This is by no means intended as a moment of relief from the building tension, but our timing isn't without a sense of humor. Assuming that all eyes are set on Samsung to, again, deliver the godfather of Android smartphones, the one we're about to review is more like the...grandfather.
It may seem quite unfortunate for the Galaxy Grand that a week from now it'll be yesterday's news. But on a second thought, it has a better insurance policy against irrelevance than most of last season's Samsung phones that tried too hard to emulate the Galaxy S III.
Samsung Galaxy Grand official pictures
Dual-SIM support is obviously not a universally sought-after feature but demand for smartphones that can operate two SIM cards has been consistently strong in certain markets. This fact should at least begin to explain why the Galaxy Grand is currently the second most popular handset in this website's database.
So, Samsung has been busy lately releasing phones styled after the outgoing flagship, the Galaxy S III. Think a particular screen size and level of equipment, and the Koreans most likely have it. Now, a massive screen and dual-SIM support doesn't sound like the combination on many people's minds but what do we know. It may've made all the sense in the world for Samsung to unleash a big fat five-incher in a niche that other smartphone makers like Sony, HTC and LG are very much interested in too.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM (SIM 1 & SIM 2) and 3G (SIM 1 only) support
- Dual SIM stand-by
- 21.1 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support (SIM 1 only)
- 5.0" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
- Android OS 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Nature UX
- 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU, 1GB of RAM
- 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection, image stabilization
- 2MP secondary camera
- 1080p HD video recording at 30fps with stereo sound
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n support; DLNA and Wi-Fi hotspot
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity and GLONASS; digital compass
- 8GB of inbuilt storage, microSD slot
- Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- microUSB v2.0 port with MHL
- Stereo Bluetooth v4.0
- FM radio with RDS
Main disadvantages
- The five-inch diagonal stretches the WVGA resolution really thin
- Middling screen contrast and overall quality
- Poor low-light video recording
- No dedicated camera key
The dual-SIM Galaxy Grand is powered by the same dual-core chipset as the recently released Galaxy S II Plus. Switching from Exynos to Broadcom looks like a minor step down in terms of GPU, but as we saw on the S II Plus the superior power efficiency more than makes up for it. In fact, combined with the low (by today's standards) screen resolution this might turn the Galaxy Grand in one of the longest lasting smartphones on the market.
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 live pictures
Oh well, that's at least one redeeming quality of a screen that has the pixel density of an entry-level HVGA unit - the Galaxy Mini II should be a proper reference. The huge 5" diagonal obviously stretches the resolution (480 x 800 pixels) thin.
Other than that though, there isn't much else that's seriously wrong with a handset that clearly positions itself in the midrange. The Galaxy Grand has some of the advanced features courtesy of Android Jelly Bean and the latest TouchWiz. The build quality is above average and the battery backup sounds promising - and that's an important asset for a dual-SIM phone. Let's see. We start with the design and build, as usual.
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 360-degree spin
The Samsung Galaxy Grand size is about halfway between the original Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S III. To silence potential alarm bells, we'd go ahead and say that the Grand feels decisively more comfortable in-hand than the first-gen Samsung phablet, and we're happy that Samsung managed to keep the thickness below 10mm.
The smartphone tips the scales at 162g, which is more than reasonable for a device this size: 143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6mm. The first generation of the Galaxy Note weighs 178g.
Design and build quality
The design is - unsurprisingly - influenced by the Galaxy S III, and the similarly sized screen means you will have a hard time telling the Grand apart from the smartphone flagship from a distance.
The Galaxy Grand next to the Galaxy Note
The Galaxy Grand features a similar paintjob to what you get with the other post-Galaxy S III Samsung devices, but the finish is slightly different. It doesn't look quite as nice as the Galaxy Note II plastic, so we assume Samsung were after some cost-cutting too. This applies to both the white version we had for the preview and the Black one that is here for the review.
Controls and handling
The controls on the Samsung Galaxy Grand follow the same general layout as most Samsung smartphones. Below the screen we find three keys - the capacitive Menu and Back keys on either side of a hardware Home button.
The three-button combo below the screen
The keys are well sized and spaced to allow comfortable use and the capacitive touch technology makes sure the transition between them and the screen is seamless.
Above the display you can see the earpiece, a couple of sensors and the 2 megapixel front facing camera, which can do video-calls. The duos logo is there to remind you that you can pop in two SIM cards at once, in case you ever forget, and is only present on the I9082 model.
The usual array of sensors and the front-facing camera surround the earpiece
The top of the phone features just the 3.5mm audio jack.
The top is where the audio jack is located
At the bottom are the microUSB port and the mouthpiece. The microUSB port supports MHL, enabling HD video out (up to 1080p) and multi-channel audio output.
The primary microphone keeps the MHL-enabled microUSB port company
On the left side of the Samsung Galaxy Grand we find the volume rocker, while the power/lock key is symmetrically placed across on the right. There's no dedicated camera shutter key.
The power key is on the right, while the volume rocker is on the left
The 8 megapixel camera lens, a single LED flash, and the loudspeaker grille are the things to note at the back of the device.
The 8 megapixel camera is the star backstage
The back panel is fairly easy remove, but still fits tightly in place, no wobble whatsoever.
Underneath the battery cover, you'll find the two SIM compartments, as well as the microSD card slot. The primary SIM and microSD slots are only accessible after you remove the 2100 mAh battery, which means hot-swap is out of the question. The secondary SIM (on the dual-SIM I9082 model) is in the bottom right corner and is hot-swappable.
Taking a peak under the hood
In terms of handling, the Galaxy Grand is about what you'd expect from a 5-incher. The bezel is a bit too wide and the slippery plastic would occasionally cause problems, but if you have bigger hands (or are willing to use both of them most of the time) you will be fine.
The Galaxy Grand plastic is more slippery than that of the Note II
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