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Sony Ericsson Vivaz review
Sony Ericsson's no stranger to phones with decent cameras, and the Vivaz with European 3G frequencies aims to be one of them; after all these months we've finally got hold of this S60 device, which is the first phone capable of continuous autofocus on 720p video recording courtesy of its speedy 720MHz Cortex A8 and PowerVR GPU. Compared to its predecessor, the Vivaz bears a similar button layout and GUI to the Satio's, but lacks a front-facing camera, Fast Port (replaced by a micro-USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack), and a slide cover for the camera. The resistive touchscreen (sigh, more on that later) has been downsized from 3.5 inches to 3.2 inches but retains a similar resolution (640 x 360), while the camera sensor is also scaled down from 12.1 megapixels to a more sensible 8.1, possibly for the sake of picture quality and component cost. But enough with the comparison -- let's get cracking with the review.%Gallery-88325%
Sony Ericsson Vivaz shows up in multicolored Dutch hands-on (Update: video!)
The former Kurara caterpillar has now sprouted into a Vivaz butterfly, and what do you know, all its lustrous color options have already been handled and explored by Dutch site All About Phones. We're told that early leaks and spy shots did a disservice to the handsome styling of the handset, which borrows some design cues from the Xperia X10. It's smaller than you might think, apparently, and a delight to handle, though the back has an unfortunate taste for fingerprints. The Symbian S60 5th onboard is said to be "remarkably fast," and an improvement over the implementation on the Satio. We couldn't resist snatching one more photo with all four hues on display, which can be found after the break, but you'll have to read that source link for the full dish and photoshoot. Update: Hey, SE has been kind enough to supply us with a developer preview video, which you'll find right after the break, thanks XRX.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz is official: 8.1 megapixels' worth of Symbian
We get the impression that Sony Ericsson didn't intend for this release to go out quite yet, but for what it's worth, we've now got official word that the rumored Kurara is the real deal -- and it'll be known as "Vivaz." Yes, Vivaz. Okay, now that you've had a moment to recover, let's take a look at the specs: S60 5th Edition (we're surprised they don't refer to it as a Symbian build in the release, but whatevs), 8.1 megapixel autofocus cam with image stabilization, face detection, and 720p video capture, FM radio, AGPS, WiFi, TV-out at VGA resolution, and a 3.2-inch WVGA (or 640 x 360... the PR lists both) display. It'll be available in four colors -- Moon Silver, Cosmic Black, Galaxy Blue, and Venus Ruby -- when it launches this quarter in both North American and global 3G variants with quadband EDGE. If you can get over the name, you love Symbian, and the Satio isn't for you, this might be your new objet d'envy for the first few months of the year. Follow the break for a hip-looking Sony Ericsson dude showing off the goods. Update: And it appears Burson-Marsteller has pulled the release, so yep -- it wasn't supposed to go out yet. Enjoy! %Gallery-83518%
Sony Ericsson Kurara getting April debut in UK?
Sony Ericsson's slightly lower-spec cousin to the Satio -- the so-called Kurara -- is now said to be on track for an April release in the UK, according to the too-familiar "sources close to the matter" (whom, after months of research, we now believe to all be cousins of Mr. Blurrycam). That would seem to line up the 8 megapixel, Symbian-based touchphone for a possible announcement at next month's Mobile World Congress, an event at which the company introduced the Satio one year prior -- perfect timing, no? It's likely that a UK release would be closely followed by launches in other European markets -- and Sony Ericsson's been making a habit recently of launching some of its hottest models through Sony's US SonyStyle store, too, so we might get some love all over the globe with this one. [Image via mobie-review, thanks ugotamesij]
Sony Ericsson Kurara previewed way ahead of release
We were promised a preview of Sony Ericsson's Symbian-sporting Satio sibling, and indeed here we are, looking at the machine-translated Kurara analysis courtesy of Eldar from Mobile Review. He pulls no punches in his introduction by noting that the new handset will offer little in terms of specs to trump the Samsung i8910 HD, and sketching out the tough market it'll have to compete in once the Nokia X6 comes out and starts grabbing market and mindshare alike. As to the phone itself, he describes the 8.1 megapixel camera as an "inexpensive" unit and lets the sample photos and 720p sample video shot with it speak for themselves. Battery life was found to be "lacking," though we congratulate SE on electing to use a 3.5mm headphone jack and MicroSD memory expansion over its own proprietary formats. Overall, the Kurara was "pleasant to use," but lacked the necessary wow factor and its fate, says Eldar, will depend on just how keenly Sony Ericsson wants to price it.
Sony Ericsson Kurara has speedy Cortex A8, PowerVR purring inside
Eldar Murtazin, the man/legend behind Mobile Review has snagged one of those already leaked SE Kurara handsets, and he's got some juicy info to share with the rest of us. Apparently, the CPU on that little goer is a Cortex A8, backed by 256MB of RAM and a PowerVR graphics processor. It's no surprise then that the HD label we saw earlier has been corroborated by 720p video recording and playback capabilities, and the Symbian S60 interface is said to "fly." Eldar promises fuller impressions and more imagery by tomorrow, and indicates the second half of February as the likely landing date for the new handset, with a price point around €500 ($745) in Europe. [Thanks, Alex]
Sony Ericsson Kurara suffers leakage, reveals HD label?
Boy, we sure do love our early glimpses of pre-release hardware, and today we have not one, but two sources of purported pictures of the Sony Ericsson Kurara. Touted as a sibling to the Satio, the Kurara is mooted to have a 3.5-inch AMOLED touch-sensitive screen, 8.1 megapixel camera and, wait for it, 720p video recording. The image above seems to confirm this with a big "HD" inscription next to the camera lens, but that label is missing in the gallery below. We'll just put that inconsistency down to the extremely early samples on show, and start getting all frothed up in excitement over the possible UX inclusion on this Symbian S60 device when it starts selling in the first half of 2010.
