This year, well until know, Sony Ericsson hasn’t released many phone models. However, the company tried to compensate with many variations of the same phone. It’s a tactic common to almost all manufacturers. With a few exceptions, Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro is the twin brother of the Vivaz Phone.
So, all it’s left right now is to see what makes the two phones different, what are there pluses and minuses. So let’s compare the Vivaz Pro with the Vivaz.
The construction of the two phones is identical, excepting the keyboard and things that go from here: bigger dimensions and weight. Even so, for a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, the dimensions and weight of the Vivaz pro are more than decent. The times in which phones with keyboards were some really heavy objects that we carried in our pocket or bag are history.
In reality, the keyboard of the Vivaz pro phone is not QWERTY but QWERTZ, the Y and Z keys exchanged places. If you are used with the normal format of the keyboard you will have to spent some time until you can adapt.
In other ideas, the keys are pretty small. At first we thought that because of this we might get some writing problems. However this is not the case. You can write just as fast as you would using any other QWERTY mobile phones keyboard.
The sliding mechanism is very good. It can be triggered very fast using one hand when you have to use the keyboard and it’s very well placed to not be opened accidentally.
Unlike the first Vivaz phone, Vivaz Pro was downgraded regarding multimedia. Instead of an 8 mega pixels camera, the photo camera of Vivaz Pro is of only 5 mega pixels.
The problem is not exactly the resolution, but the actual quality of the photos. Vivaz used to make some great photos, much better than the ones made with compact photo cameras.
Unfortunately, photos made with the Vivaz Pro model are weak. They can’t compare with the photos made by the first Vivaz phone. The most obvious problems are the white balance and colors.
The same can also be said about the video recording. This time, the problem is with the image noise that appears when the luminosity is enough. As for pluses, we can mention the automatic continuum flash.
The rest of the technical specifications are the same as the ones of Vivaz. Even the autonomy is at the same level. The medium time between charges are two and a half days.
Advanced users will be unhappy with the fact that some important Nokia applications are not compatible, although we are talking about the Symbian S60 operating system. For example, Ovi Store cannot be installed, which is the easiest way to finding and installing applications. Instead of Ovi Maps we can find Google Maps, which is not such a big loss.
Vivaz or Vivaz Pro, This is the question! The answer depends on what you consider to be more important. If you write a lot and you need a keyboard then Vivaz Rro should be the one for you. However if you don’t write as much, but you make a lot of photos and video recordings then you should opt for the first Vivaz Phone.
Pluses and Minuses
+ QWERTY keyboard
+ solid construction and good design
+ supports 720p, continuum focus
- the operating system is weak
- quality of photos are also weark
- Ovi Store cannot be installed
