When hubby surprised me with my HTC One Mini I was ecstatic! After all, I was secretly envying his HTC ONE; especially the Zoe feature that I thought was so intriguing (I’ll get into that later lol). But, enough of that we will get into the review.
STYLE:
The first thing that struck my eye about the HTC One Mini was the compact metal design frame. The HTC One Mini is made up of mostly metal material. I love how slim the phone is and how nicely it fits in the palm of my hand. I can use it with ease without the clunk I get from other bulkier phones I have used in the past. This phone feels so smooth and sexy in my hand.
The 4.3″ screen display is just that! It’s a very nice size and still delivers the great crisp imagery that your used to with an HTC Android device. Now let’s get to some of these features that makes the HTC One Mini stand out from it’s counterparts.
FEATURES:
HTC- Blink Feed:
One of the many cool features of the HTC One Mini is the Blink Feed. What is Blink Feed you ask? Well the Blink Feed is the automatic updated home screen. You can have your important content streaming live from blogs, to sports to news. For me, Facebook is what I have currently in my Blink Feed since I love to keep up with what’s going on with all my friends and family.
If you want to change the content that is being streamed on you Blink Feed, all you have to do is go to the topmost feed, slightly slide your finger down to reveal more topics to choose from. It’s that simple and easy!
The other feature I enjoy in regards to the Blink Feed is how it also displays your time, date, location and weather on top of the screen. By tapping on the clock and weather, you get a more in depth view. I tend to use this feature all the time when setting my alarm or when I just want an hourly view of the temperature.
HTC- Zoe:
Ok so this feature is one of the reasons why I was literally drooling over my fiances’ phone. I think the Zoe feature is so awesome. I mean the way it brings your photos and videos to life is amazing. I’m so excited that this feature is on the HTC One Mini.
I can say I’m pretty good when it comes to editing, but a phone that edit and captures your moments like a movie without additional software or skill is an A in my book. The Zoe gives you a 30 second beautiful clip of highlights from any pictures or videos you have taken with the low light camera. You can add music if you want to give an additional effect. I tried the Zoe feature during my fiances’ sister wedding. I must say it was a wonderful effect to an already wonderful occasion.
Another great feature with Zoe is the object removal. We all try to take that wonderful shot but end up with a stranger in our photos lol. With Zoe, using the object removal, you can remove that person from your picture without the need of a do over.
Camera & Video:
With all the rave about the Zoe feature I wanted to have the opportunity to also give my take on the camera itself aside from the Zoe. The camera is pretty good. I won’t say the imagery is as bold and crisp as my previous HTC phone. But, it get the job done and your not left disappointed. Also, using the Zoe feature can be somewhat draining to your memory so you do have the option to shoot your pictures in regular mode or the Zoe.
The Videopic feature is such a breath of fresh air. Sometimes when you are recording a video (which I find myself doing all the time) you notice that part of the video that would have made for a great picture. With Videopic you can take a picture all while recording the video. Can’t really ask for more when you have something as cool as the Videopic.
HTC Boom Sound:
Everyone likes a booming system! Ok I was just waiting to use that line. But, it is very fitting when talking about the Boom Sound for the HTC One Mini. Boasting a real crisp sound, the built in Amps make for a huge sound for a small device. I love it! I love how the dual frontal speakers allow you to immerse into the music without missing a beat. The sound is bold enough for me that I don’t need to run for my headphones just to lose myself to my favorite song. The speakers are loud enough that I can enjoy some tunes just by placing the phone next to me.
Battery Life:
With any phone, the battery life is basically the most important feature. Will it make or break your purchase of that particular phone? Not for the HTC One Mini. Now I’m not going to say I’m fond of the battery life cause it really do suck. With up to 13.27 hours of battery, I would have to say that my phone usually go dead after 8 to 9 hours of use without the need to charge. Not so bad but, not so great as well considering the expected battery life. When using all the awesome features there is no wonder the battery life isn’t long lasting but, I still love the phone and as long as I have my portable charger, I’m good! *hint* *hint*
THOUGHTS:
I really love the HTC One Mini. It’s compact with all the features I look for in a smart phone. The attractive slim design is also what makes this phone a beauty. I wish they did have a SD card slot cause I do enjoy capturing lots of pictures and videos. So using an out source storage to keep my pictures and video in tact is time consuming to access in my lazy mode lol but, aside from that this phone clearly rocks. With a price point of $99.99 – $450.00 depending on contract or regular retail. It’s worth every penny in my book
