If Samsung's Galaxy S4 is more phone than you think you need, the electronics giant has just offered up the smaller, more midrange -- and surely cheaper -- Galaxy S4 Mini.

Like a decaffeinated beverage, Samsung is hoping to give its lighter smartphone much of the same S4 taste with just a little less oomph. Although the Mini has stepped-down specs compared with its flagship family, like a lower-resolution screen and an 8-megapixel camera instead of a 13-megapixel shooter, it's no slouch when it comes to the Galaxy S4's core features, like a built-in TV remote control.

As with the Galaxy S3 Mini that came before, this version is aimed more toward the mass market than the high-end sector. Here in the middle, the Mini plays the role of the lower price option compared with the marquee Galaxy S4, without sacrificing too many of the superphone's more-defining features.

 

The CNET crew got hands-on time with the smaller smartphone in London at the June 20 launch event, and at Samsung's simultaneous shindig in New York. Here's how it stacks up against the original Galaxy S4.

 

Read here.