I wonder if there are any current X10 users who previously used the X1? How do they compare - advantages/disadvantages?
Thank you!
I have x1 that I have used with original stock and with cooked ones.
The very big jump is from WM to Android; it is a completely new way of using a phone. It is really open, lot of application and lot of free stuff.
WM might be more linked to the professional applications of Windows. Nonetheless android will allow you to get synchronized with you office exchange server mails and contacts with no major issues
Personally I am more than happy to have done the jump.
In terms of hardware you have to get used to a smaller display and a smaller keyboard. I have used also the X10 which has a wider display but I am now happy with the mini pro. It is also a matter of what you need more from your phone.
If you take lots of photograph or you intend to watch video and films is better to go with the X10, not the mini.
If you look at a lesser priced android phone, smaller and with a physical keyboard then the mini pro is your choice
Grazie 1000!
You seem to be very happy.
Still comparing x10 mini pro with x1, would you also say
a) the x10minipro is snappier than the X1?
b) Is it easier to use? (phone is not for me)
c) What about stability?
d) Which has the better display in your opinion?
e) Better keyboard?
f) Camera on X1 or on X10 mini pro
I found the X1 for half the price of the X10mini pro, so cost also enters into the equation.
Thanks again!
Telephone is always a matter of personal preference and feelings.
I was not meant to say that the x10 is better in any field compared to x1.
When you get used to it I do not find any big difference in usage, but this is a matter of taste or habitude.
I found, so far,the x10 more stable than the X1; it is also true that I have not many applications installed but I use it as I did use before the X1.
Display of the X1 is better and this is way I consider the x1 better for video and films. Also going to internet having a bigger display is better.
Camera on x1 has more options.
Price is also a decison factor, but I believe that if you go with X10 mini is because you want to go with Android. And, besides the cooked roms, the difference between WM 6.1 and Android is abysmal.
Grazie 1000. I ended up with the X1, price+screen was deciding factor.
Related
Hi everyone.
I'm just thinking about buying a Xperia X10 mini pro for my wife. I went to the store to check but the screen looks really small. I was reading some reviews on the web but ther're not conclusive and always done with a fresh device.
Can someone post a brief review on the following topics?
1. How's speed after a certain usage?
2. Is the screen a limiting factor for some, many or really most android apps?
3. Will froyo be avaliable on this one in future?
4. Top 5 pros and cons?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
c3p9 said:
Hi everyone.
I'm just thinking about buying a Xperia X10 mini pro for my wife. I went to the store to check but the screen looks really small. I was reading some reviews on the web but ther're not conclusive and always done with a fresh device.
Can someone post a brief review on the following topics?
1. How's speed after a certain usage?
2. Is the screen a limiting factor for some, many or really most android apps?
3. Will froyo be avaliable on this one in future?
4. Top 5 pros and cons?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i have the x10 mini for more than a month now and the speed is still very quick, very few lags. For the screen size and apps, i think there are a lot of available apps for the x10 mini's screen size, my only nag is that i can't access paid apps yet, not really the x10 mini's problem but the android market here in my country. With froyo I hope its coming but i dont think it'll be anytime soon since the eclair update will be coming only at the end of october
Top 5 pros
1. very pocket friendly
2. fast
3. nice ui
4. nice camera
5. not too expensive
Top 5 cons
1. only android 1.6 but i can't say that i'd benefit so much with the 2.1 update coz i can do everything i need to do with my x10 mini right now
2. battery life not great, mine can last up to two days sometimes though
3. its not amoled, its asking too much, but hey it would look great if it were amoled might make it slower though
ran out of cons ... well.. hope i helped even a bit
I can honestly say there are no cons except the battery life is not the best.
If you want a bigger screen dont buy a mini of course! lol
Big thanks my friends! It's for my wife. I think she will be ok with a smaller screen if the form factor is better than the "big male phones" as she says hehe.
The eclair is officialy coming end of October than?
c3p9 said:
The eclair is officialy coming end of October than?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats what SE said, hopefully there'll be no further delays
Yep. I'm using it right now.
However, startup is very affected by application. There are alot of nasty app there which start as system starts, this lengthen my boot time. After that, it's just quick.
I think, it is the only Android device with best physical design. I know it has limitation with android version and screen size, but, it's worth the style, plus I'm not so enthusiast. So, it's so stylist.
For your information, I already rooted this device. So, should still be okay if you want to play with this device.
Very recommended.
Sent from my U20i using XDA App
ginowww said:
thats what SE said, hopefully there'll be no further delays
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is SE we are talking about. They are worse than British Rail at delays: http://www.xperiax10.net/2010/10/01...e-november-plus-more-details-on-improvements/
PS: Sorry to give you a con, rather than a pro
Both of us have the pro version of this fone there a several pro and not many cons
Yes it has a small screen but it is a small device
We got the pro cause the keyboard makes it so much easier to type
About the only major con I can think of is the boot hasnt been cracked so we're stuck waiting for SE to realse an OS update. There are a few apps that wont work becuase they require 2.1 and wont run on 1.6
I currently have a HTC Magic but I am getting annoyed with the lack of decent stable roms for it so I have been shopping around and for my budget I have a choice of either an X10 mini or the new X8 but wanted to find out which would be better as I understand the X8 is like the X10 mini but with a bigger screen and a lower camera
Dony buy either of the phones as they are dum.
I was a xperia x1 user and my x1 stopped working as it had gone in water.
I bought a x8 and my friend also had saved moey to buy a x10 mini pro.
But let me tell you that its nor worth thr money you are spending and the X1 had 13 buttons on the front bottom the xperia just had 3 buttons on the front bottom.
There isnt any direct call button, you will have to go back from the menu to make a call.
adils3d said:
There isnt any direct call button, you will have to go back from the menu to make a call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a alternate Homelauncher (f.ex. ADW) you can bind the middle key with the dialer if you are already at the homescreen.
...and for the X8 and X10 use the sony-ericsson.com comparison tool and try to look at the phones at a market.
adils3d said:
Dony buy either of the phones as they are dum.
I was a xperia x1 user and my x1 stopped working as it had gone in water.
I bought a x8 and my friend also had saved moey to buy a x10 mini pro.
But let me tell you that its nor worth thr money you are spending and the X1 had 13 buttons on the front bottom the xperia just had 3 buttons on the front bottom.
There isnt any direct call button, you will have to go back from the menu to make a call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to sound dumb but isn't the X1 a WM device? the 2 I asked about are both Android devices I only ask about these 2 devices as I hate WM and Apple iOS. My other oprion is to strech my budget for a HTC Wildfire (all of these handsets would be pay as you go)
VooDoo` said:
With a alternate Homelauncher (f.ex. ADW) you can bind the middle key with the dialer if you are already at the homescreen.
...and for the X8 and X10 use the sony-ericsson.com comparison tool and try to look at the phones at a market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have looked at the comparison charts but I am more interested in 'real life' comparison rather then a spec for spec comparison
Gavincol78 said:
Sorry to sound dumb but isn't the X1 a WM device? the 2 I asked about are both Android devices I only ask about these 2 devices as I hate WM and Apple iOS. My other oprion is to strech my budget for a HTC Wildfire (all of these handsets would be pay as you go)
I have looked at the comparison charts but I am more interested in 'real life' comparison rather then a spec for spec comparison
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had also a x1 wm phone, and now i have x10 mini pro and had x10, x10 mini and htc wildfire....
If you will have a small phone get the mini, i only have the pro becouse i use the qwerty keyboard much.... the mini/pro is a great phone, but the wildfire has a ugly screen, then you use a picture as wallpaper is looks ugly.....
so if i was you i will look at x10 mini or x8....
my 2 cents
knudsen81 said:
i had also a x1 wm phone, and now i have x10 mini pro and had x10, x10 mini and htc wildfire....
If you will have a small phone get the mini, i only have the pro becouse i use the qwerty keyboard much.... the mini/pro is a great phone, but the wildfire has a ugly screen, then you use a picture as wallpaper is looks ugly.....
so if i was you i will look at x10 mini or x8....
my 2 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for that I am not much of a qwerty keypad user I prefer the old T9 style predictive keypad as I don't text often and I can text a lot quicker with a keypad rather then a qwerty. I know what you mean about wallpapers on the wildfire as I had previously had a Tattoo with a similer size screen
My thought
Personally I like more X8. I've got X10 mini pro two months ago. I like it, It is nice device but small resolution restrict from getting all those great apps so it is not ideal. I also thought I will use HW keyboard a lot but most of time I'm just lazy to do it. On screen keyboard could be good enough for me. Camera with autofocus is nice but I have problem with fingerprints on lens everytime I check lens out. Such small phone is hard to avoid touching the lens. And also AF is not working perfectly. I experienced decently blured pictures from time to time (just bad focus, not shutter problem). So, with X8 you can save some money and still get slightly more usable device thus better resolution. Personally I'm thinking about switch to X8 from my X10 mini.
Gavincol78 said:
Cheers for that I am not much of a qwerty keypad user I prefer the old T9 style predictive keypad as I don't text often and I can text a lot quicker with a keypad rather then a qwerty. I know what you mean about wallpapers on the wildfire as I had previously had a Tattoo with a similer size screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the x10 mini has a good t9 keyboard, but the x8 comes with a on-screen qwerty keyboard like the x10 and not as the mini's keyboard
disreguard adils3d's juvenile comments lol...
Anyway i have a mini pro, and its a gr8 little phone but i bought it specificly because i wanted a small smartphone and a taste of android with T9 style onsceen keypad for sms...using the slider more for emails etc.
The X8 Depends if a bigger screen is more important to you and your not bothered about the lesser camera fucntions and like an onscreen qwerty apart from that i dont think there is any difference apart from price.
In the uk o2 are selling the X8 for £130!!!!
unfortunatly when I went to get the x10 mini today from CEX it had been sold so in the end I ended up getting a HTC Hero instead as they didn't have anymore x10 mini's within my price range. The X10 mini was going for £130 unlocked/sim-free but as it was sold I got a HTC Hero for £120 + £15 to get it unlocked
Gavincol78 said:
unfortunatly when I went to get the x10 mini today from CEX it had been sold so in the end I ended up getting a HTC Hero instead as they didn't have anymore x10 mini's within my price range. The X10 mini was going for £130 unlocked/sim-free but as it was sold I got a HTC Hero for £120 + £15 to get it unlocked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Htc Hero is also a great phone, works good, and if you root it you kan put android 2.2 on it
knudsen81 said:
Htc Hero is also a great phone, works good, and if you root it you kan put android 2.2 on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would do but I like the HTC Sense UI which I don't think is in 2.2 yet?
I currantly have 2.1 update 1
Gavincol78 said:
I would do but I like the HTC Sense UI which I don't think is in 2.2 yet?
I currantly have 2.1 update 1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't know with sense but custom rom from villian team works great with hero
http://www.villainrom.co.uk/forum/
X10 Mini is perfect small phone with lots of features better than X8
raiderkilo said:
X10 Mini is perfect small phone with lots of features better than X8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that except camera there is any superior feature in mini than x8..
Sent from my U20i using XDA App
As a X10 Mini owner, I'd say it depends a lot on its usage.
I got the X10 Mini because I already owned an Omnia HD with great camera and multimedia capabilities and I needed a second device to handle another operator.
The X10 Mini is just that, a great secondary device with great software capabilities because of Android and spectacular performance. It does hold the title of world's smallest smartphone.
However.. the small screen and resolution limits too much the android experience, making some tasks like web browsing a bit painful, not to mention software incompatibility.
For a better smartphone experience, the X8 will be a lot better.
However... for a good android smartphone experience, I'd choose none.
Given Sony Ericsson's back story with firmware updates, I wouldn't get an android from them at all..
Android apps are too much version-dependent, and SE is still late to bring an update to Éclair when every other manufacturer has moved to Froyo.
They even ridiculed themselves to the point of launching a phone with a 2 generations old firmware, the X8.
That's like launching a laptop with Windows XP right now.
And no one knows when the updates are coming.. The X10 was launched a year ago there's still no update..
All we know is that they've NEVER updated any android from them, ever.
And looking at their background SE's background with their Symbian smartphones (laughable, to say the least), I wouldn't count too much on their support.
ToTTenTranz said:
As a X10 Mini owner, I'd say it depends a lot on its usage.
I got the X10 Mini because I already owned an Omnia HD with great camera and multimedia capabilities and I needed a second device to handle another operator.
The X10 Mini is just that, a great secondary device with great software capabilities because of Android and spectacular performance. It does hold the title of world's smallest smartphone.
However.. the small screen and resolution limits too much the android experience, making some tasks like web browsing a bit painful, not to mention software incompatibility.
For a better smartphone experience, the X8 will be a lot better.
However... for a good android smartphone experience, I'd choose none.
Given Sony Ericsson's back story with firmware updates, I wouldn't get an android from them at all..
Android apps are too much version-dependent, and SE is still late to bring an update to Éclair when every other manufacturer has moved to Froyo.
They even ridiculed themselves to the point of launching a phone with a 2 generations old firmware, the X8.
That's like launching a laptop with Windows XP right now.
And no one knows when the updates are coming.. The X10 was launched a year ago there's still no update..
All we know is that they've NEVER updated any android from them, ever.
And looking at their background SE's background with their Symbian smartphones (laughable, to say the least), I wouldn't count too much on their support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said..
ToTTenTranz said:
As a X10 Mini owner, I'd say it depends a lot on its usage.
I got the X10 Mini because I already owned an Omnia HD with great camera and multimedia capabilities and I needed a second device to handle another operator.
The X10 Mini is just that, a great secondary device with great software capabilities because of Android and spectacular performance. It does hold the title of world's smallest smartphone.
However.. the small screen and resolution limits too much the android experience, making some tasks like web browsing a bit painful, not to mention software incompatibility.
For a better smartphone experience, the X8 will be a lot better.
However... for a good android smartphone experience, I'd choose none.
Given Sony Ericsson's back story with firmware updates, I wouldn't get an android from them at all..
Android apps are too much version-dependent, and SE is still late to bring an update to Éclair when every other manufacturer has moved to Froyo.
They even ridiculed themselves to the point of launching a phone with a 2 generations old firmware, the X8.
That's like launching a laptop with Windows XP right now.
And no one knows when the updates are coming.. The X10 was launched a year ago there's still no update..
All we know is that they've NEVER updated any android from them, ever.
And looking at their background SE's background with their Symbian smartphones (laughable, to say the least), I wouldn't count too much on their support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is another reason why I was glad they had sold the X10 mini and went for my HTC Hero which already had 2.1-update1 on it and the unlock for the HTC was actually £5.99 via a reputable ebay member express-codes so £120 for HTC Hero w/ 2.1-update1 + £5.99 unlock made for a much better choice instead of £130 for a X10 mini
I have both of them.
And if the camera was the same in the x8 as in the x10 mini pro, I think the x8 was the winner.
It works faster, batterylife is longer, the screens bigger size make a real diffrence.
I use the x10 pro as everyday use and the x8's just for fun, I simply love the x8 with the exeption of the camera.
And about updates, who cares really?
If there dosent come a official realese, im sure there will come one here.
Not something there is giving me a headic
iversen20 said:
I have both of them.
And if the camera was the same in the x8 as in the x10 mini pro, I think the x8 was the winner.
It works faster, batterylife is longer, the screens bigger size make a real diffrence.
I use the x10 pro as everyday use and the x8's just for fun, I simply love the x8 with the exeption of the camera.
And about updates, who cares really?
If there dosent come a official realese, im sure there will come one here.
Not something there is giving me a headic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that would be true if SE hadn't installed a locked bootloader, able to boot only their signed roms...
Sent from my E10i using XDA App
I've been thinking of trading my HTC Tattoo for a Xperia X10 mini (maybe pro) what do you guys have to say?
I'd like to know what are tha main advantages/disadvantages of the mini if possible
Thanks in advance,
K.
hello,
it depends from your expectations...
why do you want exchange HTC Tattoo?
do you have any problems with it? because your phone has almost similar parameters, x10 mini has slightly better HW specifications, specially 5Mpx photo camera with autofocus and led flash is very good, better processor, but smaller battery capacity, in real life battery holds 2 days max. My record is 3 days but it was on business trip and I didn't used mobile data because of rooming, on other side I used GPS navigation and photo camera lot so it was a very good performance.
stillka said:
hello,
it depends from your expectations...
why do you want exchange HTC Tattoo?
do you have any problems with it? because your phone has almost similar parameters, x10 mini has slightly better HW specifications, specially 5Mpx photo camera with autofocus and led flash is very good, better processor, but smaller battery capacity, in real life battery holds 2 days max. My record is 3 days but it was on business trip and I didn't used mobile data because of rooming, on other side I used GPS navigation and photo camera lot so it was a very good performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply : )
Well my major factor for choosing one is that it's one of the phones I can afford on a contract (selling my Tattoo would get me the cash needed for it) and the fact that I can have Android 2.x with working camera and fm radio (if the x10 does have one xD)
I like my Tattoo (because of its size mainly) and the mini boasts of being the smallest Android so it doesn't seem like a bad change.
My main problem with my Tattoo is that HTC dropped us at Android 1.6 without caring because of the release of the Wildfire, and because of that xda devs never were able to get their hands on camera/radio 2.x drivers therefore one has to choose between camera (crappy) and radio or 2.x apps support. Really ungrateful position to be in.
KezraPlanes said:
Thanks for your reply : )
Well my major factor for choosing one is that it's one of the phones I can afford on a contract (selling my Tattoo would get me the cash needed for it) and the fact that I can have Android 2.x with working camera and fm radio (if the x10 does have one xD)
I like my Tattoo (because of its size mainly) and the mini boasts of being the smallest Android so it doesn't seem like a bad change.
My main problem with my Tattoo is that HTC dropped us at Android 1.6 without caring because of the release of the Wildfire, and because of that xda devs never were able to get their hands on camera/radio 2.x drivers therefore one has to choose between camera (crappy) and radio or 2.x apps support. Really ungrateful position to be in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in this case, x10 mini is good for you
Go for the Mini mate
The Mini is the best phone I've had so far and believe me I've had a LOT... you wont regret buying it (it won an award for being the best phone for 2010 and 2011 which you probably know) its on android 2.1, it runs games fast @ 43FPS! for example runs Angry birds great but on the Hero which I had it lagged (23FPS on the Hero) and PSX4droid runs pretty great too =]
I have Apps2SD enabled, installed about 70+ apps/games (most of the big games work perfectly e.g. Pocket Legends, Fifa 10, Fruit Ninja etc) whereas normally without Apps2SD you wouldn't be able to get more than 4-5 big games on it.. so yeah
Do the wise thing and get the damn thing!!
PS. The disadvantage is that it has no Multi-touch but afaik that may change soon
I can also vouch for the x10 mini pro, and I too came from having a tattoo. The x10 is as good as technically and id argue better than the tattoo and I can tell you I wouldnt be writing this on my tatoo but I am happily on my mini pro
www.soundcloud.com/auralflex
Thanks for all the replies guys ^^ You've all ben very helpful =P
hi all
would it be possible to take the x10 rom and port it/run it on the x1?
Most probably not.
First of all, the X1 was Sony Ericsson's very first 'smart' phone. The X10 most probably went through radical changes compared to the X1.
X1's screen is (in 'secret') mounted upside-down, this would require a hack of some sort. For the rest, the hardware just generally differs too much, there are plenty of roms that would've worked otherwise. The X10 isn't an upgrade of the X1, it's a different phone.
It's a good direction of thinking though, but if it where that simple there wouldn't be a dozen of large development topics dedicated to this.
I need to recommend a phone to my 20 year old cousin sister. I had recommended Ace but its low RAM puts me off. All the Sony phones S15, S17 and W17 are having similar price. Would you recommend these over Ace? Which one?
I have to put a stable ROM for her and she will not be messing with such things. She needs good music, facebook and playing games like Angry Birds.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using Tapatalk
jesrani said:
I need to recommend a phone to my 20 year old cousin sister. I had recommended Ace but its low RAM puts me off. All the Sony phones S15, S17 and W17 are having similar price. Would you recommend these over Ace? Which one?
I have to put a stable ROM for her and she will not be messing with such things. She needs good music, facebook and playing games like Angry Birds.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all depend on how she is.
sk17 (mini pro) have hw keyboard and front camera, w17 and st17 doesnt have both of it.
But, st17 have dust and water resistant but since your cousin is 'SHE', then i dont thnik that features is a big plus for her (except if she is the type of active and doing a lot of outdoor activities).
I would recommend sk17 (mini pro) (if she doesnt care on how thick and thin it is for all the additional features it has)
I would recommend wt17 (active) if she doing a lot of outdoor activities and would like to have some devices that can stand some heavy situation and doesnt care about having hw keyboard for fast typing and front camera for skype etc.
for wt19 (live) ,all are the same with sk17 (mini pro) and st15 (mini) (cpu, ram, gpu etc) but it has slightly larger screen but with lower density. However, the overall design of it might catch her attention.
feed3 said:
Its all depend on how she is.
sk17 (mini pro) have hw keyboard and front camera, w17 and st17 doesnt have both of it.
But, st17 have dust and water resistant but since your cousin is 'SHE', then i dont thnik that features is a big plus for her (except if she is the type of active and doing a lot of outdoor activities).
I would recommend sk17 (if she doesnt care on how thick and thin it is for all the additional features it has)
I would recommend st17 if she doing a lot of outdoor activities and would like to have some devices that can stand some heavy situation and doesnt care about having hw keyboard for fast typing and front camera for skype etc.
for w17,all are the same with sk and st17 (cpu, ram, gpu etc) but it has slightly larger screen but with lower density. However, the overall design of it might catch her attention.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WT19i/a has got front camera
Sent from WT19i using Tapatalk
I think the Xperia Ray is the best for a girl, thin, beautyful with a high resolution screen, and there's also the pink one
XperianPro said:
WT19i/a has got front camera
Sent from WT19i using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ermmm.. i think i give out the correct info tho. Maybe you misread what i posted. We are talking about wt17 (xperia active) not xperia live with walkman a.k.a wt19
EDIT: oppss.. i DID mistype in above post. not st17, its wt17 LOL Has been too long in front of computer..
Ask your sis if there are any features or apps that she really wants because there are a couple of major differences between the Ace and the SE phones - most notably, the later Xperias are already running Android Gingerbread and will soon be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich (the latest version of Android) and they support Flash - which the Ace doesn't. In case you don't know, without Flash she will be unable to use a lot of really good sites and content - such as online TV. It is possible to hack the Ace to use an older version of Flash but it's not very good and certainly not good enough for anything like watching TV.
The Ace is a decent iphone-look-a-like - the SE phones don't copy that styling. That's a plus-point for me - I love the SK17i for being different from everyone else's phone.
The Ace has a good sized screen - but the resolution is no greater and it's not a particularly good quality screen - TFT and sometimes a bit lacking in contrast and image quality. The SE phones have superb picture quality but the smaller screens (like the mini and mini pro) may be off putting for some people.
I had a Sammy and the Xperia Mini Pro in quick succession (cos the Samsung packed in after less than a week) and they are both good but the Xperia is a much better phone for the money - looks good, sounds great, superb processor (matches many dual-core in real-world use), terrific picture quality, solid build, excellent ongoing support from SE, full Flash support, ICS on the way.
Going to Android market highlighted the additional features of the SE phones - very few apps say "not suitable for your phone" with the SE thanks to the Flash support and fast processor.
The only major criticism I have of the Xperias is that the cameras are terrible - either through hardware or software, they take all-but unusable pictures considering the claimed resolution - massively over-processed and appallingly low quality in anything other than bright light. Some people have reported sound interference when recording videos on some Xperias - that has supposedly been cured on newer phones but might be worth reading around if video recording is important to your sister.
SE's user forums are very good - plenty of input from SE themselves. Also, they are well laid out and easy to use. Samsung's are a bit of a mess - hard to find anything. SE's product pages are also very good - plenty of genuinely useful information and videos to help you find your way around the phone - Samsung's site is more like a big advert with little practical detail or advice.
One other possible negative for the SE phones - depending on your situation. SE use non-standard headphone sockets which annoys some people. They are usually fine with normal headphones but won't always work with headsets that have built-in microphones.
Basic apps on both Samsung and SE are decent. Both include some junk but I'd say that SE have less garbage that can't be removed (though that may vary of you buy from a service provider). Overall though, since these are android phones, it's so easy to add apps that it's not a big deal.
SE's support software is miles better than Samsungs. Samsung's software is bug-ridden and unstable - SE's is easy to use and reliable offering some nice features like the ability to quickly re-install the same software if the phone play up or is getting sluggish.
I really liked the main screen layout on the Samsung - I'm not so keen on the SE screen with those corners (really just folders that you are forced to use if you don't want to lose real-estate - I wish there was a simple way to switch them off). Even so, it's easy to install and use GO or one of the other launchers to get around any such niggles.
The Samsungs have one feature I really miss - proper controls in the pull-down menu to directly switch features like wi-fi without going into menus. There are a few apps available for the SE's to mimic that but they mostly just provide a shortcut to the menus so are nowhere near as useful.
Samsung's task manager is easy to use. SE don't really have but they claim that their software handles memory so well that the user doesn't need to do it manually.
Samsungs DNLA support is excellent and simple thanks to their ready-made applications - just install "All Share" on your PC and it's all but automatic. SE phones take more work to get anywhere near that stage.
There seems to be a lot more happening with the Samsungs when it comes to custom roms and mods. That may attract some people - others may see it as evidence that more SE owners are happy with the phone as it is. To me, it seems to be largely down to the fact that the SE's already have the later version of Android making many of the tweaks unneccesary. Also, just based on reading through the XDA forums, it appears that it is easier to recover the SE phones if something goes wrong when tweaking - a hell of a lot of people are bricking their Samsungs because it's all too easy to lose the imei data when tinkering with them. On the SE phones, most phones are "cured" simply by using the SE support software to reflash the phone (probably not a big deal for your sister but nice to know that it's so easy to repair a corrupted phone if something goes wrong)
Last point - the males who have seen my Mini Pro think it looks odd because they all have iphone-clones and no imagination - the girls all love it for the size and looks (I'm talking the phone )
@pengipete, thanks for the detailed answer. It seems worth to buy the SE over Samsung.
Now the last question is which model to select, ST15, SK17 or WT19. I am inclined to tell her to buy the Walkman phone.
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i would recommend SK17i, because it looks cute with slideout-keyboard equipped.. and it suitable for girl
Any of those will give her a good quality phone which will not be out-dated too quickly. The Mini is great for being so small, the Mini Pro has the physical keyboard (which is very usable and a major plus-point on such a small phone) and the Walkman looks good and has the better quality speakers.
Best advice I'd give - if the prices are pretty similar or price is irrelevant - ask her which she likes knowing that any of them will be a good phone. It's really just down to looks and her personal taste.
My own preference is the Mini Pro but the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same thing.
You really won't need to do much about the ROM - SE seem to be turning out very stable, usable roms already. Just sort her out a few decent apps and budget for a decent sized SD card if she's going to want to store a lot of music.
Best of luck - and I hope she appreciates you looking after her like this