Cheap Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Unlocked GSM Smartphone

Cheap Sony Ericsson Vivaz U5i Unlocked GSM Smartphone With 8 MP Camera, Symbian OS, Touch Screen, Wi-Fi And GPS--International Version With No Warranty (Black)

Xperia's bastard child?

"I feel stupid for sticking with Sony Ericsson" that's how I felt after turning on this phone. I mean after using Xperia X1a, I just thought SE had a lot of catching up to do in the smart phone market. So I was prepared to be wowed by this phone but I can't say I am at all impressed with it. Anyhow perhaps I am a bit too critical in comparing the Vivaz with the X1 but heres what I thought:

First off the casing feels cheap (it's just plastic all around) and when you try to pry open the back cover it sometimes feel as though it's going to crack. SE was nice enough to leave a 8gb memory card in the slot. The battery life like in most SE phones seems to last pretty long (I didn't time it so can't give you an estimate). The usb port has a plastic cover which is situated in an awkward position so as to make it quite hard to just simply plug in the cable for a charge. The camera lens does not have a cover so it seems to me any prolong use will inevitably scratch the lens. Other than that the phone has a nice slim design and a glossy finish.

Now for the Symbian OS... I had a lot of trouble navigating around. I couldn't get my email to sync up with the phone. I ended up opening too many apps and the phone started freezing up. And it was then that I realized I had to click option for every application and click exit in order for the application to close. As for the panels, I found it a bit awkward, since I don't use twitter and I don't feel compelled to look at what seems to be the flow of water in the background. But I have to say the multimedia panel is quite nice and I think if you like the PS3 and PSP layout then the controls feel more natural. Internet browsing was slow and altogether an unexciting experience. The speaker didn't exactly play crisp sounding music, rather it sounded like an analog radio. But hey at least they give you a screen protector and a leather jacket for the phone, I ve never seen that before.. But I doubt any of those things would protect the phone from one's frustration and anger that would no doubt be caused by the phone's unfriendly user interface.

To sum it all up, I really would not recommend anyone to buy this phone. It's not exactly user friendly..
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