A Review Of The Impressive Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini And Xperia Mini Pro

The new models are sure to be welcomed with open arms, thanks to the improved performance and functionality provided by the new hardware and software alike.

In this article, I will introduce the key features of these phones and highlight the improvements over the original Xperia X10 models.

Operating System

The Xperia X10 models featured version 1.6 of the Android operating system (aka Donut). Version 2.3 (Gingerbread), the latest version brings the handsets bang up to date. The operating system allows users to download additional apps from the Android Market, which means the sky is the limit in terms of functionality. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro additionally feature a new and improved generation of the Timescape user interface; however many of the popular features remain, for example there is a customisable icon in each corner of the screen. This means that users can select their four most commonly used functions, and make them available right on the homescreen.

Processor

On the X10 models, both handsets included a 600MHz processor. This was fine for running the applications available on the previous versions of Android, but this time around, the manufacturer has equipped both the Xperia Mini and the Xperia Mini Pro with a much more powerful 1GHz chip. This is nearly twice as powerful, and therefore able to run much more demanding applications, and the improved features of the updated operating system. As an added bonus, having a more powerful processor means that more efficient multitasking can be carried out, as well as improved response times from the touchscreen and even improve the loading times of web pages. 

Touchscreen

Of course, the functionality of the Android operating system and many of the standard features of the phone would be nothing without a decent touchscreen. The new models offer improved specifications in terms of both the resolution of the screen, and the touchscreen aspect of the screen itself. The previous phones had a resolution of 240x 320 and features TFT capacitive touchscreen technology. These specs were impressive at the time, but the new versions reflect how far mobile phones have come in such as short space of time; the new versions boast increased resolutions of 320X 480 and operate by virtue of LED-backlit LCD capacitive technology. This offers improved navigation and responsiveness, as well as increased display quality.

Of course this article only touches on the myriad of improvements the manufacturer has made. Indeed the phones offer improved internet browsing, as well as improved 5 megapixel cameras which can now shoot HD footage in 720p. What has remained the same though, are the compact dimensions of the phones, which were a major draw of these phones in the first place. Also, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro also comes with a slide out QWERTY keyboard as did its predecessor.

The improvements are certainly welcomed, and there are not many phones available with such specifications in such a compact handset. This is what really sets these two phones apart from the competition, and means they are likely to prove popular upon their upcoming release.