At a pre-MWC press event, Sony Ericsson presented their latest batch of smartphones. They gave us the QWERTY version of the Vivaz and a double mini version of the XPERIA X10 - the Mini and the Mini Pro. While the Mini version of the X10 was far from a surprise, the qwertified Mini was certainly a novelty.
Presenting the new devices on stage
Sony Ericsson Vivaz and Vivaz pro
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro is only 2mm thicker than the original and features the same HD-totting specs. It will be available in Black and White color versions and should hit the market in Q2 2010. The original Vivaz should make it earlier in Q1.
Sony Ericsson's latest phones * Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro compared to Sony Ericsson Vivaz
The QWERTY keyboard of the Vivaz Pro is quite comfy, with keys nicely spaced. The only thing we can wish for is a little better keypress feedback. Anyway, they might as well fix that, they still got at least a couple of months ahead.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini and X10 mini pro
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini is indeed a nifty little smartphone. Smaller than a credit card, the Mini and its Mini Pro reincarnation both pay a price for their compact size. Their 2.55" screens have QVGA resolution only.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini
Quite surprisingly, the Mini pro keyboard is rather nice to type on. Sony Ericsson are making quite a point out of the fact that the compact phone allows even single-handed typing.
Both Mini's run on the Android 1.6 and feature the Sony Ericsson signature Timescape communication application. Other than that, the Android OS is heavily skinned. Certainly the low resolution has taken its toll on the UI design as well.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro compared to Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini
In the four corners of the homescreen there are four customizable shortcuts, while the home screen widgets are side scrollable and each of those takes the whole homescreen.
There is no virtual on-screen keyboard on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini so if you go for the qwerty-less variety, typing will surely be a pain.
Sony Ericsson also showcased their debuts at their booth at the MWC. We got the chance to spend some more quality time with the three new offerings and do several new shots as well in a demo video.
Sony Ericsson booth at the MWC 2010
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro
A QWERTY-equipped version of the handset we liked so much in our recent preview is nothing but good news. The Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro retains all great features of the original Vivaz and adds powerful texting. And when you think that it only adds 2mm of extra thickness, it starts to look an even better deal.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz pro in various colors
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini and Mini pro
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini tries to capitalize on the popularity of the original XPERIA X10 by providing a similar experience in a much more compact shell.
From what we saw, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 has excellent performance with smooth and snappy interface that is pretty nice to use. We guess that the reduced resolution more than made up for the slower CPU (600 MHz vs 1 GHz on the original X10).
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro
The qwerty-fied Mini pro is not much thicker than the regular Sony Ericsson Mini. The full keyboard is an awesome boost to productivity with this phone, as it lacks a virtual on-screen QWERTY keyboard (we guess the screen is too small to accommodate that). Both phones are offered with various back panels to make them as customizable as possible.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini and its pro version together
We managed to capture a quick demo of the new custom user interface running on top the regular Android OS on the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini. Enjoy!
Aside from the form factor and custom UI, the XPERIA X10 Mini (the pro as well) is unusual with another thing too. It's the first Sony Ericsson phone to use a special lock-shaped 3.5mm audio jack.
The new stereo headset that ships with the Minis matches it perfectly down to the proprietary jack. Despite that odd solution, the Minis can still use standard third-party 3.5mm stereo headphones. It's only the proprietary one however that makes use of the extra contact points.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini and its latest stereo headset and new accessory port
Sony Ericsson Aspen
The Sony Ericsson Aspen was announced not so long ago and it represents the more uncommon breed of QWERTY bars with a touchscreen. The last PocketPC with that functionality we saw was Samsung i780. Rumor has it that a certain HTC Trophy handset is under way too, but it's yet to be confirmed.
Sony Ericsson Aspen
The Aspen boasts the same human curvature design as all other recent Sony Ericsson phones. The QWERTY keyboard is definitely crammed up, but all the other system keys are quite large.
Sony Ericsson Aspen
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