The LG G2 Mini took the spotlight away from everyone in the ‘mini smart-phone’ category at the Mobile World Congress 2014, in Barcelona, Spain. Lining up as a ‘sister’ phone to the LG G2, the G2 mini has a 4.7 inch display, which is strikingly similar to the flagship HTC One.
The MWC 2014 was the stage for LG to showcase their cheaper version of the LG G2, and it must said; the G2 Mini steals the show. Expected to be officially launched somewhere in April this year, the G2 Mini will have the affordability as well as the essential features to set it apart from its ‘mini smart-phone’ rivals.
So let’s start with the design of the LG G2 Mini.
LG G2 Mini: Design
The GS Mini is comparatively much smaller than the G2; both in width and height. The display screen, as already mentioned, is 4.7 inch, which compares to 5.2 inch with the G2. The weight is extremely light, weighing only 121 grams. This actually makes the G2 Mini quite a good fit in your hands. The only downside in the exterior design is the plastic feel, which is understandable, but it does take away the ‘premium’ effect from the phone.
The overall look of the phone is quite similar to the G2, just everything’s a bit smaller in ‘stature’. The term, ‘like a smaller brother’ can fit pretty accurately to the Mini G2 while describing its overall visual features. The phone has the same ‘Rear Key’, which gives control to the user for power and volume control. What you do get in the Mini version is a very nicely finished and textured back cover, that’s not present in the LG G2 version. It helps in getting a good grip on the phone, which is always nice. However, the overall feel is of an ‘affordable’ smartphone. The display is slightly on the dull side, and tapping the screen does not feel so good when comparing with high-end smartphones.
The G2 Mini is available in a total of 4 colors including the standard black, white, red and a special gold version.
LG G2 Mini: Hardware
As expected, the G2 Mini’s hardware capabilities and features have been reduced to present it as a ‘cheap’ alternative to the LG G2. The specs include a 540 x 960 HD resolution, where it’s higher spec version has the full on HD of course. But that shouldn’t be that much of a worry, as the display screen, although slightly dull, is still pretty good in terms of color quality and sharpness.
The news is that the G2 Mini will be run by a 1.2 GHz processor (quad-core), with a 1GB of memory. The phone will come with a default 8GB of internal storage space, with the standard availability of a microSD card slot to allow expansion of storage. Word of caution here, that the LG G2 Mini is rumored to support only up to 64GB storage cards for its microSD slot.
Apart from that, the G2 Mini will continue to have the ‘infra-red’ beamer similar to the LG G2. Regarding the connectivity options, the G2 Mini will have full support for LTE and 4G mobile internet.
LG G2 Mini: Software
The G2 Mini comes pre-loaded with the Android 4.4 KitKat version. There’s a very nice feature termed as ‘Knock Code’, which basically allows you to turn off your screen with mere a double tap. With this feature, you won’t be needing to press the power button every time you need to turn off your screen. This essentially means that you can tap the screen twice, while the phone is off, and it will detect your command and turn the screen on. The tapping on the screen only works in certain portion of the screen (kind of like a set pattern that you need to follow), which adds a certain level of security to your phone.
Moving on, there’s a ‘Guest Mode’ feature, which lets you give certain access to your phone, while making sure, nobody can delete anything off it without your permission. This is particularly helpful when you need to lend your phone to someone for a certain time. With the Guest Mode feature on, you can be trouble-free of any mishaps to your data stored on the phone. For example, you can block access to your dial-pad, literally barring any user from making outgoing calls from the phone. Or you can password-lock your messages screen, preventing anyone from your conversations.
Then there’s the ‘Easy Mode’ feature, which makes your smartphone basically change to a very simple interface. You will see all widgets disappear, giving you a plain and basic feature set, including a dial-pad, your messages, the phonebook and the like.
Conclusion & Final Verdict
The overall verdict on the G2 Mini is that it’s a great alternative to the high-end smartphones, especially when you’re tight on a budget. It contains all the best features of the LG G2, and even gives out quite a decent score on the things that are not really up to the mark. The display might be bit of a turn-off, but considering that it’s a solid ‘middle-class’ smartphone; the screen quality isn’t all that bad.
The 4.4 KitKat OS, the sharp 8MP camera, and a smooth performing overall phone certainly gives out great impression, and is certainly the next big thing to the flagship LG G2.
What are your impressions of the Mini G2? Please share your views with us in the comments below!
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