Samsung launched its Galaxy Core II in several emerging markets, such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and The Philippines. The device was announced in late-June. This smartphone is tactically positioned between the entry-level and mainstream market segments, and could disrupt several price-points. It goes after the swarm of 4-inchers priced around the US $200 mark. The kicker? It takes Android 4.4 "Kit Kat" to the masses.

To begin with, the Galaxy Core II, features a 4.5-inch display with WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) display. The device runs Android 4.4.2 "Kit Kat" out of the box, with Samsung's newer TouchWiz Essence UI. Its imaging won't win awards, as it combines a 5-megapixel primary, with a 0.3-megapixel that shoots selfies the size of online board avatars.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Core II features a 1.20 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 based SoC, 768 MB of RAM, 4 GB of storage that's expandable to 32 GB with micro-SDHC, and a fairly large 2,000 mAh battery to power it all. It supports two standard-size SIM cards, with 3G HSDPA radio. 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0 wrap things up. The Galaxy Core II is available in two trims, black and white, with a leathery plastic rear panel.