With the Samsung Galaxy S3 continuing to dominate the smartphone market, lining up as a true Android based rival to the iPhone 5 (check out our iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 piece), Samsung has looked to capitalise on the handsets success with the more accessible Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini.
Sharing
a number of design characteristics with its full-sized sibling, the
4-inch Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini features a reduced spec and lower price
point than its predecessor, whilst maintaining some of the desirability
and pleasingly curved aesthetics of the full sized model.
Despite
the handset featuring a similar design to the high-end Samsung Galaxy
S3, that is where the similarities between the two devices end. Tasked
with bringing the S3 brand to a wider audience, the Samsung Galaxy S3
Mini is designed to appeal to younger markets, with its heavily reduced
specs sheet, and lower price point testament to this.
Playing
host to a 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
ticks all the boxes necessary to appease mid-market expectations,
without ever standing out from the crowd. Available in Ceramic White and
Pebble Blue colour options, the Mini adds 1GB of RAM, a 1500mAh battery
and a 5-megapixel rear-mounted camera to the fray.
What’s more,
the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini price tag does not help the handset separate
itself from the competition either, with the not inconsiderable £269.99
fee, when snapped up on a Pay-As-You-Go basis, seeing the device have
the same impact on the wallet as the specs superior Google Nexus 4 and the Sony Xperia S.
Unlike
the Google Nexus 4 and Sony Xperia S, however, the S3 Mini does not
have the same level of stand-out specs and performance capabilities
that, on paper at least, offer reassurance in the handset’s potential.
We take a closer look at how the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini stands up to the
competition.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Design
Piggybacking on the success of its
illustrious sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini plays host to a number
of design characteristics found on its big brother, whilst a smaller
4-inch screen makes the handset a more viable mid-market offering and
one that will appeal to younger markets.
Appearing as a shrunken
rendition of its iPhone 5 rivalling counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S3
Mini features the now recognisable pebble-esque curved edge design of
the original Samsung Galaxy S3. Although a slightly curved, removable
rear plate ensures the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini sits relatively
comfortably within the hand, the device feels slightly undersized by
modern standards. Working in the handset’s favour, the S3 Mini, despite a
predominately plastic construction, feels well pieced together for the
most part, offering up little unwanted flex on unnerving creaking when
put under stress.
Lining up at just 9.9mm thick and 111.5g in
weight, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini is compact and well-balanced, with
the modest weight distributed evenly throughout the handset. Despite
these largely pleasing aesthetics, however, the heavily rounded, almost
bulbous base of the handset and its slick, glossed plastic finish mean
the device can prove slightly difficult to grip on occasion.
Shy
on the physical buttons, the smooth edged finish of the Samsung Galaxy
S3 Mini is largely untainted, with just a trio of physical controls
(power, volume and home), and a microUSB charger port, located centrally
on the handset’s base, detracting from the pleasing finish.
Whilst
the handset does not suffer from poorly placed controls, ensuring
accidental presses of the power/sleep button are not performance
depleting issues; the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini home button is not without
its user aggrieving problems.
With the physical home button
proving a squat, squashed affair, the integral control option offers no
height but plenty of width meaning that, during testing and general use,
the button was overshadowed by our thumbs, an issue that caused the
handset to become slightly troublesome and far natural to use. Further
detracting from a natural user experience, the sub-sized nature of this
home button gives the feeling that the button has been broken and only a
fragment of its intended form remains, hardly the most comfortable of
offerings.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Screen
Where the Samsung Galaxy S3
display is a 4.8-inch expansive of high quality visual enjoyment, the
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini screen falls dramatically short of the mark, with
the 4-inch AMOLED offering providing a disappointingly low grade 800 x
480p resolution.
Although we have come to expect a lot of
Samsung’s displays, the low res offering fitted to the Samsung Galaxy S3
is significantly below par when compared with its similarly priced
rivals, such as the 1280 x 768p Google Nexus 4 screen, and one which
fails to appease itself to continued video playback or app-based game
playing.
With the handset’s inbuilt light sensor proving
effective at offering the optimal screen brightness to the surrounding
settings, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini screen also handles its own when in
use in bright outdoor environments of direct sunlight, suffering only
minor levels of performance depleting, eye-straining glare.
