General characteristics
Type smartphone operating system Android OS version at the start of sales Android 4.2 Case type classic Control mechanical/touch buttons SAR level 0.24 Number of SIM cards 2 Multi-SIM mode variable Weight 162 g Dimensions (WxHxD) 77.1x143.5x9.6 mmScreen
Screen type color TFT, 16.78 million colors, touch Type touch screen multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal 5.01 inches. Image Size 800x480 Pixels per inch (PPI) 186 Aspect Ratio 5:3 Automatic screen rotation There isMultimedia capabilities
Number of main (rear) cameras 1 Main (rear) camera resolution 8 MP Rear flash, LED Functions of the main (rear) camera autofocus Recording videos There is Max. video resolution 1920x1080 Max. video frame rate 30 fps Front-camera yes, 2 MP Audio MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, FM radio Headphone jack 3.5 mmConnection
Standard GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G Interfaces Wi-Fi 802.11n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB Geopositioning A-GPS, GLONASS, GPS DLNA support yesMemory and processor
Processor 1200 MHz Number of processor cores 2 Built-in memory capacity 8 GB Volume random access memory 1 GB Memory card slot Yes, up to 64 GBNutrition
Battery capacity 2100 mAh Removable battery Talk time 10.2 h Standby time 440 h Charging connector type micro-USBOther features
Voice dialing control, voice control Flight mode yes A2DP profile yes Light sensors, proximity sensors, gyroscope, compass Flashlight yesThe world-famous Korean company Samsung previously occupied a leading position in the ranking of mobile phones. However, approximately 3-4 years ago it began to lose ground. The reason for this is the appearance on the market of a large number of cheap Chinese smartphones, which simply overwhelmed the budget segment. However, Samsung developers decided not to stand aside and in response created a whole series of inexpensive gadgets. At the time of release, their cost varied within 10,000 rubles. Thanks to this, the company was able to significantly increase the number of potential buyers. So, let's take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos, its specifications and features.
Series development
The company had to save on technical equipment in order to create inexpensive smartphone. To attract buyers, the developers focused on battery capacity and front camera resolution. In 2014-2015 even in the middle segment it was difficult to find such indicators: the 5-megapixel matrix of the front camera with a wide-angle format became the best in the budget class. Thanks to her, a large number of young people were attracted. After all, it is this age group that prefers to take high-quality selfies. Of course, the developers Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos had to sacrifice some characteristics. For example, in this model the display suffered the most. We'll talk more about it later.
As for performance, there were no particular problems, since the gadget was based on a 64-bit processor. On your phone you can surf the Internet, play games and perform other tasks.
The main category of buyers were people for whom it was important to have a smartphone with a durable battery and a high-quality front camera. The line includes options with white, black, gold and gray housings.
Exterior design
At first glance at a smartphone Samsung Grand Duos can be immediately identified as a brand. The developers used company-specific features. The design is typical, Samsung. A frame in a silver shade runs along the side edge. The corners are slightly rounded, but the rectangular shape is clearly visible. The control panel has an oval mechanical button. The company logo is displayed between top part screen and speaker. It is also on the back cover. Most of the front panel is occupied by the screen. The frame around it is narrow, thickening at the top and bottom. This is done in order to place control buttons, a speaker with a front camera and sensors.
Unfortunately, there is one significant drawback on the rear panel - the protruding camera lens. On either side of it are a flash and a speaker hole.
The location of the connectors is standard for modern smartphones. The user will see ports for USB, memory cards and headsets on the side faces. There is also a lock key and a rocker-shaped volume control.
Externally, the device looks quite solid and attractive, which was noticed by most buyers.
Dimensions and features of the case
It is worth noting that the developers, when producing Samsung phone Grand Prime Duos have selected the optimal sizes. Its thickness is 9 mm. The device does not look very narrow, but not thick either. The height of the case was 145 mm and the width was 72 mm. The phone fits comfortably in your hand and you can operate it with one hand. Many buyers have noticed similarities with Sony's Xperia Z3.
The manufacturer used high quality plastic for the case. The owners have no complaints about the assembly. There are no creaking, crunching, play or other unpleasant moments. In principle, such problems are not typical for all Samsung devices. Considering the small thickness of the phone, many buyers doubted whether it would bend. However, after testing, it was discovered that the phone does not have such a flaw.
Case type - monoblock. Back cover removable. Underneath there is a battery and SIM card slots. The lock is of high quality. The cover can be removed easily and installed back without any problems.
Screen Features
IN Samsung series Grand Duos developers used a low quality display. This is evidenced by the resolution of 960x540 px. Currently, it is considered insufficient for high-quality display of information on the screen. Considering that its diagonal is four and a half inches, the pixel density is scanty. It is only 220 ppi. Naturally, this affects the image quality. Although the “squares” are not visible to the naked eye, the clarity is somewhat blurred. However, the IPS matrix saves the situation. It is responsible for a good level of brightness and wide viewing angles. When using the phone outdoors in any weather, the owner can easily view the information on the screen.
The developers did not provide a function automatic adjustment brightness. This is explained by the lack of a light sensor. However, the situation is saved by the fact that the maximum brightness level is 400 cd/m2. It can only be adjusted manually.
When describing the screen, it must be said that, unfortunately, there is no oleophobic coating. There is also no provision for protective glass. If you use the phone without a case, then minor scratches and abrasions cannot be avoided. Also, many owners recommend immediately purchasing a special film for the screen. It will protect it from mechanical damage, and fingerprints will not accumulate too much.
Samsung Grand Duos: camera specifications
As mentioned above, the manufacturer positioned the model as a selfie device. For this reason, a high-quality 5-megapixel matrix is used on the front camera. It does not have a flash or autofocus, but is equipped with a wide-angle lens that allows you to view within 85 degrees. All owners use it to easily take high-quality panoramic and atmospheric photos. And most importantly, it is possible to create group selfies.
The resolution of the main camera also fully meets modern requirements. It is equipped with an 8-megapixel matrix. There is a photo flash and autofocus. Maximum resolution - 3264 × 2448 pixels. The menu has a large number of functions that are designed for working with photographs. There is no stabilization mode, but in most cases this does not affect the quality of the pictures.
The developers have provided the possibility of video recording. Videos can be recorded with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The maximum speed will be 30 frames per second. In video mode, you can use recording with sound and autofocus tracking.
Communications
The Samsung Grand Duos series includes devices that support fourth generation networks. To work on the device, install operating system Android. It has a built-in browser for web surfing. Working on the phone is a real pleasure. Pages load quickly and the connection is stable. Testing of devices in this series was carried out not only by users, but also by specialists. Reviews from both were positive. The developers installed dual-band Wi-Fi on the gadget (802.11 b/g/n channel). There is also Bluetooth version 4.
Multimedia
Samsung has long been famous for its multimedia capabilities. Samsung Grand Prime Duos SM-G530H was no exception. While using the gadget, the player's wide potential was revealed. It handles most well-known video formats very well. In this case, there is no need for preliminary conversion and optimization. However, it was not without its drawbacks. For example, the popular resolutions MKV and MOV are not reproduced by the device.
There are also no comments about the audio player. He reproduces everything standard formats. However, those owners who use FLAC will have to download third-party software to listen to their favorite music tracks.
Battery specifications
As for a budget employee, the Samsung Grand Duos smartphone is equipped with a fairly capacious battery. Its capacity is 2600 mAh. Battery type - lithium-ion. Duration characteristics battery life deserve respect. Surprisingly, the Korean budget phone can almost compete with the iPhone 6 version. If we consider the battery life in active video viewing mode, then these two gadgets show almost identical results - 7 hours. When listening to music through headphones, the battery life will last approximately 80 hours. The manufacturer claims that during an active conversation the smartphone will last up to 17 hours.
Samsung Grand Duos can be compared with mid-segment models in this parameter. Users claim that under normal load the device can work for at least 2 days. However, there are some limitations; the greatest energy consumption occurs during games.
Energy saving and battery charging
This model has an extreme energy saving mode. When activated, the smartphone will be able to work additionally for 1 hour. This option saves owners, for example, in the event of an important call.
If you charge the battery with the original charger, then you will need to spend a little more than 2 hours. The developers have provided the ability to replenish the battery life via a USB cable (port type - 3.0). This method will take no more than 2 hours. Unfortunately, there is no fast battery charging mode. But in fairness, it is worth noting that the manufacturer warned about this.
Samsung Grand Duos: reviews
Although this gadget is a fairly cheap device, it has far from the worst characteristics. Most owners are satisfied with the hardware “filling”. Praiseful reviews are devoted to the modern design, decent level of performance, and high quality images. The resolution of the cameras delighted the younger generation. After all, the photos turn out truly magnificent.
Anyway this model is not just another cheap Chinese smartphone, but a device from a world-famous brand. Surprisingly, a 4-core processor provides such fast work, which even 8-core chipsets from the “shadow” market are not capable of. This is precisely what deserves special attention.
Also in their reviews, users noted that the manufacturer listened to their wishes. In this series, the developers did not overfill the gadget with pre-installed software. Thanks to this, the phone began to work much faster. Also, importantly, according to many owners, the interface now looks more attractive.
Conclusion
Summing up the review of the Samsung Grand Prime smartphone, we can say with confidence that this device is 100% worth the money spent. It performs all its main functions with a solid B on a 5-point scale. Before purchasing, it is important to decide what specific requirements will be placed on the gadget. If you need a smartphone with powerful battery, you can pay attention to the Samsung Grand Prime.
Following the fashion for smartphones with support for two SIM cards, manufacturers continue to introduce more and more new models to the market. Here is one of the latest representatives of this class, Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos, no more, no less, can boast of a 5-inch screen, a dual-core processor, a gigabyte of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera, etc.
In standby mode, the user has access to up to seven desktops. To remove or add them, you need to click contextual button and select “Change”. After this you can work with desktops. In addition, there are “live” wallpapers.
In turn, the user can add to any of the desktops additional shortcuts programs, bookmarks or widgets. To do this, just click the context button and select “Add”. In the future, individual programs can be grouped by meaning, for example, photos, videos and YouTube on one screen, and a calendar and notes on another. The speed of access to these services increases several times.
A long, continuous press on the top of the screen will activate the notification panel. It displays the current date, operator name and other supporting information. Here you can quickly enable functions such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, sound, auto-rotate.
The menu can be accessed by tapping the "Applications" option at the bottom right of the screen. The menu of the phone under test is presented by default with three screens that can be scrolled through. These are all different applications. Long pressing an application's shortcut will move it to the desktop. To remove a shortcut from the desktop, you need to do the opposite.
The smartphone has a number of pre-installed branded Samsung services- such as S Voice ( voice search, duplicate Google search), S Memo (notes, quite nice), convenient and pleasant to use calendar S Planner, Chat On, Game Hub, Samsung Apps, file manager “My Files”, pre-installed Dropbox with its own Cloud service, which simplifies synchronization with Dropbox (although where much easier), GroupPlay for sharing files and multimedia via Wi-Fi. In addition, the smartphone supports most of the gestures and movements available for and.
Telephone features
id="sub5">First of all, these include “Phone”, “Contacts”, “Messages”. The first two points are nothing more than one application. It also has Call Log and Favorites.
Stored in Contacts detailed information O telephone numbers and subscribers. A specific record can have two dozen fields, be it last name, first name, patronymic, mobile number, home phone, email address, date of birth or personal ID, Skype, etc. The search in contacts occurs immediately across all fields of the client, that is, you can dial the number, first name, last name, etc.
During incoming call the screen displays a photo and number of the subscriber from the phone book, or, if the subscriber is unknown, a picture of a green man.
Text and multimedia messages are grouped by subscriber. By clicking on a specific contact, you can view the history of correspondence with this person.
Working with two SIM cards
id="sub6">Switching between SIM cards is organized simply. In the top notification line, next to the battery charge icons, clock, Wi-Fi indicator and others, you can see an icon for a specific SIM card. They are marked with one or two. The active one is the one with which you make calls, send SMS and access the Internet.
You can select the active SIM card in the notification panel. To do this, you need to call it and click on one of the two images of the SIM card.
Both cards accept calls and SMS, but with certain features. The fact is that the Galaxy Grand Duos is equipped with only one radio module. But despite this, during a conversation from one SIM card, you will not lose calls from the second. With the “Active mode” option, which specifies the ability to receive calls during a conversation on a “free” SIM card, you can forward calls from an inactive card to an active one. This is quite convenient, although it is not always clear which SIM card you are using.
Perhaps some users would find it more convenient if the lists of received/sent calls and messages were divided into cards. But here, as in many other devices, everything is shown in one list, sorted by time. However, each message and call is marked with a one or two, depending on which card the call was made to or the SMS was sent to.
Multimedia capabilities
id="sub7">The “Music” item is a music audio player. You can view and listen to audio tracks. The following file formats are supported: MP3, AMR, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+. There is support for OMA DRM. There is sorting by artists, albums, genres, composers.
The standard headset is included in the package. Thanks to the 3.5 mm jack, you can choose any headphones.
The “Video” item displays videos made both by the device’s camera and downloaded from the Internet.
A unique thematic browser for photo and video files is the “Gallery” item. All files are divided into folders: photos and video clips, music.
In “Settings” each user can personalize the interface mobile phone. Almost all setup actions are concentrated in this menu item: GPRS, 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, as well as data synchronization. In addition, settings for graphic themes, call tones, display design, installed applications and much more.
When talking about Samsung add-ons, we can't help but mention the store. Samsung applications Apps. But there is a safety net in the form Google Play, from which you can download and install thousands of applications.
Finally, let’s mention our own task manager ( useful thing, thank you - you still have to install similar programs on any Android smartphone so that it does not suffocate from a lack of hardware resources) and Polaris Office. The latter is an office suite that is no worse or better than the others: it reliably opens doc files and docx, xls and xlsx, ppt and pptx. In general, it does everything you need from a mobile office.
Camera. Photo and video capabilities
id="sub8">Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos has an 8 megapixel camera with four times digital zoom. There is autofocus and led flash. The following image resolutions are supported: 3264x2448, 3264x1836, 2048x1536, 2048x1232, 1600x1200, 1600x960, 800x480, 640x480 pixels. The volume buttons are responsible for zooming in/out of the image. Automatic contrast allows you to achieve relatively good quality pictures.
IN manual mode ISO settings Available values are 50, 100, 200, 400, 800. The following shooting modes are available: single shot, smile detection, continuous, panorama, vintage, portrait, landscape, night mode, sports, indoor, beach/snow, sunset, dawn, autumn colors, fireworks, text, twilight, against the light.
The photos come out of good quality. Particularly successful photographs are obtained outdoors and in well-lit rooms.
The phone supports video recording in mpeg4 format for maximum resolution, and in the settings you can specify whether the video will be recorded with or without sound. All settings are comparable to those for photographs, but the video resolutions are different, plus effects are supported. The camera can shoot videos with Full HD resolution, 640x480 pixels. Two additional resolutions - 320x240 and 176x144 pixels. The recorded video is also of quite high quality.
Memory and speed
id="sub9">The performance of the Galaxy Grand Duos is at high level. This can be seen from the very beginning of using the device. The smartphone runs on the Broadcom platform with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, VideoCore IV graphics and a gigabyte of RAM. The filling is rare and has not been seen in top models. Nevertheless, it performs well in applications, including FullHD playback.
In addition, there is a built-in memory of 4 GB. Naturally, there is a card slot microSD memory, the maximum volume of which can be 32 GB.
Communication capabilities
id="sub10">The smartphone can work in cellular networks 2G (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 3G (900/2100 MHz). At the same time, the speed of HSDPA is up to 21 Mbit/s, HSUPA - up to 5.76 Mbit/s. Bluetooth version 4.0 HS (A2DP, LE, EDR) is also available.
On December 18, 2013, Samsung announced the release of the Galaxy Grand smartphone, which is now available in two different colors and variants. One option is Samsung Grand Duos - a device designed for 2 SIM cards. The gadget is available for sale in blue and white colors.
This model can largely be considered as a smaller version Galaxy Note II or like a larger version of the Galaxy SIII, depending on your point of view. If you're used to the Note II model, you'll find the Grand Prime Duos very comfortable to hold in your hands. This smartphone is not only smaller in size, but also a little thinner. The device feels quite solid to the touch, and its back has a textured background similar to the Galaxy S4.
On the front panel of the device you can see the front camera, sensors, external speakers and, of course, 5.0 inches. Since the speakers are located on the left side of the device, the volume switches are on the right. There is a headset jack on the top of the smartphone. The developers in this model did not move the MicroUSB charging points from the bottom of the device, so their location is exactly the same as in the Galaxy SII.
On the back of the smartphone there is an LED flashlight, speaker and 8 MP camera. The body is made entirely of plastic. This shouldn't be a real problem when using the phone, as Samsung uses very durable plastic. However, such material does not give the device a “luxurious” look.
Interface
Samsung Grand Duos uses Samsung's own Nature UX interface. It can also be found at Galaxy smartphones SIII and Galaxy Note II, for example. But because of my own system requirements the developers had to simplify it somewhat to ensure it runs smoothly on the Galaxy Grand. This means that not all advanced features are available on this device.
However, many useful options are still present. One of them is SmartStay, which allows you to detect whether you are using the device or not. this moment, and also monitors the anterior chamber. This way the screen can switch faster. The feature also ensures that the screen doesn't unexpectedly go dark due to timeout while an app is open.
Other good feature smartphone - multi-window. Since the device's screen is quite large, it is equipped with a Multi-Window option, which makes it possible to open two windows on the screen at the same time. This is very convenient if you like multitasking.
However, not all applications are included in this model by default.
As noted earlier, the Samsung Grand Duos has a 5.0 "screen with a resolution of 480 × 800 pixels. Because of this, some icons seem overly large, which can be somewhat annoying, especially if you're not used to it. The interface used on the Galaxy Grand Duos is by default assumes the presence of menus and widgets on the desktop that can change size in both width and height.
There are some disadvantages to using SIM cards at the same time. For example, when switching from one card to another, this is not recorded on the screen. Thus, you may not immediately notice which SIM card is active at the moment.
There is a separate item in the settings menu to control the Dual-SIM option. Thus, the user can choose which SIM card to use to connect to the Internet and make phone calls. In addition, you can temporarily disable one SIM card or enable both cards at the same time.
As you navigate through the interface, you will notice that the device works very well when browsing through menus.
Screen
The resolution is quite low, the number of pixels per inch (PPI) is also slightly lower than usual - only 187. Compared to the Galaxy S4 (the same which has a PPI of 441, the difference is obvious - more than double! However, the screen Looks pretty good and the price of the device is significantly lower Colors are displayed very naturally, except for shades of black, which may seem like a problem when watching videos (like YouTube), especially if you're used to an AMOLED screen.
Camera
Samsung developers use an 8-megapixel rear camera in this model, as well as a 2-megapixel front camera. The rear 8 MP device can take excellent pictures with a maximum resolution of 3264× out of 2448 pixels. Samsung Grand Duos can also record Full HD video.
Most people don't use the front camera in everyday life because video calling on smartphones is not very popular. However, it is very good and has a number of useful functions, for example, SmartStay.
The rear camera can shoot in several modes. One of these modes is with brightness adjustments. Some different landscape modes are also available. In addition, panoramic shooting can be done. For panoramic shots, the maximum picture angle is 180 degrees.
Battery
The developers used an excellent battery in the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos. The capacity of this battery is 2100 mAH - this is enough to guarantee a whole day of intensive use of this device. With average smartphone use, the battery can last from 1 to 3 days. With very intensive use of the device, this time will be about 1 full day. In standby mode, the device operates for 2 to 3 weeks.
Call interface
Samsung Grand Primeve Duos has no problems with reception even in areas with poor network coverage. The sound from the speakers is clear and quite loud.
Smart dial is available whenever you press a preset number for a specific contact. Lack of search by phone book is expressed in the fact that contacts are sorted when searching only by the first letter. On the other hand, viewing recent calls is always available, and you can search among them. If more than one contact is found as a result of the request, a button with a number and an arrow will allow you to move through the list in search of the desired item.
The call log tab is located next to the dialing menu. It displays all dialed, received and missed calls in one list. There is a tiny icon identifying the SIM card from which the call was made or received.
Call and messages
The smartphone's ringing sound is quite sharp and can be loud enough for most situations. The vibration is also very noticeable.
When typing messages, one advantage of the phone can be noted - the text input field increases as much as it may be needed (adding up to 10 lines).
Adding multimedia content to a message automatically turns it into an MMS. You can quickly add a photo or sound file, to send them along with text, or immediately compose an MMS using all available features (for example, multiple slides, layouts, etc.).
The Gmail app supports batch operations, which allow you to move multiple items at once. emails to "Archive", "Viewed" or to "Trash". By default, the service supports multiple Gmail accounts.
Another interesting feature is that in the mailbox you can slide your finger left or right to move between messages.
The smartphone also has a combined Mailbox, which consolidates all mail into one folder. This can be very convenient if you have many accounts and just want to periodically check to see if there's a new message that's worth your attention.
Keyboard
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos G531H comes with a keyboard that comes with multiple text input options. Thus, there is a traditional QWERTY mode, which can switch to portrait and landscape orientations.
There are several bonuses that this keyboard can offer. You can slide your finger left and right to switch between letters and symbols, and you can also enable the Continuous Typing option, which lets you type words by drawing solid lines over the keys (similar to Swype).
Samsung smartphone Grand Prime Duos has advanced OCR capabilities to minimize typos. If you enable the appropriate settings, it will scan your email, posts on Facebook and Twitter and remember the words and phrases you use most often.
Samsung Grand Duos - performance characteristics
This characteristic of the phone can be defined as rather controversial. As mentioned above, the performance of the Galaxy Grand Duos is quite good, but not excellent in some areas. Most people probably won't notice this, but to experts, such details are immediately noticeable. At the same time, we must not forget that Samsung Grand Prime VE Duos is positioned on the market as a mid-range Android phone price category. Android users who are used to high-end smartphones will probably be disappointed, but such a comparison of gadgets is incorrect.
This model uses a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor that is fast enough to provide the user with smooth performance and fast execution. daily tasks. However, this device is not intended for using games and heavy programs, so good job cannot be guaranteed.
Samsung Grand Duos - reviews and conclusions
What is the result? Galaxy Grand Duos is an excellent device for users who want to purchase an inexpensive smartphone with two SIM cards. It is comfortable to hold in your hands, and it works quite quickly. Most users are satisfied with the performance of the gadget. Samsung's built-in NatureUX interface makes it very easy and enjoyable to use.
Users may find themselves a little disappointed with the phone's screen, especially its resolution. Many of those who leave negative reviews note this particular drawback. And this is true - primarily due to the fact that the icons on the desktop seem too large, and the PPI has a very small indicator. The smartphone's camera and battery, on the other hand, perform quite well. This advantage was noted by many owners.
Thus, the Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos, reviews of which are generally positive, is suitable for those who want to buy a phone that can handle two SIM cards at the same time.
Good sales (at least in our country) of older branded dual-SIM smartphones of the summer 2012 model, HTC Desire V and Samsung Galaxy S Duos, throughout the second half of last year clearly demonstrated the high public interest in this class of devices. Therefore, it is not surprising that, having barely appeared on sale in our country, HTC Desire SV made it straight into the top 10 best-selling smartphones on the Mobilochka network for December (the smartphone received a dual-core processor, a larger screen diagonal and an improved camera compared to its predecessor, and more You can read about its capabilities in this review). And it is quite obvious that the new Samsung Galaxy Grand, announced already at the 2013 Christmas tree, which will be discussed in this review, will also successfully settle in a significant number of pockets in the country. At least because it is literally the largest (of branded smartphones, I don’t take the Chinese into account, because it’s a completely different story) and productive dualsim on the Ukrainian market. The Galaxy Grand has a 5-inch display, (finally) a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and Android 4.1.2 out of the box. By right of birth, he also received a design in the spirit of the Galaxy Note II, the TouchWiz interface with all the goodies of the version for older models and the tutelage of the marketing power of Samsung. At the same time, it inherited the screen resolution (480x800 pixels) from its predecessor Galaxy S Duos. However, don’t go to a fortune teller; even with one, your smartphone has a great chance of excellent sales. As big as he is.
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Grand received a processor manufactured by Broadcom. Processors from this manufacturer could previously be found in Samsung smartphones, but not the older ones, but, on the contrary, the youngest models (in particular, in the Galaxy Pocket Duos). The dual-core Broadcom BCM2763 with a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz and VideoCore IV HW graphics (you can read more about it on the manufacturer’s website) showed quite high results both in performance tests and in real life, coping well with both large video files and toys, and quite active use of a smartphone.
The five-inch screen of the smartphone is made using TFT technology, and not Super AMOLED, as one might expect, and has a resolution of 480x800 pixels, which probably immediately upset those who had already set their sights on a purchase, and delighted fans of pragmatic Chinese smartphones, who were ready to immediately list several devices with a price three times lower and at the same time an IPS screen with the same resolution. Of course, the pixel density is less than 200 ppi (for this model it is 187 ppi) – to put it mildly, it’s not sugar. And in a device with a price tag of more than 3,500 UAH at the beginning of 2013, it is even more frustrating. But at the same time, TFT is in no way inferior to Chinese IPS, which we will return to a little later, and looks softer than the branded Super AMOLED.
| Technical Samsung specifications Galaxy Grand | |
|---|---|
| Operating system and interface | Android 4.1.2, TouchWiz UI |
| SIM card | SIM, two |
| Dimensions | 144x77x10 mm |
| Weight | 162 g |
| Display | TFT, 5 inches, 800x480 pixels (pixel density 187 ppi) |
| CPU | dual-core, Broadcom BCM2763 (1.2 GHz), VideoCore IV HW graphics, ARM Cortex-A9 architecture |
| Memory | 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, microSD support up to 64 GB |
| Camera | 8 MP (3264x2448 pixels), autofocus, flash, video recording 1920x1080 pixels, front – 2 MP |
| Communications | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC |
| Battery | 2100 mAh |
Appearance
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The Samsung Galaxy Grand is similar to the Galaxy Note II in the same way that bone marrow donors are similar to its recipients - that is, they are almost the same, adjusted for age, size and a couple of moles. The location of the camera, indicators, control buttons, and the design of the front panel and body are generally the same in both models. On the back, you'll notice differences in the position of the speaker and flash, as well as the fact that the Grand doesn't have a hole for a stylus. Photos of the Galaxy Grand can be seen below, and the Galaxy Note II in his review.
At the top of the front panel of the smartphone is the logo of the manufacturer and its dual SIM line, a speaker, a two-megapixel camera peephole, light and proximity sensors. At the bottom there are three device control keys: the hardware “Home” in the middle and two touch keys that light up immediately at the moment of contact with them. The plastic is glossy, in our case white.
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The back surface is also covered with glossy plastic. To be honest, I liked the plastic in smartphones with similar characteristics – Fly IQ450 Horizon and Sharp SH530U more. But this is a matter of taste.
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Traditionally, the ends of the smartphone are covered with a silver edging. The arrangement of the elements cannot be more typical. On the right is the screen power button, on the left is the volume control button, on the bottom is the microUSB connector, on the top is the audio output. The buttons work smoothly and smoothly.
I’m sure that the assembly will be excellent in commercial samples, but the sample that we got into our hands bears traces of sophisticated torture. So, on the left side there is a dent, apparently formed as a result of contact with something hot or caustic, the lid does not close the body perfectly, and there is a gaping scratch on the top of the screen. Apparently, the screen is scratched, but with great difficulty, because during the operation of the device it did not receive any new damage.
SIM cards of the usual format are located on opposite sides of the battery, under the cap. The location is completely unusual, but the main thing here is that there is no need to remove the battery to install cards. This is good. But to install a memory card, if the built-in 8 GB does not seem enough, you will have to remove the battery.
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To the traditional question - is it convenient to use such a hefty smartphone, I can confidently answer - yes, personally, it’s very convenient for me. The device fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. I like that it's very comfortable for two-handed typing, but still makes calls, view incoming messages, and do other tasks that don't require two hands just fine on other phones.
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And compared to a six-inch book, the Galaxy Grand looks very tiny
Screen
Our most attentive readers will probably remember that the Galaxy S Duos also uses a TFT display. The photos in the gallery below show the screen of the Galaxy Grand and LG Optimus L7 II Dual. The latter uses an IPS matrix, which is quite good, although not the best on the market. It's not very clear in the pictures, but the screen of the Samsung smartphone actually has a warmer tint, and the colors look less saturated, but only a little, this is only noticeable when the devices are lying next to each other. But let's return to the IPS matrices that are used in Chinese smartphones, in particular, under the Fly brand or in some Huawei devices (specifically, I noticed this with the Ascend G600 Pro model). All of them are characterized by a slight yellowness. Thus, it cannot be said that the Grand screen is inferior to them.
The screen has a large reserve of maximum brightness and a low minimum value, which means that there should not be any problems with readability on very sunny days. Conversely, the smartphone screen will not eat into your eyes if you decide to check your email in a dark room, for example, before going to bed. However, I didn’t really like the way the auto-backlight worked. In my opinion, it made the screen darker than it should be for comfortable work in low light (although this may be a matter of habit). Another oddity was that the multi-touch test showed recognition of up to 7 simultaneous touches. I haven’t seen this before - usually there are 10 or 5.
The last thing I would like to mention in the context of impressions from the smartphone screen is resolution. And no, I won’t complain about pixels now, because I imagined approximately the image quality after I encountered Fly models and Sharp with a similar diagonal and display resolution. We'll talk about what the proprietary TouchWiz interface looks like on big screen with low resolution. Unusual. Huge icons and incredibly large fonts give you the feeling that screen space is being wasted. There was no such impression from 480x800 pixels on bare Android. Therefore, the first thing I did was change the font in the phone settings from normal to small. True, even with it the image seemed quite large to me. But some colleagues told me that people with vision problems would probably appreciate it. Actually, the difference in font size can be seen in one of the pictures in the gallery above, and below are examples of TouchWiz, which is unusually “large” for me.
Performance and autonomy
The Broadcom BCM2763 processor paired with VideoCore IV HW graphics turned out to be a complete wonder for me. Apparently, this is the latest and most powerful development from Broadcom. The processor is made using 40nm tech. process. In the test AnTuTu Benchmark The Galaxy Grand scored 6424 points, and Vellamo scored a whopping 1518. The results of these tests are comparable to the Acer CloudMobile and Samsung Galaxy S III mini. Nenamark2's results are comparable to last year's top Samsung smartphones - Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Premier. In Epic Citadel, the smartphone showed 52.6 fps. And besides, there are amazing image artifacts. Like these ones.
However, not in video files high resolution, I have never seen anything like it in any of the toys.
With a 2100mAh battery, the Galaxy Grand scored 502 in the AnTuTu battery test. This is an average but acceptable figure. At the same time, at maximum load during the test, it discharged from 100% to 19% in 2 hours 50 minutes. I actively used the smartphone for several days, primarily for Skype, Internet surfing, email, about an hour and a half of music a day, from half an hour to a couple of hours of games, but with a minimum of calls. I charged it with such success once a day.
Interface and work with two SIM cards
If you are a fan of Samsung smartphones and are looking for a dual-sim device from this manufacturer with maximum capabilities, then the Galaxy Grand will be for you good choice. If, on the contrary, you are looking for a dual-SIM smartphone with excellent functionality, but preferably bare Android, this is clearly not the place for you. The smartphone has a number of pre-installed Samsung branded services - such as S Voice (voice search, duplicating Google search), S Memo (notes, quite nice), convenient and pleasant to use calendar S Planner, Chat On, Game Hub, Samsung Apps, manager “My Files” files, pre-installed Dropbox with its own Cloud service, which simplifies synchronization with Dropbox (although much easier), GroupPlay for sharing files and multimedia via Wi-Fi. In addition, the smartphone supports most of the gestures and movements that we told you about in 10 lessons with the Samsung Galaxy Note II, except for those that require a stylus. The smartphone also supports the dual-window function. We have already told you about all these possibilities in reviews of top Samsung devices 2012.
Working with two SIM cards is also implemented quite conveniently. In the calls and messages menu, the user has two SIM card icons available. Thus, regardless of the priority SIM card, he can choose at the moment of performing the action which SIM card is preferable to do it with. The SIM card manager has a favorite feature of the company's marketers - conveniently setting up the forwarding of incoming calls from one card to another when one of them is busy. This feature has added the ability to receive incoming calls using another SIM card, if data is being transferred from one of them. That is, everyone will be able to reach you when you use GPRS Internet access. Or they won't be able to. It all depends on the checkbox next to this item.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Grand smartphone is equipped with an eight-megapixel camera, with flash, autofocus, and the ability to record video in FullHD. For a dual-sim smartphone (if it is not a purebred Chinese) this is still a record. The camera is probably installed more simply than in flagship models, however, the photos are decent in almost any conditions.
You can also view photographs in original resolution in the gallery on Torba.
Example of a video taken Samsung camera Galaxy Grand
Competitors
Ideologically, the closest competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Grand is HTC Desire SV. Both are top in their segment from their respective manufacturers. Smartphones can boast high speed work, decent design and body, brand origin. But HTC has a slightly weaker camera; in particular, it can only shoot video in a resolution of 480x800 pixels. In addition, the Taiwanese has a screen diagonal of only 4.3 inches, which is simply tiny compared to its competitor. Moreover, both have the same resolution of 480x800 pixels, which, of course, looks better on the Desire SV screen. However, whatever the differences between the competitors, Samsung fans will probably prefer the smartphone of their favorite, and HTC fans will do the same. Both brands have enough charisma to keep fans loyal across smartphone after smartphone. Unfortunately, there is no one else to list as competitors from other branded devices.
At the same time, on the eve of the New Year, we visited two more devices with a dual-core processor that provides good performance, a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and support for two SIM cards. This is the Sharp SH530U, officially available in Russia, but not in Ukraine. And Fly IQ450 Horizon, which has already been mentioned many times in this review. Smartphones cost about a third less than the Galaxy Grand, which is easy to guess. But Sharp's screen is so weak (it uses a TN matrix) that I wouldn't recommend considering it as a serious candidate for purchase. Despite the fact that it has a nice body and design. Fly, especially in Ukraine, is developing rapidly and gaining great popularity. And if you are inclined to choose inexpensive devices with maximum capabilities, then you can certainly pay attention to it. I admit that this is the first and only device under this brand, the appearance and ergonomics of which I liked. Despite the low resolution, it has a decent screen. Also very responsive. However, naked Android on Fly smartphone It turns frankly slower than the “filed” one on the Samsung. Really, heaven and earth. True, Samsung also has 1 GB of RAM on its side. In general, in this case, the choice lies between a well-known brand with high quality control and a significantly less expensive, but functional device, with traditional “Chinese” quality control. By the way, Fly is about to release several more interesting models, so if you're leaning towards this brand, it might be worth waiting a little longer for them to appear.
Bottom line
So, before us is Samsung’s senior dual-SIM smartphone, which, although it does not have the coveted letter S in its name, is much more consistent with the level of a flagship device with support for two SIM cards than its predecessor. Strength The device is, first of all, its performance - it corresponds, although not to top-end gadgets, but to devices above the middle class - that’s for sure. And it is the best today among branded smartphones with support for two SIM cards (of those officially available in Ukraine). In addition, some users will definitely like the large screen diagonal and excessive similarity appearance with Galaxy Note II, as well as features of the proprietary interface. If you are a fan of the brand and a customer of two mobile operators, you can pay close attention to this device. Of course, if the price doesn't deter you. At the start of sales it is about 4000 UAH. The HTC Desire SV cost the same three months ago. Now the price has dropped to 3000 UAH. By the way, he is an excellent alternative in case a large diagonal is not as important as saving 1000 UAH. If, in the name of budget, you are willing to sacrifice a little performance and branding, you can also consider the Fly IQ450 Horizon as a candidate for purchase.
3 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy Grand:
- you need the largest and most powerful dual-SIM smartphone;
- you like Samsung TouchWiz;
- excellent camera by the standards of the category;
2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy Grand:
- low screen resolution;
- high price.
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