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In a time when 5 inch screens are all the rage, the Galaxy Grand is Samsung's attempt to cater to every possible taste (and budget) when it comes to smartphones. While the Grand doesn't feature the 1080p screen that recent 5" flagships come with, nor the raw horsepower of the Galaxy Note II, it still has sheer size running for it. If you want a big screen at a low price, the Grand is the one to consider.
Apart from the big display, the Grand does not have much which sets it apart from other midrange Samsung smartphones running the new SoC provided by Broadcom. Like the just-released Galaxy S II Plus, it features 8GB onboard storage and a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor of the Cortex-A9 variety. RAM is also the same at 1 GB and the 8MP camera capable of fullHD recording probably uses the very same module. Even the screen resolution is on par with those two, so you can simply think of the Galaxy Grand as an enlarged Galaxy S II Plus.
Samsung Galaxy Grand at a glance
- General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz (SIM 1 only), HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
- Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
- Dimensions: 143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6 mm, 162 g
- Display: 5" 16M-color WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touchscreen
- CPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz processor
- GPU: Broadcomm VideoCore IV
- RAM: 1GB
- OS: Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
- Memory: 8GB storage, microSD card slot
- Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, front facing camera, video-calls
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, MHL-enabled standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, USB-on-the-go
- Misc: TouchWiz 5.0 Nature UX, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor
Of course, the picture changes completely if dual-SIM support is what you are after as the Galaxy Grand is the only one of the newly unveiled Samsung duo to offer that. The battery upgrade is not to be neglected either, although we'll only know if it translates to actual longer power autonomy when we get a proper review unit.
The Grand is the only lower-midrange smartphone from a top-tier brand to offer a 5" screen alongside Samsung's very rich software package on Android Jelly Bean. It is, after all, a software experience that has been refined extensively over the past several years by the Koreans, and has played a big part in their current dominance of the smartphone market.
