Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini Review

"Best Product 2010-2011: Mobile Phone"

The EISA Awards called the Xperia X10 mini a chic little phone that would be the perfect smartphone for ladies, thanks to its compact build, weight and variety of colours. Built on the Android platform, it offers a superb performance and ample feature set, including GPS, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and 3G. Even with a small 2.55'' screen, it offers the frills of a bigger device.

Value for money: 7 out of 10 points

Just like the HTC Wildfire, for most smartphone fanatics the X10 mini will not be suitable due to its dinky low resolution screen that feels a little bit too restrictive. Trusted Reviews though were quite surprised at how usable it was, saying there is nothing else available to match it if you are mostly concerned about size. It is the smallest fully fledged smartphone that is cheaper than most, if not exactly budget.

"While the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini does not have any glaring faults, it isn't spectacular in any department. The small size brings a significant compromise in terms of lesser screen size and quirky handling for users who are accustomed to normal sized phones. ... the phone despite its diminutive size offered good performance across the board. ..."

"The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini will be largely remembered (and sold) on its design ... Yet Sony Ericsson has kitted this minion with a decent list of features. Though we encountered a few too many teething issues that left us feeling a tad frustrated, the X10 Mini is no bad shout for those looking for a feature packed Android smartphone that will fit comfortably in your pocket."

"The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini is something of a surprise package. It is a tiny phone, but offering the Android operating system brings with it the convenience of a handset that can be easily customised. You don't get short-changed on the hardware front either ... But this is a mini phone and it won't recreate the experience that large devices offer. Dealing with large amounts of text entry, or viewing full webpages requires a fair amount of effort on your part. The battery life is a problem and the call quality wasn't the greatest either. ... "

"... The X10 Mini is a joy to use, with everything flying about the place no matter how many apps you're multitasking and fiddling with. The custom user interface enhancements are genuine improvements on the Android base, all helping to get the most from the Mini's tiny screen. ... Android and Sony Ericsson have a genuine mass-market winner here, we think."

"... it's really fast. We've seen no sign of slowdown while happily multitasking away, and the battery life is good for a day and half, even with the Wi-Fi on. There's no avoiding the size though. ... it's a very unpleasant size to read web pages, and the browser renders them rather poorly too. Combined with the 0-9 keyboard, this really is a phone for those who want a stylish device for a handbag and a bit of social networking banter. ... An impressive mini smartphone, but we can't wait for the QWERTY version."

"For geeks with plenty of extra cash, a SIM-free Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini would make an ideal party phone. It's tiny enough to take out on the town, but you still get all your Android apps, and your contacts and other data will be automatically synced with your main phone over the cloud. The Mini is also a good choice for anyone who wants a small handset, but still wants to dip their toes into the world of apps and other smart-phone perks. The lack of a virtual Qwerty keyboard means we can't recommend it for serious emailers, texters and social-networking fiends, though."

"... It delivers 240x320 pixels in just 2.55-inches. So, quite obviously, one thing you aren't going to be doing a lot of with this handset is Web surfing even though Sony Ericsson has worked hard to make this task efficient. ... Scrolling is efficient too thanks to the capacitive screen, but if you've used a large screened smartphone you'll likely feel that browsing is a very squeezed experience here. Oh, and there's no Flash support. ... The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini is an ultra small format Android smartphone, bijou and great for small hands and pockets."

"... There's no getting round typing problems on such a small display, even if it is capacitive. It's fairly sharp, sure, but Sony Ericsson's not even included an on screen QWERTY keyboard, so you'll be left with the old school 0-9 layout for firing off missives. ... Xperia X10 Mini isn't for anyone who pines for multiple Gmail accounts on Android, or Flash support. It's a handbag phone for those who need to save on space, and would rather see what their friends are saying while on the go than pound out mobile essays on a touchscreen. If that's you, well, we suspect you may be more than impressed by the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini. ..."