HTC HD Mini
HTC have recently unveiled a new range of mobile devices of which their new HD Mini is one. It is a Sense-based Windows device and it aims at delivering the improved specifications of the previously very popular HD2 in a much sleeker and compact device. According to Peter Chou, HTC’s Chief Executive Officer, the original HD2 ended up richly exceeding any and all expectations for its demand, which is what led the company to expand and improve upon both its functions and design in the Mini.
Mr Chou stated that ‘the new HD Mini is designed to deliver all of the experience and capabilities of the original HD2 to customers, only in a much improved and more sleek and compact design’ and he hopes that, in this way, the device can fully satisfy customers in terms of both design and function. He also ventured that the integration of HTC Sense and Windows Phone on the HD Mini would give customers much more choice ‘in an advanced Windows phone that is sleek and user-friendly’.
HTC HD Mini
There is little question that the HTC HD Mini has been painstakingly designed, and a lot of attention has clearly been focussed on delivering a user-friendly device. The originality and strength of the design is fully encapsulated and is clearly evident should wish ever remove the battery holder and look under the cover as doing so will reveal a striking yellow interior. Clearly, no design feature has been overlooked in striving for originality.
Much in the vein of all of HTC’s newly-released devices the HD Mini also runs the HTC Sense system which is also extremely user friendly – as Mr Chou stated, ‘with its aim of putting the user at the very heart of their mobile experience.’ Sense is great to use for virtually all users and it affords the user easy navigation between any of the currently open and running screens by means of pinching and tapping via the Leap or ‘Helicopter View’, operating in much the same way as Expose works on the Mac.
HTC HD Mini
The dedication to putting the user at the very heart of things is continued by the user of Outlook integration, which affords the user the opportunity to see multiple shots in one view – be they text messages, photos, e-mails or status updates from social networking sites. The device also comes complete with an application called HTC Peep which is the company’s Windows-based Twitter application, allowing the user to ‘Tweet’ and follow their Twitter stream. There is also a capacitive touchscreen which allows the user to not only view websites and documents but also to zoom in and out and also re-size – a great feature, especially as files and documents such as PDFs and various Microsoft Office files and pictures can also be affected this way for easier viewing.
Connectivity wise there is also complete 3G broadband connectivity as well as Wi-Fi which allows for easy wireless data transfer to and from similarly enabled devices within range. The Mini comes 
complete also with a fully rechargeable lithium ion or ion polymer battery that allows a talk time of 400 minutes when fully charged, and the device’s integral 5 MP camera also takes good still shots and packs some useful additional features such as an ambient light sensor, an autofocus facility and a widescreen photo capture ability to help fully capture and appreciate images.
The fully integrated media player also plays back a full range of file formats giving around eight hours of playback, and a range of video formats will give around 12 hours of playback time. Given the interest in the new Mini many people are quite excited to get their hands on one, and if you’re looking for one of your own the HD Mini is slated for release in the second quarter of this year.
