The LG G2 Mini – In This Case, Smaller Isn’t Always Better

Generally speaking, it’s no secret that smartphone developers at large understand that not everyone is looking for a bulky, and often cumbersome, 5+ inch mobile monster to take up their precious pocket or purse space. The mobile market generously showcases a wide variety of smartphone sizes, but overall these do tend to lean more heavily toward the big-boned side of the seesaw. In some instances we’ve seen smaller adaptations of larger phones that still maintain the firepower of their bigger brethren, but in other cases the “mini” models have not been quite up to snuff.

Concerning the spanking new LG G2 Mini, this disappointing lineage continues onward. The G2 Mini is a compact Android phone standing a triumphant 4.7 inches, sustaining the flashy outward appeal of its successful and sought-after predecessor, the LG G2. Unfortunately, the G2 Mini doesn’t quite walk the walk of its older brother as can easily be witnessed by its hardware.

The G2 Mini’s screen only manages to boast a nearly measly 960×540 pixels over its stout 4.7 inch bodice allowing for a wimpy 234 pixels per inch density. That’s really not much to gloat over at all, especially in comparison to the gleam and sheen of hundreds of other smartphones on the market. Truly, the G2 Mini’s pixel density is not even close to the ballpark of retina quality that the top mobile screens on the market have to offer.

In comparison to the original G2 which touts a whopping 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, the G2 Mini squeaks by with a mousy sized 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400. Not to mention that the G2 Mini also only has half the amount of memory that the G2 has to offer with its limp 1GB of RAM versus the 2GB provided with the original G2. Not nearly as speedy as the G2, the Mini isn’t going to fair well with users looking to hurriedly flash through their data while on the go.

But really, the G2 Mini isn’t all bad. After all, it’s still running the latest and greatest version of Android that there is to offer, the 4.4 KitKat. This is a valid point to make here seeing how many middle of the road mobile phones are greeting the market while only operating with Android 4.2. The G2 Mini even sports the same fun rear controls as the original G2, hosting its volume control and power push-button below the camera rather than clunking up the side edges of the phone where they can be accidentally pushed while traveling about.

A few other decent aspects to the G2 Mini include its 8GB of storage which is expandable with microSD, an 8-megapixel camera, and a respectable 2,440mAh swappable battery. Some specs will differ from country to country, as in Latin America’s Mini will feature a faster 1.7GHz Nvidia chip and a 13-megapixel camera. Colors will generally include white, gold, black and red, but these will not be available in every regional market. That being said, the American release and pricing has not been announced quite yet.

Guest Post: Ezra Melino is an all-around-geek turned serious blogger out of North Carolina who not-so-secretly relishes an in-print love affair with everything from technology and multimedia entertainment to film and order dish. He has written for and managed multiple tech blogs that are devoted to exploring new technological developments all around the world.