HTC One mini - Signs that the brand is doomed

HTC Philippines quietly launched the HTC One mini which is selling for a street price of Php24,100 with a full warranty. For this amount of money you get a Android phone with a 4.3-inch 720p display, one gigabyte of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a dual core Qualcomm S400 processor, LTE (compatible with both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications). The phones storage is not expandable as the phone does not have a MicroSD card slot and the 1800 mAh battery is not user accessible. 

That is not a lot of kit for a phone priced just 15% lower than a Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE. For about 10% less cash, you will find the Sony Xperia ZR and the LG Optimus G, both of which have twice as much RAM and quad core Qualcomm S4 processor. The closest competitor to the HTC One mini is the Sony Xperia SP, which costs just two-thirds the price of the HTC offering.

Now, the HTC One mini, unlike other mini phones does offer a lot of the features of its full size sibling with Boom Sound and the Ultrapixel camera. Still, is a pretty bad value for money proposition. 

Unfortunately, lowering the price won't make it a good deal. Performance of the 1800 mAh battery is less than stellar, at 40 hours of endurance, which is poor by todays standards. 

Comparative endurance times:

Samsung Galaxy S 4  - 69 hours
Apple iPhone 5 - 51 hours
Sony Xperia SP - 51 hours
HTC One - 48 hours
Sony Xperia Z - 48 hours
BlackBerry Z10 - 46 hours
LG Optimus G - 45 hours

Original Post

HTC does not have the brand appeal they had two years ago. In terms of engineering prowess, they seem to have lost a step. HTC really dropped the ball on battery life with this one. The inability to make competitive products priced competitively, spells doom for HTC. We saw the same thing with the HTC Desire 600. The HTC One mini is premium priced product from a brand that has lost its premium luster. Seriously, you cannot sell a smartphone on looks alone.