Customer Reviews

Sony Ericsson Z525a Phone (AT&T)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I switched to this phone from the Sony Ericsson W600i due to very inconvenient circumstances [don't get me wrong, I love the W600i, but I couldn't get a new one because it's been discontinued by Cingular]. In any case, this is an all around good phone for anyone on a budget, especially since amazon is offering it for 1 cent right now (I paid $50).

As far as it's functionality as a phone goes, it works perfectly. It has all the functions you would expect from a cell phone. 9 speed-dials, upto 750 contacts (500 in the phone, 250 in the SmartChip SIM card), last calls made, missed calls, received calls, etc. There is a speakerphone function, which works great. It's just as clear as any other call you would make. I know it's not necessary for the average cellphone user, but there are times when it can be convenient.

The organizer includes standard alarm capabilities, a calendar, note pad, timer, stopwatch, and calculator. There shouldn't be too much to explain here.

The design is very attractive. If you don't like the face plate color, you can get one customized. The key pad is very well backlit and comfortably sized for those with larger or clumsier fingers. The phone is also very light weight, though not so light that it's easy to drop. Some people aren't that fond of the antennae style, but it's grown on me. It's really a personal preference. As a bonus, there are lights surrounding the keypad that you can set to light up when you receive calls or text messages. I'm a sucker for lights, so I love this little gimmick. In short, this phone is very pleasing to the eye. An excellent choice for anyone that wants to stay away from the "stylish" RAZR look. The display is clear and has adjustable brightness. There are a few included "themes" for the display, and if you're not happy with any of them, you can download new ones. The external display is also very nice. From the external display, you can see the time, date, service bars, and approximate battery life.

The sound is very clear. I've been using Cingular since it merged with AT&T and have never had a problem with the clarity of my calls. The Z525a has a speaker on the back of the phone, which is certainly loud enough to share tunes with your friends. The only problem with that is the limited memory. At 16MB of internal space, you'll be lucky to get 5 songs on this phone. If you use this space solely for ringtones you'll be fine, but don't buy this phone thinking you can load it up with MP3s. Also, this phone doesn't include the FM tuner software that the W600i had. I don't quite understand why this feature was left out seeing as how the handsfree stereo headphones (which came with the W600i, but you'll have to buy separately) functioned as the antennae for the FM tuner, rather than the phone. I have an iPod for my music needs, so this doesn't totally kill me, but it's sort of a letdown.

The camera is just what it should be for a camera phone. Resolution comes in 160x120, 320x240, 640x480, and "Extended" which I believe is 1280x960. I personally don't take pictures that often with my phone, but these resolution settings should meet your expectations for a camera phone. If you're looking for digital camera quality pictures, I'd recommend simply getting a digital camera. There's no flash on this camera either (the W600i had one which could double as a light). There's also a noticable discoloration in pictures, at least in indoor pictures. The camera also functions as a video recorder, but again, I don't use the camera feature too often.

The phone has standard text messaging and multimedia messaging features, as well as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ, but just as you'd expect, there are charges for these features which will depend on your service plan. This phone is also capable of checking your e-mail via POP3 and internet access which has become pretty standard in the cellphone world. I don't use this feature either, as any internet usage is charged at 1 cent/KB (that's $10 for a megabyte!!).

The PTT (Push To Talk) button is positioned outside and is very easy to accidentally press. It hasn't caused any problems for me because I don't have a subscription to it, so when I push it, a message simply appears the next time I open the phone asking me If i want to set it up. However, if you were to subscribe to PTT, you can have the button locked so that you need to do a certain key sequence to prevent accidentally incurring charges.

I can't review the Bluetooth or Infrared capabilities of the phone because I don't have any other devices that support it, but this phone does have them.

I don't really know what else to say about this phone. It's great for anyone that's looking for style, wants to keep away from the Motorolas, and is on a short budget. If you're willing to spend more money, by all means, go and get an imported unlocked phone. I was considering getting a W300i or a W800i, but decided I wanted to save a little money and settled with the Z525a. The only real major complaint I have about this phone is the low, non-upgradable internal memory. It's probably what helps make the phone so affordable, but it'd be nice to at least have something like 128MB (the W600i had 256). Also, if you have a USB cable (not included), you might need to download the PC Suite software from the Sony Ericsson website. I used my cable from my W600i, so I wouldn't know if a USB cable bought separately would include the appropriate software.

I hope I answered any questions you might have about this phone, and if you get one, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Also, please forgive all my comparisons to the W600i, but I still miss that phone.

I wasn't looking for anything fancy- good phone, bluetooth compatible, still need to get a good headset that works with this phone.

Positives:
- Overall: Generally happy, last phone wasn't flip- but once I got used to the flip, its fine.
- Sound: quality is good
- User interface: is generally intuitive
- Customizability- FUN! Rings, faceplace colors- can be changed, etc
- Battery: Its OK- I charge it every night, seems to be fine so far

Negatives:
- PTT: button is easy to push, and I push it all the time, so that can get annoying- but I don't mind it too much
- Speakerphone: Ok, not the best, but ok, also, wish I could close the phone and still be on speaker, unless I've missed something

Overall, I'm happy, had it for a couple weeks, not issues, battery life is alright, sound is ok, easy to use, comfortable. I'm glad I have it.

I just got this phone yesterday. I needed a solid all-around phone with a few would be nice features for occasional or future use (camera, bluetooth). But even after one afternoon, I got to know that most annoying PTT button. After scouring the web and finding the needle-nose pliers solution, I found a few comments about locking the PTT key - but no solution. But here it is: Menu>Settings>Locks>PTT Key Lock>On. Woohoo!

When you press the PTT key now, it says "PTT key locked. blah blah blah..." on the exterior screen, but when you open the phone, you do NOT get that "Do you wish to initialize PTT?" screen.

There are still some times when that screen comes back (I think if you press the volume up key and then press PTT), but it has significantly reduced the number of times I've had to press the "No" button. And once the phone goes back into sleep mode, it reestablishes the lock.

Got this phone for my husband and boy do I wish we'd picked another. He wears his phone on his belt and just the act of sitting down pushes the PTT button. I wish there were at least a way to disable it!

He also has problems with it turning off. Over 50% of the time when he opens the phone up or just looks at the outer screen, it has turned itself off. Which means missed text messages, missed calls, and just a general pain in the rear.

We'll head over to cingular this weekend to see about switching it out. Otherwise this is a useless piece of junk.

I have had this phone for about two weeks and love it. I had a Motorolla V220 which was great, but had run its course. This phone has better sound quality and has many user friendly features. I do have one problem. I do not subscribe to push to talk feature and everytime I accidently hit the button, which is very often. It tells me I have not signed for this service. Its a minor nuisance, but one all the same.

I purchased this phone for its extended talk and standby time (which is outstanding), but have kept it due to its clarity and ease of use. I do not understand the previous review criticizing the call clarity and function. I work in dense buildings and live in a crowded downtown area and I have never had any problems with dropped calls or garbled voices. For someone who hates PDA's and simply wants a solid, reliable, stylish phone- you can't make a better choice.

I really believe there should be a recall for this phone. I have owned it since March 2006 and have not been happy with its performance. I know for a fact that it is not Cingular's service, but the phone itself since my husband owns the Sony Ericcson W600i and he has none of the problems that I do.

The reviews above are all true. The phone does shut itself off. I have found that the phone's "operating system" sometimes does a hard reboot if it is having issues restarting, it shuts itself off. If you have problems hearing, this is definitely not the phone for you. I am 24 years old and I don't have terrible hearing, but even having the volume up at its maximum is still not loud enough whether normally or on speaker phone. My husband's W600i has much better sound quality and has great volume control.

The button for the camera is exactly where you place your hand when you're holding the phone up to your ear. So be prepared to find your phone filled with random pictures you didn't intend to take. I have numerous pictures of the inside of my purse because the camera button is so sensitive.

My last gripe about the phone is that the phone constantly jumps cell phone towers and disrupts phone calls. I've used my phone while sitting stationary on my couch at home and it disconnects the call for no good reason. It makes very strange ticking noises before it ends the call. If the phone is placed by an active television, you'll hear through the television this phone searching for a signal. It's very weird.

The good things about this phone are pretty much what Sony Ericcson phones are known for: The interface is easily navigable. You won't be searching the menu screen for hours looking for your address book or how to set an alarm. It's a small phone. The buttons are not in any weird, awkward configuration. So while appearances are nice, I still think performance wins out...

If you are getting a new Cingular plan, I think you can find a better phone that's free with a new plan. If you're already a Cingular customer, don't waste your money on a phone that's only going to function properly 50% of the time, if that. You can do better!

I have owned about 10 cell phones over the last 10 years. I read the bad reviews here, but thought to myself "i've never seen a bad sony product, so take the plunge!" Boy was I wrong. I drop about 50% of my calls, 40% are garbled, and 10% are fine. Do not even try to use this phone inside a building. I live close enough to the celltower to throw a rock at it, and my service is horrible! (Cingular makes excuses. The phone does not get very loud on the earpeice, and the stupid camera takes pictures inside my pocket at least 6 times a day. If I could strap this peice of utter junk to a bottle rocket and blow it to kingdom come, it would be letting it off easy.

I love this phone. I was thinking about getting a RAZR but my friend has one and they just fog up because they are so fancy. I saw this phone and I instantly wanted to get it. Except for if i am not using the built in push to talk, this makes the button on the side very annoying. It always asks (PUSH TO TALK CHARGES WILL APPLY)when I accidentally press it this is very very annoying. Aside from this it is a great phone.

The Sony Ericksson Z525 phone has lots of great features including a motorola bluetooth with the plan I purchased. However, the reception on the phone is terrible. When I speak on the phone, about every third word is cut out on both ends of the conversation. The wireless bluetooth for some reason does not work any longer and the phone cannot connect to it after only two weeks. There are better phones out there - this is not worth the money and time.