As mentioned, the X10 Mini offers Sony Ericsson's User Experience (UXP) interface, albeit on a smaller and slightly revamped scale. You can find a full description in our related slideshow or in the X10 review, but we'll recap the highpoints here. On the home screen you'll find four feature shortcuts in each corner of the display. Touch a corner and you'll jump instantly to the related feature (messaging, the music player, the phone dialer, and the phonebook). It's a nifty and user-friendly touch. The main menu is accessible via the arrow at the bottom of the screen. Due to the screen's small size, you'll need to cycle through multiple menu pages, but that's a minor point.
In standard Android fashion you can populate the home screens with folders, shortcuts, and widgets. It's important to note that UXP masks the standard Android interface to some degree. Normally, we prefer that manufacturers let Android be Android, but we approve of Sony Ericsson's subtle and attractive touches here. On the other hand, we don't like it when a custom interface interferes with Android updates. Indeed, the X10 Mini remains stuck on Android 1.6 even months after 2.0's release.
Like its big brother, the X10 Mini features Sony Ericsson's Timescape feature, which displays your latest e-mails, text messages, and social media alerts (Facebook, Twitter) in a flowing design that resembles a stacked deck of cards. The concept is very similar to MotoBlur in that it combines all of your e-mails, messages, contacts, and their status updates into a steady stream of information. As we've said earlier, it can be a bit much, and it's even more overwhelming on a smaller display (see the X10 for more information).
Contacts and calendar
The X10's phonebook size is limited by the available memory. As on other Android phones, you can add multiple fields per contact plus a photo and a ringtone. You can save contacts to groups and sync them with various Google services.
The calendar app has the UXP skin, but it still has the basic Android design. Of course, you can sync with your Gmail calendar after you register your Google account. If you don't have a Google account, you can create one right on the phone. You also can sync contacts and the calendar with the Sony Ericsson Sync service.
E-mail and messaging
Besides Gmail and the usual text and multimedia messaging, the X10 Mini is capable of syncing with POP3 and some IMAP4 accounts. It's disappointing, however, that like on the X10 we weren't able to add our CNET Outlook Web Access account (OWA) using the standard e-mail app. Instead, you must the included RoadSync app to get both your e-mail messages and calendar appointments. The experience might be better, but we'd appreciate a native app.
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/sony-ericsson-xperia-x10/4505-6452_7-33975959.html?tag=mncol;txt#reviewPage1
