Introduction

Okay, let it never be said that we do not answer our reader’s requests – I did a comparison with the HTC One mini 2 versus the Motorola Moto G just yesterday and someone said, why not the Moto E…so here it is! The Moto G was an entry-level smartphone, or so we thought, until they laid the Moto E on us with even lower specs and for only $129. The One mini 2 and the Moto E differ in many respects, although they both have 1GB of RAM, each have a microSD slot, both are close to the same size, both on the display and physical size, both have a similar size battery, and both come with Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the box.  Other than those few areas, the devices vary quite a bit…as well they should, considering the target audience and price tags involved. The Moto E is destined for emerging nations where $129 is still a lot of money, but somewhat affordable. The HTC One mini 2 is one of those mini devices, like the Galaxy S4 mini, that just do not make any sense to even have around, but somebody seems to like to buy a mini look-a-like device with mid-range specs and a high-end price tag.

Please look over the specifications listed below and then we will take a closer look at what makes these two devices different from one another and after that we will conclude with picking a winner of this comparison.

Specifications

HTC One mini 2

The HTC One mini 2 is a smaller clone of its big and beautiful brother, the One M8, with several major exceptions when it comes to the specifications – the only thing it comes close to is the price.  We have the aluminum body, dual stereo speakers, and great feel in the hand.  Both the mini 2 and the Moto E come with a microSD slot, but with the mini 2 you can add an additional 128GB of storage and with the Moto E, only 32GB.  The mini 2 has a slightly larger display, 4.5 inch versus 4.3 inch, however, the mini 2 sports an HD display of 1280×720 resolution and 326 pixels-per-inch (ppi) which is much better than the Moto E’s display of 960×549 and only 256 ppi.  The mini 2 also has the Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor versus the Snapdragon 200 dual-core found on the Moto E. The mini 2’s base 16GB of storage is also better than the paltry 4GB found on the Moto E.  The other place they really differ is in the camera area – the HTC One mini 2 abandons the HTC One’s 4MP UltraPixel design (and also its Duo Camera) in favor of a more conventional 13MP main camera with LED Flash and a 5MP front-facing camera for great video chats and selfies.  The battery is slightly larger – 2110mAh vs 1980mAh – however, Motorola’s have shown to have excellent battery life, so its smaller size should not be a factor.  The price is where the mini 2 really is at a disadvantage buying it outright – It looks to be in the neighborhood of $715, which is definitely uptown compared to the $129 Moto E.

Motorola Moto E

The Motorola Moto E is another in Motorola’s quest to sell an affordable smartphone to the world – they started with the $179 Moto G, which turned out to be their biggest selling smartphone in their history and are now following it up with their Moto E for only $129.  Even Motorola can only pack so much into a $129 device, but for its target audience and pricing, they did a very nice job.  They cut back on the display to qHD, which is a 960×540 resolution with 256 ppi – never to be confused with the QHD displays we are looking at today.  The processor is only a Snapdragon 200 dual-core clocked at 1.2GHz with 1GB of RAM.  It only has 4GB of internal storage, but does have a microSD slot to add an addition 32GB.  The Moto E was not designed as a camera or any facsimile there of – it has only a 5MP main camera with no auto focus and no flash of any sort and there will be no video chatting or selfies since there is no front-facing camera.  It does offer a Dual-SIM option for countries that allow you to switch back and forth for the cheapest calling.  It does come with the latest Android 4.4 KitKat, but only offers 3G service, although available in over 80 countries for purchase.  For $129 you can only expect so much, but for that price Motorola is offering a well-designed and quality device void of any frills to us – but to the target audience, it will be a dream come true…everything is relative.

…and the Winner is…

 Summary

Surprised you? I picked the Moto G over the One mini 2, but the Moto E is simply to basic a device to win against the overpriced mini 2. The HTC One mini 2 has it beat in looks and features – there is no one place that the Moto E comes close in beating out the mini 2, excepting the price. From the display to the processor to the internal storage to the size of the microSD card to the cameras – the mini 2 simply blows the Moto E out of the water…and well it should for its price tag. There is really not to much to say here that was not already described above – the Moto E is a terrific value designed for another audience than the HTC One mini 2 – we want a good camera, we want a front-facing camera, we want 4G LTE and we want specs and lots of them…by that standard even the mini 2 may let some of us down.

Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know what you think of these two devices…as always, we would love to hear what you have to say.