The Sony Xperia J isn’t the only Android smartphone that Three is launching this holiday season, as the UK carrier has also gone ahead and launched the Galaxy S3 Mini, which can be bought at £269.99 on Pay As You Go and for free on two year contract starting from £28.

Sporting the same design language as the Galaxy S3 in a smaller form factor, the Galaxy S3 Mini sports a 4.0″ WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED display, 1GHz NovaThor processor, 1GB RAM, 5 megapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, 8GB storage expandable via microSD cards up to 32GB, NFC, 1500 mAh battery, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The mid-range specs make it more of a successor to the original Galaxy S, rather than Samsung’s best-selling smartphone of 2012, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.

The Galaxy S3 Mini is available in Three’s retail stores right now, and will be available online from the carrier’s website from November 16th. Find the full press release below.

Samsung Galaxy S III Mini – available now on Three.

The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is now available in all Three stores and, from 16th November, will be available online at http://www.three.co.uk.

The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is the new compact version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Featuring a large 4.0” display, the S III Mini is great for viewing more content on one screen, reducing the need for scrolling and zooming out. Its HD Super AMOLED technology also means that videos and pictures come to life in amazingly clear, crisp colours.

This elegant but minimal smartphone comes with a fast 1GHz dual core processor that allows apps and games to load quickly, enabling people to enjoy seamless browsing, gaming, viewing and downloading. Perfect for budding Instagrammers, the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini delivers great images using a 5 megapixel camera, which also has Best Shot mode that takes a burst of photos and then cleverly selects the best one.

Sylvia Chind, Head of Devices at Three, said, “Not only is the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini a top performing phone but it’s also full of innovative touches like the notification light, which can be customised to flash a different colour to alert users to new messages or calls.”

The Samsung Galaxy S III Mini is available with no upfront cost on the Ultimate Internet 500 plan for £28 a month, and on The One Plan, which offers a fear-free mobile internet experience with a guarantee of no surprise out-of-bundle data charges, for £32 a month.

The smartphone is also available on Pay As You Go for £269.99 plus a top up. All in One 15 costs £15 and gives 30-day access to All-You-Can-Eat data along with 300 any-network minutes and 3,000 texts. Or All in One 25 costs £25 and offers All-You-Can-Eat data, 500 minutes and 3,000 texts and for a 30-day period.

Key features
• Large 4.0” WVGA Super AMOLED display
• Fast 1.0 GHz dual core processor
• 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash
• Notification light
• VGA front camera
• 1500mAh battery
• Up to 8GB internal memory
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) Operating System
• NFC