Smaller, more reasonably sized smartphones are a trend we’d like to see take off, and Samsung — the top proliferator of oversized handsets — may actually help the cause. On Wednesday, the Korean news website iNews24 reported that JK Shin, the head of Samsung’s mobile division, said the company would unveil a “mini” Galaxy S III in Germany on Thursday.
The device will reportedly sport a 4-inch display, a size that is in high demand in Europe, Shin told iNews24, according to a translation. That also happens to be the screen size of Apple’s new iPhone 5.
Aside from size, Shin didn’t share any specs, although the German website Mobile Geeks is reporting that the mini’s internals will fail to live up to the device’s flagship branding, with a disappointingly low 800 x 480 resolution screen and a 1GHz dual-core CPU, instead of the 1.5GHz dual-core chip found in the U.S. version of the S III or the quad-core chip found in the S III’s European and Asian variants.
Most flagship Android handsets nowadays sport touchscreens of about 4.5 inches or larger. The Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch display, the HTC One X has a 4.7-inch screen, and the LG Intuition touts a 5-inch display. Samsung’s also pushed larger phones with its 5.3-inch Galaxy Note and upcoming 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II.
If you’re not into iPhones and the low-end specs of a mini S III aren’t speaking to your soul, there is a bit of hope to be found in Motorola’s Razr M, which features a 4.3-inch display that feels more like a 4-incher thanks to a thinner screen bezel and slim profile.
[...] while the Galaxy S III Mini wears the same nameplate as its big brother, the Galaxy S III, has the same outward styling, and [...]