UK retailer Argos are selling the Xperia X10 Mini for a price of £179.99 on Pay as You Go and what makes it a great deal is that it comes with a free pack of useful accessories valued at £49.97 if purchased separately.

The Xperia X10 Mini comes on the O2 network, on their PAYG tariffs and for £179.99 buyers will receive the X10 handset, a 4GB SanDisk microSDHC memory card (in addition to the 2GB card that should come with the phone as standard), a pack of screen protectors and a Mobile Phone Drive Pack which includes a bluetooth headset, a car charger and a vent holder.

The special offer ends on the 21st of January 2011 so plenty of time to get those free goodies if you are looking for an X10 Mini.

Sony Ericsson frequently offer users the chance to win an Xperia X10 from their Facebook fan page. Now the company have introduced “Winning Wednesdays”. The first prize they are offering for this, is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Like the other chances to win, you’ll need to provide some details as well as answer a question.

For the Winning Wednesdays competition, you have to Spot the Difference. At first it sounds easy and once you go to the page (found here) to enter, it becomes even simpler. You’re greeted with a picture of a girl jumping and you have to spot one difference between the two photos and you answer by selecting one of three answers. There are five X10 handsets up for grabs, so enter here to have a chance at winning one of the phones.

In partnership with China Mobile, Sony Ericsson chief executive Bert Nordberg has announced that they will be releasing the A8i smartphone in the country, its first TD-SCDMA smartphone.

“China is a hugely important market for Sony Ericsson and we are committed to maintaining our strong position and driving growth by continually introducing new and exciting products into this market”

Looking a lot like an Xperia X8, the A8i will use the Android based China Mobile’s Open Mobile System 2.0 and has the following feature list:

3.5 inch (854×480) display

5MP camera (LED flash, auto focus)

WLAN, Bluetooth

200MB internal memory and supports Micro SD cards

3.5mm headphone socket

CNMB mobile TV, A-GPS, eCompass

Tha A8i will also feature TrackID which will be linked to the entertainment download service already provided by China Mobile.

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It is noted that the low camera resolution at just 3.2MP with no autofocus option is disappointing for what se-first describe as an ‘entry level’ Xperia handset and this is an understandable disappointment as it seems like a step backwards for the range, especially when even the X10 Mini has a 5MP camera to it’s name.

Here are more images from the comparison and hands-on:

More images are available from se-first.com.

We already had word that the Xperia X10 would be launching in Australia with Telstra. At the time we didn’t have any release info but, the handset has been released this week. The Xperia X10 is available on pay as you go for $1099 AUD or, if you take the phone on a $100 a month tariff, the handset will be free. As expected the contract length is 24 months.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is also available through Vodafone and Optus. With Vodafone, the upfront cost of the phone is unclear but, the monthly cost is capped at $79. While on Optus, the monthly cost is $99 to get the handset free. Again, both networks are offering the tariff as a 24 month contract.

The Xperia X10 has now been released in various countries across the world.

The X10 is available in the UK on all networks; Orange, Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Three and Virgin Mobile. All networks will sell the black model, while the white model is an exclusive to Orange. Depending on whether you get the handset from a high street retailer, the best offer could be quite different. From the network operators themselves, the X10 is available for free on £30 or £35 tariffs subject to a 24 month contract. While online retailers, are also offering the handset on the same tariffs but, will offer half price line rental by redemption, or cash back. The Xperia X10 can also be picked up on pay as you go, or sim free and unlocked.

While over in India, the handset has gone on sale for 30,000 INR ($660) unlocked. It’s also available in Japan but, pricing is currently unconfirmed.

Australia will also be getting the X10. There isn’t an exact release date yet but, pricing is listed as $1099 AUS. If you’re in Canada, Rogers will be picking up the contract for the X10 and are preparing for the launch.

It seems that the delay of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 has had an affect on the release of the X10. A few days ago, the SE-Store were listing the X10 as being released as early as February 2010. However the X2 has now been pushed back from October to January which has impacted the X10. Now the SE-Store as a “To be announced” message regarding release date. Like before though, you can still pre-register your interest and get updates on the release date.

The Xperia X2 release date has finally been updated on the Vodafone website, while the SE-Store retained it’s December release note. Now the SE-Store and the Vodafone website are both reporting the handset to be due January 2010. Hopefully this will be the last push back for the handset. Whether this will have any impact on the release of the Android powered X10 is unknown currently, but it’s likely that it will also be pushed back.

On the official Sony Ericsson Store, the Xperia X10 page has gone live, with a release date of February 10th. No other specifics, apart from the specs we already know have been revealed. No price is known either. Users interested in the handset can pre-register their interest and get updates on the release.

The Xperia X2 was set for release this month and on the Vodafone UK website, it still says “Coming Soon due November” but with today being the last day of November, this seems very unlikely.

The SE-Store however has adjusted it’s description and says the expected launch is December 09. Let’s hope it will come out then, preferably before Christmas as I know it’ll make a great gift for many people, admittedly a gift from themselves no doubt but, a great gift none the less.