The Korean handset manufacturer has brought in a revolution of sorts in the Smartphone market when it launched the Galaxy Note series. It brought into the market, large-screen devices that had a mass appeal. Samsung has sold nearly tens of millions of its phablets, which come equipped with stylus. Samsung’s recipe has also been copied by its competitors like Sony, Nokia, LG and HTC. All these handset manufacturers have strived hard to copy the Samsung’s success story. It goes without saying that new-age buyers are in love with phablets even as this emerging segment accounts for a staggering 21 percent of the entire Smartphone shipments that happened in Q3 of 2013, as per IDC, a research firm.
In the month of December the previous year, the Korean Smartphone maker had introduced the Galaxy Grand. This was a Smartphone which resembled to a great extent to the Galaxy S3. The only thing was that the Grand had a faintly larger screen. However, the Galaxy Grand settled with basic specs, which ensured that its price was kept quite aggressive and sensible. Almost a year after Samsung launched the Galaxy Grand, it has officially announced the launch of Galaxy Grand 2. The Galaxy Grand 2 appears to be a positioned between Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4, albeit with lower specs which keeps the price in check.
Display and Performance
The Galaxy Grand packs in a stunning 5.25-inch TFT touchscreen display. There is no goodness of the AMOLED screen here. The screen packs in 720p resolution. This is certainly better than the outgoing generation, which featured a 5-inch, 480x800 resolution screen. The Galaxy Grand 2, a 5.25-inch screen phone, is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. It also packs in 1.5 GB RAM cache. Samsung has provided a battery back up of 2,600 mAh to keep the device running when using heavier and byte-intensive apps. Samsung claims the battery life of the Galaxy Grand 2 is 10 hours of continuous playback. However, it has not mentioned whether it is for audio or video. It can be safely assumed that the claimed playback time is for videos. On the same plane, it states that the Galaxy Grand 2 supports a powerful battery for 17 hours of calls.
As far as its looks are concerned, the Galaxy Grand 2 features the similar leather-like rear panel appearance as is seen with the Galaxy Note 3. The leather-like back cover may be liked by some but some find it somewhat tacky. Samsung will be selling the Grand 2 in pink, white and black color schemes. The Galaxy Grand 2 weighs 163 grams which is quite bulky while its thickness is 8.9 mm.
Indeed, the large screen of the Galaxy Grand 2 makes the device bit heavy and too large to use. The device measures 146.8 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm.
Camera
The Galaxy Grand 2 packs in a 8 megapixel camera at the rear, which further comes equipped with LED flash and autofocus. On the front, the Grand 2 features a 1.9 megapixel snapper for video calls. Samsung ships the Grand 2 with an internal storage capacity of 8 GB. However, users can expand the memory capacity of the device up to 64 GB using a MicroSD card since a slot is provided for the same.
Features:
Samsung also equips the Galaxy Grand 2 with a camera app that includes Best Photo, Best Face as well as Continuous Shot modes. There is also a story album that enables the user to organize all the pictures by a timeline. Users can create albums and print these from the phone.
The Galaxy Grand 2 also features the bundled S Translator app that offers quick translations. The S Travel options provide travel information and guides. Users can also use the innovative Sound & Shot apps for recording a maximum of nine seconds of audio along with the shot pictures.
Connectivity:
Much like other phablets that grace Samsung’s broad lineup, the Galaxy Grand 2 is not equipped with 4G LTE connectivity. The Galaxy Grand 2 only features HSPA + cellular speeds. However, the Grand 2 is a dual-SIM phone which means it will be launched globally. Other options for connectivity are Bluetooth 4.0, WI-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, USB 2.0 and GPS with Glonass support. There are also several sensors, for light and proximity apart from others like a compass and accelerometer.
Software
In the software department, the Galaxy Grand 2 runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.3 OS and also comes equipped with the standard TouchWiz add-ons. It also packs in a multitasking feature, which essentially enables the user to work on multiple windows. Users can also view two apps simultaneously. Some other inbuilt features are Samsung Hub, Chat On, Group Play, S Health among many others.
The S Translator is Samsung’s exclusive translation service. The content service by Samsung, Samsung Hub offers easy access to games, videos and music. The Galaxy Grand 2is also equipped with Group Play. This is a rather unique feature first spotted on the Galaxy S4. With this feature, users can play games or music together and at the same time, share important documents.
Battery
The Galaxy Grand 2 runs on a 2,600 mAh battery. The Grand 2 slims down as opposed to its predecessor. The previous model of the Grand measures 9.6mm in thickness and was also lighter at 162 grams.
The Galaxy Grand 2 is a 3G- only device. As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy Grand 2 will be made available in Pink, White and Black and color options and is likely to go on sale initially in some territories. Samsung has not released an official statement of the Galaxy Grand 2’s price and it remains to be seen how competitive its prices its new offering. It is widely believed that it will be around Rs 23000/-.
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