Samsung launched the Galaxy Core Advance, a mainstream smartphone that brings most current-generation features into the 4.7-inch class form-factor, attempting form a middle-ground between the 4.3-inch class and the 5-inch class. It should win big on ergonomics, but lose out on quite a few grounds.

　　To begin with, the Galaxy Core Advance has a focus on good ergonomics (ease of use), and accessibility for the visually impaired. It does that with recognizable (embossed) physical keys covering power, volume, the front actions (back, context, home); and features a strong speech-input muscle.

　　S Voice is activated out of the box, and trained to perform most of the basic functions such as making and answering calls, creating/editing/accessing contacts, creating/reading messages and e-mails, and much more. Along with S Voice, you get S Translator, Sound & Shot (camera function), Group Play, and TouchWiz Easy Mode. The Galaxy Core Advance runs Android 4.2.2 "Jelly Bean."

　　Samsung gave the Galaxy Core Advance a pleasant 4.7-inch TFT LCD screen with WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) screen. In the imaging department, you get a basic 5-megapixel camera, with a VGA front-facing camera. Under the hood, it runs a dual-core Cortex-A7 based SoC, with 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of storage that's expandable to 64 GB using micro-SDXC. A 2,000 mAh battery powers the device. Measuring 133.3 x 70.5 x 9.7 mm, it weighs about 145 g.

　　Samsung plans to make the Galaxy Core Advance commercially available early next year.