Sony Ericsson Z520a

Call Quality

Calls and speakerphone: Call quality is a bit of a mixed bag using the Z520a: on the one hand calls are clear and loud once we adjust the volume using the side rocker buttons (Note: the side keys are a bit long, which makes changing the volume using these buttons irritating). On the other hand, we had to adjust the volume for most calls. That said, the speakerphone quality is impressive: conversations are clear and lack the echo often present on speakerphone calls. However, some callers could tell we were talking to them using this feature.

Audio Playback: Playback of MP3s and Midi files is loud through the cell phone’s speaker. Once we saved a MP3 as a ringtone , we never missed a call because we couldn’t hear the ring – even if the Sony Ericsson cell phone was buried at the bottom of a purse stored under a desk.

Ease of Use

Menu/Phonebook: The menu interface on this cell phone is probably one of the most straightforward we’ve encountered, which is a good thing since the Sony Ericsson Z520a has a plethora of settings and features. In case you can’t intuitively master the cell phone’s features, Sony Ericsson includes text prompts that walk you through the initial set-up. We particularly liked that all graphical menu symbols list the corresponding action when highlighted (ie, highlight the icon of a camera and it reads Camera). But we did find ourselves continually wanting to use the Clear button to return to previous menus, when in fact you need to use the key with back arrow. Entering and accessing a contact in the cell phone is particularly easy, requiring minimal effort. You can enter five numbers, one address, birthday information and email address for each contact.

Camera/Video: The Sony Ericsson Z520a camera phone sports a VGA lens and lacks a flash. While snap shots taken on the phone were decent for a camera phone, these pics don’t come close to the quality produced by (even) low-end digital cameras. While the picture quality is acceptable, we can’t say the same for the video quality. When we used the camera phone to capture short videos, images were blurry and jagged.

Fortunately, using the camera is simple. In fact, some might even find it too easy to use. You can use the cell phone’s external display to snap self portraits without ever needing to flip open the Z520a. However, the dedicated camera/video button that sits above the volume control keys can be awfully temperamental and snaps photos at will. Translation: We have so many photos of the inside of a pocket or a bag; we considered displaying them as a series in a mobile art show.

Music: As mentioned earlier, MP3 playback quality is impressive on this music phone. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to store more than a couple of songs on the phone: Memory on this Sony Ericsson tops out at 16MB and lacks expandable memory (you can’t add more storage via a memory card). We were only able to store 2 MP3s on the cell phone. But the good news is we sent those MP3 files from iTunes on an Apple iBook via Bluetooth to the Sony Ericsson Z520a. We just had to direct it to the correct file path from the computer’s Bluetooth software.

Messaging: We were particularly impressed with quite a few of the messaging features on this cell phone. For starters, we liked that when we took a call using the speakerphone we were still able to send and receive text messages. We also appreciated the Speed Text List. Although, this may sound like the speed dial you set-up in a phonebook, this feature lists the contact you texted most recently, so you won’t need to dig through the phonebook to send a message quickly to those you text often. Nice!

One area where this Sony Ericsson cell phone falls short is consistently alerting us we have received incoming messages (voice or text). Don’t get us wrong, most of the time we were alerted immediately, but there were many occasions when we were unaware of incoming messages and would have preferred to have been notified in a more timely and reliable manner.

Connectivity/Bluetooth: The Sony Ericsson Z520a is a connectivity dreamboat. It has it all: Bluetooth, infrared (IR), or via USB cable. We were able to pair the cell phone with the Sony Ericsson HBH-65 Bluetooth headset, an Apple iBook and even another Sony Ericsson cell phone, the W600. But we particularly liked the cell phone’s IR capability because we could use it to exchange contact info with people who owned Palm’s and send (albeit slowly) contacts from our IR-enabled PC to the Z520a using Sony Ericsson’s free PC Connectivity Suite 1.7.10 (Note: you can download this from the company’s web site).

Design

Look and Feel: We’re big fans of the infusion of color that has been appearing on cell phones. Sony Ericsson has embraced this trend with the orange W600 and the blue Z520a. Our favorite part of this cell phone’s design is the blue lights that light-up like a disco floor upon incoming calls. We also appreciated the 4-way navigation key because it’s not too sensitive. Translation: We rarely hit the wrong button.

The external screen will display the time when the cell phone’s not in use, however, it’s typically too dark to read in most lighting and you’ll need to hit the side button to see it better. On the plus side, you can assign anyone of your pictures to the external screen, but you can’t do it from the camera menu. We are happy to report the internal display is extremely bright and is visible in dark and light environments.

Looks aside, this Sony Ericsson is comfortable to hold, feels comfortable against the ear and is impressively durable. We have dropped the Z520a onto concrete multiple times and it has yet to garner any scratches. We also allowed a toddler to play with it for over an hour and it survived the kid test remarkably well.

Keypad: In a cell phone design era that’s all about flat smooth surfaces, it’s nice to come across a keypad that’s all about the curves. Sony Ericsson’s Z520a blue-backlit, tactile keys are easy to dial in the dark. Replacing the standard Talk/End keys are two soft-key buttons (actions change based on the corresponding information displayed on the screen) that are used for the action, which brings us to the back arrow key. When lost in the cell phone’s menu system this key is your proverbial lifesaver, press it and it will return you to the previous screen.

Battery Life

Battery life on this Sony Ericsson cell phone is acceptable, but not stellar. We typically had to recharge the cell phone every other day when we used it to make a ton of calls and send multiple text messages. The Z520a lasted an extra day with medium use. Finally, when we used the cell phone to make two to three 10 minute calls a day and light texting, the Sony Ericsson Z520a lasted close to a week without needing more juice.