A lot of people like the capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S3 but find the unit just too large to their liking. Good news for them, there is a pared down version of the S3 which is aptly called the S3 Mini.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini looks identical in terms of design to the larger S3. The S3 Mini retains the slim plastic design with the removable back panel. The power button and the volume rocker can still be found on the surrounding edges. Because the S3 Mini is designed to be the smaller version of the Galaxy S3, everything else will naturally be smaller. This includes the overall size and weight of the S3 Mini. The size of the S3 Mini matches the size of Apple’s iPhone 5 but is lighter with its 111.5 grams. The iPhone 5 weighs a half a gram more with its 112 gram weight.
Display
Since, the S3 Mini was designed to be smaller; the size of the screen was also adjusted from 4.8 inches to 4 inches. The S3 Minis still maintains its Super AMOLED display however, because of the adjustment in size; the resolution is now lower than that of the S3. The S3 Mini comes with a 480×800 pixel resolution at a 233 pixels per density performance. The original Galaxy S3 however offers 306 pixels per inch resolution. The display resolution of the S3 Mini does not match up with the iPhone 4’s 330 pixel per inch density; however, the S3 still produces sharp and responsive displays.
Connectivity
For the purpose of communication, the S3 Mini can handle effectively all incoming and outgoing calls. Features such as Direct call lets the S3 Mini determine if you want to talk to the person you are texting by simply lifting the phone to your ear and the S3 Mini will automatically dial the number for you. With connectivity functions which include GSM 3G, HSUPA, GPRS, HSPA 14.4 Wi-Fi Direct, WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4 + 5GHz, HSP and KIES Air Support, the S3 Mini is capable of a lot of wireless communications and can also handle VoIP communication whether you have a free VoIP service or are subscribing to companies such as RingCentral.
Performance
Because of the smaller size, the S3 Mini’s processor was downsized from the quad-core of the original S3 into a dual core one. Although the 1 GHz dual-core processor will struggle when used with the latest games geared for the high-end smartphones; the use of the Android Jelly Bean OS enables the S3 Mini to handle multiple apps at once. Another thing that was downsized with the S3 Mini is its internal storage which is now only 8GB. However, the S3 Mini still allows the expansion of storage through an external microSD slot.
Another downsized feature of the S3 Mini is its main camera. The original Galaxy S3 is equipped with an 8 megapixel camera. The S3 Mini now only has a 5 megapixel, which can still take HD quality photos and videos. However, the 5 megapixel rating of the camera will not match up with the latest smartphones of other companies which are coming up with 8 megapixels or 13 megapixels as their standard main camera.
Overall, the S3 Mini is a great phone to have. However, since the price of the S3 Mini does not differ much from the original Galaxy S3, you will get more value for your money if you get the S3 instead of the S3 Mini.
