Sony Ericsson launches Vivaz pro, now with more QWERTY

Loved Sony Ericsson's Vivaz but not the awkward name form factor? No biggie, as SE's seen fit to launch a "pro" version of the set replete with QWERTY slide out keypad today at Mobile World Congress. The handset's other specs pretty much line up with what we saw launched in January: very usable 720p video capture, a 640 x 360 wide HVGA touchscreen display, S60 5th Edition (so says the press release, though an SE-tweaked Symbian^2 or Symbian^3 seems more likely), mountains of connectivity options, apps, gee-whiz camera functions, and will ship in both North American and global 3G variants with quad-band EDGE. Digging through the specs, we're a little concerned that somehow the Vivaz pro's megapixelry has slipped from a decidedly more pro-ish 8.1 in the original Vivaz to 5.1 in this venture -- so we're guessing the form factor has something to do with it. Of course there's no firm shipping date, but look for it in white or black sometime in the second quarter of this year.

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Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro – Combining QWERTY keyboard and touch screen for optimal messaging

• Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro – sister phone to the flagship Sony Ericsson Vivaz™, adds QWERTY keyboard to deliver an optimised messaging experience
• 'Human curvature' design philosophy delivering beauty inside and out
• Coming to market in the second quarter of 2010

February 14, 2010 - Barcelona – Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro,announced today, adds a QWERTY keyboard to the touch screen offering, delivering a user experience optimised for messaging and entertainment. The full QWERTY keyboard allows consumers to communicate quickly and efficiently via email, SMS or social networking updates.

Just like flagship phone Sony Ericsson Vivaz™, announced in January, Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro allows consumers to produce and broadcast their best experiences in HD video. The open platform also allows users to personalise their entertainment experience by downloading great applications through PlayNow™ and the Symbian Developer Community.

"Having announced Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ in January we are now adding a sister phone that includes a QWERTY keyboard along with the touch screen for a superior messaging and entertainment experience," said Daniel Sandblom Marketing Business Manager, Sony Ericsson. "Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro meets the increased consumer demand for QWERTY devices without compromising on any entertainment features."

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro features the new design philosophy 'human curvature', which will become a consistent feature of the Sony Ericsson portfolio going forward. Designed to mirror the shape of the human body, and at the same time delivering a precise and compelling way of interacting with the phone, Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro is instantly recognisable.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro

• Full slide-out keyboard for faster typing
• Stay in touch through email, Twitter™, Facebook™, blogging and chat
• View everything on the 3.2" 16:9 wide touchscreen
• Capture the action in HD resolution – upload to YouTube via Wi-Fi™
• PlayNow – immediate online access to applications, games and music.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro supports UMTS HSPA 900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100 and GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro will be available in selected markets from Q2 in the colours Black and White.

Sony Ericsson is also unveiling the Hi-Fi Stereo Headset MH710. Enjoy best-in-class clear audio while on the move and handle music and calls with just one touch.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro
Camera
5.1 megapixel camera
4x digital zoom
Auto focus (photos)
Continuous auto focus (video)
Face detection (photos)
Geo tagging
Image stabiliser
Photo light
Send to web
Smile detection
Touch capture
Video light
Video recording (720p HD recording)

Music
Album art
Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP)
Media player
Music player
Music tones (MP3/AAC)
PlayNow™
TrackID™

Web
Bookmarks
Google™ search (from standby)
Web feeds
WebKit web browser

Voice
Speakerphone
Vibrating alert
Video calling (main camera)

Messaging
Conversations
Email
Handwriting recognition
Instant messaging
Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync®
Picture messaging (MMS)
Predictive text input
Sound recorder
Text messaging (SMS)

Design
Auto rotate
Full slide-out keyboard
Picture wallpaper
Symbian OS™
Touchscreen

Entertainment
3D games
Facebook™ application
FM radio
Java
Twitter™ application
Video streaming
Video viewing
YouTube™

Organiser
Alarm clock
Calculator
Calendar
Document readers
Flight mode
Notes
Phone book

Location-based services
A-GPS
Google Maps™
Wisepilot™ turn-by-turn navigation

Connectivity
3.5 mm audio jack
Bluetooth™ technology
DLNA Certified™ (photos and audio)
Micro USB connector
Modem
PictBridge printing
Synchronisation
TV out (VGA resolution)
USB mass storage
USB support
Wi-Fi™

Preloaded applications
Facebook™ – social networking
Google Maps™ – navigation
QuickOffice – Microsoft® Office viewer (trial version)
PDF Viewer (trial version)
Road Sync – synchronisation
SMS Preview – messaging app
Twitter – social networking
YouTube™ – video sharing
Wisepilot™ – navigation
World Mate – clock and weather app
Quadrapop
Rally Master Pro

Screen
16:9 nHD touchscreen (TFT)
16,777,216 colour
3.2 inches
360 x 640 pixels
Scratch-resistant

Accessories
In-Box:
Sony Ericsson Vivaz™ pro
Battery
stereo portable handsfree
8 GB microSD™ card
micro USB cable for charging and file transfer
Optional:
Hi-Fi Wireless Headset with FM Radio MW600
Hi-Fi Stereo Headset MH710

Facts
Size: 109 x 52 x 15 mm
Weight: 117 grams
Phone memory: Up to 75 MB
Memory card support: SanDisk microSD™, up to 16 GB
Memory card included: 8 GB microSD™ card
Operating system: Symbian™ S60 5th edition Processor: 720 MHz
Talk time GSM/GPRS: Up to 12 hrs 30 min
Standby time GSM/GPRS: Up to 430 hrs
Talk time UMTS: Up to 5 hrs 10 min
Standby time UMTS: Up to 440 hrs
Video call time: Up to 2 hrs 30 min

Availability and versions
Networks
UMTS HSPA 900/2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
Available in selected markets from Q2 2010

Colour
Black
White

[Evaldas Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:08PM]

Symbian...

[TheLostSwede Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:14PM]

@Evaldas yes, but with SE UI rather than Nokia's UI, so fingers crossed...

[selenaconnie Posted Feb 15th 2010 2:19AM]

@Evaldas Indeed, just like the non-pro version, the viva runs on the Symbian S60 platform and packs a 5 megapixel autofocus camera capable of recording 720p video. The 3.2" display sports a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels and is capable of showing up to 16M colors. The CPU inside the human curvature-inspired body clocks at 720 MHz:
http://bit.ly/sony-ericsson-vivaz-leaks

[Consigliere11 Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:13PM]

5mpx camera...)

[Nokia N900 Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:56PM]

@corrinelauder

SPAMMER alert !

[jmposvip Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:09PM]

@Consigliere11
but a good 5mpx camera with HD video recoring

[dansus Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:22PM]

SE used to be pretty good at design, wonder what happened. Ah well, next.

[yuichi Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:22PM]

i don't believe the availability date

[erwin Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:24PM]

why symbian? just got my new nokia e72 and this system is soooo outdated...and frankly - it's kinda slow, even though the e72 has the updated 600 mhz processor

[Nokia N900 Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:32PM]

@erwin
I think you mean S60 ?

and what is outdated ? no fancy animations ?

[meeku Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:25PM]

Sean, 640 x 360 pixels isn't HVGA, so perhaps you should edit the aritcle to reflect that.

[JablesX Posted Feb 14th 2010 3:08PM]

+1. HVGA is 480x360. S60 5th devices are what Nokia coined as "nHD", the n an acronym for "not".

[SParklingCYaNide Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:26PM]

I like the look alot but whats going on with that lower screen size and resolution??? I think the Samsung Wave is more attractive if this is the case even WITH the pull out kb.

[ango Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:27PM]

symbian it's not dead it's still alive and it's cool
SE it's moving from UIQ to symbian
Now I like symbian because it's open source

[tirim4 Posted Feb 14th 2010 3:18PM]

@ango

UIQ is symbian, just like S60. This phone prob runs S60 5th edition, not the open source symbian foundation OS.

[dirtballrotten Posted Feb 14th 2010 2:30PM]

this phone looks sweet.... now throw webOS on it and ill be in line when this beauty comes out.

[kenny goo Posted Feb 14th 2010 3:40PM]

Just when I thought I found my new phone for college, I read the fine print: Symbian. *Sigh* When someone gets Android 2.0/2.1 running on this SOB then I'll seriously consider it. Give me PSN integration that's on par with whatever Microsoft is doing with WinMo 7 and Xbox and it's sold. Seriously though, I'd rather have PS Minis then poorly designed XNA games I've been playing for free on my Zune for the longest time now.

[shinerb Posted Feb 14th 2010 3:47PM]

homey the clown - u are right. still, i loved the looks of the Vivaz as well as the specs and size. just wish they'd have been able to keep the 8mp camera. this one is on my "to get" list.

[jmposvip Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:15PM]

the vivaz pro looks great and it's well equipped, I hope that the os will be upgradeable to Symbian ver^3

[liquidmonkey Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:51PM]

finally, a company that releases BOTH a qwerty version and a NON-qwerty version.

well done SE as this should stop about 80% of the complaining.
i'm no real fan of the qwerty but HTC should do the same with the HD2, OBSESSION, DRAGON and SUPERSONIC.

then EVERYONE would b happy ;)

[br4nd0nh347 Posted Feb 14th 2010 4:58PM]

I'm sorry but those buttons are probably murder.

[TrumanHW Posted Feb 14th 2010 6:17PM]

symbian still??

[Wesley Posted Feb 14th 2010 6:40PM]

Better keyboard than the Droid

[jamesstringer Posted Feb 15th 2010 7:29AM]

JablesX FAIL, HVGA = 480x320. Noobz.

[Endrowid Posted Feb 15th 2010 7:59AM]

Why symbian?

Because... it is the most developed OS, it lets me transfer files thru bluetooth, I can make dial up connection with bluetooth, and it supports all the BT profiles, (My hTC hero only supports BT headsets).

Why symbian?

because I have front cam in low end/mid range devices too, can make video calls through fring.. for free

Why symbian?

because after being developed so much... its open now..

I have hTC hero, I sold my SE Satio and got this android deviced.. but all I got is just fancy UI, and better browser.

The negatives I find with Symbian (Symbian S60 Ed. 5) is its browser, responsiveness, I saw symbian hanging a lot with Nokia but on Sony Ericsson it works much better.

NOKIA is cheating people, they have faulty bluetooth modem in their high-end phones, I used E71, 72 and N97, bluetooth thethering is not possible with Nokia because modem hangs after some time and stops responding and Nokia is soooo careless that they are not admitting it, this is a problem with hardware not the software because Satio is also using the same OS but bluetooth tethering works like charm.

its up to user what he wants... fancy UI with animation.. go for iphone/android, and if functionality... they go for Symbian..

I wish Symbian to be optimised for capacitive screen with iphone like browser and i bet.. it would be the best OS.

I will sell my htc hero too, and will by a symbian with capacitive screen and keyboard, waiting for the day.

Thanks.