Sony Ericsson Z520 / Z525
Average Ratings
Very frustrating reception
Reading all the reviews here and on Amazon, we got three of these phones with Cingular. Bottom line is that the voice quality is great, battery life is great, small, light, and bluetooth works well.
However, our primary problem is that the reception was not even close to a Razr that we compared with directly. On all 3 Z520 phones, our signal would jump between 1 and 4 bars while sitting on the desk. The jump would be in seconds. And often, with even 3 bars, our calls would just drop abruptly. Again, this just sitting on a table and not moving. We thought our phone was defective until we got 3 and all had the same problem.
Multiple calls to Cingular service had no solution along with some erroneous information. (i.e. Customer service asked us to try setting it manually to GSM band 850. Well, with this phone you can't do any manual band selection - it is all automatic.)
Also with cingular, we often get 'network busy' signal early evening in our area. Sometimes, 10 minutes would go by without any ability to call out.
In all, very frustrated with the Z520 which does not hold a signal nearly as well as the one Razr we compared with, AND the inability to set GSM band manually.
Unless Cingular can resolve this the regular dropped calls, we're returning the phones before our 30 days are up.
one thing lacking
This phone has so much potential, but one crippling factor:
[::MEMORY::]
With only 16MB internal, and no apparent expansion capability, what's the point of being able to take pictures or shoot video? You will have to either transfer or delete what you have quite frequently, or these capabilities will be useless. Also, you will likely have to download your provider's mp3 ringtones at a hefty price rather than use your own, because otherwise the phone can only hold about 4 full length songs. The only other alternative is to make your own mp3 ringtones, which can be somewhat of a pain.
NOTE:
I've heard some people express a bit of dislike for the "spoiler" type antenna. The reason for it is quad-band frequency support, otherwise just a place to put a carry strap.
Surprised!!
I work in the cellular industry and normally Nokia ranks our top phone as far as reception. The z520a ranks #2 for me.
But I have been using the z520a for a while now and I haven't had any real problems at all. Now I didn't really care for the T637 when I had it but Sony Ericsson makes a sensible phone here...
PROS:
Small
Durable....I have dropped it too many times to mention!! lol
Bluetooth.....I'm spoiled!!
Pretty decent wallpapers
Great battery life....SE is known for that!!
Free MP3 ringtones.....just use the voice recorder to record and apply them as a ringtone!!
CONS:
Camera quality is grainy
Top notch phone part II
(Main review, see part I for background)
Houson we have a problem.
Turns out the phone has some sort of major bug. The phone goes on the fritz after more than 24hours of being on. This was discussed for several weeks and people were going ape over the issue. Essentially there was a memory leak in the ROM causing failure after reaching the memory limit. If I had known about this issue, I would have skipped the z520 or waited 2 c if the problem was resolved.
In my experience, these types of bugs never get fixed; they r hard 2 communicate or the vendor can't figure out the problem.
Luckily, Sony Ericsson had enough feedback from Cingular customers 2 make the issue a priority. Gladly the problem has been fixed, making the phone is a keeper. What you need to know:
Make sure the phone doesn't have the old buggy R3C042 firmware.
Look for firmware R3F017 which was marked with a little yellow round sticker in the battery compartment.
My thoughts:
Pros:
1: Great reception. If you don't have it, nothing else matters. The z520 gets very good reception. However, note the reception has a strange behavior. The signal strength can jump around a great deal. Due to antennae being directional. Becomes a problem in areas with low signal strength. To address the issue I use a bluetooth headset then position the phone to get best reception.
2: Great battery life, around 3 hours talk time. Battery isn't as good as when originally used.
3: Great volume from phone itself and bluetooth via Scala 500 or Plantronics Discovery 320. Great clarity and plenty of volume.
4: Nice screen. Not the best but adequate, washes out in bright sunlight.
5: Size. Very small.
6: Good connectivity. Can upload and download anything via infrared or bluetooth to PC. Syncs with outlook.
Cons:
1: Sensitive picture button, takes picture on it's own in pocket.
2: Flimsy build quality. The hinge doesn't inspire confidence.
3: No call duration info. in call history.
Can't ask for much more
Top notch phone part I
(History, if you want to skip to the meat of my review go to part II, this part of the review provides info. about my point of reference.)
I've had the z520a for three months now. I had finally had it with my previous phone a Motorola 200mpx due to the fact that Cingular the phone lacked 850mhz band which Cingular has been focusing on.
The 200MPX was a neat phone, but lacked in battery longevity, reception, and size. Before that I had an NEC HDM-525. This phone did pretty well overall, however the phone volume was just too low. It was fine with the headset, but unfortunately it stopped working and NEC makes a proprietary headset with an annoying connector that easily breaks.
I have been pretty frustrated with these last two phones, they just didn't work as well as I would have hoped. I wanted something that worked as will as the old Nokia 8260. That thing was great in size, reception, and sound level.
This decision lead me to the z520a. Looking at the spec sheet, this phone has it all. Quad band, long battery life, small form factor, bluetooth connectivity, and good PC synchronization capabilities. I've been lured by these promises before, see NEC and Moto, but would it live up to the hype?
If you're reading this article then you have come to the same conclusion I have. The more information you can collect about a phone the better.It's best to gain information from as many resources as possible. In the past I relied on reviews. Unfortunately today, this just isn't enough, one should also look for real user input. I now see the error of my ways. Let me explain.
I read very positive reviews from trusted sources such as MobileBurn.com. Michael Oryl does a great review and give the z520 a good blessing. As a result I go out and buy the phone because what he describes is pretty much what I want.
Then after having the phone in hand I decided to go to the Cingular forums and find there an issue.
Processor
I like the phone and all, the features kick ***, but one thing that sony has to do is put a good processor in it. This phone drags its tail when requesing it to perform functions.
Ed. note: edited for language
Nice phone, needs work
Well, this was my first flip phone so I was very worried about not liking the flip, but it really was not too bad. It had more features than I knew what to do with . Awsome ringtones, great ear piece volume, OK speaker volume. I had no problems with reception with Cingular (but have had no problems with my SE T616 either).
My only real gripe was the camera button, there is no way to disable it. After 3 days, I had over 100 pics taken of the inside of my phone holder (which I have limited choices on due to work requirements). It is both annoying in the fact that the camera makes a sound with every picture, and then having to delete pics every time I open the phone. This was the main reason I returned it.
If there was a lock feature for this, I would have one no problem at all.
Great Phone!
I just finally got around to replacing my piece of crap Motorola V220, and I must say I am extremely satisfied with this pick. I was at the cingular store and it came down to this phone or the Razr and I picked this phone for the obvious reason, my past with Motorola hasn't been what you call exacting standards. Anyhow I love everything about this phone other than the fact there is no EDGE as was with the late model of this phone and that makes no sense and no megapixel on the cam which isn't the reason I bought the phone anyhow so I'm still satisfied. I have great reception everywhere I have been so far and havn't lost one call which was a problem from day 1 with the V220. I recommend this phone to anyone who is looking for quality at a good price in a cell phone!
Not for me
I will give this phone a middle of the road rating since it does have some nice features, and I think that I received a refurb or return from Cingular.
Pros -
up to date menu system
great clear screen both inside and out
good camera for a phone
Cons - and the reason that I sent it back\
-RECEPTION was horrible for me. I would be in an area that I know I should have good reception since I am talking on my phone there everyday, and I would be fine talking then all of a sudden the callers voice would become completely garbled, with the signal strength still strong. I had this same problem with another Sony S710 so it isn't just a phone problem but a manufacturer problem. Guys at the local Cingular store agree that Sony's aren't very good in Minneapolis.
-Earpiece was very tinny also. I had hoped that I would be thrilled like others were on here. Once again it could be the phone that I received since it was a bit dinged up when I got it.
-When I would flip the phone open it would stick in the middle and I would have to use two hands to open all of the way. Once again may not be all phones, but this one did.
All-in-all I am sorry that I can't get one of the Sony's to work for me, I think that they are really an up and comer in the cell market, just not in mine.
Give it a shot if you have the opportunity, I will have to stay with Moto or Nokia I guess.
One of the best Sony Ericsson with great bluetooth
Everybody said lot about this phone but let me add something
Positive:
1. Great in Signal with bluetooth or without
2. Small size for men is great because I have not seen small bluetooth phone with great functionality..Period..(put in pocket and forgot while having dinner till someone call me)
3. Magic word: If you have hands free car kit then you can active voice dialing by saying special word followed by person name to call...as simple as that
4. It sayd persons name before you receive phone so you don't have to look at phone while driving car or doing something else...
5. Others have mention common features but let me tell you blue color is great and love it..
Bad:
1. No active flip: What does that mean when you are on call and use speaker phone you can't close the flip. If you do that call will end. So it is kind of drawback if someone doesn't want to use bluetooth (don't need speaker) but speaker only. If you are using bluetooth headset then you can close flip and use great voice dialing feature.
