I loved the S3 as soon as I saw it. You could say it was love at first sight. I even went ahead to name a friend’s S3. I wanted an S3 but I thought it was a bit big for comfortable use as I have these tiny hands. It also couldn’t fit in my pocket especially when I was rocking my skinny jeans. Also, it would burn a hole in said skinny jeans pockets if I spent that much on a phone. That being said, I was excited to find out that a smaller version of the S3 had been made and I got one!
The S III mini in appearance is basically a smaller version of the S3. It has a 4 inch screen as compared to the 4.8 inch screen of its predecessor. It’s also slightly thicker at 10mm instead of the 8.6mm of the S3. It also comes in the same pebble blue and marble white colours. I love that it’s lighter and can comfortably fit in one hand as well as be operated with the one hand. The volume and power button are also conveniently placed. It also comes with Samsung’s Touchwiz interface.
The S III mini runs on a dual core processor which is quite a step down from the S3’s quad core. The screen is also a demotion at a 400*800 pixels as compared to the S3’s HD screen. It however, still looks good. I wish the HD screen had been incorporated though. Storage is decent with 1GB RAM and 8/16GB internal memory. It also has a microSD slot that can take up to 32GB. So yes, your pics and music will have plenty of space.
The camera is 5MP, the S3 has an 8MP. The images aren’t mind-blowing but they are quite decent. Only problem I have is that it takes a while for the camera to focus. The front camera is a VGA basic quality but it gets the job done. The camera includes some nifty settings like panorama and cartoon. It also has flash. Unfortunately, these features aren’t available on the front camera which sucks because the front camera is for self portrait and who wants an ugly looking pic of themselves?
The battery life is surprisingly pretty good. It can last all day at average use. Average here being no watching videos and tweeting every five minutes. However, even at heavy use, it can comfortably go for 6-8 hours without needing a recharge. It also takes a relatively short time to fully charge. (About an hour or so.) It doesn’t do well if you charge via computer though. Takes about two or more hours to get fully charged!
It’s not the S3 but it looks good and is a good compromise in quality and price.
The SIII Mini costs Kshs. 28,999 and is available at Safaricom, Fone Express and Samsung Brand Shops.
Select Specifications
Operating System: Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Processor: 1 GHz dual-core
Internal Memory: 8GB
RAM: 1GB
Screen: Super AMOLED 4.0 inch capacitive touchscreen (480 x 800 pixels)
Back Camera: 5 Megapixels (2592×1944 pixels) with autofocus and LED flash
Front Camera: VGA
Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery. With talk time of 14 hours on 2G and 7 hours on 3G.
Weight: 120 grams
