The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini is adorably tiny, but promises to be packed with smart-phone features, thanks to its Android operating system. Its 3-inch touchscreen also means this compact phone looks thoroughly usable.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Design & Build
The new Xperia Mini sports a larger display than the X10 Mini, offering a 3.0 inch capacitive touchscreen with a pixel resolution of 320 x 480, as opposed to the previous device delivering a QVGA screen measuring 2.55 inches. Thankfully, that trade off between form and function is still finely balanced on the Xperia Mini, with the device measuring in at just 88 x 52 x 16mm and weighing in at 99g.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Display & UI
The display on the Xperia Mini supports up to 16 million colours, and is covered with a scratch resistant surface, to help protect the handset from the everyday bumps and scrapes that can occur when a device is kept in a pocket or purse. The Xperia Mini runs the proprietary Sony Ericsson Timescape user interface, which brings various updates and information to the main standby screen, whilst support for the Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine ensures that images are displayed to their best.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Connectivity
A Quad Band GSM device, the Xperia Mini has a wide range of connectivity options included onboard, such as HSDPA up to 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA up to 5.76 Mbps, as well as WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, with DLNA support and the option to use the device as a WiFi hotspot built in. GPRS and EDGE are included to offer data support when outside of 3G coverage and away from any local WiFi links, whilst local connectivity on the device is covered by the inclusion of Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP for stereo wireless transmission. The handset also has a built in GPS receiver, backed up with aGPS support, allowing the device to operate comfortably as a portable SatNav unit, and also enabling Geotagging in the onboard camera.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Camera & Video
As for the camera itself, it is a very capable 5.0 Megapixel camera, with support for autofocus, image stabilisation, smile and face detection, and touch focus. An LED flash is included, to assist with photo taking in low level lighting conditions, and the camera is also capable of recording 720p HD video.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: OS & Performance
As with the previous X10 Mini, the Xperia Mini runs on the Android operating system and will ship with Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread, straight from the box. Powered by a 1 GHz Scorpion Processor, the Xperia Mini is capable of fast, smooth operation, and can handle a fair amount of multi tasking activity.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Multimedia & Memory
The handset is a capable all round media device, including a stereo FM radio with RDS as well as a full media player which supports a wide range of digital formats, including MP3, AAC, MP4 and WMV amongst others. There is plenty of memory available on the device for storing images, songs and videos, with 320 MB internal storage, supplemented by a Micro SD slot, with the Xperia Mini officially capable of handling memory cards up to 32 GB in size.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini: Battery
There is plenty of power under the hood, so to speak, with the high speed processor, and the device itself is powered by a 1200 mAh Li Ion battery, promising up to 340 hours of standby time and up to 4 and a half hours talktime, as well as 25 hours of music playback.
Conclusion:
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini could be tempting if you're considering upgrading to a smart phone, but don't want one of the massive, sun-blocking slabs that are all the rage at the moment. Its screen is surprisingly spacious, given the phone's amazingly small case, and it even shoots HD video. If it turns out to be as usable as we expect, it could be a winner.
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