With the Android market getting crowded with 5 inch mid range Android smartphones from big and small brands, Samsung too has announced the launch of the Galaxy Grand Android device. The Samsung Grand has been one of the most anticipated devices that were announced internationally last year and with its launch today the device will be making its way for retail availability from next month onwards. The price of the device is Rs 21,500 which is well below the Samsung Galaxy SIII as well as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 devices currently selling hot in the Indian market.
While the device carries identical hardware specifications as most of the devices available in the market today from various brands, Samsung has really tried to take bits and pieces from all its popular Android smartphones to come up with the Galaxy Grand. While the Galaxy Grand borrows its design queues from the very popular Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung has mellowed the hardware of the device to cut the cost and make the device available at a competitive price point.
We got a chance to go hands on with the brand new Galaxy Grand during its launch in Delhi. So here goes a first hand experience of the new device from Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy SIII is very slim and lightweight too, making it extremely easy to handle and use. The device comes in two color options, white and black. Sadly there is no pebble blue option. In both colour variants there is a high gloss finish polycarbonate body with embedded texture pattern. The polycarbonate makes it lightweight, durable and immune to dents and bruises to an extent. The device features Chrome trimming on the edges that give it a unique accent as well.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand is a dual SIM dual standby phone but Samsung has implemented a clever technology to overcome the dual active problem faced by most Android devices these days. When a call comes on the standby SIM the call is forwarded to the primary SIM by means of call forwarding so that the call is not missed and users can decide whether they need to answer or reject the call.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand features a 5 inch, 800 x 480 pixel Resolution Super LCD display that has about 180 pixels per inch pixel density. The display is great for almost all tasks and is also protected by a scratch resistant surface to prevent damage from daily use and occasional drops as well. But as compared to most other devices from the Rs 20,000 and above range the Grand somehow disappoints with a lower resolution display
The Galaxy Grand comes preloaded with Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system with the Touchwiz user interface that makes this device fun to use. The Android Jelly Bean operating system makes the device speedy, thanks to project butter, and ready for most applications available in the market today.
The Galaxy Grand comes with a dual core 1.2 GHz mobile Processor with a dedicated graphic processor that makes sure that the device never goes low on performance. The Galaxy Grand also features the S Voice application that is a voice based assistant perfectly integrated with Android and its applications. Although at times the S Voice application takes a little more time to respond, the beauty of this application is that it understands every word said to it in a full Indian accent.
The Galaxy Grand for imaging features an 8 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash at the back. It can record full 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second. Along with that the camera comes with a burst mode and a best photo mode as well. At the front lies a 2 megapixel camera that is capable of recording videos that can be used for video chats too.
Samsung has included the Bluetooth 4.0 (LE) module, which offers fast transfer speeds allowing users to share a 1 GB file with a compatible device in less than three minutes. The Galaxy Grand has a 2100 mAh battery, which is very good considering the huge display.
In terms of innovations Samsung has included some of the very popular features on the Galaxy Grand-the device comes with a smart stay feature that recognizes the eyes of users while browsing the web or doing other such activities, requiring the display to be on and when the user’s eye contact is broken, after a few seconds the device automatically goes on standby mode to save battery. Another feature we like is video pop out, so if you are watching a video and feel the need to check email or do anything else that requires closing the video, well on the Galaxy Grand users can pop the video window out and it will float on the display while the user continues working on the device.
Samsung has also included the multi application feature on the Galaxy Grand. The feature allows users to work on two different applications simultaneously, but the S-Pen is not available on the device and the low resolution also makes the device loose the sheen of the features.
The Samsung Galaxy Grand comes with a complementary flip cover as part of the launch offer and while similar devices from other Indian players are available right from Rs 8,500 onwards the Samsung Grand will have to justify its price