Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro
At around this time last year Sony Ericsson launched its debut Android OS-based smart-phone called the Xperia X10 and has, just this week, announced two new and much smaller versions of the X10 named the X10 Mini, and the X10 Mini Pro and were unveiled for inspection and initial reactions at the Mobile World Congress trade-show in Barcelona. The two new devices, the X10 Mini and Mini Pro, are fairly dwarfed by the earlier X10 and initially Sony Ericsson representatives were somewhat wary of being able to provide the excellent fast and smooth running of applications that were found on the X10's capacitive touchscreen and software on such small devices as the new X10 Mini and Mini Pro. In fact they stated that the company must, to this end, modify the phone's interfaces a little with shortcuts located in all four corners of the device’s 2.5-inch QVGA touchscreen displays that are highly customisable.
Underneath the user modifications is still Google's Android operating system and it runs extremely well on its 600 MHz processor - especially considering the small size of the screens. The devices will have access to the Android Marketplace for apps and this has rapidly become a serious competitor to Apple's AppStore. Many mobile phone enthusiasts feel that it will be fascinating to see how things develop on this score given the competitiveness of each.
One immediate difference between the new devices comes with the keyboard. The X10 Mini has a rather dainty on-screen keyboard, and the first impression is that users with rather larger than average digits may well stumble over the keyboard and make rapid messaging and e-mailing somewhat irksome. To this end Sony Ericsson put their thinking into the Xperia X10 Mini Pro which features an integral hardware keyboard. This does, however, make the Mini Pro device a good deal thicker and heavier than the X10 mini and would definitely make it rather cumbersome to take on regular travels and trips.
Both devices are GSM phones featuring 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth as well as a GPS receiver, making widespread connectivity easy and pain-free. Both phones also come with a microSD memory cards slot, enabling the user to bulk up on memory storage capacity for those extra photos and videos along with information sharing across social networks. They both also come with an integral 5 megapixel camera - very useful with a flash, affording good performance in most lighting conditions. There will also be an FM radio for listeners who enjoy tuning in from time to time. The X10 Mini specifications stand at a height of 3.3 inches, with a width of 2 inches and a thickness of 0.6 inches while weighing in at 88 grams. Meanwhile, the X10 Mini Pro will be 3.5 inches tall, 2 inches wide and 0.7 inches thick, weighing in at a more portly 120 grams.
It is thought that, with current release dates for the devices still somewhat vague, Sony Ericsson may perform some tweaking with regards to the operating system for the devices and their Timescape facility will be mooted as a central feature that would allow users to access all of their communications with their mobile contacts from one place. It would also allow simple and easy access to the device's history as well as social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging. As for colours the Mini Pro will initially come in just red and black, whilst the Mini will be available in black, red, pearl white, pink, lime and silver, affording far more choice for the fashion conscious. Despite current obfuscation, release date is likely to be some time in the second quarter of this year.
