Samsung announces the Galaxy S II Plus, a revival of the older star

Far away from events unfolding at CES in Las Vegas, South Korean Android device manufacturer Samsung has unveiled a new device in its Galaxy smartphone lineup. Dubbed the Galaxy S II Plus, the new handset borrows familiar cues from the popular Galaxy S II, but with an added Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean twist.

Samsung has decided to play it safe with the Galaxy S II Plus, as the new smartphone bears an uncanny resemblance to its sibling from 2011. The only apparent physical differences lie with the color choices. The Galaxy S II is available in black, pink and white, while the Galaxy S II Plus only comes in blue and white, embracing Samsung's Galaxy S III color palette. But what about the specs?

The Galaxy S II Plus boasts the same 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, suggesting an RGB matrix, with a resolution of 800 by 480. Power comes from a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, likely part of the Exynos family, 1 GB of RAM and a 1,650 mAh battery.

The smartphone features an 8 MP back-facing camera, with LED flash, capable of 1080p video recording, while on the front the handset sports a 2 MP shooter. Samsung bundles Buddy Photo Share, Face Zoom and Group Facetag software.

Other noteworthy specs include 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot available to extend the capacity by a further 64GB. In the connectivity department the handset comes with HSPA+, with speeds up to 21.1Mbps for download and 7.2Mbps for upload; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n; USB 2.0; optional NFC (Near Field Communication); accelerometer; light as well as proximity sensors; gyroscope and GPS with Glonass support.

Without NFC, the Galaxy S II Plus measures 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm and 121 grams, while with the added NFC chip the smartphone comes in at 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.9 mm and 121 grams. Basically just 0.4 mm of added thickness when paired with near field communication.

Alongside Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, Samsung also bundles its branded suite of apps, including ChatOn, Samsung Hub, Direct call, Smart Stay, Smart Alert, Popup Video, S Voice, Voice Unlock and S Beam, among others.

The South Korean manufacturer has not yet provided a date of availability nor pricing details.