iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 05/27/2008
- Released on: 01/07/2008
Sony Ericsson always can be counted on for bringing something unique to the cell phone table. Most recently we saw it with Sony Ericsson W380a's external music controls, and now we see it with the Sony Ericsson Z555a. The Z555a features an eye-catching design and a revamped gesture control that allows you to silence calls by waving your hand (albeit, a few times). On the whole it adds up to a satisfying phone for its price ($179 unlocked), though there were some design elements that we didn't quite love.
Design
By any measure the Z555a stands out from the cell phone crowd. Though it has a basic flip phone shape with compact dimensions (7.7 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.7 inch; 3.4 ounces), the front face is beveled into diamond shapes of different sizes. What's more, the individual facets reflect the light in a varying pattern. The diamond theme even continues to the bottom of the phone, which is angled slightly to form a point. Just be advised that the phone has a plastic skin on all sides. It retains a nice feeling in the hand, but this is not a handset we'd throw around. The Z555a comes in both black and rose; we examined the black version, but the features are the same between both models.
Like the W380a, the Z555a features a monochrome rectangular display that is hidden when the backlighting is off. We're not the biggest fans of displays like this, and the Z555a serves as a great example of why not. Since the digits are reflected onto the phone's outer skin, they almost appear blurry when viewed from an angle. What's more, we don't like having to press the side-mounted volume rocker to activate the backlighting just so we could see the time. The screen's size small size also means that it shows just the time, the battery life, and the signal strength. Caller ID is supported but photo caller ID is not.
Just above the display are the camera lens and a small speaker (both are diamond shaped). Below the lens is a light for the Z555's gesture control, which we'll get to later. Oddly enough, the gesture light won't double as a camera flash, and the lens doesn't offer a self-portrait mirror. A left spine charger jack and a right spine volume rocker round out the exterior features.
Inside the Z555a you'll find the 262,144-color display. As with most Sony Ericsson screens, it's bright and colorful with crisp graphics and text. At 1.8 inches (220x176 pixels) it's a bit small for the phone's size, but that's a minor complaint. The menus are easy to use, but take care when choosing a background theme; at times the menu icons blended in with the background.
The navigation array is spacious and easy to use, even if the controls are flush. There's a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys (which double as calling controls), a clear key, a back button, a Web browser control, a shortcut button, and a power key. Below the array is a numeric keypad. It's also flat with the surface of the phone and the numbers on the keys are a decent size. The keys are fairly slick, but they feel better than the button on the W380a. Yet here again, we would appreciate brighter backlighting.
Features
The W555a has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail and Web address, a job title, a company name and work address, a home address, a birthday, and notes (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can save contacts to groups and pair them with a photo and any of 22 polyphonic ringtones for caller ID. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, a voice memo recorder, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a notepad, a timer, a stopwatch, and a calculator. More demanding users will find Bluetooth, PC syncing, a speakerphone (usable after you make a call), USB mass storage, and a code memo for storing sensitive information.
%20Cell%20Phone%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com//cell-phones/sony-ericsson-z555a-black/4505-6454_7-33026105.html){kind=small}