Following the success of the HTC One, the Taiwanese company has shrunk its flagship device, in the form of the HTC One Mini. In a bid to prove that “bigger is not always better”, it’s HTC’s way of venturing into the miniature smartphone market. Since the launch of the Galaxy S4 Mini, what can this palm-sized Android contender offer in the mobile phone arena? Let’s find out.
Design
Keeping the premium aluminum build, the Mini was brought down to a handier size of 4.3-inch from the original’s 4.7-inch display. It’s 5mm slimmer and 20 grams lighter than its big brother. Perhaps, the only difference in the design is the white plastic band clad around its edge, which breaks up the aluminum embellishment at the top and bottom parts of its back. This provides an added protection on the device.
Meanwhile, some of the flagship phone’s key design features were retained. According to O2’s HTC One page, the bigger variant is mounted with the HTC BoomSound, which is also perched on top, and at the bottom of their latest device. Apart from the sound system, the Mini will also carry the same powerful UltraPixel Camera, which we will thoroughly discuss below.
However, apart from downsizing the device’s dimensions, its un-removable battery was also downgraded to 1800 mAh.
Processor and performance
From the One’s ultra-fast quad-core chip, the Mini’s engine was reduced to a dual-core Qualcomm processor, clocked at 1.4 GHz. Since it only has 1 GB of memory, some of the phone’s multi-tasking functionalities may be restricted.
From the Quadrant test conducted, this device showed a large potential in performing CPU-intensive tasks such as editing photos through Snapseed and Zoe Share. Also, you won’t encounter any problems using its built-in GPS feature.
Display
From a full HD screen, its display was decreased to 720p with an S-LCD3 screen type. On the other hand, it still boasts of 341 pixels-per-inch (ppi) giving its users clearer and more vibrant images, compare to the iPhone 5’s 326 ppi screen. Also, this is enough to depose its competitor, the S4 Mini, with only 256 ppi.
Camera
As we’ve previously mentioned, the Ultrapixel rear snapper was retained on the Mini, to give the device its distinct taste.
However, despite of its so-called “ultra-powered” camera, its image quality may have a hard time competing with the likes of the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, and the upcoming Nokia Lumia 1020 (with its 41 megapixel camera). Also, this device struggles with its high dynamic resolution (HDR) feature, which is supposed to darken some parts of a photo. But, the Zoe Camera, which allows you to capture moving scenes and weave them into an action sequence, works well on this handset.
Software
HTC also confirmed that the One Mini will be running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, instead of the highly-anticipated Andriod 5.0 Key Lime Pie. Like most of the manufacturer’s handsets, it will also run the HTC Sense 5 software user interface. The phone will also retain the multiple home screens for live widgets and apps, including the BlinkFeed.
Verdict
Big things truly come in small packages, and the HTC One Mini is one of our must-have gadgets this year. It may not be as powerful as its predecessor, but it justifies HTC’s vision of “bigger is not always better.”
What do you think of this upcoming miniature smartphone? Provide us your feedbacks below. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
This is a guest article contributed by David Thompson is sometimes found writing about the latest tech, computer art, mobile handsets and updates from industry leaders like O2 and MySpace. His other passions include playing rugby and regularly contributing to a newly-launched tech blog Techiedoodlers.com
