Sony Ericsson Experia X10 Mini (Pro) and Vivaz Pro Announced

Written by Rob Nichols on February 16, 2010 · Filed under Tech 

This year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) has certainly thrown up some interesting stuff. Not a lot more so though, than the three latest instalments from the guys over at Sony Ericsson. The X10 Mini and Pro edtions as well as the Vivaz Pro.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini (Pro)

The Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson got a lot of people talking, so these compact editions in the form of the Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro are sure to do the same. They promise to deliver powerful devices, packed with apps which offer a great alternative for those who don’t wish to be lugging what used to be known as ‘bricks’ around with them.

Whilst keeping a similar look and feel physically to the original X10, they have been cut down to size whilst also keeping some OK technical specs. Each feature a 600Mhz Qualcomm processor and up to 128Mb of memory. Included memory card of 2Gb extendable to a 16Gb microSD card. The phones run Google’s Android 1.6 platform, however with a tweaked user interface which is extremely compact, efficient and remains simple to use. Only time will tell how this compares to using the more regular version of Android 2.1 found on the Nexus One.

Overall, the specifications aren’t all that impressive, but don’t forget that physically, these things are miniscule when compared to its bigger, more powerful brother the Xperia X10. Think of it like buying a small form factor PC. You’re not going to get the same power as a huge great tower are you? Yet what you get is a capable, sleek and compact device. Whilst you may sacrifice this power, you also receive an impressive 285hrs standby time and up to 4hrs talk time.

In terms of applications which are built-in, they’re in abundance. Packed with apps such as Google’s mobile collection, YouTube, calendars, tasks, games, radio’s, video/music players, GPS navigation, barcode scanning and the Android Marketplace plus many, many more.

Connectivity plays a big part too. Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G etc. are all pretty common as well these days with such smartphones and with these options you also get a 3.5mm headphone jack, bluetooth (including bluetooth stereo). You also have access to Sony’s PlayNow arena and TrackID services.

There is also a 5 mega-pixel auto focus camera with video recording, geo-tagging and and album application. In addition there is also a useful QWERTY keyboard for those who are still uncomfortable with a full touchscreen interface. They will be available soon in many different colours depending on the model.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro

We have also recently seen the Sony Ericsson Vivaz being unveiled.The new ‘Pro’ version announced this week also features a QWERTY keyboard unlike it’s brother. Other than that it is almost identical to the standard Vivaz in terms of looks.

It features 720p video recording, a 640×360 wide HVGA display to really focus in on what you are shooting. It uses the Symbian s60 5th edition platform with a slightly tweaked interface and really doesn’t boast a lot else to the original Vivaz apart from the stylish, yet bulky QWERTY keyboard.

There’s 3D games and many apps with access to the same features and services as the Mini/Pro X10. It’s a little underwhelming that they have released the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro with such little difference to its sister phone.

We previewed the original Sony Ericsson Vivaz here on Zath earlier this year so check that out for full details of the phone itself, it really doesn’t differ too much.

Via – Engadget & Geeky Gadgets