Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson Z520a Unlocked Cell Phone with Camera, MP3 Player--U.S. Version with Warranty (Blue/Silver)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

January 2006: I got this phone last week to replace a multiband (GSM and TDMA) S-E phone after Cingular discontinued the multiband service <grump>. I was worried that with GSM only I would not get the coverage I got previously, but I was wrong. I get really much better coverage with this phone. In fact, I would say that this phone is the best I have ever had for picking up signals.

The problems: What I have seen reported here and in other reviews are generally true. It's just a matter of how much they bother you. In particular: (1) the light turns off quickly and when it is off you can see nothing at all. (2) The outside buttons (volume and camera) are pretty easy to press by accident. OTOH, they generally don't do any harm, and they do light the light. (3) Nav key is pretty small; I can see someone with big fingers might have trouble (I don't).

The positives: (1) Seems very good at picking up signals. (2)Supports MIDI ring tones which are lots smaller than MP3. (3) Voice dialing seems to work smoothly. (4) Easy to turn ringer to silent when in a meeting or whatever. (5) Several ways to get to contacts quickly. E.g. voice dial; shortcut from Nav Key to contacts; hit a dial key to get to contacts starting with those letters.

And one final point: Go to the S-E web site to do the setup you need. They have a set of web pages to configure the phone; they ask you your carrier, phone number, etc etc and then SMS the right info to the phone to set up all the web stuff you need (except the SMS-to-email gateway, strangely. )

Overall, I am very happy with this phone; it is probably the best I have had. A few nits, but they really don't bother me much.
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After a few weeks of use, I am adding the following:

I'm still very happy. Another thing that works very well is the Infrared. I snagged some music from the internet (mostly free MIDI stuff or samples of recordings) and uploaded it to the phone with IR. It was effortless and required little figuring out. I think there was an easy-to-find place on the phone to turn IR on and my computer just pinged and asked me what I wanted to do with my new-found IR partner.

One other small disadvantage: The -beep- prompting you to speak the voice dial is quite faint. I missed it a couple times and just sat there waiting to speak the callee's name. Also, the vibrate is pretty weak. I had it in my pocket and did not even notice an incoming email. Maybe a call would be more noticable since it lasts longer.

And I agree that the camera is not too useful, at least so far. But hey, that is not why I bought it.

I'm still happy with it, and my rating of 4 stars is unchanged.

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And now 6 months later: Ok, ok, the camera button position stinks. I tend to take pictures of the inside of my pockets since it that is where it somehow manages to get pushed. But I did find that you can turn on the light by pushing the volume button twice.

Another issue which is partly my own fault: I tend to miss calls because the ring tone is too soft. That may be because the song I chose starts out too soft. Use care!
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10 months later: I took the phone with me on a trip that took me through Heathrow airport and on to Bangalore India. The multiband-edness of the phone was great...it worked well in all locations. I sent and received an SMS message in LHR, and I actually bought a pre-paid SIM card in India to use in the phone (Air-Tel) and it worked wonderfully. There are even some features that I have never seen before (immediate messages on the screen showing amount of time left for example) that worked fine.
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Probably my final edit on Sept 30, 2008: Google "white screen of death" and z520. You'll find a description of what happened. Essentially, the phone still works, but the screen is all white. Not very good for using the directory, but ok on bluetooth. You can hold the cover in a certain position and get the screen to work again for a while, but I'm in the market for a new phone...I suppose it lasted longer than most phones gotten with a 2 year contract from a service provider, but I'm not terribly pleased.

Basically, what I need in a cell phone is the ability to make calls to people I want to speak with, and to receive calls from people who need to speak with me. That's it!

Of course, any old phone will do that, but there's my image to look out for, so I also want it to look expensive and sleek, to be able to pick up signals even in office blocks, have long battery life, and have tons of cool features to talk about, even if I never use them. The ability to withstand sudden impacts and the occasional passing shower is also an asset.

So far, this phone has met all my needs as follows:

(1) It makes calls just great
(2) It receives calls clearly
(3) It looks trendy with its cute little handle-shaped antenna, which is very useful as a handle when pulling it from your bag
(4) It's not the most expensive, but it looks like a million bucks
(5) It picks up signals in office buildings (and elsewhere)
(6) Excellent battery life
(7) It fell and survived (JAN 16 - EDIT: IT FELL AGAIN AND THE INTERIOR DISPLAY IS DAMAGED. THE PHONE HOWEVER STILL WORKS)
(8) It got drizzled on and survived

Feature wise:

(1) It has a camera and can take video recordings
(2) You can set up speed dialing fairly easily
(3) It has flashing lights when it rings, and you can change the light shows (or turn the darn thing off already)
(4) Lots of memory for lots of numbers, e-mail addresses, birthdays and so on
(5) You can set different lights and ring tones for each one of your friends
(6) You can show a different photo on the display outside to the one inside.
(7) It has a stopwatch and calculator
(8) It has a loud speaker! (All the better for us all to hear you my dear)
(9) Media player, and use can use a headphone (sold separately)
(10) Voice activated commands (Answer and Busy, or you choose)
(11) Changeable covers to meet your mood (Always gray, thank you)
(12) Big numbers and letters for easy dialing and text messages (if you're the texting kind)
(13) It can vibrate!!!!!!!! (Call me back! Call me back!)
(14) I had somebody send me Crazy Frog as a ring tone, so I can REALLY annoy my favorite people. (It's got Bluetooth and infra-red for transferring data - but don't ask me how to use them - I just like saying that I have it)
(15) Lots of shortcut keys to get to things quickly
(16) Internet services (I can't use these yet, because my provider doesn't offer it)
(17) it has a very nice alarm clock feature


Things not so great about it:

(1) The position of the camera button is bad for me. I use a Body Glove case, and when I pull out the phone, I sometimes inadvertently take a picture on the way out. Similarly when trying to open it in a hurry.
(2) The picture quality isn't the best
(3) It's not easy to open with one hand
(4) While the volume buttons are conveniently placed on the side, I sometimes hit them when answering a call.
(5) The sound is kinda tinny
(6) Not enough cool ring tones (yeah, I can get more, but using Bluetooth means I have to read the manual)
(7) You have to remember to use the arrow keys to get to other tabs in the menus to see all the features
(8) Speed dialing needs two buttons (I'm accustomed to holding down one button)
(9) The lights go out really quickly before you can finish deciding what you're looking for

Overall, a great phone for the price, and it looks good too.


Amanda Richards, January 10, 2006

I've been using this cell phone for more than a month now and up to now I'm glad with the purchase. Being a Motorola user for the past 2 years, I preferred this phone over the Motorola V3 black since now everybody has the V3. At every corner you see someone using it, whereas the Z520a is not even being sold here in my country... that, and a 60$ difference when I bought it. Also, the fact that the Z520a came with over 17 MB of internal memory and the V3 only has like 6 MB.

Now, the Pros: Nice design, sturdy construction, its small, better user interface than Motorolas, 17 MB memory for storing lots of pics, vids, themes, games, and of course, mp3 ringtones. Useful external screen, the battery last almost a week without charging. I like the file manager, it sorts files by type and gives access to the entire flash memory and the address book is very accesible, displays useful information and it's neatly organized. The external speaker plays mp3s loud and clear enough. The option for taking self portraits with the help of the external LCD is great. And the side lights are a nice add-on to show to your friends (look: shiny lights!!).

The Cons: Well, first, I would have given 5 stars to this phone if it came with any type of slot for additional storage (My kingdom for a transflash slot!)... second, both LCD screens are hard to see on a sunny day. It's difficult to open the phone with one hand (something I could do easily with my old V-551). The speakerphone is not so loud when you are in a conversation even if the volume is all the way up. Finally, I have a Motorola HS-820 bluetooth headset that I used with my last phone, but it seems the Z520a doesn't likes this headset. I cannot voice dial and if you make a call using the phone's keypad you have to keep the phone open, or it will hang the call, which is not very pleasant. Maybe its a configuration setting I'm not making but who knows. On the other hand, the wired hands-free that comes with the phone is very nice. It has great sound and you can use it as a one-ear headphone for mp3's since it has better sound than a lot of other cheap headphones.

In the overall, I think its a great phone except for those problems I mentioned. I recommend it.

I bought this phone from Amazon. I like the unlocked ones so I can keep my current plan. Now talking about the phone. You will find a lot of infomation on other website. I just want to clarify something:

The recieption is good. My old Nokia phone performs poorly at my home, but this one seams really good. Finally I could walk from my bedroom to living room, to kitchen without someone tell me 'I can't hear you'.

The external camera button is a little bit loose, but still need to push it for a while to active the function. I saw some reviews saying camera always got turned on by accident. I don't think it's happening to me. You really need to push and hold to turn it on.

The picture quality is less than what I expected, at least doesn't look good on the phone. But I wasn't planing on using it for anything serious.

The screen shuts off fairly quick. Majority of the time you are talking with a black screen. I guess we just has to get use to it.

One last thing, this package don't have data (USB) cable. But I hae bluetooth on my computer, so it doesn't matter to me.

I am looking forward to use it in other countries to test out the quad band. Also looking forward to get additional covers so it stands out among other blue/sliver phones.

I have very much enjoyed using my T610 for years (via T-Mobile US), but I wanted to upgrade to better PIM support. After a great deal of searching and review reading, I picked this phone for features and value. I use the bluetooth every day (the IR only occasionally), and I've been able to retire my shaky T3 (sorry Palm) entirely. I had only a small hiccup setting this up for T-Mobile (unsupported), and the ease of use is FANTASTIC. Not the phone for everyone, but if you want your phone to take over PIM duties, offer good WAN browsing, news, email, and messaging (as well as very decent still and video cameras), this is an EXCELLENT value. As for the phone calls, the speaker is very good, and I get clear reception. If you really want to listen to music on your phone and not your iPod, this isn't the phone for you (no storage expansion). If you just want to make phone calls, this may be too much phone for you (too many goodies). In comparison to the T610 in the same usage area, there is slightly more tendency to get drop outs, and that's why this review is 4/5 stars.

Pros: Near-PIM usability
Excellent voice and data (sorry, no EDGE - only drawback)
Very handsome form factor (the grey stone cover beats the PEBL any day)
Great UI software
Cons: VGA camera (still good, though) & can't turn off shutter sound
Can't adjust backlight timer (on/off only)
Antenna may not be as good as previous models.

I bought this phone in April and I must say don't buy a phone on looks alone. Though I love the phone the most annoying thing is I get almost to no signal anywhere inside buildings and sometimes outside the phone will just cut out due to no signal.
Besides the signal problem this phone is great - mine came with a free bluetooth headset and 2 free face plates, one of which is furry to touch. You can buy faceplates separately, which is a nice change to only Nokia phones getting them.
The phone itself has many settings and allows you to go on the Internet and download songs, sounds, themes, music, games, videos and much more.
Some things that are special to this phone include changing how the light glow around the phone, a MusicDJ, a VideoDJ, PhotoDJ, world clock, remote control, media player, camera and infrared port.
You have other average settings like calendar, alarms, scheduler, themes, master reset, sound recorder, tasks, notes, synchronization, timer, stopwatch, calculator, code memo, profiles, language, shortcuts, speed dial, silent mode, key sound, wallpaper (internal & external), screensaver and brightness.
Overall it's a great little phone and I'd recommend it to my friends.

I have had this phone for about six months. After a month, I got the white lines thru the outside screen so I can't see who is calling unless I open the phone. Last week, the down and left arrows just stopped working and I can only navigate thru menus by going up or right!
It's a piece of junk and way overpriced. Please buy a different cell phone. I am careful with my things and there's no way I damaged this phone. It just doesn't work properly.

Amanda Richards hit the nail on the head, but she didn't get into how nice the Bluetooth is on this phone. In addition to being a VERY SOLID (both in build and function) phone with a lot of features you wouldn't expect to find in something this low in price, you'll also get FULL Bluetooth 1.2 capability.

What does this mean?


Well, you can transfer mp3 ringtones to it, you can connect a headset to it, you can transfer themes and photos to and from it and you can even tether it to your laptop to use as a modem!


If you want a fancy phone, you'll have to pay for it. But, if you want a decent phone that has an awesome battery life, a sharp, colorful screen, Bluetooth that works and custom themes, then you can't do better than this!


I like this phone and use it often as a backup phone.

I have had this phone for about a year, for better or worse and have had the full experience of the horrible firmware that it has. Random restarts, muted calls, failing rendering of the menus, etc. Don't buy this phone unless your sure or more likely a masochist.

Feature wise it a very strong phone, the bluetooth working correctly, syncing, reception, etc. But, killed by buggy software making the phone unusable, just plain bad.

This is a solid flip-style cell phone, in my humble opinion.

I bought the phone for one main reason:
I wanted a flip phone with a voice recorder feature. While Motorola phones to come equipped with a voice recorders, the amount of memory that one is allowed to use for voice records is very limited. With this phone, I can compose many short notes to myself, such as what items to buy from the grocery store, whom to call, what the license plate number was of the person who hit my car, etc.

The phone's camera is also adequate for my purposes. However, I'm not a big photo taker. I have used the phone to document damage to my car (after I had a broken car window, for example).

The data cable and free software pack is that you can download from Sony's website allow you to transfer images and sounds to and from the computer with relative ease, free of charge.

One annoying feature of the phone: it takes a non-standard headset, charger, and data connection cable. So, you cannot use handsets equipped with standard 2.5 mm connectors. unfortunately, I have not found a very good Bluetooth headset that works well with the phone. So, one's best bet is to use the standard headset that comes with the phone.

as previous reviewers have commented, the phone's screen does blank from time-to-time.

It is difficult to use the voice-activated dial feature. Recognition is very poor with this phone. Motorola phones, in general, have slightly more sophisticated voice-activated dial features.

It is also fairly easy to record conversations using the voice-recorder feature. So, let's say you're on the phone with someone in the car, you don't need to have pen and paper in hand to take down addresses or phone numbers. You can simply record the needed information and playback. I often use this feature when I'm calling restaurants or merchants for addresses, telephone numbers, or directions.

I've found that battery time is generally quite good.

As with all cell phones, make sure you determine what features you want in advance, do your research, and purchase a phone that has all the features you want.

I, for instance, am most interested in the voice-recorder that this flip phone is equipped with. I can live with the phone's other deficits.

I would suggest going in to one or more stores to make the purchase, if possible. I realize that is not always possible, particularly with phones that are not very popular or with unlocked phones, as in this case.

nevertheless, if you do your research somewhat carefully and thoroughly, you can generally find a phone that meets your needs.