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Samsung woos SA with sexy S5 Mini

Cape Town - Samsung announced on Friday that it was launching the Mini version of the Galaxy S5 as the company looks to boost its smartphone sales.

The Galaxy S5 Mini is the third of the baby versions of the flagship smartphone, but Samsung has upped the power of the device to match higher specification devices.

The S5 Mini is powered by a 1.4GHz quad core processor, the first quad core processor in a Mini smartphone for the company. All previous models had dual core processors.

Sony surprised many market watchers with its Xperia Z1 Compact, featuring a 2.2GHz quad core processor.

As expected the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini runs Google's Android operating system though the company has been driving an alternative Tizen OS.

Tizen though is offered in the new Gear S smart watch though the mobile launch has been delayed. The Gear S could upend the market as it can make calls without a mobile phone.

Warranty

While the Galaxy is a mini version of the S5, it has an 11.4cm (4.5 inch) display, slightly smaller than the 12.9cm display in the bigger brother.

Apple is expected to release similar-sized iPhones at a launch event on 9 September.

The sale of cheaper smartphones is key to Samsung as soft sales of its flagship models hurt profit in the second half of the year.

Mid-tier manufacturers like Hisense, Huawei and Lenovo have moved to capture market share with cheaper devices, though not at the spec level of Samsung flagship models.

According to reports Samsung profits fell 20% in the year up to June, but the company has a few tricks up its sleeve. It is likely that the aluminium-encased Galaxy Alpha will make it to SA before 25 December. It is scheduled for release in the UK on 12 September, though pricing is unclear.

Samsung said that all Galaxy S5 Mini smartphones will be covered by a two year warranty that covers customers against breakage and water damage.

The Galaxy S5 Mini is LTE-capable and has a recommended retail price of R6 699.


- Follow Duncan on Twitter

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