Samsung likes to unveil new devices, and one of its most recent smartphones announced in June was the budget priced Samsung Galaxy J2, followed in July by the Galaxy J2 Pro that added a few features. There is a third rendition called the Galaxy J2 DTV – it is the first Samsung smartphone to include a digital TV tuner built into the phone. The device will only be sold in the Philippines for 6,990 Philippine Pesos – roughly translated to $150 USD. There will probably be some of the Galaxy J2 DTVs floating around on eBay – however, we need to caution you that the digital TV feature will not work outside the Philippines as they use the Integrated Services Digital Broadcast (ISDB) standard. North America uses the Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) standard, and Europe uses the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB).
This entry-level smartphone sports a 4.7-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. Processing power comes from a Samsung Exynos 3457 quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. It packs 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage up to 128GB via a microSD card. The available internal memory is at 4.3GB after you deduct what the OS and Samsung’s UI take.
The primary camera is a 5.0MP sensor with a f/2.2 aperture, a LED flash, autofocus and can record HD Video at 1280 x 720 at 30 frames-per-second (fps.) The front-facing camera consists of a 2.0MP sensor with a f/2.2 aperture for selfies and video chatting. A small removable 2000mAh battery powers the Galaxy J2 DTV, so if you do much TV watching, stay near an outlet or keep a spare battery charged and ready to go. It has some of the usual suspects- WiFi, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, and a USB port v2.0 for charging and data transfer. The is no NFC in this low-end device, nor fingerprint sensor.
The Galaxy J2 DTV is a slimmer design with rounded edges that fits nicely in the palm of your hand. Samsung included a Smart Manager – a sort of one-stop shopping area for checking on your battery, storage status, and security settings. The main attraction here is the ability to watch TV – although watching TV on a 4.7-inch display might tire your eyes, but you at least have that option should you decide you can’t miss a show. The device measures 136.5 x 69 x 8.4mm and weighs in at 130 grams. It comes in one color – Gold.
