Although the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini was only unveiled at few days ago at a press event in Germany, the device has already been made available for pre-order from a number of prominent UK network providers.
The scaled down version of Samsung’s hit Galaxy S3 looks like it will be a popular choice, as it fulfils a market which is still very brand aware, but one that is not necessarily bothered about having the bragging rights of the most powerful processor or highest touchscreen resolution. Samsung is very confident that there is a market for this device in Europe, according to JK Shin, head of communications at Samsung Mobile.
As suggested by the name, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is a more compact version of the best selling Android flagship, boasting a 4 inch screen rather than the 4.8 inch display of the Galaxy S3. A number of the handset’s other features have also been scaled down in order to minimize space as well as keeping costs down to ensure Samsung is able to offer the device at a competitive price point. The processor, rather than the 1.4 GHz quad-core offering of the Galaxy S3 is instead a 1 GHz dual-core processor. Although this is clearly less powerful than that of the Galaxy S3, it will still be able to provide the handset with excellent performance. Similarly, the camera has been scaled down from 8 megapixels to 5.
Unlike the aforementioned hardware features, the software of the Galaxy S3 Mini is actually more up to date than that of the Galaxy S3. It will ship with the new Android Jellybean software, although users of the Galaxy S3 will also be able to update their handsets to this version in the near future.
O2, Orange and Vodafone are currently offering Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini contracts on a pre-order basis. The there is still no official word when the handset will actually hit stores, but it is expected that this will happen within the next month, at which time both SIM free and pay as you go options will also be made available.
