Android smartphones seem to keep getting bigger and bigger, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2's massive 5.5-inch display being a perfect example. The larger screen size is welcome by many, but for others, a slightly more compact device would be preferable. Enter the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, a smaller version of the popular Galaxy S3 smartphone. Since it has the same 4-inch screen size as the iPhone 5, comparisons are bound to pop up, so lets take a look at the two smartphones side by side.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini sports a 4-inch Super AMOLED display putting out a resolution of 480X800 pixels, compared to the 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED 720X1280 screen that the original Samsung Galaxy S3 has. It comes with a dual-core 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a VGA front cam.
The Galaxy S3 Mini will also be running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box. Jelly Bean is the latest iteration of Google's Android operating system, and offers a smoother interface thanks to Project Butter, and a Siri-like voice assistant called Google Now among other incremental updates from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has a suggested retail price of around €400, or $520. There is no word on U.S. carriers, but as CNET points out, the current Galaxy S3 Mini model doesn't look like it will come to the United States soon.
The iPhone 5, on the other hand, comes with a 4-inch Retina display and a resolution of 1136X640. It features a dual-core A6 processor that has been clocked at around 1.3GHz. It also has a more-powerful 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera for FaceTime HD.
Apple's iPhone 5 runs iOS 6, Apple's newest mobile operating system, which introduces over 200 new features, according to Apple. Some of these include Facebook integration, an improved Siri, and the much-hated Apple Maps, which now replaces Google Maps as the default navigation tool.
The iPhone 5 costs $199, $299, or $399 with a standard two-year contract from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint depending on whether you go for the 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB model. Suggested unlocked iPhone 5 prices are $649, $749, and $849, although at the moment expect to pay more due to supply shortages.
The quick side-by-side shows that the Apple iPhone 5 is clearly the more powerful of the two smartphones. The Galaxy S3 Mini, however, is not meant to be a direct competitor to the iPhone 5. Samsung will leave that job up to the Galaxy S3, and it looks like the Galaxy S3 Mini is meant to be a mid-range handset that should appeal to anyone on a budget looking for an Android smartphone.