If you had told me three years ago that a 4-inch smartphone could be called Mini, I would have considered it a bad joke. However, today, among 5-6-inch devices, smaller diagonal models really look like “mini”. Manufacturers could easily increase screen sizes indefinitely, but everything has a reasonable limit, and companies have already begun to face an unsolvable problem of human physiology: phones are getting bigger, but fingers remain the same. As a result, today manufacturers are beginning to actively produce compact models that are similar in design to flagship models, but differ in hardware. after two weeks active use Galaxy versions S4 Mini with two SIM cards, I tried to find out in what ways this smartphone is worse than the S4, and in what ways it is superior to it.
Small flagship
Speaking about the design of the Galaxy S4 Mini, it’s simply impossible not to remember the S4, they are so similar. Essentially, the Mini is a smaller copy of the flagship. Samsung wanted to emphasize this so much that they didn’t even put the Duos logo on the body of the smartphone in the version with two SIM cards. Compared to the S4, which has already come close to the border of comfortable use, and in some cases even crossed it, the Mini fits very well in the hand.
The dimensions of the smartphone are 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm and weighs 107 grams. The case is very well put together. The design is exactly the same as the S4: the back cover is made of plastic and can be removed to replace the SIM card, battery and memory card. The cover, as with all new Samsung smartphones, bends very easily.
However, the body itself has a rigid structure, so the thin lid, fitting tightly to it, creates the effect of a monolithic structure. The device is comfortable to hold with both right and left hands; the body is absolutely symmetrical. On its left side there is a volume key.
Despite the relatively small display, the screen lock/unlock key is placed on the right side, and depending on the hand, it fits comfortably under the index finger and thumb.
All side buttons are slightly raised above the body and are easy to feel blindly.
At the bottom end of the S4 Mini there is a microUSB port and a microphone speaker, at the top there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, infrared port and another microphone.
Covers the entire front panel of the smartphone protective glass Gorilla Glass. Above 4.3-inch Mini display There is a slot for the earpiece, next to which there are light and proximity sensors, as well as a window for a 2-megapixel camera.
Below the screen you can find the standard Samsung smartphones control buttons - two touch and one mechanical. On the back of the device there is an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and a speaker hole.
From one model to another, Samsung maintains good ergonomics, so there are no serious complaints about the S4 Mini in terms of ease of use. The only thing is that the silver edging around the body is made of slippery glossy plastic, which makes the smartphone fall out of your hands.
If we talk about the size of the case, then I would not call the Galaxy S4 Mini “mini”. In my opinion, a smartphone with a 4.3-inch display diagonal should be classified as medium-sized, and this is a strange marketing trick by Samsung. For myself, I noted that after the Galaxy S4 and S4 Active, which I used in Lately, the Mini's diagonal really took a little getting used to. But if you remember that the Galaxy SII was approximately the same size, everything falls into place. Moreover, it is more convenient to work with such a smartphone with one hand. Lately, I often run in the morning, and the Mini is better suited for this than older models; it’s simply smaller and lighter. As a result, when you run, the device does not pull your pocket away.
Performance and Platform
The S4 Mini is based on a single-chip system-on-chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, which includes a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.7 GHz and Adreno 305 graphics. All this is complemented by 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, which can be expand using microSD cards (another 64 GB). . On my own behalf, I will say that in reality the smartphone works quickly. All the applications that I use on a regular basis worked without any glitches. The S4 Mini benefits from a fairly productive platform and a display resolution of 960x540 pixels. The only thing that surprises is 1.5 GB random access memory. The difference in price with 2 GB is minimal, so I would attribute the company’s decision to use a smaller volume either to a marketing strategy, or to the fact that modules of a larger volume simply were not available in the required quantity.
Wear resistance
As I already wrote, the body of the Galaxy S4 Mini is almost entirely made of plastic, so over time, small scratches begin to appear on its surface. To Samsung's credit, it is worth noting that the lacquer coating on the back cover holds up well at first, but its strength, unfortunately, is not enough to protect the plastic. In addition, since the camera window protrudes slightly from the body, scratches may also appear on its protective glass. The situation is better with the front panel; it is covered with tempered glass, which is more difficult to scratch. As a result, the hardest hit is the mechanical Home key, which can easily be touched with a fingernail when pressed. Based on all this, I would advise less careful users to take a look at the S4 Mini case.
Display and multimedia capabilities
The S4 Mini has a 4.3-inch SuperAMOLED touch screen with a resolution of 960x540 pixels.
Like any other AMOLED display, it stands out with bright colors and almost standard black color. If the colors seem too bright, you can mute them a little by switching to the “Professional Photography” display mode in the settings.
In my opinion, color rendition looks more natural in this mode. If we talk about the resolution, as well as the density of 256 ppi, then I cannot say that the screen seemed grainy to me. On the contrary, individual pixels on it can only be seen if you bring the display very close to your eyes. In the sun, the S4 Mini's screen almost always remains readable, although this greatly depends on the angle at which the light hits it. In some cases, besides your reflection, it will be difficult to see anything else on the display.
In terms of usability and responsiveness, as I wrote above, the 4.3-inch display is easy to use with one hand and is still large enough to display text properly even without magnification. This also applies to reading books; the screen is quite suitable for this. Watching videos on the 4.3-inch display is still comfortable. The built-in media player easily plays videos in .mkv format, while the device pulls out files in both 720p and Full HD resolution.
Among other multimedia features, I also used the built-in music player. I won’t say that this is the most convenient application for listening to music, but it copes with its tasks.
The media player can sort tracks by files, artists and albums. Of the non-standard features, I would highlight only the function automatic creation playlist, depending on your mood. In general, the S4 Mini sounds good and standard settings, but you can do it even better by delving into the equalizer and activating the Adapt Sound function.
The latter offers a simple test to adjust the sound of your headphones. At first, the sound with this add-on seems unusual, but when you turn it off, you realize that it really was a little better with it.
Even though the S4 Mini has a built-in radio with automatic search radio stations and the ability to add them to favorites, I never found a use for it. The radio can record sound from the air, but its quality leaves much to be desired.
Camera
The S4 Mini uses an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Subjectively, this photomodule resembles that installed in the S4 Active. At least they have the same f/2.6 aperture and photo quality is generally at the same level. The detail of the image depends on the lighting, and decreases as it deteriorates.
Opinion
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Anna Boyko, PR manager ABBYY Ukraine I switched from simple smartphones to Symbian quite a long time ago straight to iOS, so my familiarity with the Android mobile OS is very superficial. Yes, and I only took Samsung phones “to twirl in my hands.” Therefore, the proposal to use the phone for a week Samsung Galaxy The S4 Mini seemed very interesting. We need to finally form our own opinion about the platform and phones that so many people use. Let's start with the phone. As a girl, I, of course, first of all liked appearance devices. Slim, stylish, light phone, nothing creaks, it’s nice to hold in your hand. The device itself is larger than mine, and this fact has both advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it has a larger screen, so reading a book (due to the breakdown of the electronic one) was a real pleasure, as, by the way, was viewing the news or social media, watch the video. On the other hand, the phone seemed too wide for one-handed use. Perhaps the reason is that in a week you don’t have time to get used to the new dimensions - I’ve seen a lot of girls with Galaxy Note, and it will be bigger. However, I often had to strain my hand unnaturally, which is why every now and then I accidentally pressed touch buttons. By the way, they are very sensitive. I constantly listened to the radio on my phone - it’s not on my device, which is something I personally miss. I also liked the camera - it copes with standard tasks quite well, that is, even on trips I would probably often replace the camera. But the behavior of the screen in the sun leaves much to be desired - I had to cover it with my hand to see who was calling. Regarding the autonomy of the device, I did not notice any discomfort. I was used to charging my phone once a day, and I didn’t have to change my habits. Over the course of the day, the battery was discharged to about half. As for the operating system itself, there are, as they say, nuances. I had to tinker with the settings, there were too many of them, several times I even had to feel the superiority of the system over myself. After all, even such a seemingly trivial task as setting an alarm clock (which, in my opinion, should be as simple as possible) requires an excessive amount of body movements and thoughts. As a result, I slept through the first morning with the phone - it outsmarted me. However, this is rather an unpleasant exception, because in general I found Android to be a very friendly and pleasant system, although it took some digging to understand how some things work. Firstly, word suggestions while typing are a godsend. I write mainly in Ukrainian and, naturally, the letters on the phone are often confused. But if my phone independently decides to replace a word (often correctly spelled with another), then hint words are displayed above the keyboard that are very easy to use. I also liked Swype for typing short words. Ease of typing is very important for me, since I have to answer emails from my phone at least several times a day. Work with mail is also conveniently organized. On the phone I used clients for personal Gmail and work Outlook. In the latter, even photos of colleagues from the system were pulled up, just like on a PC. The phone has long replaced a regular voice recorder for me, and it was also pleasant and convenient to work with. The same can be said about navigation (“Yandex.Maps”, Google Maps), programs for sports (Runkeeper), reading (FBReader), translation (Lingvo), social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare), browser and so on. And the correspondence in Facebook Messenger In general, it’s perfectly implemented: it’s very convenient to continue communicating while reading Twitter or looking at photos on Instagram, thanks to the Chat Heads function. Special thanks to the developers for the widgets. Over the course of a week, I got so used to them that it seemed like they were on my phone too. Well, now I really want them to be... In general, the device is good, and Android is not as scary as it is made out to be. He coped well with work and personal tasks. |
Settings and useful programs
The S4 Mini runs Android 4.2.2 with the latest edition of the TouchWiz add-on. The latter contains both useful Android improvements and programs that I would like to remove, but cannot. At least without any extra effort. Fortunately, unnecessary software can be hidden. This is done in the settings in the “Programs” menu.
An unnecessary application remains on the phone, but disappears from the menu and does not take up RAM. Accordingly, you cannot turn off the programs needed for Android or the interface.
Recently, manufacturers have begun to add various settings to the Android notification panel, and for some companies this process has gone so well that now, due to the number of settings, notifications are not visible. Samsung acted wisely in this regard. By default, the notification panel displays one row of settings and a brightness adjustment menu, which can be turned off. You can swipe the settings to the right, or click a button in the panel, which will display them all. This menu can also be accessed by swiping two fingers down from the top edge.
Unlike the S4, which uses a lot of gestures, the Mini can't scroll the screen with your eyes, nor can it pause the video when the user turns away. However, we can talk about the usefulness of these functions for a very long time, but we still left the basic gestures of the S4 Mini. The smartphone does not turn off the screen while you are looking at it.
This does not always work correctly, especially in poor lighting, but in general it works.
Among other useful gestures I would highlight:
“Direct call” - the ability to call a contact from the call log, address book or SMS by simply holding your smartphone to your ear;
Mute/Pause—Mutes ringtones, alerts, and media when you turn the phone over and place it face down.
I use a variety of applications on Android, and I’ll tell you about some of them.
After several attempts to use Evernote, I switched to Google Keep, which I don’t regret yet. The application works quickly, saves notes offline, and is synchronized with a web service. And most importantly, it is very simple, since Evernote has recently turned into a real monster.
For running I use Runkeeper, the program allows you to monitor the distance, average speed and pace, which is important while jogging. But most importantly, it has training plans that are designed to achieve various results, from losing weight to running a marathon. There are some glitches in this application, but overall, today it is one of the best solutions for those who love running.
What I don’t have time to immediately read on the Internet, and that’s a lot, I immediately send to Pocket. This program + service stores articles and allows you to read them in a convenient format. I tried Instapaper, Readability, and other apps and services for delayed reading, but in the end I came to the conclusion that Pocket does the job best.
Not long ago, Yahoo! A new weather application has been released, it looks very beautiful, I’m especially pleased with the background photos that are pulled from Flickr and change depending on the city.
I really like the idea of using a smartphone as a TV remote control.
Firstly, it is convenient, and secondly, there is no need to find the TV remote control.
Connection
My version of the S4 Mini had two slots for Micro SIM cards, although 90% of people used one. Therefore, I can only say for sure about two scenarios for working with two numbers. The first of them involves the use of a work and personal SIM card, and calls can be received simultaneously from two numbers. The second allows you to make calls from one SIM card and use the Internet from the second. To do this, in the settings you can set priorities, which network is used for voice transmission and which for data.
The voice quality of the S4 Mini is on par with the latest Samsung devices; it can be called high quality. The noise reduction system during calls works, but is not very aggressive; in noisy environments it is a little lacking.
Autonomy
The battery in the S4 Mini has a capacity of 1900 mAh - this is quite decent for such a smartphone, especially if you remember that the Galaxy SII had a 1650 mAh battery.
Even with a load above average, the Mini works quietly for a day; in a more gentle mode it lasts for a day and a half.
Eventually
It is customary to talk about smartphones in the “mini” category as “smaller copies of flagships,” but often this only concerns design. If we talk about the S4 Mini, then in terms of hardware it has little in common with the S4. But is it really that bad? Not really. If you step away from the discussion of megahertz, gigabytes, megapixels, and concentrate on the overall impressions, you can get a self-sufficient medium-format smartphone. It does not have any unique functions, this can be regarded as a drawback, but we can say that there is nothing superfluous in it. And it’s worth remembering that despite the Mini prefix, it’s still an Android smartphone with all the attendant capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini- this is a logical continuation of the “Galaxy” line, which is distinguished by a large number of relatively cheap, but very functional smartphone models. In terms of functionality, the smartphone is fundamentally different from its Samsung “brothers”; the difference is noticeable only in the size of the body and display. Closest competitors Samsung Galaxy S4 mini are the LG G2 Mini, Asus PadFone mini and some others that are on the same price level.
Smartphone characteristics
Galaxy S4 mini equipped with a full screen with a diagonal of 4.27 inches. By modern standards, the display size is average, but this has a positive effect on the size of the smartphone - it fits easily in a pocket, unlike many modern “shovels” with 5-6-inch displays. The display has a protective glass that protects it from scratches. Dual core processor Krait with clock frequency 1.7 GHz provides excellent performance. On a smartphone Samsung Galaxy S 4 Almost all modern 3D games for Android run smoothly.
The smartphone supports communication using GSM and 3G standards. There is support for the latest Wi-Fi standards, as well as Bluetooth and USB. Nowadays it sounds strange, but in Galaxy S4 mini There is an infrared port - a relic of the past. The gadget can work as a satellite navigator - it supports both the American GPS navigation system and the Russian GLONASS network.
A high-quality camera is one of the most significant advantages of this device. Photography resolution is 8 Mpx, video is HD quality 1080p, 30 frames/sec. The camera has automatic focusing. The camera resolution for video calls is 1.9 MP. There are graphic camera effects as well as a built-in image editor.
The device will please fans of multimedia functions. Firstly, a large screen that allows you to comfortably view HD video. Secondly - a multifunctional music player. Subtle sound correction will appeal to music lovers. There are built-in sound effects and a graphic equalizer. There is an FM receiver. The volume of the built-in speaker is quite high, but the sound quality is at a basic level. There can be no complaints about the sound quality in the headphones.
The addition of “mini” in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini should be taken very conditionally, since the smartphone uses a “miniature” 4.3-inch display, dimensions are 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm, and weight is only 107 grams . In any case, compared to a large one, the new S4 Mini seems really miniature. In our article, we will evaluate the similarities and differences, as well as how miniaturization has affected the quality and ease of use of a smartphone.
As for the price, miniaturization did not affect as noticeably as we would like: a “dwarf” will cost 18 thousand rubles in Russia (400 euros in Europe), although for a “full-fledged” S4 you will have to pay from 20.8 thousand rubles. Does saving a few thousand on a Mini make sense? We will talk about this in our review.
Appearance, design, hardware
Our test lab received a black version of the S4 Mini with 8 GB of memory - there is also a white version. Options with other body colors, as well as with a large amount of integrated memory, do not yet exist. The smartphone comes in a box with a wood finish, under the S4 inscription there is a small Mini add-on - inside, in addition to the smartphone, there is a battery, in-ear headphones (with pads of various sizes), Charger and cable. The black smartphone comes with white accessories, as Samsung has been doing for some time now.
The smartphone itself, as we mentioned above, has dimensions of 12.5 x 6.1 x 0.9 cm and weighs 107 grams. The 4.3-inch display has a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. Although the screen cannot be called miniature, it is still significantly smaller than the “older” model with a diagonal of 4.99" and Full-HD resolution. The two smartphones have common feature: SuperAMOLED display, although in the “older” model it received the addition of “HD”.
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What changed? Both smartphones support LTE Hexaband (meaning the “older” model GT-I9505). There is also support for Bluetooth 4.0, micro-USB 2.0 with MHL, WiFi standards 802.11 a/b/g/n, micro-SD slot, IR transmitter and aGPS / GLONASS. The smartphone has a modern operating system Android 4.2.2. That's where the similarities end, the rest is... Hardware is at a pretty decent level.
A complete list of functions is provided at last page review.
The fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor in the S4 has given way to the Snapdragon 400 (2x1.7 GHz), so GPU was also somewhat weakened: now Adreno 305 is used instead of Adreno 320. The memory has also been reduced by 512 MB to 1536 MB, as for the cameras, you will get two 8 and 1.9 MP (for the “older” smartphone: 13/2, 1 MP). Also, the “junior” smartphone lost a number of sensors (thermometer, barometer, hygrometer), which provided a rich range of functions for the new S4. However, the benefits of sensors in everyday work scenarios very much depend on the preferences of the smartphone user. Interestingly, Samsung has installed relatively powerful battery 1900 mAh in a compact device, so let's hope for a long battery life.
But the S4 Mini has other advantages. The polycarbonate body is pleasant to the touch, looks good, and overall the manufacturing quality of the smartphone can be called very good. Externally, the Mini model is very similar to the “older” S4, the smartphone seems familiar. All buttons are located in the usual places: the power button is located on the right side in the upper third, on the opposite side there is a volume rocker. On the front panel there is a physical Home button, which has become a little smaller, from the bottom you can see the micro-USB port and microphone. Another microphone is located next to the IR transmitter and a 3.5 mm audio jack at the top end.
The design of the S4 Mini is simple and elegant - it will surely appeal to many users. Moreover, Samsung decided not to make drastic moves, relying on familiar shapes and colors. In general, the smartphone seems quite typical for a Korean manufacturer, but this can hardly be considered a drawback.
Ergonomics / at work
As befits a compact smartphone, its ergonomics should be at their best. A small body is easier to handle, right? Not so simple. The screen with a diagonal of 4.3" compared to 4.99" is smaller on the S4, but the body still remains relatively large. In terms of dimensions, the new S4 Mini has become slightly thicker than the S4 (8.9 mm versus 7.9), but is about a centimeter narrower and shorter. But the display is still noticeably smaller; on the front panel it uses 71.5 versus 65.2% of the available area. At the same time, many more users will be able to work with a compact smartphone with one hand; a slightly larger thickness is unlikely to hinder this. Overall, the S4 Mini seems quite comfortable and enjoyable to use.
In terms of weight, the new Samsung product showed its best side: it is only 107 grams, which leads to a density of 1.57 g/cm³ - the smartphone turned out to be one of the most “airy” devices among those that visited our test laboratory, only smartphones can compete with it -tablets. The smartphone is lightweight; some may even find it too “toy-like”. But, in the end, this is a matter of taste, so decide for yourself.
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Samsung Galaxy S4 mini VE Duos compact smartphone With powerful characteristics and support for 2 SIM cards in a stylish case. Thanks to its compact size, the smartphone is easy to operate with one hand and can be put into any pocket without getting in the way. here are some main characteristics Samsung Galaxy S4 mini VE: powerful 4-core processor with a frequency of 1200 MHz, Android operating system, support for 2 SIM cards, 4.3-inch screen, removable 1900 mAh battery, main 8 MP camera, 8 GB built-in and card support MicroSD memory up to 64 GB. Take clear photos and videos in Full HD format with 8 MP cameras, your smartphone also has front-camera for selfies and free videos calls via the Internet. A powerful 4-core processor and 1.5 GB of RAM should be enough to open Android applications and games without lags or freezes. Support for 2 SIM cards on the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini VE is the ability to use SIM cards from different operators simultaneously on your smartphone mobile communications, which opens up opportunities for savings on communication services. Choose which SIM card you want to use high-speed 3G Internet from and watch online movies on the Super AMOLED screen without waiting for constant reloading. The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini VE battery with a capacity of 1900 mAh provides up to 11 hours of standby time and up to 11 hours of work on Wi-Fi networks. You can distribute the Internet through the Galaxy S4 mini VE to another phone, laptop, computer or tablet via point Wi-Fi access, you can also transfer files to another device on high speed via Wi-Fi Direct.
The flagship from the Korean manufacturer Samsung is the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini LTE GT-I9195, which was released in 2013.
Appearance of Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
The phone is made of plastic. The front panel is made of scratch-resistant glass.
Screen with a diagonal of 4.3 inches and a resolution of 540×960, 256 ppi.
Dimensions – 61.3×124.6×8.94 mm, weight – 107 g.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
Processor – eight-core Exynos 5410, 1700 MHz.
RAM – 2 GB. Built-in memory – 8GB. The phone also supports memory cards.
Operating system – Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), which is updated to new versions.
The battery is removable, 1900 mAh. This is enough for 12 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time.
Main camera good quality– 8 MP. And the front one is only 2 megapixels.
You can buy Samsung Galaxy S4 mini in our online store by placing an order through the website shopping cart or by calling us at. Delivery in Moscow is possible on the day of order. The cost of delivery within the Moscow Ring Road is 400 rubles. Delivery to the Moscow region is calculated individually. Pickup from a retail store two minutes from Savelovskaya metro station.
