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.
The color pink has been a favourite of Sony Ericsson’s for a while. The X10 Mini is already available in pink and the upcoming Xperia X8 will also have a pink back. Other handsets from Sony Ericsson have also been made available in pink, including the Xperia lookalike handset, the Sony Ericsson Yendo, along with the Vivaz and others. Now it’s the X10 Mini Pro’s turn to pink it up.
Online retailer AdditionsDirect is showing the Xperia X10 Mini Pro in pink available to order now. Unfortunately it appears to be out of stock at the moment, with delivery being listed as within 14 days. The company sell the X10 Mini Pro in both the original black and pink but, both are only available on O2. You can order the pink X10 Mini Pro for £199.
Sony Ericsson have started a brand new and rather intriguing marketing campaign for their Xperia X10 Mini Pro handset.
Entitled “Catch Life”, this campaign is a 3D augmented reality invasion on our senses and is an interactive experience where the user initially has to print off a ‘special marker’ which looks like this:
and then hold this marker up to a webcam. If the user has a Facebook account, at this point it is possible to log in to a Facebook account for a ‘personalised’ experience however, this is not compulsory. There is a video of the process which is posted below and which gives an idea of what the Catch Life event is all about.
There is also an opportunity to win an X10 Mini Pro by taking part in Catch Life.
UK network carrier Three have teamed up with Sony Ericsson to be the exclusive retailer of the X10 Mini Pro in white. The white version comes with the same features as the black version. The front of the phone will stay black, while the keyboard will also remain the same color, silver. Only the back will be different, with the back case coming in white instead of black. This follows the trend set by the QWERTY keyboardless X10 Mini, which is available in a variety of different colors but, only the back cover is of a different color, the front remains white, making the backs interchangeable.
Like the current X10 Mini Pro in black, the white model will also come with Google Android 1.6 pre-installed but, it should hopefully receive the 2.1 update soon. The handset measures 90x52x17mm, with a 2.55 inch display. It’s unknown what price plan the handset will be available on but, it’s likely to be free on a £30 a month contract. Which is unfortunate, as other networks are providing a better deal on the handset, even if it is only available in black.
Sony Ericsson’s Mini QWERTY version of the X10 has been approved by the Global Certification Forum. This means that the Xperia X10 Mini Pro is ready for release in Europe and North America. The U20i model targets the European audience while the U20a features the North American GSM bands. For a North American release though, the handset will still have to be passed through the FCC and be approved by them before it sees release in America. There shouldn’t be any problems there though as the Mini 10 has already been accepted.
Following on from the announcement of the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro, we can now follow it up with photos of both of the handsets. Originally we only had the photo of the X10 Mini. In the X10 Mini Pro photo, we can see the size and key positioning of the keyboard. Sony Ericsson have also released a promo video for both of the handsets. You can view the photos and the trailer after the jump.
Sony Ericsson made some headlines today by spearheading the excitement over at the ongoing Mobile Web Congress in Barcelona Spain. Indeed, Sony Ericsson was able surprise everyone not by announcing the Xperia X10 Mini but also its twin brother the Xperia X10 Mini Pro. Both phones run on the Android 1.6 OS and are compact versions of the previously announced Xperia X10 smartphone.
The difference between these two smartphones are very few as the X10 mini pro sports a slide out QWERTY Keyboard while the Xperia X10 mini is a touchscreen phone. Aside from this, the two phones give users access to thousands of applications available at the Android Market.
The two phones also boast of nice customization features such as home screen customization through widgets. Both phones are also pre-loaded with Sony Ericsson’s new application called Timescape. This app allows users to see at a glance text messages, missed calls and Facebook and Twitter updates without needing to open those apps individually. Read the rest of this entry »
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