On board physical buttons are limited to a power button, volume rocker a camera switch and the all important Facebook button which sets the phone apart from the rest. This button allows you to quickly post your status to Facebook in seconds! As soon as you take a photo with the inbuilt camera, the button starts to glow to remind you that you can upload that picture right away. Sending the picture to your profile is achieved immediately by taping the button.

The HTC Salsa is perfect for people who like to share most (if not every) aspect of their daily life with friends on Facebook. You have got to be a fan of the social networking site to appreciate the full extent the device can help in making your posts easier. For a fuller interaction with your Facebook account, just keep holding down the dedicated button to open up Facebook places. This lets you check in to various geographical places of interest similar to foursquare and let your friends know your location or where you have been.

It is just as easy to make other Facebook posts such as sharing videos posting links or share music you’re currently listening to on your music player. So with the HTC Salsa you will be able to keep your friends informed of your whereabouts with pictures, videos and what music you are listening to.

Besides the social networking, HTC Salsa kicks in features between HTC Wldfire S and and HTC Desire S. It has a 800Hz CPU which is sufficient for most of its dedicated uses but can seem to lag a bit compared to higher end Smartphones in the HTC stable if you do a lot of processor intensive tasks. It boasts support for Google services such as search, Maps and the Android Market app store but the low end CPU also rules out support for browser based flash support.

The phone comes with a good sized 3.4 inch HVGA resolution screen has 480×320 pixel which gives good overall contrast though not quite as vibrant as the super AMOLED display of Samsung phones.

The Salsa also has notifications bar that gives you information about availability of wifi and blue tooth in one place. The phone features a reasonable 5 mega pixel camera and front facing lens to enable video calls. The battery is an impressive 1,520 mAh that gives the Salsa an impressive running time between charges – much longer than most current Android devices.

As the name suggests (think nachos and dance floor moves) the Salsa embraces socializing and is definitely one for people who like to share their social life with their friends, family and loved ones. So if you are a person who likes sharing most aspects of your day with your Facebook friends then then check our HTC Salsa deals.

The Sony Ericsson Neo puts a lot of emphasis on its camera capabilities, with its 8.1 megapixel primary snapper found on the rear next to a large HD logo which identifies its 720p video capture setting. The camera’s sensor is not just a bog-standard piece of kit either, providing you with top notch low light performance which cannot be matched by a vast number of smartphones. If you have a need to capture life’s little moments in impressive quality when on the move then this might be the mobile for you. Sharing your pictures and videos is easy thanks to the mini HDMI output which will let you view them on your TV at home.

Android 2.3 is preinstalled along with Sony Ericsson’s own TimeScape and MediaScape interfaces. These are designed to make social networking and media playback much easier to access from the Sony Neo’s homescreen so that you can stay up to date with the activities and opinions of your mates whilst keeping yourself entertained. As with all Android phones the Sony Ericsson Neo has access to the Android Market where hundreds of thousands of apps and games can be found to increase the potential features of the handset.

Humming along inside the Xperia Neo is a 1GHz single core processor that is accompanied by a dedicated chip for handling graphics. This means that whilst the phone is not quite as competitive as the dual core models which are gradually entering the market it is more than capable when it comes to handling the operating system and providing impressive visuals in apps and media playback. This is really a phone designed for people who want to get all of their on-the-go entertainment in one place and although it is described as a mid-range model it is not going to become obsolete in the near future.

Connectivity is another important aspect of any modern smartphone and the Sony Neo comes with Wi-Fi, 3G and the latest Bluetooth all built in to ensure that you can get online quickly wherever you roam and hook up peripherals wirelessly in an instant. Because this runs Android 2.3 you can enjoy full Flash 10.1 support in the web browser, opening up access to loads of online videos and games embedded in sites. These would not be accessible on other smartphones which do not offer Flash support, such as the iPhone 4.

With a 1500mAh battery juiced up to capacity the Sony Neo will do an admirable job of staying powered on even after relatively intensive usage. Battery life is something many fail to consider when buying a phone and with mobiles that have larger screens or faster processors you might find yourself searching for a power outlet after less than a day. This is not a concern with the Sony Ericsson xperia Neo, making it a great all-rounder priced to be an affordable option.

Before the 3D capabilities are analysed it is necessary to look at the hardware to see whether the Optimus 3D is competitive with the vast majority of non-3D smartphones. Inside is a dual core processor from the Nvidia Tegra 2 family, identical to that present in the LG Optimus 2X. 8GB of storage is present along with the option to add more via microSD memory cards and 512MB of RAM gives it all the processing power you would expect from a cutting edge piece of mobile hardware.

On the front of the device is a 4.3 inch touchscreen display and a quartet of capacitive touch buttons that help users navigate around the Android 2.2 operating system which is preinstalled with the option to update to the newer 2.3 at a later date. Around at the back a set of twin five megapixel cameras with an LED flash are present, letting users capture stereoscopic 3D pictures and video, as well as full HD 1080p clips in 2D.

All of this hardware does make the phone a little bulkier and heavier than some of its rivals, but this is something that most users will accept in order to enjoy the impressive 3D features. An HDMI output allows for playback of clips on an HDTV and if you have a 3D-ready screen at home you can watch your videos in all their glory.

The good thing about the LG Optimus 3D is that you do not have to use the glasses-free 3D effects all the time. This is sensible since some users may not be able to experience them fully and others may suffer short term negative effects after a certain amount of viewing time. A physical button on the right side of the device brings up the 3D hub, letting you play 3D games, record in 3D and view the other 3D features. 3D movie playback is a real selling point of the Optimus 3D because it is something few other handsets can offer and an increasingly important aspect with the increasing number of 3D titles arriving at cinemas.

LG has struck a deal with video streaming site YouTube that allows users to send their captured 3D clips straight to their account with the service. It will also encourage users to playback 3D clips on their mobile phones and should help build a community of 3D viewers and content creators which might otherwise have been difficult to foster. The phone really makes the most of the 4.3 inch display whether in 2D or 3D mode, with the latter being aided greatly because of its sheer size.

It is important to remember that aside from all the 3D-related tomfoolery the phone still packs in plenty of other features to excite consumers. High speed connectivity is assured with Wi-Fi and 3G onboard, whilst the web browser with Flash support really flies along thanks to the number crunching supremacy of the dual core processor.

There is no doubt that the LG Optimus 3D is something of an experimental handset, but with high end features and the future-proof option for 3D playback it is definitely aiming to make its mark.

First up the hardware itself deserves scrutiny, because with dual core rivals such as the LG Optimus 2X and Samsung Galaxy S2 on the market there is no room for failings in this department. With its 1.2GHz dual core processor the HTC Sensation is definitely hardy enough to outdo the majority of its competitors, with only the aforementioned Samsung handset matching it in terms of clockspeed. Of course power is only meaningful if it is properly applied, which is something to consider when looking at the Sensation’s software.

On the rear an eight megapixel camera provides the opportunity to record video clips in full HD 1080p whilst a front camera is present for video calling if that is on your list of must-haves. With a 4.3 inch display it has one of the larger screens on the market and its high resolution of 960×540 gives it a crisp, clear, next-gen look when in use, even if it is not quite as engaging as the Super AMOLED Plus screen of the Galaxy S2.

A dedicated graphics processor ensures games and apps look great and support for microSD memory cards means you are never restricted by the onboard storage. Its unibody shell gives the HTC Sensation a premium feel and whilst it is chunkier than the iPhone 4 it is packing much more under the hood and so the few extra millimetres will be easy to accept.

As hardware is beginning to play a significant role in the mobile market once more, it is still software that plays a significant part in helping consumers choose their next mobile. The HTC Sensation has Android 2.3 onboard, giving users access to the latest functions from Google’s premiere operating system. However, the presence of HTC’s own Sense interface, totally updated for dual core operation, will get tongues wagging.

Various flashy graphics, including 3D effects when switching homescreens, showcase the power of the Sensation. On a more practical note the updated lock screen interface allows you to select four of your most regularly used apps to jump straight into as soon as you reach for your phone. HTC looks to be leading the pack once more with this intelligent updating of a well established smartphone function.

Convinced? Click here for the best deals on HTC Sensation or leave us a comment and tell us what you think.

It’s fair to say the Google Nexus S hasn’t set the world alight, but why is this? The handset is an outstanding example of beautiful design, the hardware is as up to date as any other Android devices currently available especially the Samsung Galaxy S and unlike the Nexus One, Google’s latest variant of the Nexus does have some major advantages over it’s competition.

The Pure Google software experience means there is no manufacturer presence on the OS and shows exactly how great the Android operating systems is. Also running full Gingerbread 2.3, the Nexus S really does sit on the cutting edge of mobile OS.

With this in mind the Nexus S has generally seen less sales then it’s non-identical twin the Galaxy S. So why is this? We believe the answer is deal strength. However as of today the Nexus S gets the offers it deserves.

Mobiles.co.uk now has the Google Nexus S free on tariffs from as low as £25.54 per month! Here’s a list of the best tariffs and discounts we offer.

Orange

£25.54 per month. This gives you 300 Minutes, unlimited texts and 500 MB of data. With this tariff you can just enjoy the handset with no more work to do at all. Click here for the best deals Nexus S.

O2

If 300 minutes isn’t enough you can get the Nexus S with 900 Minutes, Unlimited texts and 6 months free line rental giving you an effective cost of £26.80 per month. This requires some redemption work but well worth it!

T-mobile

You may have noticed the O2 Tariff might not suit your data needs so if you want it all T-mobile is definitely the network for you. 900 Minutes 500 texts and unlimited web browsing with an effective monthly cost of 26.81 per month. This is including 6 months half price line rental through redemption. This saves you an £210 versus our previous offer on this tariff.

To see why Google think the Nexus S is worth the investment click here.

These offers are available now! We think hope you’ll agree that these discounts combined with one of the slickest Android handsets should tick all the boxes and then some. Click here to see our full range of tariffs and discounts for the Nexus S and keep checking the blog for updates on anything mobile.

The X10 is a very sleek and stylish looking mobile phone, with the touchscreen dominating the front of the handset. There are only three buttons on the front of the phone – options, menu and back. The majority of commands are actioned with use of the touchscreen.

Running on the Android OS, you can take advantage of downloadable apps available from the Android Market as well as Google services such as Google Maps, Google Search and Gmail. These apps can be enjoyed fully thanks to the 4.0 inch touchscreen which displays very sharp and clear images.

The 8.1 megapixel camera which has built in auto focus, multiple face detection, smile detection, image stabiliser and a powerful flash will always capture quality photos. The 4.0inch touchscreen display will also do your photos justice, and you will want to share your finished results with others.

With a 1GHz processor the Xperia X10 benefits from very fast speeds, so downloading and running numerous apps on the handset can be done instantly with little slow down. With Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS also built in, you have the whole package with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

Available to pre-order on Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile, we have a range of great deals on offer so check them out now and reserve your Xperia X10 today!

The web browser on the Vivaz is a bit of a mixed bag. Selecting the web browser application in the main menu prompts you with a small pop-up asking you whether you want to use Wi-Fi or a data connection. This is fine for the first time you use the web browser but gets annoying after the 10th time of asking. That’s right, the Vivaz won’t remember your selection and so will present you with this message every time you try to take the Vivaz online. This is admittedly a great idea for those users who are on pay as you go, on a budget or using the phone abroad. If however you’re using your Vivaz with an unlimited data bundle it does become slightly irksome after a while.

This is a minor gripe though and getting past it is just a case of a couple of taps to get past the message. On the plus side, switching between Wi-Fi and 3G is very easy thanks to this message. Once you’ve opened the web browser, you’re taken to a Sony Ericsson portal from which you can choose to search on Google, enter a specific URL and access a selection of different shortcuts. The web browser on the Vivaz is incredibly simple to use. At the bottom we find the main icons you’ll be using such as the zoom icon to zoom in specific parts of the page and the excellent ‘find’ function which lets you locate specific parts of a web page. This is especially handy when trying to find a certain part of a text heavy page. To type in a new URL, hit the globe icon in the middle and the Vivaz will display the on-screen keyboard for you to punch in your desired location. Pages load fairly quickly and do an excellent job of rendering texts and images.

The addition of dedicated apps for social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter also mean that there is more than one way to access your favourite sites. Theses dedicated apps are tailor made for their corresponding web site and it really does show when using them. One drawback is that there is no Flash support so sites with flash content will load up the all too familiar building block logo telling you to download flash player (which obviously you can’t). Aside from this, browsing the web on the Vivaz is an enjoyable all round experience.

The music player on the Vivaz is fairly straight forward and will be instantly recognisable to those who’ve used a recent Walkman phone. Plug your Vivaz into a PC or laptop and it will appear on your desktop as a mass storage device. From here, it’s just a case of dragging and dropping your desired tracks from your desktop to the phone and away you go. Firing up the music player in the main menu presents users with a very stylish monochrome list (ala the PS3/ PSP user interface) and lets you sort through your music by artist, album, genre and playlist. Once you’ve selected a track to play, the music player interface will appear on screen and is incredibly user friendly. At the top of the screen the phone lists the artist, album and track name info. Beneath this you get album art (if you’ve uploaded any that is) and below this you’ll find the buttons to pause and skip backwards and forwards, a timer telling you how far through the track you are, volume and more options (such as graphical equalisers).

There is also a back button and you may find this a bit odd but this is actually one of the best features of the music player. You see, hitting the back button won’t actually quit out of the music player but instead minimise it and take you back to the home screen. Your track will continue to play in the back ground and a miniaturised version of the multimedia player is added to the bottom of the home screen in the shortcut box. This works similarly to Windows Media player on your desktop when minimised; you still have full functionality of the music player (the ability to pause, skip etc.) only it’s not occupying the entire screen and allows you to explore other areas of the phone. This isn’t new to mobile phones but the way the Vivaz implements this musical multi-tasking is what really wins us over.

Video is handled in an equally impressive fashion. In addition to the excellent YouTube app, videos that you’ve downloaded elsewhere (such as full movies from Sony Ericsson’s PlayNow store) or recorded with the 720p HD video record feature can be played back on the phone. The video player is clean and easy to use playing your videos in full on the vivid 3.2 inch screen. Tapping on the screen will bring up a host of semi transparent icons such as the timer which again tells you how far through your video clip you are and volume on the right. These disappear after a few seconds taking you back to the main event. Watching videos is a joy and you could quite happily watch a full length movie and the addition of a 3.5 mm audio jack and the superb sound quality really makes this a polished all round viewing experience.

From our time with the Sony Ericsson Vivaz we were highly impressed with what this smartphone/ multimedia hybrid has to offer. The stand out feature is undoubtedly the incredible 720p HD video capture. We’ve seen and used it before on the Samsung i8910 HD but it’s a much more refined experience on the Sony Ericsson. The addition of features such as continuous auto focus and the ease with which videos can be posted to YouTube puts the Vivaz in another league altogether. Combine this with an excellent 8.1 Megapixel camera and Sony Ericsson have definitely got both bases covered.

Elsewhere, the Symbian operating system has come along nicely since we last used it in the Satio. Gone are the bugs and in come even more customisation options and a host of great pre-installed apps such as Facebook and Twitter. The third party app support is a cause for concern with not much on offer at present (and with most of what is available coming at a price) but if Sony Ericsson and the Symbian community can entice more and more developers this could all change. On the hardware front, the touchscreen does take a little getting used to and it is a shame that Sony Ericsson didn’t opt for a capacitive display as it rules out the likes of pinch-to-zoom. But, the ability to use a stylus and support handwriting recognition do go some way to making up for this and for general navigation through web pages and menus, the Vivaz is more than up to the task.

Finally, the design of the phone is stunning, fitting comfortably in your hand and with enough style and subtle flair that you’ll want to show it off to friends. Build quality is equally impressive, despite the fact that Sony Ericsson have opted for plastics (albeit high quality plastics) in favour of metal. The look and feel of the phone is spot on; the Vivaz is easily one of the best looking phone’s we’ve ever had the pleasure of using and thankfully these looks are backed up by a good operating system and some excellent features summed up by the 720p HD video capture.

Along with the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, the Vivaz is a pivotal launch for Sony Ericsson. Thankfully then for Sony Ericsson, the Vivaz is a real joy to use. The company has moved on from the disastrous problems surrounding the launch and failure to launch of the Satio and Xperia X2 respectively, delivering a phone that has something to appeal to all users. Click here to check out our available offers on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz which is available in Silver and Black exclusively at Mobiles.co.uk, part of the Carphone Warehouse.

Sony Ericsson have dabbled with Symbian devices in the past, stretching way back to the P-Series which used Symbian UIQ. The current range however relies on Symbian S60 5th edition which is currently doing the rounds in the Sony Ericsson Satio and a number of touchscreen Nokia phones. For those of you who remember the software problems found on the Satio (which was later resolved with a software update), the Vivaz is sporting version 2.0 of Sony Ericsson’s implementation of Symbian and so the bugs that plagued the Satio’s launch are a distant memory. Sony Ericsson really couldn’t afford to drop the ball when it comes to quality and with the positive moves made in the build and design, these also appear to have been mirrored in the software.

Powering up the Vivaz for the first time will present users with a home screen that is characterised by two blocks of icons; one at the top and one at the bottom of the screen. At the bottom is a large box that occupies the bottom third of the screen. Within it you’ll find four shortcut icons; one to bring up the dialler, a multimedia shortcut, messaging and a search tool which lets you search on the phone or online. Above these icons are your current profile (Silent, Meeting etc.), the time and date and your network provider. In the top right corner of the box is an arrow to maximise the box, revealing a music shortcut key. The Vivaz is of course a capable smartphone, multitasking with aplomb, so playing music in the background is a piece of cake with the track info and music player buttons added to the box at the bottom of the screen. This acts as a nice way of controlling your music player whilst still having an overview of all the other areas of the phone.
Between the Box at the bottom of the screen and the tabs at the top sits a blank space populated only by a stylish background that swirls and re-orientates itself depending on how you hold the phone. On first inspection this appears to be wasted space but it’s actually the key to navigating the tabs. Swiping from left to right will allow you to flick between one of the five tabs at the top of the screen. Of the five tabs, the middle tab represents the home screen itself (complete with the shortcut box at the bottom of the display). On the home screen tab you can tap on the empty area to hide the shortcut box at the bottom. To call it back up you need to, rather oddly, press the call end button. A slight design quirk but you’ll get used to it in no time.

Back to the tabs, the pre-set tabs on our Vivaz were, from left to right, favourite contacts, Twitter, the home screen tab, a quick view of your media player and lastly yet another shortcut area. This shortcut area hosts up to 8 shortcuts which are all user customisable. The shortcuts can be populated with pretty much anything on the phone, from Bluetooth to the pre-installed GPS software. Customising is a fairly simple affair; clicking on the shortcuts tab with reveal a settings icon and tapping on this will reveal the numbered shortcuts 1 through 8 and the applications currently occupying them. Tap on the shortcut you wish to change, choose the new shortcut and voila.

The combination of tabs, the shortcuts within one of the tabs and the shortcut box at the bottom of the screen work well. At first they can be a little daunting but once you’re familiar with the layout, you should find yourself navigating like a pro. There literally are so many ways to get to a feature or application that each user will use a method that suits them best. If this is Symbian’s take on Android, we like it and would love to see Nokia implementing this in their own Symbian phones. Away from the tabs and shortcuts on the home screen, there is of course a traditional menu that can be accessed by the middle hardware button. Once you’ve opened up the main menu, any Nokia user of the past few years will be instantly at home with the interface. Users are presented with 12 icons (that can be organised to prioritise most frequently used at the top of the screen) for areas such as messaging, media and so on. Selecting the required icon will take you into that folder and from there you can get deeper and deeper into the menus. Symbian has often been criticised for an overly complicated (and not particularly intuitive user interface) but the Vivaz seems to strike the right balance. The tabbed/ shortcut home screen provides quick and easy access to your most frequently used areas whilst the main menu, whilst not particularly pretty to look at or fun to navigate, is easy to use.

As a smartphone, the question everyone will be asking about the Vivaz is “what about the apps?” We have the iPhone to thank for this of course with its 100,000 + app store. Well, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is supported by Sony Ericsson’s app store, known as PlayNow. Hitting the PlayNow icon in the main menu will open a web page to take you to the store. Here you can search for specific apps, sort by type (games, apps, music etc.) and check out the latest and most popular additions. There are a good range of apps on offer and the fact that Sony Ericsson include music make this feel more like a revamped iTunes than the app only experience you get with the Android Market. There is one minor drawback though; if you’re after free apps you’re not exactly spoilt for choice. Music tracks come in at £1 per track, games average around the £5 mark and even useless apps that would cost you nothing on an iPhone or Android phone will cost you big bucks here (£3.50 for a fart app, seriously!?). There are some free apps on, good ones at that such as Spotify, but we definitely need more of these to compete with the big names in the app world.

The phone does also include some pre-installed apps such as Facebook, YouTube, the aforementioned Twitter client and a SatNav application called Wisepilot. Wisepilot offers users features such as route planning and general mapping and can also be upgraded to full voice guided navigation on a subscription basis. YouTube is a fairly straight forward app that takes you to a web portal of the popular video sharing site. A search bar lets you find exactly what you’re looking for whilst top rated, most viewed and latest tabs also ease navigation. Click on a video and it nicely zooms to full screen and loads almost instantly. The Facebook app is equally impressive letting you check profiles, upload photos and comment on friends photos. Navigation is quick and easy and the overall user interface is very similar to that found on the full site.

Symbian on the Vivaz is impressive. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate and there are endless customisation options thanks to tabs and shortcuts on the home screen. If you’re new to Symbian you should pick it up fairly quickly and find yourself navigating like a pro. On the apps front, the preinstalled applications on offer are great and the app store is nicely populated, it would just be good to see more free apps coming through. Time will tell how the app community develops but the onus is on Sony Ericsson to make it work.

Join us tomorrow for the final instalment of our review as we check out the web browser and multimedia and give our final thoughts on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.

Sony Ericsson are clearly very excited about the camera on the Vivaz. It is, after all, the company’s first phone to capture video in 720p HD and accordingly, the Vivaz has been given a dedicated video key. One press of the video button will automatically launch the video camera (though you can also fire it up from the main menu) and from here you’re presented with the viewfinder and the familiar column of options on either side of the frame. Starting on the left we have Night mode and Microphone which can be toggled on or off, Focus which can be switched from Auto to Infinite, Exposure rating which can be altered to various values and lastly an Auto mode which does exactly what it says on the tin, switching the phone to Sony Ericsson’s pre-set settings. On the right, we have three non-selectable icons which remind you of which settings you have in place (where videos are being saved to, video size and a video camera icon reminding you you’re recording video). Next to this is the exit key and below this is a quick play icon and a more settings button where you can set a timer, switch the video size, turn on the video light, alter the white balance and add effects (Negative, Sepia etc.).

Once you’ve got the camera settings to your liking, it’s simply a case of hitting the video button again to start recording. When set to 720p, video capture on the Vivaz is nothing short of stunning. Captured videos are smooth and free from choppy transitions, even when capturing moving objects. Video is great on the phone’s 3.2 inch display but all the more impressive when using the TV-Out feature; plug your Vivaz into your TV and watch back video clips worthy of a dedicated video camera. Sound quality is equally high making the whole playback experience a joy (something that the world’s first HD Video phone, the Samsung i8910 HD, struggled with).

For most, selecting Auto for the camera settings will more than suffice but for those who love to tinker, you really can get some great results out of the Vivaz. The feature that you might of heard mentioned in relation to the Vivaz’s HD video capture is continuous auto focus. Selecting auto will simply set the lens in a fixed focus which is perfect for shooting video on stationary or still objects. If however you’re filming a moving object, select continuous autofocus (infinite) and the phone will continue to re-focus on whatever is in shot on the viewfinder, ensuring your resulting captured videos are crystal clear. It’s all very well and good putting 720p HD video in a phone but if it hasn’t got a similarly spec’d lens to boot, the resulting clips will suffer. The Vivaz then, with the added bonus of continuous autofocus, performs admirably and is hands down the best video camera-phone hybrid we’ve ever seen.

Once you’ve recorded a clip and saved it (preferably to the memory card as 720p HD videos aren’t small!), it will automatically be added to your gallery. From here you can send via MMS (though good luck sending 720p HD clips as they’ll be far too large), Bluetooth or send to the web by posting on YouTube. To do this you’ll need to have a YouTube account set up (which is free and takes a matter of minutes) but once you’ve done this you’re just a few short taps away from posting your masterpiece online. Viewing your videos on the phone itself is nice as the video player app is stylish and easy to use. The only drawback to the whole video experience on the Vivaz is that there’s no way to edit your videos. There’s no cropping feature as seen on the iPhone 3GS or Palm Pre and no option to add or remove audio once a clip has been recorded. A minor gripe, and something that could easily be remedied by a software update in the future.

On to the still camera and Sony Ericsson deliver excellent performance without springing too many surprises. The Vivaz boasts an 8.1 Megapixel camera that is bolstered by the likes of Smile and Face detection, an image stabiliser, autofocus and geo-tagging. The resulting photos are of excellent quality with little in the way of noise and bright, but more importantly, natural colours captured. The layout of the camera interface is a carbon copy of that found in the video app with the left side housing different scene, shot, focus and exposure settings as well as an auto mode for quick point and shoot photography. The right side again shows your current settings, a an exit and gallery icon and a more settings button that lets you play around with white balance, activate the image stabiliser and change image size.

The camera on the Vivaz is one of the best 8 Megapixel camera’s we’ve used on a mobile phone, both in usability and the resulting images. There’s also options a plenty once you’ve captured that precious moment with the ability to upload, geo-tag, send, edit, set as a wallpaper or assign to a contact and much more. The only slight let down on the camera front becomes noticeable when taking photo’s in low light conditions. To compliment the HD Video camera, Sony Ericsson have included an LED Flash instead of the more powerful Xenon flash (LED can be used as a video light, Xenon can’t). Whilst this is great news for capturing video at night, it leads to some disappointing results when trying to take a photo. We’ve seen phones include both an LED and a Xenon Flash before (or at least include a dual –LED flash) so this shouldn’t have been beyond the realms of possibility with the Vivaz.

Despite a few minor discrepancies though, the camera on the Vivaz is still superb. 720p HD Video is simply stunning and something we’ll definitely be seeing more of in 2010. The Vivaz could easily revolutionise mobile video sharing and we’ll put our money where our mouth is and bet that a large number of Vivaz users will be taking advantage of the YouTube upload feature. Check back on the blog tomorrow for part three of our review as we take a look at the Symbian operating system, Apps and customization.

The Vivaz, like so many other Sony Ericsson phones before it, started life with a rather kooky codename; Kurara. As the Kurara, the phone was outed in various leaks and sneak previews so by the time the phone was officially unveiled as the Vivaz we already felt we knew all there was to know about the phone before we’d even seen it in the flesh. We were very wrong though, as the design and build quality of the Vivaz is one of its strongest features.

Employing Sony Ericsson’s new ‘Human Curvature’ design philosophy, the Vivaz is itching to be picked up and played with. The subtly curved back fits snugly into your hand whilst the curved top and bottom give the phone a nice symmetrical look. On either side we find a bit of flair in the form of deep blue strips that run the length of the phone whilst the physical keys are made of premium plastics that compliment the smooth lines well. On the reverse, the large round camera lens sits in between a Sony Ericsson logo and the two most important letters in the Vivaz’s alphabet; H and D (more on this later). The phone is also incredibly light weight at a mere 97 g. To put that into perspective, the iPhone 3GS weighs a whopping 135 g and the Satio (Sony Ericsson’s 12MP camera phone) comes in at a hefty 126 g so the Vivaz is definitely a feather weight in comparison. The dimensions of the Vivaz are similarly svelte at 107 mm long and 12.5 mm thick.

The front of the phone is dominated by the 3.2 inch touchscreen display which does well to use most of the real estate on offer which is why the Vivaz is able to be so compact. Above the display, we find the earpiece and below is a curved strip of three hardware keys; call answer, end and menu. On the top of the phone we find the power button and on the right side, from top to bottom you’ve got a volume/ zoom rocker, video key and camera key. On the opposite side sits a Micro USB port which is used for both data connectivity and charging the phone (yay!) and puzzlingly a 3.5 mm audio jack. This is our only gripe with the design of the Vivaz. Whilst it’s good that Sony Ericsson have seen sense and added a 3.5 mm audio jack (rather than their own proprietary port), it seems an odd choice to put it on the side where the headphones will undoubtedly stick out in an awkward fashion. This is fine when the phone’s in your hand but can prove troublesome when in a pocket. This is a minor blip in what is otherwise a great looking, incredibly well designed phone that boasts a premium look and feel through out (something you couldn’t always rely on Sony Ericsson to deliver in the past).

The Vivaz boasts a 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen capable of displaying 16 Million colours on screen. Visually the display on the Vivaz is excellent with bright vivid colours and sharp textures making the phone incredibly easy to use. This is also the case when using the phone outside as the Vivaz doesn’t seem to suffer at all in direct sunlight. Watching video, browsing the web and the phone’s many menus is a real feast for the eyes. The touchscreen also includes an accelerometer that not only handles rotating the screen in certain applications but also boasts intuitive features such as turn to mute calls and alarms. Usability of the touchscreen is competent though it does seem a shame that Sony Ericsson opted for a resistive unit rather than a capacitive touchscreen. Opting for the former rules out multi-touch and in turn nice features such as pinch-to-zoom. It also has an impact on the responsiveness and overall usability as you do need to be quite deliberate with your pokes and prods; simple swipes simply won’t cut it.

Despite the disadvantages, using a resistive touchscreen does have its advantages most notably in the fact that the Vivaz can be used with a stylus. Though the phone doesn’t incorporate one in the actual design, the retail box does include a stylus which can be attached to the bottom of the phone with a lanyard. Using a stylus in areas such as the web browser provides added accuracy so tapping on microscopic icons and links is a possibility that simply wouldn’t be available in a capacitive touchscreen. The touchscreen experience on the Vivaz is comparable to that found on the Satio or one of Nokia’s latest touchscreen offerings such as the N97 Mini; competent without hitting the heights of capacitive touchscreen phones such as the iPhone or HTC HD2.

First impressions of the Vivaz are promising. The design and build quality of the Vivaz is second to none and Sony Ericsson’s Human Curvature ethos is something we hope will continue for many more phones to come. Join us tomorrow on the blog as we take a look at the all important HD video capture to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be and also take a look at the still camera as well.