With Sony Ericsson Xperia series, small things do come in little pakcages. The Xperia X10 Mini (E10i) and Mini Pro (U20i) is Sony Ericsson’s latest offering. These two smartphones were both designed after the much bulkier X10 Android 1.6.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro comes in an almost matching form. Except for the Mini Pro’s slide-out QWERTY keyboard, detachable battery and location of some handset features, the two Xperia phones have an identical set of amazing features. Internally, the X10 Mini and Mini Pro both have a Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz processor. This is the same processor found in Legend, Aria, HD Mini and MyTouch 3G Slide. The touchscreen with its 2.55-inch 240 x 320 LCD capacitive surface is also something to rave about. The other remarkable features include 5 megapixel camera with autofocus component, microSD expansion, micro-USB port, FM radio, A-GPS, Bluetooth attached with A2DP as well as 802.11b/g WiFi.
Compared to the Mini Pro, the X10 Mini comes with a numerical pad-style virtual keyboard. As for Mini Pro’s slide-out QWERTY keypad, it comes with a surprising tactile feedback and well-designed key spacing except for the unusual positioning of the shift key and non-offset rows of the keyboard. In order to accommodate all these exceptional features, the Mini Pro is a bit lengthier and heavier in terms of built at 18mm as compared to the 16mm Mini.
What sets the two handsets apart is actually the uniquely designed “human curvature” that is all Sony Ericsson’s own. In terms of color, there are six distinctive colors of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini to choose from – metallic red, lime, pearl white, black, glossy silver and glossy pink. In contrast, there are only three color choices for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro – black, pearl white and red. But be warned that the shell cases of the Mini and Mini Pro are not interchangeable because of the distinct sizes and layout designs.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro seems to edge out the Mini when it comes to the button layout on the right side. Its camera button with its wider design is more within reach while its volume keys is comfortably positioned near the right thumb. In addition, the micro-USB port and headphone jack is better positioned in the Mini Pro as well.
With the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro, the LCD is a diminutive 2.55-inch. This means that you will get a fairly low resolution on the touchscreen which may be incompatible with some common apps like Robo Defense, WeatherBug, PdaNet, Tumblroid, and Engadget. The small screen will also not be easy for using the A-GPS for car navigation. But you can still use the Google Maps for other purposes. Despite the disadvantages, one outstanding feature is the easy outdoor use of the touchscreen. This explains the long battery power of about 12 hours for both the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini Pro comes with Android 1.6. Although there is a 2.1 Android promised by Sony Ericsson on the third quarter of this year, the Android 1.6 still provides a respectable performance. The associated features with the Android 1.6 is the easy navigation using one finger to prompt the zoom bar in the album app as well as the quick scroll device in its browser that is handily activated by clicking on the button found on the bottom-left. Google Maps app is also easy to navigate with the zoom buttons.
A lot of bonus software is also added like the 30-day trial of Wisepilot car navigation app, NeoReader barcode scanner, TrackID music identifier, PlayNow online store, Timescape, and a lot more. For the Mini Pro in particular, you get an added Creatouch app for the artistic creations used as wallpaper or uploaded on Facebook or Picasa. The music player can also be navigated easily and allows for infinite music experience that uploads YouTube videos and music selection with PlayNow. The video player on the Mini and Mini Pro may not allow for 720p and above videos to be played but it still lets MP4 video clips to be played even if you are mobile. On the other hand, the two Minis is packed with a two-stage camera button that allows you to initiate the app and focus the lens at the same time.
Finally, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Minis come with a PC Companion for Windows. This permits four extra apps such as Media Go, Support Zone, Sony Ericsson Sync in beta, and File Manager. Media Go stands out with its media syncing utility.
There is simply no other obvious choice for petite and economical smartphones. Get one of the Minis and enjoy a totally amazing experience!