motoroladroidmini
Latest
IRL: Motorola Droid Mini
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. After a quiet first half of the year, Motorola finished off 2013 by releasing a staggering five devices. Three of them were sold under Verizon's exclusive Droid brand, and here's the crazy part: aside from differences in battery life and screen size, they were exactly alike. We reviewed the two higher-end models, known as the Ultra and the Maxx, but we now want to return our attention to the smallest of the three, the Droid Mini. This 4.3-inch device came out a few months ago, but it's aging quite well, having recently received an update to Android 4.4 KitKat. Also, it's now free on-contract, so it's definitely worth a closer look, especially compared to the Galaxy S4 mini which costs $50 with the usual two-year agreement.
Motorola Droid Mini for Verizon hands-on (video)
Gigantic handsets may be surprisingly popular, but they're hardly appropriate for every smartphone user. Some of us prefer working with a more compact device, and for those customers, Motorola and Verizon have announced the new Droid Mini. The handset, a smaller variant of the Droid Ultra (and Ultra Maxx), stills packs plenty of punch. Moto calls it "compact without compromise," and while there's clearly less screen real estate here than on the larger Droids, it does look like a pretty compelling package. For all intents and purposes, the Mini is a refresh of last year's Droid RAZR M. As expected, the phone packs a 4.3-inch display which, like the RAZR M, its nearly edge-to-edge. Though the Droid Mini retains nearly the same diminutive dimensions as the RAZR M, its overall impression is not as slick-looking. That's due to the glossy, unibody design (still Kevlar) Motorola's opted for on the Mini. Not everything's remained the same, though: the Mini distances itself from the past with a resolution bump to 1,280 x 720, although it reps a TFT display -- not the AMOLED of the Droid Ultra and Maxx. %Gallery-194444%
