The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a top flight camera phone, sporting a novel design and powered by the Symbian operating system. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the very similar Satio was launched mere months ago to a mixed reception.

Can the addition of high definition recording and a sleeker form factor make the Vivaz a success where the Satio stumbled? Let’s find out.

The Vivaz seems like a conscious decision by Sony Ericsson to go to a more androgynous design, after the legion of boisterous monoliths they have been rolling out in recent months. The ergonomic curvature and attractive lines of the Vivaz is sure to appeal to the fairer sex, and the lightweight frame makes it a pleasure to slip into a purse or back pocket.

The plasticky nature of the device is a bit of shame - especially after hardy handsets like the W995 - but it still exudes a fanciful air thanks to the novel design, with the front of the device almost entirely taken up by a 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen. Three buttons handle call answering, ending and the menu options, just like on the Satio.

The decision to run the handset on the Symbian operating system seems a strange one, especially as the Android revolution gathers momentum and everyone expects new handsets to come App Store-ready and eager to multitask.

The Sony-customised interface is capable, with five home screen panels that handle different functions, from scrolling through image galleries to browser shortcuts and contacts. It is an interesting alternative way to access core functionality without wading through menus, and it seems refined, refreshed and most responsive than when it first appeared on the troubled 12-megapixel Satio.

Whilst not able to download tons of games or applications directly on the device, the majority of Symbian software available does run on the Vivaz with relatively little trouble. A bit of digging online, and you’ll be sure to find a few apps to get things going…

Let’s get the main feature out of the way, the camera on the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is no joke. An 8-megapixel affair, this is taking the concept of convergent devices to an entirely new plain as the digital camera and camcorder functionality are out of this world.

Genuine high definition recording at 24 frames in 720p is nothing short of amazing, and one button uploads to YouTube mean that your next viral effort might end up looking uncomfortably professional if the Vivaz has anything to do with it.

The autofocus lens and LED flash make the Vivaz a high end handset when it comes to still images too, with frills like touch focus, face and smile detection ensuring each picture is an impressive captured moment.

The Vivaz does still boast a selection of welcome bonuses to a fashion phone including Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth, whilst audiophiles can breath a sigh of relief as the handset packs 8GB of memory (via an SD card), plus a 3.5mm audio jack. At least someone is listening to our pleas of a headphone jack after all these years!

Calling and messaging, in fact most of the Vivaz’s core functionality will feel comfortably familiar to Nokia handset users, understandable in that the Finnish phone maker is in fact responsible for the Symbian platform, in question.

Whilst good in some ways, it inherits a lot of the problems common to the latter Nokia touch screen devices including unresponsiveness when writing texts at speed, difficulty scrolling through menus as well as a lackluster browsing experience. As much as we dislike poking and prodding with added equipment, we suggest using the stylus supplied as well as installing a third party web browser such as Skyfire or Opera to the Vivaz as soon as humanly possible.

Battery life was more than decent, getting two and a half days out of a single charge. We did steer clear of the wi-fi and went easy on the music, min, so your personal experience may differ.

Style with added substance due to the awesome quality of the camera, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is certainly the one to best in the fashion phone stakes. From the distinctive name to the posh styling and HD credentials, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a perfect example of a handset with great features and even better marketing behind it.  

Coming for free on deals from around £25, the Vivaz is our pick of the fashion phone elite.