While the U.S. still waits for the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung is already planning to release the mighty Samsung Galaxy S II’s younger sibling–the Samsung Galaxy R. According to sources, the U.K. can expect this tamer beast to arrive some time near the end of July.

The Samsung Galaxy R looks similar to its elder sibling, acquiring even its squarish body. It does, however, differ slightly in specs. We feel that the differences make the Samsung Galaxy R walk in the shadow of the Samsung Galaxy S II in terms of specs, although the toned-down specs can also presumably lower the cost.

For instance, the Galaxy R will be getting a smaller 4.2-inch SLCD screen. That’s 0.1 inch of screen estate lost. The good thing, however, is that the Galaxy R retains the Galaxy S II’s pixel resolution (800×480), so that should translate to a sharper display.

Sources say the Galaxy R’s NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor will tick only at 1.0 GHz, which is a few megahertzes slower than the Galaxy S II’s 1.2-GHz Samsung Exynos. Three megapixels will be shaved off from the camera, too. The Galaxy R will be carrying a 5-megapixel (720p) camera. Its powerful sibling has an 8-megapixel shooter. Thankfully, Samsung didn’t ditch the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera.

At 131 grams and with dimensions of 67 mm by 126 mm by 9.6 mm, the Galaxy R is slightly heavier and thicker than its more powerful predecessor. We figure that its metallic back accounts for the slight difference in weight. The Galaxy R’s metallic back, too, just may delight those who felt the Samsung Galaxy S II’s plastic cover to be somewhat non-commensurate to the stature of its high-end specs.

Would you consider buying the Samsung Galaxy R instead of other less-expensive alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy S II?