The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 (SM-G7102) is an upgraded version of the popular Galaxy grand. There are a lot of differences between these two models. The Grand 2 comes powered by quad core processor and sports a 5.2 inch screen with 720p resolution. This dual SIM handset is priced at under Rs. 23,000.
Box Pack
The box pack contains the handset, 2600 mAh battery, travel charger, data cable, earphone, ear plug caps and quick start guide. There is no flip cover included, the older version – the Samsung Galaxy Grand actually comes with a free flip cover.
Design, Display and OS
The Grand 2 is of a bigger size as compared to the Grand but slimmer. The design is the same at least from the front. The rear side however has got the Galaxy Note 3 look it’s made of faux leather (artificial leather) with artificial threading effect. The build quality and finishing no doubt is very good.
Grand 2 weighs about 165 grams with battery, thickness is 9.05mm, breadth is 75.03mm and the length is 146.49mm. This is a dual SIM handset (Micro SIM slots) with dual standby mode. The power button is on the right, volume rockers on left, 3.5mm jack on the top and micro USB port at the bottom.
The TFT screen is 5.25 inches supporting 1280×720 pixels resolution. No issues with the touch and the viewing angles are pretty good. There are accelerometer, proximity, light and magnetic sensors. The Galaxy Grand 2 sails on Android 4.3 with touch wiz user interface.
Memory and Storage
This handset comes with 1.5GB RAM, 8GB storage and up to 64GB external MicroSD card support. Of the 1.5GB RAM free available RAM is 882MB (on the first boot) and of the 8GB storage 2.83 is assigned for system memory and 4.8GB is the available free space for apps. You cannot install / move apps on the external storage. OTG is not supported.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 (SM-G7102) houses Qualcomm MSM8226 quad core chipset clocked at 1.19GHz coupled with Adreno 305 GPU. The performance is quite impressive however not being able to move / install apps on external storage is rather disappointing.
Benchmark scores
- Quadrant Standard – 8428.
- AnTuTu – 17075.
- Vellamo – HTML5 1955, Metal 510.
- Nenamark 2 – 55.9 fps
- Multi touch : 5 points.
Gaming
As mentioned you cannot use the external storage space and there is limited space of about 4GB on the internal storage that can be used for installing additional apps / games. I tried copying the data files of MC4 and Asphalt 8 onto the internal storage but for some reason the copying process failed. Left with no option I downloaded the Dead Trigger 2 (DT2) game for the gaming review.
The DT2 game play was very smooth even when set to the highest graphics details. This hardware can easily play many other high end games with ease. The main issue will always be about the limited internal storage space.
Camera and entertainment
I shot some images using the 8MP rear AF camera with flash / without flash / outdoors / indoors / and some images with the 1.9MP front camera. The image quality is very good. Do check the sample images at the end of this review.
The Grand 2 can play full HD videos and can also record full HD videos at 30fps. The front camera can record videos in 720p resolution. The FHD video quality is very good, however there was some issue focusing the camera (when using video mode) on closer subjects – probably a software glitch. You can shoot images while recording videos.
Others
GPS (with GLONASS/A-GPS) lock is very fast under 4 seconds. 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth worked well. There is built in FM radio. Sound (loud speaker / in call) is loud and clear.
Battery
The removable battery is 2600 mAh capacity. The battery dropped by 4% when running the benchmark test for about 16 minutes and battery dropped by 2% while playing the Dead Trigger 2 for about 7 minutes.
You can expect the battery backup of about 6 to 7 hours when running at full capacity.
Verdict
The upgraded Galaxy Grand is definitely better than the Grand handset, for the extra price. The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is selling for under Rs. 23,000. It is a good buy considering the feature but would have been better if it was priced a little lower. Key attraction is the Android 4.3 OS working out of the box, quad core and regional language support. The Moto G that will be available in India pretty soon could turn out to be a better option and cheaper than the Grand 2, probably you might want to wait for the Moto G smartphone.
Image Gallery
Sample Images
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 (SM-G7102) handset and Gaming review
Full HD video shot using the Grand 2 handset
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