When it comes to electronics, Sony has always been on the top and also has gained huge reputation and appreciation among all its users. Sony has lately come into the mobile phone industry after seeing enormous success in the sales of other electronic goods. Despite the late entry, it still managed to withstand the enormous peer pressure especially with the likes of Nokia and Samsung already being popular and well settled in the mobile phone market. Out of all phones released by Sony, the Ericsson has been one of the most popular and at the same time, highly successful brand of mobile phones in the market.

This particular series, released by Sony which is regarded as one of the greatest producer of consumer electronics along with Samsung, has been a commercial hit of late and this is the solid reason behind why Sony is still releasing Ericsson series mobile phones into the market. Each phone that belongs to the Ericsson series has got world class features and is also regarded as an excellent performer too. Now, with such a huge reputation, Sony has released the XPERIA mobile phones. One of them is the X10 mini and it is our topic of interest now. Let us analyze this new phone from Sony and see if it conforms to our expectations.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Smartphone

Design:

The lightest ever:

Now here we have got one of the lightest phones ever in the market. Though it looks a bit out of the trend, it still is quite sleek. It is a bit wider than normal and this is quite surprising since today’s mobile phones are too rectangular in shape. But then, this shape can be quite comfortable to use as well since you get to experience new comforts while using such a mobile phone. Since the phone is touch responsive, a wider screen helps as you can use two hands at a time. Hence, multitasking becomes easier than ever. Measuring about (H x W x D) 83 x 50 x 16 mm, it is one of the smallest mobile phones you will ever see in the market. It hence justifies the name Mini. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini weighs an incredible 88 grams, which is approximately half the usual weight of an average mobile phone. Now, this shows how portable the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is. Though there is this slide out QWERTY keypad, which adds to the features list, the device is still quite slim and fit. You can actually slip it into your jeans or even into the smallest off handbags. This enhances the user friendliness of the mobile since it can be used and held comfortably by most people. Now most of the youth likes this very fact that their mobile is sleek, attractive and portable at the same time. It actually adds a lot of value to its users.

Colours Galore:

Now with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, there is a lot of room for customization and probably, customer satisfaction. Though there are numerous models in the Xperia series already, the X10 has come up with a different type of customisation facility. There are as many as twelve colours in all for you to choose from and the colours are also widely diverse and not just shades of the same colour. The Xperia X10 is available in the following colours: Black, White, Pink, Pearl, Pale Pink, Gold, Orange, Silver, Azure, Light Silver, Lime and Red. This allows you to choose the mobile and the colour of your choice, which is always welcome, isn’t it?

Display:

The Xperia X10 comes with a 2.55 inch TFT capacitive touch screen display. Now since it is capacitive type touch screen, there is no need to use a stylus. Hence no stylus is provided. You can interface it comfortable with your fingers. The screen resolution is actually 240 x 320p and this low screen resolution is understandable since it is a mini phone. The normal mobile phones come with a resolution that is twice as good as this but this mobile phone does not need a better screen resolution. Now this screen has got some special features. It has got a scratch resistant surface, which is pretty much necessary since the mobile is mostly intended to be used by youth, who are expected to be quite rough with the handling and usage of their mobile phones. Hence, even if the screen undergoes rough handling, it still does not show up any scratches, lines or cracks. This is a pretty good sign indeed. Then there is the accelerometer sensor which is embedded in the screen itself and this helps you detect acceleration under various circumstances. Hence the display if the Xperia X10 also provides you with a lot of options.

Features:

Now when it comes to features, the mobiles from Sony rank among the top, be it the number of features or the credibility of them or even the innovative ideas that take to introduce them. After a long time, Sony and Android have collaborated for another time and you cannot expect anything better to happen in this world. With that being the best feature of the day, we will, in this features section, discuss more and more new features and innovations that are seen on this new and promising mobile phone from Sony, the Xperia X10.

Android:

Android has become one of the fastest and best selling operating systems in the mobile market. It has got in it something very special that wonderfully suits the latest PDAs and high end mobile phones, like the Xperia X10 mini. Since it has got an array of features and shortcut applications that make your work simpler and at the same time save your time, it is being used in more mobile phones of late and is also widely renowned. The newest version of the Android operating system is being used in the Xperia X10 and it has come up with quite a few applications and add-ons, even more than ever, only in order to make things easier for the users. If you look at the latest added applications, you will find instant messaging, internet add-ons which are preloaded, instant Googling, Instant email, and most interestingly, instant access to YouTube. Hence you can suddenly access almost everything quicker than ever. You can even download your favorite applications from the Android Market. And if you are using 3G, then your connection to the internet is even faster and you can mail, watch videos and Google search even faster than ever before. This is a pretty good sign for any latest mobile phone. The Android Platform is also powered by a very powerful and efficient CPU or processor, which in turn helps it perform at a very fast rate. This means that even if you have an overload of applications, your mobile will work pretty well and it will never be jammed. There are two different versions of this operating system, namely version 1.5 and version 2.0. You can select either of them while you are purchasing the device.

Processor:

Since quite some time, Sony has been sticking with the processors manufactured by Qualcomm. The Xperia X10, however, may have just been associated with the wrong processor. Well, no offence, but the clock speed of the Qualcomm MSM 7227, is a mere 600 MHz. You might already be musing over the fact that many of today’s PDAs come with a 600 MHz processor, but please note that the Sony Ericsson mobile phones are supposed to be high end devices and are hence expected to perform at a higher level than most of the other competitors. And with the abounding Android applications, numerous features and internet facility with the 3G facility, all along with an expectation for great multitasking, it would definitely have been great if there was a faster and better processor. The device could do nothing wrong with the existing processor but then, you would have loved a faster processor.

Google Support:

Imagine what happens when two of the giants of information technology collaborate. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, it is great and it is even better if the two giants end up being Google and Android, which are two of the most commercially successful companies. Now limiting ourselves to the Xperia X10 mobile phone, you will find quite a few exciting applications powered by a Google, and more interestingly, on an Android base. It doesn’t get any better, does it? Now Google has provided on the Xperia X10, three of its most famous and powerful tools, viz., Google Search, Google Maps and Google Mail, which includes the Google Voice Mail service.  Hence, you can always feel good while using the Xperia X10 because there will be nothing new when it comes to surfing the internet and using the basic applications. It is all easy and quite exciting to use and also is fun actually. Well, Android always brings along something entertaining. Another fact is that when you combine the utilities provided by Google Maps and the GPS service provided by your mobile, your results will be faster, smarter, and more candid than normal.

Timescape:

Timescape is a whole new very interesting feature initiated by Sony in order to provide a few exciting features on the Xperia X10 mini Smartphone. First of them is an animated view of all your messages, emails, facebook updates, Tweets, and so on, which gives a very interesting look to your mobile phone. You can flip around the tablet views and select the update you want to view separately. You can also select the contacts you want from the available list of all contacts and all your contact details and history will be shown to you and the status updates they have made in the past, the tweets they have made and the comments that you have posted on their profiles, photos that you people are tagged in, and all such details will be shown in a new exciting manner. You can hence directly send messages, status updates, or emails, or even ping them for chat directly from this view. Hence, this proves to be one very exciting feature on the whole. Well, more than the feature, the very look of it is quite interesting and trendy too and hence it can be a great tool for you. It looks great and also at the same time, makes things easy for you to deal with. Timescape is regarded as an exclusive feature of the Sony Xperia series mobile phones and hence are not seen anywhere else. Hence, this unique feature may help boost the sales of the Xperia X10 mini.

Xperia X10 Mini Multiple Views

GPS:

From the time when GPS came into full existence and is fully used mainly in cars, people from all over the world found travelling very easy. Particularly when you go to a new place, the GPS system helps you reach your destination quickly and easily. Now, of late this GPS system is being integrated into handheld devices as well, in order to provide more access to foreign places all over the world. With this system at your fingertips, you can quickly know where the nearest bus station is, or you can find the details of the nearest theatre, shopping malls, or restaurants, so on and so forth. This will avoid any confusion in your mind while travelling in new places. It also comes in the form of a very user friendly application, which has panning and zooming options so that you can view the maps at your will. Landscape view also makes it better for you to locate the places of your interest. Hence, GPS is also another important feature seen on the Xperia X10.

GPRS:

General Packet Radio Service or GPRS has come into existence only a few years ago and it, when combined with 2G or 3G, gives you high speed data transfer and hence at the end of the day, you get the benefits of a high speed and also qualitative communication. The GPRS system on the Xperia X10 gives a very decent bandwidth, which can range up to 85.6 kbps, which is quite larger than the ones seen on normal mobile phones. GPRS, when combined with 2G system, is effectively known as 2.5G as it boosts up the performance of the 2G system. Since the Xperia X10 mini comes with a GPRS service, it is actually beneficial to the customers.

3G:

Ever since 3G has entered the mobile market, high speed web access has become quite simple and accessible. Though 2G was a decent success among the users a few years ago, 3G has surpassed all norms when it comes to the speed of access and the amount of data that can be received in a stipulated amount of time. Latest and unforeseen features are being provided of late by 3G and the services include the following: wide area wireless voice telephone, video calling facility, mobile Internet access, mobile TV, high speed internet access, and high download speeds. Since it has become quite popular now, the costs are also being cut down by the service providers. Hence this is almost like the perfect time to fully utilize the amazing mobile features provided by 3G. Coming to the Xperia X10, you can choose either of 2G or 3G device sets when you are purchasing. So you have got an option beforehand so that there is no regretting later on. There are two types of networks that are seen here. One is the GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, which is for 2G and the other one, HSDPA 900 / 2100 or HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100, which is for 3G. You can choose either of them.

Wi-Fi:

When there are many other exciting features on the Xperia X10, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Wi-Fi system featuring here. But there is something special about the Wi-Fi system used here, about which we are going to tell you. Now some devices find it difficult to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot and their connections are also not quite strong. But you would not find any such problems with the Xperia X10 mini, as it has a robust Wi-Fi mechanism that easily connects you to an available port, amplifies the signal if it is weak, and holds the connection for longer intervals of time. You can even browse through the internet pretty quickly and also even watch videos on YouTube with little buffering. Hence, you have got to appreciate the way the Xperia X10 works when it comes to wirelessly connecting you to the internet.

Camera:
Most of the mobile phones do not give much importance to their cameras and they feature only primitive cameras that are capable of only taking mediocre pictures and less than average videos. But since the Xperia X10 has been revamping all its features and options, it has once again provided a better camera for you to get more out if it. A 5 mega pixel camera is too good for a mobile phone and as if it is not enough, there is an LED flash light abutting the lens of the camera so that it would be easy for you to shoot or to take pictures in low light conditions. The pictures come with great quality and with a resolution that is as good as 2592 x 1944 pixels. This means that the photos can be printed too. The videos are captured at 30 frames per second and in VGA so that it is easy for conversions in future. The camera comes with auto focus feature so that the lens automatically focuses on the subjects. You do not need to change the focus from time to time. Geo Tagging is also available for the videos and photos such that it allows you to tag the places where the pictures have been taken. Overall, the camera is more than useful to the commons.

Memory:

The memory available on the device is perhaps the only disappointing thing here as the rest of things are simply quite attractive. Now you have got only about 128 MB of memory on the device by default. But then, according to Sony, practically you can store unlimited contacts and call logs on your device as they only require little space. When it comes to solid or real data like documents, music, sound files and videos files, memory is limited and 128 MB is not at all sufficient. Hence Sony has given an option for you to buy an external Memory card from the stores, which you need to buy separately, and use it in the device. Micro SD cards up to capacities of 16 GB are supported by the Xperia X10 mini PDA Smartphone. Now 16 GB is very good indeed for any kind of user and you can store lots of music, videos and documents in your device. Customers are once again reminded that only micro SD cards are supported and any other kind of card is not compatible with the device. Hence, if external memory is supplied to the device, it works wonderfully well.

Performance:

Regarding the features, the Xperia X10 mini has been too good for its price tag. There are lots of new and exciting features offered by the device for the first time. But has it been able to live up to the expectations of the general public when it comes to its performance? Let us see how far it has been able to do it.

General Performance:

In general, the performance of the device has been very good. It has passed all the tests conducted and also has come out to be very good. Though the processor is a bit slower than normal, the device still managed to work very well and if you install good memory onto your device, it works faster than otherwise. The revamped user interface has been awesome to say the least band it would be an enjoying experience using the device. All the new features have helped the device perform faster and better than ever before. Hence there are no worries regarding the general performance of the Xperia X10 mini.

Audio and Video Performance:

The audio on the device is really good to be honest. The device has got good quality speakers so that you get decent sounds out of it. Since there is an mp3 player and also an FM radio application on the mobile, it would be good to play them when you are on the go. You are also provided with a set of earphones. The quality of the sound is very good. Regarding the video performance, we have already seen that there is a very good display mechanism on the device and also there is a good quality camera. Hence the video performance of the device is also fine and commendable.

Connectivity:

As we have already seen, the Xperia X10 Mini PDA Phone is excellent when it comes to connectivity. It has Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and what not? Since there are so many options for you to get connected to your friends and family, you can say that the connectivity of the device is pretty good in deed. Now you can also connect the device to your computer at home, using the mini USB cable provided along with the device. Hence, you can easily sync lots of data items like music, movies, documents, videos, sound files, and voice messages and so on. Hence, in two words, the device’s connectivity is top class.

Xperia X10 Mini Phone Colours

Battery:

Since there are lots of features and utilities on the Xperia X10 mini, the device uses many applications at once. Hence it obviously needs to have a very good battery backup, which it actually has. With the new revolutions in the battery technology, mobile phones are now made to last longer than they have ever before. Coming to the Xperia X10, its standby by time is up to a whopping 360 hours when you use 3G. Surprisingly, when you use 2G or 2.5G, the battery life reduces, contrasting the increase in battery life of other mobile phones. But then, there aren’t many other mobile phones which can guarantee you a 360 hour battery life. And the talk time is about three and a half hours. Hence, you can have a wonderful battery life.

Warranty:

Sony has warranted the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini mobile phone, for parts and labour, for a period of about one year from the original date of purchase.

Verdict:

With all the important points discussed, now is the time to decide whether or not to go for the Xperia X10. Our opinion is already clear. Now to put it straight, it is a wonderful mobile phone for anyone and is also easy to use with the interesting user interface. It can be used as a camera, a mobile phone and a PDA, all at once. Hence it is a very good choice. It is also very nicely priced, considering the serviceability that it gives you. Lots of options are in your hands when it comes to today’s mobile industry. You have several similarly excellent mobile phones in the market and you can read their reviews here before deciding on the perfect mobile phone for you.

You may also be interested in checking full reviews and specs details of HTC Wildfire and Samsung S5230 Tocco Lite.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini – Technical Specification Details

Manufacturer Sony
Model Name Ericsson Xperia
Model Number X10 mini
Dimensions (W x H x D) 83 x 50 x 16 mm
Weight 88 grams
Colours available Doodle, Passion, Black, Pearl White, Lime, Red, Pink,
Silver, Gold, Light Pink, Light Silver, Azur, Orange
Display Type 3.2 inches, TFT
Display Resolution 240 x 320 pixels (QVGA)
Display features Scratch-resistant surface
Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
Timescape UI
Touch Screen 2.55″ capacitive touchscreen
Camera resolution 5 MP
Video CIF@30fps
Camera features Auto Focus
Card slot MicroSD support (up to 16 GB)
Memory Phone memory up to 128MB
Phonebook Yes, unlimited
OS Android OS 1.6 (Donut), upgradable to Android 2.1 (Eclair)
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email
Browser HTML
Supported Digital Audio Formats MP3
Supported Digital video Formats VGA
Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS
Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic,
MP3, WAV ringtones
Speaker phone Yes
Networks GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
UMTS/HSPA 900/2100
UMTS/HSPA 850/1900/2100
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
GPRS 85.6 kbps
EDGE 236.8 kbps
Bluetooth Yes, v2.1
USB v2.0
GPS A-GPS support
Battery Standard battery, Li ion
Battery life Talk time: 3.5 hours
Standby time: 360 hours
Warranty 1 year

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