If you want to purchase an HTC Desire 816
mid-range phablet but the current color palette doesn't satisfy you,
then you'll be happy to know that a pink model has just been spotted in
Hong Kong.
This comes to complement the five other color options that we've
known about so far for the Desire 816: black, white, red, gray, and
green.
The pink HTC Desire 816 has been launched in Hong Kong earlier today, alongside the Desire 610 and Desire 616. HTC Desire 816 in pink
The three devices have been photographed together at the launch event, and what you see above are the resulting live images.
For now, the pink Desire 816 is limited to Hong Kong, so if you're
located elsewhere you can't officially get one. HTC hasn't announced
plans to make it global.
This may change in the future, though, as smartphone makers love to
release new color versions of existing devices from time to time.
The pink variant has the same innards as its differently colored
siblings, of course, so you're getting an identical experience - aside
from the hue. If you want to learn more about the HTC Desire 816, check out our review.
There haven't really been sparks flying between Sony and HTC. It
doesn't look like a rivalry capable of producing the kind of ripples one
would expect of a clash involving Samsung and Apple, or LG and Samsung.
Yet, HTC and Sony have been contributing to the platform no less - and
are the two brands that make Android look its best, both on the inside
and the outside.
You do know better than take this as a beauty pageant, don't you?
These two have bigger things on their mind - and we don't mean world
peace. Standard-setting build and finish are matched by just as premium
internals. The very first flagships to break cover this year, these two
still have what it takes to be season-shapers: connectivity, screen
resolution, audio, imaging and processing power.
There seem to be the right dose of respect each way but not without a
dash of envy in those looks they throw at each other. After all, what
we have here is probably the best Android has to offer in terms of
industrial design. Two unibody smartphones by makers that have taken the
skill of molding aluminum and metal and glass to an art form. Both have
quality stereo speakers, great displays and both are powered by the
cutting edge in chipset technology. The very latest Android experience
is available right out of the box.
Sounds like a level field, but let's look at what may tip the scales one way or the other.
HTC One (M8) over the Sony Xperia Z2
Metal unibody
Built-in amps for the stereo speakers
5MP front-facing camera
Dual LED dual-tone flash
Dual rear camera setup for depth-of-field effects
IR port and remote functionality
Sony Xperia Z2 over the HTC One (M8)
Water resistant and dust proof glass-coated unibody
Bigger display - 5.2" over 5.0"
Higher still image resolution- 20.7 MP over 4 MP
Higher resolution video - 2160p over 1080p
More RAM - 3GB over 2GB
Bigger battery - 3200mAh over 2600mAh
OK, even those pretty evenly composed lists seem to give the Sony
Xperia Z2 the upper hand. A bigger screen (at pretty much the same body
size overall), bigger battery, higher-res stills and videos and more RAM
carry more value perhaps than a higher resolution selfie cam and an IR
blaster. And even if the HTC One (M8) should turn on the offensive, the
water-resistant Sony Xperia Z2 can always take it where the enemy
wouldn't venture.
The lack of IP certification and the questionable choice of camera
are potentially HTC's biggest disadvantages. On the other hand, 4K
videos spell storage trouble while stereo speakers in a water-proofed
body are no match for an identical setup where each has its own
amplifier. There're a lot of things to consider - is it raw image
quality that matters the most or is it image sharing and creative
effects? Is it audio you care the most about or protection against the
elements? HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2
If you're looking to get the very best Android has to offer, these
two are definitely in the running. In terms of style and feel, Sony and
HTC are not making it easier on anyone. But hey, we would be
disappointed if they did. Yet, there's nothing more subjective than good
looks - we'll try to get them out of the equation (but not out of the
story) and hope it's still going to be a tight game.
User interfaces
It's a story as old as the platform itself - we have two handsets
powered by Android but looking nothing like each other. Both the HTC One
(M8) and the Sony Xperia Z2 run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat but while the
first comes with the Sense 6 launcher, the second one uses the latest
Xperia UI, resulting in a rather different user interface.
To give you an idea we have short videos showing both in action.
The Sense 6 lockscreen has the usual functionality - there's a clock,
weather info, lockscreen widgets and four shortcut slots that mirror
the four docked apps you have on the homescreen. The unlock button gives
you three options - a swipe up for the last opened app, swipe to the
left for the homescreen and a swipe to the right to BlinkFeed.
As a cool bonus you can unlock the One (M8) without the assistance of
the power button. A double tap will show you the lockscreen, a swipe up
will unlock the device, a swipe down will prompt voice call and finally
you get swipe left for the homescreen and a swipe right for BlinkFeed.
The long-rumoredHTC M8 Ace
finally made an official appearance. The plastic-clad smartphone showed
up on the manufacturer’s official website in China as HTC One Vogue
Edition. The handset is set to launch next week, on June 3.
At a quick glance, save for the plastic construction, the newcomer
looks a lot HTC’s last year’s flagship, the One (M7). The official
images reveal that the device will be available in four colors – white,
black, blue, and red.
The revealed specs of the HTC M8 Ace are in line with past leaks.
They include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC with 2.5GHz quad-core CPU,
BoomSound stereo speakers, 13MP main camera, and a 5MP front-facing
unit.
The display size of the HTC M8 Ace is not yet revealed, though past reports
suggest that it is a 5” 1080p unit like the one found in the HTC One
(M8). The official images also reveal that the M8 Ace is all but certain
to ship sans an IR blaster.
Official pricing of the HTC One Vogue Edition is yet to be known. We
expect to get the full scoop on the device when it goes official next
week.
The HTC One Mini 2 went up for pre-sale in the UK last week, but
wasn’t slated to drop until June 30th. It turns out that you won’t have
to wait that long to get the phone in your clutches if you don’t want
to.
Phones4U, a UK retailer is carrying the device well ahead of schedule, and it’s available in all of the company’s stores.
Here’s a quick rundown of the Mini 2’s specs: it packs a 4.5” Super
LCD2 display with 720 x 1280 resolution, a quad-core 1.2GHz processor
with 1GB, and 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot that
supports up to 128GB cards. The One Mini 2’s camera is also a 13MP one,
as opposed to its big brother’s duo unit.
What will the phone cost you? Well SIM-free the handset will run
£359.95. Of course, there are price breaks if you decided to sign a
contract. For example, EE is giving away the Mini 2 for free if you
agree to pay £29.99 a month. It’ll get you 1,000 minutes, unlimited SMS,
and 1GB of data.
HTC’s original One Mini was a success, time will tell if the Mini 2 will follow in its footsteps.
It’s funny that a device with a 4.5” is considered “Mini” in this day and age.
Meant to be a best-in-class midrange phone, HTC's Desire 816 lacks the fancy aluminum body of its more expensive sibling, the One M8. But this plastic-clad beauty keeps most of the style and a good share of the features too. Like the One Mini,
it only cuts the right corners, ditching a few fancy extras that add to
a smartphone's price, while keeping the essentials that make a mobile
reliable, attractive, and useful. Announced
earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, HTC's Desire 816 was a real
surprise. In fact, HTC itself seemed somewhat caught off guard -- the
Desire 816 phones on display at the company's booth in Barcelona were
non-functional prototypes. But now, almost three months later, the
Desire 816 is ready for prime time.
The Desire 816 delivers a lot
for a reasonable price -- around $400, £300 or AU$400 without a
contract. For now, HTC is only releasing the Desire 816 in Europe and
Asia, but you may be able to buy it in other regions online. It's
expected to go on sale over the next month, with UK retailers listing
early June as the expected date.
Design
HTC is unifying its range with a standard look, with
the Desire 816 a prime example. The rounded edges do a good job of
mimicking the One M8, despite being made of plastic.
Like the One M8, the 816 has front-facing BoomSound speakers,
but instead of the fine laser-drilled grilles of its fancier sibling,
the Desire 816 has several larger holes, which are really distinctive.
The front-facing speakers make watching videos on the phone a much
better experience, as you don't need to cup the speakers with your hand
to redirect the sound to your ears.
The front-facing speakers look less distinguished than those on the One M8.
Aloysius Low/CNET
The
5.5-inch HD screen is brilliant, with great viewing angles. While it's
not a Full HD display, the 1,280x720-pixel resolution is more than sharp
enough.
The 816 may not have the premium feel of the One M8, but
its plastic chassis has its own charms, without the cheaper feel of some
Samsung products. Just be aware that the back cover attracts
fingerprints much too easily.
Instead, HTC seems to have taken inspiration from Apple's iPhone 5C,
and the 816 sports a familiar shiny and glossy plastic rear. To make
sure the phone doesn't slip from your hands, HTC has made the edges of
the phone matte. Honestly, with the fingerprint issues, the Desire 816
would have been better served if the entire phone was covered in a
similar finish.
Located on the left side is a flap that hides the
microSD and nano-SIM card slots. There also appears to be another SIM
card slot, but that's blocked up. HTC said that instead of creating a
different model for the dual-SIM version of this phone, the company uses
a unified design that can be tweaked for different features as needed,
hence the unusable blocked slot.
While there are two nano-SIM card slots, one is blocked.
Aloysius Low/CNET
Overall,
the phone feels well-constructed and solid. It's slightly heavier than
the One M8 at 5.8 ounces (165g) but the weight is properly balanced and
quite comfortable to hold with one hand.
The Desire 816 is powered
by a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, has 8GB of
onboard storage and 1.5GB of RAM. If 8GB doesn't sound like much space,
fret not, as the phone has a microSD card slot. Connectivity wise, it
comes with 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but there's no NFC.
Like the One M8, the Desire 816 runs the new Sense 6 UI on top of
Android KitKat (4.4.2), and it has all the goodies found on the flagship
phone. You get BlinkFeed, the color-coded features and pretty new font.
It also comes with 50GB of Google Drive storage free.
What's
missing, however, are the gesture controls found on the One M8. You
can't tap the display to wake up the handset. Nor can you turn the phone
sideways and hold on to the volume rocker to turn on the camera. HTC
feels it has to draw the line somewhere to separate its premium and
midrange products, though it wouldn't surprise me if someone figures out
how to port these features over (since they appear to be
software-controlled) in a custom ROM.
Key features
5.5" 720p Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen with 267ppi
5MP front-facing camera with BSI sensor; HDR; 1080p video recording
8GB of built-in memory
microSD card slot
Accelerometer; gyro and proximity sensor; ambient light sensor; barometer
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated microphone
Front-facing stereo speakers with BoomSound and built-in amplifiers
2,600mAh battery; Extreme Power Saving Mode
HTC Zoe app
Main disadvantages
Power key is on top, hard to reach on a big phone
Side buttons are poorly positioned and feel cheap
Small battery for a phablet
Underwhelming stereo speaker loudness
The only big deal in the negative column is the relatively small
battery - 2,600mAh is phone-grade battery capacity. It does have the
Extreme power saving mode, but that's not meant for daily usage. We'll
run our battery test to determine how much battery size hurts the
phablet.
Other than that, the HTC Desire 816 checks all the right boxes - a
promising 13MP / 1080p camera, a decent selfie cam, solid audio
credentials, LTE connectivity, expandable storage and the latest
software. HTC Desire 816 chilling at our office
Flagship smartphones seem to have hit a wall with innovation and have
started piling on gimmicky features. So it's segments like midrange
phones and phablets that emerge as the new drivers of growth and we're
glad HTC didn't miss that boat.
But how good a midrange phablet can we expect from a company that has
so far been most prominent in the premium smartphone business?
Reception in China has been great, with millions of people genuinely
interested in the Desire 816 but flip to the next page for a more
Western perspective on it.
Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Sense 6
The HTC Desire 816 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat, dressed in the version
of HTC Sense UI, matching the One (M8) and One mini 2. HTC Sense 6
brings new features on board and improves the existing functionality of
the user interface.
Here goes a quick video of HTC Desire 816 with Sense 6 in action.
The lockscreen features a clock with weather info plus four shortcut
slots. Missed calls and incoming messages are duly displayed too of
course. Widgets are optional and disabled by default.
Swiping up the unlock button gives you three different options.
Swiping up takes you to the last app you used, while swiping to the left
or to the right will take you to the homescreen or BlinkFeed
respectively. HTC Sense 6 lockscreen with optional widgets
Unlike the HTC One (M8) the Desire 816 phablet cannot be unlocked
with a swipe or double tap, meaning you have to reach for the power/lock
key.
This generation of HTC products features on-screen buttons with the
classic arrangement of Back, Home and App switcher. HTC's custom scheme
of Back and Home only has been dropped (and we don't miss it).
The leftmost homescreen pane of the Desire 816 is once again reserved
for HTC BlinkFeed. It aggregates content from your social networks, as
well as from over a thousand news sources. You can pick what topics
you're interested in and BlinkFeed will automatically pull relevant
content. You can also search for specific content. BlinkFeed combines social updates with news articles
You're not stuck with BlinkFeed if you don't like it - the rest of
the homescreen panes are the standard affair with shortcuts and widgets.
You can also fully remove the BlinkFeed panel if you wish. BlinkFeed panel can be fully removed • regular homescreens are available too
The notification area features toggles similar to those of vanilla
Android. They can be accessed via the dedicated button or with a
two-finger swipe. The toggles can't be reordered or hidden, but a long
press brings out the relevant Settings page. Some (like the Brightness
toggle) are multi stage so you tap them several times until you reach
the desired mode. Power toggles made it to the notification area
Note that the status bar on top of the screen is normally
semi-transparent or black, but select HTC apps change its color to match
their own highlight color, similar to iOS. This doesn't seem to work
with third-party apps though.
The default layout of the app drawer is a 4 x 5 grid of app icons. A 3
x 4 mode is also available but that's a waste of a 5.5" screen. You can
sort app icons alphabetically, chronologically or manually and you can
hide the ones you don't need but can't uninstall (bloatware). The app drawer • sorting options • searching
HTC has remodeled the task switching interface - recent apps are
displayed in a 3 x 3 grid of thumbnails. This allows more apps to fit on
the screen but since there's no scrolling 9 is all the recent apps
you'll see. Custom app switcher • there's a shortcut for the Running apps screen
HTC Sense has a dedicated Car mode screen, which can launch automatically when the phablet connects to your car's Bluetooth. Car mode with big, easy to hit buttons
HTC Desire 816 also has a built-in restricted access Kid mode. It is
an app that lets you set up a profile for each of your kids, with a
photo and birthdate and pick which apps they can have access to. Kid Mode
Camera
Instead of the Ultrapixel camera found on the One M8,
HTC chose to use a more conventional 13-megapixel shooter instead. Now,
some of you may be thinking that this is an upgrade -- after all, one of
the biggest complaints about the Ultrapixel camera is the lowly
4-megapixel resolution, so you'll get more details with 13 megapixels,
right?
While you do get more detail, the images taken with the
Desire 816 can be quite noisy. This is quite noticeable at 100 percent
crop. That said, if you're always taking pictures with good lighting,
you'll definitely appreciate having more detail in your images.
Do
note that the fancy picture effects found on the One M8, such as
UFocus, aren't available on the 816, though you do get some image
filters. The "Zoe" feature is also missing, so you won't be able to take
quick video clips for sharing. The camera is quick to take a picture,
but there's a delay in shot-on-shot times.
Indoor natural light (click to enlarge).
Aloysius Low/CNET
HDR test shot (click to enlarge).
Aloysius Low/CNET
Indoor lighting (click to enlarge).
Aloysius Low/CNET
Performance
The
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 isn't the most powerful processor available,
but that's the compromise you have to accept for the cheaper price tag.
On the Quadrant benchmark, the Desire 816 did quite well, scoring 12,708
to easily surpass the two-year-old HTC One X. On the Linpack multi-thread test, the Desire 816 managed 288.813 MFLOPs.
I
watched YouTube videos, surfed the Web and switched between apps with
nary a pause. The only issue I encountered was the slightly slow camera
shutter, as mentioned above.
Call quality
The call quality
of the phone showed no issues at all, though the audio volume did seem a
tad too loud. I found myself adjusting the volume down often.
Battery life
Equipped
with a 2,600mAh battery (the same as the One M8), the phone certainly
doesn't match up to slightly bigger phablets such as the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 and 5.9-inch G Pro 2
with their 3,200mAh batteries. And although this isn't the first HTC
device to have a non-removable battery, I'd much prefer a removable
battery.
That said, the Desire 816 lasted a day of moderate use --
that's with two email accounts, Facebook and Twitter on push. If you're
a heavy user, you may want to carry a charger with you. Do note that
there's the option to turn on an "Extreme Power Saving" mode that should
hopefully help it last long enough to get you to a charging point.
The GoodThe
HTC Desire 816's plastic body is well built. The brilliant 5.5-inch HD
display has excellent viewing angles, and the quad-core processor runs
smoothly, with hardly any lag.
The BadThe
glossy plastic rear is a fingerprint magnet, which is especially
noticeable on the darker models. The lack of a removable battery is
disappointing, given its relatively small capacity.
The Bottom LineThe
HTC Desire 816's combination of solid design and quality performance
strikes all the right chords to make it a compelling phone for its
price.
Following a blurry photo of the HTC (M8) Ace's front, a render of the phone's back panel is now upon us. Thanks to the Chinese news outlet ifanr, we can catch a glimpse of what rumors suggest is a plastic variant of the One (M8).
Made entirely out of polycarbonate in order to reduce manufacturing
costs and better compete with the Samsung Galaxy S5, the phone seemingly
lacks its premium brother's dual-camera setup. The layout, however, is
quite similar, but instead of the One (M8)'s 4MP sensor, there's a LED
flash. We're yet to see if below it, HTC will fit an UltraPixel sensor
or a regular 8MP or 13MP camera.
Meanwhile, HTC teased that "more beautiful curves are coming soon."
Citing a quote by English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the company
teases a phone that would feature curves in its design.
Further information on the HTC (M8) Ace is scarce, but some rumors
suggest it will have a 5" 1080p display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC
with 2.5GHz quad-core CPU. Most importantly, the launch price of the
smartphone is said to be CN¥3,000 (around $480). This means that the M8
Ace will be quite a lot cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S5 when
available, placing it in a more competitive stance.
HTC has expanded the One family with a new petite member - the HTC
One mini 2. Note that it's not One (M8) mini, this is more of a sequel
to the One mini from last year. Perhaps most telling of this is the
camera, a 13MP shooter rather than the questionable dual-camera of the
M8. Still, the HTC One mini 2 looks just the same as the new HTC One M8,
so the family relation is more than obvious. HTC One Mini 2 official photos
The HTC One mini 2 preserves the qualities that made the original
mini great, namely the premium aluminum unibody design, the excellent
screen and the stereo front-facing speakers. There are major changes
though, the screen grew to 4.5" from 4.3" and the camera more than
tripled its resolution to a 13MP. Here's a cheat sheet of One mini 2's
specifications.
Camera: 13MP auto-focus camera, BSI sensor, f/2.2; LED flash
Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps with HDR; 720p @ 60fps
Front camera: 5MP front-facing camera; 1080p @ 30fps video
Connectivity: dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA,
Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, standard microUSB port with MHL and USB host, GPS
receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack
Battery: 2,100mAh Li-Po
Misc: BoomSound stereo speakers on the front, HTC Zoe
The HTC One mini 2 runs the latest software from Google and HTC on a
different Snapdragon 400 chipset than the original One mini. It adds a
microSD card slot, which is more than welcome, as the limited storage
was one of the more common complaints we've heard about its predecessor. HTC One mini 2 joins the original One mini in our office
The One mini 2 grew in size as well as features. The original HTC One
mini was already taller than most other 4.3" phones, and the new one is
even taller. The width of the two though is almost the same.
The in-hand feel is as premium as ever, but flip to the next page for our thoughts on the second generation One mini hardware.
Hardware
The HTC One mini 2 takes its design cues almost entirely from the big
One (M8), it will even inherit its color options: Gunmetal Gray (the
one we have), Glacial Silver and Amber Gold. Here's a quick hardware
tour and a comparison between the One mini 2, the original One mini and
the One (M8).
The metal unibody has been updated and now there's less plastic
around the sides than before. It's a matte black plastic that's very
unobtrusive. The screen grew to 4.5", but the smartphone remains nicely
compact; it's only as wide as the old One mini.
The stereo speakers make it rather tall though, standing at 137.4mm -
over 5mm taller than the previous model, it's even a millimeter taller
than the Samsung Galaxy S5, which has 5.1" screen. HTC made the move to
on-screen buttons this generation, but this didn't help the height
problem. HTC One mini 2 (left) and HTC One mini (right) HTC One mini 2 (left) and HTC One (M8)
The new One mini 2 (a winning name, isn't it?) is a tad heavier
though metal phones feel better when they have a bit of heft to them.
The curved back lets the device rest comfortably in the palm of your
hand. HTC One mini 2 in the hand
The phone is also a just over millimeter thicker than the previous model, but the Li-Po battery grew to 2,100mAh.
HTC promises over 16 hours of 3G talk time with the battery, but
we'll do our own tests to verify that. The One mini 2 also features an
Extreme power saving mode, which can be enabled automatically at a
preset battery charge. It disables the most power-hungry features and
switches the launcher with a simplified one that only allows access to
the remaining features. Extreme power saving mode turns the One mini 2 into a feature phone but extends battery life
Let's move away from physical size, obviously it will be an issue for
some but the improvements HTC made to the new device should balance
that out.
Screen resolution went unchanged, 720p, but pixel density remains in
Retina territory at 326ppi. It's a high-quality LCD with great image
quality and viewing angles. The HTC One mini 2 has a high-quality screen
The BoomSound stereo speakers that surround the display no longer
have Beats, but they have individual amps, the same ones used in the One
(M8).
The HTC One mini 2 features a 13MP camera on the back that records
1080p video, while the camera on the front shoots 5MP stills and also
records 1080p videos. There's only a single-LED flash on the back,
rather than a dual-tone flash like on the One (M8). 5MP camera above the screen • BoomSound speakers above and below • 13MP camera on the back with LED flash
Unlike last time, here you shouldn't worry about storage when
recording 1080p videos - the HTC One mini 2's 16 gigs worth of built-in
storage is expandable with a microSD card. The second card slot, which
you can spot bellow is for the nanoSIM. The previous generation used the
larger microSIM. Card slots on either side of the One mini 2, nanoSIM and microSD
It's hard to notice but the first batch of Gunmetal Gray phones (like
ours) have a volume button that doesn't quite match the brushed metal
look of the rest of the phone. HTC says it has reconsidered the design
and will change the button to match the back.
The 3.5mm audio jack is on top, near the power key, not at the bottom
next to the microUSB 2.0 port like it is on the HTC One (M8). 3.5mm audio jack and power key on top • microUSB 2.0 port on bottom
Software
The HTC One mini 2 will launch with Android 4.4 KitKat and HTC's
latest Sense 6. The software runs snappily and feels virtually identical
to the One (M8).
The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset once again, but
unlike the dual-core Krait of last year, this one packs four Cortex-A7
cores at 1.2GHz. The GPU is still an Adreno 305, though considering the
screen resolution had seen no change, it should be good enough.
This is essentially the same chipset as the one in the Moto G and the
LG G2 mini. It's nowhere near the Snapdragon 800 of the Sony Xperia Z1
Compact though.
BlinkFeed is part of the homescreen (the leftmost pane) and it
combines social networks and news sources into one stream.
Regular-looking homescreen panes are available too. BlinkFeed on Sense 6 • mostly-standard Android 4.4 KitKat interface
Kid Mode allows you to create restricted profiles for several
children, giving each access only to several apps. Car mode is available
too. It has a simplified UI, but when behind the wheel you should tap
the One mini 2 with three fingers to activate voice commands. Kid mode • Car mode • voice commands
The HTC One mini 2 is no longer saddled with a stripped down version
of the current One camera. True, it lacks the second camera for effects
but it comes with a 13MP BSI sensor, which we consider an upgrade. The
difference should be especially noticeable in daylight and with an f/2.2
aperture, it should do okay in the dark, too. The sensor is 4:3, unlike
the widescreen sensor of the One (M8). The camera interface
The front-facing camera is a 5MP shooter with a BSI sensor, which
should make the One mini 2 as good at taking selfies as the HTC One
(M8). The Touch Up feature will smoothen your skin, adjust the contours
of your face and remove red eye.
Both cameras can record 1080p video, which is what we can expect from
a device in this range. Even the mighty mini that is the Xperia Z1
Compact tops out at 1080p and for what matter, so does the One (M8).
The updated HTC Zoe is on board, even though there's no dedicated Zoe
mode in the camera UI. It can create Highlight videos from your photos,
share them with your friends and let them add their own shots and
videos with the Remix functionality. HTC Zoe for sharing photos with friends
The phone has LTE connectivity, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
4.0 with aptX audio codec and NFC (which was missing on last year's
model). DLNA can be used to beam multimedia to supported devices using a
three finger swipe gesture. A three swipe gesture triggers DLNA sharing
First impressions
This has been a very brief encounter with the HTC One mini 2. The
metal unibody offers a premium feel that is unmatched this side of the
Apple/Android divide, though some of the specs don't scream flagship.
When we say that we're looking mostly at the chipset as even the
venerable Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (the best equipped mini around) comes
with only 720p screen resolution. Still, this chipset fared quite well
in the Moto G and LG deemed it good enough for its own mini, the LG G2
mini.
The 13MP camera is a major update, maybe it can't compete with Sony's
20MP shooter, but the One (M8) camera felt like a letdown and this is
HTC's chance to redeem itself. The addition of a microSD card slot is
another thing people will be happy about.
The HTC One mini 2 is a prized addition to Android's mini lineup. The
"mini" moniker will certainly come under fire though - not because of
the 4.5" screen but because of the height. Is it worth it though? After
all width and thickness are usually bigger considerations when it comes
to handling, but we shouldn't forget that the power button on this one
is still placed on the top.
Well, you can see we've got a lot of burning question to answer in our full review. Stay tuned!
