Samsung Galaxy Premier review: A droid of stature

Conclusion

All the rumors that the Galaxy Premier will be the next Nexus phone didn't pan out, but you can still think of it as an upgraded Galaxy Nexus with S III styling. It doesn't run stock Android and its update schedule will be slower, but it's off to a good start with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Samsung Galaxy Premier is holding middle ground between the company's flagship, the Galaxy S III, and the compact S III mini. On a second thought, raw performance aside, the Galaxy Premier isn't that far behind the Galaxy S III - its 4.65" SuperAMOLED screen and 8MP/1080p camera are virtually as good as what the flagship has to offer.

And even though the Premier is not quite the benchmark champion, its scores suggest that it can provide a pretty smooth ride and wouldn't choke on resource-intensive apps. Overall, if you're handed a Galaxy Premier and told it's an S III, you might need some time to realize that you're being fooled.

Now let's have a look at the alternatives and see if the shared DNA will allow the Premier to hope for the success of the Galaxy S III.

If you were interested in the Galaxy Premier for the Nexus connection, you should look at the Google Nexus 4 - it has the most powerful quad-core processor of all droids and will get fast updates to the latest stock Android. It's dirt cheap too - $350 for the one with 16GB (sadly, non-expandable) storage.

Or you can go with the LG Optimus G, the phone on which the Nexus 4 was based. This gets you more (still non-expandable) storage, but software updates and affordability are another matter.

LG Nexus 4 E960 • LG Optimus G E973

A RAZR HD from Google-owned Motorola offers a 4.7" 720p Super AMOLED screen, a big 2500mAh battery and cool Kevlar back. That one is bound to offer longer battery life than the Premier, but it's also likely to cost significantly more.

A Sony Xperia T bets on 4.55" TFT and a 13MP camera. The Bond phone, however, just like the Motorola RAZR HD has ICS at launch and will have to wait for an update to catch up with the Galaxy Premier.

Motorola RAZR HD XT925 • Sony Xperia T

If you like what you saw on the Galaxy Premier, but would rather try a difference size, the two obvious alternatives are the Galaxy S III and the S III mini. The big S III does offer two extra CPU cores and the screen is a bit bigger, but neither the screens nor the cameras of the two are that different.

The Galaxy S III mini has a less capable chipset and a far less impressive screen, but comes with a more attractive price tag and in a more compact package.

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III • Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini

With the Galaxy Premier, Samsung has the mid-to-high-end market duly covered by phones with a consistent design language and levels of equipment to suit different budgets.

The Premier is not for people who want the best, but it would do well for people who want the best for their money. Nexus or not, the Galaxy Premier is a good-looking and reasonably-equipped phone that has the chance of hitting it big, with the right price tag.