HTC officially announces the HTC One Mini 2

With the HTC One M8 available for several weeks now, it was only natural that rumors of a "mini" version were going to surface. Now HTC puts an end to the rumors by officially announcing the HTC One Mini 2. The One Mini 2 has a 4.5-inch 720p Super LCD 2 (326ppi), a 1.2Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (with a microSD slot), a 2110mAh battery, Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Sense 6.0.

If the specs seem familiar it's because they fall very close to that on the original One Mini. Looks wise, the One Mini 2 looks very much like the M8 with the unibody aluminum. What is noticeably different is the missing Duo Camera which HTC replaced a more conventional 13MP BSI camera.

No word on Canadian availability, but if things go like with the original One Mini, we expect a US carrier to pickup the One Mini 2, then probably a Canadian carrier afterwards.

HTC One Mini now available from Fido

Our time with the HTC One mini showed us that being "mini" didn't mean budget or low performance. While it didn't have the specs that the bigger One M7 had, it certainly wasn't a slouch and in terms of software updates is treated in the same was as the former flagship HTC One.

Today the One Mini is now headed to Fido after being an exclusive to Rogers for the past few months. This makes sense since the One Mini is a nice offering at the mid-range level and at $0 on Fido smart plan or $150 on standard plans. Check out our full review of the One mini here.

Rogers HTC One Mini now receiving update to Android 4.4 KitKat

Just as previously outlined as "late February" in the Rogers OS Upgrade page, the HTC One Mini is apparently now receiving Android 4.4.2 KitKat. According to the Rogers OS Upgrade page and HTC's own Software update page, the certification process for One Mini's upgrade to Android 4.4.2 is complete.

One Mini users can expect similar improvements that the flagship HTC One owners have enjoyed for the last month. If you have a Rogers HTC One Mini check Settings -> About Phone -> Software update for your update and let us know how it goes down.

We suspect that this means our AT&T friends in the US should be getting the update pretty shortly. This also completes the rollout of Android 4.4 to all of HTC's major 2013 smartphone releases in Canada on every carrier which in its self a great thing to see and a nice feat. Now to see how the update process goes for the Desire 601.

HTC One Mini Android 4.4 KitKat update in Certification phase, rollout in the coming days

While the HTC One update to Android 4.4 was rolled out in a  pretty speedy fashion, the One Mini has taken a bit longer to get its 4.4 update without mentioning that it skipped 4.3 altogether. One Mini owners can be relieved to hear that the One Mini's Android 4.4. KitKat update is now in the certification phase meaning it is most likely in Rogers' testing labs.

This is corroborated by Roger's OS Upgrade page which states that the One Mini should be getting Android 4.4 KitKat by the end of this month.

With HTC's renewed commitment to bringing updates to the One line, we wouldn't be surprised to see the update sooner than later.

Canadian HTC One and Rogers One Mini Android 4.4 update now in certification phase, possible roll out in coming days

The HTC One (and one Mini) represents a significant change for HTC, as they are working on the most criticized and scrutinized aspect of their operations, post purchase updates. While the One X might not see the light of another update, the 2013 flagship HTC One is looking at it's third update in Android 4.4 KitKat while the One Mini will be going straight from Android 4.2.2 to Android 4.4 its first major update.

It looks like we are inching closer to meeting that self imposed 90 day deadline to get KitKat rolled out to users after Android 4.4 was announced. According to HTC's website the Android 4.4 update is now in the Certification process which means that it is now down to the carriers as the last major hurdle to pushing out an Over-the-Air update.

Hopefully they can keep their promise made just 83 days ago.

Rogers HTC One mini Review

The 2013 flagship HTC One was just about universally praised by critics and reviews across the globe. From its stunning design and build quality, to its gambles on BlinkFeed, UltraPixels and Boomsound Speakers, the One brought a lot to the table. So what happens when you take the One but shrink it down to a "mini" size? You get the HTC One mini. Today, we see check out the "miniature" addition to the One family in our review of the HTC One mini.

HTC promises Android 4.4 for HTC One within the next 3 months and upgrade to 4.4 for older HTC devices being explored

HTC has taken strides to try to become the fastest OEM to update their non-Nexus devices to the latest versions of Android and have been pretty successful at it. So far the HTC One has been kept up to date as it got Android 4.3 in a pretty timely fashion and this is not to mention the HTC One Google Play Edition (sadly not available in Canada) getting 4.3 only days after being launched with the new Nexus 7.

Now they looks to up the bar even further by committing to have the HTC One upgraded to Android 4.4 KitKat withing 90 days as well as the One Mini and One Max (not in Canada) soon after. These statements were given in an interview with Jason Mackenzie President of HTC America, who also has insight on HTC Canada, so we are happy to hear these commitments.

We also reached out to Jason about the fact that Android 4.4 lowered hardware specification for the OS and if it could open the door to upgrades for older HTC devices. Jason replied that the options were being explored.

This isn't a guarantee that older devices like the HTC One X would get Android 4.4 but it certain makes the possibility seem much more probable.

Rogers to launch the HTC One Mini and HTC Desire 601 on November 4th

Looks like the HTC One Mini is headed to Canada after all. After stating that there we no plans to release the diminutive version of their flagship phone it looks like Rogers and HTC have brokered a deal to bring the One Mini exclusively to Canada.

The One Mini comes with a 1.4GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 4.3-inch 720p HD Display, 4MP "UltraPixel" Camera, 1800mAh battery, Boom Sound Speakers, LTE capability and is running Android 4.2 with Sense 5.

In the same tweet Rogers has also announced that they will also be launching the HTC Desire 601. Somewhat of a successor to the HTC Desire C, the Desire 601 is similarly equipped to the One Mini except has a 4.5-inch qHD display, 8GB of internal storage (but has a microSD expansion slot) and a 2100mAh battery.