Of course, one might be asking, what is so special about the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini smart phone?

This device is the second Android handset that was created by Sony Ericsson. The phone follows most of the aesthetic signatures of the original XPERIA X10, but with much lower tech specs. The result is a mini-sized smart phone with all the necessary features that one would expect plus a few extras.

But do not let the Mini in the name fool you, this device is pretty much closer to a midsized handset than a competitor for Palm’s Pixi. The X10 Mini comes with a 2.6 inch 240 x 320 resolution TFT capacitive touch screen display, a 5 mega pixel camera and a Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz CPU. In short, this handset is pretty packed when it comes to the hardware specs and capabilities.

The style is undoubtedly Sony too. The Japanese company is well known for their extremely well made electronic devices and the products for Sony Ericsson are no exception. The XPERIA series closely follows Sony’s design aesthetics (over Ericsson’s which is a great thing), from the classic shiny black finish, the metallic buttons under the screen to the solid feel of the entire device, everything about the X10 Mini feels classy and sophisticated. This handset is only running the older Android 1.6 Donut, but it also uses a mini version of the Timescape user interface that makes the XPERIA X10 successful.

According to the latest reports, the company has managed to make a considerable profit this second quarter of 2010. When compared to the performance of SE last year, a 31 million Euro profit margin is significantly better than being in the red with over 200 million reasons to give up.

The big secret, as many believe, is with the new handsets that have been designed for the next generation of smart phone users. No longer is the smart phone market crowd composed of niche groups. The smart phone industry has come to include many in the general user base, this means that Sony’s multimedia based approach and focus on social networking is really paying off.

Take the XPERIA X10; the new Os comes with the Timescape and Mediascape user interfaces, providing users with plenty of ways to keep in touch with friends and family. It does not even matter much that the next Android update for SE’s devices are taking longer than expected. While other phones will be getting the newer 2.2 Android OS, the XPERIA series will have to settle for version 2.1 this coming September.

Hopefully, all the Android devices under Sony Ericsson are made compatible with the upcoming 3.0 Gingerbread launch that was supposed to come out by the end of the year.

Aside from this lineup of Android handsets (the X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro and X8), Sony Ericsson still has a couple of interesting devices that users might be interested in. The Vivaz and Vivaz Pro are Symbian smart phones that focus heavily on HD video recording. As with the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro, the Vivaz Pro also comes with a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Sadly, this still leaves the Sony Ericsson smart phones at the very end of the Android update list. If the Google I/O conference is to be used as a reference, the end of the third quarter would be the same time that Google would be finalizing the Android 3.0 Gingerbread operating system. SE has to cooperate better with Google in order to bring a more updated version of the open source mobile platform to their mobile phones.

It has often been stated by buyers that SE’s devices are more expensive than other mobile phones with similar specifications, and with the XPERIA X10’s operating system well behind that of the HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy S, buyers would be inclined to get the device with a more updated Android OS.

In fact, most Android devices are now awaiting the 2.2 Froyo update, and so far there is still no confirmation that this version of the operating system would be coming any time soon for SE Android smart phones.

In any case, the models affected by this announcement includes the XPERIA X10, the X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro smart phones. The recently confirmed XPERIA X8 (previously the XPERIA Shakira), is set to be released at the same time that the patch for the Android 2.1 becomes available for other systems as the X8 will be pre-installed with the newer Android OS.

Sony Ericsson has also confirmed that they will soon be releasing the Cedar 2G handset (the newest Greenheart device) and the Yendo which uses the ever impressive Walkman technology. This new Walkman handset is the first full touch device of its kind to be made by the manufacturer.

Just a while back, a few images of the TeaCake’s user interface have been revealed and from the looks of it, the handset might not be running the Android OS at all. The screens show a custom user interface from Sony Ericsson which uses the four screen corners –not unlike the X10 Mini, but with no traces of the Android OS. While it is hard to make any confirmations based on the existing screens –the possibility of the Android on this handset has been reset from certain to probable.

It is a shame if this handset turns out to be a regular mobile phone instead of an Android device. The Walkman technology has not been employed in Sony’s smart phones and bringing it to the Android OS would have been a very exciting move for the mobile phone manufacturer. Of course, Google’s many impressive tools and features for their mobile platform would also make the handset a very versatile device to have.

In any case, it seems that for now, the only Android devices in the upcoming list from Sony Ericsson is the X10 Mini, the XPERIA Shakira and as rumored, the 5.5 inch touch screen handset device. For those who have not seen the leaks, the Shakira is a medium sized Android handset (since the X10 is large and the X10 Mini is small) while the 5.5 inch device is a tablet hybrid with a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

The handset that we are most excited about is the one that has no name: a massive 5 inch Android touch screen tablet-smartphone hybrid. While that may sound similar to the Dell Streak, Sony Ericsson has squeezed in a third hybrid form: a mini netbook. This is done by using the device’s slide out QWERTY keyboard and a tilting screen technology in order to allow users to turn the smart phone into an instant laptop. Of course, we can pretty much expect this device to be even more expensive than that XPERIA X10.

The other two devices from Sony Ericsson have already been given names, and while we are almost certain that the XEPRIA Shakira will be getting a name change prior to release, we are inclined to believe that the W150i TeaCake’s name will not be changed at all.

Both devices look very similar to XPERIA in terms of their phone form –especially that Shakira which is basically midsized version of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 (the X10 Mini is a super small phone with its 2.5 inch touch screen). The SE TeaCake on the other hand is an X10 Mini that comes packed with Sony’s Walkman technology –which makes this the Walkman handset that has been rumored about recently.

This announcement is not really surprising as Sony Ericsson skipped the size from the large 4 inch touch screen of the X10 to the tiny 2.3 inch screens on the X10 Minis. According to the rumors, the new handset will have a medium sized screen, approximately 3.3 inches. This medium sized XPERIA has been dubbed Shakira and from the looks of it, we will be getting another variation of the X10 Mini.

Looking back, the XPERIA series of smart phones did not always seem so promising. Sony Ericsson started with a couple of Windows Mobile handsets that basically placed the XPERIA series on the bottom end of people’s wish lists. The switch to the Android operating system with the XPERIA X10 came as a big twist –one that had many Google fans excited as it was the very first 1GHz Snapdragon handset that would be using the famous open source mobile platform.

Adding more to their Android smart phone line up, Sony Ericsson announced a couple more devices (which are also out now), the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro smart phones have proven to be very impressive handsets despite being on the mid range of hardware specs. The X10 Mini Pro is getting plenty of fans thanks to its slide out QWERTY keyboard.

For now, the Shakira is still in the rumor bin and until Sony Ericsson makes a formal announcement of the device, it can still be a fake handset that people are passing around images of.

The XPERIA X10 is Sony Ericsson’s very first Android smart phone. The device was announced last year and was delayed in production until it got a finalized launch date this coming April.

Last February, Sony Ericsson showed off the new smart phone along with a few other devices at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. Featured in the XPERIA X10 are the new Timescape and Mediascape tools. Mediascape is basically Sony’s new media management software that helps people easily find media according to album, artist and other tags.

Timescape on the other hand is an innovative social networking add on that allows users to easily view contacts, updates and message archives in an easy to use single timeline system –hence the name.

The XPERIA X10 comes with a 4 inch capacitive touch screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an 8 mega pixel camera. The phone will be using Google’s Android 1.6 donut OS and it will be given an update to the latest Android version.

Also coming from Sony Ericsson are the X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro. Both phones are smaller versions of the XPERIA X10 with 600MHz processors and 2.55 inch capacitive touch screens. In terms of specs, the two devices are exactly alike except that the Mini Pro comes with a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Online retailer eXpansys has confirmed that the Mini will be £300 while the Mini Pro will cost £340. Both devices are expected to be readily available for purchase by May 24.

Get to know more about the XPERIA X10 at Mobile Today UK.

Good news now comes to those who have been planning to get the X10. It has been reported that a firmware update to the device will be implemented soon though no details as to the specific launch date or version of the OS has been given.

Considering that Sony Ericsson is counting on this phone to lead its lineup this 2010, the announcement of the update could not have come at a later time. We can expect this news to play a big role when Sony Ericsson talks about the new XPERIA phone this coming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Anyway, the phone has been in the limelight since early on. Being one of the very first ambitious Android phones that were sighted to use the Snapdragon processor, plenty of people followed the news of the device until they were distracted by other high end Android devices such as the HD2, the Milestone and others.

The XPERIA X10 comes with a 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 4 inch capacitive touch screen and an 8 mega pixel camera. Overall it’s a great mobile phone in terms of specs. Aside from the existing Android OS, the device also uses the new Timescape and Mediascape user interface for the XPERIA X10 –it has also been reported that the custom UIs will also get an update as well.

To see the initial news feed regarding the release of a new software update for the XPERIA X10, head straight to Know Your Mobile.

Fans of the Google Android operating system may have been dismayed at the fact that the Google phone is so hard to acquire in the UK short of having the device shipped from the US at an additional cost of 30 Pounds. Having a device with similar specs that is available locally would certainly be much better.

The XPERIA X10 is powered by a Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon processor clocked at a speed of 1 GHz -expect to get fast loading speeds on this device. The screen is a 4 inch (diagonal) capacitive TFT touch screen with 65 thousand colors and a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. It comes with an accelerometer for auto rotate and a proximity sensor (for voice calls so you can press it to your ear).

The phone will be using the new Timescape and Mediascape user interface along with the Android OS. The device will be powered by a 1500 mAh battery so expect to get plenty of hours of use on a full charge.

The X10 is expected to launch alongside the Sony Ericsson Vivaz (formerly SE Kurara), a Symbian smart phone with 720p HD video recording capability. It is not known if O2 will also be getting the Vivaz.

Get to know more about O2’s X10 offer from the source.

The Xperia X10 comes with 1 GB of memory. Users can add more via the phone’s microSDHC card slot, up to 16GB. This is an incredible amount. It utilizes a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The phone comes with a 4 inch display screen which is quite large. It is a capacitive touch screen that utilizes more then 65,000 colors. This is a bit surprising considering the quality of the phone. The phone’s camera makes up for it, with its 8.1 megapixels, auto-focus, video and image stabilization, smile detection, geo tagging and digital zoom, all very impressive features.

The Xperia X10 uses a 1500 mAh battery, weighs 135 g and has the following dimensions 63mm x 13mm x 119mm. The 4 inch screen mentioned above is a WVGA and has a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The X10 has Bluetooth 2.1 capabilities, GPS and Wi-Fi.

As one can see, the Xperia X10 is extremely feature-rich. It has an incredible camera that is 8.1 mega-pixels and many great ‘extras’ such as image and video stabilization and smile detection. At more then 8 megapixels, it is one of the best camera phones on the market. The phone features a large touchscreen and comes standard with 1GB memory. That can be expanded a whopping 16GB, surely enough memory for most people. The Xperia X10 is Sony Ericsson’s first try at designing and manufacturing an Android phone. When examining the specs, it looks like they have done a very good job. The phone has lots of great features and looks like it should be a winner.