For me I was waiting to hear at least SOMETHING about the GSII before making any final decisions on a phone. My Pre broke about 9 months ago, and I was unwilling to pay the $100 for unsurance to get a new one, so I decided to wing it with my old Treo 755p. That also ended up breaking big time in mid-August, right around the time I was contemplating the GSII (well it had been months of reviews and impressions, but there still wasn't anything definitive for the US). I had to make a decision: get a crappy old phone like one of my family members old Razor and wait for he GSII to be announced, or get the similarly spec'ed Photon. After much consideration, I chose the Photon and believe I made the right decision.
My Photon score after having it for 3 weeks:
Display - 9.0 (Very good, however it could be a little more vibrant and the blacks a little darker, otherwise the sensitivity for the touch is phenomenal, up there with iPhone 4.)
Call Quality - 10.0 (The best I've ever had. It's so clear I want to use the term "HD" but can't without sounding like an idiot.)
Reception - 9.0 (It's better than any phone I've had, however there are still some places that I can't get great reception, notably my house, where I can make a phone call, but I can't hold it to my ear or else it'll disconnect 1/4 times.)
Media - 10.0 (Emulators, Wiimotes, Micro HDMI: portable gaming system in your pocket, with some of the best games ever.)
Internet 9.0 - [Browsing the web is perfect for a phone. I'm using the Dolphin browser, so far the best mobile browser I've used. Connection speeds could be better, sometimes it takes a while to load a page when on 3G; and 4G, while I don't use it often, isn't what I was expecting (basically thinking that I'd be able to replace my home internet with this, not that I ever would actually do that.)]
Kickstand 11.0 - All phones should have this.
So back to the GSII, I won't be getting it.