The Sony Ericsson Vivaz carries the moniker U5i, telling us that it comes from the same range as the Satio that we reviewed recently. It loses much of the bulk, however, bringing with it curvaceous "human design". But does this out-perform its bigger brother?
The back curves enough that you'll be able to set it on the table in the pub and spin it like a spinning top. The camera lies on the back slightly off-centre, so don't worry, it won't be spinning around scratching up the lens, but with no cover, this is a potential issue.
Those curves don't go much further than running the length of the device and around the top and bottom ends. The sides aren't given quite the same treatment, so despite Sony Ericsson's posturing on the design, it isn't that revolutionary. It measures 107 x 52 x 12.5mm and weighs in at 97g.
The sides are inlaid with coloured plastic, with our review sample carrying the default silver body and blue sides "Moon Silver"; various colour schemes will be available with O2 and Vodafone both opting for versions of the Vivaz that match their company colours, if that sort of thing bothers you.
The sides bring with them some welcome features: you'll find a 3.5mm headphone jack sitting above Micro-USB connection. That bulky Fast Port connector we've been complaining about for years is now gone, so you'll be able to use your own headphones. The bundled headset is of the hard plastic earbud variety and doesn't impress: what happened to the great headset that comes with high-end Walkman-branded handsets?
Around the other side you'll find dedicated buttons for both still and video capture. You also get a volume rocker than doubles as the (digital) zoom, which, as always, we'd recommend you avoid using.
News Source: http://www.pocket-lint.com