Samsung Electronics Co. officially unveiled its 4-inch Galaxy S III mini in Germany on Thursday, as per news reports.
The phone features 1GHz dual-core processor, 5MP rear camera and 800x480p display.
Reportedly, Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is expected to hit the market during Christmas and it is expected to be priced between USD 350 to USD 430.
Samsung's original Galaxy S III, unveiled in late May, has a 4.8-inch screen. Strong sales of the flagship phone helped Samsung post record USD 7.3 billion operating profit in the July-September quarter.
Despite a bruising series of patent disputes and the reputational risk of the US court defeat in August, Samsung's brand value has surged this year as it shipped more handsets and smartphones than any of its rivals.
The phone is a smaller, midrange version of its best-selling Galaxy S3 phone, and sports a 4 inch screen.
Samsung has a problem on its hands. There are too many sizes, too many models, and most of them are too big. Mostly, consumers have loved Samsung’s offerings. The success of Galaxy S3(GS3) and Galaxy Note are proof that for many bigger is indeed better.
But apparently that not true for all. There are those who love the GS3 but find its 4.85 inch screen too big for their hands. Samsung says they have been clamouring for a smaller phone. So Samsung decided to make one. Enter the Galaxy S3 Mini.
As you would expect the smaller phone looks just like its bigger brother, but it is chubbier. While the GS3 is 8.6mm thick, the GS3 Mini is 9.85 mm thick. Yet, given the smaller form factor, it would fit quite snugly in your pocket, and your hand. The good news is that the Mini is lighter, just 111.5gms.
The Mini sports a 4 inch screen, a super AMOLED 800×480 screen, 1 Ghz dual core processor, and 1GB of RAM. Not top of the line, but competent enough. The GS3 Mini runs Jelly Bean 4.1.1 out of the box, and has the same buttery smoothness that you would expect from a Jelly Bean device. While the GS3 does not lag or stutter, apps that require more power might just tax its modest guts.
The 800×480 super AMOLED screen might not be the best in the market, but it is not unhandsome. Most things would look perfectly good on this screen. Expect browsing, photos and videos to be quite decent. The GS3 Mini has a 5-megapixel camera as opposed to the 8 MP shooter that the bigger sibling is equipped with. However, if you are an average user 5MP should be quite sufficient for your needs.
One of the main selling points of Galaxy S3 has been its relatively low price. The 64GB GS3 costs $300 dollars with a two year contract. The iPhone 5 with 64GB costs $400. The base model of the GS3 comes in at $100 with a contract, while iPhone 5 comes for a $200 for the base model.
That makes it $100 dollars cheaper. While Samsung has not announced price and availability yet, the smaller GS3 is sure to be cheaper than the flagship device, which means Samsung might be able to woo customers who would like a premium phone without breaking their budget. In the end that is what the GS3 is; a phone for the average user who wants a decent smartphone which is easy to use and within their budget.
Interestingly, Samsung chose the same size as that of the iPhone 5, even though it does not simply decrease the size lengthwise. Rumours of the 4-inch iPhone has been swirling for quite some time, so who knows, Samsung might just have been ‘inspired’ by its rival?
No comments:
Post a Comment