New year, new phone, old name – Samsung has unleashed the Galaxy Ace Plus which comes with all the features of the original Galaxy Ace with just a little more oomph.

So where the Galaxy Ace offered Android 2.2, a 3.5-inch screen and an 800MHz processor, the Galaxy Ace Plus comes with Gingerbread (Android 2.3), a 3.65-inch screen and a 1GHz processor - and the resolution of the screen has stayed the same at HVGA (320 x 480) meaning a slight drop in screen clarity.

Other goodies include a 5MP autofocus camera complete with LED flash, Bluetooth 3.0, 512MB RAM and 3GB of memory with microSD support to boot.

Touch Wizadora

It also comes with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay, with all the social, music and ChatOn goodness that brings.

Like the Galaxy Ace before it, the Plus is intended for 'trendy and sociable young professionals', says Samsung - so if you're sartorially-challenged, a recluse, old or unemployed then move along, nothing to see here.

Continuing the elitist theme, Samsung has also added the ability to black-list text messages and calls from contacts you're not too keen on – those that are sartorially-challenged, recluses, old or unemployed, presumably.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus release date is set for Russia this month and hitting the rest of Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and China throughout the rest of the year.

No word on an official Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus UK price yet, but we wouldn't have thought it'd be too much more than the Galaxy Ace, which is currently available for around £170 SIM-free, or free on a £15 a month contract.