The Z530 seems to be the first officially released phone working with the new Memory Stick Micro card, and it should be cheaper. The keypad is interesting. The number keys are roundels that overlap, which works better than it sounds; the more conventional soft keys and navigation buttons in the upper part are less successful.The phone plays both music and video files pretty well; overall, the Media Player application is intuitive and easy to use. There is no FM radio. The weakest link however is the VGA camera – which has an ‘Extended Mode’ that stretches the pixels in an image to reach an artificial 1.3 megapixel resolution, but it’s not very successful. The camera interface is very simple, and there is a burst mode. But it’s not great.Apart from the poor display and camera, though, the Z530 is a decent phone – it will be a popular choice for those who want an entry-level music phone boasting some extra features. • Basics on a budget
SALEABILITY 60%
SPECIFICATION
Size
Length 90mm
Width 47mm
Depth 24mm
Weight
93g
Main display
UBC, 65K colours
128x160 pixels
28x35mm
Camera
VGA, 640x480 pixels, video
Connectivity
Triband GSM, Bluetooth, IR, USB
Battery
Standby 400h
Talk time 9h
Features
Secondary external display (mono 101x80 pixels),
MP3 player,
Memory Stick Micro card slot