On December 18, 2013, Samsung announced the release of the Galaxy Grand smartphone, which today is available in two different colors and options. One of the options is Samsung Grand Duos - a device designed for 2 SIM cards. The gadget is available in blue and white.
This model can pretty much be seen as a smaller version of the Galaxy Note II or a larger version of the Galaxy SIII, depending on your point of view. If you are used to the Note II model, you will find it very comfortable to hold the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos in your hands. This smartphone is not only smaller, but also slightly thinner. The device feels quite solid to the touch, and its back has a textured background similar to the Galaxy S4.
On the front 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 backThe panel of the smartphone has an LED flashlight, a speaker and an 8 MP camera. The body is made entirely of plastic. This shouldn't be a real problem when using the phone, as Samsung uses very durable plastic. However, this material does not give the device a "luxury" look.
Interface
The Samsung Grand Duos uses Samsung's own Nature UX interface. It can also be found on Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II smartphones, for example. But due to its own system requirements, the developers had to simplify it somewhat to ensure it runs smoothly 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 using the device or not at the moment, and also monitors the front camera. Thus, the screen can switch faster. The feature also ensures that the screen does not turn off unexpectedly due to a timeout while the app 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 very handy if you enjoy multitasking.
However, not all applications are included in this model by default.
As noted earlier, the Samsung Grand Duos has a 5.0 screen,whose resolution is 480 × 800 pixels. Because of this, some icons seem unnecessarily large, which can be somewhat annoying, especially if you are not used to it. The interface used on the Galaxy Grand Duos defaults to having menus and widgets on the desktop that can be resized both in width and height.
There are some disadvantages when using SIM cards at the same time. For example, when switching from one map to another, this is not fixed on the screen. Thus, you can not immediately notice which SIM card is active at the moment.
There is a separate item in the settings menu to manage 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 browsing the menu.
Screen
The resolution is quite low, the number of pixels per inch (PPI) is also slightly lower than usual at only 187. Compared to the Galaxy S4 (same screen size), which has a PPI of 441, the difference is obvious - more than twice! However, the screen looks pretty good, and the price of the device is much lower. Colors are displayed very naturally, with the exception of shades of black. This may seem like a problem when watching videos (like YouTube), especially if you're used to an AMOLED screen.
Camera
Samsung's developers use an 8MP rear camera as well as a 2MP front camera in this model. The rear 8MP device can take great pictures with a maximum resolution of 3264×2448 pixels. Samsung Grand Duos can also capture Full HD video.
Most people don't use the front camera in their daily life because video calls on smartphones are not very popular. However, it is very good and has a number of useful features, such as SmartStay.
The rear camera can shoot in multiple modes. One of these modes is with brightness controls. Some different landscape modes are also available. In addition, panorama shooting is possible. For panoramic shots, the maximum image 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, which 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 for 2 to 3 weeks.
Call interface
Samsung Grand Primeve Duos has no reception problems even in areas with poor network coverage. The sound from the speakers is clear and quite loud.
Smartdialing is available whenever you press the preset digit for a particular contact. The disadvantage of searching through the phone book is that contacts are sorted when searching only by the first letter. On the other hand, viewing recent calls is always available and you can search among them. If more than one contact is found as a result of the query, the button with a number and an arrow will allow you to move through the list in search of the desired item.
The call log tab is located next to the dial menu. It displays all dialed, received and missed calls in one list. There is a tiny icon that identifies the SIM card that made or received a call.
Call and messages
Smartphone ringer is quite harsh and can be loud enough for most situations. The vibration is also very strong.
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 an MMS. You can quickly add a photo or sound file to send along with the text, or compose an MMS right away using all available features (such as multiple slides, layouts, etc.).
You can save a message to send automatically at a later time. You can also mark certain numbers as "spam" and block messages from them.
Gmail app supportsbatch operations that allow the simultaneous movement of several emails to the "Archive", "Viewed" or the "Trash". By default, the service supports multiple Gmail accounts.
Another cool 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 that combines all the mail in one folder. This can be very handy if you use a lot of accounts and just want to periodically check if there's a new message that's worth your attention.
Keyboard
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Duos G531H is equipped with a keyboard that comes with multiple typing options. So, there is a traditional QWERTY mode that can switch between portrait and landscape orientations.
There are several bonuses that this keyboard has to offer. You can slide your finger left and right to switch between letters and symbols, and turn on the "Continuous typing" option, which allows you to enter words by drawing solid lines over the keys (similar to Swype).
The Samsung Grand Prime Duos Smartphone has enhanced OCR capabilities to minimize typos. If you enable the appropriate settings, it will scan your email, Facebook and Twitter messages and remember the words and phrases you use most often.
Samsung Grand Duos Specificationsperformance
This feature of the phone can be described as rather controversial As mentioned above, the performance of the Galaxy Grand Duos is quite good, but not great at some points. Most people probably won't notice this, but for specialists, such details are immediately apparent. At the same time, we should not forget that the Samsung Grand Prime VE Duos is positioned on the market as a mid-range Android phone. Android users who are accustomed to high-end smartphones will certainly be disappointed, but such a comparison of gadgets is incorrect.
This model uses a 1.2GHz dual-core processor that is fast enough to provide the user with a smooth experience and fast daily tasks. However, this device is not intended for the use of games and heavy programs, so their good performance cannot be guaranteed.
Samsung Grand Duos - reviews and conclusions
What is the result? The Galaxy Grand Duos is an excellent device for users looking to purchase an inexpensive dual SIM smartphone. It is comfortable to hold 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 find themselves a bit disappointed with the phone's screen, especially its resolution. Many of those who leave negative reviews point out precisely this shortcoming. And this is true - first of all,due to the fact that the icons on the desktop seem too large, and the PPI has a very small indicator. The smartphone's camera and battery, on the other hand, perform quite well. This plus was noted by many owners.
Thus, the generally positive reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos will suit those who want to buy a phone that can handle two SIM cards at the same time.
