HTC One M8 Mini rumors begin to form

Phandroid

HTC One M8 Mini rumors begin to form

We’d be lying if we said we didn’t think HTC would create a couple of spin-off devices based on the newly-announced HTC One M8. Rumors are already getting started, though, with @evleaks suggesting the HTC One M8 Mini is already in the works.

The “Mini” fad is one that seems to have exploded in popularity with all major manufacturers, though it hasn’t been without its pitfalls. For starters, “mini” usually means beefy internals are compromised for a more attractive price tag. It also doesn’t help that the “mini” versions of these phones are still often quite large (we could barely tell the difference between the original HTC One and HTC One Mini).

We long for the moment when one of these OEMs break the status quo and bring us a mini device that’s as powerful as the flagship. Sony was one of the first to do this with the Xperia Z1 Compact, and Motorola’s DROID Mini wasn’t terrible alongside the rest of the devices in that family, but that’s not nearly enough to satiate us.

The spin-off train might not stop there, though, with the same leakster teasing an “HTC One M8 Ace,” as well. There’s no telling what this device would be in terms of specs or size, but the last time a company brought out a device with “Ace” in its name we wanted nothing to do with it. Take that for what you will.

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Sony says “no thank you” to Android Wear for their smart watches

We’d hoped many current smartphone manufacturers would consider using Android Wear for future devices in their stable, but it looks like one prolific OEM won’t be joining the bandwagon. That OEM is Sony, who has revealed to CNET that they won’t be interested in using Android Wear for their SmartWatch platform.

Sony feels like they built something solid enough on their own, and they want to continue their own vision in future iterations of their product. Sony Mobile US boss Ravi Nookala revealed as much in a recent interview:

We’ve already invested time and resources on this platform, and we will continue in that direction.

Despite that, though, Sony says they’re excited about Android Wear, and hope to see its emergence push the entirety of the wearables movement forward. This doesn’t mean Sony will never consider making an Android Wear platform, but perhaps it’ll take a little more than announcements of a couple of fancy smart watches to get them to hop on board.

It’s a strange move by the Japanese company who is usually on-board for these things. We’d expected a stance like that out of Samsung of all people, but even they are billed as one of the first partners creating Android Wear products.

Whether Sony’s move is the right one remains to be seen, but it’s too early for assumptions in a market that’s only just begun.

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