Sony Ericsson Hazel 360-degree spin

Design and construction

Two color options are announced for the Sony Ericsson Hazel - Superior Black and Passionate Rouge. It's pretty similar to the paintjob selection for the Elm. Red is perhaps not everyone's (or should we say "men's") cup of tea but the black version is certainly looking to respond to unisex demand.

Just like the Elm, the Hazel's body is said to be splash resistant. We hope to have the chance to test that during a proper review.

An underlying feature of the GreenHeart duo is the ergonomically curved rear: a human curvature as Sony Ericsson call it. As soon as you hold the phone in your hand, you'll get the point. The handset fits your palm nice and tight and in the case of the Hazel, makes sure to slightly raise the keypad for better comfort. Nice, indeed!

One thing we should note though, while we are still on the Elm. Almost the whole rear of candybar is made of metal for a very solid upmarket feel. There's a bit of metallic finish on the Hazel but the truth is it's all plastic. Real metal would've perhaps made it too heavy - the Hazel isn't really preoccupied with being slim.

It's by no means bulky though - it's just that the rear curve wouldn't have allowed an ultra slim waistline. Other than the flashy paintjob, the Hazel actually sticks to minimalist design and has an extra nice and solid hand feel and commendably comfortable handling.

Below the screen there is a neat and spacious navigation deck centered around a rectangular D-pad. Like we observed on the Elm, the layout is clean and very user-friendly.

All keys are very big and comfortable (notably larger than on the Elm, thanks to the slider form factor) and have pleasant press feedback.

The alphanumeric keypad is equally comfortable. Buttons are flat but well sized and solid to press, so typing on the Hazel is a real pleasure.

Backstage we find the 5 megapixel autofocus camera lens, accompanied by a LED flash. The loudspeaker grill is also here.

The build quality of the Sony Ericsson Hazel seems to raise no issues considering the early stages of the phone's development. The all plastic construction is quite solid and the phone feels great in hand. The curved shape and friendly controls make it especially comfortable to handle. The smooth and solid slider run and the nice numpad are worth noting too

Sony Ericsson Hazel comes with a 2.6" 16M-color display of QVGA resolution. The size is a serious advantage over the Elm's 2.2-incher. Hazel display is also covered with mineral glass and is said to be scratch resistant.

Dry facts aside, the screen is gorgeous: image quality is remarkable. The QVGA resolution is hardly anything to write home about but the crisp and vibrant images are what really matters here.