HTC One Mini puts premium features in a small package

The HTC One was extremely well-received by critics, but for some, its 4.7-inch screen meant the phone was just too big. Lucky for them, HTC has released the One Mini, which combines many of the One's best features with a considerably smaller footprint.

The most visible change is certainly the screen size, which has been reduced to 4.3 inches, with a resolution of 720p versus the original's 1080p — still extremely sharp and well above a "retina" resolution.

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Inside, changes are a little more pronounced, although it's likely that only power users would truly know the differences: The processor is a slower (but still fast) 1.4GHz dual-core one, there's only half the RAM (but still plenty) with 1GB. There is also no stabilization on the camera and no NFC capabilities.

The one thing that may actually bother the everyday user is that the One Mini only comes with 16GB of storage space, and no room for a MicroSD card. So if you tend to carry around your music or movies with you, the One Mini might not be the best choice.

But despite dropping on a few key specs, the One Mini retains much of what made the One such a great phone: A solid metal body, big stereo speakers in front, and a nice (though not as revolutionary as it was billed) "Ultrapixel" camera on the back.

For phone buyers looking for a high quality device, but not willing to shell out quite so much cash or just interested in something more modest, the One Mini should be a good option. There's no pricing or availability information yet, but Germany and the U.K. will be getting the device first, at which time we should know more about how much you'll be able to pick one up for.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.