Motorola DEFY MINI

“The Motorola Defy Mini almost fulfils its remit as a small, cheap, rugged smartphone that's ideal for camping, festivals or tearaway kids. However, its lack of true waterproofing, small screen and sluggish processor combine to leave us a bit underwhelmed. If your budget really is limited to around £150 then we'd suggest trying to find a larger Motorola Defy, or if you can stretch to just over £200 then the Motorola Defy+ is a much more accomplished handset all-round.”

“There is no reason at all to buy the Defy Mini. Its spec is so underwhelming, that it just can't help but disappoint you. Considering the Defy+ is only another £30, if you really must ignore our advice and get one, you should get the one that is much less rubbish. Motorola has under-specified this phone in the worst way. Even scrolling around the home screens is a laboured, arduous and annoying process. The screen is too small really, although it's not dreadful quality, and that means those with larger fingers won't have an enjoyable time with it. It's also worth mentioning that with nano coatings becoming popular, and practical, it won't be long before every new phone in the world is waterproof. And Gorilla Glass makes them all pretty tough too. So really, the Defy goes from being a one-trick pony, to being a pony that's had all of its legs sawn off and whose days of trickery are, sadly, over.”

“Unlike many budget phones, the Defy Mini has an LED flash to go with its 3-megapixel camera, and it also has a VGA front-facing camera that can be used for Skype calls - in our tests, it worked but produced an extremely blocky image at the other end. The main camera takes fairly clean snaps, although closer inspection reveals plenty of smudging, the result of heavy noise reduction. An LED flash helps with night shots. Video is poor, however, with the small resolution being the main problem. Although we missed the larger screen of its predecessors, the Motorola Defy Mini was fun to use and is excellent value at just £155 SIM-free. You can also pick it up on contract for as little as £21 per month on an 18-month contract. The problem is that you can also find the Motorola Defy+ for the same price on contract, so you should only choose the Mini if you're going the SIM-free route or need the extra battery life and front-facing camera. It's still an excellent-value handset, though, and wins our Budget Buy award.”

“Even though it is an okay entry-level Android smartphone, we think you should stay away from the Motorola DEFY MINI, at least for now. It is currently priced at about $250 off contract, which we find totally unjustified considering what you get in exchange. For that amount of cash it would be wiser to pick up the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active or Samsung Galaxy Xcover since both of them are resistant to water and dust, but come with better hardware specs. Alternatively, if you don't necessarily need a water resistant smartphone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini is also worth checking out as it costs about the same as the DEFY MINI while still packing better hardware.”