By Alexandra Burlacu | Oct 10, 2012 12:26 PM EDT
Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini rumors have been making the rounds for quite some time, but now it's official: Samsung's mobile chief has confirmed the handset will make its debut at an Oct. 11 event in Germany.
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Reports have been piling up recently, indicating that Samsung will unveil the smaller version of its Samsung Galaxy S3 during a special event on Thursday, Oct. 11, but until now Samsung did not comment or confirm such rumors.
On Oct. 10, however, the much-awaited confirmation has arrived, as first reported by The Verge. Samsung's own JK Shin, the chief of the company's mobile division, confirmed that the Oct. 11 announcement does indeed involve a smaller Galaxy S3, and the handset will be called the Galaxy S3 Mini.
Shin did not offer other details about the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini, other than saying it sport a 4-inch display and it is not going to be an entry-level to mid-range device. Instead, it will be a high-end handset in a smaller package.
"We'll be launching a 4-inch Galaxy S III on the 11th in Germany," confirmed Shin. "There's a lot of demand for a 4-inch screen device in Europe. Some call it an entry-level device, but we call it 'mini.'"
Shin confirmed the Galaxy S3 Mini's imminent debut during a meeting with Korean press. Based on his comment, the 4-inch handset will likely launch in Europe first, but other markets are expected to follow shortly after.
While Shin did not provide additional details about the smaller Galaxy S3, German tech blog Mobile Geeks has leaked the specs and features of the handset ahead of the big unveiling. The S3's little brother will reportedly feature a 4-inch AMOLED display with a WVGA resolution of 800 x 480.
Under the hood, the Galaxy S3 Mini will pack a dual-core STE U8420 chip likley clocked at 1GHz, according to the German publication. The handset will also feature 1GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash, and a front-facing VGA camera. When it comes to internal storage, the 4-inch smartphone will reportedly come with 16GB expandable up to 21GB via micro SD. The battery will presumably be 1,500mAh.
In terms of connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini will support HSPA 14.4/5.76 900/1900.2100 and EDGE/ GPRS 850/900/1800/1900, Bluetooth 4, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, DLNA, and NFC.
The specs and features of the Galaxy S3 Mini are not official, but Mobile Geeks claims this information is reliable and verified from several sources.
Meanwhile, it still remains a mystery what the Galaxy S3 Mini will cost, considering that it's smaller than the flagship, regular-sized Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2. The Galaxy S3 is already seeing some price drops with carriers, but it is uncertain whether the Mini version will be available for a budget-friendly price on contract, or it will come as a high-end device with a price to match.
A new Galaxy S3 model is expected to put Samsung in a stronger position against its archrival Apple, whose recently-released iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch display as well. Meanwhile, Android buyers will benefit from having more choices for a high-end device, especially as the holiday shopping season is right around the corner.
Which Samsung handset would you rather buy? The 4-inch Galaxy S3 Mini, the regular 4.8-inch Galaxy S3, or the 5.55-inch Galaxy Note 2?
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