HTC Introduces The HD Mini Windows Phone

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HTC is introducing a new Windows Phone this morning — the HD Mini. Specifications on the first press release that I received were pretty sparse, as it only said the HD Mini would be “sleek, well-crafted and easy to use,” that it would have a capacitive touchscreen, and that it would offer personal WiFi for your computer or other devices. Because HTC was being stingy with the specs (up until almost midnight last night), I consulted my Magic 8 ball to answer the questions not covered by the vague initial press release, and these were its replies:

Will it have a Snapdragon 1GHz processor? Magic 8 ball says: “Outlook not so good

Will it have something less powerful? Magic 8 ball says: “Definitely

Will it have 512MB ROM? Magic 8 ball says: “Yes

Will it run Windows Phone 6.5.3? Magic 8 ball says: “Maybe

Will it be upgradable to Windows Phone 7? Magic 8 ball says: “Ask again later

Hm.

Now I’ve got the real specs. Let’s see how my 8 ball performed, shall we?


Click here to download the specifications in a .pdf file, or click on the specs below to enlarge them.

Not too shabby! A 5 megapixel camera, a 320 x 480 3.2″ HVGA Capacitive touchscreen, a 1200mAh Li-Ion battery, a 3.5mm stereo audio jack, 512 / 384MB, animated weather wallpaper, special ringer features, and a few other goodies mixed together make the HD Mini look pretty exciting. I’m a little amused by the idea of a “bright yellow internal structure” offering “an unexpected surprise when the phone is opened,” but I’ll reserve judgment for now. I do like that HTC is going for “unique” and “beautiful”, and I am eager to see one.

And if I do say so myself, I’m actually impressed by my Magic 8 ball’s performance! 😉

HTC HD Mini provides HTC HD2 experience in compact design

BARCELONA, Mobile World Congress – February 16, 2010 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced the HTC HD mini, an HTC Sense-based Windows Phone focused on delivering the popular experience of the HTC HD2 in a more compact design.

“The demand for the HTC HD2 has exceeded our expectations, and the HTC HD mini fulfills a desire from some customers to bring the capabilities and experience of the HTC HD2 to a more compact design,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “The integration of HTC Sense and Windows Phone on HD mini and HD2 gives customers an additional choice for an advanced Windows Mobile phone that is sleek, well crafted and easy to use.”

The HTC HD mini sports a high degree of usability along with its own unique and beautiful design. Precision fasteners used to assemble the phone are externally visible, displaying a high level of craftsmanship rarely found in mobile phones. And the strong design ethos continues under the battery cover where a bright yellow internal structure, offers an unexpected surprise when the phone is opened.

The HTC HD mini utilizes HTC Sense, a user experience focused on putting people at the centre by making the phone work in a more simple and natural way. This experience revolves around three fundamental principles that were developed by observing and listening to how people live and communicate. These core tenets of Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected continue to be the key to the new HTC Sense experience.

Like the HTC HD2, the HTC HD mini continues the same focus on people-centric communication with complete Outlook integration.  It helps you stay close to the important friends and colleagues in your life by providing a single contact view that displays individual communication snapshots of your conversations regardless of whether it was a call, text, status update or email. HTC’s Windows-based Twitter application, HTC Peep, enables you to tweet and follow your twitter stream.

HTC HD mini includes capacitive touch for viewing, zooming and resizing websites, Microsoft® Office files, PDF documents and pictures with just a pinch of your fingers.  Leveraging its 3G broadband connectivity, the HTC HD mini also offers personal Wi-Fi anywhere for your computer or other devices. The HD mini can also be further enhanced to reflect your needs and style by downloading a variety of applications from the Windows® Marketplace for Mobile.

Availability

The new HTC HD mini will be broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets beginning in April.

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.