Back in June, we got news of a Galaxy S2-like Samsung Android with some slightly-reduced hardware specs in order to help make the handset more affordable. At first we heard the smartphone called the Galaxy Z up in Sweden, and then a month later we heard that the same model may be coming to the UK as the Galaxy R. Finally, Samsung has made things official, announcing the Galaxy R for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The Galaxy R scales the Galaxy S2′s screen down a smidge to 4.19 inches, and replaces the Super AMOLED Plus tech with Super Clear LCD; resolution remains untouched at WVGA’s 800 x 480. Instead of an Exynos, the Galaxy R uses an Nvidia Tegra 2 for its processor, with its dual cores running at 1GHz. The only other major hardware change is swapping out the GS2′s eight-megapixel image sensor with a five-megapixel component.
How do all these compromises affect the Galaxy R’s price? We’ve only seen what it will cost as the Galaxy Z in Sweden, where it’s going for about $600, making it cheaper than a full-price GS2, but that margin of savings starts to quickly go away when you find the GS2 sold for anything less than full retail. Hopefully, we might see that $600 come down a little as the Galaxy R begins its larger roll-out, coming to more nations in Europe and Asia, as Samsung says, “soon”.
