It's the Samsung Mini Galaxy! Seriously though, the Samsung Galaxy S3 was alright, for a plastic Android phone, so when Samsung released a Galaxy S3 Mini, there was less excitement than confusion. Before we come down too hard on the Samsung Mini Galaxy, let's take a look at the review and see what the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has to offer.
If you loved the Galaxy S3 and its sharp Super AMOLED display, but felt it was a little too big, you'll likely find at least a bit of redeeming value in the Galaxy S3 Mini. It features a far more reasonable 4-inch screen that seems to reinforce the idea that Samsung Galaxy devices work best the more they steal from Apple's iPhone.
Although the Galaxy S3 Mini is smaller than the Galaxy S3, it's nonetheless 1.3 mm thicker, which almost doesn't count. Ironically, the added bulk makes the phone feel sturdier, but this is not so much an improvement as much as it is a reflection on the cheap, plastic build of the Galaxy S3. The Galaxy S3 Mini weighs 111g compared to the 133g of the Samsung Galaxy S3, and it'll fit in your pocket as well as an iPhone 5.
Whether you find the Galaxy S3 Mini aesthetically appealing, it's definitely an ugly mess under the hood. The Samsung Mini Galaxy runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM, a pretty big step down from the standard Galaxy S3. Some reviews talk about the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini not running noticeably slower than the standard Galaxy S3, but if you're accustomed to an iPhone, the Galaxy S3 probably feels laggy in the first place, so the Galaxy S3 Mini will feel like a Happy Meal toy.
If the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini were $200, it would truly be a good buy. For $349, though, you can do better.
