Flagship smartphones are getting bigger with every release cycle, but not everyone wants a big screen and associated pocket bulk. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is a suitable compromise, but a compromise nonetheless. This is a midrange phone through and through, though compared with the limited options for small-screen lovers, it's actually a pretty solid choice on Sprint for $49.99 with a two-year contract.

We've already reviewed the Galaxy S4 Mini on Verizon, so head over to that review for a full run down on its features and design. The Sprint S4 Mini is physically identical, so we'll focus on carrier specific differences for this review.

Network and Call Quality

The S4 Mini connects to Sprint's CDMA (800/1900MHz) and tri-band Spark LTE (800/1900/2500MHz) networks. That means slow 3G data, but some of the fastest 4G LTE speeds where Sprint's new Spark network is available. We've seen as high as 34Mbps down when connected to Spark, and the S4 Mini was able to pull down over 20Mbps in a few locations. More typical speeds hovered around 12-15Mbps down and 6Mbps up, which is still solid 4G speed.

Note: The slideshow below is of the Verizon S4 Mini, which is physically identical to the Sprint model.