Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Review

Samsung, the Korean telecoms company, is the one responsible for pioneering the trend when it comes to the new breed of mobile devices. This ‘new breed’ that we are talking about is now more popularly known as ‘phablets’. Phablets are basically smartphones that are almost as big as tablets. After the extremely successful Galaxy Note devices, Samsung has again released another phablet that is designed to compete with the cheaper ones available today, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos.

Yes, Samsung is one of the most highly trusted names in the industry of telecommunications. But before you decide on purchasing the Galaxy Grand Duos, it is of course, recommended that you first learn more about it. In this review, we will help you determine whether or not the phone will really live up to your expectations.

Design and Hardware

When you first set your eyes on the Galaxy Grand Duos, you will immediately notice that it is strikingly similar to the Galaxy Note II. This is mainly because of its huge display screen. However, the Korean manufacturer has been able to keep the essence of the Galaxy SIII alive in this Smartphone. The model is available in two different colors – the Metallic Blue and the Elegant White.

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos weighs 162 grams and is quite thick and bulky. If you have small hands, you will find this phablet quite difficult to hold and carry around. The good news is that its overall built quality is sturdy, even if the back panel feels quite cheap. Another good thing about the phone’s design is that it features a miniscule checkered pattern, which covers greasy fingerprints well enough.

A 1.2 GHz dual core processor powers the Galaxy Grand Duos. This processor is coupled with a RAM of 1GB. Internal storage is 8 GB, and if this capacity is not enough for you, you can expand it by inserting an external MicroSD card of up to 64 GB. The Smartphone is also equipped with a 2,100mAh battery, one GSM SIM card slot on the top left, another GSM SIM card slot on the bottom right, and a MicroSD card slot on the bottom left.

Software

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos runs on the Android 4.1.2. Combine this with Jelly Bean’s Project Butter, and you get a smooth, speedy, and pleasant user experience. The phone’s interface is also fluid, which is mainly because of the ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore SoC that powers it. The phone also comes with seven different customizable home screens, all of which you can populate with widgets and apps depending on your preference and how convenient you want the phone to be. Aside from the traditional Android web browser, you can also use the Chrome browser for a more refreshing experience.

Performance

Much thanks to the 1.2 GHz dual core processor that powers the Galaxy Grand Duos, the device run quite smoothly without any problems and lags, especially when running gaming apps such as Jetpack Joyride and Temple Run 2. Browsing experience is also nice, even when loading websites that are heavy on images. Zooming and panning are also smooth and free of lags.

The Verdict

If you really are a Samsung loyalist, if you do not care about short battery life, and if you can stand low resolution, then you will not mind these Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos drawbacks . On the other hand, if you are looking for a business phone, you definitely would want to go for the VoIP services that leading telecoms companies, such as RingCentral, provide.