Galaxy S3 Mini vs Galaxy Grand: Samsung to Launch One of the Duo on Jan 22, Which One Will You Buy?

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer has two handsets in tow that are yet to be released into India. The smartphones are none other than the already unveiled Galaxy S3 Mini and Galaxy Grand.

Following the media reports suggesting a January 22 launch event by Samsung, Gizbot contacted an inside source of Samsung and has learnt that Samsung is planning to hold a press event in Mumbai and Delhi on January 22. Moreover, analyzing the product lineup of Samsung in India, it is evident that the company will be launching either Galaxy S3 Mini or Galaxy Grand in the country.

When it comes to Galaxy S3 Mini, the handset was unveiled almost three months ago and was unofficially available on online retailers in India for pre-order. On the other hand, Galaxy Grand, which was uncovered in December 2012 to make buying a Samsung phablet affordable is also eagerly awaited in the country as Galaxy Note 2 is priced at a whopping Rs 36,700.

If Samsung launches either Galaxy S3 Mini or Galaxy Grand at tomorrow's press event, which one will you choose to buy? Will it be the affordable phablet or the miniature version of the hottest selling smartphone - Galaxy S3? Read through the comparison below and decide your choice.

Dimensions & Weight: Galaxy S3 Mini carries dimension of 121.55 x 63 x 9.85 mm and weighs around 111.5 grams, whereas, the thicker and heavier Galaxy Grand has a dimension of 143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6 mm and weight of around 162 grams.

Display: When it comes to display, Galaxy S3 Mini sports a 4 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 800 x 400 pixel resolution.

In comparison, Galaxy Grand packs a spacious 5 inch multi-touch LCD capacitive touchscreen display with the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution.

Processor: In this segment, Galaxy S3 Mini is equipped with a 1GHz dual-core processor, whereas, Galaxy Grand comes with a dual core 1.2GHz processor.

Operating System: Both the handsets score the same in this segment as they run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. With the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the handsets have features including Project Butter, expandable and contractible notifications, resizable app widgets, live wallpaper preview, high resolution contact photos, improved Android Beam and many more.

Camera: On the camera optics front, Galaxy S3 Mini has a 5MP rear camera and a VGA camera front camera for video calling. On the other hand, Galaxy Grand packs an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera for video chatting.

Storage: In terms of storage, Galaxy S3 Mini has 8GB/16GB internal storage and Galaxy Grand packs only 8GB onboard storage and both the handsets have 1GB RAM.

However, Galaxy Grand comes with a micro SD card slot supporting up to 64GB expandable storage as compared to Galaxy S3 Mini with 32GB additional storage support.

Connectivity: Both the handsets come with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and micro USB 2.0, however, Galaxy S3 Mini scores more with NFC connectivity for easy mobile payment options.

Battery: Galaxy S3 Mini is powered by a 1,500 mAh Li-ion battery while Galaxy Grand is loaded with a 2,100 mAh battery.

Verdict

Both are Android 4.1 Jelly Bean based handsets and are loaded with software features respective to the OS. However, Galaxy S3 Mini comes with exclusive S software features including S Beam, S Voice, Direct Call, Smart Stay and more.

If the concern is a lightweight handset with NFC connectivity and a plethora of software features, Galaxy S3 Mini should be the right option.

On the other hand, if the concern is on a larger display, faster processor and better camera performance, Galaxy Grand could be a better choice.