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> Sony Ericsson Zylo review
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The Sony Ericsson Zylo,nothing new & nothing out of this world when compared to all the latest top of the range touch screen mobiles currently flooding the market. But there is still at that,a small gap in the market for those who want a more simple stylish but feature packed mobile that caters most of their needs. But what the Sony Ericsson Zylo does do is the basics very well & more besides.Sony Ericsson looks set to keep the Walkman range going on a budget with quality features. For £89 on the O2 network on pay as you go it certainly is value for money & going back to the good old traditional A200 platform after owning so many touch screen mobiles for me was a pleasure. For those of you who need texting,calling,internet,music & fun snaps look no further. Handling the Zylo is a pleasure it is well built,quite heavy & has very nice curves & styling.
Build quality is excellent with the slider being one of the, if not the most solid slider I have ever used. It is smooth,totally flush with the other half of the phone & does not wobble at all.The plastics used for the Zylo do not feel cheap at all. Looking at the rest of the phone we come to the keypad
The main keypad is made from shiny plastic & the keys have a very soft but tactile feedback & of ample space with nice typing comfort. Below the screen we have the hot keys,dial & hang up keys,short cut key,C key & central navi button also for music playback. All have a very good feedback. Above the display we have no light sensor which in turn makes the 2.6 inch QVGA display very clear & bright indeed & also has a scratch resistant surface. Using the A200 platform with this display is perfect & so comfortable to use I could use it blindfolded. The display is very easy to view in sunlight & daylight alike.
Over round the back we find the battery cover which with the black one has a nice rubbery feel to it & as said the build quality being very good the cover snaps on in all corners with a satisfying snap & has no creaks or movements whatsoever. Inside we have the 920mAh battery which for me with moderate usage has lasted upto 3 days which is about average these days.
Now we come to the music player. This is a Walkman phone & the sound quality for me is excellent but when used with a different pair of headphones. But this is where Sony Ericsson missed a trick,they have not included a 3.5mm jack on this model instead we have to use the standard fast port. This can either be a problem or you can buy better Sony Ericsson headphones with better sound but this is an extra cost you might wish to do without. I am currently using my old W995 headphones & the sound is excellent with a very deep punchy weighty sound having great bass but also nice clarity with crisp treble on top. The W995 has the slight edge in terms of sound in also being that the Zylo does not go very loud for some reason.The Zylo also features Stereo Bluetooth 2.1. But overall it's good
The Zylo also features the standard FM radio too. Now we come to the camera. This is not a camera phone as it features a 3 mega pixel fixed focus camera with no flash. Using the camera is very much the usual
menus which is a pleasure to use very much like the Cyber-shot phones. Picture quality all said is not actually too bad for such a low end camera here is one snap shot
The video recording is also not too bad maxing out at VGA @24fps. Using the camera is very smooth on the big bright screen too. Moving on too call quality & signal. There are no issues with this at all with it being loud clear & with good reception.Also the phone features HSDPA & a webkit browser which is nice & speedy. The speaker round the back is also loud & clear with no distortion. So far after a few weeks I have not experienced any software issues at all,no crashes no freezing & no little bugs. Which leads me to now believe with also owning an Elm that Sony Ericsson have finally put their bad quality control days behind them. I have not experienced any major problems at all with most of their A200 models.
The overall UI is very snappy with no lags although as usual there is a slight lag in the Media menu but it's not so bad as to make it unusable. I would now conclude by saying that despite all the changing times & the hype around touch screen phones & having top of the range handsets,I no longer feel it that important & I for one don't need that smartphone for £399. I must be one of them small minority in the market who no longer feels the need for it. I am quite happy with a decent reliable feature packed phone at a bargain price that does all I need. I for one love the A200 platform & look forward to hopefully A300 in the future. This phone is primarily aimed at younger people but for me it's not really at all it can be a phone for anyone. If you think back a few years this type of phone we all once had in our pockets. I recommend the Zylo for it's simplicity,style,features,price,build,reliabilty & so on. It's a pleasure to use. Thanks for reading
[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2010-08-23 19:22 ]
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Posted: 2010-08-23 17:02:34
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Nice work Bonovox
If anyone can compare
to
it's you
The volume thru headset is probeally limited to keep your ears healthy.
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Posted: 2010-08-23 23:52:59
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Thanks yes more than likely the volume limiter is set
Quite often I am on the bus & all I can hear is other peoples headphone
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Posted: 2010-08-23 23:58:08
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Looks like no one is interested in it
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Posted: 2010-08-27 20:30:01
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Of course some are!
I'm reading it right now. My brother needs a new phone and this phone is already in orange.
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Posted: 2010-08-27 20:57:23
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Oh yes I seen the silver one on Orange here though it would need a good debrand with all that nasty Orange branding
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Posted: 2010-08-27 21:06:30
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Nice review BonoSean, it seems like a good phone if you're on a budget. The D-pad looks small and fiddly though
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Posted: 2010-08-27 21:12:05
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No it's not fiddly at all very easy to use. Though you know me not on a budget
but with my Elm & Zylo just wanted to go back to good old A2
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Posted: 2010-08-27 21:13:44
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@Bonovox: I mean Orange Dominicana. I don't know whether they branded it or not.
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Posted: 2010-08-27 21:15:40
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Oh I know but I guess they might brand it there
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Posted: 2010-08-27 21:20:28
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