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Ever feel that your mobile is just too big? It used to be that we were looking for the smallest mobile around, but the advent of touch screen technology has changed all that. These days, bigger screens are in, mostly because not only do they give you a better experience for reading web pages and watching videos but also because typing on that on screen keyboard is a lot easier on a larger screen. Top end mobiles these days are getting around a 5 inch screen, whilst new phablet devices are expanding even on that. The down side of all these big screens is that newer mobiles are liable not to slip too easily into your shirt pocket. Some manufacturers have taken this into account though. The HTC One Mini is, well, a mini version of the bestselling HTC One, what did you expect? It cuts down on the specs a little when compared to the original, but it's cheaper and definitely easier to carry around. The real question is whether you have to give up too many specs and too much performance to get that smaller device. We took a look at what the HTC One Mini has to offer, how it compares to the competition and what you can expect to pay, to see whether the baby is really worth investing in or not. The Basic Stuff... Here's the deal. The HTC One Mini is running a dual core 1.4 GHz processor. That's not a lot of power under the hood, and might prove disappointing. It's got a 4.3 inch screen, which obviously makes it smaller, and a pretty good 16 GB internal memory capacity. The 4 MP camera is HTC's normal low spec device, and there is only 1 GB of RAM, which again is probably going to affect performance quite a bit. What is pretty impressive about the One Mini is its overall design. HTC have chosen to keep the high end aluminium casing featured on the regular One, so the One Mini both feels and looks classy and high end. There is a rubber connecting strip joining the front and back panels (the regular One doesn't have this), but we're willing to overlook it, and to be honest it does make the phone less slippery and less liable to be dropped. Despite the rubber connecting strip, the embedded volume buttons are still metal, and so feel sturdier than on many other devices, and the power button (located on top) is similar. All in all, the design of the HTC One Mini is by far its most impressive feature, and it looks a lot more expensive than it is. Plus, that aluminium shell keeps the weight down and the One Mini weighs a mere 122 grams. The Competition... Yes, if you put the HTC One Mini up against the old Blackberry Bold 9790 it comes out on top, and if you run it against a high end Samsung Galaxy S4 it doesn't do that well. Up against phones in its own price range though, the One doesn't do too badly. Compared to something like the Nokia Lumia 920 or the Sony Xperia SP the One Mini suffers due to those pathetic camera specs and generally comes in a little underpowered (only by around 200 MHz though), but other than that holds up pretty well. The main competitor to the One Mini is going to be the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, and again the One Mini does poorly in camera specs and processing power- the S4 Mini has a solid 1700 MHz processor on board. Other than that though, the two devices aren't that much different, and the One Mini is definitely the better looking of the two. Against the regular HTC One, you're obviously making some sacrifices. The One not only has a larger screen and a faster processor, but it also has a better quality display and doubles the internal storage capacity of the One Mini with a 32 GB memory. Then again, the One is a lot pricier. The Prices... SIM free you're looking at paying around £380 for the HTC One Mini, which is exactly the same as you'd pay for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. In comparison, the Nokia Lumia 920 goes for about £350 and the Sony Xperia SP for around £330. The regular HTC One retails for about £480. Your cheapest contract bet for the One Mini is with T-Mobile right now, where you'll pay just £7 per month. That does require a pricey £250 down payment on the phone and a mere 250 MB data limit. Talk Mobile will up that data limit to 500 MB for £7.50 a month, but you'll need to pay a whopping £330 down payment on the phone. T-Mobile again will up your limit to 1 GB and lower the down payment to £150 for £15.50 a month. For free hand sets then Vodafone will give you the One Mini for no money down on a £21 a month contract with a 250 MB data limit. O2 will up that to 1 GB for £27 a month, and T-Mobile will give you unlimited data for £28 a month. Buy or Not? All HTC phones have very disappointing camera specs, and we really don't understand why the manufacturer insists that a puny 4 MP camera is enough for even high end phones- the regular HTC One has the same 4 MP device. If shooting great pictures isn't a priority for you though, then you won't have any complaints here. What does worry us a little is that processing power and RAM. The One Mini's top contenders are all going to be at least a little faster and more responsive, which is a priority for most mobile users, and will probably end up making phones like the Galaxy S4 Mini or the Xperia SP a better performing and therefore more satisfying mobile. If you love HTC and want a beautifully designed phone that's not too big though, the One Mini is a great buy. That sleek design and aluminium casing could be worth sacrificing a little power for. Phil Turner was asked by his son for the htc one mini in black for his birthday. He found the best deals available online by researching sites such as uSwitch.
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