Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro Review

Introduction:

After we already reviewed one of the buzz-worthy phones this spring, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz, now we have the pleasure to run its keyboard-anointed sibling – the Vivaz pro – through its paces  and see how it stacks up against it. Appearing just in time for the summer jams, it also sports the ability to shoot video with high definition quality, something very few phones so far have bragging rights for.

To avoid repetition we will be pointing out what the Vivaz pro brings to the table that the Vivaz doesn't have, and vice versa. So read on as we try out the keyboard and camera, and elaborate on the new firmware that was just announced for it - we have it all lined up to help you decide which one to take home.

What's in the box?

•    Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro
•    1200 mAh Li-Po Battery
•    microUSB cable
•    AC adapter
•    Manual
•    Headset
•    8GB microSD card

Design:

We received the slick white version, as opposed to the black Vivaz review unit, which might bias the design overview because the phone simply looks great in white. Leave it to Sony Ericsson to craft a beautiful piece of technology (and price it accordingly), and the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro does not disappoint. It's curvy, it is small and light, it fits perfectly in the hand, hey, the white version might just become women's favorite. At least the ones we showed it to fell in love with it.



You can compare the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Not so long ago we used to associate phones that had a slide-out keyboard with bulky, capable powerhouses that were tailored more to the business user, where function often trumps form. Sony Ericsson has done outstanding engineering to keep matters thin and rounded, and this might easily be the most elegant phone with a full slide-out we have been holding so far, despite the fact it is an all out plastic construction. It is just a tad taller than the Vivaz, with the negligible 2.5 mm added thickness, but keeping the same 360x640 3.2” screen with vibrant, saturated colors but of the nail-friendly resistive type.

The left side of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro has undergone some design changes – the microUSB port is at the top now, swapping places with the 3.5mm audio jack. The speaker has gone to the back, and at the bottom left side we have the mike and the small protrusion aimed to steady the grip when pressing the two camera buttons on the right side. The fronts of the two devices are absolutely identical, the screen is the same fingerprint magnet, with one more point that might appeal the Vivaz pro to women apart from the design - it can be used as a decent mirror, and that's as good as the screen gets outdoors in direct sunlight, barely visible even to frame pictures.




Now let's get down and dirty with the keyboard  - after all that's what the Vivaz pro is about and the Vivaz is not. In short it is great, slides out easily and snaps into place with a reassuring click of the just tight enough spring-loading mechanism. Not only is it well-built and the phone itself is so light, but also the weight of the two halves is distributed evenly so as to allow comfortable typing without having to do wrist exercises. The key travel is a bit shallow, but we didn't expect more considering how thin the device is, and having a rubberized physical key under your thumbs does wonders for typing speed and accuracy. The layout is rectangular in the modern style named after the “Chicklets” chewing gum blister packs, which makes for a very good space between the letters. We got the QWERTZ version of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro so don't fret to see the places of the “Y” and the “Z” swapped in our phone shots, it's the German layout. All in all cool, tight and functional small keyboard for those annoyingly long Facebook statuses you have grown to hate.

Interface and Software:

The custom Sony Ericsson UI is the same as in the Vivaz and the Satio, and can be changed with a few other even less customized themes. Suffice it to say that the newest firmware (from 28/5) we upgraded the phone with didn't bring kinetic scrolling to the WebKit browser and the menus. There is kinetic scrolling in the great Facebook app, for instance, but the default menus are mostly good old Symbian S60.



The new firmware does improve stability, though, and brings in some bug fixes (smooth kinetic scrolling of pictures in the media tab, for instance) as well as new additions such as an equalizer and a screenshot app, so it is wise to have it onboard. We covered what other apps are included out of the box in our Vivaz Review, and would just add TrackID to the list, which can recognize what song is being currently played around you à la the popular Shazam.


GPS works fine and locks signal quickly - apart from the included location apps we installed the trial of Garmin XT for Mobile and it turn-by-turned us without a hitch despite that the phone is not listed as supported. The same welcome quality of the Vivaz's GPS is present on the Vivaz pro – working signal can be caught and kept even indoors when next by the window.


For a more thorough glimpse at the interface and software you can refer to our Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review. Now off to the big question of how the camera measures up to its 8MP competitor found in the Vivaz...

Camera and Video:

Having two separate buttons for video and still shots is a handy function and one that stresses how good Sony Ericsson deems the video to be so as to dedicate a whole button to fire it up. And fire up it does quickly – you are up and running for photos or videos in less than 2 seconds from wherever you are in the phone menus.

The camera of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro had all the advantages of a bright sunshiny day, compared to the grizzly cloudy weather the Vivaz shots were taken in, so it is comparing apples to oranges somewhat, but the pictures came out well with its smaller resolution of 5MP. Now, of course, resolution is nothing without decent optics, but here the details that the camera caught came out fine for the 5MP sensor, yet not outlandishly so. Images are  on par with the average in terms of sharpness and focus. Colors got fairly accurately represented, but far cry from the usual vibrant oversaturated colors the standalone Sony cameras produced. In the end you probably won't notice much difference between pics taken with the Vivaz and the Vivaz pro.



You'll have to turn on/off the LED manually, unless you are on full auto setting. It is great as a torch, and good as a video light, but pretty weak as a camera flash, judging from the indoor samples. Sony Ericsson's take on that is that the focus here is on video recording, and, while Xenon is powerful, it heats up quickly and is not practical for video recording. Anyway, we've seen phones with LEDs that act as flashes when taking photos, and as lights when recording videos, which would have been a better solution here.

Moving along to the part you anticipate most - the video samples. They are as good as the ones taken with the Vivaz, with the same continuous autofocus regime, where the sensor focuses on whatever is front and center and nearer. Colors come out nicely, one of the  good video experiences you can have with a phone. Even in bright daylight, however, we got some noise out of the 24 frames per second with all settings on auto. Plus, keep in mind it is a good idea to not move the camera around too fast, otherwise you will end up with a blurry, jerky video. Uploading pics and videos straight to Picasa, YouTube, Facebook and blogs is a breeze, but the microphone proved to be quiet, catching a lot of static noise, which is kind of lame for such a video-centric phone.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro sample video 1 at 1280x720 pixels resolution.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro sample video 2 at 1280x720 pixels resolution.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro sample video 3 at 1280x720 pixels resolution.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro sample video 4 at 1280x720 pixels resolution.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro night mode sample video at 1280x720 pixels resolution.

Performance and Conclusion:

As a phone the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro works well without being outstanding in terms of voice clarity or reception. People were hearing us well, but we had some trouble with voice clarity on our end. The ear speaker's quietness probably plays its part here too. The loudspeaker is strong and clear, but the included headset works the same as with the Vivaz - hard to hear and flat sounding, though it serves its purpose when used as a mike for recording video interviews and the like. We got a day out of the battery with moderate usage and browsing over WiFi, so don't forget the charger.
 
In the end, if we have to place our utmost verdict on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro, it will be favorable. Despite the fact that the company tries to position it as less of a multimedia capable phone than the Vivaz by shrinking the camera sensor from 8MP to 5MP and adding a keyboard (presuming a lot of messaging or business use), it is basically as good as the Vivaz camerawise.

Since it doesn't have kinetic scrolling just like the early Nokia N97 or the Samsung OMNIA HD, arrow keys help navigation in menus and websites, if needed. Plus you can see what box you are typing in on websites and in messages/email, unlike with the virtual keyboard, which takes up the whole screen; typing speed is thus greatly enhanced. These are all options worth going for especially when you don't have a large capacitive screen and the addition of a physical keyboard adds no bulk to the Vivaz pro.

What we are not quite at peace with, though, is the price popping here and there. Considering that both the Vivaz and the Vivaz pro are touted by Sony Ericsson for their HD video abilities (no doubt a distinctive and adequately executed feat), the price is positioning the Vivaz pro as a direct competitor to the current high-end smartphone crop out there, like the HTC flagships and the iPhone. These are formidable opponents and perhaps only the die-hard physical keyboard fans will reach for the Vivaz pro on the counter. As usual, time will tell and in the meantime we'll be reviewing all the upcoming summer HD we can get our hands on.

If the HD video capabilities are important for you, we'd recommend that you also have a look at the older, but cooler Samsung OMNIA HD.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro Video Review:

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