Like the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, the X10 Mini may not be every one’s cup of tea but, if you’re looking for a gift for someone who’s new to Android, or after a cheap phone to keep you going then this is a deal not to be sniffed at. Currently online phone retailer Mobiles.co.uk have refurbished Xperia X10 Mini handsets in stock. By refurbished, Mobiles mean that the handset was returned to them within 7 days of purchase and have been fully inspected. As expected, the handset comes with a full 12 month warranty.

Mobiles have the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 available for £49.90 with a £10 top up. You can choose from Vodafone, O2 or Orange but, regardless of the network chosen, phones from Mobiles.co.uk come unlocked as standard. Despite requiring a £10 top up, the total price of £59.90 is still a bargain price for the phone.

We recently reported that the Argos outlet store on eBay were selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 on O2 for only £74 instead of the usual £99. We’ve now found that Argos are also selling the Xperia X10 Mini at a reduced price.

Again the handset is on their outlet store on eBay. Normally the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini is £119 on O2 but, through eBay you can pick up the X10 Mini for £83.98 including delivery.

Even though the Xperia X10 Mini is last year’s model, this is a very reasonable discount on the price and is almost half the price of Sony Ericsson’s 2011 Mini model, the Xperia Mini. For those new to Android, this is a great little handset. Even though the X10 Mini’s version of Android won’t be updated above 2.1, this is adequate enough for the type of handset it is. It comes equipped with a 5 megapixel camera which a lot of similar priced handsets don’t have.

After Sony Ericsson changed their plans for the Xperia X10 and announced they would update the Xperia X10 to Android 2.3 after saying they wouldn’t be releasing further updates to the X10 range, there have been many angry customers and many customers left wondering if Sony Ericsson will also change the plan for the X10 Mini range, including the X8.

Sony Ericsson announced that they wouldn’t release a further update for the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro and X8 but, later released another statement saying because of all the uproar, they would release Android 2.3 for the X10. They also said that they stood by their decision about the Mini range and still do.

Vodafone Australia however, state they are anticipating Android 2.3 in six weeks time for the X10 Mini Pro and will begin testing it. Due to many questions from customers about the status of Android updates for various handsets, they put a blog post together detailing what version of Android is running on various handsets and what the next version will be. It also says what the status is on the update, some saying it was released a week or two ago, others saying they’re going through testing. Vodafone will finish testing Android 2.3 on the X10 in a couple of weeks time. The X10 Mini Pro is also listed, with a note saying the test stage hasn’t been scheduled yet but, they anticipate to have Android 2.3 to test in six weeks time.

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Sony Ericsson have confirmed two new handsets coming to their Xperia range of handsets. The Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro are successors to the X10 Mini and Mini Pro. The Mini Pro naturally features a slide out keyboard and continues with Sony Ericsson’s handset naming system.

Sony Ericsson claimed they had the smallest Android powered handsets with the X10 Mini and Mini Pro, however other phone manufactures have since released their own “mini” smartphones to compete with the X10 Mini’s. So what does the Xperia Mini and Mini Pro offer that’s different? They’re the worlds smallest 720p HD video recording smartphones via a 5 megapixel camera.

Both handsets will be released on Android 2.3 and hopefully, like the Arc and Play will be continually updated, unlike the previous Xperia models. Like the X10 Mini and X8, the Xperia Mini and Mini Pro will feature the four corner UI. The screen on both handsets has been increased to 3 inches compared to the 2.55 inch screen on the X10 Mini. This allows 16 apps to be displayed in the homescreen, improving on the four corner UI. A new service called Facebook inside Xperia will also be present on the handsets, allowing a deeper integration throughout the phone.

There is a lot of buzz around the internet right now, suggesting that Sony Ericsson may announce three new handsets this week, or sometime before the end of the May at the latest. Two of the handsets have a codename and are said to be successors to the X10 Mini range.

The Sony Ericsson Mango is said to be a successor to the Xperia X10 Mini Pro and will feature a slide out keyboard, where as the Xperia Smultron will be a successor to the X10 Mini and will not feature a physical keyboard. Both handsets are rumored to come with a 3 inch display and a 1GHz processor. They are also both rumored to come with Android 2.3.3 and a 5 megapixel camera at the back, while having a VGA camera at the front.

There’s also speculation that a third handset will also be unveiled but, at the moment there are no further details what so ever.

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When Sony Ericsson announced that they would be releasing a successor to the Xperia X10 in the form of the Xperia Arc, they also announced around the same time, that there would be no further Android updates for the X10 range of handsets. As could be expected, this caused a lot of uproar as many customers bought their X10 in good faith that the handset would be supported for the length of their contract. This announcement came before the handset was even a year old, so even customers who bought the X10 as soon as it was launched were extremely disappointed with the company.

It’s no surprise to hear that Sony Ericsson got a lot of feedback from customers, some of which was over the top and offensive, while other feedback stated the benefits of upgrading the X10 to 2.2 or 2.3. Thankfully, Sony Ericsson have listened to this feedback and announced that the Xperia X10 will receive an Android update at the end of Q2/early Q3.

The update will take the X10 straight to Android 2.3.3, the highest version of Android currently available. The work that the company have done with 2.3 and their new range of handsets has essentially made 2.3 on the X10 possible. Although there are some consequences in doing so. Most of which however, many will happily live without and have not wanted from the start. In some cases such as Moxier, many users rooted their handset to remove this.

In the place of Moxier, the X10 will use the 2.3 native EAS functionality. Also Mediascape will be replaced by the music player and media experience widgets as found on the next range of Xperia handsets. What won’t be replaced by another app or feature however, is the backup and restore app – although there are many alternatives on the Android market. Smile detection and face recognition will also be removed, instead the X10 will use the standard camera interface of Android.

Unfortunately for X10 Mini, Mini Pro and X8 owners this doesn’t apply however and will remain on Android 2.1. Unless of course Sony Ericsson change their mind on that matter as well.

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One of the downfalls to the Xperia X10 when it launched, apart from not having multi touch, is that the handset also came with an outdated OS upon release. When announced, Android 1.6 was fine but, by the time Sony Ericsson released the handset, Android 2.1 was out, with Android 2.2 coming soon. Or if you were in America, Android 2.2 was already out, while the X10 still shipped with Android 1.6. The OS has since been updated to Android 2.1 although many were hoping Sony Ericsson would skip 2.1 and head straight to Android 2.2, or at the very least update soon after to 2.2. Android 2.3 is out now though and there’s still no sign of Android 2.2 on the X10.

Sony Ericsson have confirmed that the Android 2.2 will not be making it’s way to their Xperia X10 range of devices, this includes the full size X10, as well as the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. The Xperia X8 will also remain on Android 2.1 and not see a further upgrade. While the handsets won’t receive any further Android updates, Sony Ericsson have said they will continue to release minor firmware upgrades to the handset, such as the multi touch upgrade which is on it’s way.

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In the UK, Orange have gotten some pretty good exclusive deals when it comes to the Xperia range. The first exclusive deal we saw for Orange customers in the UK was when the white Xperia X10 was released. Orange were the only UK network to sell the X10 in white. We’ve also seen Orange be the only retailer in the UK to sell the X10 Mini in green. Now, to add to their range of Orange only exclusive X10 colors and editions, comes the X10 Mini Fashion Edition.

Orange are the only network within the UK to sell the Fashion Edition Xperia X10 Mini. Like the X10 Mini in lime, the front of the X10 Mini remains black, while the back plate gets a face lift. It comes with two fashionable back plate covers, one in white and the other in pink. You can pick the fashion edition X10 Mini up from Orange stores, or online and it’s free on a two year contract, minimum tariff of £20 a month. The handset is also available on pay as you go for £159.

While some regions are still waiting for the Android 2.1 update for the Xperia X10 range of handsets, another way to see if the update is available has been made available by Sony Ericsson who have released the kit numbers. Sony Ericsson have provided kit numbers for the X10, X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro. If your handset matches one of the numbers in the list, it means the Android 2.1 update is available for your handset. This is particularly helpful as some users are reporting that PC Companion tells them they already have the latest update but, proceeding with repairing the handset in fact installs Android 2.1. Some users have also been told to just try if it says that. However with this list, there will be no guessing as to whether your handset is ready for the Android update.

The number uses your handset sales number, which can be found under the battery, next to the serial number. The sales number is a four digit number, followed by a line and a follow further four numbers, for example; 1232-4526. The number may end is an X, which for the purpose of the kit numbers, does not matter whether there is an X or not. You can view the full list of kit numbers released after the break.

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Sony Ericsson’s recent Android update for their Xperia X10 range of handsets has now been released in Canada, for those with Rogers branded Xperia X10 handsets. Those who own the Xperia X10, or the X10 Mini can now update their handset from the outdated Android 1.6 OS, to the more recent Android 2.1. Arguably it is still relatively outdated, considering most handsets now have Android 2.2 and Android 2.3 is rumoured to be just around the corner.

Despite that, the Android 2.1 update adds quite a few new features for the Xperia X10. Obviously with Android 2.1 installed, there is a wider range of apps to choose from on the Market Place, such as the official Twitter application, which is only available for Android 2.1 and above. For the Xperia X10, the Android 2.1 update brings the ability to record videos in 720p HD format. While the X10 Mini adds better bluetooth support for sending files, something which was previously very limited.

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