Battle of mini smartphones: Sony Xperia Z1 compact vs HTC One mini vs Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

New Delhi: Releasing a mini version of a flagship phone is the latest trend among smartphone makers and to a large extent it is a good practice as it offers the consumers to purchase the next best thing to a flagship. Companies like HTC, Sony, and Samsung has have been making efforts at distilling their already successful products into smaller, cheaper, and typically less powerful forms, attempting to deliver a compromise-free flagship experience in a more pocket-friendly size. Sony's latest smartphone, the Xperia Z1 Compact, is an avid example of this trend. The device has nearly everything as its large-screened brother, the Xperia Z1. There's a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC inside, a 20.7-megapixel rear camera, and a fully water resistant aluminium-glass build – but it's all in a body barely larger than its 4.3-inch display. Sony is calling it a device with no-compromises – an ultra-portable handset for those that don't want to carry around something with a 5-inch or larger display. Here is a comparison between three miniature devices from leading smartphone makers Sony, HTC and Samsung, to give you a good idea about who is best in the lot: Build Quality The construction of Xperia Z1 Compact looks similar to last year's Xperia Z1, with a one-piece aluminium shell around the edges and large glass panels on the front and back. The device is a compact slab of material with very little curvature. At 137 grams it's not the lightest phone going around, but the aluminium frame makes it feel strong and durable. There are no capacitive hardware buttons on the Compact, with Sony opting for on-screen keys instead. Above, you'll find the front facing camera to the far right, sensors to the far left, and a speaker grill along the top. On the back you'll find a NFC logo, camera sensor, and LED flash. The handset comes with IP55 and IP58 ratings, meaning the device is dust protected, resistant to fresh water up to 1.5m deep for 30 minutes, and protected against water jets.With One Mini, HTC has too tried to stick as close as possible to those of the original, critically acclaimed handset. The aluminium back is still present, but is joined by a plastic rim. The phone has a lighter body which makes this phone easy to operate through one hand. Your thumb can comfortably reach every corner of the display. The One Mini is compact, although the speakers top and bottom mean this device is perhaps a little longer than some rivals.The Galaxy S4 Mini is essentially a shrunken version of the Galaxy S4. The good thing about the smartphone is how well it sits in your hand. The slightly curved rear nestles nicely into your palm, and a 4.3 inch display means you can easily use it all with one hand. The same slimy, slippery plastic casing that was used on the full-sized Galaxy S4 is still sticking around, however, the plastic rim around the device just adds to the budget feel of the phone. Overall, the S4 Mini feels like a sturdy device.Winner: Xperia Z1 CompactDisplay All the three devices measure 4.3 inches in diagonal. While both the HTC One Mini and the Xperia Z1 Compact offer a resolution of 720 x 1280, resulting in a pixel density of 342 ppi, the Galaxy S4 Mini offers a resolution of 540 x 960 and a pixel density of 256 ppi. Regarding the display type, the Compact comes with a TFT panel and the One Mini offers an LCD2, while Samsung has fitted the S4 Mini with a Super AMOLED screen.Winner: HTC One Mini has en edge here over the Xperia Z1 Compact Camera The Z1 Compact leads others with an identical 20.7 MP Exmor RS camera, the same as in Z1. It features a 1/2.3″ inch sensor size, an LED flash and video stabilization. There's also a 2 MP camera on the front panel, and both sensors are capable of 1080p video recording.On the other hand, the HTC One Mini has the same camera as the one found on the full-fledged HTC One – a 4 MP UltraPixel unit with larger pixels, allowing for high quality low-light photos. The unit is capable of 1080p recording, it has a 1/3″ sensor size, and is accompanied by an LED flash and a 720p 1.6 MP front-facing sensor.The Galaxy S4 Mini packs an average 8 MP camera with 1080p video recording capabilities, an LED flash, and a 1.9 MP front sensor.Winner: The Z1 is ahead of the competition Processing Power Out of the three, the Z1 compact is the most powerful of the bunch. The handset offers the same high-end specifications from its larger sibling (the Xperia Z1), including a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, an Adreno 330 graphics chip and 2 GB of RAM.Meanwhile, both the S4 Mini and the HTC One Mini come with a Snapdragon 400 dual-core unit and an Adreno 305 GPU. The HTC chip runs at a frequency of 1.4 GHz, whereas the S4 Mini has a higher CPU frequency: 1.7 GHz. The One Mini comes with 1 GB of RAM, which is 500 MB less than the S4 Mini. Storage The Z1 leads here again. It comes with 16 GB and allows the user to expand it by up to an additional 64 GB via microSD. The HTC One Mini also features 16 GB of on-board storage, but it lacks an expansion slot. The Galaxy S4 Mini comes with 8 GB of storage and a microSD card slot, same as the Compact.ConnectivityAll the three smartphones take advantage of 4G LTE capabilities, GPS and GLONAS, as well as Bluetooth 4.0. Unfortunately for HTC enthusiasts, the One Mini lacks NFC. Dimensions, Weight and Battery Capacity The Z1 Compact is the thickest and the heaviest of the lot. It measures 127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm and weighs 137 grams. This is largely because of the larger larger 2,300 mAh battery. The HTC One Mini, measures 132 x 63.2 x 9.3 mm and weighing 122 grams, and has a battery of 1,800 mAh size. The SGS4 Mini, measures only 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm. and weighs 107 grams, making it one of the lightest smartphones available. It has a 1,900 mAh battery.Winner: SGS4 MiniOperating System All the three smartphones come with Android Jelly Bean out of the box. However, the Xperia Z1 Compact is already planned for an Android 4.4.2 KitKat update. The HTC One Mini comes with Android 4.4.2, whereas the SGS4 Mini was launched with the same version of Android but is now upgradable to 4.3 Jelly Bean.These devices have been heavily customized and come with their proprietary user interfaces. While Sony offers the device with the latest version of its UI, the S4 Mini relies on TouchWiz, and HTC offers Sense 5.0 preinstalled, offering new features such as Blinkfeed.Winner: Xperia Z1 Compact Conclusion: Overall, the Xperia Z1 Compact is the best smartphone among the all three. What's good about the Z1 Compact is that you get the same hardware as the Xperia Z1 (barring the display) in a much handy form-factor. The Z1 Compact has the trademark Sony Omnibalance design, which means straight lines, glass on the front and rear, an aluminum frame and a big round power button on the edge. The device offers an IPS LCD display with decent viewing angles, color reproduction, and contrast. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, also makes it a truly desirable Android smartphone.However, this is not to say that the One Mini and the S4 Mini do not have things that make them appealing. These two are pretty decent devices but Sony's miniature version leads the rest.