Pebbles Amongst Rocks
This article is also contributed by Wong Casandra.
To be honest,
Sony Ericsson
didn't really push out as many devices and services as we had hoped for during this year's Mobile World Congress. Even so, the company did give us some pleasant surprise with the unveiling of its Android-based Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and its new variations. Namely, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro. Sony Ericsson has certainly been following up closely with the Google Android partnership; barely four months after the official announcement for the Android-powered Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, the company has added these two new compact units to complement the original X10 flagship.
Lucky for us, we recently got our hands on an early build of both the X10 mini and X10 mini pro. In this preview, we will be giving you a preview of these two compact alternatives that offer the functionality and specification features of its bigger brother in a significantly smaller and lighter body.
 With a screen size of only 2.55 inches across, the X10 mini and X10 mini pro are possibly one of the smallest Android phones on the market. Like its bigger comrade, the three staple buttons are present on the front - Menu, Home and Back. |
 Both units are outwardly fashioned after the X10 - boasting of an equally fingerprint-magnet glossy front cover. However, the back of the devices are covered with a matte black surface that's non-slip and easy to grip. |
 While not as lean as the X10, its successors are still relatively thin. Seen here are the camera and volume buttons for both devices (the pro version is of course the bottom unit). |
 The X10 mini houses its 3.5mm audio jack and a Micro-USB port at the bottom (hidden by the plastic cover). |
 We preferred the X10 mini pro for its easy access to the Micro-USB port at the side, and the 3.5mm audio jack at the top. |
 After checking out the X10 mini pro's removable battery, we were surprised to see a non-removable one on the X10 mini.
Built for your Fingers
Placed side-by-side, you probably can't distinguish the X10 mini from its sibling, the X10 mini pro. But slide the display, and the difference is as obvious as day and night. The X10 mini pro, though measuring at just a mere 90 x 52 x 17mm, managed to squeeze a petite QWERTY keyboard into its frame. Without the physical QWERTY keypad, the X10 mini functions with a virtual, old-school numeric keypad (understandably, due to space constraints).
 Not much of a difference is seen here for both the X10 mini and X10 mini pro, until... |
 ...a slight push, and a petite QWERTY keyboard reveals itself under the X10 mini pro's 2.55-inch screen. |
 Small and compact, the X10 mini pro's keys were stiff and needed some prodding to work. Since ours is a pre-production unit, hopefully the retail version betters this aspect. |
Sony Ericsson wasn't kidding when it dubbed these two devices as mini. The contrast between the devices' size and our hands can be clearly seen. As such, one might be concerned over the user experience on the miniaturized units.
Thankfully, we found the experience to be fairly positive - surfing and navigation are extremely snappy and responsive on both units. While we were a little apprehensive over the devices' minute 2.55-inch screen, the intuitive Sony Ericsson Timescape user interface (UI) has been streamlined to fit the physical restraints of the device. There are some slight changes from its X10 companion, such as a useful four-corner touch screen user interface that's omnipresent on the main pages. This will serve as an important cornerstone of the X10 mini user experience.
 Resembling the X10's interface, the X10 mini and X10 mini pro makes some modifications, with four customizable shortcuts at the corners of the screen. |
 Instead of the Android's three-page layout, you can add as many widgets as you want, though it's limited to one widget per page. |
 Timescape, as seen on the X10, is also found on the X10 mini and X10 mini pro. Unfortunately, you won't find Mediascape here. |
Do keep in mind that both the X10 mini and the X10 mini pro that we were 'manhandling' were pre-production units. We were pleasantly surprised at how smooth the interface performed even for an early unit. Nonetheless, we reserve our verdict on the phones' performance until the retail-ready units are out. What we can share is the fact that the X10 mini and X10 mini pro will be available in selected markets from the second quarter of 2010 in various colors. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
By Seow Tein Hee
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