SAMSUNG GALAXY GRAND 2

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is priced a little above the mid-range pricing and offers quite a lot for its price. Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 now comes with a bigger and better 5.25inch 720p HD display, quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB RAM and a bigger 2600mAh battery. It gives the other Indian manufacturers’ devices a run for their money as it combines performance with power.

So, is the new Galaxy Grand 2 worth buying? Lets check out.

Design, Build Quality and Handling

One of the first things that you will notice about the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is that how it looks more like the 2013 Samsung devices like Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 with thin bezels and longer body. The design language is trademark Samsung with an all plastic build with the same fake chrome metal plastic ring running across the length of the device.The most noticeable design change in the Galaxy Grand 2 is that Samsung have ditched the glossy shiny plastic back for a faux leather textured plastic back that debuted on the Galaxy Note 3. The faux leather back of the Galaxy Grand 2 looks like leather, but feels nothing like it. Each time you touch it, you realize that it is merely a textured plastic back.But that is not essentially a bad thing. The new textured plastic back is scratch/finger print proof and is way superior to the glossy shiny plastic back of the original Grand which is a scratch and finger print magnet. The Galaxy Grand 2 also incorporates more subtle changes like the textured surface on the front instead of a plain surface.The choice of material may have changed, but the location of buttons haven’t. On the front, above the display, we have the earpiece at the center below which there is a Samsung logo. To the right of the earpiece, we have the proximity and ambient light sensors and to the right of the sensor combination, we have the 1.9MP front facing camera. To the bottom right of the front camera, we have the “DUOS” branding indicating that the Galaxy Grand 2 is a dual SIM smartphone.

Below the display, we have the typical Samsung layout with the physical home button at the center and flanked by two capacitive keys on either side. The home button is surrounded by a chrome metal material and the capacitive buttons remain hidden unless needed.On the right side of the device, we have just the power lock button.On the bottom, we have the microUSB port and the primary microphone.On the left side, we have just the volume rocker.On the top, we have the 3.5mm audio jack.

Now moving to the back of the device, we find a 8MP camera on the top center with the single LED flash to the left of it and the speaker grill to the right of it. There is a Samsung logo right below the camera. As on most Samsung devices, the back cover is removable.On removing the back cover, we have the removable 2600mAh battery. Above the battery slot, we have the two microSIM slots. There is a microSD card slot right above one of the microSIM card slots. Galaxy Grand 2 has a better than its class build quality and handles quite well.

Display

One of the biggest problems with the Samsung Galaxy Grand was its mediocre display. Samsung took that disadvantage of the Galaxy Grand and made it an advantage with the Galaxy Grand 2 with a 720p HD 5.25inch TFT display. Samsung had used the S-LCD display that you find on the Galaxy Mega 6.3. The new 5.25inch 720p HD display has a pixel density of 280ppi which is almost more than 100ppi greater than the Samsung Galaxy Grand.

In terms of display quality, the 720p display is sharp and performs well most of the times. The color reproduction isn’t as vivid as the Super AMOLED and the contrast ratio isn’t the greatest, but is definitely above average. In terms of viewing angles, the display performs averagely – when the display is viewed from a different angle, the contrast falls sharply and the images on the display aren’t the way they are supposed to be. The display is also highly reflective and that becomes kind of a problem. The sunlight legibility isn’t great either.Overall, the display on the Galaxy Grand 2 is a huge improvement over the Galaxy Grand, but still it has a long way to go. 

Hardware and Performance

 Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 SoC along with Adreno 305. There is also 1.5GB RAM to handle multi-tasking with ease.The internal storage 8GB out of which around 5.7GB is user-accessible. There is a microSD card slot for expanding your storage. Out of the 1.5GB RAM, around 1380MB is usable and when the device is idle, around 700MB is free.

In terms of performance, Galaxy Grand 2 is quite good. Being powered by a quad-core processor and sufficient RAM, the device handles most of the everyday tasks quite quickly. But smooth performance isn’t the case always – at times, the heavy and bloated TouchWiz UI drastically reduces the performance and you feel that you have wait for quite sometime for an app to open(but it happens only rarely).

Camera

The Galaxy Grand 2 comes with a 8MP camera on the back and a 1.9MP camera on the front. The Galaxy Grand 2 can record 1080p videos from the rear camera and 720p videos from the front camera.Though the camera specifications haven’t changed, the camera UI has changed a lot and that is because of the newer version of Android and TouchWiz.. The camera UI has very little on the viewfinder. On the bottom left, we have the shortcut to gallery. On the top left, we have the front/back camera toggle and a settings icon to the right of it. Selecting the settings icon, opens a panel of setting options on the top of the viewfinder. On the top of the viewfinder, we have a arrow pointing up. Selecting the arrow opens a panel of basic effects for the photo. On the right side, we have the mode indicator text on the top right corner, below which we have the video recorder key. Below it, we have the camera shutter key and below that we have the mode selection key.

The Galaxy Grand 2 comes with quite a few shooting modes that includes – Auto, Beauty Face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Sound and Shot, HDR mode, Panorama, Sports and Night mode. Each of the mode does the required job. The Panorama is quite good and the stitch is almost flawless.

Software & Battery
 Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 runs on Android 4.3 overlaid by latest TouchWiz UI. Among the many features and gimmicks of the Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, some of more notable ones are Multi-Window and Pop up video player.Since the device runs on Android 4.3 Jellybean, you can use multiple lock-screen widgets. Since the device is big and can be tough for one handed usage, Samsung has given the software feature where the screen scales itself for one handed usage.Samsung had improved the Multi-Window feature and introduced it in Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Grand 2 gets similar treatment. The Multi-Window mode can be either enabled via a toggle in the notification quick toggles panel or by long pressing the back button.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 comes with a 2600mAh removable Li-ion battery.The battery life of the phone is quite good and for normal usage, it will definitely last a day even if you are using two SIMs. Even for above average – just below heavy usage, it will almost last you a day. 

Pros

• Good display
• Quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC ensures great performance
• Very good camera
• Excellent battery life
• Dual SIM connectivity

Cons

• Heavily bloated TouchWiz
• All plastic build
• Occasional lags
• Isn’t great for HD gaming
• A bit on the expensive side

Scoring

HALO :SPARTAN ASSAULT

Well its a good news for XBOX 360 user's the game  HALO :SPARTAN ASSAULT has been released for them, just 2 days back.

STORY

Halo: Spartan Assault takes place in a futuristic science fiction setting between the events of Halo 3 in 2553 and the events of Halo 4 in 2557. Following the events of Halo 3, the UNSC and Covenant signed a ceasefire. It follows the early Spartan Ops' missions against the Covenant alien species and gives more background to the human-Covenant conflict. Stationed on the UNSC Infinity, gameplay is through the perspective of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis.

Spartans Palmer and Davis are stationed on the planet Draetheus V when it comes under attack from a rogue group of Covenant who have ignored the ceasefire.

The Covenant leadership discover that Draetheus' moon is actually a Forerunner weapon. As the Covenant begin to activate it, the planet starts tearing apart and the UNSC have no choice but to evacuate on vacant Covenant ships. Spartan Davis ultimately gives his life to allow the remaining UNSC enough time to evacuate. Spartan Palmer tracks down the Covenant cult leader Merg Vol, kills him, sabotages the Forerunner weapon and escapes the planet.

In the Operation Hydra update, Spartan Palmer returns to X50 in search of a mysterious signal. She discovers after countless battling that the signal is actually a distress signal from Spartan Davis, before he died. Palmer reached the core of X50 but Davis died and the moon used his remains to create an unnamed device which Palmer extracts.

TECHIE VERDICT

Well I myself played the game and from that  I know its a well keep Halo series and  Its got

HTC ONE MAX

So now, HTC has gone back to doing what everyone else is doing, which is where the One Max comes in. It's a huge phone, because everyone else is making huge phones. It's made of plastic, because, well, that's what everyone else is doing. And it has a fingerprint scanner because, err, that's what at least one competitor is doing and it might have seemed like a good idea to just toss one in just in case.

LOOK & FEEL

Although it has a strong family resemblance to the One, this phone is constructed out of plastic like the One Mini. The front face is nearly identical to that of the One, but you'll immediately notice an unsightly white plastic band around it. Even on the back, it's clear that the metal pieces are only for decoration.

The large aluminium backplate pops off when you press down on a tiny tab that's located, oddly enough, on the phone's upper left edge where control buttons usually reside. You'll notice that the backplate doesn't really sit well in its plastic frame, and the sharp corner nearest to the clasp stays raised enough to be annoying when you hold the phone in your hands. You only ever need to take the panel off to access the SIM and microSD card slots, which seems like a shocking waste. Since the battery isn't accessible anyway.

The One Max is pretty bulky, at 217g and over 10mm thick, but its curved back and slim proportions help mask that fact well. You'll find a prominent camera cutout and sensors along the top of the front panel, and there's a battery status and notification LED hidden in the speaker grille as well. The power button and volume rocker sit on the right side, with a microUSB data and charging port on the bottom. There's no camera button. The left side has only the aforementioned clasp, while the top hosts a standard 3.5mm headset jack as well as an infrared emitter used by some of the bundled apps. Most interesting is the back panel, where is the camera and flash below it is  a large square fingerprint reader. Lower down, a set of three electrical contact points, designed for docking with accessories.

Specifications

The SoC is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600.There's 2GB of RAM, which is perfectly fine.

The screen is sharp and bright, and has no problems even in sunlight. 1920x1080 is the resolution it has. Videos are generally smooth, and viewing angles are as good as anything ever seen. The screen is protected by toughened Gorilla Glass 3.

More noteworthy are the twin front-facing stereo speakers, a feature that the company calls BoomSound. The One Max's audio output is deep, rich, and clearly audible from several feet away.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the One Max checks most of the right boxes. The latest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac is supported, as is Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX audio support. Wireless video streaming is supported using Miracast, and you can use the device as a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your 3G data connection. 4G LTE is supported, though not on the 2.3GHz band that has been adopted in India. The One Max is the sole member of its family to support expandable storage, and you can add up to 64GB using standard microSD cards.

Camera

HTC has continued the practice of rating its high-end cameras in Ultrapixels. While it's still technically a 4-UltraPixel unit, HTC equates the amount of data recorded to competing 13-megapixel models.Larger images tend to look sharper because they're scaled down on screen, but the One Max had no such headroom to take advantage of. Photos are still fine for sharing on social media and via email, but this isn't the type of device that will make you feel like you never need a dedicated camera again. Low-light scenes were indeed well lit, but we feel that this alone is not worth the overall compromise.The HD test videos we shot with the One Max had an artificial quality about them, and artefacts were visible on the large screen when playing back segments in which we tried to focus on fast-moving foreground objects.

If you like adjusting settings manually, the One Max's camera app menu offers options for tweaking the exposure, saturation, sharpness, contrast, ISO and white balance. Preset scenes include HDR, panorama and "dual-capture". In video mode, you can choose "Fast HD" for 60fps recording, slow motion, and video HDR.

One of HTC's other headlining features is Zoe, which captures short video clips instead of still photos. This results in short moving pictures that can capture moments more fully, such as spontaneously funny moments. Zoe files aren't easily sharable to other people and devices, so HTC has included an option to convert them into GIFs.

Software

The One Max runs Android 4.3, though I expect the company to push out an update to 4.4 in a month or two. HTC's Sense UI 5.5 customization lives on top of the operating system. Its most notable feature is Blinkfeed, a visual that displays news and social network updates in a tiled format.In addition to Facebook and Twitter, you can now sign in to Instagram and Google+ to see even more social updates. There's an improved mechanism for sorting through available news sources and choose topic areas you're interested in.

Also in the Gallery app, HTC has provided a number of editing options. You can doodle on top of photos, rotate, crop and flip them. There are also a number of creative filters and frames, plus tools to remove red eye, brighten faces, and reduce glare. If a video is selected, you'll be able to extract a still from it at any point, as well as trim the beginning and end, but that's it for editing options.

The One Max is otherwise mostly unremarkable in terms of software.

Fingerprint sensor

First of all, HTC has placed the touch sensor in a really awkward place. It seems that no one wanted to disturb the One Max's looks, and there just isn't any room on the phone's front face, considering the display is already so large. With the sensor on the back, you have to use it without looking. There's nothing to guide your finger to it and we often found ourselves swiping the camera lens, which actually feels exactly the same. Furthermore, once you enrol your fingerprints, the One Max insists you first try to use the sensor to unlock the phone, and it takes an additional tap to show the keypad for passcode entry instead. You can store up to three fingers' prints, and assign each of them to a different app, so for example, swiping with your middle finger can take you straight to the camera, but swiping with your ring finger will open the Web browser.As far as accuracy goes, I had the best luck with my index fingers. It wasn't perfect all the time, but it didn't take more than three swipes at worst. Finally, it's worth noting that you can't use the fingerprint sensor to wake the phone from standby; you have to first hit the power button and then unlock the phone using the sensor. Once the phone is unlocked, the sensor does absolutely nothing -- you can't even use it to launch your associated apps, which would seem like an obvious thing.

Performance and Battery Life

I saw scores of 12,188 in Quadrant and 6,903 in a 3DMark HD graphics test run. I also ran a few CPU-intensive JavaScript tests such as Sunspider and Browsermark, which returned decent scores.The One Max handles 1080p HD video without breaking a sweat, and it's only a handful of today's games that could really stress it out.Audio performance remains the One Max's standout feature, and call quality is no exception. Voices are loud and clear over the phone's speaker.As far as battery life goes, we put the One Max through its paces with our video loop test, and it lasted for 10 hours, 40 minutes.

PRICE

It costs around £600.0.