Sony Ericsson Vivaz: HD videocam phone

Sony Ericsson likes to do your thinking for you. Its latest high-end touchscreen media phone, the Vivaz, is based on the Symbian S60 5th edition OS, but Son Eric has preloaded it with such a panoply of apps that most people won't look further. The focus is on the features, and it's not lacking those: at the top of the ticket is an 8-megapixel camera that records 720p hi-def video.

The 81mm (3.2-inch) screen has a decent 360x640-pixel resolution, which Sony Ericsson has the cheek to call 'nHD' or 'nearly high definition'. That's higher-res than the iPhone, but not as good as the Nexus One. Nevertheless, it should make reviewing your footage a pleasure. Mobile opuses (opi?) will be recorded to an included 8GB microSD card. 

Those preloaded, Sony Ericsson-approved applications include YouTube for uploading your work over Wi-Fi, plus Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, an Office viewer and a couple of 3D games. Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation is available too, but at a cost of €70 (£60), which is looking distinctly bad value since Nokia's free Ovi Maps jamboree.

Connectivity includes 3G/HSPA, micro USB, Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as DLNA, which means you should be able to stream your videos to a compatible TV over your Wi-Fi network.

Sony Ericsson says the Vivaz will be available in the next few months, so keep your eyes on Crave for an early review as soon as we get our hands on one. Prices and networks haven't been announced yet.

Here's the Symbian interface.

A straight-on view of the video recorder.

That'll be the 8-megapixel camera there.

The curvy sides. The right side has dedicated camera, video and zoom keys.

Here it is in its many-coloured glory. With just a selection of the technologies it's aiming to obsolete.