There are two large, rather significant, differences between the Vivaz pro and the original Vivaz. One is the addition of a full Qwerty keyboard, without adding more than a couple of millimetres to the thickness. The second is the camera, which is now just 5-megapixels instead of 8.
It's as if Sony Ericsson deliberately downgraded the camera to give the original, released only a few months before the Pro, a chance at still getting some sales. Otherwise, why would you not go for the Pro for the sake of 2.5mm extra in depth?
Given the fact the camera has dropped in pixels, the first question is whether it makes much difference to the quality of images. The short answer is, not really. There's an obvious drop in detail, but the sensor also has less noise in low light. Given the disappointing camera interface is unable to offer a simple auto-flash option, and the LED is far too dim to act as a proper flash, it's actually a good thing to be able to take better photos in dimly lit locations. You can also activate the camera even when the phone is locked, using the dedicated camera button, which also has a similar button for the camcorder next to it.
You can also take photos in widescreen mode, which is set by default. This reduces the sensor to 3-megapixels, which is where it begins to impact on overall performance. It's a real backward step for Sony Ericsson, which did so well since the launch of the K750 in 2005. Now, they don't even use the Cyber-shot brand or camera interface anymore.
If you want to take decent pictures, and want to own a phone using Symbian, there's the ageing Satio or Nokia's forthcoming N8.
Video recording is a nicer experience, with HD video capture at 1280x720. Although the video can drop frames when lots of things are happening, you'll still get good results to upload to YouTube or watch on a TV with a TV-cable or streaming to a suitably equipped DLNA television – or, alternatively, you can enjoy them on the device’s 3.2-inch, 360x640 pixel, touchscreen.
Operating system wise, Nokia is in the process of moving on to Symbian's next incarnation of the touchscreen OS. It's not out for a while, but the Vivaz pro uses the current version that has been around since the launch of Nokia's 5800 in 2008. It looks dated and none of the apps seem to have any degree of uniformity. This is what makes an iPhone so easy to use, and leaves the current version of Series 60 looking exactly like you'd expect for something that was originally designed for non-touch.
Besides new themes and some more panels on the standby screen, there's little that has changed from the Satio.
The Satio had a hard time due to a raft of software gremlins, but not as tough a time as any smartphone is now getting for not being either an iPhone or Android phone. Sony Ericsson has joined the Android revolution by introducing the X10, X10 mini and X10 mini pro, which makes the Vivaz pro look even more like something that will only appeal to the most die-hard of Symbian fans. The built-in Twitter and Facebook clients are both extremely lacking in features and design detail, although that is easily rectified by downloading something like Gravity instead.
There may not be many apps on Symbian, but there are some very decent ones. From Opera for a better web browsing experience, to SPB Software's latest Mobile Shell that completely transforms the standby screen and gives something more akin to an Android phone with multiple homescreens and widgets. There's Wi-Fi and GPS inside, and the phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port replacing Sony Ericsson's own non-standard port that has been around for years.
Until the X6, Nokia hadn't managed to produce a decent touchscreen phone. The X6 was Nokia's first capactive touchscreen, but the Vivaz pro is still resistive. It requires firm presses to use, and rules out multitouch. All of this is so frustrating when the phone has a nice feel in the hand, and does a good job of showing off the 'human curvature' theme that will feature in all future models.
If you are a loyal Symbian user that hasn't yet jumped ship, have accumulated a number of apps over the last year, or know every little shortcut and third-party app to improve the user experience, this phone could still be in the running.
One cool aspect of the Vivaz Pro is the slide-out keyboard, which really compensates for the resistive and, frankly archaic, touchscreen interface. The keyboard is very tactile and easy to operate and there are navigations keys at the bottom right to further improve things.
This leads me to conclude that the original Vivaz is redundant. With a keyboard, you can actually type web addresses, texts and emails without issue – and in this context, it's worth dropping 3-megapixels for the pleasure.
Another positive for the phone is the battery life. The phone can sit doing very little for days without dying, and even when you're using it a lot during the day, it won't die on you before you get home.
The Vivaz pro is a phone that you can probably rely on more than a smartphone running another operating system, so if you have different priorities then this phone is a nice looking, and stable, offering.
But, be aware: what you see is what you get.
If you expect more, at least look at the X10 mini pro as an alternative based on Android.
Recycle your phone: Sell Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro
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