The long-rumored Galaxy S5 Mini has now been officially announced by Samsung. As with all of Samsung's "Mini" models, it isn't just a smaller version of the flagship. Along with reducing the size, Samsung has reduced the specs. Think of it as Ford Focus compared to a Ford Mustang. Not a bad daily driver, but certainly not a performance car.According to Samsung, the phone offers:
- A 4.5 inch, 1280 x 720 display (vs. the S5's 1920 x 1280)
- 1.4 GHz CPU (vs. 2.5 GHz)
- 1.5 GB of RAM (vs. 2 GB)
- 1.5 GB storage (vs. 16 or 32 GB)
- 8 MP / 2 MP cameras (vs. 16 MP / 2 MP)
- 2100 mAh battery (vs. 2800)
- Android 4.4.2 KitKat
The Mini comes with the same IP67 water and dust rating, fingerprint sensor, IR Blaster and Heart Rate sensor as its big brother, and the smaller screen, slower CPU and reduced RAM should even out battery life even with the smaller battery. It will ship with the latest version of TouchWiz, the full suite of SHealth fitness apps (or bloatware, depending on your point of view) and the ultra power saving mode, just like the standard S5. It should be available in most markets this summer.Unless you're dying for a fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor, or lost the remote control for your TV, this doesn't seem to offer any hardware improvements over the Galaxy S3, which was released two years ago with a 1.5 GHz CPU and 2 GB of RAM.What do you think? A good deal in a smaller phone, or another disappointing second-tier device from a manufacturer who's more concerned about not cannibalizing sales of their flagship?
