Samsung Galaxy Ace 3

Available now
11th June 2013

While the Samsung Galaxy S range may grab all the headlines, the Galaxy Ace range has been grabbing a good slice of actual retail sales, and the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 promises to continue that success.

The Galaxy Ace 3 is actually the fourth Android device in the series, after the original Ace, Ace Plus and Ace 2. But where the original Ace handset was really rather basic, the new Ace 3 ups the specifications to become something rather more capable.

Each generation of Ace has featured a larger display, and the Ace 3 now comes with a 4" 480 x 800 pixel TFT panel. On the back is a 5 megapixel camera capable of 720p HD video capture plus a 0.3 megapixel one on the front, inside is a dual-core 1GHz CPU with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage (about 1.8GB available to the user) with a microSD slot, optional LTE support, GLONASS as well as GPS positioning plus the option of a dual-SIM version.

The operating system is Android 4.2 with the usual bunch of Samsung enhancements, including S Travel and S Voice, plus exclusive Samsung apps and camera enhancements. Although this may not be the most powerful device in the world, most customers would probably find that the Ace 3 would meet their needs very well.

Physically, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 measures 121 x 63 x 9.8mm, weighs a reasonable 115 grams and comes with a 1500 mAh battery. Inside is a compass, proximity sensor and accelerometer, plus the usual array of WiFi support, Bluetooth 4 and USB connectivity.

No guidance was given on price, but given that the Ace 2 currently retails for about €180, we would estimate that the Ace 3 may cost something in the region of €230 when it hits the market. We don't know when that will be, but the Ace 3 is hardly a stretch for a manufacturer such as Samsung and we would expect to see it in the next few weeks.