HTC M4 vs HTC One: wait for Verizon, or wait even longer?

As the HTC One is confirmed for Verizon here in the United States, so too has an "HTC One Mini" been all but confirmed by a set of leaked up-close photos. These photos are either the work of a hardware tester or an extremely dedicated mock-up artist – as we're inclined to believe the former, it's become apparent that a new choice must be made for those waiting for their favorite amalgamation of HTC and Android. Should you pick up an HTC One now, or does it make more sense to wait for the ever-so-slightly smaller HTC M4?

This HTC M4 has popped up more than once in the past, and though HTC itself has not made the device official, there's enough of a general consensus to see what this device will be made of here and now. This device first appeared to be a Home-less version of the HTC First, but such an idea was quickly dashed when our HTC First vs HTC M4 guide was knocked out.

BELOW: The HTC M4 photos here show the device to be ever-so-slightly smaller than the HTC One in the palm of an adult hand (the HTC One is pictured above).

The HTC M4 will be bringing the following specifications to the market, these and confirmation of an "UltraPixel" camera on its back tipped once again this morning.

HTC M4

• 5.05 x 2.63 x 0.39 (in) (LxWxT)

• 4.3 inch, HD 720p, 341 PPI

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

• HTC Sense 5.0 UI

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8930, dual core 1.2Ghz

• RAM: 2GB

• Internal storage: 16GB

• Bluetooth 4.0

• UltraPixel camera on back with 4.1MP (same as the original), 1.6-megapixel camera on front

The HTC One is not quite as small, here working with a 4.7-inch display with Super LCD3 technology with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display at 469 PPI. That's quite a bit sharper than the M4, but unless you're holding them one next to the other, it's unlikely you'll notice the real difference.

The HTC One works with a step up in the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor line-up, here working with the Snapdragon 600 rather than the 400. This will not mean a lot for users when they're only working with social networking and web browsing, but getting into gaming will appear with a bit less slick on the M4.

The HTC One isn't the most palm-fitting device in the world. It's certainly not meant to be a one-handed device, of course, as with a 4.7-inch display comes a bit more width and height than one's thumb length. The HTC M4 provides a size that might be a bit more appealing to those users aiming for iPhone "ideal" palm size as identified by Apple back in 2007.

The HTC M4 is much closer in size to the Motorola DROID RAZR M, a smartphone which we found to be surprisingly comfortable to use after having worked with much larger devices for many, many months. The only drawback here is that if you are used to working with a much larger display, you may feel a bit restricted pulling back an inch – or even a fraction of an inch.

This machine will be essentially bringing the same HTC One experience as delivered with the original HTC One save its physical size and slightly less sharp display. If you're all about the palm-sized goodness, this may very well be the HTC One you've been waiting for – and didn't know you were waiting for, at that.

While the HTC One is already out on several major carriers here in the United States today, the Verizon edition isn't scheduled to appear until "later this summer" – no exact date given. Meanwhile the HTC M4 (as it's still code-named) has been tipped – but also not confirmed – to be coming in August.