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We hear the patter of tiny phone feet: the HTC One could follow in the footsteps of the Samsung Galaxy S4 in getting a mini spin-off.
Digitimes reports that a stripped-down version of HTC’s 4.7-inch flagship smart phone could be on the cards this summer, with a smaller 4.3-inch screen and lower specs alongside the latest Android and features borrowed from the One.
The idea of a cheaper version of a flagship phone sets us salivating — but we’ve been stung before. Samsung burned us with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and S3 Mini, which slapped the S brand on horribly mediocre phones in an outrageously misleading fashion. Scamsung, more like.
That said, the rumoured specs for the alleged HTC One Mini don’t look too horrible:
the rumours suggest a high-definition 720p display with a dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It’s purported to pack a 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera like the full-fat One, with Sense 5 on top of the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software.
It sounds like a smart move for the struggling HTC. The HTC One is a fantastic phone, but profits are through the floor and there’s a worrying executive exodus as bosses jump ship. Taking a leaf out of Samsung’s book seems smart: Samsung became the biggest phone manufacturer in the world by selling truckloads of its powerhouse flagship, but also wooed the rest of the market with a range of decent mid-range phones.
Previous rumours have suggested a larger version of the One, too. Meanwhile Samsung is also set to follow the S4 with a range of spin-offs, including a waterproof S4 Active and camera-focussed S4 Zoom.
But the big question is what would a smaller version of the One be called? The HTC 0.75?
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Do you like the idea of a sawn-off HTC One, or are mini phones trading on a successful brand name to mislead you? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our decidedly full-sized Facebook wall.
