Samsung vs. HTC vs. Motorola: Which Mini Smartphone is the Best?

Big things can come in small packages.

Android phones have been getting bigger and bigger each year, with some devices now creeping into the 6-inch range, but thankfully a few companies are bucking the trend by introducing smaller variants of their latest smartphones. Three of the largest Android manufacturers have recently announced miniature versions of their flagship devices, each of which feature a 4.3-inch display and bear the the "Mini" moniker.
With the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, HTC One Mini, and Motorola Droid Mini all available to consumers this year, those looking for an Android device that will fit in their pockets with room to spare have plenty of options. Let's take a closer look at the three new munchkins of the Android family and see how they compare to each other and their full-sized counterparts.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

One of many variants of Samsung's popular 5-inch Galaxy S4, the Mini features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 960 x 540. The device utilizes is a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 8GB of internal memory.
The standard Galaxy S4, in comparison, utilizes a 1920 x 1080 Super AMOLED display, a 1.9GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and is equipped with a 13-megapixel camera and 16GB of storage.

HTC One Mini

The mini version of HTC's impressive One smartphone sports a Super LCD 1280 x 720 display, a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, and the same 4-megapixel camera with Ultrapixel technology found on the larger model, although without opitcal image stabilization.
The base model HTC One features a 4.7-inch 1920 x 1080 display, a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, and double the RAM and built-in storage of the Mini variant.

Motorola Droid Mini

Motorola and Verizon's follow up to last year's Razr M is equipped with a 1280 x 720 Super OLED display, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Aside from its 5-inch display, the base model Motorola Droid Ultra uses the same processor and provides the same amount of RAM and storage as the Droid Mini. Both versions are also equipped with a 10-megapixel camera.

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Based on specs alone, the Droid Mini is clearly the best of the bunch and, unlike Samsung and HTC, Motorola made very few compromises when creating the smaller handset. Compared to the full-sized Droid Ultra, the Mini is almost entirely identical in every way. From the processor speed and amount of RAM and storage to the screen resolution and camera, the only significant characteristic separating the two phones is the display size.
Additionally, the Droid Mini's specs greatly overshadow those of its competitors, especially when looked at next to the Galaxy S4 Mini's ridiculously low screen resolution and the HTC One Mini's 1GB of RAM.
There is one obvious drawback with Motorola's offering though: it's a Verizon exclusive. A similar version of the device may eventually launch under a different name at some time in the future, but who knows. But if you're looking for a relatively compact Android smartphone with all the power of a full-sized version, it'll be hard to find a better choice than the Droid Mini, as long as you're willing to be a Verizon customer.
If signing up with Verizon isn't the worst thing for you, the Motorola Droid Mini will be available starting August 29th for $99 on contract.