The announcement that Samsung has sold the most phones, and in particular more than double the amount of iPhones, will no doubt be of little shock.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 was the most popular selling smartphone in Q3 2012, following in the footsteps of its older brother, the now 18 month-old Samsung Galaxy S2.
One of the secrets of Samsung's success
has to be the quality of its devices, but another is that it has
targeted every corner of the market. The Samsung Galaxy range has hit
every price point, from the super-budget Galaxy Y to the highest end phablet Galaxy Note 2, and the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini here falls somewhere in the middle.
Samsung will look to the success of the Galaxy S3, as the Galaxy S3 Mini - also referred to as the Galaxy SIII Mini - comes up against the newly launched LG made Google Nexus 4, that has completely rewritten the book for mid-priced smartphones.
It also faces some stiff competition from more established handsets such as the HTC One S, and the ageing yet still very popular Samsung Galaxy S2.
Remarkably, like the Nexus 4, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini comes in with a similar spec sheet as the iPhone 5. But it hits the price point of the two years older iPhone 4,
at £315 (around AU$460/US$480) SIM-free, or free on monthly contracts
from around £25 (around AU$38/US$40) per month in the UK.
Design and feel
After
a quick glance at the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini you'd be forgiven for
mistaking it for its larger, higher end brother, and that is in no way a
bad thing. The plastic feeling that we mentioned wouldn't appeal to all
on the S3 feels right at home on the S3 Mini.
It even comes in the same Pebble blue and Marble white variants that the Samsung Galaxy S3 launched with.
Measuring
122.55 x 63 x 9.9mm (4.82 x 2.48 x 0.39 inches), the Samsung Galaxy S3
Mini is by no means the largest phone, and it sits very comfortably in
the hand. The 120g (4.23oz) weight also means it's not very noticeable
in the pocket, even if it is a whole 1.3mm thicker.
There's
no doubting that the Galaxy S3 Mini looks superb, its size being the
only initial indication that it wasn't intended to be a market-leading
phone. In fact, we are left wondering where the compromises have been
made.
The two main areas are the
processor and the screen, with the dual-core 1GHz chipset and a 4-inch
WVGA resolution screen being a lot less spectacular than the Samsung
Galaxy S3.
We can forgive minor details
like this, but given the 1.5GHz dual chip in the HTC One S, and the
quad core power behind the Google Nexus 4, we're a little more
sceptical.
Elsewhere, Samsung has provided the Galaxy S3 Mini with the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system, as well as a 5MP rear camera with flash, and a VGA front camera.
As
we mentioned, the Galaxy S3 Mini sits very well in the hand, its
smaller size meaning that it is a lot more comfortable to hold than the
Samsung Galaxy S3.
The
lock/power button sits on the right side, with the volume key directly
opposite on the left. The phone's small size makes them all very easy to
hit one handed.
The capacitive soft
keys are out in traditional Samsung style, the Back and Menu buttons
sitting either side of an elongated Home button just under the screen.
Samsung has kept this layout since the original Galaxy S, and we are big
fans, since it means that unlike the newer Nexus phones - the Galaxy
Nexus and the Nexus 4 - there is no searching for the on-screen keys.
Elsewhere
on the front of the Galaxy S3 Mini are the speaker and the front-facing
VGA camera for Facebook profile pictures, as well as video chats
through the likes of Skype.
The two main ports sit at opposite ends of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini,
with the micro USB sat at the bottom (next to the microphone), and the
3.5mm headphone port on the top. This again follows the standard Samsung
layout shown on other Galaxy devices, and we've never had a problem
with it.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
comes with an advantage over other mid-range devices, since it has a
removable battery cover, the Google Nexus 4 being the most notable
exception. The battery cover makes up the entirety of the back of the
Galaxy S3 Mini, and sits tightly on the back, so there's no chance of it
popping off accidentally.
The back of
the phone is a smart white (or blue) affair, housing the 5MP camera
sensor, a small flash, the loud speaker and the obligatory Samsung
branding.
Hidden
behind the cover is the 1500mAh removable battery, which many heavy
users will consider essential. Elsewhere is the SIM port (standard, not
microSIM), and the microSD slot.
Unfortunately
the microSD isn't hot-swappable, which was a little frustrating. It's
located behind the battery, and isn't a pop-in slot. This means needing
to lay the microSD card flat against the Galaxy S3 Mini, and pushing it
in, which can get a bit fiddly.
In all
we were very impressed with the design of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini,
but we were more impressed with its more powerful predecessor, the
Galaxy S3. The curved design sits very comfortably in the hand, and the
smaller stature makes it easier to hold, with every part of the phone
accessible one handed.
For those
looking for a stylish phone, who don't want a massive screen, a massive
weight or a massive price tag, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini makes a more
than promising first impression.
Interface
Building the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini's interface upon the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system means that Samsung has tweaked its Touchwiz overlay yet again.
We've
always been fans of Touchwiz, and anybody that has any experience of
previous Samsung phones will feel almost immediately at home.
Starting from the lock screen, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has continued the 'inspired by nature' theme that was present on the Galaxy S3.
Taking cues from other custom UIs such as HTC Sense, the lock screen provides quick access to up to three applications.
By
default these are ChatOn - Samsung's answer to BBM and iMessage - as
well as the Google Now search engine, and the Camera app. If you'd
prefer other options, these can be customised.
Interestingly,
it is possible to access the camera app by holding the lock screen and
rotating the Galaxy S3 Mini to landscape. We found this a little
difficult to work out initially, but we soon got the hang of it.
Touching the screen brings ripple effects, and swiping across to unlock brings small ripples akin to skimming a stone.
This
is accompanied by an annoying water drop sound, which you also get when
pressing the varying buttons on the Galaxy S3 Mini. Thankfully these
can be turned off within the settings.
It
could well be the Project Butter of Jelly Bean, but after our initial
concerns over the Galaxy S3 unlock and wake up speed, we didn't find any
slow down on the less powerful Galaxy S3 Mini.
The
whole device wasn't lightning fast, the compromise of having less
cores, but only once did we find any real hindrance, during initial set
up as all our apps downloaded and synced from Google's cloud.
The
latest Touchwiz brings across the same icons and the same feel that we
found on the Samsung Galaxy S3, and we were happy to say that it felt a
lot more simplified than it had on older Samsung devices.
To make it even simpler, the settings menu enables you to change the Home screen mode, between Basic and Easy mode.
We
were a little bemused as there was no Advanced mode, but the idea
behind Easy mode is that it makes it easier for first time users. We
don't think even the most inexperienced should need it though.
Touchwiz also brings along Samsung's vast array of widgets to the Galaxy S3 Mini.
From
Android Honeycomb, the widgets can be accessed via a tab in the app
drawer, enabling you to preview the widgets, as well as providing the
widget size so you know whether it'll fit on your selected screen.
The
main widget, as for just about every modern smartphone, is the clock
widget. Samsung's clock is a very smart offering, with a landscaped
background reflecting the time and weather conditions of your position.
Some widgets are resizable, however there is no indication as to which these are, which is more than a little frustrating.
We might have mentioned it before, but we're glad that the latest Touchwiz dock has been expanded.
Android
has long had the ability to have five icons in the dock, yet previous
iterations of Touchwiz only allowed for four, and that included the app
drawer itself.
Another useful feature
is the ability to put folders in the dock, freeing up more room. Folders
can be made throughout the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, although they don't
have the same intuitive feel that has become prevalent on other devices,
most notably in iOS.
On
a Home screen, pressing the menu button or long-pressing a blank spot
on the screen gives you the option to create an empty folder, and from
there you can drag and drop apps into it.
Thankfully,
it is a similar experience in the app drawer, and means that you can be
very organised; we've managed to get all our apps onto one screen.
Another feature we're pleased to see is the ability to hide apps, done by accessing the app drawer menu.
We're big fans of this as often there are preinstalled apps that can't be removed without rooting your device, and we know this isn't for everyone. Having them hidden helps make the app drawer seem a lot more organised.
To display your many folders and widgets, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini permits up to seven home screens. This is a big plus in our eyes, especially as the Google Nexus 4 infamously allows only five.
Moving around home screens was smooth, no hint of any slowdown from the less powerful processor.
The infinite scroll loop is something we're fans of, as is the scroll bar.
It's
one of Touchwiz's less obvious features, but the dotted screen
indicator on the home screens and app drawer turns into a scroll bar for
even faster screen switching.
The app
drawer has also had some customisation, with the ability to sort apps in
any way you choose, so you can dedicate certain screens to certain
apps, alphabetically or in a list.
We're not massive fans of the custom screen, mainly because uninstalling apps then leaves a gap.
One of the key features of any Android experience, emulated on later iOS versions, is the notifications bar.
We
liked the notifications experience on the Galaxy S3, but having Jelly
Bean behind the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini means it has had another lick of
paint.
Surprisingly, it is accessible from the lock screen.
Swiping
the bar down gives access to the notifications screen, complete with
the quick settings that Samsung has put in every Touchwiz iteration.
There
are a lot more options than you may previously be used to, and as we
mentioned before, it moves across every time you open the bar.
We
could list all the available power saving options, but needless to say
they cover GPS and Wi-Fi, as well as the Mobile Data and an interesting
setting known as Blocking Mode.
Blocking
Mode disables notifications, including calls from people other than on a
set list. It can also be set to a timer, making it ideal for when
you're asleep.
Elsewhere in the
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini notifications bar is a brightness toggle, as well
as the very smartly laid out clock and date in the top left, opposite
access to the phone's settings.
We're
extremely disappointed that Samsung has included a brightness toggle,
mainly because it is their compensation for the lack of an auto
brightness setting, something we cannot get our heads around.
We
really like the contrast of the greens, blues and blacks, giving a very
professional finish, and the fact that the little bar at the bottom
only lights up when you are swiping the bar up and down show Samsung has
given it a lot of thought.
The Jelly
Bean experience with swiping away notifications, and expanding
notifications is also present making it easy to dismiss the spam emails,
or a Facebook message that you "don't want" when you're at work...
The
S3 Mini also has Android's superb multi-tasking pane, accessed by long
pressing the home button. From there you can open, or swipe away, all
your recently opened apps, the Google Now engine or the 'Recycle Bin'
that removes all recent apps.
The
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini also includes Samsung's Smart alert feature; pick
up the phone with a missed call or text and it vibrates gently to let
you know.
Samsung
has also included a whole set of other features, such as the ability to
have the battery percentage in the notifications bar, and the Smart
stay eye-tracker.
While we're sure this helps the battery life, we found it a little inconsistent.
Maybe it was the poor sensor on the front of the device, but we found that even while looking at the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
head on, the little Smart Stay Icon didn't always appear, yet it
sometimes appeared while it was sat a few feet away on the table.
The
Korean firm has also upped its motion control throughout certain apps,
which we will go into more detail later, but the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
enables you to mute calls or music just by flipping the phone over. It's
not a new feature, yet is very handy.
In
all, Samsung has really paid attention to the UI, in order to
differentiate itself from the other Android manufacturers. The
customisation has always helped Samsung stand out, and the dual core
processor coupled with Android Jellybean rarely suffered.
Full Spesification's For Samsung Galaxy S III Mini
General | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
3G Network | HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
SIM | Mini-SIM | |
Announced | 2012, October | |
Status | Available. Released 2012, November | |
Body | Dimensions | 121.6 x 63 x 9.9 mm (4.79 x 2.48 x 0.39 in) |
Weight | 111.5 g (3.92 oz) | |
Display | Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
Size | 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density) | |
Multitouch | Yes | |
Sound | Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | Yes | |
Memory | Card slot | microSD, up to 32 GB |
Internal | 8/16 GB, 1 GB RAM | |
Data | GPRS | Yes |
EDGE | Yes | |
Speed | HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps | |
WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR | |
NFC | Yes (Market dependent) | |
USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0 | |
Camera | Primary | 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality |
Features | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection | |
Video | Yes, 720p@30fps, check quality | |
Secondary | Yes, VGA | |
Features | OS | Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) |
Chipset | NovaThor U8420 | |
CPU | 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 | |
GPU | Mali-400 | |
Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS | |
Browser | HTML5 | |
Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS | |
GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS | |
Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
Colors | White, Blue, Titan Gray, Amber Brown, Garnet Red, Onyx Black | |
- SNS integration | ||
- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player | ||
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player | ||
- Organizer | ||
- Image/video editor | ||
- Document viewer | ||
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail, | ||
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa | ||
- Voice memo/dial/commands | ||
- Predictive text input (Swype) | ||
Battery | Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery | |
Stand-by | Up to 450 h (2G) / Up to 430 h (3G) | |
Talk time | Up to 14 h 10 min (2G) / Up to 7 h 10 min (3G) | |
Misc | SAR US | 1.03 W/kg (head) 1.28 W/kg (body) |
SAR EU | 0.52 W/kg (head) | |
Price group |
|
|
Tests | Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) / 2.422:1 (sunlight) |
Loudspeaker | Voice 66dB / Noise 63dB / Ring 76dB | |
Audio quality | Noise -82.1dB / Crosstalk -80.7dB | |
Camera | Photo / Video | |
Battery life | Endurance rating 42h |
0 comments:
Post a Comment