by Mike Leader
First of all it is worth noting that the 'Mini' in Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini really doesn't mean good old British 1960's size mini, but 21st century BMW mini - in other words it's not really mini at all. With a 4.3 inch screen it is actually still bigger than the iPhone 5 for example, as well as many other smartphones.
Plastic fantastic?
This has without a doubt been launched with those of you in mind who want a smaller Galaxy S4 and of course to take on the HTC One Mini. And while the HTC One Mini is a cheaper version of the metal-clad HTC One with more plastic it still retains a metal rear cover while the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini really just looks like a smaller Galaxy S4 to these eyes - at least on the outside - so again it's an all plastic affair.
Powerful processor
It should be noted that you do get a lot less S4 for your money too, it's not just the size that there is less of. However the powerful 1.7 gigahertz dual core processor on board will not leave you wanting for power which means you will enjoy super smooth web browsing and game play. Only 8GB onboard memory is available for this but there is a MicroSD memory card slot included which will accept memory cards up to 32GB.
8 megapixel camera with flash
The 8 megapixel camera is much smaller than the 13 megapixel offered on the Galaxy S4 but the shots produced are clear and sharp and will not disappoint you. The camera fares better outdoors though and is not at it's best indoors even with the LED flash.
Good, but not brilliant, screen
We have to say we are slightly disappointed with the screen too. It's not a bad screen, bright and vividly clear as expected but the pixel density is way down to 256 pixels per inch, lower than the iPhone, and an awful lot lower than the full sized S4's 441 ppi. And it is noticeable but the bright colours overall clarity and smaller screen size do make up for a lot of the difference. We expect better these days at this price point though.
Excellent connectivity suite
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini certainly doesn't sell you short on connectivity however, with both 3G and 4G capabilities. Everything else you might need is here too including Wi-Fi, NFC, stereo Bluetooth, aGPS, USB connectivity but overall it is not the powerful beast that it's bigger brother is, with several other features missing such as Gesture Control and in fact the feature set is closer to that of the S3.
Our summary
In it's own right it is still a great android handset and obviously lighter, more compact and more pocketable but it's just far too expensive to recommend on it's own merits. Samsung fans may disagree but a much better buy in our opinion is the HTC One Mini, or better still, the LG Google Nexus 4 for around half the price.
Model: Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini GT-i9190
