Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs Galaxy Note 2
Samsung has always been brave when it comes to testing the sentiments of its customers. They have a range of super smartphones that offer a large display panel and, in addition to that, Samsung has decided to reveal their new segment that is aimed towards the lower end markets with a large display panel. Normally the smartphones with large screens offer top end performance and makes a large hole in your pocket, as well. That doesn’t mean the lower end market wouldn’t prefer smartphones with large screens, isn’t it? Well that is the sentiment Samsung is testing and let us see how far Samsung can replicate the superior usability and experience. We chose one of the best smartphones from Samsung and one they consider a flagship product; Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It is a smartphone that has been sold at a record phase and received a lot of positive reviews from even iPhone fans. Let us compare Samsung Galaxy Note II with its very young brother Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and try to understand the commitment of Samsung towards this new handset.
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos Review
As mentioned in the introduction; Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos is not a top end product, but the exterior appearance has a striking resemblance to its better, bigger brothers Samsung Galaxy Note II and Samsung Galaxy S III. In fact, it’s more likely that you wouldn’t be able to differentiate the two at a distance. This will give a significant edge and prestige to this lower end smartphone. Another interesting observation we made was a slight pattern at the back plate which gives it a sense of elegance. As the name suggests; Galaxy Grand Duos give you the capability to use two SIMs at once and Samsung also offers a single SIM version called Galaxy Grand. This smartphone is powered by 1.2GHz Dual Core processor although Samsung hasn’t revealed on which chipset it is running. The RAM is acceptable at 1GB, and the internal storage stagnates at 8GB but fortunately Grand Duos has the ability to expand storage using microSD card up to 64GB. The operating system at play is Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean, which is a wise addition.
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos has 5.0 inch capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels at a pixel density of 187ppi. Before you point it out; yes this smartphone’s display panel is disappointing and pixelated. Offering a WVGA resolution on a 5 inch display panel is actually a terrible mistake and since this is still a development version, we are hoping that Samsung will make some amendments for the display panel. It has 3G HSDPA connectivity along with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n for continuous connectivity. You can also share your internet connection by hosting a Wi-Fi hotspot. Unfortunately, Grand Duos doesn’t come with NFC connectivity. It features the usual optics at 8MP back camera that can capture 1080p HD videos @ 30 frames per second, and the front camera is 2MP, which is good for video conferencing. Grand Duos has 2100mAh battery that may have enough mileage to last a whole day.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Review
Samsung’s Galaxy line is the prominent and flagship product line that has earned much respect towards the company. It is also these products that have the highest return for Samsung’s investments. Hence Samsung always maintains the quality of these products at a very high level. At a glance, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 isn’t any different to that image. It has a majestic look that closely resembles the looks of Galaxy S3 with the same Marble White and Titanium Grey color combinations. It has a 5.5 inches Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with vibrant color patterns and the deepest blacks you could ever see. The screen was viewable from very wide angles, as well. It features a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at a pixel density of 267ppi with a 16:9 widescreen. Samsung promises that the screen is more optimized to today’s visually oriented apps. It goes without saying that the screen is reinforced with Corning Gorilla Glass 2, to make it extra scratch resistant.
Following the footsteps of Galaxy Note, Note 2 is slightly bigger scoring dimensions of 151.1 x 80.5mm and has a thickness of 9.4mm and a weight of 180g. The layout of the buttons hasn’t changed where it features the big home button at the bottom with two touch buttons on either side of it. Inside this housing has the best processor that is featured in a smartphone. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 comes with 1.6GHz Cortex A9 Quad Core processor on Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad chipset with Mali 400MP GPU. The powerful set of hardware components is governed by the brand new Android OS Jelly Bean. It also features a 2GB RAM with 16, 32 and 64GBs of internal storage and has the option to expand the capacity using a microSD card.
The network connectivity is reinforced with 4G LTE that varies regionally. Galaxy Note II also features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with DLNA and the ability to create Wi-Fi hotspots to share your internet connection with friends. It also has NFC along with Google Wallet. The 8MP camera has become a standard in the smartphones these days and Note II features a 2MP camera on the front for the use of video conferencing. The back camera can capture 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second with image stabilization. One of the specialties in Galaxy Note series is the S Pen stylus provided with them. In Galaxy Note II, this stylus can do a lot more compared to the conventional styluses featured in the market. For instance, you can flip over a photo, to get its virtual backside and scribble down notes just as we do on actual photos sometimes. It can also act as a virtual pointer on the Note 2’s screen which was a cool feature. Galaxy Note II also has the function to record your screen, every key stroke, pen marking and stereo audio and save it to a video file.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 features a 3100mAh battery that may be able to survive for 8 hours or more with the power hungry processor. The increased mileage of the battery will suffice for the bag of tricks introduced with the Galaxy Note II compared to the original Note.
A Brief Comparison Between Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos and Galaxy Note 2
• Samsung Galaxy Duos is powered by 1.2GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM while Samsung Galaxy Note II is powered by 1.6GHz Cortex A9 Quad Core processor on top of Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad chipset with Mali 400MP GPU and 2GB of RAM.
• Samsung Galaxy Duos runs on Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean while Samsung Galaxy Note II also runs on Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean.
• Samsung Galaxy Duos has 5 inch capacitive touchscreen featuring a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels at a pixel density of 187ppi while Samsung Galaxy Note II features a bigger screen of 5.5 inches featuring a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at a pixel density of 267ppi.
• Samsung Galaxy Duos is smaller, thicker and lighter (143.5 x 76.9 mm / 9.6 mm / 162g) than Samsung Galaxy Note II (151.1 x 80.5 mm / 9.4 mm / 183g).
• Samsung Galaxy Duos has 2100mAh battery while Samsung Galaxy Note II has 3100mAh battery.
Conclusion
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs Galaxy Note 2
I reckon this is a pretty easy conclusion given the context. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a flagship product of Samsung, and one of the best smartphones in the market today. That statement can speak for itself. However Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos is a mere replication of its high end brothers, and that is aimed at the lower end of the market. This would effectively mean that Duos will have a feature set that is cropped down from the original Note 2 and Galaxy S 3. As we pointed out, the display panel is the grave mistake that might cripple the sales of this product. Other than that, Galaxy Grand Duos is a decent smartphone that would appeal for the people who wants a big screen, yet don’t want to make a big hole in their pocket. Samsung Galaxy Note 2, on the other hand, is for people who wants a signature product with a big screen and is willing to justify the hole made in their pockets.