When comparing Manfrotto Pixi vs MePhoto Sidekick 360, the Slant community recommends MePhoto Sidekick 360 for most people. In the question“What is the best tripod for smartphones?” MePhoto Sidekick 360 is ranked 1st while Manfrotto Pixi is ranked 2nd. The most important reason people chose MePhoto Sidekick 360 is:
No springs here, either side of the width of the phone have large screws that clamp the phone securely.
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Pros
Pro Small foot print
Because the legs are short and don't spread very far, the Pixi should be able to setup in most places.
Pro Doubles as a video/hand grip
Pro Secure grip
No springs here, either side of the width of the phone have large screws that clamp the phone securely.
Pro The base plate is Arca-Swiss Quick Release System compliant
Failing that the standard 1/4-20 thread can be used.
Pro Easily swivel from landscape orientation to portrait
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.
Cons
Con Can't rotate the ball head 90 degrees from landscape to portrait orientation
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.
Con Easy to tip over once you start adding accessories
Con Does not grip phones with cases well.
The depth of the locking arms isn't enough to hold an iPhone 6s with a relatively slim battery pack case on.
Con Sizing flexibility is limited
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.
Con No attachment points or threads for additional accessories
This mount is meant to only hold the phone and that's it.
Con Needs a tripod
Not stable enough to support phone on it's own, it needs a tripod or something of weight to keep it stable.