Smart Deb

Samsung has launched its successor of the Galaxy Grand 5 incher today. The Galaxy Grand 2 is a 5.25 incher with a faster processor under its hood.

Today at an event in India Samsung launched the Galaxy Grand 2 for the domestic market. The affordable big-screen phone was launched by the Dedh Ishqiya actress Huma Qureshi today. We bring you a review of Galaxy Grand 2 today, while also comparing it with the Galaxy Grand and Galaxy Grand Quattro.

Better display

On the display front the Galaxy Grand 2 (GG2) takes a lead with a bigger and better display. At 5.25 inches display it is bigger that the Galaxy Grand (GG) launched in January this year and Galaxy Grand Quattro (GGQ) launched in May this year. It also boasts a 720 p display with a display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The 4.7 inch GGQ and 5 inch GG manage with a 480 x 800 pixels display resolution.

We are yet to know if Samsung has added a screen protector on the phone. As per the launch news released by Samsung this November, the phone does not come with a screen protector.

Profile: Thin and soft

The GG2 is the thinnest of the three GG phones in the series. It is just 8.9 mm thin which is lesser than the 9.6 mm GG and 9.7 mm GGQ. The GG2 comes with a stitched leather texture on the back that made a debut on the Galaxy Note 3. This also gives it a soft touch feel which the other two on GG lack.

What is interesting is that the extra display size and a powerful processor do not add to the weight of the phone. The GG2 weight just 1 grams more than the GG which is 162 grams. Also it will be available in a flirty pink colour options (like the Galaxy Note 3) apart from Black and White.

Processor power

While Samsung went with a dual core 1.2 GHz processor for the GG and GGQ, it has kept the same 1.2 GHz processor  (a Cortex A7) for the GG2. There is a better RAM with 1.5 GB, an improvemnet of the GG's 1 GB. But the company maintained the same 8 GB internal memory with the phone. That’s the same across all the three GG devices. But here you can expand it by 64 GB using a micro SDcard.

Camera and battery

Samsung carries the GG camera to the GG2. It’s the same 8 megapixel camera. The fount camera is also a 1.9 mp one. The primary camera sports feature like Best Face, Best Photo and Continuous Shot.

The battery is an improved one at 2600 mAh to support the large screen and more processing power.

The catch is here

The catch is in its OS. It sports the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS with features that come with the Galaxy Note 3. The latest Android OS is supported by a interface that gels with the premium features on this phone. Story album, S translator, S travel, sound and shot, Samsung hub, group play, Samsung link and other premium features that also come in the flagship Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3, come with the GG2

The company also offers free three month access to Club Samsung that has got entertainment, movies, music, gigs, live shows content.

But the price is a deterrent

We expected it to be launched at Rs. 21500, same price at which the GG was launched in January. But the company has maintained a price bracket of Rs. 22990 and Rs. 24990 for the phone. The correct price is not yet revealed. The company has also not revealed about any freebies or cloud storage with the Grand 2.

It will be available in stores in January. That’s the time when Intex i17 and Canvas 5 are also set to make a debut While Intex i17 octa-core will come at Rs. 20K, the Canvas 5 will also come at a similar price making it difficult for the Galaxy Grand 2. The competition will be stiff for the Grand 2 to make a mark. We will have to wait and see if the Grand magic that worked in 2013 also works for Samsung in 2014.