Disclosure: We received a DROID MINI for trial use to facilitate this review. It was for review purposes only. No compensation was received for this post.
This review of the Motorola DROID MINI is written by both Crystal and Clay, two non-techy tech lovers. Keep reading for a “laymen’s view” of the Motorola DROID MINI.
Crystal says:
As a blogger who takes loads of pictures, the Droid Mini, has a camera feature I absolutely LOVE! Let’s face it, I don’t always have my bigger camera with me when photo opps present themselves. I use my phone camera A LOT! With the DROID MINI, all I have to do is pick up the phone, give a little flick of my wrist and it’s ready to snap a picture with the 10MP RGBC camera with quick capture. I don’t have to hunt for the app icon and wait for it to focus. It’s ready when I am. Another feature I love is how easy it is to share my photos to the cloud just by swiping my fingers across the screen and share it with nearby friends. having a camera that is easily accessible and has fast sharing options makes it super easy to snap a picture and upload it to edit for blog posts later.
The Tap To Focus is works to focus the camera quickly. With my HTC Incredible, I seem to have to wait a very long time sometimes, before my camera will fully focus. For moving objects, by the time it has focused, I’ve lost my shot. I didn’t have that problem with the DROID MINI.
The photos come out crisp and clear. and even focused on the foreground while gently blurring the background. See this photo of the caramel apple dip we recently made? Almost as good as my bigger camera and much more handy.
Droid Mini embodies all the great features you’d expect from a Droid smartphone in a compact design. Ultra thin and lightweight, Droid Mini is easy to hold and carry yet solidly built to handle life’s bumps, scrapes and spills. It is packed with useful features and available exclusively to Verizon customers and its 4G LTE network.
This phone is Google integrated, being that it is an Android but there are some really cool pre-installed apps/features from Verizon and Motorola that aren’t strictly Google related. Some you can disable if you aren’t interest but there are some that I’d love to have on my own phone!
You can see in the Emergency Alerts that, here in Ky, we had an Amber Alert. It popped up on the phone giving details of the alert. Thankfully, the child in the alert was found safe and sound.
Motorola Assist is another great feature that allows you to use the phone hands free. It pretty much learns your phone habits and can actually do tasks for you while you’re driving, like responding to incoming messages by letting the sender know that you are driving so you’re not tempted to answer. It can read your calendar and slice the phone for you when you have a scheduled meeting. You can also set it to silence itself during specific hours. So it basically knows when you are sleeping. Kind of like Santa Claus!
Clay says:
I had several apps installed on the Motorola DROID MINI and the battery lasted throughout the day, even when making several phone calls, checking email, browsing Facebook, etc. On days when I didn’t use the phone as much, the battery held more than 50% charge for 2 days. I’ve heard other users say they experienced severe battery drain but I, honestly, did not have this problem in the time that I trialed it.
*NOTE: the Motorola DROID MINI has a non-removable built-in battery. (Like on the iPad)
I’m so used to having to pull my batter on our Incredible’s that it seems odd to have a built-in battery!
SD CARD
There is no SD card slot which is a little disappointing to me. Both Crystal and I love to store photos and music on our SD card as well as our contacts. So, this was a con for me and one of the only things that might deter me from purchasing this phone.
Screen Size and Dimensions
I love the size of the screen. Crystal wants a Galaxy III or IV but I’m not a fan of the really large phones/screens. I have to be able to keep it in my pocket while crawling through attics and hauling heavy pipe but still be able to grab it quickly for phone calls in dark, damp areas. So I need a mid-size phone with a screen I can easily see but isn’t too large for pocket carrying. The DROID MINI is larger than the one on my Incredible but not so large that it is too much. I can view my contacts on the 4.3 edge-to-edge display without any problems. And when I have some free time, I can play a game and it is vibrant on the edge-to-edge screen.
Dimensions
- 4.81”(H) x 2.41”(W) x 0.34”(D) inches
- Weight: 4.59oz
4G LTE network
Ok, the 4G LTE network is available in my area now but I have to admit that I had a lot of dropped calls when here at home. Actually, all the calls I made at home dropped and we’d have to re-place the call. But when I was away from home, in a more metro area, the call quality was really good. It’s new to my area so perhaps in time, the 4G will get better here.
Overall, we both agree that this is a great phone for anyone looking to upgrade from phones of the past 2 years and for someone looking for a “Mini”. I can’t compare it to the other mini phones on the market because I haven’t had the opportunity to test them out. But this one seems to be really great. We’d trade our Incredible’s for it in a heartbeat! (Clay and Crystal)
Features:
Edge–to–edge 4.3–inch HD display is protected by Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Camera
- 10MP RGBC camera with quick capture
Video
- 1080p HD Video capture, up to 60FPS
- 2MP Full HD Recording Front Facing Camera
- Video Formats: H.263, H.264, MPEG4, RV v10, RV v9, WMV v10, WMV v9
Display
- 4.3” edge–to–edge HD TFT display, 1280 x 720 Screen Resolution
Battery
- Battery: Non–removable 2000 mAh Li–Ion
- Usage: Up to 28 hours OR
- Standby Time: Up to 14 days
Operating System
- Android 4.2, Jelly Bean
Pricing
$99 with 2 year contract
$449.99 without contract
Included in the box:
- DROID MINI by MOTOROLA
- Non–removable 2000 mAh Lithium Ion Battery
- Wall/USB charger
- Quick Reference Guide
- Global Support Brochure
- Product Safety & Warranty Brochure
- Important Consumer Information
- RF Brochure
- Ingress