This is our original preview of the Samsung Galaxy S II from February 2011, by PC World's Ginny Mies.
Mobile World Congress hasn't even started, but the next generation of super phones are already being unveiled. Samsung showed off its latest, the Samsung Galaxy S II, at its flashy Unpacked event in Barcelona. The Galaxy S II sports a 4.3in Super AMOLED Plus display, a dual-core processor, and a whole new user interface. We got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone for a first look review.
The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Samsung Galaxy S II is how thin and light it is. It feels pretty good in hand too; less plasticky that a few of the last-generation Galaxy S phones. The phone is pretty attractive too with a minimalist, slick design.
The Samsung Galaxy S II's display is absolutely gorgeous: colours look bright, details are crisp, and the viewing angles seem pretty good. It sports Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus display technology, which we first saw at CES. According to Samsung, Super AMOLED Plus displays have an increased number of sub-pixels by 50 percent and perform even better in bright light than the first-gen Super AMOLED displays. With a 4.3in display, the newest Galaxy is 0.3in larger in screen size than the older-gen Galaxy S phones.
At CES we saw an onslaught of 4G dual-processor phones so it is no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy S II has both. I'm also pleased it ships with the latest Google Android 2.3 operating system (also known as Gingerbread). The phone seemed pretty snappy in my brief hands-on tests and video ran flawlessly.
The Samsung Galaxy S II also sports an 8Mp camera as well as a front-facing camera for video calls. I tested the camera out on the floor and photos looked pretty good-at least on the phone's display. The shutter speed on the camera was fast too.
The Galaxy S II has a revamped user interface with an all new Game and Reading Hubs that will be joining the Social and Media Hubs. I really wanted to test out the Game Hub and was disappointed when I couldn't connect to it. I tried on a few demo phones, but no dice. Looks like it isn't ready for prime time yet.
Verdict:
The Samsung Galaxy s II costs £400 if purchased SIM-free. This puts the Galaxy S II firmly in the premium smartphone camp, but given the success of the first model and the impressive hardware and build quality, we expect it to find favour with plenty of Android aficionados. It's a popular phone, and justifiably so.
Comments
Leonsfree said: May be You Got fake one
Bandooh said: I have a problem have Galaxy S2 a year to date amp all of a sudden the battery dies nafter 1 day any advise
Altaa4t said: just to ask ull a question i just want to save my conversations frm my yahoo messenger to my other phone so hw can i do tht plz any one can guide me with it
Sam Boycott said: S2 is a crap phone with nothing special in making smartphone experience The body is very dull and dirty the rear camera is too distracting why is samsung not changing its body material quality and colors Every samsung users complaints about this i too have used a galaxy s2 and the screen and battery i have no words to describe itSamsung phone are dull phones
Littlelizzi_20 said: I dont recommend this phone at all battery life doesnt hold up for long Forever needs charging Not only this Ive had mine 5 mths and front screen main button has gone faulty Was pressing it 8 times sometimes to get front screen on Not good Orange brought me a replacement handset out amp guess what Next day sending a text to a good friend of mine the phone completely froze I switched it on again and the screen was pure white Then blue lines were coming down the screen Now i am supposed to be having a second replacement within 3 days tonight People are telling me this is best phone on high street Its CRAP
Jesus Lopez said: I agree the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy S1 definitely has a lot to do popularity of the S2 but that doesnt dismiss that fact that alone the phone is definitely one of the best available I really like the Super AMOLED Plus display which I perfect because both the S1 and 2 are made for viewing video which is why the S1 came with a movie preloaded in HD I just really can wait to get the Galaxy S2 especially since I just got the Sling adapter while working at DISH Network Im actually surprised that there arent more Android users that own a Sling adapter Now I can stream live and recorded TV to all my android devices everywhere that I have 3G coverage or Wi-Fi Now I can finally catch up on all the movies that I have stored in my DVR that I never have time to watch
Xing Guo said: if anybody want to buy it I suggest you go httpwww2011bestphonecom to know more information about it i think it can help you very much
Katyroo12 said: i really dont know whether or not to get the samsunga galaxy S2
Keatescarn said: I just got this phone the pfone itself is fanrastic except its has very poor signal i dont get any more than 2 bars 3g even though my other same network htc nexus 1 gets full signal other thN THIA IT IA GREAT very fast
Concoc said: I am also fond of Super AMOLED Plus display
paul brown said: Mans not sure which phone to chooseHTC incredible is a beautiful phone with I think a better user experience than the Samsung Galaxy S2 On the other hand the Samsung Galaxy S2 is thinner with a bigger internal memory 16 and 32 mega bites as aposed to 1GB on the HTC Thats not to be ignored And it doesnt stop there The S2 has a 2 mega pixel front facing camera versa 13 mega pixel offering from the Sensation The S2 has1 gig of ram and the Sensation has 765 gig of ram The Sensation is said to have a brighter screen too The Samsung Galaxy S2 out specs the HTC Sensation which leaves me with the problem of which phone to choose Both run on Android Ginger Bread 23 and both sport a 12 Dull Core processer with an 8 mega pixel camera with LED flash and full 1080 HD video recording Which one would you choose Let a brother knowAny thoughts would be a great help
Nenen Ubasa said: Samsung Galaxy s or HTC Incredible S Consider the price D