Samsung has lifted the lid on a new 5-inch smart phone -- hooray! But despite boasting a palm-filling display, this phone has middle-of-the-road hardware that is unlikely to set your pulse racing. Boo!
The impossible-to-not-say-in-a-Northern-accent Galaxy Grand is a slender 9.6mm thick, has an 8-megapixel camera and looks almost identical to the flagship Samsung Galaxy S3.
Good stuff, but the Grand is let down by a boring 480x800-pixel screen resolution, that pales in comparison to the 720x1,280 pixels you'd find nestled within the S3 or Note 2's panel, or the 640x1,136 pixel display on the iPhone 5.
With a display that big, you'll really notice the drop in resolution too. Don't expect text or high-definition video to look particularly sharp, and you'll probably notice blurriness around text and onscreen icons.
Less worrisome but equally boring is the 1.2GHz dual-core processor. You may find the Grand performs admirably when it comes to simple tasks like web browsing, but it could struggle if you throw particularly intensive games in its direction, and with only 1GB of RAM it could be first on the pyre when Samsung's deciding which mobiles to stop updating next year.
In other words, the Grand is a sheep in wolf's casing, or to put it in more terms that shepherds will understand it's mutton dressed as lamb -- a mid-range mobile clumsily dolled up with a gigantic display.
It could win some points back by being dirt-cheap, although it's competing with wallet-friendly smart phones like the Google Nexus 4.
Better news is that you get 8GB of on-board storage plus space for a microSD card, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will come pre-loaded. That's not the very latest version, but it's close.
It's not clear yet where or when the Grand will go on sale, but I've asked Samsung for details and I'll let you know if I hear something.
Are you tempted by Samsung's Grand affair? Or would you rather have another smart phone stretching your jeans pocket? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 10
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Peter Hudson 18 December, 2012 14:14
Looks like every other Samsung handset
amab 18 December, 2012 15:21
it really is impossible to not say in a northern accent!! should be a cheap way to trick people you have an s3
anonymous 18 December, 2012 16:16
Southern pansy boys
anonymous 18 December, 2012 18:47
@Anonymong 16:16 you know the south runs the show! But you'll get over it one day hahahahahaha!
Matt Tacchi 18 December, 2012 20:44
Oh I dunno guys at the right price I think it looks an attractive proposition :)
anonymous 18 December, 2012 21:39
Samsung milking the success of the Galaxy S3 with lookalike phones that are nothing like, or as good as the S3.
First the really disappointing S3 mini and now this poor quality offering.
This is very cynical of Samsung to try and fool potential customers this way.
They are treating them like mugs.
Matt Winston. 19 December, 2012 12:40
If they get the price right this could sell. But the right price has to be below 200 pounds, anyone can afford a big superphone thanks to the Nexus 4.
anonymous 19 December, 2012 12:59
Looks like this will be thrown aside by the Sony yuga. If it comes to light
manish garg 13 January, 2013 12:20
nice look & owseem feature.....
anonymous 2 April, 2013 08:37
samsung mobile s3