Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini small on size and big on features

Just as the leaks had suggested, the new Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is only small in stature and screen resolution.

Indeed, apart from the 720p 4.5-inch display, this handset manages to offer users with smaller hands and tighter pockets pretty much everything its bigger brother boasts, right down to the fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor.

And even if the resolution is sub-full HD, the display itself uses the same AMOLED technology as the full-size S5, so great, vibrant colors and contrasts and a super energy-saving mode for keeping the battery going as long as possible between charges.

As JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication at Samsung Electronics, said during the device's official unveiling on Tuesday.

"We always strive to develop devices that appeal to a range of consumer tastes and styles. The Galaxy S5 mini allows consumers to enjoy the iconic design and essential and useful features of the Galaxy S5 through a maximized minimalism approach."

So that means that out of the box it will come with the latest version of Android, with the S-Health suite of fitness apps and with Samsung's new Kids Safe mode to protect against accidental app downloads or erasing contacts information.

All of which should be greeted as welcome news. As well as starting the trend for creating ‘mini' versions of its premium handsets, until now, Samsung was also guilty of building smaller versions of its flagships that were only related in terms of external appearance -- a trend that only Sony has refused to follow.

Now that Samsung is changing its ways, there's a very good chance that the next ‘mini' from LG will be equally high-spec.

Standard onboard storage on the S5 Mini runs to 16GB but can be expanded by up to a further 64GB via MicroSD card and, like a growing number of premium handsets, the S5 Mini is water and dust resistant.

However, as well as screen resolution, there are one or two other tiny compromises that Samsung has had to make in order to squeeze everything into a smaller package with a smaller battery and slightly less power-hungry 1.2GHz quad-core processor.

The rear-facing camera is 8-megapixels, rather than 13-megapixels and it can only shoot full HD at 30 frames per second. Likewise the selfie camera on the front side offers 2.1 megapixels. But both are more than good enough and still as good as if not better than a host of full-sized Android handsets are currently offering.

The handset, which weighs just 120g and measures 131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1mm, will be available in a choice of four color options -- Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Electric Blue and Copper Gold -- when it goes on sale. Samsung intends to bring the handset initially to Russia later in July before rolling it out to other countries during the course of 2014.