Sony Ericsson Xperia mini and mini pro are the 2 phones making a loads of buzz these days. And why not? If you are not obsessed with the large size mobiles, both the phone definitely offers a great value for money.
Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro is like a clone to Xperia mini with only 3 additional features, a slide-out Qwerty, Front camera for video calling and a higher price 
. At this point of time Xperia mini is selling for Rs. 12k while you can grab a mini pro for 14.8k. The entire scope of this story is to see whether both the handsets are able to justify their price or we should look for some other android phones in this price budget.
Sony ericsson Xperia mini, mini pro review
Overview:
Both the phones are successor of earlier released SE Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. This time Sony has loaded them with almost all features to make a complete phone. Except of front cam in mini, you won’t feel anything missing from your phone. The relatively small screen of 3-inch is super-clear due to inclusion of Sony mobile bravia engine and makes video viewing or web browsing equally pleasure.
Specifications:
- 3.0 inches led backlit 320 x 480 pixels Scratch-resistant capacitive multi touch screen
- Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine, timescape UI
- QWERTY keyboard (only in mini pro)
- 512 MB RAM, 320MB storage (for mini), 400MB storage (for mini pro)
- 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, DLNA
- 5 MP with autofocus and LED flash, video : 720p
- VGA front camera (only in mini pro)
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon
- Li-Ion 1200 mAh
Missing:
- No Front camera (in mini)
- 3 inch screen may seem small to some (however I think its fine)
- Poor video recording
In the box – Handset, Battery, Charger, Headset, 2 GB micro-SD Card, Data Cable, Back Panel, User Guide
Display :
As described earlier, the 3-inch screen may sound a bit small. However it seemed fine to me, probably due to the super clarity powered by Bravia engine. The capacitive display is led-backlit, scratch resistant and pleasingly responsive to touches. There is no lag in navigating, swipe, pinch and zoom etc. The outdoor performance and sunlight legibility are excellent.
On the other side, viewing angle on the screen is limited.
User interface :
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro are powered by Android 2.3 covered with Sony’s own Timescape UI. The corner based desktop gives you kinda containers (semi circles on the corners) to put your favorite shortcuts there. You can also gather all the widgets of all the home screens on a single screen by pinch and Zoom.
It posses a cool Android market interface. Downloading and installing apps are as easy as 123.
And the Angry birds:
Web browsing is smooth and supports pinch and zoom:
You won’t feel any unpleasant lags. The 1 Ghz processor does it works pretty well. Overall I have no complaints with the display and user interface. It’s a pleasure to operate these phones.
Did you used “SE xperia mini” phone? How was performance after 30 minutes? I heard problems and not to buy reviews. Please answer me properly.
I used it for around 2 hrs… there was no issues as such… Let me know if you are asking about any specific problem.
No i dont faced but i have heard and found on net by typing “SE xperia mini problem” on google. I foung after 20 mins later mobile got heating and vibration problem.
Hi Ashwini,
Im confused with what smartphone i go with..my budget is 15k..Can u pls help me out which smartphone i can buy..requirements android2.3, processor 1ghz, 5mp camera and i need front camera too. battery should withstand for long hours.. help me out..
go for sony ericsson live with walkman….. you may also think about SE Ray or Neo v if you can increase ur budget a bit (or wait till price drop)
Hi Ashwini
plese tell me who is best
sony ericsson xperia ray
sony ericsson xperia neo
sony ericsson xperia pro
sony ericsson xperia neo v
Hi Sachin
Xperia Neo is outdated, so forget it. Among Ray and Neo V, Neo V has a bigger screen (3.7 inch) but Ray has a better camera (8.1 MP). So incase you are happy with a 5 MP camera, go with Neo V. I suggest don’t compromise with the screen size.
Xperia pro is best of all, 3.7 inch screen, 8.1 MP camera, plus a slide out qwerty. kinda complete phone.
Hi Ashwini
can you plese tell me who is best in performance & looks & other feachers
sony xperia u
sony ericsson xperia ray
sony ericsson xperia neo v
lg optimus 2x
and tell me if you know any other beater phone in price rang 15,000 to 20,000Rs.
HI Ashwin
i am confused with smart phone available in the market. i am having the budget of 12-15k.can u please help me out with which smart phone i should go with. it should have android, screen should be little bigger, camera should have visiblity and it should have front camera in pixel. and i am also planning to buy tablet with budget of 10-12k and with above mentioned features.