Sony Ericsson Z550
- f
- f t
- 2@q
- 20 Aug 2006
After reading all the reviews and opinions here I feel this is the perfect phone I have been waiting for.
I specifically like the external screen a lot. My question is that when you receive a call would the external screen show the name of the person calling i.e. does this phone the facility of caller id being shown on the external screen or do we have to open the phone everytime there is a call.
Thanks
- D
- DarkRay
- F4p
- 20 Aug 2006
To anish:
Both the software and hardware interfaces on the Z550i is identical to the K750i. Thus, as far as I know, all accessories that work on the K750i will work on the Z550i, including both the SE DCU-60 USB Cable, and SE HPB-60 & HPM-70 headsets.
To know if an accessory is compatible with the phones, just go to SE's website at sonyericsson.com and view the compatibility list for the accessory.
For my opinions between the Z550i and X700, please find my post about it sometime ago a few pages ago.
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To dorian:
I am not really sure what's going on with your phone because I do not have any M2 cards at the present, and the video recording does work without problem for me.
In your case, you may want to try (from simplest to most complex):
1. Turn the phone off and on again, just to make sure that it is not a temporary memory corruption problem.
2. If the M2 card is loaded, make sure that it has been formatted correct by the phone using the File Manager, the "Save to" video setting is to your memory card and not phone memory.
3. You may also want to remove the M2 card and see if the video recording works without it.
4. Perform a "Master Reset" of the phone by going to setting -> General. Do know that all settings, including phone records stored on phone memory WILL be erased.
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Hope the above helps.... :-)
- d
- dorian
- S3f
- 19 Aug 2006
Yeah got this phone for about 2 weeks ago...you were right DarkRay..it's a great phone. I really love it. But I have a problem now with the camera. I'm really bugged up about it..before I contact SE I will try here first to see if anybody knows what's wrong.
Everything works fine with the phone..I even have the M2 card. But until a couple of days ago I can't record video. Pictures are fine but everytime I try to record it gives that beeping sound but then quits back to the main menu. I've tried to change settings but nothing works. It just keeps quitting. I tried to change to small video and it records...but when I press stop it kinda lags and then stops but it sais later on that it can't play the file. So does anybody know what I should do?
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- preetishanand
- 2ST
- 19 Aug 2006
perfect phone with best features camera q excellent
- a
- anish
- w4t
- 19 Aug 2006
To Darkray,
i suppose u hv owned this phone fr quite a while and u are very knowledgeable abt phones. i am an avid fan of se phones. i wud jst like 2 know whether i shud go with this or samsung x700. also, does this phone have the same headphones and usb cable supported as k750i?
thnx in advance.
- Y
- Youn
- mGI
- 19 Aug 2006
If you press > * < < * < * in standby mode you get the service menu, you can also see there how many times you've opened the phone :P
- D
- DarkRay
- F4p
- 19 Aug 2006
To Bernard:
Please read a few posts down, I have mentioned that the speaker on the Z550i is pretty much the same as the one what you get on K700i, K750i, etc... It has good clarity, but lack bass and can be a little soft.
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To Richard Gilmore:
1. Like all other SE phones, this phone does not have a standard 3.5mm jack. However, the phone does come with a pair or stereo handsfree (HPB-60) since the built-in FM tuner does require a handsfree to be plugged in as its antenna or otherwise, it will not work.
The 3.5mm jack is not a major issue in where I stay (Singapore - and probably in other countries) because a SE Fastport to 3.5mm adapter can be easily bought for about US$4.
2. I am not so sure on the bluetooth part since I am not using this functionality. But by using data cable DCU-60 (this one is not included as part of the standard package) you certainly can according to the user manual.
3. Please read a few posts down. I had mentioned before that the hinge mechanism is totally unlike the bad quality one on the Z520i. The implementation is spring loaded and feels very sturdy. It feels very Samsung like.
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Cheers! :-)
- R
- Richard Gilmore
- PFy
- 18 Aug 2006
I'm really thinking of getting the phone, but no in depth reviews are available yet anywhere. This is the only place showing some useful information (thx, darkray).
After reading the posts, now i got some questions on my own :) Hope someone can shed some light on these issues:
1. Can the phone accept standard 3.5 mm earphone jack ? I'm asking since the package doesn't include any extras (no M2, no data cable, no handsfree/earphone, etc), and the SE-branded accesories are very rare/expensive around here.
2. Can the phone be used as a GPRS modem (either via bluetooth or data cable) ? By this i mean connecting the phone to your PC for web browsing.
3. Earlier SE clamshell phones (like the z520) had problems with the hinges. Well, not exactly the physical hinge, but the flex cable that ran inside the hinge. Can someone that used this phone heavily for a while (a couple of weeks, at least, not just a couple of days) confirm the build quality ?
That's all i suppose. If these issues turns out to be non-issues, i'll be getting mine come monday :). Thanks in advance.
- s
- svarionman
- mY5
- 18 Aug 2006
Hi, you can found it here: www.pixmania.be
- h
- hace
- m}L
- 18 Aug 2006
@darkray
Nice job with camera review, could you take same pictures of the phone itself, in your hand and something like that..thanks
- B
- Bernard
- PFM
- 18 Aug 2006
Can anyone tell me what's the volume for ringing tones like? Compared to previous models like k750i or nokia? Tks for your reply!
- j
- jojokulit
- P@Y
- 18 Aug 2006
@darkray
hey, tnx for d tip..pressing & holding the volume key does change d track & d radio station..that makes it so cool..it works on both media player & radio so that makes this phone even better than W300i..no need to open the phone to change track / station..and d external display is really great, it even tells who's sent u a message unlike other external display where only the envelope key appears & u have no idea who sent u an sms..
yeah, the memory card type is expensive..but i wont be surprised it d price falls down pretty soon, just like microSD..
i find the mp3 ringtone/msg tone loud enough..it can be heard on noisy surroundings..
- a
- alvin
- P@Y
- 18 Aug 2006
yes it surely is metal. i love my z550i~
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- nathan
- ngU
- 18 Aug 2006
oops sorry, silver *part*
- n
- nathan
- ngU
- 18 Aug 2006
thanks for your response. but im quite surprised, that the silver park on the black model is really metal. can we get a confirmation on that from anyone else please?
- Y
- Youn
- mGI
- 18 Aug 2006
I'm very satisfied with my phone
I work at a phone store and we already got 2 broken 6131's. They don't have protective glass over the screen and the auto open feature works a bit too well i think. The D600 has a lousy mp3 player so for me the choice was simple :)
- D
- DarkRay
- F4p
- 17 Aug 2006
Hi, for those interested, I have added 2 new photos taken on a sunny afternoon to my original camera review:
dmoasis.com/z550i/camera.htm
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To VK:
I definitely agree with you that one glaring disadvantage of the newer SE phones, including Z550i, is that they are using M2, which is probably the most expensive format now. Let's hope that Sandisk will introduce theirs soon so that there's at least some price competition for Sony.
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To Shin & jojokulit:
Don't you just love finding out undocumented features? In radio mode, pressing and holding on the volume button will immediately scan to the next available FM station.
This volume button thingy, like most part of SE's interface is very well thought out too. When the clam shell is closed, the press and hold feature to skip tracks or FM stations will only work if the external display is active (you can make it active easily by just pressing and releasing on the volume button). This way, if the phone is in your pocket or something, accidental brushing of the volume buttons will not cause a sudden change in music tracks.
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To svarionman:
The 2 phones you mentioned have 2 distinct advantages over the Z550i:
1. They have QVGA (320x240) screen
2. They are loaded with 2 megapixel cameras
Thus, they are actually in a different class.
I have actually considered both phones and like the auto-flip feature of the Nokia 6131. But what turned me against it was that there was nothing protecting the internal screen. No hard plastic or even any clear film. I was very uncomfortable with this particular design aspect of the phone.
For the Samsung D600, what I did not like about it is my pet peeve about most Samsung phones - they simply do not support "vibrate and ring" at all. This is of course a matter of personal taste and while this may not matter to some users, I find this feature very important to me.
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Cheers! :-)
- s
- svarionman
- mY5
- 17 Aug 2006
Thank you....so you're satisfied with your phone? You will recommand it in its range or price (about 200€ here in Italy) , do you think is better than Nokia 6131 or Samsung D600?
- Y
- Youn
- nc6
- 17 Aug 2006
The black part is plastic, it feels nice
The silver part is metal and feels even better :p
The phone can't read MS Office documents
- L
- L A
- Siv
- 17 Aug 2006
Thanks Nathan! And thanks to all the other ones writing info here. Now, I'm getting one of these.