In the world of Android phones, there’s one upcoming handset that’s particularly caught my attention: the Sony Ericsson X10. It’s got a massive screen, a whopping great 1GHz processor, and a nice meaty 8MP camera. So powerful is this handset that it’s even spawned a baby brother, that’s been leaked previously as the Sony Ericsson Robyn.
Well, now, it’s gone official, and it’s not one baby brother, but two. Say hello to the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. Basically, the simplest way to think about both phones is as a cut-down version of the full fat Xperia X10. They’re physically smaller (obviously), they’ve got a 2.55 inch screen, and the processor’s a cut-down chip, running at 600MHz, instead of the 1GHz Snapdragon in their big brother. Oh, and the camera’s also been downgraded, so it comes in at 5MP, not 8.
So, essentially, what these two phones look like, to me, are Android phones aimed more at the designer chic crowd, and since I can’t think of any previous models that have gone down that route, there’s definitely an opportunity there. The trend in smartphones has been for bigger and bigger phones, with bigger and bigger processors, but I can’t think of a top-end smartphone that’s been deliberately made as a small handset, to fit that niche of people who want teeny-tiny phones. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the X10 Mini Pro is the one with a slide out keyboard.
However, they weren’t the only two phones Sony Ericsson have announced at the Mobile World Congress. The other one is another entry into their Entertainment Unlimited portfolio, and it’s a follow-up to the Sony Ericsson Satio and the more recent Vivaz. Well, actually, it’s a direct sequel to the latter, as it is, in fact, the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro.
I actually quite like that fact, because it means I can sum up the specs really easily. They’re exactly the same as the Vivaz, with two crucial differences: 1/ the Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard; and 2/ the camera’s been changed from 8 megapixels to 5 (just like the other two phones in this blog post), although it keeps HD video recording. Other than that, the two phones are absolutely identical, in terms of specs, with both of them running on Symbian and the same screen size, etc.
So, that’s Sony Ericsson’s contribution to the Mobile World Congress. Intriguing, but hardly as exciting as the news of Windows Phone 7 Series being announced. Also, I’m a bit baffled why the Vivaz Pro has had its camera downgraded to 5MP, but ah well, can’t win ‘em all…
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