The HTC One is a smartphone you can fall in love with. It presents an irresistible mix of sculpted contours, gorgeous display, and fast performance. When the list of best Android phones for 2014 is drawn up, the One will be at or near the top. But the One is also expensive \u2014 a premium device at a premium price \u2014 and for HTC to thrive it needs to sell millions of phones to millions of people. Even Apple isn\u2019t immune to these market pressures, as evidenced by last year\u2019s introduction of the iPhone 5C as a more affordable way to get new users on board. When it goes on sale in June, the One mini 2 will be the HTC equivalent: a phone for those who want the One experience but not the One price.<\/p>\n
HTC already did this once, with mixed results. The 2013 One mini was a cut-down version of that year\u2019s One flagship phone. It had a similar aluminum build, the same camera, and an equally attractive display, but it also used too much plastic to cover up for its tighter budget. Nonetheless, says HTC, it was a success for many carriers because it \u201chit a good price point.\u201d Now it\u2019s time to do it all over again, with the added benefit of a year\u2019s worth of hindsight and user feedback.<\/p>\n
A plastic frame that wraps around the sides of the One mini 2 accounts for most of the lost aluminum. I don\u2019t mind it at all: it\u2019s matte and subtle and integrates well with the phone\u2019s overall design. Still, it\u2019s not the One. The chamfered metal edges at the front of the bigger phone gleam invitingly, reminding the user of the craftsmanship required to perfect them. As Scott Croyle, HTC\u2019s departing chief of design, told me recently, “just by the way the light reflects off that brushed surface, you instantly know that you\u2019re looking at metal.” That\u2019s true when looking at the back of the One mini 2 but not the front.<\/p>\n
Placing a One and a One mini 2 in each pocket, I\u2019ve been walking around trying to distinguish a difference between them. There isn\u2019t much. In spite of its name, the new handset isn\u2019t that much smaller nor very much lighter than the 5-inch original. It\u2019s once I pulled the devices out and started using them that the real difference manifested itself. I checked emails quicker, captured photos faster, and made calls more easily on the so-called mini phone \u2014 simply by virtue of it being so much more usable with one hand. The curved back of the One has always been a pleasure to hold, but its elongated body makes that awkward and sometimes frustrating. With the One mini 2, you don\u2019t need to stretch your thumb\u2019s tendons before attempting to reach the top-left corner of the screen. You just do it. It\u2019s a small change in size that leads to a big improvement in ergonomics.<\/p>\n
[review]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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