Samsung Galaxy S Duos Review

Introduction:

At first, the Samsung Galaxy S Duos seems like yet another Galaxy S III look alike. And it is to some extent - sharing the rounded-edge design, the button appearance and form. But it is also very, very different from Samsung’s Android flagship.

First and foremost because of the smaller screen, but then also for its thickness, lower quality plastic and weaker inside stuffing. You come to realize even before you look at the price tag that this phone will be affordable.

Why does Samsung release it then? Simple, it aims squarely at developing markets where people use dual SIM devices to save money on carrier bills. And that’s a separate category where this Android handset doesn’t face all that much competition. Let’s see whether it can strike the right equilibrium of price and function to grab our recommendation.

Design:

The design of the Galaxy S Duos is a flashback of Samsung’s Android flagship, the Galaxy S III. This dual-SIM smaller brother of the S III has the same genes - the rounded edge look and signature single physical button. However it looks more raw, built out of very cheap feeling plastic and stuffed in a much thicker body.



You can compare the Samsung Galaxy S Duos with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

We wouldn’t call it downright bulky - it’s actually relatively lightweight tipping the scales at 4.2 ounces (120g), but it’s not pretty either. The matte white plastic is utilitarian, but at least you can’t complain about it catching finger prints.



Display:

With a 4.0-inch TFT LCD display and a WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels) the device fits the image of a mid-range handset. The pixel density comes at the healthy for mid-range 233ppi, so detail in the interface is fine but not on par with high-end models.

The screen is bright enough for most conditions, but take it outdoors and reflection definitely become an issue. As with most LCD displays, this one comes with the benefit of not having blue tint that plagues the AMOLED screens; colors are not as vivid, but are still well looking. Viewing angles are good, the colors only slightly wash out when you tilt the device, and the capacitive screen responds swiftly to touch.

Interface and Functionality:

The device comes with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich with the latest TouchWiz out of the box.

Liking or disliking the slightly cartoony TouchWiz is a matter of taste, but there is a quite obvious clash in the design language between Samsung’s skin and the sharper looks of elements of ICS that show up every here and there. This inconsistency is something we hope Samsung will straighten out with future iterations of TouchWiz, but right now it’s there.


Function-wise, there is a ton of nice little tweaks that Samsung has sprinkled all around. First off, you have the familiar dandelion wallpaper along with the other nature inspired decorations from the S III here, and the same watery sounds. The notification shade is full-packed with settings toggles and handily includes a screen brightness adjustment bar. In the notification bar, the remaining battery shows in percentage for those caring for the exact numbers.

None of the advanced features such as SmartStay, S-Voice or PopupPlay can be found here though, staying exclusive for the higher end models.

Dual-SIM implementation:

The biggest focus of this device is its dual-SIM functionality. There is plenty of choice of single-SIM Android handsets at that price, but if you are looking for a handset that allows you to juggle with two SIM cards, this is one of the better options among few.

In Android 4.0 with TouchWiz you have various options to control the two SIM cards and fine tune when to use what. Choosing which card to use for calls happens in a very simple and straightforward way in the notification shade. You select one of the two SIM cards as active and when calling someone the phone automatically uses the active card. Flip down the notification slide and select the other one if you want to call from the other card.

For more details, you go into Settings -> SIM card manager. There, you can have both cards on standby at the same time, select which card to use for cellular data, and enable receiving calls on one card while you use data on the other.

The Galaxy S Duos supports quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands for both SIM cards.

Processor and Memory:

With the lower price of this device come compromises. The biggest one is the single-core 1GHz Cortex-A5-based processor on a Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon S1 chip. It works along with an impressive 768MB of RAM, and while this isn’t enough for fancy stuff like demanding games, the massive amount of memory makes navigating around the device relatively fluid.

There is little delay browsing around menus, making it a pleasure using this device. We are not saying it’s perfect, though. ICS still lacks the visual buttery polish of Jelly Bean, and when opening apps like the contacts there is an almost omnipresent excruciating lag, but as a whole the device feels snappy.

The Adreno 200 graphics used will do for games like Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride, but don’t expect handling more 3D and 2D graphic intensive titles.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
Samsung Galaxy S Duos	2032	3439	19,9
HTC Desire V	1807	2866	19,7
Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos	982	1876	12,9

Internal storage is 4GB, but half of that is already used by the operating system so you have around 2GB for apps and your other files. That can be easily expanded with a microSD card. There is a microSD slot on the side allowing you to hot swap cards of up to 32GB capacity.

Internet and Connectivity:

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is not just about the interface but also a lot about the choice of apps. And that’s probably most evident in browser where some of the best browsers like Chrome require the 4.0 version of Android.


If you are wondering about Adobe Flash - it is not supported on it, nor on the default Android browser. Despite the not so fast processor, browsing is a relatively smooth affair on the S Duos. You can freely scroll and pan around, pinch to zoom in and out with virtually no stutter.

The device does support 3G and Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn. Bluetooth is supported at version 3.0, and rounding up the connectivity package is an A-GPS chip.

Camera:

The Galaxy S Duos comes with a 5-megapixel shooter on the back capturing images at 2592×1944 of resolution. It is an autofocus camera with a single LED flash and while being a long way from the top performers, it’s a decent shooter.


Images we took on a bright sunny day conveyed the fall colors accurately, and while dynamic range isn’t as wide as we’d wish for in a perfect world, we are happy with the camera performance. In low light, noise cripples in of course and colors are skewed to warmer, yellowish and softer, but image quality is still perfectly decent. The LED flash luminates the image evenly and brings the color back from yellowish to normal.


When it comes to video, though, the camera only records in 640 x 480 pixels. Yes, there is no HD video recording at all, likely due to the dated processor that wouldn’t be able to handle it. And in this day and age this is a disappointment.

Samsung Galaxy S Duos Sample Video:



480p is shot at 30 frames per second and we’d barely notice dropped frames, and again color accuracy is a bonus, but we just wish for a more detailed footage.

Multimedia:

When it comes to media playback, the spacious 4-inch screen is a great asset. Audio coming from the single speaker on the back is loud and clear. Video playback is somewhat limited – the S Duos does not play 720p content, nor DivX-Xvid encoded files. The encoding problem is fixed with a simple download on the Play Store, but the highest quality video we could play are ones at the native 800 x 480-pixel resolution, due to the weak processor.

Call Quality:

For a dual-SIM device, this is expected to handle a lot of calls, and that’s why call quality is of topmost importance. The mic here is of average quality, with our biggest gripe about it being that it picks up a lot of side noise. The earpiece is nice and pretty loud, but sound could have been clearer.

Battery:

With a battery capacity of around 1,500 mAh we didn’t have any issues getting through the day and more on the Galaxy S Duos. Talk time is rated at 12.8 hours on 2G, and 8.7 on 3G.

Conclusion:

The Samsung Galaxy S Duos is first and foremost a dual-SIM Android device, and should be judged as one. Let’s make it clear - if dual-SIM is not a must for you, there are much cheaper and better options than the S Duos.

In the dual-SIM world, its closest rivals are the HTC Desire V coming at virtually the same price and the more affordable Acer Liquid Gallant Duo. The HTC phone is thinner, but for the most part matches the S Duos, so it’s a matter of picking between HTC’s industrial design and Sense skin, and the utilitarian Samsung plastic with TouchWiz.

On its own, the Samsung Galaxy S Duos is a solid mid-ranger. We were disappointed by the lack of 720p video recording, and slightly unhappy with the thicker than average body and cheap plastic. On the flipside of things, the device handled itself well, with smooth performance for the most part, and meeting our expectations in most areas. And this outweighs its cons for the most part.

Samsung Galaxy Duos Video Review: