Vivaz Special edition on sale

There is a special edition Vivaz for sale in the Netherlands with the latest Lady Gaga hit-album “Fame Monster”, which can be downloaded using a bundled voucher . On the special edition of the Vivaz, you will also find exclusive wallpapers, ringtones and a special edition of her latest major hit song, “Telephone” – what a coincidence!

Via: se-blog.com

292% growth in SE smartphone sales

Canalys reports in its latest smart phone market report that Sony Ericsson smartphone sales gre by 292% year-on-year growth in its smartphone sales. Incredible isn't it?

Sony Ericsson successfully delivered its first Android-based devices at the end of the quarter, but its boost in volumes came instead from its Symbian platform products, the Vivaz and the Satio, which performed well in APAC and EMEA.

Via: se-blog

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Reviewed

The folks at PhoneArena have reviewed the Vivaz and they're pretty impressed. Here's what they had to say:

Similarly to the 600MHz processor of the Samsung OMNIA HD i8910, the chip the Sony Ericsson Vivaz integrates is based on ARM’s famous Cortex A8 architecture, but runs at 720MHz instead. Moreover, its power is clearly felt at not just HD video playback, but while working with the handset interface and applications as well. The Sony Ericsson Vivaz has other strengths that make it a viable option and preferable alternative, especially for people who would never go for the bulky size and hefty weight of Samsung’s multimedia monster. The list of advantages includes compact size, enjoyable appeal, brilliant HD video playback and innovative camera shutter with two separate buttons.

Read the complete Sony Ericsson Vivaz Review

Bottomline: Grab the Sony Ericsson Vivaz if you needed a cool looking, compact and powerful smartphone, capable of proper HD video playback.

XPERIA X10 now available in India

Sony Ericson launched a new portfolio of high-end mobile handsets in India, and aims to garner a considerable market share in the smartphone segment. The key device among the five handsets launched is the XPERIA X10.  Other handsets include the Vivaz, Vivaz Pro, Xperia X10 mini, Xperia X10 mini Pro.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is powered by the Android 1.6 OS and it runs on 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. It comes with 8 megapixel camera, 4 inch capacitive touchscreen display, Bluetooth, 1GB internal memory, 16GB expandable memory, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity, A-GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack, 1500 mAh battery and so on. This handset comes with a price tag of Rs. 35,795.

The Vivaz is already available for a price of Rs 23400.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini is powered by the Android 1.6 OS and it runs on a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. It comes with a 5 megapixel camera, 2.55 inch capacitive touchscreen display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity, A-GPS, 128 MB internal memory, 16GB expandable memory, 3.5 mm audio jack, Stereo FM radio with RDS and so on. This handset will be available in India within 3 months. It comes with a price tag of Rs.25,695.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro is powered by the Android 1.6 OS and it runs on a 600MHz Qualcomm processor. It comes with a slide out QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, 2.55 inch capacitive touchscreen display, 3G connectivity, A-GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 128 MB internal memory, 16GB expandable memory, 3.5 mm audio jack, Stereo FM radio with RDS and much more. This handset will be available in India within 6 months. It comes with a price tag of Rs.25,695.

Besides, the handset maker has roped in actor Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for the company.

XPERIA X10 now available in India.

“The new portfolio will take communication entertainment to the next level. Beside the five devices that we have launched today, we will launch devices in the low-end sub-Rs 5,000 handsets as well,” Sony Ericsson Corporate Vice- President and Head of Asia Pacific region Hirokazu Ishizuka said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hirokazu Ishizuka, Corporate Vice President & Head of Asia Pacific region said, “Being one of the most widely-followed youth-icons, Kareena matches the level of energy, vibrancy, passion and fun associated with Sony Ericsson, and thereby elevates the aspiration value of the brand. We are also extremely excited about re-energizing the digital space with Kareena, as we debut her social networking that will allow her to engage with the rapidly growing digitally-evolved fan-base over various social networking platforms.”

Kareena Kapoor said, “I am very happy to be associated with Sony Ericsson. I believe that Sony Ericsson truly represents the fusion of communication and entertainment in mobile device. I love my new feature rich Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 that allows me to easily keep in touch with my family and friends, while keeping myself entertained on the go.”



With the launch, Sony Ericsson plans to corner a considerable market share in the high-end mobile market segment which is currently dominated by Nokia, Blackberry and Apple, he added.

Besides, on the content side, Sony Ericsson has partnered with regional and local content and application providers such as MTV India, UTV, Shemaroo, Electronics Art, Indiagames and Disney among others to deliver entertainment content.

With the new brand ambassador, Sony Ericsson will roll out its marketing campaign, which will be focussed on digital and social networks.

“The proliferation of social and digital media is changing the consumer experience with mobile phones. Social media will play an important role in how we engage with our consumers here in India.”

“We recognise the critical need to maintain consumer touch points and will leverage all digital and social media platforms to engage with consumers,” he added.

Vivaz: Homescreen in detail

Here's a pretty nice video by the folks at Sony Ericsson which shows off the homescreen of the Vivaz, in a lot more detail than you've seen earlier. So if this is the handset you're looking to get, I'd recommend giving this vid a watch!

Sony Ericsson Vivaz APAC TV Ad

Here's the new TV ad for Vivaz, exclusively for the Asia Pacific Region. Enjoy!

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Advertisement

Here's the new Vivaz ad, being aired on television of late. It's pretty neat, and shows off the camera capabilities of the symbian smartphone.

Sony Ericsson's senior marketing manager, Richard Dorman, says: “We’ve historically been known as a good company for music and photography. So we want to play up the HD features of this handset very heavily in everything we do for this campaign, emphasising the beauty you can get using the Vivaz smartphone.”

Here's the Vivaz ad:

Equalizer App for Satio and Vivaz

There were a lot of people clamouring for this, including me. Guess what? Sony Ericsson has finally heard our pleas. One of the key feature missing on both the Satio and Vivaz was a built-in equalizer, hence a team of SE developers have come up with a fix for it.

For most markets there is now a free application called “Equalizer” available on PlayNow in the music category under applications. This equalizer will give you the following different options: Off, Classical, Jazz, Dance, Party, Pop, Rock, Spoken Word, Loudness, Mega Bass and Treble Boost. And it's free of course!

The  Equalizer  is a separate app - it does not integrate into the music player (you can't access it from the Options menu in the music player), so each time you want to change the equalizer setting you need to switch to the app. However, the good thing is that the setting will persist even after you exit the app, or even after you restart the phone. It's a system wide thing - so it'll  work for all installed players, 3rd party apps etc.

And here's a video of the Equalizer in action:

Via: SE Product Blog

Ad campaign for Sony Ericsson Vivaz unveiled

Sony Ericsson is unveiling an integrated campaign to support the launch of its first HD-enabled handset - the Vivaz, this weekend.

The campaign includes a TV campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, which will be backed by online banners, print and outdoor ads. The TV ad, which will see users filming dancing with the handset’s HD technology will also feature a new strapline, “See beauty in the detail”

Iris has handled print and outdoor creatives and Dare Digital has worked on the digital campaign, which will also feature a site for users to post their HD videos.

Sony Ericsson's senior marketing manager, Richard Dorman, says: “We’ve historically been known as a good company for music and photography. So we want to play up the HD features of this handset very heavily in everything we do for this campaign, emphasising the beauty you can get using the Vivaz smartphone.”

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Previewed

My friend Michell over at se-blog.com has just posted a neat preview of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. It's definetely worth a read if you're waiting for the device. Hit the link below to read the complete preview.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Vivaz Preview..

And although I am yet to hold the Vivaz in my hands, its slim, candy-bar design is appealing. The tapered ends give it a streamlined look, and I like the four color choices (cosmic black, moon silver, galaxy blue, and Venus ruby). Its most prominent feature is a 3.2-inch touch screen that supports 16.7 million colors and 360x640 pixels. The back of the handset resembles a standalone camera with a prominent lens and a flash.
Not surprisingly, multimedia is a key theme. Features on the device include an 8.1-megapixel camera with video recording, a music player, assisted GPS, a speakerphone, messaging and e-mail, PC syncing, USB mass storage, stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, TV-out connection, a personal organizer, 3.5 mm jack, and (thankfully) a microSD card slot.

Vivaz Unboxing Video - All Four Colors

Rikard Skogberg at the SE Product Blog has just posted a neat unboxing video of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. You can see all 4 colors - Venus Ruby,Galaxy Blue,Cosmic Black and Silver Moon.

And I forgot to mention that this unboxing video has been shot with a Vivaz itself and you can see it's quite a performer!

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Reviewed

This is the review I was eagerly waiting for, and the folks at GsmArena didn't disappoint. They are mighty pleased with the handset and it shows, the praise just flows! :D


And I don't know about you, but I have set my eyes on the Vivaz. The specs+price combo is too good to ignore! Anyway, here's an extract of their views:


Sony Ericsson is an alliance of two tech giants and with phones like the Vivaz it shows. It’s a gadget all the way, one that will galvanize geeks and charm the regular user.

Eight megapixel still images and 720p video with continuous auto focus make the Sony Ericsson Vivaz a predator of point-and-shoot cameras. The Vivaz is not just a cameraphone though, it’s a smartphone as well – a tricked out Symbian running on a 720MHz CPU with a 3.2” nHD display to show it all off. That’s all in a package more compact than any combination of a stand-alone camera and a phone you can think of.

Here's a video showing the user interface of the Vivaz:

The recent trend in Sony Ericsson design – the curved back – makes another appearance on the Vivaz. It helps the phone fit snugly in your palm, and the device feels even more compact and friendly.

Most of the front of the Vivaz is taken up by the 3.2" touchscreen with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. The resistive unit supports up to 16M colors and is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the device. It has nice picture quality with excellent contrast for a TFT unit.Resistive displays generally need more pressure to get a click registered. As we found out though, the Vivaz screen response is excellent. The resistive technology is certainly not a drawback here.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz isn't the loudest of them handset as far as headphones volume is concerned. However when subjected to our traditional audio quality test it showed a decent overall performance with even a few excellent marks here and there.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz packs an 8-megapixel camera and is capable of taking photos of up to 3264 x 2448 pixels. It also sports a LED flash, but its serves video better than the still images.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz produces splendid photos. The colors are vibrant and rich (too bad we don't have the weather to prove it), the amount of resolved detail is very good and the noise levels are low.

Here's a cam sample:

Just click on the image to see it full size.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz captures 720p videos at 24 fps, venturing to kick the Samsung Omnia HD out of its complacency.

Probably the best new feature of the Vivaz is the continuous auto focus during video recording. That's definitely a first for any cameraphone and it allows it to act just like a dedicated video camera.

Here's a video showing continuous autofocus in video recording. Pretty neat!

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz has an edge over Omnia HD in audio recording too. Currently, the Vivaz videos use AAC audio with 48kHz sampling rate, while those by the Omnia HD have a sampling rate of 16kHz. And you can definitely tell the difference.


Final Words

Sony Ericsson have been limping on profits lately but their ambitions seem to not have suffered one bit. There is the Satio, now the Vivaz and with the XPERIA X10 on its way, the company is gaining a firm foothold in the high-end segment.


Some people scoff at the sight of Symbian but Sony Ericsson's work on the homescreen and their signature media menu, you can spend quite some time using the phone before you actually come down to the slightly off-putting S60 5th UI.

The size of the display might seem inadequate next to the awe-inspiring HTC HD2. The Vivaz though was built to be compact and screen size was dictated by pocketability, not the other way around.

The interface and screen size are pretty much the things for anyone to complain about. The display is sensitive, the CPU is speedy and the camera is excellent - and hard to beat really. So, the phone is great, but this doesn't mean much until you have a good look at the competition as well.


Comparisons between the Sony Ericsson Vivaz and the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD are inevitable. Symbian and 720p video make the two the bitterest of rivals. Samsung have had plenty of time to chisel out some of the problems the Omnia HD had at launch - audio quality and framerate issues in videos. The audio they fixed early on by switching to AAC, but video is still struggling to make it to 24 frames per second.


The Vivaz has its issues as well, but at least it's capable of delivering all 24 fps - and the HD video recording is quite promising. Sony Ericsson's take on Symbian feels more refined too - the homescreens are simple to use but offer all the basic functionality you need and we always liked the custom media menu - especially in its touch-enabled form. Plus the Vivaz feels zippier than the Omnia HD.


It's safe to say there is no phone just like the Sony Ericsson Vivaz - the competition is a thing or two short or has a thing or two in its favor. For a bigger screen, you'd have to give up either the smooth video recording or go with an OS that barely ranks in terms of market share. The other option is to wait for phones that haven't even been officially confirmed yet.


The Sony Ericsson Vivaz design team knew what they wanted right from the start and they have achieved their goal. When the Vivaz hits the stores, there will be a line a mile long of Sony Ericsson fans queing for it but, more importantly, there will probably be quite a few new converts as well.

Read the complete review of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Sony Ericsson gearing up for MWC 2010

Well...it seems Sony Ericsson is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a great presence at the Mobile World Congress starting Feb 15th, Barcelona,Spain. They've got a neat little page up on their official website with a very nice intro, really makes you go back to the good old days :) Lemme take you along, just follow the snaps.

Awesome isn't it? It feels great to be associated with a company which was and STILL is the pioneer in its field. With great devices such as the X10 and Vivaz in its stable, the future looks pretty promising. Can't wait for 15th can you? Btw.....here's the Official Invite:

Well, all I can say is, Roll on MWC 2010!

Sony Ericsson MWC 2010 Lineup

As you all know, Sony Ericsson will be showing off quite a few devices at Mobile World Congress,2010 at Barcelona starting February 15th.

I thought I'll give you a glimpse of what all one can expect from Sony Ericsson at MWC 2010. So here's Sony Ericsson's fresh batch of handsets for 2010.

As of what I know currently, besides the XPERIA X10, Sony Ericsson will show the Vivaz (Kurara), Aspen (Faith), Kanna ,and Recall( Robyn).

So let's get into the details shall we? 

XPERIA X10

The XPERIA X10 is Sony Ericsson's flagship device for 2010. It's slated to launch with Android 1.6 which'll later be updated to Android 2.1.It sports a gorgeous 4.0 inch capacitive touch screen with a class-leading resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. It’s scratch-resistant and can display up to 262.144 colours.The device has a heavily customized UI with brilliant apps such as Timescape and Mediascape. 

Timescape is a user interface that brings all your communications together. It is meant for people using web 2.0 services, such as Facebook. MediaScape is the new media browser and player, featuring photo, music and video functionality. It looks really good and I am sure Sony Ericsson will eventually go on to implement it across all platforms.

The camera is an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash. It supports advanced face recognition with built-in tagging functionality of your friends. Smile shutter and geotagging is of course also available and so is high definition video recording.It’s also got a 3.5 mm audio jack, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, aGPS, Micro USB connector, WiFi, triband HSPA and quadband GSM. It measures 119 x 63 x 13 millimetres and weighs 135 grams. The hardware chipset is the Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 running at a clock frequency of 1 GHz. It will run on the (BST-41) Li-Po 1500 mAh battery.

Vivaz

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz runs on the Symbian S60 platform and packs a 8 megapixel autofocus camera capable of recording 720p video. The 3.2" display sports a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels and is capable of showing up to 16M colors. The CPU inside clocks at 720 MHz ( the Satio has a 600 MHz processor).Other interesting notables are a 3.5mm audio jack, the FM radio and a built-in microSD card slot that allows expanding the 75MB of internal memory. There will be an 8GB microSD card included in the retail package.

Aspen

Sony Ericsson Aspen is a Windows Mobile 6.5.3 handset, that was previously known by its codename Faith.The device packs a 2.4" touchscreen of 320x240 (QVGA) resolution, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, a 3.5mm audio jack and a 3.2 megapixel fixed-focus camera.There is a built-in GPS receiver and a microSD card slot and there is a 4GB microSD memory card included in the retail package. 

Kanna

Kanna is Kurara's qwerty sister, also known as the U8.It's specifications  are - 3.2 inch TFT display at 640 x 360 pixels, a 8 megapixel camera with 720p HD-recording, WiFi, 3.5 mm jack port, Symbian S60 5th edition and a 720mhz processor.

Recall ( Robyn)

The Sony Ericsson Recall (previously known as 'Robyn') looks exactly like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, but its twice as small. This device also packs a touchscreen and is powered by the Android OS. It should be available in atleast 4 colors, as seen from the pic.Other specs include a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, 3.5 mm audio jack, 3G and Wi-Fi.


Rest assured that MWC 2010 will be chock full of news and updates! Stay tuned and watch this space for more!

Vivaz : video capturing and sharing

Here is a video of Vivaz that shows the video capturing and sharing functionality. Besides the ability of shooting in HD video quality, Vivaz has a simple-but-clever dedicated video key on the side of the phone allowing you to capture the action as it happens.

Via: Sony Ericsson product Blog

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Reviewed

I had a feeling that this handset was different and I was right.It's just been launched and we've already got the first review. :D

Well the folks at Mobile Mail have already posted a pretty neat review of the just announced Sony Ericsson Vivaz. Here's what they had to say: ( Is been translated from Russian to English, so kindly don't mind :) )

Sony Ericsson Vivaz come March, the price I have already named: 15 990 rubles at the start. In Europe, the device will sell for 280-300 euros. In Europe, the device will sell for 280-300 euros. That is a question of price breaks all the remaining questions, the phone turns damn interesting.I find it difficult to talk about his shortcomings, because competitors are considerably more expensive and less functional.

First Vivaz devices directed against Nokia, in particular the 5800 and X6, and the company understands that Vivaz is interesting. This is much more powerful hardware platform that work with HD video, while smaller size, weight, more attractive design. I frankly like this phone, a combination of price and performance turned out perfect. And few people expected such a cost, to be honest.

I very much hope that Vivaz become popular, it will help reduce the bar prices for Symbian-smartphones, set the standard for functionality for these devices. Samsung I8910 HD is much more expensive, he plays in another league, I do not think that someone would choose between these devices. Other things being equal I would have preferred apparatus of the SE, all the same size of the phone are very good, they fit many. Compare Vivaz with Nokia X6 fails, Sony Ericsson is stronger in all parameters, with, again, cheaper. In general, by the time in early March, the apparatus will not be any significant alternatives, if we talk about the functionality of this amount. Vivaz ist really interesting.

Read the complete review of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz

My take on the Vivaz

Well..irrespective of the handset design being similar to other phones, I certainly feel that Vivaz is a pretty good handset. You get almost everything the satio had except the 12mp module and xenon flash, a faster processor and a more optimized UI. I just hope that we get kinetic scrolling throughout the UI. And the icing on the cake is that its going to be launched at a retail price of 15990 rubles/ 380.326 Euros/537.553 USD/24,840 INR, which I think is a very good price. I usually wait around a month for the prices to stabilize, as the initial launch prices are usually inflated in india.

I can't actually believe myself. A month ago I was pretty sure that I wasnt even going to consider getting the device
But it looks like a better ( and cheaper) bet than getting the satio. If I don't manage to save enough for the X10, I'm going to get this 'beauty' ( It's not exactly that , but the leaked pics didnt do justice).

Sony Ericsson Vivaz - Live pics, Video

Here are a few live pics of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. It looks pretty good doesn't it? :)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is an Entertainment Unlimited smartphone running on the Symbian S60 operating system. What’s interesting is that it’s capable of recording HD videos. Other features include a 3.2-inch touchscreen.3.55 mm audio jack,Wi-Fi, GPS and an 8.1-megapixel camera.

View more live pics of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz 

Also, Rog at SE-First has just posted a hands-on video which is definetely worth a dekko.

Pics via: All About Phones

Sony Ericsson Vivaz ( Kurara) announced

Finally! The Kurara has been announced as the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. It looks way better than in those leaked pics doesn't it? :)

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz runs on the Symbian S60 platform and packs a 8 megapixel autofocus camera capable of recording 720p video. The 3.2" display sports a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels and is capable of showing up to 16M colors. The CPU inside clocks at 720 MHz ( the Satio has a 600 MHz processor).

Other features include a microUSB slot, Wi-Fi, GPS, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G with HSDPA. 

Other interesting notables are a 3.5mm audio jack, the FM radio and a built-in microSD card slot that allows expanding the 75MB of internal memory. There will be an 8GB microSD card included in the retail package.

It’ll be available at the end of Q1 in four colours – Cosmic Black, Galaxy Blue, Moon Silver and Venus Ruby.

Here are a few videos for you to enjoy. The first one is a short promo video of the Sony Ericsson Vivaz and the next one is a video overview of the handset.

And lastly, here's a developer preview video. Enjoy!

Official Press Release
Official Product Page