IT Pro Verdict

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro is fine as a phone, but fails as a business-friendly smartphone. Everything is too small, especially the keyboard, screen and battery. We wanted to like it, but just didn’t. If there was a half star option, we would bump it up to 2.5, but there’s not...

By Clare Hopping

published 9 July 2010

in Reviews

Sony Ericsson has packed a Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz processor in the Xperia X10 Mini Pro, which does well to keep up, although that's to be expected when there's only a small screen to power.

The same can't be said for the battery life of the device though. For some reason (probably space issues) Sony Ericsson has only packed in a paltry 930mAh battery pack, which will not keep your device running all day at all. Sony Ericsson quotes 3.5 hours talk time on the X10 Mini Pro, which is certainly not enough to keep in contact with people all day if you're going to use the phone for business purposes.

Sure, we may have got used to charging a smartphone once a day, but not twice in an eight hour working day.

This is especially poor when you consider the connectivity options packed into the device.

As you'd expect from a functioning smartphone, there's Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, HSUPA, Bluetooth and A-GPS to support the Wisepilot app (or Google Maps).

All of these drain the battery even more than just receiving a couple of push emails on the go and making phone calls. So be sure to turn them all off when not in use, otherwise you could find the battery draining before you've even got to work.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro may be a smartphone, but it does feel like a toy.

If you're looking for something tiny, that will just slide into your pocket, great. Even better if you just want a device to talk on and occasionally send texts/emails.

If you want a fully functioning business device, look elsewhere, because this is just not polished enough to carry out any business functions well, especially if you want to keep the phone going all day without charging.

Verdict

Connectivity: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 900/2100 Display: 240 x 320 pixels, 2.55 inches OS: Android 1.6 Camera: 5-megapixel, 2592x1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash GPS: A-GPS Processor: Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz Wi-Fi: 802.11bg Dimensions: 52x17x90mm Weight: 120g Battery: Li-Po 930mAh

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Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.