From the time the HTC one M8 was launched there were rumors
of the next avatar of the HTC mini on the charts. So how does the HTC one Mini
2 stack up let us find out!
1. NAME
Yes this phone is called the HTC one Mini
2! That’s a mouthful (from now I’ll refer to it as the Mini 2) The Mini 2 might
be the weirdest name in the phone market today but it has much better stuff
under the hood.
2. DESIGN
The Mini 2 takes its design philosophy from
its big brother. With a brushed aluminum back the Mini 2 looks gorgeous like
the HTC one M8. Although the phone uses 40% less aluminum than its elder
brother. The Mini 2 also features a plastic rim around taking cues from the
original Mini. What differs visually from the M8 is the lack of a duo camera.
The Mini 2 features a more traditional 13MP shooter on its back with LED flash.
On the front side we find the proprietary
BoomSound speakers with a 5MP wide angle front facing camera. The button layout
is same as the M8 but is much more accessible on the Mini 2 due its smaller
size. The power button housed at the top of the phone can be reached by one
hand.
3. HARDWARE
The Mini 2 is called so because it has been shrunk not only in size but also in the specs department from the M8.
Under the hood we find the Snapdragon 400
quad core processor clocked in at 1.2GHz backed by the Adreno 305 GPU. The
phone is quite lacking in terms of raw power and we would’ve loved if it
featured the Snapdragon 600. The phone has 1 GB of RAM providing the required
space to run its fluidic Sense 6 custom UI.
The Mini 2 features a more traditional 13MP
shooter on the back without all the gimmicks of the duo camera as seen in the
M8. I prefer the shooter on the Mini 2 over the Ultra Pixel of the M8. On the
front you find the 5 MP shooter similar to the one you find on the M8.
The biggest change that makes the Mini 2 a ‘mini’
smartphone is its smaller screen. It features a 720*1280 pixels display making
it a 326 PPI screen, which is quite good for average usage unless you are a
pixel fanatic. At 4.5’ this phone is quite small when compared to the M8 but it
might get a few of you out there excited. The smaller dimensions make handling
the phone a breeze.
The Mini 2 doesn’t feature the full load of
sensors as its sibling does but then most of them hardly found any utilization.
The BoobmSound speakers as we have come to know delivers a rich and powerful
sound when on loud speakers trumping most of the smartphones in the market
today. The inclusion of the MicroSD card slot is a welcome change, allowing
users to expand the inbuilt 16GB storage to 128GB! The phone features a 2110mAh
battery that should get you through the day considering the fact the phone
features a smaller 720p display.
4. SOFTWARE
What makes a phone fun to use is the
software it runs. In this department the Mini 2 isn’t lacking features from the
Sense 6 UI. The phone runs Android Kitkat 4.4.2 with a custom Sense 6 skin over
it. As we know the Sense is the next best skin on Android after the stock
Android experience and it runs smoothly on the Mini 2. No stutter or lag is
found on the Mini 2.
Compromise is made in the camera department
where we see that the software doesn’t include all the modes and gimmicks found
on the M8. But that shouldn’t be a drawback big enough to not consider this
phone. On the phone the phone houses a great software even in an underpowered
phone.
5. VERDICT
The Mini 2 is a commendable phone but for
many it might seem underpowered and rightly so it is. The Moto G offering by
Motorola gives you almost the same specs at less than $200. Yes you would
compromise on the metal chassis or the 13MP camera, but definitely considering
that the Mini 2 will be priced over $350 in the US and €400 in Europe it
certainly doesn’t make it a bang for the buck.
But well for the star struck the Mini 2
might be well a phone for their choice!
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