In early December we covered a rumor that said Samsung was going to launch a cheaper version of the Note 2, and that said device would lack a stylus. Which brings us to today's announcement of the Galaxy Grand. It has a dual core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera, and a 5 inch screen that pushes 800 x 480 pixels. Calling the Grand a cheaper Note 2 would be an insult to the Note 2. This thing is more like a jumbo version of the two year old Galaxy S2, except that it looks like a Galaxy S3. Curiously, Samsung didn't say who makes the processor inside the Grand, which leads us to believe that it uses a Qualcomm chipset. That's usually what Samsung does. If they don't say “dual core Exynos”, but instead say “dual core processor”, then it's typically a chip that wasn't developed by them.

What else should you know about this thing? There's going to be a single SIM version called the GT-I9080 and a dual SIM version called the GT-I9082. The Grand will ship with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, not Android 4.2. Samsung didn't say when exactly the Grand will hit the market, nor did they provide any pricing information.

So what do we think of this thing? It's hard to form an opinion without knowing how much it's going to cost. The Note 2 is a pretty expensive phone at just under 600 EUR depending on the market you're in. The Galaxy S3 is already at sub 500 EUR in many markets. The Galaxy S3 Mini and the Galaxy S2 are both priced in the 350 EUR range, which leads us to believe that the Grand might come in at 400 EUR. At that price it's going to be a tricky device to recommend since it doesn't do anything special, other than ship with a large display.