The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro manages to pack loads of features into an eye-squintingly small package, just like its sibling, the Xperia X10 Mini. But the Mini Pro adds a slide-out Qwerty keyboard, making it the most usable miniature smart phone we've tested.
The Mini Pro is available for free on a £20-a-month, 24-month contract. You can also buy it SIM-free and unlocked, so you can use it on any network, for around £250. Finally, it's available on a pay as you go deal for around £200.
Mini messaging maestro
The Mini Pro manages to pack a full Qwerty keyboard into a phone that's
shockingly tiny to begin with, measuring only 52 by 90 by 17mm when closed. The keyboard makes the phone feel rather chunky, but you
should still be able to slide it into a pocket without too much bother.
When we first heard of the Mini Pro, we had a hard time imagining who would want a phone with the body of the Tesco VX1 Party Phone and the keyboard of an email powerhouse like the Motorola Milestone. But the Mini Pro's keyboard is a pleasant surprise, and makes the handset easier to use than its sibling, since you don't have to fumble around with an on-screen keyboard. When the slider's closed, the Mini Pro also offers a virtual keyboard that's well optimised for the little screen.
The physical keyboard has small keys, but there's plenty of space between them and they're raised slightly, so they're easy to use. We had no trouble typing emails and text messages accurately, although staring into the tiny screen tended to make us go cross-eyed.
Combined with the great social-networking apps that are available for Android, and the phone's fast Wi-Fi and HSPA connectivity, the keyboard makes the Mini Pro a good phone for chewing the fat online.
Elderly Android
The Mini Pro runs Android 1.6, which is a relatively old version of the operating system -- phones
like the Google
Nexus One run version 2.2. That means you'll miss out on some handy features
in later versions of the OS, such as built-in support for Exchange email. You'll also miss out on a few of the apps in the Android Market, and there's no multi-touch zoom
feature either.
Even if you could pinch your fingers together on the screen to zoom in, it's hard to imagine fitting more than one digit onto the Mini Pro's 64mm (2.5-inch) display. Fortunately, Sony Ericsson has done a good job of making the tiny interface usable. The icons are large and easily to poke, and four shortcuts sit in the corners of each of the home screens, allowing you to access your favourite functions quickly.
You can also swipe through a maximum of 20 home screens, putting a widget on each. It's too bad that the widgets don't fill more of the screen -- most of them sit in the middle -- but it's handy to have access to live info without having to open a separate app, like your calendar, for example.
All of Sony Ericsson's Android phones so far, including the flagship Xperia X10, offer a feature called Timescape. It leaves us flat. Timescape brings together your Twitter and Facebook updates, as well as missed calls and texts, into a zippy timeline that you flick through with a finger. But it doesn't show enough of each message on the screen, and, if you want to see more, you have to wait for the relevant Web site to load. We recommend you try downloading one of the Facebook or Twitter clients from the Android Market instead.
Conclusion
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini is charmingly tiny, but we don't think there's a
big market for such a small phone. The addition of a keyboard makes the X10 Mini
Pro surprisingly usable, as long as you don't mind its little screen. It's not
a phone for media lovers or Web junkies, but, if you're seeking smart-phone prowess in a ridiculously small package, the X10 Mini
Pro could be worth a look.
Edited by Charles Kloet
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User reviews56
Add your review
arsalan 3 June 2012
Good: camera
Bad: internet- speed
Comment: this medel is good and cheap
technology0098 9 March 2012
Good: small,easy messaging,pocket friendly
Bad: bad battery life
Comment: I have no problem with it but the battery is very very bad!
coralreefer_1 4 October 2011
Good: Small size, camera,
Bad: battery life, charger connection, OS seems rather buggy
Comment: This was my first smartphone after having had a Moto KRZR for years.
The only reason I got the phone was because it was FREE, as was explained that Koreans (I live in S. Korea) did not want this phone because the screen is too small most of the things people want to do with a smartphone (internet, games, video...etc) so the guy just wanted them out of his store.
Despite all of the negative comments, I have not had much trouble with the phone to be honest. However I must say that I do not use it for surfing or gaming, so that may be why I dont have the same complaints as many others. In fact the only things things I do with this phone that I couldnt do with a standard set is use free text messaging apps..but otherwise I dont use any other apps other than the occasional language translator or subway map info (both of which were already built in to my previous phone.
The screen is not really all that small, its just not as big as the other major smartphones (Galaxy, IPhone...etc) The screen seems to be about the same size as the screen on a standard flip phone.
As a man, I chose the small size because i dont always have some type of bag with me, and having this phone in my jeans pocket is more comfortable than some bigger, flatter model. The camera does not have any zoom ability as was mentioned, but it makes up for that by taking rather clear pictures (as clear as could be expected for a low-end smartphone)
The main complaint I have with the phone is the battery. If you leave home with 100 percent charge, and don't really do all that much with it..maybe a few short calls, maybe some messaging...etc) the battery will be dead before I arrive home at 10pm. Added to this is the odd-shaped charger port. There are places all over the city to charge a phone, and even stores sell emergency batteries, but they dont fit the phone. You would have to either purchase and carry a special adapter to use in case you needed emergency charging, or otherwise carry your phone cord or spare battery with you around town.
Another thing is that the OS seems to crash on me alot. I dont know if there is some issue with my particular set-up, but I havent been able to check my email in months...the OS process crashes every time I try to open my inbox..although im sure there is some way I can correct this issue.
In conclusion..if you have already been using some other type of smartphone, or otherwise look at this phone to be constantly connected to facebook, skype, reading the news, playing games, surfing youtube, and doing all kinds of other internet related stuff..you will likely be as disappointed as many others have been. However if you are a relatively light user like myself, it isn't all that bad of a phone.
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