Sony Ericsson z520a Review

This was my first Sony Ericsson cell phone purchase (and will be my last.)

Looks wise, this is a nice compact cell phone and pretty self explanatory on how to use. It does have some very nice features. The ability to use the tab over buttons to view your missed calls, outgoing calls, and incoming calls was a very nice feature. I would definitely give this feature a 10 out of 10, as it was made very convenient and easy to manuever.

I also liked the ability to change the light up option when your phone rings. This made it much easier to locate in my purse, as well as find my cell phone in the dark. Again, a smart feature added to the phone gives it a 10 out of 10.

This cell phone also has a semi-decent camera and video ability, although, I never downloaded the pictures to see how the quality of the pictures were. The photos were a bit grainy when viewed on the cell phone screen and the videos were choppy so I would rate this feature a 6 out of 10.

I found the ringtones to have a nice selection and were loud enough to be heard if you were in another room when the phone rang. Definitely worthy of a 10 out of 10.

Another feature I was impressed with was the ability to set your own theme to your phone. There wasn't a lot to choose from but the ability was nice to have so you could add a person touch. I would rate this feature an 8 out of 10 (only because they could have provided more themes to choose from.)

Now, I've had several problems with this phone which makes me less inclined to buy another Sony Ericsson cell phone, regardless of the model.

I had my cell phone for exactly one week when the screen failed. It appeared to be stuck and wouldn't display anything other than the pink theme I had chosen. I returned to Cellular One and they replaced it with a new phone since it was so new. I was impressed with their customer service in promptly fixing the problem by providing me with a new phone.

Two months later the newly replaced cell phone failed again. This time the ability to charge the battery stopped working. Because it was under warranty, Cellular One sent it out for repair. However, Sony Ericsson denied the repair, claiming their was water damage. My phone has never come into contact with water and when it quit charging, it happened overnight when it wasn't in use, nor was it near water (it was on my living room end table when this happened.) When the cell phone was returned to me, it worked fine again.

Three months lately, the screen failed again. This time nothing would display on the screen (the front panel screen nor the inside screen.) Everything on the screen was white. I had just used my cell when someone called and it was working fine. I folded the cell and then opened it again to make a call, only to find a blank white screen. Once again I went to Cellular One, however; this time they wouldn't even send it out for repairs (despite it still being under warranty) since Sony Ericsson already recorded that the phone (via seriel number) had come in contact with water.

In the 5-6 months I had this particular brand cell phone I had to exchange it once, sent it for repairs once, and then was denied a second repair request. I am very disappointed with this cell phone because of the amount of times it failed. I have a faily new cell phone sitting here that I'm unable to use because I can't see the screen (therefore, I can't see what numbers I'm dialing.) I have since replaced this cell phone with a Motorola and will not purchase another Sony Ericsson.

One other drawback with this cell phone is the small keypad area. It was easy to hit the wrong number, as they were so close together. This phone is hard to use if you have long fingernails or large fingers.

Overall, I think this is a horrible quality phone. It seems to fail often (either the battery or the screen.) I wouldn't recommend this cell phone to anyone to purchase.

Here's a picture of the cell phone

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Awful luck!!

I have a Sony Ericsson (w300) and works just fine...and before I had another one (k700) and never had a problem.

I once had a z520 in my hands and found it really nice. Didn't notice the small keypad at all, but I believe, that is about personal taste.

I´m sorry for you on that z520, but believe me, not all Sony Ericsson users have that same experience

Hmm.. i owned a ericson and it was really good until i got my blackberry ;]

I used to work for Sony and I felt they had lost their focus on quality. They are more concerned with being the first and selling the most of course.

Hmm. I owned this phone and never had any problems with it...

The white screen is knowned on the z520....but what i hear about the most is the camera button...because it it on the side and it sticks out so much you tend to take pics in ur purse/pocket.
they came out with a z525a and the only diffrence is it has is the camera button was replaced w/ PTT
Helps it out?...yes but its still a bad phone due to the white screen issue

good review. and the strange part at the head make the phone more silly.

I have a Sony Erisson mobile,it is good quality.
I use it for a very long time ,

I had that phone for a year and a half and only had the screen go out once and it happend 2 days before the one year warranty ended. got it replaced with a new one. other than the screen going out, that is the only problem i ever had with that phone.

I have a z520a and know about the pictures of the inside of my pocket or holster. The bigger problem is trying to delete pic's. You have to delete each pic one by one and for each pic you have to delete the file also. There is no delete all or delete selected. I have gotten to the point where I don't bother. The last time I checked I had over 850 pic's on the card and 99percent of them where of my holster.

unique look?