It kinda got buried beneath the
X10 mini and
mini pro, but Sony Ericsson went ahead and threw us a Symbian-flavored bone this evening with the
Vivaz pro. The phone's nearly a dead ringer for its non-pro doppelganger -- the original
Vivaz -- but it adds a claimed 2 millimeters of thickness, which we found to be nearly imperceptible when you're holding it or gazing in its direction. We'll admit this is a better looking phone (along with the Vivaz) in person than we'd figured from the press shots, but we're still not sure we'd buy in -- the UI feels a little bit like a warmed-over
S60 5th Edition, unlike the X10's thorough reworking of Android. If anything, this could very well be an N97 mini killer, especially considering the keyboard's decency -- just check out that centered spacebar! Enjoy a few more shots of the phone in Sony Ericsson's ridiculously under-lit venue (it's a nightclub, in case you couldn't tell) below.
posted February 14th 2010 6:16PM
Nice work guys covering WMC
Can we get video please
THAT is what I would call is close to being the perfect hardware for a current gen "Smart Phone". I have an iPhone, I am sorry for myself.
@tDot
"Perfect hardware"? Samsung and anyone else have that "perfect hardware". But you know what? That doesn't even matter when the software is crappy and the bugs fixes get delayed and don't get fixed at all.
@tDot That is some very nice looking hardware. Unfortunately that's only half the battle, and nowadays becoming less and less important. But that phone is slick!
@Leo and @foxyNinja That is exactly why I used the word hardware :-)
I was referring to a qwerty handset which was not too bulky, had a decent camera, touch screen, good enough processor, nice port selection et cetera. I wish it had good software too and I agree with you both.
It looks nice, but it is running Symbian 5th edition and that is reason enough to avoid like the plague. I had an N97 and it was truly the worst phone experience I have ever had on a Nokia. I applaud Sony for diversity though. Maybe they are keeping their options open, and seeing which OS sells best?
The only thing genuinely exciting is that spacious backlight qwerty keyboard the UI looks clunky, fidgety and irritating similar to the satio...
I hope to god the XPERIA X10 isn't going to be thier flagship for this year. MWC had better deliver this year.
Unimpressive SE launches. Such boring and bland products! Someone please let them know we are in 2010 and not 2007.
SONY (no USA) ProductS + Engadget ---> NO VIDEOS OR FAST SHORT VIDEOS
Too bad, it would have made a good Android, with a better processor though.
Why they are keeping Ericsson in the name?
@Mikkis74
Why they are keeping Sony in the name?
@Mikkis74 Because it's a JOINT venture between the two companies. Sony was not doing very well in the cellphone market outside Japan, Swedish Ericsson was much larger in Europe/the World but faltering. They joined to sell more together.
Ericsson is responsible for many of the cellphone technologies you take for granted. GSM was developed at Ericsson, and so was Bluetooth! The actual phones are more the work of Ericsson than Sony, they just have the more prominent brand [in the US].
perfect sony erricson phone=3.7-4.0 screen,1gh -1.5 gh processor,full qwerty keyboard,with the new android skin.
Keyboard looks beautiful. Other than that, it's not very appealing to me. But, that could be because tech nerds like super phones, and this isn't supposed to be one.
Anyone else notice the layout of the blue number keys? Just like the TP2 on AT&T.
Is this headed to AT&T?
I would really love to have this phone here on AT&T cause AT&T needs some GOOD ASS QWERTY PHONES, and still haven't read anything bout it's X10 or X10 mini coming to AT&T.
Damn it would be great if they took this phone, put Android 2.1 on it, and sold it!
Why are so many phone manufacturers making QWERTY keyboards with stacked, rather than offset, keys?