Sony Ericsson announced two compact, scaled-down members of its Xperia X10 Android smartphone line. The Xperia X10 Mini and the QWERTY-keyboard equipped X10 Mini Pro both offer Qualcomm processors clocked to 600MHz with 2.5-inch QVGA touchscreens, five-megapixel cameras, HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS, and Android 1.6, says the company.

Whereas Sony Ericsson scouted out the very high end of the smartphone market with its first Android model — the four-inch display Xperia X10 — the new Mini and Mini Pro models push the envelope on the low end, shoehorning the Android experience into a 2.5-inch QVGA display. The two Mini models are identical except for the presence of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard on the Mini Pro (pictured farther below), which adds a bit to size and weight. The ultra-compact Mini (pictured directly below) measures only 3.3 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches and weighs only 3.1 ounces.

Xperia X10 Mini

The two phones run Android 1.6 on a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, with up to 128MB RAM and a 2GB card for an SD slot that can handle up to 16GB cards, says Sony Ericsson. Like the Xperia X10, the Mini and Mini Pro offer HSPA 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, but provide a five-megapixel camera in place of the flagship X10's market-leading 8.1-megapixel camera. The autofocus camera offers video capture, flash with special lighting support, and geo-tagging features, says the company.

Xperia X10 Mini Pro
(Click to enlarge)

Both the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro provide an audio jack, FM radio, and a music player, says Sony Ericsson. Battery life is said to last between 3.5 and four hours of talk time, depending on the network.

Like the original Xperia X10, the phones offer Sony Ericsson's "UX" user interface layer, which builds upon Android with new applications and a customizable icon-driven interface. The Mini phones are also said to offer the Sony Ericsson Timescape application, which integrates communications with social networking services.

Timescape makes use of an "infinite button" feature that aggregates all communications, including text messages, missed calls, and Facebook and Twitter updates, displaying them in a single view, says the company. The interactive music player also makes use of the infinite button, in this case, to pull together all music content from music stores, YouTube, and other sources.

Specifications listed for the Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro include:

• Processor — Qualcomm MSM7227 @ 600MHz
• Memory — Up to 128MB
• Flash — 2GB memory card in SanDisk microSD slot supporting up to 16GB
• Display — 2.55-inch, 240 x 320 (QVGA) TFT touchscreen
• Keyboard — Slide-out QWERTY (X10 Mini Pro only)
• Cellular:
  • UMTS HSPA 900/2100
  • GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
  • UMTS HSPA 850/1900/2100
  • GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• WiFi — type unspecified
• Bluetooth — Bluetooth stereo (A2DP)
• GPS — aGPS
• USB — Micro USB connector
• Audio:
  • 3.5mm jack
  • FM radio
  • Music player
  • Optional Portable Stereo Speakers MS450
  • Optional Hi-Fi Headset with Remote MH810
• Camera — 5-megapixel autofocus with flash, geo-tagging, video recording
• Software (selected highlights):
  • Sony Ericsson UX stack
  • Infinite button aggregator
  • NeoReader barcode scanning app
  • Sony Ericsson Sync
  • WebKit web browser
  • Sony Ericsson Timescape with Facebook status updates, Twitter support, IM
  • Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
  • Gmail, Google Search, Talk, Voice Search, YouTube
  • Google Maps with Street View
  • Google Services, Android Market
  • Wisepilot turn-by-turn navigation (free trial)
• Battery life:
  • Talk time GSM/GPRS — up to 4 hours
  • Standby time GSM/GPRS — Up to 285 hours
  • Talk time UMTS — Up to 3.5 hours
  • Standby time UMTS — Up to 360 hours
• Dimensions — Mini 3.3 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches (83 x 50 x 16mm); Mini Pro 3.5 x 2.0 x 0.7 inches (90 x 52 x 17mm)
• Weight — Mini 3.1 oz (88 g); Mini Pro 4.2 oz (120 g)
• Operating system — Android 1.6

Xperia X10 Mini showing its colors
(Click to enlarge)

Stated Rikko Sakaguchi, EVP and Chief Creation Officer, Sony Ericsson, "With the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible with smaller devices and are giving consumers exactly what they want; two high performance mobile phones with a fully customizable user experience platform and a stunning ultra-compact design."

Availability

The Xperia X10 Mini will be available in selected markets from Q2 in pearl white, black, pink, lime, red, and silver, says Sony Ericsson. The Xperia X10 Mini Pro will be available in selected markets from Q2 in black and red.

More information on the X10 Mini may be found here, and more on the X10 Mini Pro should be here.

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