Update: 03/10/13 HTC One Mini is available on flipkart priced at Rs. 37.299
HTC were extremely successful with the HTC One across the world. Here’s the updated (knocked-down) version of the very same device. Although the phones share a part of the model name, they, however, appeal to very different sections of the audience. Would the phone be worth buying? What purpose would a 4.3 inched device serve? Keep reading, while we answer these questions for you.
Camera And Internal Storage
The HTC One Mini, mimics it’s elder sibling in terms of camera as well as storage; the phone comes with the same 4 megapixel ‘Ultrapixel’ camera as seen on the One, previously. The camera is known for it’s above average performance in daylight, however performance in low light situations has been criticized of late. The Ultrapixel imaging technology is built around the fact that high megapixels don’t always have to mean better quality pictures; the final image depends on many more factors such as the sensor components, focal length of the sensor, how wide the angle is. The wider the angle, more the light falls on the sensor which allows for a better quality image.
The front camera on the device, however, packs nothing as exceptional and comes with a resolution of 1.6MP which should be good enough, given the fact that the sensor would support 720p video.
As far as storage goes, the phone packs 16GB of on-board memory. Like most other HTC phones, there’s no memory card slot here so expanding the storage won’t be possible. We hope to see a 32GB version sooner rather than later, since many users might find 16GB insufficient, especially those who tend to use their phone as a multimedia device.
Processor And Battery
The HTC One mini packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset, which in turn houses a dual core 1.4 GHz Krait processor. Given the targeted audience and keeping in mind the availability of the full-sized HTC One, we think the processor would do justice to the overall idea of the phone. It especially might appeal to people who carry a larger sized phone with them and are looking for a smaller phone with a decent amount of processing power. One among those is yours truly!
The One did well with the battery as well, and we expect the mini iteration to do as much. The phone comes with an 1800mAh unit which sounds like an average amount for a 4.3 inched device, however HTC are known to provide better run times than their competitors with equally sized batteries. One whole day for this phone would be qualified as good.
Display And Features
The device will come with a 4.3 inch Super LCD2 display panel, which is capable of displaying 16M colours. The resolution on this panel would be 720p HD, which would bring the pixel density to a respectable 341ppi. 1 year back, this PPI would be called exceptional, but that is how fast technology has been changing!
The display would be protected by the ever-so-popular Gorilla Glass 3, which would also mean there won’t be much of a gap between the touch digitizer and the actual display, which would come as a treat to those who tend to read a lot on their devices.
Comparison
The phone will have a direct competition against the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, a device which comes with the same screen size, i.e., 4.3 inches. Apart from that, there won’t be too many competitors to this device since the category of phones it features in is a relatively new one, and it will take manufacturers some time to start rolling out phones which would feature here. In general, the average buyer currently favours a device with the screen size tending to 5 inches.
Key SPecs
| Model | HTC One mini |
| Display | 4.3 inches 720p HD |
| Processor | 1.4 GHz dual core |
| RAM, ROM | 1GB RAM, 16GB ROM |
| OS | Android v4.2.2 |
| Cameras | 4MP front, 1.6MP rear |
| Battery | 1800mAh |
| Price | Rs. 37,299 |
Conclusion
The HTC One mini sparks off the rise of a totally new category of phones. Through the last 2 years we saw many releases where the devices had screen sizes in excess of 4.5/5 inches. The 4.3 inch form factor is extremely practical, and would also allow for people to use the phone as a secondary device with the primary device having a (much) larger screen. We never know, people might well get fed up of large screens and low battery lives, and might grow extra fond of the 4.3 inch screen size. Only time will tell!
We’re impatiently waiting for HTC to reveal pricing for this phone, and if they manage to keep it, say, under 18,000 INR, the phone is bound to sell like hot cakes!
