Samsung's Galaxy Grand smartphone has a 5-in. screen -- but the big display seems aimed at those with smaller budgets, according to an analyst.
Screen sizes around 5 inches have so far mainly been found on expensive high-end phones with HD or Full-HD displays, such as the recently announced HTC Butterfly, also known as the Droid DNA.
But Samsung seems to want to change that with the Android 4.1-based Galaxy Grand: its 5-inch screen only has a resolution of 800 pixels by 480.
The Grand is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and has two cameras, an 8-megapixel one on the back and a 2-megapixel one on the front. Images and videos shot with the cameras can be stored in the phone's 8GB of flash memory or on a microSD card. The content can also be uploaded and downloaded using 802.11n Wi-Fi or HSPA+ cellular networks.
There will also be a version of the Grand that has two SIM card slots.
That feature that is important in countries such as India and China, but also Italy, Spain and Portugal where people use more than one SIM card to keep costs down, Francisco Jeronimo, research manager at IDC, said.
"Samsung is trying to address lower price points because it knows that is where the strongest growth is ... That is what it has done with the Galaxy S III mini and now the Galaxy Grand," Jeronimo said.
Samsung didn't say what the Grand will cost or when it will ship.
However, it needs to be significantly cheaper than the Galaxy Note II if it is to be a success, according to Jeronimo.
The Grand is about 7 millimeters taller and 30 grams heavier than Samsung's Galaxy S III, which has a 4.8-in. screen.
