HTC HD Mini review

No-one could really blame smartphone makers for shunning Windows Phone, after the cool reception its 6.5 release received last autumn. But, while we wait for Windows Phone 7 to arrive, HTC has continued to keep the faith, with first the Touch2, then the Touch HD2 and now the HD Mini sporting the out-of-favour OS.

And HTC continues to bestow top quality hardware on it too, as this latest handset ably demonstrates. The HD Mini may look an unassuming slab of plastic from a distance, but up close it’s altogether more appealing. A black soft-touch rear panel wraps gently around the edges of the device, punctuated fetchingly with stainless steel screws in each corner. Steel also curls its way around the camera lens, and the whole thing feels pleasingly square and solid in the hand.

Flip the phone over and the attractions continue, with a glossy flat front that features a sensitive, capacitive touchscreen and four capacitive “buttons” below it.

It isn’t the largest smartphone screen in the world, measuring just 3.2in across the diagonal, but what it lacks in breadth it makes up for in pixel count, with a resolution of 320 x 480. That’s impressive for such a small display, quality is good, and it even has multitouch support, complete with pinch to zoom gestures in the web browser.

Battery life and performance are both excellent. We put it through our tough real-world tests and, after 24 hours of use the HD Mini came out smelling of roses, with 70% capacity remaining. Browsing felt snappy, as did the OS in general.

The BBC homepage appeared in an average of 15secs over a fast Wi-Fi connection, and the phone scored a perfect 100 in the Acid3 web standards test. Call quality is good, and the camera works well too, producing well-balanced, colourful 5-megapixel snaps. Touch-to-focus and the ability to shoot VGA video are nice extras.