HTC HD mini launched at MWC
By Sean Cooper 
posted February 16th 2010 5:30AM
posted February 16th 2010 5:30AM
It seems mini versions of larger and pricier sets that still deliver the goods have become de rigeur amongst hardware manufacturers at MWC in 2010. Enter HTC's HD mini, a scaled down version of the beefy HTC HD2 with a 3.2-inch HVGA display for customers who want all the joys that device delivers without the need to actually use the beast itself -- or find somewhere to store it. The housing design is typical HTC beautiful, but in a very unique departure, the fasteners used to hold the device together are exposed and become part of its style. In a similar vein, popping open the back of the phone reveals that the internal mount for the hardware is bright yellow -- not that you'll ever see it, but let's be honest, just knowing it's there is kinda fun. Running WinMo 6.5.3 and Sense, the mini is headed for a European and Asian release in April with 7.2Mbps 900 / 2100 HSPA. No carrier deals or specs were mentioned -- but with Mobile World Congress running all week, we may just hear something soon.
Update: Promo video is now live after the break!
Update: Promo video is now live after the break!
me want... but with WinMo 7 or android, and a keyboard.
@phearme That pretty much describes the X10 mini pro. Well, excluding the fact that its screen is a tad smaller.
@NightBlade yep. but I'm never going back to Sony Ericson, I've had too much problems with their devices.
@phearme To right, its nice hardware, but just put Android on it. Bigger screen would be nice.
@phearme
I guess this means that we can expect 6.5.3 to start roll out next month. (-:
@phearme
Let's be fair... HTC wants to release the phone now... and winmo 6 ain't so bad with sense UI. And if HTC is smart, they will update it with winmo 7 the moment they can. ;-)
@nubbily
Considering the new "minimum" resolution, we probably won't see winMo7 (camel anyone?) on any mini device.
@NightBlade These series like the xperia-mini is getting hot right now, Hopefully the price will be mini too.. lol, http://bit.ly/htc-hd-liliputian-is-it-worth-it
No flash 10.1? Too bad the Desire will have to do..
@trealtp
Quite different league buddy.
You should compare more like this and Legend.
rather have the HD2. the screen size is what makes the device so lust worthy. removing that just makes it like any other smartphone.
Meh. No keyboard, _and_ the resolution is gimped. Give me a Touch Pro2 with Sense and a Snapdragon.
After Microsoft's presentation yesterday, anyone presenting a Windows Mobile handset should clearly state if it's going to be upgradeble to Windows Phone 7 Series or not.
I personally would not want to invest in a WinMo 6.5 handset now, knowing all the goodness that's coming later this year.
@andreab
Honestly, I'd rather have WinMo than windows phone. WinMo is actually a decent operating system; windows phone is just for crappy appliances...it doesn't even deserve capital letters.
@jgp Glad I'm not the only one that thinks this! I prefer WinMo 6.5 to Series 7. There seems to be a lot of buzz marketing getting people to say Series 7 is 'brand new' and 'built from scratch', but it looks like the Zune interface to me with no outstanding features, other than a link to change your xbox live avatar. I guess we get voted down for saying this though :(
@TC
Well winmo 7 is targeted at non-geeks, especially teens or tweens on xbox live/facebook/twitter. And that seems like a much bigger market than just the geeks that comment at gadget blogs who know how to customize UIs and stuff...
If I weren't such a huge geek, I'd drool all over this phone... For now, I'll stick to my nexus, which i'm sure will get a winmo 7 like UI from an obscure but talented software firm.
@nubbily exactly - I feel like I'm missing something, is there anything about Series 7 that can't be done with a skin? Isn't it just like TouchWiz or any other nice skin? WinMo 6.5 was very stable, all that series 7 seems to do is keep that stability and remove proper multitasking?
For god's sake stop making mini versions of phones, instead make normal phones like qwerty ones, or flip ones or something not mini ones.
sony didn't release the x10 & it's come with x10 mini & another x10 mini version with a qwerty keypad. WTF.
I like it. The screen on the HD2 is ridiculously big, they have gone a little too small though.
Dear Engadget,
If you want to appear smart by using French words, please spell them correctly. It's "de rigueur."
For some reason I find this phone cute
HTC product page:
http://www.htc.com/europe/product/hdmini/overview.html
i hope the price will also be mini
HVGA? Are we back to 2007?
You do realise htc supplies so many more carriers and companies than apple?
"popping open the back of the phone reveals that the internal mount for the hardware is bright yellow -- not that you'll ever see it"
why wouldn't we ever see it? i open my HTC phone at least twice a week, either to change batteries (you *need* a spare battery with these phones!), or to change SIM cards.
Sweet! A hot new phone on a now-officially-dead platform!
2100 MHz? Isn't that one of T-Mobile's 3G bands? I smell an import...
Nice device though. HTCs hardware design is always top notch (the hardware itself ain't bad either). Again, right now I'd only pick up an Android set (or maybe WP7 for that matter), but still, if it's running WinMo 6.5.3. with Sense, it's nothing really to complain about. I'd like a keyboard, but I think all these nice touchscreen phones may sway me away from the QWERTY side.
No 1ghz Snapdragon? No thanks.
Hey Engadget the HTC Desire link in the daily roundup section to the wrong article! :-(
@Mrtoocool
*Links to the wrong article
Why would ANYONE want this? The entire point of the HD2 is the massive 1ghz Snapdragon to make Sense fly and the downright amazing 4.3inch screen. This will be a cramped lagfest. What's the point??
i was really hoping for a touchpro3 or something... at least something related to windowsphone