Monday, August 27, 2012

Xperia mini pro ICS update Review

Hello, I updated my SE Xperia mini pro from 2.3 Gingerbread into 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich yesterday (August 26, 2012). I updated it using SEUS because (based on my research) I think it is better than PC Companion when it comes to updating your firmware.

Here is the link for SEUS (Sony Ericsson Update Service)
  -http://sony-ericsson-update-service.en.uptodown.com/ (Source: http://en.uptodown.com/)

Let's start the review. (Note: There are some pictures where I used the pointer (circle white dots) that comes from the ICS update. You can activate it by going into Settings -> Developer Options -> Scroll down and tick "Show Touches")

User Interface:

The interface of it is just like the interface of Gingerbread. The four bubble corners is still there and the notification bar changed. To use the landscape mode of it, you still need to pull out the keyboard.
Portrait mode


Landscape Mode and the expanded bubble corner

 Notification Bar

The dragging of widgets is still the same, the overview of all the widgets is still there but all of the themes is new and it is called the Cosmic Flow.

Dragging of Widgets

Overview of all Widgets

 Cosmic Flow Themes

One of my favorite app is still there.. The Timescape.!



The Menu and the Arrangement of icons are still the same but the icons is new.



The lockscreens is still the same but there is a new lock feature and that is the "Face Unlock". 



Keypad, Contacts and Calling:

The Keypad change a lot and now it has a Smart Dialing and you can now directly send messages on a number without going on messaging or in contacts(But you need to complete the number that you are going to text). Just type the number (ex. 000021) and click the "Send text Message" button then select Messaging.




Let's go to the Contacts. The Contacts is still the same.. No need to talk about it.


And the Dialing is still the same.. There is no changes and the answering of the call is still the same.

Messaging:
There is a little changes in the threaded messaging on messages. The pop-ups is kinda floaty and the background of pop-up message that comes from you is white.


The keyboard is still the same: the Full qwerty keyboard and the phonepad and still there is no sound every keypress. 

The Whatsapp is still there.

Browser:
The Browsing is still fast but there is no Flash (the reason that there is no flash is because the performance of the phone is getting slow when you are using flash or watching YouTube videos online using flash) but you can still install the Flash anytime.



The pinch zooming is still there. (I use the pointer and it acts as my two fingers touching the screen)

If you want to watch video on YouTube, there is an YouTube application installed in your phone automatically and it doesn't requires Flash.

Camera and Gallery:
The opening of the camera using the camera key is fast compared to the Gingerbread version. The interface of the Camera has changed.

The Slide-to-option thing is now gone, you need to touch the Menu key so that the the camera options will appear. There are 3 capturing method: Touch capture, on-screen button and camera key only. The one that I used is the on-screen button.


If you are going to use the ICS update camera, please go first to the option then change the image resolution from 3mp pic. to 5mp pic. The quality of picture is still quite good.

Let's go to the video recording. The interface of the video recorder is the same as the camera. To see the options of it, you need also to touch the menu button. 



The video recording is still in HD but based on my research the FPS or the frames per second of the video on ICS update drop from 30fps to 25fps but I don't know if that problem is going to happen in all the updates of xperia mini pro.


There are two Gallery in ICS update and the one is the stock gallery that is named as Xperia(TM) Gallery and the other is called only Gallery. The opening of pictures in both gallery is fast and if you do the double-tap zoom, it will extremely zoom the picture so I recommend you to use the pinch zooming so that you can control the zooming of the pictures.

Xperia(TM) Gallery


Gallery


Video Player/Music player
The interface of the Video player is changed. It has a glossy semi-transparent stylish player but it is not totally glossy.

The interface of Music player is just like the old Music player of Gingerbread.. There is no big difference.

Battery life:
The Battery life for me is good. Sometimes it drains fast maybe due to my usage. I don't have any problems with it but i'll observe it's battery for few days then i'll try to update you guys. That's all.

Final Words:
This ICS update for Xperia Mini Pro is great even though it is not totally a high end phone. It has a great new features but sometimes its quite laggy. In my experience, this update doesn't eat more RAM compared to the Gingerbread. Before when I use Gingerbread, it eats up my RAM because of so many processes running (I think you will suggest me to use task killer) so I used RAM booster, Task Killer and everything but when I kill them, the processes will just restart then eats up my RAM again. But when I used the ICS update, my RAM is not eaten by the processes that much and the heating up of the phone is gone. So it is up to you if you would update your phone.  But it's worth it if you update your phone with this update. That;s all. If you have questions, i'll try to answer that if I have a time. Thank you!!

29 comments:

  1. So how long does the battery life? For me, after having it upgrade to ICS, it is still worst as it was with Gingerbread! Using the phone heavily, the phone would only last around 6 hours and I have to constantly charge it & its tiring/annoying! How about you? I am afraid it has something to do with the software, I might have to reset it.. But I already have lots of apps installed :(

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  2. It is still draining too fast if I am using my phone heavy like using mobile internet and not wifi and when I am playing games like Fruit Ninja and Temple Run. Someone said that it actually drains battery because ICS is heavy not like Gingerbread that is much lighter than ICS.

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  3. You can try rooting your phone and use SetCPU. You can set your phone's processor's speed in lowest mode if your screen is off.. In that way, you can save battery. Hope it helps.

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  4. Hi

    What about the front facing camera? Do we see that option in camera options? Also, does it support network video calling? (not skype video calling)

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    Replies
    1. Yes you can still use front facing camera.. I don't know if it is supporting network video calling because I am not using that thing.

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  5. nope it didn't work for me i still have gingerbread it says my phone is up to date

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    Replies
    1. Are you using Gingerbread's built-in updater? Are you using PCC or SUS ? All of the ICS software for Xperia Mini Pro are already available. Sony already remove the SI list thread of Xperia Mini Pro because they are finished rolling out ICS for Xperia Mini Pro. Try updating PCC or SUS.

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  6. i planning to update to ICS. wil i not regret it???

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    Replies
    1. If you want to be updated then why don't you try ICS. But in ICS, it has a little problem about the camera. When you are always using the camera, maybe stay on Gingerbread.

      Here's the problem:
      When you are using camera in 5MP mode and the image stabilizer is on, the thumbnail of the picture will be blurry. It is like a zoomed image. An image that is fully zoomed!

      When you are using video recording in HD and the image stabilizer is on, the recording lags and the sound is Mono. Unlike the Gingerbread, the recording is Stereo. And sometimes the video recording is only 25 fps or 29 fps or 30 fps. Maybe it depends in your software. Mine is 29 fps.

      Think and do some research before upgrading! Good Luck!

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    2. Hi! Is there any problem about the front/back toggle button for the camera?

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    3. I recently update my phone to this setting,I'm facing 2 problems,how to take picture using front camera,and how to take screenshots =?

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    4. To take a screenshot:
      Press and hold "Power button" and "Volume Down" simultaneously then release it after you heard the sound of "taking a picture-like"

      Front-facing camera toggle:
      Go to Camera -> press the SCN button or the 1st square button that you will see after you enter camera -> You will see 5 options there: the SCN, Normal Mode, Front-facing, Sweep Panorama, and 3D Sweep Panorama -> Tap on "Front-facing Mode" option.

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  7. Soooo... have you made a test whether the video actuallly drops to 25 fps instead of 30 fps ???

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    Replies
    1. @Trppmdm, my video recording is 29 fps.. I think that it is the maximum.. There are some users complains that their video recording is only 25 fps. Maybe it depends on a software that Sony created for each country. Sometimes, the video recording lags when the image stabilizer is on.. Sometimes the video recording is also smooth.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. hey i am trying to upgrade my phone with pcc but i tells thet ur phone i up to date................ plz reply me thet what to do

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  9. How could that be? All of the ICS Update are all out! Try using SUS! Or install the latest PCC Software. If you can't still get the update then try flashing ICS firmware. Search it on Google.

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  10. Till yet I've nt get ics update.. It says ur phone s upto date

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  11. Hello, I am planning to upgrade to ICS, based on other's review, there are so many problems of upgrading it, should I upgrade or not? will I regret it or not? thanks! :]

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  12. It still depends on you! If you want to be updated then go for it! The ICS sometimes lags but it's not a big deal for me. If you are planning to upgrade using SUS, make sure that you will select the "Factory Reset + Update" option so that you will have a fresh install of ICS and you will not experience many bugs on it. But if you think that the ICS is not good (based on your research) then don't upgrade. It's up to you! :-D.

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  13. ow, thanks, but what if I use the camera and video without using the image stabilizer?, is still the thumbnail of the picture will be blurry?, how bout the video?, it will still lag? even if the image stabilizer is off? last question thanks!! :]

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  14. Camera with Image Stabilizer off: the thumbnail will not be blurr, it will have the proper thumbnail

    Video recording with Image Stabilizer on: smooth but sometimes lags and the video processing is a little bit slow and the Camera UI will lag.

    Video recording with Image Stabilizer off: smooth and doesn't lags. The video processing is normal as before (GB) and the Camera UI will not lag.

    Also, when you are recording videos, the sound of it will be MONO unlike before (GB), it is STEREO.
    But you can change the MONO sound to STEREO by editing media profiles on /system/etc but you need your phone to be rooted.

    If your phone is rooted and have CWM installed, you can install Camera Mods like Cyber-shot Mod. You will experience good quality on that mod and the blurry thumbnail on SCN Auto mod is likely to be half-fixed. (Note: The Image Stabilizer is ON on SCN AUTO mode).

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  15. I upgraded to ics and am experiencing certain troubles. the WiFi is not connecting properly and makes me restart every time to get connected. the keypad is mismapped. Is there a fix for these?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the late reply. What software did you use in upgrading your phone? If you use SEUS/SUS, did you select the "Factory Reset - Upgrade" option or the "Upgrade only". Those problems of yours happens only if you upgrade your phone without Factory Reset. Try repairing your software using PC Companion or SEUS/SUS. About the keyboard: search for the thread on XDA Developers, the thread was created by DoomLord . But you need to root first your phone before you do the procedure. But I think your problems will be fixed if your a repair.

      NOTE: Rooting can void your warranty.
      NOTE 2: Maybe the WiFi problem will be fixed if you do a software repair. I also experienced that problem, try turning off your modem and WiFi on your phone. Turn it all again and try reconnecting. Just remember, try FIRST the software repair.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. This is the thread.
      forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1224511

      NOTE: Try repairing your phone software first using PCC or SEUS/SUS before you root your phone. The problem will maybe solved by repairing it. If not, proceed to root.
      NOTE 2: You need to be rooted if your are going to try the procedure that was indicated on the thread (link above)
      NOTE 3: Your phone warranty will be void if you root your phone
      NOTE 4: Root your phone at your own risk.

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  16. hello there,
    i have upgraded my phone to ics, a year back or so..but lately i have been experiencing some severe problems with my phone..problems like severe lagging, low memory, screen blackout sometimes, very slow performance. recently i did a software repair using pc companion, but no use. also how can i degrade back to gingerbread using pc companion?

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  17. I love the fact someone else has a thing about this phone. for me I do not want to upgrade to a none keyboard phone so here I am stuck on he sk17i!!! Now anyone know how to flash the phone using sus when the memory is full and the phone won't boot because of that. (Hence why i want to clean boot the os!? I will love you forever if you do!

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