Samsung makes 5-inch Galaxy Grand official: affordable phablet with 8MP camera and dual-SIM option

The 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II is one of Samsung’s finest, a huge high-res display, the stylus and all the neat tweaks of TouchWiz UI, but it comes at a hefty price that not many in developing countries can afford. Samsung now provides the solution by officially introducing the Samsung Galaxy Grand, a 5-inch smartphone with a dual-core processor, made for the masses.

The Galaxy Grand is mostly about having a big screen at an affordable price. The screen is not HD, it is not a high-resolution display, but instead to arrive at that price Samsung had to pick a WVGA, or 480 x 800-pixel panel. That works out to a pixel density of around 186ppi, which is far from retina and decisively mid-range, so you’d be able to see some jagged edges on icons.

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy Grand runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor of unknown breed, and on the back there is a capable 8-megapixel camera. Good news is there is little shutter-lag and start-up is allegedly quick. The camera features backside illumination sensor (BIS) for better shots in low-light conditions, and it is capable of recording 1080p video.

The Grand also has a front-facing, 2-megapixel camera for video calling.

It all runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, which should mean that performance is smooth lag-free with Project Butter.

Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Grand will first launch in a dual-SIM version (the GTI9082), and the single-SIM model (GTI9080) will come later on. Release date and pricing of the Grand are still a mystery, but our guess is that Samsung won't wait long to release this.

source: Samsung Tomorrow