For most technology pundits, year 2012 will always be remembered partly for ushering the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Smartphone and the introduction of its more affordable counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. Both phones possess so much in common and both share similar design style and smart capabilities although there are also a few defining differences that distinguishes one from the other and helps you determine which is more suitable to you.
What Does the Galaxy S3 Offer?
The Galaxy S3’s 4.8 inch screen can still be considered among the best displays of all the newest devices of year 2013. Possessing a screen resolution of 1280 x 720, high definition (HD) content can be enjoyed on its Super AMOLED technology while the S3 Mini gets its name by being smaller and lighter with a resolution of 800 x 480. In terms of size the Mini is actually about 15mm by 7mm shorter and over 1mm thicker than the S3.
Camera-wise the S3 has the upper hand by being outfitted with an 8MP shooter as against the 5MP mounted on the S3 mini. The Galaxy S3 boasts some extra software features not available on the S3 Mini making it easily adaptable to any environment and ensuring higher resolution and picture quality. For the video calling lovers the S3 is easily an easier choice with its 1.9MP HD front sensor against the S3 Mini with a VGA (640×480) resolution. Samsung included both MHL and video out options on the S3 but it comes as a total shock to discover it was omitted on the Mini thereby reducing its hype in terms of connectivity.
What About the Galaxy S3 Mini?
The Galaxy S3 trumps its S3 mini counterpart in terms of battery life, boasting an impressive 2100mAh over the Mini’s 1500mAh and considering its quad core processor tends to drain a lot faster than its more impressive brother.
While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 support are present in both devices the S3 mini lacks DLNA, and while none of them possess a 4G LTE radio, some versions of the S3 possess LTE.
Outfitted with a 1.4GHz quad core processor, 2012 was a memorable year for the S3 as one of the fastest Smartphone on the market while the Mini was dropped to 1GHz dual core chip making it a slightly disappointing phone considering it’s a Samsung brand, and considering what you pay for it the S3 Mini comes in at a bargain discount towards the end of its lifespan and the power drop-off could be considered as worth it.
In terms of storage, the base capacity available for the S3 is 16GB and 8 GB on the S3 Mini with external microSD capabilities on both devices for storage expansion up to 64GB. Both devices possess equal 1GB of RAM.
The above spec clearly shows that both on paper and usability the S3 clearly outperforms its Mini counterpart both in terms of specification and functionality. As a budget device the S3 Mini is a great phone.