Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini and Sony Xperia J Go on Sale
Galaxy S3 Mini looking to add onto its big brother's incredible commercial success.
Samsung has launched its Galaxy S3 Mini to the global market, while Sony's "affordable" Xperia J has also gone on sale.
The Galaxy S3 Mini, a less-powerful device when compared to its big brother, features a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz dual-core CPU and NFC. The handset, which runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, has a a 1,500mAh battery, 1GB RAM, accompanied by 8 or 16GB of internal storage, which can be expanded to 32GB through microSD.
In addition, the revised smartphone boasts a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, while its five-megapixel camera is capable of recording video in a 720p format. A front-facing VGA camera, GPS, GLONASS, FM radio and Bluetooth 4.0 are also included in the device.
The Galaxy S3, meanwhile, has already smashed several sales records worldwide. It remains one of the best selling Android-powered smartphones of all time with over 30 million sales, as well as overtaking iPhone 4S' title as the best-selling smartphone on the planet.
As for Sony's Xperia J, the smartphone delivers a 4-inch 480x854 display, 512MB o RAM, a 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel rear camera and a 1,750mAh battery. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the operating system the handset runs on. While there's just 4GB of built in storage, a microSD slot to increase storage capacity is included.

Also, the screen is the biggest battery drain in these devices, so even though the battery will also be smaller (i assume) i imagine overall battery life will be longer
Also, the screen is the biggest battery drain in these devices, so even though the battery will also be smaller (i assume) i imagine overall battery life will be longer
Well, not everyone has the budget for the full version !
Most of us in the USofA are not rich, you know :-)
the S3 mini is simply pathetic.
- 5MP camera that is 720p, that's garbage.
- 223ppi screen, oh god how dated is that.
- no LTE
the obvious 4 inch choice is the iPhone 5, the S3 mini is inferior in specs and support (updates, help).
Dear ZakIslam,
It can be expanded to 16+32, which is 48Gb.
Actually, it is likely to support 64Gb mSD cards, which makes it 64 + 16 => 80Gb.
I think he meant "by" and not "to".
Does this mean it will only support microSD cards up to 16GB in capacity? I doubt it and instead that is a typo. It'll probably support the latest 64GB, 128GB microSD cards.
The S3 mini also has a inferior price. This phone isn't made to compete with the iPhone 5. That is the job of the S3.
You're comparing a flagship phone to a deliberately downgraded version of a flagship phone.
That's the problem. Not only did they reduce the screen size but some of its core features.
The S3 is supposed to be its flagship line the S3 mini should be similar to the S3 just with a smaller screen but it isnt't which is pathetic since its released 6 months after the S3 and its competition is the 4 inch market is the iPhone 5.
The retail price of the S3 mini 16gb is not very different than the iPhone 5 16GB
How is it not made to compete with the iPhone 5?
It was intentionally released to compete with iPhone 5's 4 inch screen.
Also it's retail price of the 16GB version is not significantly far from the price of the iPhone 5 16GB price. How is its price 'inferior' especially when you factor the difference over that average life span of the device it's even less significant.
Of course it was intentionally released to compete with the iPhone 5? That's why Samsung ads that make fun of Apple always use a Samsung phone that's the same size of the iPhone.
This phone was made to toke the advantage of the fame that the Galaxy S line has.
The retail price of the S3 mini is still quite a bit cheaper than the iPhone 5. It's not a cheap phone by any means. I think that the price Samsung is asking is short of robbery. Specially considering that the Nexus 4 is going to be cheaper and far better.
It is a bit cheaper, what $120-$150 USD cheaper for outright purchase for the 16GB model, that's what over 3 years $0.70- $0.97 a week over 3 years difference? And the contract price is is less of a difference.
And how much do you think Samsung would have charged for the S3 mini if it had 300+ ppi screen not their 223 ppi, a similar camera to the iPhone 5's, and LTE? That would make up the 120-150 difference, so basically they could not put together a 4" phone with the same specs as the iPhone 5 at a price below enough to attract customers. Also note that the S3 mini is 112g and the iPhone 5 is 118g, if you added those increased specs the increased battery to run the additional features would have made the s3 mini have a higher weight than the iPhone 5.
In order to get a product that is $120-$150 cheaper they basically skimmed off a whole lot of features.
My boss who owns a software consulting company was also waiting for the S3 mini, once the specs were announced to say he was unimpressed would be an understatement.
My wife who is far from a technical person even can tell this is a crappy product and not worth the price they're asking as you mentioned.
And honestly to her spending $0.70 - $0.97 or if she gets it on contract an extra $0.50 - $0.75 a week for an iPhone 5 on something she uses everyday is money well worth it.
People piss away a buck, or two, or more weekly on unnecessary spending, not getting a good deal, etc, using that on something that is as critical as your phone has high marginal utility for quite a few people, thus it makes sense.