I was given a Samsung Galaxy Grand on loan by Samsung Mobile Nigeria for two weeks and while the phone won’t qualify as my best phone at the moment, there were a couple of impressive features for me. Here is what I think about the device:
The Upside
Size: Considering that I am used to smaller phone screens, it took a few days to adjust to the Galaxy Grand’s 5” screen display. Once I did though, the large screen came in handy for almost anything – watching a video, reading on the web or reading from a collection of books in Kindle – giving the perfect blend of phone and ebook reader functionalities.
Camera: With an 8MP auto focus camera and a 2MP secondary camera, the Grand does an excellent job of taking photos that can be shared with family and friends on different social media channels.
Dual SIM: In a country like Nigeria, where unreliable service from network providers makes people carry multiple phones, the Grand gives the option of having one device that takes two SIMs to help combat this problem without compromising battery life.
Battery Life: When I was in the office and at home, I used WiFi and while on the road, I used the offline reading feature via Pocket and my Kindle app for Android. This way, I got two days use from a full charge of the 2100 mAh battery.
The OS: The Samsung Galaxy Grand runs on the current Android OS, Jelly Bean. This means that you’re going to have Google Now and all the perks that come with Jelly Bean.
Gaming: I am not much of a gamer, but the few times I played games (especially Temple Run) on my Grand, it worked smoothly and it was a pleasant experience.
The Downside
The haptic feedback that comes with the Amoled and Super Amoled screen used in Galaxy S2 and S3 is absent in the Samsung Galaxy Grand. Although the resolution on the Grand is the same as that on the Galaxy S2, the size of the Grand makes it noticeable that the resolution could have been better.
For a phone that ticks all the right boxes and at the N65,000 price it is going for, the Grand is a must have for anyone who does not mind carrying a rather bulky phone around. To find out more about the Samsung Galaxy Grand, see full phone specs here.
