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20 Aug 2001
Sony MZ5 Cellular Phone Review
by theVooner
[I realize that this phone may only be usable in countries that use the GSM 900/1800
setup. This obviously excludes the US, but nevertheless, I thought this was a
really neat gadget so I thought I would do a quick review of it.]
Upset at having lost my mobile phone, I came back to Hong Kong to seek out
a new one. Of course, there are not many new models available. I’m still
waiting for the Nokia GPRS phones. I’ve never been a fan of Motorola or
Ericsson. So what do you buy? Well sometime back I owned a Sony which is now
being used by my girlfriend. It’s nice. So I thought about getting one.
I’ve been waiting for a new Sony phone for some time and there hasn’t
been one. Then they came up with this really ugly model, the J-16.
It was terrible.
I went to PCCW (my Hong Kong mobile operator) to get a new SIM card. I also
decided to buy a new mobile phone at that time. My options were pretty limited
- there just wasn’t anything new. Initially, I wanted to have a phone that
would operate in the US. But, since I didn’t want to buy the same phone
again (Nokia
8890) and I didn’t plan to go back to the US for some time, I could
pretty much buy any phone I wanted.
 The
newest phone in town is the Sony CMD-MZ5. Its biggest claim to fame is that
this is Sony’s “Music Cellular Phone”. It’s Sony’s
first convergent phone that tries to do two things: 1) be a mobile phone, and
2) be a MP3/ATRAC3 player. The CMD-MZ5 accepts the Sony Memory Stick so you
can actually use it to play music.
After looking at the demo model, I decided to go for it and I walked away with
a new mobile phone.
Before I review the phone, I just want to add one thing. This is probably a
surprise to some of you that have read my past reviews. I’m not a fan of
“convergent” products (gadgets that try to do more than one thing)
because I always feel that you should just buy an item that does one thing and
one thing REALLY WELL. Products that have two, three, or four different functions
tend to sacrifice quality, functions, or something else. As a standalone, products
tend to jam pack the device with as many functions for that individual item,
i.e. more options in taking pictures, more choices with your music, whatever.
How many items are out there that try to do too much? So why did I choose the
MZ5? Well, I’m actually a bit confused myself. As I later explain, my thesis
holds true - convergence sucks.
Form
 The
MZ5 from a straight-on perspective resembles the older Z18 phone. Unfortunately,
the same cannot be said of a side comparison. The MZ5 is a huge, fat phone.
Mobile phones have shrunk in size today to become a very portable device. I
have to admit: I love Nokia. They are the perfect size, weight, and functionality
that we’ve come to expect from a phone. The MZ5 though was disappointing.
I hate that it’s so big that you can’t put it in your pocket. Additionally,
Nokia has done a great job of getting rid of the antenna. Instead the MZ5 has
a great big one that just looks out of place. The only redeeming fact about
the MZ5 is that the blue color around the trimmings is a lovely shade of blue.
Other than that this is a fat plastic brick.
 The
Memory Stick goes in at the top of the phone and next to it is the earphones
plug. Sony has done a pretty good job of packing in all the buttons and plugs
so that you can do both functions - listen to music or talk on the phone. An
‘Eject’ button sits on one side while the ‘Line In’ plug
sits on the other. All of the buttons are well placed and covered by a nice
plastic cover.
Function
 I
knew there was a problem with the initial Sony Z-18 phones. The sound in the
earpiece was sporadic and sometimes you couldn’t hear the other party (or
they couldn’t hear you). I had read and heard though that this was later
fixed and it wasn’t going to be a problem with the next generation phones
(i.e. the MZ5). Well, it’s true and false. Yes, it does sound a lot better
than the Z-18, but it still is far from being very good. I’ve had enough
phones to know a good one from a bad one - this one is somewhere in the middle.
While volume isn’t a problem anymore, no matter how loud you turn up the
speaker, the other person still sounds like they’re in a tunnel or something.
It’s sort of a weird echo-like tunnel noise that just doesn’t sound
like my other phones. So for sound quality, the phone was disappointing.
I’m still mixed on the functions of the phone. They are much harder to
navigate than Nokia, but maybe that’s because I’m just too used to
Nokia. I can tell you that it is much better than either Motorola or Ericsson.
Overall, as I navigate through the phone functions, it does incorporate many
of the necessary and useful features that I’ve come to rely upon. (You’d
be surprised at how convenient the built-in alarm clock can be.) You’ve
got the usual WAP, calendar, calculator, etc. functions which I now have come
to rely upon. I also like the memory function which allows you to store different
numbers under one name so I can program my parents’ mobile, home, and office
number under one name.
 As
with almost all Sony products these days, you get a jog dial. This jog dial
though is different than the ones on the Vaio because not only can you turn
the dial up and down but you can also move the dial inwards and outwards. I
don’t know how else to describe this but it’s a really neat and useful
function.
Turning to the MZ5 as a music player. Well, what can you say? It stores music
on the Memory Stick (a 64 MB MagicGate is included) using Sony’s proprietary
ATRAC3 technology. Before I get into the music itself, a word about the Memory
Stick. Sony’s attempt to control copyrights has led to the introduction
of the MagicGate Memory Stick. This is a pain. I have so many other Sony Memory
Sticks, but none of these are MagicGate (the white colored Memory Sticks) and
as a result, they won’t work in the MZ5. Too me, that’s ridiculous.
I refuse to buy more memory sticks just to use in this device.
One thing neat about the phone is that you can plug in a CD directly into the
phone for recording. Using the included optical cable, you can plug, for example,
a Sony CD player directly into the MZ5. Recording is a relatively easy process.
You get all sorts of functions regarding the quality of the recording, name
titling, etc. These are all made easier with the jog dial. When listening to
music you have to plug the included earphones in - the phone does not act as
a ‘speaker’ so you can’t listen to music through the earpiece
on the phone. One neat thing though is that you can listen to music and if the
phone should ring, you will hear a ringing in the background. You can then push
a button on the microphone and speak as through a normal earpiece/mic for mobile
phones. This is neat although when you have earphones on and you start talking,
people just think you are singing really badly!
 I
recorded about 10 songs onto the Memory Stick (you can record about 64 minutes
of music on a 64MB stick using the best quality) and I have to admit the sound
is very good. Close enough to my MD player. Overall, I would say this is the
exact same as I would expect from either the Sony
Network Walkman or the Music Clip players.
Factor
 Overall,
this isn’t a bad attempt for a convergent product. I use the music function
every now and then so it isn’t too bad. As I’m sure you noticed, I
have two big complaints though: 1) it is just too big as a phone, and 2) it’s
way too expensive. For what I paid for the MZ5, I could have bought the Sony
Network Walkman AND a Nokia phone. I’ve already gone through the downside
of its size so I won’t get into it again except to say that this is the
first phone I’ve had in years that I couldn’t stick in my pocket.
The MZ5 is a big WASTE OF TIME and within
the next year, I’m sure you’ll get a lot of new phones and ATRAC3/MP3
players. I suggest you buy each one SEPARATELY, that way, you’ll get the
best product for each function, rather than a mediocre product that does both.
theVooner can be reached at theVooner@yahoo.com
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