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I know that all of the major media outlets, us included, have already gotten hold of the HTC One mini, where you read our hands-on review here to get a better idea of what you are getting into if you […]

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HTC’s new One mini may not be due to hit shelves until next month, but that hasn’t stopped retailers from officially pricing up the 4.3-inch smartphone already. Though HTC would only say that it expects the carrier-subsidized One mini to be “two price points” lower than the HTC One, the SIM-free One mini will apparently be £379.99 ($579) unlocked and with tax in the UK.

That’s according to retailer MobileFun, which tells SlashGear that the price is official and not just a place-holder as can often be the case.

HTC One mini hands-on:

In contrast, the same retailer has the original HTC One on sale for £519.99 ($792) including UK tax, a £140 ($213) difference. It also puts the One mini in-between the off-contract price for the Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 820 Windows Phones, and £10 less than the SIM-free Galaxy S4 mini.

According to the retailer, the One mini will be in stock in the space of a month, which fits with HTC’s August launch expectations.

Still to be confirmed are carrier prices, though EE, Vodafone, and Phones4u have all said they’ll be offering the One mini in the UK. North American launch details aren’t known, though HTC did tell us that there would indeed be a release, and we’ve previously heard chatter of AT&T 4G support in the Android smartphone.

As we found in our hands-on with the One mini, the new phone sticks relatively closely to the pattern laid out by the original One. The unibody aluminum casing – available in silver and black – is still present, along with the UltraPixel camera, BoomSound front-mounted speakers, and Beats Audio tuning.

However, there are some noticeable differences, though to what extent the mid-range target audience will miss them in daily use is uncertain.

HTC One mini priced up (but is it “mini” enough?) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Mini phones are big business, as HTC follows Samsung in releasing a mass-market version of a flagship handset, in this case the HTC One mini. Near-identical to its bigger sibling, the HTC One, the new mini variant slims the original 4.7-inch screen down to 4.3-inches, for a phone that’s easier to hold and cheaper in stores. They’re not the only changes, however; read on as we run through what’s new.

Size is the obvious differentiator, with the HTC One measuring in at 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm and 143g, while the One mini is 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm and 122g. The One mini has a glossy plastic ring running around its edge, however, which has a completely different feel to the metal and glass edge of the One, though both have the same bowed aluminum back.

Inside, you get a slower processor in the smaller phone. The HTC One mini uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 dualcore, running at 1.4GHz, whereas the HTC One has a Snapdragon 600 quadcore, running at 1.7GHz. More disappointing is the cut in memory: the One mini has only 1GB of RAM, versus the 2GB in the One. You’re more limited on storage, too, with the One mini coming as just a 16GB option, rather than the 32GB or 64GB of the full-sized One. Neither phone has a microSD slot.

Connectivity has changed a little, too. The One mini is still an LTE device, just like the One, with UMTS/HSPA and GSM/EDGE for when you’re out of 4G coverage. Both have WiFi a/b/g/n, but only the larger One gets 802.11ac support; similarly, both have Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX support, but only the larger phone has NFC. HTC tells us that’s down to size constraints in fitting in the necessary antenna.

HTC One mini hands-on:

HTC’s UltraPixel-branded camera has been carried over to the One mini, complete with HTC Zoe and Full HD 1080p video recording. There’s still the f/2.0 aperture and 28mm lens, along with an LED flash, but the One mini lacks optical image stabilization (OIS) unlike its bigger sibling.

Other omissions include the useful IR blaster, which was cleverly integrated into the power button on the One. The TV app itself is missing from the phone, too. A smaller chassis means a smaller battery, too: it’s now down to 1,800 mAh, rather than the One’s 2,300 mAh.

Pricing is yet to be confirmed, though HTC says the One mini should come in at two price points lower than the One.

There’s more on the HTC One mini in our full hands-on

HTC One mini vs HTC One: What’s changed? is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

HTC isn’t just relying on the One to turn its 2013 around: the company has the HTC One mini to help with that, a new 4.3-inch version of the aluminum smartphone. Slimming the flagship down – as well as some of the core specifications – the One mini is fronted by a 720p touchscreen where the One has 1080p, but still keeps the UltraPixel camera and Zoe photography system, among other things. We caught up with the new smartphone to see if the One’s undoubtable charms have been distilled down to a more hand-friendly size.

We made no bones about how appealing we found the original One, and in many ways the One mini is the same phone. At first glance you could mistake them for each other – at 132 x 63.2 x 9.25 mm and 122g the actual difference between the two unibody aluminum casings is surprisingly small – and the 4.3-inch screen isn’t far off the 4.7-inch of the first One.

Nonetheless, there are aesthetic changes, most noticeably the plastic frame that runs around the One mini. It combines both matte finishes – on the back – and gloss – on the edges – which is something HTC tells us prompted no small amount of discussion internally. We’re not quite convinced by it, however; considering it’s where your fingertips generally land when you’re holding the phone (which is, otherwise, nicely sized for the palm and shows exemplary build quality), it feels a little cheap, certainly in comparison to the smooth aluminum back and the toughened glass fascia.

HTC One mini gallery:

It’s a rare blip in the design, however, and in comparison to the Galaxy S4 mini for instance, the One mini is still leagues ahead in aesthetics. With the smaller size, though, you get a shrinking of power: the processor is now a 1.4GHz dualcore Snapdragon 400, paired with 1GB of RAM (versus the 2GB and quadcore of the full-sized One), and there’s just 16GB of storage with no microSD expansion.

There’s LTE and HSPA – complete with a 4G version suitable for AT&T’s bands in the US – along with WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX support, but no NFC since, HTC tells us, there simply wasn’t room for the necessary antenna. HTC BoomSound is accommodated, though, with the stereo speakers upfront, flanking the 341ppi Super LCD display, though the front camera is now down to 1.6-megapixels, and there’s no clever IR blaster integrated into the power button.

HTC One mini hands-on:

Thankfully, there’s still HTC’s UltraPixel technology, which trades megapixels for low-light performance. On paper, the 4-megapixel resolution should be underwhelming, but in practice the physically larger pixels themselves make for an impressive camera; the One mini gets the same f/2.0 aperture and dedicated ImageChip 2 processor, along with 1080p Full HD video recording and HDR video support. What you don’t get is optical image stabilization, which is a disappointment.

There’s also HTC Zoe, the company’s photography system which snaps both twenty full-resolution stills and a 3.6s Full HD video simultaneously. The HTC One mini gets the new Zoe highlight video presets included for the original One in the recent Android 4.2.2 update – in fact, it runs v4.2.2 out of the box – as well as the ability to use 30s of music from a track of your own choosing for the backing. If you opt for your own music, Zoe automatically beat-matches the transitions to the audio.

The obvious comparison, perhaps, is the iPhone 5 – something many smartphone users point to when they request a smaller device without compromising on specifications. The HTC One mini is still bigger than Apple’s phone, though (plastic ring aside) it feels on a par with its premium construction. Of course, HTC has diluted the specs somewhat, though the One mini still feels swift, with only minimal slow-down when processing the Zoe highlight reels.

HTC One vs iPhone 5:

There’ll also be various accessories to go with the One mini, ranging from flip-cases (with brightly colored internal lining) to a car kit. That works with the phone’s in-car interface, complete with larger buttons offering access to common features like hands-free calling, navigation, and media playback.

HTC One mini car-kit:

HTC tells us that the One mini is expected to begin its global roll-out in August 2013, in silver and black. There’s no word on which carriers will get the handset – nor which specific countries – though HTC tells us that North American partners will be “announced soon”. Pricing is also unconfirmed, though HTC told us it expects the One mini to come in “two price points below” the original One.

HTC One mini vs HTC One:

HTC One mini hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We have been hearing a bit about the HTC One Mini for a while and now thanks to a sighting on Chinese certification database, TENAA, we now also know that the HTC One Mini will be headed to China as […]

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