Sony Ericsson’s feature-packed Android device, complete with 2.55in touchscreen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard (that’s bigger than both a Palm Pre or a Blackberry), chat-style SMS messaging, support for multiple email accounts, a 5MP camera with flash and a 3.5mm headphone jack. And… breathe.
It measures 9 x 5.2 x 1.7cm, but it’s got a big-balled processor (600 MHz) to power your access to Google Maps, Search, Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation and the burgeoning application options on Android. But they key to a smartphone living up to its name is not how clever it is, but how good it is and doing what you want it to do. To that end, the Xperia X10 Mini Pro, weighing in at 120 grams, is the Featherweight Champion of the World.
Up until know, we thought Apple’s patent on their heat-sensitive touchscreen was a bit like having a patent on a steering wheel: really unfair. But playing with the Mini Pro, it’s obvious they’ve nailed it. It’s not - as shitty touchscreens have been before - like using a rollerball mouse on a sponge. It scrolls through screens quickly and fluidly, with the nifty ability to pin your favourite apps to the four corners of the screen.
Despite its good intentions, the new feature Timescape - which aggregates all your texts, calls, Facebook alerts and Twitter updates into some swishy sliding panels – is too annoying to be of any use. Often, you can only see half of the message, and when you do see something that you’d like to respond to, it’s way too slow to get you into the program proper. Great idea, but messily executed. A bit like the first time FHM tried to poach an egg.
A magnificent effort; one that’ll make anyone looking to upgrade to a dinky, slick-looking Android phone a very happy customer.
