The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is to launch in the United Kingdom this weekend, almost a week ahead of its expected July 5 launch date. A number of online retailers are promising delivery on Saturday, June 29, while Phones 4U says that the handset will arrive on Monday.

Prices start at £365 ($561).

That’s if you buy from Unlocked-Mobiles.com, which is promising delivery on Saturday. Handtec is charging £390 ($599) for the device, and it expects to have stock in on Friday, June 28, ready for Saturday delivery. Both of these handsets are SIM-free and unlocked.

If you want the Galaxy S4 Mini on contract, then Phones 4U is currently taking orders for Monday delivery. The handset itself is free, while contracts start at £26 ($40) per month. If you get the handset on EE, the U.K.’s only 4G carrier, from £31 ($48) per month, then Phones 4U will also throw in a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

The Galaxy S4 Mini, as its name suggests, is the smaller, cheaper version of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4. It offers a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. It also has an 8-megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.9-megapixel camera on the front.

The Galaxy S4 Mini ships with the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software pre-installed, with Samsung’s latest TouchWiz user interface over the top — just like the Galaxy S4.

• ViaCNET