Sony Ericsson X10 Mini

Sony Ericsson have worked hard to fit everything they can into this tiny phone. Although it’s just the size of a credit card, although a bit thicker, and weighs only 86 grams, there’s a lot of power here.

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Our Rating: 81%

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Our Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Review

It’s clear that designers at Sony Ericsson have worked hard to fit everything they can into this tiny phone. Although it’s just the size of a credit card, although a bit thicker, and weighs only 86 grams, there’s a lot of power here.

It’s another Android touchscreen, but one wonders why Sony Ericsson have opted for the older 1.6 operating system, now that 2.1 is available. However, update will be available in the future. But this is not much of a drawback as everything you could want is here. The Sony Ericsson X10 mini comes pre-loaded with loads of useful apps which will appeal evento those outside to its intended buyer demographic. Google and Gmail, naturally, are here, and the YouTube app works brilliantly, even more so when connected through WiFi. Also welcome is TrackID, brilliant song recognition software which links to Sony’s PlayNow service. More than a gimmick, it works really well.

The default browser is the Android WebKit and on here it works at warp speed. Also, thanks to its accelerometer, rotate between portrait and landscape is supere-fast.

It’s unfussy and stylish. Below the screen are just the three menu, home and back buttons. On the side are dedicated camera button and volume up/down toggle switch. On the bottom edge sit the micro USB port and standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone comes with a 2Gb microSD card and headphones with inline pause control.

One drawback of this tiny screen is that a QWERTY keyboard just won’t fit, so it’s back to the T9 keypad for texting.

The four corner shortcuts come into their own when using the impressive camera function, allowing you to quickly delete or share straight after the picture is taken. Even more welcome is the camera’s macro feature, which really works. You’re blessed with crystal clear close-ups and not something blurred or unintelligible, which was the case in older camera phones.

Although it’s small enough to be misplaced and perhaps not found again too easily, the X10 Mini is the ideal way to enter the world of Android, with a price of around £200.

What We Liked

The X10 Mini’s extremely fast. Most of us used to looking away for a couple of seconds while waiting for a page to load will be disconcerted to find that it’s viewable in no time. Also battery life is brilliant compared to most other Android phones.

What We Disliked

As a work tool its size or lack of it may be too limiting for some users, especially those with large fingers.

Our Final Verdict

The X10 Mini makes no boasts other than it does exactly what it says and, more importantly, it does what you tell it to. It is a great little tool for social networking, web browsing (thanks to the magnifying square) and the sound quality, both when speaking and listening cannot be faulted.

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	Sony Ericsson X10 Mini
General
Form Factor	Candybar
Dimensions	83 x 50 x 16 (mm)
Talk Time	210 mins
Standby Time	360 hours
Weight	86 g
Quad Band	Yes
Photo and Video
Integrated Camera	Yes
Camera	5.00 megapixels
Video Player	Yes
Phone
Smart Phone	Yes
Internal Memory	128MB
Memory Card Type	MicroSD (max 16GB)
Messaging
Instant Messaging (IM)	Yes
Screen
Colour Screen	Yes
Touch Screen	Yes
Connectivity
3G	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes
Email	Yes
HSDPA	Yes
WAP	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes
GPS	Yes
Music and Radio
FM Radio	Yes
MP3 Player	Yes
MP3 Ringtones	Yes
Additional Content
Downloadable Content	Yes
Downloadable Games	Yes
Downloadable Ringtones	Yes