Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, has announced the new GSM variant of the Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos. Building on the popularity of the Galaxy Ace, the Galaxy Ace Duos (GSM + GSM) combines a sleek design, high-performance features and a rich experience with dual-SIM support, allowing users to manage their work and personal lives with one smartphone. Users can also use the device to carry two SIM cards with different billing plans, switching when convenient or cost-appropriate. The device is powered by an 832MHz processor and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The GSM variant of the Duos comes with a 1300 mAh battery. This device has been launched after the CDMA version of the Galaxy Ace Duos (CDMA + GSM), which we reviewed earlier.
Let’s have a look at the remaining specs of the Ace Duos:
The Galaxy Ace Duos’s dual SIM system aims to maximize communication flexibility by allowing users to manage two separate phone numbers on one smartphone. Samsung’s ‘dual SIM always on’ feature automatically forwards calls from the phone number on SIM 2, even if a user is on the phone with SIM 1′s number. This ensures that a user can always manage their work and personal lives and never miss a call.
In addition to its connectivity features, the Galaxy Ace Duos comes with Samsung’s Touchwiz user interface. 3GB of internal storage means you can store a number of videos, music, and images on the go. And then there’s ChatON, Samsung’s communication service that connects users on any phone platform into a single community. Designed for users with active lifestyles, the Galaxy Ace Duos will be available from June, starting with Russia and will gradually be rolled out to Europe, CIS, Latin America, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Middle East, Africa, and China.
Features and Performance
Interface
With the addition of a second SIM card slot you get more icons on the top of your screen and some more settings in the connectivity options. But still the phone is powered by the same 800 MHz processor with 158 MB of internal storage and 278 MB RAM. It’s got Samsung’s TouchWiz UI onboard and is sadly one of the slower phones in the market at this price range. Not too impressive on the spec front, either, but in terms of plain usage, with time, the phone tends to get frustratingly slow making multitasking an absolute no brainer.
We put it through a few synthetic benchmark tests as well and here are the results. In AnTuTu, the Duos got a score of 1626 points, which puts it well below the HTC Explorer, but above the LG Optimus Net – two phones that are much cheaper than this one. In Linpack, we got a single thread score of 9.49 points and a multi thread score of 8.418 points.
Media
The one thing we really loved about the Duos was the media department. The same interface look that we saw on the Wave Y Young is present on the Duos as well. Custom enhancements, 5.1 channel sound and a good pair of in-ear headphones means that you’ll be rocking to the tunes. Format support is limited, just like the original Ace, but you have third party apps to counter that problem. The Ace Duos was unable to play 720p videos, but that’s a limitation you’ll have to live with.
Connectivity
Here’s where the Galaxy Ace Duos stands out from the other Androids in the market. Err, did we just say stand out? This section more or less exposes the shortcomings of the Duos. Firstly, it’s got dual SIM card support, which means you can slot in a primary CDMA card and a secondary GSM or CDMA card slot.
Let’s have a look at the remaining specs of the Ace Duos:
- 3.5-inch HVGA TFT-LCD display with a 320 x 480 pixel resolution
- 3G, EDGE/ GPRS, Wi-Fi
- GPS with A-GPS support
- Bluetooth with A2DP and USB 2.0 (Micro)
- 5MP autofocus camera
- FM radio with RDS
- 3GB internal + microSD card support for up to 32GB
The Galaxy Ace Duos’s dual SIM system aims to maximize communication flexibility by allowing users to manage two separate phone numbers on one smartphone. Samsung’s ‘dual SIM always on’ feature automatically forwards calls from the phone number on SIM 2, even if a user is on the phone with SIM 1′s number. This ensures that a user can always manage their work and personal lives and never miss a call.
In addition to its connectivity features, the Galaxy Ace Duos comes with Samsung’s Touchwiz user interface. 3GB of internal storage means you can store a number of videos, music, and images on the go. And then there’s ChatON, Samsung’s communication service that connects users on any phone platform into a single community. Designed for users with active lifestyles, the Galaxy Ace Duos will be available from June, starting with Russia and will gradually be rolled out to Europe, CIS, Latin America, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Middle East, Africa, and China.
Features and Performance
Interface
With the addition of a second SIM card slot you get more icons on the top of your screen and some more settings in the connectivity options. But still the phone is powered by the same 800 MHz processor with 158 MB of internal storage and 278 MB RAM. It’s got Samsung’s TouchWiz UI onboard and is sadly one of the slower phones in the market at this price range. Not too impressive on the spec front, either, but in terms of plain usage, with time, the phone tends to get frustratingly slow making multitasking an absolute no brainer.
We put it through a few synthetic benchmark tests as well and here are the results. In AnTuTu, the Duos got a score of 1626 points, which puts it well below the HTC Explorer, but above the LG Optimus Net – two phones that are much cheaper than this one. In Linpack, we got a single thread score of 9.49 points and a multi thread score of 8.418 points.
Media
The one thing we really loved about the Duos was the media department. The same interface look that we saw on the Wave Y Young is present on the Duos as well. Custom enhancements, 5.1 channel sound and a good pair of in-ear headphones means that you’ll be rocking to the tunes. Format support is limited, just like the original Ace, but you have third party apps to counter that problem. The Ace Duos was unable to play 720p videos, but that’s a limitation you’ll have to live with.
Connectivity
Here’s where the Galaxy Ace Duos stands out from the other Androids in the market. Err, did we just say stand out? This section more or less exposes the shortcomings of the Duos. Firstly, it’s got dual SIM card support, which means you can slot in a primary CDMA card and a secondary GSM or CDMA card slot.
