No one here is raving about their Droid Mini? OK, I will

[MikeLip]

I have gone through a lot of Android phones (and WP8 and iOS) and while my other Android phone is an HTC One, I really like the Mini. It's exactly the right size to be used one handed. The screen is great. Battery could be better, but there is only so much space for battery and hey, it's wireless charging, so I just set it on a pad when I'm at my desk or whatever. Sound is fantastic. It's way more than fast enough to do anything or play any game. The only thing I wish for is a thin case, like a Feather or something. Otherwise, this is how a phone should be. I wanted the Moto X, but this guy is nearly ideal. I even like the new notifications.

The one thing I don't like - and it's common to wireless charging phones - is my charger/phone combo keeps the battery topped and stops when it's full. Every time it cycles, the phone lights up. It's annoying, and I don't need some big alert that the phone is charging. So give me a way to disable that, Motorola!

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Thanks for the post! Nice to hear some opinions on this phone.

 

[COAndroidFan]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I concur about the Droid Mini--though I was surprised at how close in size the Moto X and Mini are. I'm all for smaller form and one-handed use. There's no lag at all and the screen is amazing--especially compared to my old HTC Incredible 2. Looking forward to the upcoming OTA update for the camera, which produces very inconsistent photos. I think that's the biggest shortcoming to this great phone and glad to see Motorola working on fixing it. The T-mobile Moto X got the update recently and they've said it'll be out to all recently released Motorola phones and carriers soon. (Not sure exactly what "soon" means on Verizon--it could mean months.)

 

[MikeLip]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Yes, Verizon has a very loose definition of "soon."

 

[dmagic17]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Isn't there a feather case out for this phone? Motorola DROID Mini Ultra Thin Case | Incipio feather

 

[Brooke]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I love the Mini! Wanted a step down, not up, in screen size. Had second thoughts and bought an X at retail, just to see. It's going back tomorrow - I didn't love the screen, which I (and my wife) saw as duller and a bit tinted. Also, he small increase in size looms large for a phone I carry in my pocket.
The Mini screen is really about the same size as the X, since the X's larger screen has to accommodate the buttons.
I'd give up wireless charging for a half oz. of weight reduction, but you can't have everything. Overall, best phone for me.

 

[Brooke]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I love the Mini! Wanted a step down, not up, in screen size. Had second thoughts and bought an X at retail, just to see. It's going back tomorrow - I didn't love the screen, which I (and my wife) saw as duller and a bit tinted. Also, he small increase in size looms large for a phone I carry in my pocket.
The Mini screen is really about the same size as the X, since the X's larger screen has to accommodate the buttons.
I'd give up wireless charging for a half oz. of weight reduction, but you can't have everything. Overall, best phone for me.

 

[vmaxed]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

The mini has wireless charging

 

[brianbrain]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I have gone through a lot of Android phones (and WP8 and iOS) and while my other Android phone is an HTC One, I really like the Mini. It's exactly the right size to be used one handed. The screen is great. Battery could be better, but there is only so much space for battery and hey, it's wireless charging, so I just set it on a pad when I'm at my desk or whatever. Sound is fantastic. It's way more than fast enough to do anything or play any game. The only thing I wish for is a thin case, like a Feather or something. Otherwise, this is how a phone should be. I wanted the Moto X, but this guy is nearly ideal. I even like the new notifications.

The one thing I don't like - and it's common to wireless charging phones - is my charger/phone combo keeps the battery topped and stops when it's full. Every time it cycles, the phone lights up. It's annoying, and I don't need some big alert that the phone is charging. So give me a way to disable that, Motorola!

Agreed on all fronts. It really is a fantastic little phone...and yeah, sign me up for removing the wireless charging notification!

 

[MikeLip]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Isn't there a feather case out for this phone? Motorola DROID Mini Ultra Thin Case | Incipio feather

There is now, FINALLY! I want the slimmest, least bulky case I could find. I just ordered a black Feather from Amazon. Sadly, my favorite color (cyan) is out of stock with a delivery time of 2-3 weeks.

 

[dmagic17]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Same here - I have the black feather case and its great, but makes the power/volume buttons a little tough to use. Just need to get used to it I guess.

 

[Cliff22]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I also love my razr m. Speed, brightness of display, bat life, and size are all good. It was free from V so...
One thing though, there was some talk about water resistance. I can tell you from experience. I accidentally fell in our pool while pouring salt in and it was fried. I now am the proud owner of an extra frame... if needed.

 

[zorbatic]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Isn't there a feather case out for this phone? Motorola DROID Mini Ultra Thin Case | Incipio feather

I got the Skinomi carbon fiber case off amazon.
Motorola Cell Phone Screen Protectors, Skins, Cases, Shields, Covers - Skinomi TechSkin™ for Motorola DROID Mini
Works great! actually improves the back of the phone making it a matte surface. My toddler got hold of it and BIT it. Teeth Mark impressions in the skin amazingly went away in a few days.

I also got this phone because of the size. I use it one-handed. All the time. I love being able to talk on the phone without holding up something that's as big as my face. Playing music on it is a joy for most genres I listen to.

 

[Wobblin30]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

Solid device

Posted via Android Central App

 

[DeerSteak]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I gave up my iPhone 5 (which I thought when I got it was the best small-screen phone) about 3 weeks ago for one of these and I'm totally sold. Despite the ~30% bigger battery, I was not expecting to touch my iPhone for battery life (because my wife's SGS4 doesn't come close) but I was way way wrong. Battery life is great, even with active notifications on. Gets me a whole day from waking up to going to sleep with 4+ hours of screen-on time, and it's a great performer. No lag, super performance, and haven't found anything it can't do.

Wish the camera was better. It's not as good as the iPhone or the SGS4 but it doesn't have to be. Just wish it produced more pleasing images indoors. Looks like Mot is still screwing with the camera because even with 12.15.15 I'm not totally sold. Camera is good enough for Facebook or Twitter, just expected more. Not the end of the world and I'll be satisfied for a long time.

Got a thin-enough case for it, a Diztronic TPU, along with a screen protector and it's not QUITE as thin as the iPhone but it's thin enough. Wider obviously (and maybe slightly taller) than the iPhone because of the bigger screen. But again, it's small enough that it slides in and out of my pocket without issue. Big phones feel weird in my jeans but this sits very comfortably.

I thought "bigger is better" until I had a big phone - got rid of my own SGS4 almost immediately because of the size and went iPhone because it was the size I wanted. This has brought me back to Android, though. Great phone - hope Motorola keeps building 4.3" phones with the big boys' hardware down the road.

 

[RexMaximus]

Great phone in a smaller package. I know "less is more" is not a very accurate description for Moto's current approach with the new Droids, Moto X, and Moto G (okay, maybe the G), but I really like how it packed premium hardware into a compact and affordable device. X8 hardware isn't exactly bleeding edge, but it's still powerful and features awesome capabilities you don't see in the other manufacturers yet. Also, Kevlar.

I went from HTC's large-screened EVO LTE after moving out of Sprint's craptastic network to this phone. We had the choice of going for the more expensive One or S4, but money was tight at the time, and when the Verizon employee demoed the Touchless Controls and specs, we were sold. This from someone who didn't think moving on from HTC (may it soon rest in peace) could ever happen. The "mini" versions of the competition weren't available yet, but they got NOTHING on Droid Mini with regard to specs and capabilities.

I'm surprised at the audio quality; music on Play sounds about as good as on my LTE's Beats-enabled hardware. Calls sound good, so long as the other side's network is decent.
The only gripes out of the box were the camera and the lack of the nice things we were used to from Sense 4, like complete contact integration. Still it was nothing that app workarounds and last month's major camera update couldn't fix.

It's a fine phone, and I hope to stick with Motorola for the foreseeable future, because it really is on a roll.

Posted via Android Central App and Droid Mini

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I've only spent a few days with my Mini, and I'm really liking it.
The screen and addition of capacitive hard-keys are big steps up from my RAZR M.
I also really love the ActiveNotification feature.

My main dislike is I'm not fond of the slick plastic. It looks nice when clean, but gets really greasy, fingerprinty, and slippery. I've never dropped a phone, but wouldn't be surprised if I manage to drop this one. I'd rather it had a matte, soft-touch feel like the Maxx. If some company managed to make a matte, soft-touch replacement back cover, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
I also would have preferred if they'd kept the MicroSD slot like the RAZR M had.
I also have trouble getting consistent good photos. I'd hoped 10MP over 8MP of the RAZR M would mean an improvement, but it seems like the autofocus doesn't work too great. RAZR M seemed to have better autofocus.

 

[hls811]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I'll rave now..

i LOVE my Mini! I typically go through phones pretty frequently - I have an iPhone as my personal device and have had some sort of Android for work for the last 4+ years. I got the Mini when it first came out and loved it.. I got sucked into the Moto X hype and decided to give that a shot and ended up going back to my Mini. The size is the main thing for me; maybe because I'm carrying 2 phones I just want the smallest one possible (that said, I went through a phase with the Note 2 a while ago) - but small is perfect for me. The Moto X was nice - as expected very similar (if not exactly the same) in terms of performance. I definitely prefer the screen colors on the Mini over the X - but the absolute biggest reason for me switching back was... the LED. I like Active Notifications - I use them on my Mini - but even with them its still easier having an LED.

I also got so used to the wireless charging.. I go home, drop it on my night stand and give it a few extra drops of juice before I headed back out the door.

I've been tempted by the Droid Ultra - I'd LOVE the battery life (I had the Razr Maxx HD after the Note 2) - but not having the LED is holding me back. (Although, i understand ther eis one for low battery and it can be modified to work..) but then again - the size of the Mini is really just perfect.

If I had one knock on it its the same that a few people already mentioned - the slippery, shiny, glossy back cover. I tried a carbon skin on there and it was better but I didn't like the look of it - it didn't fit just right. I'm hoping someone else comes out with one because that could really make this a perfect phone.


Oh yea.. one more knock.. no SD card. Granted, this really hasn't effected me because I do keep my music on my iPhone, but an SD card really would be nice to expand the storage..

 

[bigrobi24]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

I've been tempted by the Droid Ultra - I'd LOVE the battery life (I had the Razr Maxx HD after the Note 2) - but not having the LED is holding me back. (Although, i understand ther eis one for low battery and it can be modified to work..) but then again - the size of the Mini is really just perfect.

This is the main reason I want to go to this phone in a couple weeks. I have the OG Razr Maxx, and I don't really want to upgrade to the Droid Maxx, since it's larger. I have trouble enough using this OG Razr Maxx one handed as it is. The Mini seems to be the perfect option, since it is smaller than my phone now. Even the Moto X isn't as small, and is the nearly identical to the OG Razr Maxx in dimensions.

So since upgrading from the Razr Maxx HD, how does the Droid Mini's battery compare to that one? I know it will be worse, but can you get a full 8am-midnight on a charge pretty easily? That's what is bugging me with any phone that isn't a Maxx. I'm spoiled on battery life and don't want to have to charge a phone midday.

 

[hls811]

Re: No one here is raving about their mini? OK, I will

This is the main reason I want to go to this phone in a couple weeks. I have the OG Razr Maxx, and I don't really want to upgrade to the Droid Maxx, since it's larger. I have trouble enough using this OG Razr Maxx one handed as it is. The Mini seems to be the perfect option, since it is smaller than my phone now. Even the Moto X isn't as small, and is the nearly identical to the OG Razr Maxx in dimensions.

So since upgrading from the Razr Maxx HD, how does the Droid Mini's battery compare to that one? I know it will be worse, but can you get a full 8am-midnight on a charge pretty easily? That's what is bugging me with any phone that isn't a Maxx. I'm spoiled on battery life and don't want to have to charge a phone midday.

I'm not the best judge of battery life - I'm a little OCD when it comes to that. I have chargers everywhere.. home, car, work and always keep it plugged in when I'm close by one and keep it topped off. Even when the Had the Razr Maxx HD I did the same thing. If mine gets into the 70% range thats low for me on a typical day (and in the long run probably does more damage to the battery).

That being said, on the few days I haven't been able to plug in I can make it a full day (8AM - 11PM) without charging.. I've seen the battery percentage get into the 10-20% range and have been notified its low. I don't think you'll get Razr HD Maxx or Droid Maxx type batter life out of it but I think a full day is definitely doable from the other threads/articles I've read.