Saturday, May 19, 2012

Sony Ericsson Xperia x10 Mini Pro

Hey look! It's a cute x10! Having used an Xperia x10i before, let's see if this little Xperia can deliver. Read more after the jump.


Read More!




A quick look on the specs:

NetworkGSM 850/900/1800/1900 HSDPA 900/2100 HSDPA 850/1900/2100
Body 90 x 52 x 17 mm
Weight 120 g
Display TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.55 inches (~157 ppi pixel density)
Internal memory 128MB RAM
Expandable storagemicroSD up to 16GB
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
USB v2.0 microUSB
Camera Primary 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Secondary None
OS Eclair 2.1
CPU Qualcomm 600 MHz ARM 11
GPU Adreno 200
Battery Li-Po 930 mAh (BST-41)
Stand-by Up to 285 h (2G) / Up to 360 h (3G)



The Good:

Keyboard: Nothing beats a hardware input device when it comes to typing. Especially in this case, with that small screen, it's difficult to type. The keyboard is a welcome addition. It adds to the thickness of the device, though. The Xperia x10 Mini (without the pro) is without keyboard if you want a thinner version.

Camera: I am impressed with the 5MP camera of the x10 Mini Pro. Sure technically it's below the 8MP of the x10i, but the Mini's flash just works and it's bright enough for your dark shoots. The photos came out great too. Still not on par with point-and-shoot models but close enough.

Battery life: Due to the small screen and slow processor, the 930 mAh battery lasts 2-3 days depending on use. For a smartphone, that's a feat. Try that with the x10i.

UI experience: Because of the small screen and its low resolution, the x10 Mini Pro delivers a smooth Android experience, even with its slow processor. But launch too many applications and you'll notice some lags.

Audio: With the built-in DSP app, you can tweak the audio output of your x10 Mini pro. Sounds great on suitable headsets and when connected to an amplifier.


The Bad:

Screen: The screen is too small! Although mainstream Nokia phones (read: feature phones and dumb phones) have small screens too, but for a smartphone OS like Android, the screen is not enough. Plus, the low resolution may cause some applications to fail to launch.

Slow Processor: Internet browsing with flash and gaming is a no-no. But with that small a screen, who would?

Android OS stuck at Eclair: The official ROM update from Sony Ericsson is only 2.1. To enjoy Wi-Fi hotspot functionality and others, you'll have to flash a custom ROM yourself. XDA has lots of guides to update your x10 Mini Pro to Gingerbread.


Overall:

The x10 Mini Pro is a somewhat capable Android phone save for the small screen, although some might want that.

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