This is basically a ball mount, but the ball is at a 90-degree angle to the conventional position, so the clamp is spinning in in the vetical plane instead of the traditional horizontal plane. This mount allows some tilt as well.
This model here is for small phones, it can only accommodate phones between 2.3 and 2.8" (58-73mm). So depending on the size of your phones, if you wanted one mount for both small and large phones this probably won't do it. There is a larger version of this product, the MePhoto Sidekick 360+ that can accommodate 2.99 and 3.58" (76-91mm).
The silver lining of this con is that there is less screwing and this makes for a more secure and stable grip on the phone.
The newer Evo Pixi Evo 2 section tripod has a section in the ball head where you can rotate it a full 90 degrees so that your phone or camera etc can go from landscape to portrait orientation. Not so with the original Manfrotto Mini Pixi. Of course one could install a ballhead that would allow this behavior, but presumably, because of the shorter legs of this original product, it may tip over depending on camera/phone. Here's a picture to help visualize this point.
It is a pain to adjust the angle/rotation of the ballhead. If it's mostly going to be a leave it and forget it affair (it only has 36 degrees of rotation anyway) then you're fine. But if you need to change it frequently this unit is not for you.
This tripod folds in a circular fashion. Some people leave the tripod mounted to the camera in the folded position during a session and unfold the legs when it's time to get low or use a surface for support.