At a time when Apple’s rumored iPad mini is creating much buzz around the tech world, rival Samsung is also getting ready with another “mini” device. If Apple wants its popular tablet to take a mini avatar, it’s the South Korean tech giant’s successful flagship smartphone, which is set to get smaller.

Turning speculations into reality, Samsung's mobile division head JK Shin announced in a press conference with the Korean media Wednesday that the company will release a 4-inch version of the Galaxy S3, dubbed the “Galaxy S3 Mini,” on Oct. 11 in Germany.

Although Shin didn’t reveal much about the device, he did say that Samsung was inspired to produce a smaller version of the Galaxy S3 by mounting a demand for 4-inch devices in the European market. According to him, the Galaxy S3 Mini won’t be an entry-level handset, but would have "full form factor."

That said, the new device is highly expected to be in direct competition with Apple’s iPhone 5, which also comes with a 4-inch display.

“We'll be launching a 4-inch Galaxy S III on the 11th in Germany,” Shin said (as reported by iNews24). “There's a lot of demand for a 4-inch screen device in Europe. Some call it an entry-level device, but we call it 'mini’.”

"Our biggest asset is our screen. It is very important that we make screen size bigger, and in the future mobile phones will absorb even the function of e-books,” CNET quoted an unnamed Samsung executive as saying.

Shin announced that Samsung Ativ S Windows Phone 8 smartphone would also be released in either October or November. He also said that Samsung would be continuing with its plans to sue Apple over LTE patents.

There were reports last week saying that Samsung had sent out invites for a product launch in Germany on Oct. 11. The invites, written in German, could be roughly translated as “something small will be really big, get ready for a little sensation.”

While the Galaxy S3 Mini is expected to directly challenge the iPhone 5 with its 4-inch display, it’s yet to be seen whether the device will rise up the Galaxy S3 with the same quad-core CPU and 8-megapixel camera.

Some earlier reports suggested that the Galaxy S3 Mini would feature an 800 x 480 display, a dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel camera.

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