About Zylo I could say that the first impression was that this is an old school walkman, from the times in which Sony Ericsson released models like W800, W810 and especially w850. However, something like this would have been a failure in 2010, without a few spices to offer us supplemental possibilities to communicate and entertain ourselves. They are very few, but some of the most important ones are HSDPA and Wi-Fi.
So, we are not dealing with an old Walkman, reincarnated into a stylish body. This is a well though phone for people that want more than just a simple Mp3 player with mobile phone features. For example, people might want to use instant messaging services or to read the news online. Or, users might also want to find out what’s new on Facebook. Zylo integrates all the tools you need for these activities.
Regarding the music side of the device, SOny Ericsson surprises us in a very unpleasant way. I couldn’t believe my eyes that Sony Ericsson still uses the old Fastport interface for connecting the accessories ( charger, data cable, headset ). Further more, it defies any logic and we don’t have the Fastport 3.5 mm jack adapter cable. And for the menu to be complete, the headset included in the package is, at least, mediocre. So, who ever wants to listen to music at a decent quality, will have to search the stories for an adapter and better headset. It’s a shame, because the Walkman Player software is very nice, and the internal audio hardware is also excellent, offering a close to perfection quality level.
Of course, Zylo wants to be a balanced, mainstream phone. It’s normal to notice that some features are not there. It’s price however competes with budget smart phones, so I cannot help but wonder what does Sony Ericsson expects regarding the sales of the Zylo device. I bet that nobody wants to buy a mobile device and then invest more money if they want quality music.
We didn’t had high expectations regarding the photo area of the device, although we did see some Walkman phones with excellent photo cameras ( W800 / W810 ). Zylo has a 3.15 MP photo camera without autofocus. The photos are, let’s say, decent. We have seen worse, but this doesn’t make me less objective. And this is not only my opinion, but the opinions of everybody that have seen the photos made with the help of the Sony Ericsson Zylo.
The videos are a bit better. On the mainstream segment, the VGA video at 25 fps is very convenient.
The storage of the content is done on the 260 MB internal memory or on microSD cards. To insert the card you need to remove the cap, but not the battery. This doesn’t apply however when you want to insert the SIM card. In this case, the battery has to be removed.
The 2.6 inch screen and QVGA resolution is suitable for this phone. The image quality and good, and the readability is good even if the sun light is too strong.
The keyboard is comfortable, and we have to notice the impeccable directional pad. Nothing too complicated – because of the generous dimensions, but also because of the quality of the construction, navigation thorough the menu is done very easily.
About the menu, we have good things to say. The interface is represented by the classical Sony Ericsson metrics, but also through beautifully designed icons.
The battery however is not something that is very good and it doesn’t let you enjoy this device for a long time. The autonomy is of at least 2 and a half days if you use it frequently, which includes listening to music, taking pictures, browser through HSDPA/Wi-Fi and if you talk around 15 minutes per day.
Pluses and Minuses
+ good design, good construction
+ comfortable keyboard
+ Excellent Walkman PLayer ( if you replace the headset that comes in the package )
+ HSDPA, Wi-Fi
+ Fast interface, practical and intuitive menu
- lack of standard interfaces ( microUSB, 3.5 mm jack )
- only two base accessories in the package ( modest headset without adapter, the lack of the microSD card )
- mediocre photo camera
