Looks can be deceiving for this little beauty. At first glance, it can be mistaken for a simple MP4 player. Roughly half the size of its big brother, the X10 mini measures 83.0 x 50.0 x 16.0 mm. This pocket-sized handset is almost as small as a 3rd generation iPod nano.

Sony Ericsson has done an incredible job in maximizing the phone’s limited space. Except for the power/lock key, its physical buttons are small and thin, but fairly elevated, making them easy to press. Situated at the bottom part of the phone are the microUSB port and 3.5 mm audio jack.

The X10 mini’s thin back panel houses the speaker, 5-MP camera lens and LED flash bulb which are likely to be scratched when negligently used.

When the phone was handed to me, I swept my four fingers downwards through its back, thinking it is a slider phone. Its arched back was a bit odd for me at first as it looked like an unstable base when the phone is placed on a flat surface, but it made sense to me as soon as I held it. Considering the phone’s size, an arched back ensures a more firm and comfortable grip.

I think that a rubberized back panel would have been perfect because its sleek plastic surface makes it prone to slips, especially when the phone is passed from one person to another.

Nonetheless, the phone’s back panels are interchangeable and come in a variety of colors that fit any type of personality and make the phone vogue: black, pearl white, lime, red, pink and silver. Two extra panels are included in the package.

Removing the back panel can be quite tricky as it does not have a release button. That explains why no command keys can be found on the left side of phone. Beneath the phone’s rear cover lie both the SIM and microSD card slots. The phone has an internal memory of 128MB and can support up to 16GB of external memory. Since 128MB of internal memory is quite small, Sony Ericsson has provided a generous 2GB microSD card in the set.

The X10 mini’s functionality is just as fascinating as its portability. It may lack certain features that could have enabled it to perform up to par with high-tech smartphones, but it is pre- installed with a number of useful applications. Running Android 1.6, the X10 mini comes with the usual Android staples, such as Gmail, Google Talk, Maps, Facebook and Twitter. A dedicated YouTube app is also pre-installed, and it unbelievably buffered faster in the X10 mini than in my laptop. With the Android Market, I was able to download a wide range of mobile applications for free. It’s impressive that applications take no more than a minute to download.

Navigating through the phone’s features is remarkably smooth. The X10 mini’s incredibly responsive 2.55” capacitive QVGA touchscreen blazingly registers every touch. Had it not been for its excellent screen sensitivity, the very thin notification bar found on the topmost part of the screen would have been difficult to slide down. Opening different applications is quick and easy too, thanks to its large thumbable icons. Sony Ericsson’s “four-corner customization” feature made the phone even more convenient for me to use as I simply dragged and dropped my favorite applications in the four customizable touch corners of the homescreen.

Data transfer using WiFi, Bluetooth and USB is hassle-free and can be done in just a snap.Just like any Sony Ericsson handset, syncing the X10 mini with any PC was incredibly fast.

The X10 mini provides broadband-like web browsing experience over 3G with HSPA. This little Android does not support Flash formats, but its web browser performs pretty well.

The only issue I had with the web browser was the zoom. Zooming wasn't that easy as I had to click the zoom buttons everytime I open a new page. It’s a good thing that the phone is programmed with a magnifying glass mode that helped me quickly find the part I want to zoom.

I’m not fond of using Facebook and Twitter, but Timescape has surely made social networking a lot of fun for me. With Timescape, I was able to receive/view text messages and Facebook updates without switching homescreens. With Timescape, Facebook and Twitter updates, together with SMS and MMS messages, are chronologically tiled in one homescreen. This allows that user to access Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Though the tiles are easy to scroll and can be filtered according to events or contacts, reading tweets, status and SMS messages in white-colored texts posted against your friend’s profile picture can take quite some time to get used to.

I was satisfied with the phone’s GPS navigation capability using Google Maps.