A few years ago, Windows Phone tried to make a splash with vibrant colors, sharp contours and unusual palettes. Then things got a little quiet. Now Windows Phone 10 is suddenly upon us, and Japanese phone makers are generally keeping colors a little bit more muted, while moving to classier-looking materials. Going toe to toe with the textured beauty of the NuAns Neo Windows Phone, here’s VAIO’s second smartphone. It’s called the VAIO Phone Biz, but I’d prefer if you were distracted by the pretty aluminum shell than the ridiculous name. It’s dressed for business, even if no-one’s looking to shake hands with a Japanese-only (for now) Windows Phone.
The good and bad part is, it feels like many hit smartphone from the past. There’s a satin-like shimmer to the aluminum body, like we’ve seen on multiple Android phones in recent memory, and it all feels classy, if a little bit already done. And while I’m more than happy with a phone that sticks to 1080p resolution, the screen quality isn’t all that good. Tilting the phone away from square-on, and the brightness and colors fade away. Bright spotlights and daylight soon make viewing a challenge unless I crank the brightness levels to full, and it already feels odd to see a new smartphone without a USB-C port — aside from an iPhone, that is.
The aluminum engineering ensures it feel suitably premium, although the press release fluff about how someone is going to want to use one for years and years is lost on me. Then again, this is the country where flip-phones still cling to life — so perhaps VAIO have chosen the right market. Priced at over $400, SIM-free, it might have to do a hell of a lot of networking to sell itself to the typical phone buyer: A challenge that’s there for all Windows Phones.