If you're hopping from foot to foot with anticipation of the sawn-off S3 that is the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, mark your diary and stick a pin in your calendar, because it's going on sale on 8 November.
Online retailers, including Phones4U, have named the 8th as the date the S3 Mini will arrive, although Samsung has yet to confirm that officially. You can order the S3 Mini now for delivery on the 8th, on a phone contract with Orange, O2 or Vodafone; or you can buy it on its own, SIM-free.
Expansys wants £315 of your hard-earned readies for the S3 Mini sans SIM, slightly more than the £250 originally estimated by retailers when the Mini was first announced -- and slightly later than the initially quoted 2 November release date.
Tipping the £300 mark may be a bit rich for some phone fans, who were disappointed that the Mini sees the specs shaved as well as the screen.
The S3 Mini is a more pocket-friendly version of the enormous 4.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S3. It has the same curved design, but sadly the smaller 4-inch screen also loses much of the eye-popping detail of the full-sized S3's display, and underneath there's no quad-core processor.
Still, the S3 Mini will arrive with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on board from day one. The latest version of Google's Android software is only available on a relatively small number of phones, and mostly expensive top-end phones at that.
If you do want the full enchilada and don't mind the cost, Jelly Bean is now arriving on the full-sized S3. It should be with you in coming weeks, depending on which network you're on. If you're impatient for Jelly Bean tastiness, you can root your phone and put it on yourself with our handy guide.
How much would you pay for the S3 Mini? Is it worth getting a smaller S3? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 6
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anonymous 19 October, 2012 14:46
You can get the Galaxy Nexus for under £350 will dual core, 720p screen, nfc, android 4.1.2 without silly touchwiz (Soon 4.2) and will have updates from Google for at least another 2 years. I know what I'd go for...
anonymous 20 October, 2012 09:17
What is the point of this phone? I don't see it.
anonymous 20 October, 2012 13:43
The S3 is widely regarded as one of the best phones around. Everyone knows this. The point of a mini S3 is so people can say "i've got a Samsung S3" with out having to have the enormous hands required to have the real thing.
The name alone will ensure it sells bucket loaded.
Ruffus Stone 22 October, 2012 09:33
The name will mean this phone will sell well, but it's effectively a fake.
There's nothing S3 about it other than the shape and styling.
That's a shame because Samsung could have had a credible junior or mini S3, without downgrading the spec. too far.
anonymous 23 October, 2012 01:15
[Galaxy SII > Galaxy SIII mini] < Galaxy Nexus
anonymous 23 October, 2012 16:20
hmmm?? Personally I would have named this as a JUNIOR....yes the galaxy junior has a ring to it. Then we could cope with the lower specs....however I think it is too different or should I say lower speced. Yes yes, I like the idea that there is a smaller phone option in this series (sort of series) as for me, they were getting too large again. I want a small foot print to drop into shirt pocket not a travel bag... so when this phone has been on the market for a few months, Ill' take another look and see if it does tel calls, text messages and the odd web browsing AT A MUCH LOWER PRICE.....over n out.