HTC One Mini features the best bits of its bigger brother, HTC One without much of the cost and size. Although it doesn't overpower HTC One in terms of features and specs; is it a good alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini or Sony Xperia Z?

Good Vibes from HTC One Mini

HTC One Mini boasts hardware specifications similar to the HTC One except in bits. Here is the summary of HTC One Mini's specifications:

- 4.3-inch of Super LCD2 screen display

- 720p HD display resolution

- Corning Gorilla Glass 3

- Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor

- 1GB of RAM

- 16GB of internal storage

Software features include:

- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS

- Sense 5.0

- "Ultrapixel" camera

- BoomSound for audio

- BlinkFeed on the home screen

HTC One Mini has similar interface with HTC One which includes Sense 5.0 that can hide applications and BlinkFeed for social and news feeds. Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean includes lock screen widgets, actionable notifications and extended quick settings.

Browsing the Internet using HTC One Mini can be done using the built-in Google Chrome application which features tab and bookmark syncing over multiple devices such as desktop and tablets. However, the built-in browser is so much better whether you are connected via 4G or Wi-Fi. Default browser supports Flash player unlike with Chrome, pans around without much stutter and even loads mobile version of Web sites.

While "ultrapixels" sound very amazing, the 4MP camera inside HTC One Mini is not excellent. However, 4MP allows faster snapshot due to lower resolution, better shutter speed and great ability to shoot images in low-light. The impressive part of the camera is the sensor on board similarly found in the HTC One. Aside from that, HTC One Mini also features Optical Image Stabilisation, HTC Zoe feature, exposure control, contrast and sharpness, and enabled HDR mode.

As with other members of the One family, HTC One Mini features BeatsAudio technology to produce more bass and better processing of sounds and audio while BoomSound empowers the audio capability which makes the internal speaker output loud but clear sound reproduction.

If you're thinking about storing thousands of data files, double check the 16GB internal storage on the HTC One Mini without any microSD card support. Another unfortunate part is that you can only use 10GB of that on-board storage as the operating system devoured the 5GB already. HTC One Mini supports video with 720p HD resolution which could save capacity on your storage compared to full HD videos.

HTC One Mini has a downgraded battery pack of 1800 mAh compared to the 2300 mAh of HTC One. Even with dual-core processor and lesser pixels are powering HTC One Mini, the small battery life cannot withstand so much tasks especially if the smartphone is running too many applications, active auto-syncing, 4G or Wi-Fi connection constantly and live wallpaper flooding the home screen. In order to extend the battery life, use the built-in Power Saving mode which could make the device last the entire day and the Sleep mode during overnight to spare energy when not in use.

Downside of HTC One Mini

While it features similar technology with the HTC One, One Mini gets huge downside in terms of poor battery life compared to HTC One, very low storage capacity to store lots of videos, photos and music, and sometimes misses image stabilisation. Hopefully, an update can fix battery level to extend it for more than a day and the image stabilisation misses which actually imparted to the camera.

Price tag of HTC One Mini is also pretty steep compared to what features it can offer. It may cost you around £330-£380 for non-contract while Galaxy S4 Mini has the same bracket at around £360 and Xperia SP for £350.