While some AT&T customers may choose the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega as their handset of choice, others may prefer something smaller for their pocket. The carrier is launching the HTC One mini on August 23 for $99 with 2-year contract or $21 a month through its Next program.
Most handsets dubbed "mini" are generally cheaper, smaller and slower versions of their full-sized flagship counterparts. That still holds true in the HTC One mini but the device retains some of the nicer features from its big brother. Like the original HTC One, the mini version has BoomSound dual speakers, Beats Audio, HTC's UltraPixel camera sensor and HTC Sense 5 software with Zoes and Blinkfeed.
So what's the downside? The handset is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon 400 chip clocked at 1.4 GHz and has half the internal memory — 1 GB of RAM — for starters. And the 4-inch display has just 720p resolution. Those could be reasonable tradeoffs, however, for those that don't want the 4.7-inch, 1080p display on the larger version. At this size, most people won't be able to tell the difference between the resolutions anyway.
Out of all the "mini" handsets that have appeared from flagship phones, I actually like this HTC One mini the best. The handset has the same design and build quality of the larger version, plus it retains most of the same features.
The only way to cut costs is to use less expensive components, so there's really no getting around the lesser hardware specs. It's still a shame though: Some folks want a flagship phone experience and hardware that fits in a smaller package. Why not build an HTC One Jr. at this size with the same basic internals as the larger HTC One?
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