HTC One mini 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on May 26, 2014 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- HTC
- Mobile
- One mini 2
Lab Scene
As we march towards our outdoor test scenes, we shift to a light controlled lab setup. The setup here is slightly different from what we used in the past two reviews so we re-ran all of the comparison shots. Everything is exposed to the same lighting conditions. We'll start with a well lit test:
At close distance sunder decent lighting conditions the M8 vs. M8 mini test becomes one of white balance and processing differences. You can see a slight resolution advantage here in that the text in the scene is a bit sharper on the M8 mini, but otherwise the differences are in color processing. The light colors in the AMD A4 box (upper right corner of the box) are more pink in the M8 mini's shot, and there's more green in the M8's capture by comparison. Both captures are ok and neither is perfect. In this case I'm far happier with the image from the G2, 5c or Moto X.
Next up is the same scene, but in much lower light (~7 lux):
And this is where the M8's 2.0µm Ultrapixel sensor comes in handy. The mini 2 captures an almost useless image. There's very little detail in the Intel Core i5 box, you can barely read any of the text on the AMD box and there's very little contrast picked up in the ASUS box on the far right. The M8 mini elected to shoot this scene at 1/10s at ISO 2000. The M8 by comparison settled on 1/11s at ISO 1250, and the result is far more legible. The capture isn't as bright as I'd expect, but you can at least get some idea of what's going on here. The 5c delivers a somewhat brighter image, but with more visible noise (1/15s, ISO 2500). The Moto X is pretty bad here. If you're looking at this scaled crop the LG G2 looks like a clear winner. I'd recommend looking at the originals in the gallery below though. In low light scenarios LG triggers some sort of a multi-exposure/pixel binning mode that you can't disable. The result is great low light performance, but at the expense of sharpness - the full image is a lot more blurry on the G2. When scaled down to lower resolutions it's less of a problem, which is why it looks reasonable here.
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devione - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Why, oh why, can't more manufacturers follow the Sony Z1 Compact route..Johnmcl7 - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
I'd be interested to see the sales figures for the Z1 Compact in Europe where the phone is widely available to see if Sony's strategy of producing a flagship phone with a smaller screen has worked out for them. On paper the phone looks pretty much exactly what everyone has been wanting for a while in Android with a top end SoC, camera, micro SD, decent screen even weather sealing and without much compromise either as the price is reasonable as is the batterylife. It makes a complete mockery of the HTC Mini 2 as they both appear to be a similar price despite the Sony being a much more capable device.Yet I've not seen anyone with a Z1 Compact despite plenty of other Android phones and I've hardly seen any second hand for sale (I want a cheap one for going out cycling) whereas there's quite a few S5's around even though it's only recently released. I realise none of that's statistically relevant hence I'd like to see the sales data.
I do think Sony were too slow releasing the Z1 Compact, I think if they'd released it around two years after the Galaxy S2 they'd have been in the perfect position to catch those who wanted a similar sized phone with top end specs. I knew quite a few people who had S2's and didn't want an S4 due to the increase in size however as there wasn't anything suitable in a smaller form factor with Android they went with the S4 and find the size is fine.
A few friends and family have 'mini' phones particularly the S3 Mini and S4 Mini but they didn't just want a smaller phone they also wanted a cheap phone so wouldn't have considered a Z1 Compact if available.
Laxaa - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
My brother just bought the Z1 Compact, and it's an impressive piece of kit. I only wish it had OIS and a better camera app(like Nokia Camera on the Lumias)Death666Angel - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
From the article: "HTC then proceeded to launch the One mini, a phone that was the size that everyone had been asking for"From Johnmcl7: " On paper the phone looks pretty much exactly what everyone has been wanting for a while in Android".
Really? Everyone wanted a phone like that? I didn't. I was fine with 4.3" in my SGS2 when the iPhone established the 3.x" form factor. I liked my 4.65" Galaxy Nexus when that was becoming the norm and I like the 5.2" LG G2 which is doesn't feel much larger than the GN. So count me out of that "everyone" group, please. Not everyone is looking for smaller flag ship phones, just like not everyone is looking for microSD card slots, replaceable batteries or phones made out of aluminum. Some are, others aren't. I'm someone who is fine with lugging around his Nexus 7 when I'm wearing a jacket. The 5.2" G2 fits perfectly fine in all my trousers and I have never thought "bly me, that size is really bothering me".
Johnmcl7 - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
OK, wrong turn of speech - my own phone is a Sony Z Ultra (6.4in screen) so I certainly appreciate the benefits of a larger screen.fokka - Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - link
i'm really happy for you and you're right, not "everyone" wants all those things you list. the problem is that for people who are happy with 5"+ phones there already are many options - the whole flagship-segment caters to them.but for those who want all the power in a slightly smaller form factor there is exactly one viable offering - not much considered the dozens/hundreds of models on the market. and even this lonely smartphone will be "obsolete" in a matter of months, considering the specs of current and coming flagships.
in a market like this, i think it's clear and also warranted, that people are complaining. but even if we aren't "everybody", it's still important that we voice our opinions. sorry if you felt collateralized ;)
sfuzzz - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
I feel exactly the same. Z1 Compact is a great phone (with some flaws like other) and the right size for everyday life, you don't have to carry a bag or a jacket only for your phone. I own a Nexus 5, coming from a Xperia U (perfect size for me) and this summer will see if i go mad feeling it in my pockets all day. As for the sales (of Z1 compact) It's difficult to tell the real figures, here in Italy is available for 450/420 euros or less, but anything that is not Samsung or iPhone is a "niche" phone. I own a N5, my sister owns a Moto G, and we are considered some kind of "geeks" only for that :)Gich - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
4xCortex-A7 can't keep up with 2xKrait 200 on benchmarks that do stress all core... and it should be worst on "normal" apps.Isn't this... very bad?
Gich - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Also "it’s not much of an improvement"? I feel is more of a step back.tipoo - Monday, May 26, 2014 - link
Yeah, I'd take dual krait over any number of A7 cores any day.