Review of the mini version of the flagship - Samsung Galaxy S III mini. First look at Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Samsung s3 mini specifications

Became the most successful Samsung smartphone for the entire time the Korean company has been present in the telecommunications market. The Galaxy brand has become well recognized among users, but the presence of the letter S in the name followed by a number adds even more attractiveness to the model.

Samsung's desire to exploit the Galaxy S III brand is understandable. Just think - the word mini appeared. The main thing is that the potential buyer sees the same flagship, only more compact and cheaper. Is this really a full-fledged modification of the older model with a minimum number of changes, or is it still a mid-level device with a set of functions familiar to such devices?

Of course, the photo module of the smartphone we are considering today does not reach the quality of the Galaxy S III. The usual matrix, which is installed in many mid-level phones, is not surprising and offers what you expect from it.

The camera can shoot HD video, an example of which can be seen below.

Interface

The smartphone works under Android control 4.1 with proprietary TouchWiz shell. The device's interface is very similar to that of the Galaxy S III. Many of the “chips” of the older model migrated to the younger one. For example, it also features eye tracking to prevent screen locking. It is possible to change the image scale by tilting the smartphone, you can pause the track playback by placing your hand on the screen, etc.

There are few built-in applications, the most useful of them is Chrome browser. This web browser is much more convenient to work with than the standard Android browser. Work with tabs and page navigation is organized more logically, and there is the possibility of synchronization with the desktop application.

There is nothing new in the software functionality of the Galaxy S III mini. The main thing is the fact that the smartphone initially runs Jelly Bean, while many competitors will have to wait a long time for an official update. The system interface works noticeably faster, without annoying slowdowns characteristic of previous versions of Android.

Performance and battery life

Deja vu again: Galaxy S III mini is built on the NovaThor U8420 platform with a 2-core gigahertz processor, Mali-400MP graphics and 1 GB RAM. We saw something similar during the preparation of the Galaxy S Advance. There was also a NovaThor chip, albeit labeled U8500. The differences between the two models are minimal, except that the new product has more RAM. Judging by the tests, the U8420, despite the lower numerical index, is slightly superior in performance to its “colleague”. The difference, however, is minimal.

Conclusions

As you can see, as the review progressed, we gradually moved away from comparing the mini with the Galaxy S III. In fact, the “new” smartphone is a familiar one, only in the same body and with Android 4.1 out of the box.

When the first rumors about the Galaxy S III mini appeared online, many thought that it was a smaller version of the flagship with similar specifications. Everything turned out to be even simpler. This is a regular mid-range model with the design of its older brother. Besides trademark And appearance, the two devices have nothing in common anymore. Why did Samsung need to give the smartphone the name of a top model? The calculation of the Korean manufacturer is clear and simple: the power of marketing and a well-known brand will help not only sell outdated components, but also make good money on it.

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First look at the Samsung Galaxy SIII mini smartphone: a flagship for midgets?

It can be called “mini” in relation to its parent device – the Galaxy SIII itself. Because SIII is a “shovel”, and his “Mini-Us” are really much smaller in size.

Earlier

Until now, the prefix “mini” on smartphones has really lived up to its grammatical meaning: usually “mini” smartphones, although there are few of them, have a screen size of 3.0-3.5 inches, low resolution and low power. They were bought by people who did not want to bother with large and sophisticated gadgets, that is, they had their own audience and still have it.

Now

If we take more prosaic reasons, then it is probably clear to anyone that the release is primarily related to the marketing component. “Big Brother” is one of the most expensive smartphones on the market (it is clear that it is also the most powerful) and not everyone can afford it, or even need it. Such high power (for comparison, let’s just say that in AnTuTu Benchmark the SIII, as we remember, had about 15,000 points) is simply not needed by most and is in demand primarily by gamers and developers (and even then not by everyone).

Therefore, the release of a less powerful, but looking almost the same smartphone for Samsung was, presumably, a matter of time. They could call it anything, but the allusion to the most powerful pocket device clearly plays into the hands of the Korean company.

Mini display

It is clear that he is not mini at all. It can’t reach the three-inch “old mini” ones, since the screen diagonal of the new product is a healthy four inches diagonally. The display type is, of course, Super AMOLED, but the resolution is WVGA, that is, 800x480 pixels. And this is quite sad, because such diagonals are already being mass-produced with a qHD resolution (960x540 pixels) - 800x480 is somehow not enough, this resolution remains for budget models and smartphones with smaller diagonals. And WVGA in the SIII mini is accompanied by a not very high pixel density: only 233 ppi. Of course, Super AMOLED saves the situation, but not much. Above the display you can see light and proximity sensors. And inside, according to our sources, there is an accelerometer, a digital compass and a gyroscope. In general, the set is not small at all, and this is a plus of the new gadget.

Display resolution Samsung Galaxy SIII mini is quite low

Mini processor

NVidia Tegra 3 or Samsung Exynos 4412 did not become the heart of the younger brother of the flagship of the 2012 line. Instead, Samsung recently announced that the Galaxy S III mini is equipped mobile platform NovaThor ModAp of the U8420 family named STE. The processor consists of two ARM Cortex A9 cores operating at 1 GHz, a Mali 400 graphics coprocessor, DDR2 memory, an HSPA+ Release 7 module, a new, improved audio codec and proprietary energy-saving technologies.

In general, even despite the fact that one of the most powerful processors did not become a full participant in the mini-project, the non-standard processor at least arouses interest. Game lovers will also be pleased, since Mali 400 is designed specifically for them. The frequency is not the highest, as you can see, but fans of overclocking will probably also find use for their abilities.

All this newness is accompanied by 1 GB of RAM and 8 or 16 GB of internal memory. The manufacturer does not say how much specifically is allocated for applications. Additionally, you can load up to 32 GB of data on a microSD card if you buy it separately.

Mini cameras

Compared to megapixel numbers and number additional features, which have the cameras of smartphones in 2012, the Galaxy SIII mini is truly “mini”. Firstly, its rear camera is only five megapixels without any additional functions(in which, by the way, HTC’s competitor has succeeded - just look at the impressive list of additional “goodies” at least in the latest model HTC One X+), secondly, the front camera, although present, will not produce more than 0.3 MP even if desired . Only in interpolated form.

Samsung Galaxy SIII mini is smaller than its “big brother”, but not so small in itself

And even the fact that the rear camera shoots HD video doesn't save it. As well as the presence of a digital stabilizer and all other useful little things by default (like geo-tagging or a smile detector - all this is already available almost everywhere). And, of course, an LED flash, which is usually not of much use.

In general, in the cameras of this device we see a reflection of 2010 and partly 2011, no later - it was then that such a pair of cameras (5 MP + 0.3 MP) was popular among mid- and high-end smartphones price range. Of course, the SIII mini should not be as expensive a model as the SIII, but such savings on camera modules are a little disappointing.

Mini trivia

What about wireless protocols?

We see a full set of WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n protocols, extended WiFi HT40 protocol, aGPS/GLONASS chip for navigation, DLNA wireless multimedia data transfer protocol; as well as NFC modules (with software support S Beam for instant sharing with others Samsung phones) and Bluetooth version 4.0 (LE).

Decreases Samsung Galaxy SIII mini touched not only the size, but also the camera resolution

And pay special attention to Bluetooth: the abbreviation LE in this case does not mean “light edition” (“light version”), as one might think, but Low Energy - that is, a module with ultra-low peak power consumption. This is also one of the newest technologies that we see in this device. Well, we have already written about HSPA+ support in 3G. In general, from this point of view, the Korean new product can be praised in the best words.

But the battery capacity, alas, is small and is only 1500 mAh. It is quite possible that soon after the device enters the market, the battery can be replaced with a more capacious model from a third-party manufacturer, but for now we have to admit that the smartphone will last about the same amount of time on a single charge as others - that is, no more than a day.

But the space it takes up is not mini at all. The Galaxy SIII mini measures 121.55 x 63 x 9.85 mm and weighs 111.5 grams. Although, by the way, the weight can be considered small compared to its competitors.

Mini programs

A serious advantage of the new product is the Android operating system version 4.1. Despite the fact that this version was announced back in the summer, its implementation in gadgets is proceeding at a very slow pace and therefore new devices in which this operating system is immediately installed are attracting attention. After all, if you remember from our review article about Jelly Bean (codename Android 4.1), in it the user receives several very convenient and tangible updates. Well, since the new device came from the pen of Samsung, the new owners of the smartphone will have at their disposal all the inherent “goodies”, such as the proprietary TouchWiz UX interface and a proprietary set of applications, including one of the new products – the Kies 2.5.0 application for synchronizing with a PC and Mac with as many synchronization options as possible. In addition, the new device contains those innovative technologies, which we have already seen in the “big brother” Galaxy SIII. For example, gesture recognition, which provides a lot of possibilities with appropriate software support. Let's say the Smart Stay function, to quote a press release, “using front camera"The phone detects eye movement and keeps the screen backlight on as long as the user is looking at the screen."

Samsung Galaxy SIII mini is a faithful assistant to the older model in establishing market dominance

And if you are reading an SMS and want to call its owner, here you can help will come Direct Call function: it allows you to dial a number automatically by simply holding your smartphone to your ear. The Smart Alert feature is not as innovative, but nevertheless, it warns about missed calls or messages as soon as the user picks up the phone. As well as another proprietary technology, S Voice, which allows you to unlock the phone with your voice and carry out voice control.

In general, the smartphone's software support is impressive.

Mini design

Externally, which is quite logical, the design of the SIII mini almost completely copies the design of the SIII in a smaller form factor. True, now the smartphone has become similar to an ordinary “point-and-shoot” thanks to its rounded shape. This is especially noticeable in the rear part, since plastic is everywhere and there are no design delights.

Maxi-outputs

According to preliminary data, the Samsung Galaxy SIII mini will occupy the shelves in November, and its price will be about 16 thousand rubles. Given the traditional Samsung quality and abundance software capabilities this price seems reasonable. You can also take into account the fact that this is the cost of the smartphone when it appears, and closer to the New Year or after it, it should quite expectedly decrease.

Of course, competition in this segment is high - Samsung's new product will be opposed by devices from HTC, Huawei and Sony with better technical characteristics and comparable software support. Therefore, the emphasis in sales, as we see it, will be with an eye on the older brother Galaxy SIII.

Case color options Samsung Galaxy SIII mini repeats the older model

And this is strong point new items, since the “younger brother” borrowed a lot from the “elder”. The downsides, of course, are the irrelevant screen resolution and average battery. However, we still don’t know the behavior of the new processor with its mysterious energy-saving technologies (and Bluetooth, by the way), so perhaps everything won’t be so bad. But the software part is exactly where the SIII mini is strong, standing out among others. But serious competition is expected - Samsung will not be the only player in this field, since the price segment of smartphones “about 15 thousand rubles” is one of the most popular.

Bestsellers: smartphones January - February 2013

January is traditionally a month of surprises. Two mobile technology exhibitions in a row, at which gadgets are announced that set the tone for the entire industry throughout the year. But - this is at exhibitions. And in stores they buy devices that were either released at the end of last year, or have already been tested and proven.

The statistical data was transferred to Zoom.CNews for analysis by the MediaMarkt chain of stores, and today we will divide the devices not into three groups, as was previously the case, but into four. The first group traditionally includes budget smartphones with an average price of up to 12 thousand rubles. The second group consists of gadgets priced from 12 to 15 thousand rubles: this is the middle segment, and it can be considered the most widespread.

Which smartphones are selling like hot cakes?

The third group of smartphones represents the premium segment with an average price of 15 to 20 thousand rubles. And we will call the last segment “uncompromising” - that is, the highest, luxury and even “elite”. In fact, in this segment there is virtually no upper ceiling (the lower limit is 20 thousand rubles), since this is where the most innovative models with the most advanced technical characteristics are located. But, nevertheless, everyone already knows very well that any innovative devices will cost much more when they appear.

Budget models

Inexpensive smartphones today are completely different from, say, six months or one year ago. Today in the “up to 12 thousand rubles” category you can find very advanced gadgets that would previously have been in the premium segment. This is due, first of all, to the massive expansion Chinese smartphones into the world in general and MediaTek platforms (MT65xx) in particular. And, secondly, high-speed multi-core models have moved to more expensive categories, and by the end of last year a fairly decent number of them had already appeared. Less powerful single-core and dual-core even with the same gigabyte of RAM with good screen have already firmly established themselves in the budget segment (for example, new smartphones in the HTC Desire), not to mention average.

HTC Desire V

5th place

The smartphone closes the top five budget models and in terms of technical characteristics is very similar to most of the other participants, although in some ways it is inferior to them.

At a price of around 9 thousand rubles, we see a classic “point-and-shoot” from HTC on a single-core Qualcomm MSM7227A platform with a gigahertz core (by the way, the platform is almost the same as the first “Ace”), Adreno 200 graphics coprocessor and 512 MB of RAM . Of course, the 4 GB of permanent memory and a slot for microSD cards, standard for budget smartphones, have not gone away.

But the screen, at first glance, is still average: it’s the same 480x800 pixels at four inches diagonally, but the type of matrix is ​​Super LCD, and the ppi number will be higher - as much as 233 units. The smartphone has one camera, 5 megapixels with autofocus, intelligent LED flash, F2.8 aperture and 34 mm lens. There is no front camera, but there is the ability to work with two SIM cards in standby mode. Only one of the SIM cards works with 3G networks; there are Bluetooth 4.0 protocols with Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n that are standard even for an inexpensive smartphone.

The operating system of HTC's brainchild is not that bad - it's Android 4.0 with the proprietary HTC Sense 4 shell. Actually, in the next category, the first two devices can also boast the same thing. At least.

Samsung Galaxy Ace

4th place

We will continue our budget table, according to good tradition, with devices from the Samsung Galaxy Ace family. This truly unsinkable (in a figurative sense) smartphone has been at the top of the charts of budget gadgets from various sellers for many months. Moreover, we are not just talking about one model: Galaxy Ace occupies four out of five lines in our chart of inexpensive models, and these are all different modifications. The middle line is occupied by the second incarnation of this gadget.

Ace, in general, is nothing particularly interesting. This is a very budget Android smartphone, and its Android version can only be updated to a maximum of 2.3.6. You won't see any Ice Cream Sandwich in it.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 2

And it is very inexpensive for a smartphone on Android based(if we generally assume that the version of this OS with index 2.2, used in the Galaxy Ace by default, is in principle viable today). “Ace” has a rather frail screen with a diagonal of 3.5 inches and a resolution of 320x480, and the pixels per inch is 165 ppi. The platform used is Qualcomm Snapdragon with a single-core MSM7227T processor operating at a frequency of 800 MHz and a built-in Adreno 200 video accelerator. The device’s RAM is 384 MB, permanent memory is 180 MB. As you can see, these figures are very, very modest. But at least the consolation is that the user has the ability to install micro-SD cards up to 32 GB, and in models with the “i” index (as, for example, in La Fleur) the processor is overclocked to 832 MHz (and overclocking even to 902 MHz is possible !).

Samsung Galaxy Ace La Fluer

However, even despite such a weak configuration, Ace can boast of support for most 3G HSxPA standards, a five-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and LED flash, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+A2DP (although this is not something you can boast about) , as well as aGPS and DLNA.

3 - 1 places

In third place, as mentioned earlier, is the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. That is, the successor to the Galaxy Ace that insidiously surrounded it in the Mediamarkt table. And it actually has quite a lot of differences.

“Ace” has become larger: now its screen diagonal is 3.8 inches, the WVGA screen resolution is 480x800 pixels, and the ppi indicator is 248 pixels, which is very good. The platform has also grown significantly: it now uses a dual-core ST Ericsson U8500 with a frequency of 800 MHz per core and a Mali-400 MP gaming video accelerator. For budget smartphone this is a very decent indicator.

Samsung Galaxy Ace DUOS

The smartphone now has 768 MB of RAM, 4 GB of permanent memory, and there is no support for microSD cards up to 32 GB. Support for wireless interfaces remains at the same level, only Bluetooth is now the third version, and in addition to GPS, GLONASS support has appeared.

Top sellers in the group of budget models

Rank, model	Screen size permission	Processor used	Memory capacity	Platform/OS	Price
1		Qualcomm QCT MSM7227		Android 2.2	7 300
2		Qualcomm QCT MSM7227		Android 2.2	7 300
3		NovaThor U8500		Android 2.3	8 900
4 Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos		Broadcom BCM21553 832 MHz	RAM 512 MB 4096 MB	Android 2.3	6 500
5		1000 MHz		Android 4.0	9 500

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Among the positive differences, we should also note the appearance of a front VGA camera in addition to the rear five-megapixel one (which can now shoot HD video), and the opportunity to buy a Galaxy Ace with an NFC chip.

Middle segment

5th place

Fifth place went to the only representative of the Finnish concern Nokia on our list with its Lumia 800 model. It can also be noted that this is the only device on the platform discussed in this article Windows Phone. What’s even more interesting is that not a single device from the Nokia Lumia family on the new Windows Phone 8 OS was included in the list of bestsellers at all.

Nokia Lumia 800

So, an AMOLED display is fitted into a very stylish black case, but its resolution is only 480x800, because it’s no longer possible (but at least 252 ppi). The processor is single-core (not allowed anymore), Qualcomm MSM8255 with a frequency of 1400 MHz, built-in memory – 16 GB, no slot for micro-SD cards.

The smartphone has only 512 MB of RAM, and not because more is not possible, but because there is no special meaning in it: Windows Phone has its own RAM management system with intelligent unloading of little-used and simply unnecessary applications. The Lumia 800 has a 1450 mAh battery, which should last for a couple of days.

There is no front camera, like all new WP smartphones.

4th place

The fate of the next test subject, in fourth place, is to be an average smartphone, but with support for two SIM cards in active mode.

Samsung Galaxy S DUOS

The processor in this device is Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7227A with a frequency of 1 GHz and an Adreno 200 graphics accelerator. This smartphone will not have enough RAM - only 512 MB, but in combination with a low-power processor everything turns out quite harmoniously. Internal memory is 4 GB, it can be expanded with microSD memory cards (up to 32 GB).

Its display is also quite simple; don’t expect Super AMOLED: it’s a 4-inch TFT LCD with a WVGA 480x800 resolution. Samsung Galaxy S DUOS comes with optimized Android 4.0 ICS OS.

The situation with cameras is also good: the smartphone has a rear five-megapixel photo and video camera with LED flash, and a front camera with VGA resolution will be used for video calls. It is worth noting that, according to the manufacturer, the rear camera can shoot video not only in a resolution of 480x800 (WVGA), but also in 480x854 (FWVGA) with thirty frames per second.

HTC Desire X

Wireless interfaces are represented by modern protocols Bluetooth 3.0, 3G (up to HSDPA 7.2 Mb/s), aGPS and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n at 2.4 GHz. In general, everything a modest average smartphone needs.

The strength of Samsung Galaxy DUOS is the presence of the proprietary Samsung TouchWiz interface, which is a shell for the OS Google Android 4.0 ICS, and will be the same for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when this gadget receives it.

The dimensions of the new product are 121.5 x 63.1 x 10.5 mm, weight – 120 grams. These are also completely average figures, and the smartphone does not present any surprises here. The battery offers an average capacity of 1500 mAh.

3 - 1 places

Our presentation is closed by two models from HTC in three variations - and. The first of them is in the top, and the second takes not only second, but also third place - the latter went to this model for the white color of the case.

HTC Desire X

HTC Desire X is one of the most modest smartphones on our list, in all respects. And it’s impossible to say whether this is good or bad, since all people need different things from smartphones - some people need the Internet, some people need to play with toys, and some people use them purely as a work tool.

The HTC Desire X uses a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 with gigahertz cores, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory.

Its screen is four-inch, but already Super LCD and with an average WVGA resolution of 480x800 pixels. Wireless technologies are also supported at the modern level: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, DLNA and 3G HSxPA.

There is no front camera, there is only a rear five-megapixel camera with F2.0 aperture, autofocus and LED flash, geotagging and several proprietary services are supported.

There is also Beats Audio stereo panorama expansion technology and a 1650 mAh battery. The operating system installed is the usual one today - Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4.

HTC Desire SV

But the HTC Desire SV, which is in first place, snatched some elements from the models of the previous segment. Although the platform is the same as the Desire X, the new dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 with gigahertz cores and 768 MB of RAM. Volume internal memory standard is 4 GB, and up to 32 GB can be obtained using a microSD card. The screen of the smartphone is simple, 4.3 inches diagonal and 480x800 resolution, which is where its advantages end. Although we can also mention large viewing angles, this statement remains on the conscience of the manufacturer. The set of wireless interfaces is the same as in other smartphones and includes modern Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n.

The gadget has only a rear camera; it has 8 MP with autofocus and a backlight sensor for better shooting in low-light conditions, F2.2 aperture, a 28 mm wide-angle lens and an intelligent flash that automatically selects one of five power levels.

Like the latest device in the previous price segment, Desire SV offers two microSIM cards that work in standby mode. Plus free 25 GB of Dropbox online storage for two years.

Top sellers in the mid-range model group

Rank, model	Screen size permission	Processor used	Memory capacity	Platform/OS	Price
1		Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon	RAM 768 MB	Android 4.0	12 000
2 (black)		1000 MHz	RAM 768 MB	Android 4.0	10 900
3 (white)		1000 MHz	RAM 768 MB	Android 4.0	10 900
4		Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon 1000 MHz	RAM 768 MB 4096 MB	Android 4.0	11 000
5		Qualcomm MSM8255 1400 MHz		MS Windows Phone 7.5	12 500

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Premium segment

5th place

The “latest” in this category is a newcomer to the market. But the fact that it has already become a bestseller suggests that the market was waiting for it, preparing for it and selling it out almost immediately. By the way, Galaxy Ace 2 is a direct competitor to the model in question, because even despite the premium segment, technical specifications The S III Mini is very budget-friendly.

Samsung Galaxy S III mini

Let's say the platform is a modest dual-core NovaThor processor with a frequency of 1 GHz, 1 GB of RAM and Maili-400 gaming graphics. 8 GB of internal memory are installed (about 5 GB are available to the user), there is also a slot for microSD cards (up to 64 GB). The average in AnTuTu Benchmark is about 6500 units, which is quite acceptable for a smartphone of this type.

Of course, there is more of a brand influence here: the Galaxy S III mini is greatly overpriced. Although it also has its advantages: for example, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, 3G HSPA networks are supported, and the display is Super AMOLED. Albeit a four-inch one with a resolution of 480x800. The smartphone also has a VGA front camera and a 5 MP rear camera with LED flash.

Well, in terms of design, it’s a pure Galaxy S III, only small.

4th place

The fourth place is occupied by the first “shovel” in recent history, which has moved from luxury to premium devices (a smartphone with big screen, aka “phablet”, aka “plafond”, aka “shovel”). Moreover, unlike these iPhones of yours and the Galaxy S III, which captured all the lines of the latest price segment, the Note turned out to be black, not white. Why is this interesting? Well, at least because this device was originally produced in pure white.

Samsung Galaxy Note I

Why the world unexpectedly fell in love with him in December 2011 was his giant screen. Samsung gave this Android smartphone a Super AMOLED display with a diagonal of 5.3 inches with an HD resolution of 1280x800 (and ppi - 285. Next - powerful processor, dual-core, Samsung Exynos 4210 with clock frequency 1400 MHz, based on Cortex-A9 with Mali-400 MP gaming graphics coprocessor. The amount of RAM is 1 GB, internal memory is 16 or 32 GB, and it can be expanded with microSDHC cards up to 32 GB. Of course, all this must be powered by a very serious battery, and its capacity is 2500 mAh, although, however, due to the large and bright screen it does not last very long. But, by the way, batteries with an increased capacity, more than 5000 mAh, have been on sale for a long time.

Note also has two cameras: a rear 8 MP and a front 2 MP. Among other things, the main feature of the “shovel” is its own stylus, which allows you to draw on the screen. And this is generally a distinctive feature of Note family devices.

One can even conclude that this smartphone has become legendary and has given rise to a new fashion for smartphones - now releasing a phablet is considered good form.

3rd place

Third place goes to another product from the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC called . It is already slightly outdated morally (considering that it appeared more than a year ago), since it was once one of the top ones, but from a technical point of view it is still more than modern. For example, its Super AMOLED screen with qHD resolution (960x540 pixels) has a diagonal of 4.3 inches, is covered with protective Gorilla Glass and is housed in a thin 7.8 mm unibody case. The platform used is good, Qualcomm MSM8260A with a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.5 GHz per core. The device has 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, plus the buyer is given 25 GB in Dropbox for 2 years.

HTC One S

One of the advantages of this smartphone is a very fast eight-megapixel camera, which starts in FullHD mode in less than a second, and video shooting is activated simultaneously with video recording. And, of course, the beats audio stereo panorama expansion system has not gone away.

1 - 2 places: Best-selling smartphone in Russia according to Media Markt

And our first two places are occupied by two modifications of a very popular smartphone in Russia (their difference is only in color: black in first place, white in second). Interestingly, its more “advanced brother” of this device, the iPhone 4S, also ranks first in the next segment, and we will also mention it.

Apple iPhone 4

In general, not much can be said about the “four,” mainly because there is nothing to compare it with. For example, we can say that it has a previous generation processor, an Apple A4 on ARM Cortex 8 with a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics coprocessor, 512 MB of RAM and from 8 to 32 GB of internal memory. And, by the way, it is not expandable in any way - just like on Windows devices Phone. And all this will not say anything. The screen of the fourth iPhone is 3.5-inch with a resolution of 960x640, a pixel density of 326 ppi and a contrast ratio of 800:1. The performance is very good, and it’s not for nothing that buyers love this device so much. The rear camera is five megapixel and allows you to shoot HD video, while the front camera is only VGA, but also allows you to shoot 480p video at up to 30 frames per second. HTC One S Samsung Galaxy S III. It offers a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor clocked at 1.4 GHz per core and a Mali MP-400 graphics accelerator, 1 GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of internal memory (plus micro-SDXC cards up to 64 GB). The screen of the gadget is made using Super AMOLED HD technology with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels (at a density of 306 pixels per inch), 4.8" diagonal and with protective glass of the new generation Gorilla Glass 2. The resolution, it should be noted, is no longer the most cutting-edge, but for last year it can be called actually the best on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S III

Galaxy S III has two cameras: a rear 8 MP and a front 2 MP, and the rear one can also record FullHD video. Of course, all existing 3G standards up to HSPA+, dual-band Wi-Fi according to 802.11 a/b/g/n standards, Bluetooth version 3.0 and aGPS/GLONASS satellite receivers are supported. In general, this device has everything and even more: for example, voice control of a smartphone using a natural speech recognition system (which even answers questions), gesture recognition technology, a dual microphone, unusual colors (blue and white), AllShare Cast technology for connecting to “smart TVs” and so on. By the way, this is one of those smartphones that are literally on the border of two segments - a small price reduction occurred not long ago, and only due to mass demand for the Galaxy S III.

As with the iPhone, Desire X, and Samsung Galaxy Ace, the difference in placement on the Galaxy S III is due to the color of the case. Fifth place is occupied by a cheaper blue device, fourth – which indicates its greater popularity – is a white “shovel”.

Samsung Galaxy S III

The third and first lines are occupied by a small modification of the iPhone 4 called iPhone 4S, which everyone predicted to be called iPhone 5, but in the end it turned out to be what we see now. He has an updated iOS system 6, Apple A5 hybrid processor at 800 MHz, inherited from the iPad, 512 MB of RAM, from 16 to 64 GB of internal memory (there is no possibility of using micro-SD cards) and a new Retina display with a resolution of 960x640.

The rear camera of the iPhone 4 is five megapixel and allows you to shoot FullHD video, and the front camera is only VGA, but it can also shoot video with a resolution of 480 pixels up to 30 frames per second. This is where the differences end, and such a difference in the positions of the list is due only to the color of the case. In first place, naturally, is the black model, in third place is the white one.

Apple iPhone 4S

Well, in honorable second place - who would you think - Apple iPhone 5. The new generation of the iPhone family is based on the Apple A6 platform on two ARMv7 cores operating at a frequency of 1.3 GHz, with a PowerVR SGX543MP3 graphics coprocessor. RAM – 1 GB (which is called “finally”), and internal memory – from 16 to 64.

Apple iPhone 4S

Apple iPhone 5 already has a rather small Retina screen by the standards of the end of the year with a diagonal of 4 inches and an aspect ratio of 16:9. It has a non-standard resolution of 1136x640 pixels with an excellent pixel density per inch of 326 ppi, a contrast ratio of 800:1 and a brightness of 500 nits. There are two cameras: a rear one with 8 megapixels (with support for shooting FullHD video) and a front one with 1.2 megapixels.

Apple iPhone 5

WITH wireless interfaces everything is fine: there is dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth version 4.0, GPS and GLONASS receivers, and fourth-generation LTE networks are also supported along with all third-generation protocols.

Top sellers in the luxury model group

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The battery in the iPhone 5 has a capacity of only 1440 mAh. But the dimensions and weight are very impressive: 123.8x58.6x7.6 mm (pay attention to the thickness!) and only 112 grams, respectively. Operating system – iOS 6.

This model, everything about it was great except the price. Small copy flagship smartphone They called it simply - Samsung Galaxy S III mini, and hung a price tag of 4299 hryvnia. And it would be nice if the S III mini was really a smaller copy of the Samsung i9300, but it’s not. The characteristics were significantly inferior to the top model; only the design and interface were common. We decided to find out what impressions the younger S III leaves behind and whether it is worthy of being valued at an amount commensurate with the original.

Considering the fact that with each new device Samsung is increasingly blurring the line separating one model from another, the Samsung Galaxy S III mini could also be called the Samsung Galaxy S Duos. It is also similar to the S III, and you can distinguish the S III mini and S Duos only by the presence of an inscription on the upper part of the latter’s body. If you look at the device from all sides, you really find a lot in common. This includes the design of the sidewalls, the shape of the rim around the main camera lens, the location of the recess for removing the back panel, the Micro-USB connector, the shape of the hardware key and the speaker grille, and, in fact, the materials used. Among the differences: a different arrangement of proximity sensors, lighting, front camera, flash and multimedia speaker, and, of course, dimensions. If the original has a display with a diagonal of 4.8”, then the smaller copy is some 4”. Another feature that unites the model, here we really need to make an amendment right away - this applies to most Samsung devices, is the build quality - it is at a good level. There are no creaks or play. The Gorilla Glass is coated with an oleophobic layer, which should prevent fingerprints. The rear removable panel is made in the same style as in, that is, made of glossy plastic. Scratches and greasy stains from fingers appear on it quite quickly. Looking under the removable panel, you can find a battery with a modest capacity of 1500 mAh, under which is hidden a slot for memory cards, a slot for SIM cards of the usual mini format, and that’s all.

Due to its small size, the smartphone fits comfortably in your hand. The power button is located on the right side, while on the opposite side there is a double volume rocker. The frame on the sides of the display is much smaller than devices with a similar diagonal, but here, as in the latest models of LG smartphones in white, they used a trick - there is a small distance between the edge of the frame and the display, which is invisible when the display backlight is turned off.

Interface and software

Samsung Galaxy S III mini is one of the few devices running on the operating system Android system 4.1.1 out of the box. Paired with the current one (except for Android 4.2, which is currently only available on Nexus devices) operating system installed in the smartphone latest version proprietary shell - Nature UX - the same as in the Samsung Galaxy S III. Taking this into account, the smartphone user actually receives a smaller copy of the original interface.

The only thing that we found not entirely convenient was the keyboard. Perhaps the whole point is that we are accustomed to devices with a larger diagonal display. Considering that the smartphone is designed for young people and women, this drawback cannot be considered serious. In addition, no complaints were received from the girl walking with the smartphone for several days. There were no complaints about the quality of communication. The speaker and ringing speakers are loud, but with musical abilities, not everything is so simple. The sound produced is only slightly “simpler” than what we heard in the HTC Desire SV, but in terms of volume they are on par. In both cases, its level is not sufficient to enjoy music in the subway without extraneous noise from the outside, even taking into account the presence of good headphones.

Hardware platform

Even before the official information appeared, there were rumors that the smartphone would have a quad-core processor, a capacious battery and other amenities that could arouse interest not only among young people, but also among those users for whom performance is important. The reality turned out to be somewhat different. The Samsung Galaxy S III mini uses a NovaThor U8500 system-on-chip with a dual-core 1 GHz processor, Mali-400 MP graphics chip and 1 GB of RAM. All this allows the smartphone to demonstrate good results in performance tests.

The most important thing is that with a 1500 mAh battery, the smartphone showed excellent operating time results, scoring 810 points in Antutu Tester, thereby climbing to second place in the rating. The operating time at maximum load was 4.5 hours. The user can count on 8 hours of video viewing or two to three days of work with a less intense load, including several tens of minutes of calls per day, an hour of listening to music and working on a 3G network.

Display and camera

As good as Super AMOLED displays can be, they can also be bad. The smartphone has a Super AMOLED matrix with all the ensuing consequences, including reference black color, rich shades, good viewing angles and PenTile. You don't need a microscope to notice the latter. A person with good vision sees it from a familiar distance. I was somewhat surprised by the lack of automatic brightness adjustment, because physically, judging by the number of holes on the case, there is a light sensor.

The camera quality is comparable to the first generation of the Galaxy S family, and the camera capabilities are exactly the same. The maximum resolution of pictures is 5 MP, the maximum resolution of recorded video is 1280x720 pixels. The same characteristics are found in the flagship of bada smartphones – Samsung Wave III. Interestingly, these three devices not only use a similar camera module, but also the type of display, including diagonal and resolution. Probably, thus, Samsung decided to give another life to the “oldies” by collecting the stale components and placing them all in a new case.
You can evaluate the quality of the camera using the following examples.

Example of 5 MP photos taken with a smartphone Samsung Galaxy S III mini

Results

Despite all the advantages, a close acquaintance with the Samsung Galaxy S III mini did not reveal to us the secret of such a high price. Probably, Samsung already feels so good in the global market that now all that remains is to increase the perception of its brand as a manufacturer of expensive but high-quality equipment. The smartphone is doing well with this. It is well assembled, has good characteristics and is ready to please the owner with a relatively considerable operating time. The camera will not disappoint either, if you do not expect results from it comparable to the original. The most important thing is that all this together leaves behind a good impression and it is likely that as soon as the price for it comes down to earth, its popularity is simply guaranteed.

Notify when on sale

Even before the official announcement of the Galaxy S3 Mini, information about it appeared on the Internet, and the general impression of this device was that it was prohibitively expensive, its specifications were not amazing, and there was no room for it in the presence of flagships from the previous season. These statements are quite fair and have a basis, but with one caveat. If we are talking about those who follow the market mobile phones and understands it at least approximately, and not about those who do not follow the market, but research it before purchasing a device and choose the best options.

In the past, a lot of devices appeared on the market that were not optimal in terms of price/quality ratio, for example, the Galaxy Ace, which at the time of release was noticeably more expensive than models from previous seasons. But this device, even with such a noticeable markup, became a bestseller in a very short time. Why? The answer lies in who bought it - people who were far from understanding the market and who chose not technical specifications, but a phone for a certain amount. This is the most standard story in stores selling phones - a person comes with the idea that he wants a phone for such and such an amount, perhaps of such and such a brand and with approximately these characteristics (by characteristics we mean not the number of cores in the processor, but the quality of the camera , music and the like). This is the most grateful buyer, since he is not interested in comparative analysis, but chooses what is recommended or can be sold to him. These people are guided by whether they like the device or not, and whether they are satisfied with its cost or not. In the case of the Galaxy Ace, it is possible that the success was due to a certain similarity of the device with the Apple iPhone; outwardly they are easily distinguishable, but there is something similar in appearance.

In 2012, in terms of design, Samsung follows the line first introduced in the Galaxy S3; the devices look similar, but differ in size. The company's flagship has unprecedentedly high sales, and each price reduction increases its sales volume. This is a flagship in every sense, it gives the company maximum profit. By copying this device in terms of design, Samsung hopes that at a lower price it will be chosen by those who value small size. In fact, we are not talking about a flagship at all, but about one of the passing products, which will become popular only after the price is reduced and, apparently, after 8-9 months from the start of sales. We observed similar things for a number of other Samsung products.

The prefix “Mini” fully describes the size of the phone; it is really small, especially compared to its older brother.

Unfortunately, its characteristics are not amazing - a regular TFT screen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels and a diagonal of 4 inches. The built-in memory is not 16 GB, but about 5 GB plus a memory card. The camera is only 5 megapixels. But the platform from ST Ericsson has a dual-core processor with a maximum frequency of each core of 1 GHz. Budget, but quite productive solution. These characteristics can be found in many models that are already on the market and cost 10-12 thousand rubles. For example, the Galaxy S2 and its various clones from Samsung have better characteristics and a price comparable to the Galaxy S3 Mini. And they have not disappeared from the market. From the point of view of common sense, there is no point in buying the S3 Mini. Especially if you have a cheap Galaxy S3 (the difference is not so great in price, but in the quality of products and functionality it is huge).

Sample photos:

In my opinion, it’s worth saying that the S3 Mini is a niche solution that is intended to expand the line, and nothing more. This product will not be able to compete with the original S3, even taking into account the lower price. Finding a larger number of more functional models on the market will not be difficult. This product is designed for those who know about S3, but for some reason do not buy it (most likely, it does not fit into the price, but wants the latest phone). We are like value knowers different models, we can mutter about their functionality and predict a resounding failure for this device, but this will not happen. The majority who buy phones simply do not care about our opinion and choose according to the scenario described above, this must be understood. And therefore, quite significant sales of the Galaxy S3 Mini are guaranteed. But they only became possible thanks to the success of the Galaxy S3.

P.S. I admit that I don’t see the point in writing in detail about this model yet; closer to the start of sales, you can read a full review and comparison with other models.

Eldar Murtazin ()