Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus spied, 'S3 Mini' tipped for Christmas

Rumours of two new variations on Samsung's most popular gadgets are doing the rounds, with both the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus and Galaxy S3 Mini tipped to be released before the end of the year.

File the Galaxy S3 Mini strictly under rumour, but Android site The Droid Guy talks about a cheaper version of Samsung's flagship phone going on sale for around $200 (about £126).

That's very cheap, so if this smart phone does somehow prove to be real, don't expect it to feature anything like the high-end hardware that's filling the S3's plastic casing.

There's no source given for this rumour, so take it with a massive pinch of salt. Samsung has been known to craft tweaked versions of its smart phones though -- check out the Galaxy Ace Plus or the Galaxy S Advance for example, and I can see why it would want to capitalise on the popularity of the Galaxy S3.

Meanwhile the previously-tipped Galaxy S2 Plus was spotted by SamMobile as having shown up on a Chilean operator's website. Along with the images you can see above, an 8-megapixel camera and a 4.5-inch display are tipped, as is a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

While Samsung's approach has long been to create a whole host of mobiles and tablets -- presumably thinking that prospective shoppers can take their pick of screen sizes and specifications -- the risk with this strategy is that keeping track of all the different gadgets on offer becomes tricky.

Would Samsung make a mini version of the S3, or does that sound like lunacy? And do you think the Galaxy S2-maker is churning out too many mobiles, or not enough? Tell me in the comments or on our Facebook wall.

Image credit: VTR