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LG G2 Mini. Expected March 2014.
What makes a "mini" version of a flagship smartphone? It varies. When Sony made a mini
version of the Xperia Z1, they basically just shrank down the powerful Z1 into a smaller
package. When Samsung wanted to make a mini version of the Galaxy S4 they basically just
stuck the name onto some random mid-market device rolling off the production line. The
third way is to make something look like its more expensive sibling, which is what HTC
did with the attractive mini version of the HTC One.
So which approach is LG using? Are they shrinking down the impressive G2 into a smaller size?
No. Are they sticking the "G2 Mini" name onto a random product from the LG factory? No.
LG are doing the third thing.. the LG G2 Mini looks like the LG G2 on the outside, but on
the inside it is a lot less powerful. This is quite an odd thing to do, because although
the LG G2 is a powerful beast, it isn't exactly a drop-dead-gorgeous phone like the HTC One.
So what do you get with the LG G2 Mini? Apart from the signature control button on the back?
Well, this version packs a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage plus a
microSD slot, a 4.7" 540 x 960 pixel display, an 8 megapixel primary camera plus a 1.3 megapixel
secondary one and Android 4.4. Oddly, if you live in Latin America then you'll have a version
with a faster 1.7GHz processor and 13 megapixel camera instead. Go figure. There is an LTE
version with NFC which is nice, and a 3G version with no NFC which is not so nice.
There's a quite pleasingly big 2440 mAh battery inside, and depending on region you might
get a choice of black, white, red or gold colour schemes. But apart from all the usual
Android features, there seems to be little else of note. LG says that the LG G2 Mini
should be available from March onwards.
If this really was a mini version of the G2 then we'd probably suggest that it was worth
a look. As it is, this is just another quite disappointing "mini" handset that delivers
much less than it promises.