HTC One Mini 2

The HTC One Mini 2 is a large phone that narrowly misses out on being deemed a Best Buy. It hasn’t quite got the impressive list of features found on its bigger brother, the M8, and we would like it to have a faster processor and longer battery life, but it’s a decent option for those looking for a small Android phone.

It’s a scaled down version of the HTC One Mini  2 (mounted hair both regarding size and specification). It has a 4.5-inch screen, runs on Android and offers superfast 4G connectivity. It’s a sleek and stylish phone. The metal finish makes it slightly heavier than other phones of this size, but it does still lend it a premium feel. Its 4.5-inch screen is rather small by today’s standards, but that does mean it’s comfortable to hold in one hand, and your fingers won’t be stretching to reach the far corner of the touchscreen. It is worth noting that some might find the metal finish a little slippery.

HTC One Mini 2

It has the same 720×1,280 resolution screen which is the same as its predecessor. While we were a little disappointed that it didn’t get an upgrade, it still makes text and graphics appear sharp. It’s OK for watching the video, but sadly not the best we found it to be a little grainy and the motion could be smoother. And as with many phones, the display looks faded when you take it outside. The touchscreen is fast and responsive.

It has a 1.2GHz quad-core processor; it’s a little slow and, it won’t suit you if you want to play graphics-heavy games. But if you’re content with browsing the internet and playing the odd puzzle, it will be fast enough.

The works on the latest version of Google’s Android operating system (4.4.2 or KitKat). Android is much easy to use, although it will take a bit of getting used to if you haven’t seen it before. Unlike Apple’s iOS, it lets you customize the different homepages. It also gives you access to millions of apps, books, movies and games from the Google Play store.

HTC One Mini 2

HTC One has overlaid this with its Sense interface, so it looks a little different to Android phones from other manufacturers and has some unique features. The most noticeable addition is BlinkFeed, which pulls together stories you force be interested in from various news sites and updates from your social networks. Drawing on a tile will show you the article, tweet or photo in full-screen mode.

It has two front-facing speakers which provide reasonable call quality. And it’s good for listening to music while on the move, thanks to a decent pair of bundled headphones. We found they produce clear sound with an impressive amount of detail.

Battery life is good it’ll give just under 15 hours of call time, or seven hours of web browsing. That is an improvement on its predecessor but isn’t the best around. It’s also worth noting that the One Mini 2 is a tight unit, which means you won’t be able to replace the battery if it fails.

HTC One Mini 2

HTC has ditched the 4Mp ‘Ultra Pixel’ camera found on the M8 and the original One Mini, and equipped this with a 13Mp resolution auto-focus camera instead. Overall it takes good snaps. One criticism would be the flash, which isn’t powerful enough and makes for dark and slightly grainy photos in low light conditions. It’s acceptable for taking the occasional video too, although you’ll notice there is some stutter with moving subjects.

And finally, it’s good for those who like to take the perfect selfie, thanks to the 5Mp front-facing camera this has a higher resolution than you’d find with many rivals. It’s tricky to insert the SIM card; you’ll need to use your fingernail to prise it open.Is there anything else I should know? Of the 16GB of storage space, just over 10GB is free for use. And unlike the first generation Mini, it comes with a memory card slot, so you can add an extra 128GB of storage if you need to.

That is a stylish phone, with a bright screen and expandable memory. It could be speedier, and we’d like the battery to last a bit longer, but overall it does a good job. If you’re looking for something a little cheaper and don’t mind sacrificing this phone’s good looks, then also consider the more affordable HTC One Desire 610. Tell us what you think of it to help members and improve our testing click on the Customer views tab at the top of this page. Pros: Sleek design, expandable memory, good front and rear cameras, good headphones Cons: Fiddly SIM card slot, slippery to hold, advanced users will find it a little slow Related posts: HTC One Mini.