Samsung Galaxy S 2 Review - The Best, Redefined

[Zorachus]

This is a brand new review, from one of the most respected [H]ardware sites. They tell it like it is, no BS. It is for the international version, but we are getting pretty much the same phone almost, and his points will be valid for our version.

AnandTech - Samsung Galaxy S 2 (International) Review - The Best, Redefined

It’s always difficult to sum up a device like the SGS2, because this is such a major launch and so much has already been written and discovered about the phone. There’s no doubt in my mind that SGS2 is the most powerful smartphone out right now, both in the synthetics and in just subjective feel. The end result is an experience that’s buttery smooth and rarely shows any signs of being want for more power.

I really have to admit that I went into this review expecting to be massively underwhelmed with Galaxy S 2. Here we are at the end though, I find my thoughts about the device completely changed. Even taking into account the near term Android roadmap, Galaxy S 2 is the Android smartphone I’d absolutely buy today.

Battery 3G Talk life is at 10.5 hours on the S2, the iPhone4 is at 7.5 hours, and the EVO 4G a measly 4.0 hours

 

[whatsitsname]

Their review is probably 4 months too late but yeah it is fairly comprehensive review.
I think their review of the speaker of the Galaxy S2 is spot on. My buddy's Galaxy S2 does sounds tiny and distorts when near max volume. The loudspeaker is in no way comparable to my Photon and my EVO 4G. I hope the Epic 4g Touch gets a different loudspeaker or DAC or whatever that is causing this problem.

 

[Zorachus]

AnandTech - Samsung's Galaxy S 2: The Smoothest Scrolling Android Device Around

One aspect of differentiation between Android smartphones has always been how smoothly they scroll both in the OS and in the browser. Later versions of Android have addressed the issue by adding varying degrees of GPU acceleration to the OS, but there's still the need of raw memory bandwidth and the GPU horsepower to back it up. It turns out that Samsung's Galaxy S 2 delivers both. The SGS2 is able to deliver a huge leap in scrolling performance.

 

[JayWill]

Man those guys do write great reviews. I've always been astonished by the attention to detail of their reviewers, and the sheer "techiness" of the stuff they delve into. Most of it goes way over my head but I love the detail.

The writer mentions that it took a long time to get one, which has me scratching my head. I guess they didn't have the budget to buy one or didn't think it was worth the cost just to review it. Maybe they finally got a freebie from Samsung, of finally decided to buy one since US variant release is imminent.

Still, even though it's 4 months after release, its the best review I've read. Worth the wait.

 

[jfenton]

Interesting in that reviewing this PHONE they never once test is as a phone, never talk about the earpiece speaker, etc., etc.

 

[anon(465978)]

Hmmmm..... they addressed my main concern with this phone:

Personally, I prefer higher PPI IPS-LCD displays, though at 4.3? SAMOLED+?s WVGA (800x480) isn?t a slouch, and the change from RGBG PenTile to an RGB stripe helps matters. Where WVGA starts to become a problem is at 4.5?. Scaling up area and increasing the diagonal size by 0.2? doesn?t sound like a problem, but r^2 is a *****, and at that size both the Android UI elements and subpixels look absurdly huge. Luckily, the international SGS2?s 4.3? is completely tolerable with WVGA.

:-\:-\:-\

 

[JayWill]

Interesting in that reviewing this PHONE they never once test is as a phone, never talk about the earpiece speaker, etc., etc.

Hmm they have sections on both cellular connectivity and call audio quality.

 

[JayWill]

Hmmmm..... they addressed my main concern with this phone:

Personally, I prefer higher PPI IPS-LCD displays, though at 4.3? SAMOLED+?s WVGA (800x480) isn?t a slouch, and the change from RGBG PenTile to an RGB stripe helps matters. Where WVGA starts to become a problem is at 4.5?. Scaling up area and increasing the diagonal size by 0.2? doesn?t sound like a problem, but r^2 is a *****, and at that size both the Android UI elements and subpixels look absurdly huge. Luckily, the international SGS2?s 4.3? is completely tolerable with WVGA.

:-\:-\:-\

Yeah I expect this to be the biggest griped about design decision after release, both by reviewers and owners. I've played with an Infuse enough to know now that I don't have a problem with it, but if anyone is going to find a flaw with this phone, it's going to be WVGA resolution on a 4.5" screen.

 

[anon(465978)]

Yeah I expect this to be the biggest griped about design decision after release, both by reviewers and owners. I've played with an Infuse enough to know now that I don't have a problem with it, but if anyone is going to find a flaw with this phone, it's going to be WVGA resolution on a 4.5" screen.

so I just ran to an AT&T store during my lunch today to play around with the Infuse.

while pixelation is certainly visible.... that display is freakin gorgeous!

I think Ill be alright.

 

[jfenton]

Plus...the Infuse screen is not the same as this one.....this SA+ is updated to 12 subpixels rather than the 8 of the infuse.

 

[JayWill]

Plus...the Infuse screen is not the same as this one.....this SA+ is updated to 12 subpixels rather than the 8 of the infuse.

Actually the Infuse also has a SAMOLED Plus screen, so it uses the same sub-pixel pattern.

 

[Nrbelex]

Yeah I expect this to be the biggest griped about design decision after release, both by reviewers and owners. I've played with an Infuse enough to know now that I don't have a problem with it, but if anyone is going to find a flaw with this phone, it's going to be WVGA resolution on a 4.5" screen.

Agreed. Coming from an original Palm Pre, I'm hoping the vast upgrade will outweigh the fact that the screen could be better. I'm hoping to check out an Infuse before Friday, but the odds are I'm sticking with my GSII pre-order unless I notice something seriously visually offensive.

Plus...the Infuse screen is not the same as this one.....this SA+ is updated to 12 subpixels rather than the 8 of the infuse.

Are you sure? From the article (emphasis mine):

One of the highlights of SGS2 is its 4.3? SAMOLED+ display, which we?ve seen before on phones like the Droid Charge, and a 4.5? version of on the Samsung Infuse 4G. Though the panel is the same as what we?ve seen in the past, the controller and software are different.

 

[jfenton]

I will have to dig up where I saw that information but I have read it in more than one place the past few days.

 

[mcp6530]

Enjoy that earpiece - it is brutal and sounds distorted if you turn it up beyond half way!

For a real phone with great sound quality, try the photon after you make a call with the gs2.

 

[chuckz28]

Christ that Took me an hour and a half to get through. Most in depth review I have ever seen. 18 pages. I am happy with their results and they are too. With the commanding lead it has, it looks like it should remain relevant at least, if not out perform the next iPhone on all fronts aside from graphics and audio performance.

 

[javascriptvoid]

is it still worth it to get a sII or would the nexus be a better buy. i want to get a s3 but too expansive for me.

 

[PanchoPlanet]

is it still worth it to get a sII or would the nexus be a better buy. i want to get a s3 but too expansive for me.

This phone is still a contender. Is still worth getting.

Pp.

Sent from the future using Mayan technology.