On December 18, 2013, Samsung announced the launch of the Galaxy Grand smartphone, which is now available in two different colors and options. One option is the Samsung Grand Duos - a device designed for 2 SIM cards. The gadget is available for sale in blue and white.
This model can be largely considered as a smaller version of the Galaxy Note II or as an enlarged version of the Galaxy SIII, depending on your point of view. If you are used to the Note II model, it will be very convenient for you to hold the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos in your hands. This smartphone is not only smaller, but also a bit thinner. The device feels rather durable to the touch, and its back surface has a textured background, like in the Galaxy S4.
On the front panel of the device, you can see the front camera, sensors, external speakers and, of course, a 5.0-inch screen . 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, a speaker and an 8 megapixel camera. The body is made entirely of plastic. This should not 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
The Samsung Grand Duos uses its own interface from Samsung Nature UX. It can also be found on the Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II smartphones, for example. But due to their own system requirements, the developers had to simplify it somewhat in order to ensure its smooth operation 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 currently using the device or not, and also monitors the front camera. Thus, the screen can switch faster. The function also ensures that the screen does not go out unexpectedly due to a timeout when the application is open.
Another good feature of the smartphone is multi-windows. Since the screen of the device is quite large, it is equipped with the Multi-Window option, which makes it possible to open two windows on the screen at the same time. This is great 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 appear too large, which can be somewhat annoying, especially if you’re not used to it. The interface used on the Galaxy Grand Duos is the default assumes on the desktop the presence of menus and widgets that can resize both in width and in height.
With the simultaneous use of SIM cards, there are some disadvantages. For example, when switching from one card to another on the screen, this is not fixed. Thus, you may not immediately notice which SIM card is currently active.
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 to make phone calls. In addition, you can temporarily disable one SIM card or enable both cards at the same time.
While navigating the interface, it can be noted that the device works very well when viewing the menu.
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 screen size), which has PPI 441, the difference is obvious - more than twice! Nevertheless, the screen looks pretty good, and the price of the device is much lower. Colors are displayed very naturally, except for shades of black. This may seem like a problem when watching a video (like YouTube), especially if you're used to the AMOLED screen.
Camera
Samsung developers use an 8 megapixel rear camera in this model, as well as a front 2-megapixel camera. The rear 8 megapixel device can create great pictures with a maximum resolution of 3264 × of 2448 pixels. Samsung Grand Duos can also take Full HD movies.
Most people do not use the front camera in everyday life, since video calls on a smartphone are not very popular. Nevertheless, it is very good and has a number of useful features, for example, SmartStay.
The rear camera can shoot in several modes. One of these modes is with brightness controls. Some different landscape modes are also available. In addition, you can perform panoramic shooting. 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 an average intensity of using a smartphone, 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 works from 2 to 3 weeks.
Call interface
Samsung Grand Primeve Duos has no reception problems even in areas with poor network coverage. The sound in the speakers is heard clearly and quite loudly.
Smart dialing is available whenever you press a specific number for a specific contact. The disadvantage of searching the phone book is that contacts are sorted by searching only by the first letter. On the other hand, viewing recent calls is always available, and you can search among them. If as a result of the request more than one contact is found, a button with a number and an arrow will allow you to move around the list in search of the desired item.
The call log tab is located next to the dialer menu. It displays all dialed, received and missed calls in one list. There is a tiny icon identifying the SIM card with which the call was made or received.
Call and Messages
The smartphone’s call is pretty sharp and can be quite loud for most situations. Vibration is also felt very strongly.
When typing messages, one advantage of the phone can be noted - the text input field increases as much as it may be necessary (adding up to 10 lines).
Adding multimedia content to a message automatically turns it into MMS. You can quickly add a photo or sound file to send them along with the text, or immediately compose MMS using all available functions (for example, several slides, layouts, etc.).
You can save a message to be sent automatically at a later point in time. You can also mark certain numbers as “spam” and block messages coming from them.
The Gmail application supports batch operations that allow you to simultaneously move multiple emails to the Archive, Viewed, or Trash. By default, the service supports multiple Gmail accounts.
Another interesting feature is that in the mailbox you can move your finger left or right to move between messages.
The smartphone also has a combined mailbox, which combines all the mail in one folder. This can be very convenient if you have many accounts in use and you just want to periodically check whether a new message has arrived that is worth your attention.
Keyboard
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos G531H is equipped with a keyboard that comes with several text input options. So, 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 move your finger left and right to switch between letters and characters, and also connect the option "Continuous input", which allows you to enter words by drawing solid lines above the keys (similar to Swype).
The Samsung Grand Prime Duos smartphone has advanced text recognition capabilities to minimize typos. If you enable the appropriate settings, it will scan your email, messages on Facebook and Twitter and remember the words and phrases that 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 at some points. Most people probably won’t notice this, but such details immediately catch the eye. At the same time, one should not forget that the Samsung Grand Prime VE Duos is positioned on the market as an Android phone of the middle 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 dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz, which works fast enough to provide the user with uninterrupted operation and quick execution of everyday tasks. However, this device is not intended for the use of games and heavy programs, so their good work cannot be guaranteed.
Samsung Grand Duos - reviews and conclusions
What is the result? Galaxy Grand Duos is a great device for users who want to buy an inexpensive smartphone with two SIM cards. It is convenient to hold it in your hands, and it works quite quickly. Most users are satisfied with the speed of the gadget. Samsung's built-in NatureUX interface makes it very easy and enjoyable to use.
Users may be a little disappointed with the phone screen, especially its resolution. Many of those who leave negative reviews note this particular flaw. And this is true - first of all, due to the fact that the icons on the desktop seem too large, and PPI has a very small figure. The camera and smartphone battery, on the other hand, work pretty well. This plus 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 process two SIM cards at the same time.