Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos vs. Zen Ultrafone701 HD: Battle Between Indian and MNC Smartphone Makers Intensifies

Since the start of the year 2013, the Indian smartphone market is being flooded with big screen smartphones by both MNCs and domestic manufacturers.

Samsung's Galaxy Grand was the first affordable 5.0-inch smartphone to hit the sub-continent market early January. Soon local players Micromax, Karbonn, Lava  followed suit to cash in on the new trend by releasing feature-rich, big-screen smartphones with affordable price-tags, giving stiff challenge to MNCs Samsung, Nokia and other brands.

Now, another domestic manufacurer, Zen Mobiles, joined the race to get a bite out of the lucrative Indian smartphone market with the launch of the Ultrafone 701 HD.

Micromax A116 Canvas HD, Karbonn Titanium S5 and Lava Xolo Q800 are the top Indian smartphones which have gained popularity in comparison to reigning market leader Samsung's Galaxy Grand.

What now remains to be seen if Zen's smartphone has enough tricks in its bag to match up to Samsung's Galaxy Grand and generate good sales like the Indian counter parts.

Here is the brief comparison of main specs between Samsung Galaxy Grand and Zen Ultrafone 701 HD:

Display:

Samsung's Galaxy Grand sports a 5.0-inch LCD display with 480x800p display resolutions whereas Zen Ultrafone 701 HD too sports a 5.0-inch screen with an impressive 1280x720p display resolution.

Processor:

Galaxy Grand packs a dual-core processor with 1.2GHz CPU speed, whereas the Zen smartphone houses a more powerful and efficient quad-core processor with 1.2GHz CPU speed.

Camera:

Galaxy Grand sports 8.0-megapixel main camera with auto-focus and LED flash support with Full HD video recording capability and a 2.0-megapixel front facing camera. Ultrafone 701 features an 8.0-megapixel rear-side camera with flash support and scores more with the 3.2-megapixel camera on the front.

Mobile Operating System:

In terms of mobile OS, both Galaxy Grand and Ultrafone 701 HD run on Android mobile OS Jelly Bean. But it has to be noted that the Samsung smartphone runs on v4.1.2 Jelly Bean, while the Zen smartphone runs on latest Android OS version 4.2 Jelly Bean.

In terms storage, RAM, battery capacity and network connectivity features, both smartphones have similar features with negligible differences.

Price:

MNC brand Galaxy Grand is priced ₹20,900, whereas Indian made Ultrafone 701 HD holds a price-tag of ₹11,999, almost ₹9000 less than its rival. Considering the Samsung smartphone's specs, its price seems a bit overrated in a price-sensitive market like India.

With such a low price-tag and superior specs, Zen ultrafone HD makes a better buy than Galaxy Grand and also has the potential to give Micromax and other local manufacurers a run for its money.

Recently, Samung in a brazen move to counter its competitors has began marketing blitzkriegs with special incentives like 15 percent cash back offer and zero percent interest rate on EMI down payments to consumers who buy any of the high-end Samsung smartphones. The specials offers are sure to impress some prospective thrift buyers of India. 

Here is a breakdown of comparison between Samsung Galaxy Grand and Zen Ultrafone 701 HD [Spec Wise]: