Samsung spills Galaxy S3 Mini's UK launch date

Samsung will start selling the Galaxy S III Mini in the UK next Thursday, the manufacturer has announced.

According to Samsung, the device will launch on 8 November with free games preinstalled — The Sims 3 and Bejewelled 2, to be specific — as well as 50GB of free Dropbox storage for the next two years.

The S III Mini is pitched as a more compact version of the flagship Galaxy S III smartphone, although in reality it is nothing of the sort. It looks similar, but its specs are mostly a step down from those of the larger handset.

The smaller handset has a lower pixel density of 233 ppi, using a 4-inch screen with an 800x480-pixel resolution, versus the larger device's 4.8-inch screen with 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution, which gives a pixel density of 306ppi.

While the S III has a quad-core processor and an eight-megapixel camera, the S III Mini only has a dual-core affair and a five-megapixel shooter. Despite all this, the S III Mini is, at 120g, still only 13g lighter than the full-sized device.

Samsung says the Mini will be available through all the usual networks and stores. The company has not yet given an official price for the phone, but some retailers have set preorder pricing at around £300.

The handset may struggle at that price, as the full-fat S III is available SIM-free for less than £400, and the highly-specced Nexus 4 will cost much less than £300.

Meanwhile, Samsung has also unveiled another phone called the Galaxy Premier, which is much closer to the specifications of the S III but a bit smaller. However, it seems that device is only destined for the Russian and Ukrainian markets.