instead it takes two keys, you have to press the speed call number followed by "call".
3) Non Industry Standard Send/End buttons. Every other phone I've ever had used the second key down on the left and right for Send/End. Sony uses the top Soft-keys for this. Annoying, but you do get used to it.
4) Only one phone number per contact. You can't store the mobile, work, home etc. phone numbers under a single contact, you have to create separate entries for each phone #
5) Long delay between opening phone and being able to speak. Once you answer an incoming call (i.e. open the phone), it takes 1-2 seconds for the phone to actually connect the call. My other flip phones worked right away.
6) No way to delete Sony/Cingular canned pictures on the phone. These little ugly cartoons are in the list of pictures. They come with the phone and you can't get rid of them. I want them gone!
7) Speaking of pictures, there is that annoying tendency to take pictures every time you open the phone. That camera button is way too sensitive.
That's it so far. It's hard for me to like the phone with so many pet peeves.........
Was this review helpful? ::
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
16. Posted by laurams56
Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:07 pm
i got this phone right before christmas. i chose this one over the razr because the specs were better. my sis got a razr at the same time. while both look pretty cool on paper, neither of the phones impressed me very much in the real world. this rant may seem negative, but there are enough people singing the z520a's praises that i don't need to talk about those.
the z520a is a cute little phone and very light weight. but i noticed probs with it the same day i bought it. first off, the phone would ring, i'd try to answer and get nothing. happened about 5% of the time, which can become quite annoying.
i also really like how one reviewer on this site said "ringtones are so good they warn you that high ringtones can damager your ears" they HAVE to say that to cover their tails, but come on. i found only one ring tone that i could stand that was loud enough for me to hear in my purse (the increasingly annoying summer breeze ringtone). the vibe was also too weak.
also the loop antenna is just awful. if any part of my hand were touching the antenna during a call the reception would plummet, which wasn't very good to start with. i read on a cingular forum something about a glitch with the temp memory and reception. regardless of why the reception was bad, even when i had 5 bars, i could hardly understand half of my convos.
eventually i resorted to mainly texting. which in itself has a whole new set of issues. being a motorola user previously, i'm not used to the T9 dict, and i really don't like it. you have to push about 5 buttons to be able to insert your own word. very annoying since my vocab and the dictionary's didn't coincide very often. also the font size was so big on the writing screen that it would fit only about 7 or 8 words on a screen. luckily when you receive texts the font is much smaller.
other random complaints list:
-could never figure out how to change the length of time the back light stayed on. it was way too short.
-outside clock hard to read on "sleep mode"
-useless, non-customizable shortcuts via the volume buttons on the outside
-that infamous camera button!
-ring tones suck, no just plain ringing tone
-speaker phone ok to use, but had to punch too many buttons to turn it off during a call.
side note: my phone just got stolen last night, and all i can think of is how happy i am that i dont have to deal with this phone anymore.
Was this review helpful? ::
25 out of 46 people found this review helpful.
17. Posted by KingofSpadez06
Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:17 am
The Z500a is a reliable phone filled with features and Loads of Picture space. MY brother owns a Sony Ericson z500a and the phone is nice but unforuntaly the Cingular isn't the best service. The phone has Picture designs which helps to send unique pictures to other phones and inaddtion VERY QUICK CALLING. Also Battery life isn't so bad. You can go 10 days without recharging your battery..(if you don't make calls or open the phone)
I didn't like-
The size of the phone is too big, yet very light.
the screen on the phone seems to be very Dim in outsde
Cingular doesn't provide the best service
Phone looks like it has bluetooth but really lacks.
outside screen on the phone is too small.
Was this review helpful? ::
147 out of 356 people found this review helpful.
Write a review and share your opinion about the Sony Ericsson Z520a.
Consumers interested in the Sony Ericsson Z520a also considered these cell phones:
* Compare with other phones side-by-side, or Search by features. We always try to make sure our specs are accurate and
complete; however there may be times when information is not known. If you come across
any missing details or mistakes, please
contact us so we can help
other consumers.
Join the discussion in the
Sony Ericsson Forum or AT&T Forum (Cingular). Read what
others are saying about the Sony Ericsson Z520a, get
knowledgeable answers, and read comments and comparisons about similar devices.
