Grand on gaming

But not enough juice in the Quattro's battery

Customers seem to be in love with big-screen phones, if the flurry of launches is any indication. But there are some of us, myself included, who aren't enamoured with big screens. Samsung's Galaxy Grand has been very popular and possibly to cater to the segment comfortable with smaller screens, they have launched the Quattro.

The review unit was white in colour and the back, while not a fingerprint magnet, feels slippery. This dual-SIM phone accepted only microSIMs. We were impressed with the 2-in-1 design of the SIM 1 and microSD card slot.

Making calls on the phone was hassle-free and we had no issues with low audio or dropped calls, despite the phone picking up just a bar of signal in areas with weak reception. But browsing, even on 3G, took a hit in these areas, as often.

The 4.7-inch screen multi-touch display fits nicely in the hand and was visible in sunlight as well. The bundled headphones are comfortable and do a decent job. And this phone features an FM radio as well. The phone's rear snapper is fine for casual shots while the front VGA one is just about good for video calls. If you're looking for a Samsung phone loaded with all its bells and whistles such as 'Smart sense' and the like, you'll be disappointed. This phone can be shaken to update apps and be put down face down to silent the ringer. That's all.

We ran five applications in the background and played a video present on the phone's internal  memory without any stuttering - I guess all credit to the quad-core processor.

Playing Temple Run on the phone was also fun, provided you're happy with the limited screen real-estate. My wife wasn't after playing the game on phones/tablets with bigger screens. The processor didn't give us any discernible boost in Temple Run, but I guess it should shine in more graphic-intensive games.

The phone's Achilles' heel is probably its battery life (or the lack of it). If you're using it as just a phone with heavy email, moderate browsing and calling (with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned off), it should last you through the day.

SAMSUNG GALAXY GRAND QUATTRO
Price: Rs 17,290
Screen: 4.7-inch 480x800 multi-touch
Weight: 144 g
OS: Android Jelly Bean
RAM: 1GB
Processor: 1.3 GHz quad core
Memory: 8GB, expandable via microSD (up to 32GB cards supported)
Camera (rear/front): 5 MP /VGA
Battery: 2,000 mAh