Well the reason has been given.

[jdm4u]

anyone know if the ones being released in Canada will be released on cell providers that use the same frequencies as T-Mo?

 

[Schwack]

As a SGSII owner, I must say the phone is out of this world. Quit complaining about it coming to the US, it will eventually, just wait. Either that switch to ATT, and buy it from newegg or Amazon. Simple.

No one knows when it will come or in what form factor, however the size and weight are ******ed. Everyone says "its so light" And as far as NFC, really? I had the nexus S and never once used it anywhere, seemed like a PITA honestly.

Anti,

I'm not complaining....was just curious on which Canadian carriers are compatible with att with 3g speeds. For if the previous post is correct, I will wait for Canada to get it to save some $$$. Otherwise, I will pull the trigger on Amazon.

BTW -- how can the NFC be a PITA? Didn't it just get announced a few months ago? It's still in its infancy....

 

[dkucera]

Reading this thread and just had to reply with my observations:

Samsung would really prefer to build just one model and have all customers use it (gms/cdma aside).

In the US people are obsessed with getting the $600 phone for $200 (sub) and then being locked into a 2 year contract that is at a minimum of $2000. I you want more data then the costs are even higher, and we do want more data because this is a smartphone that people will occasionaly use a phone to call someone. How many of you actually come close to using your monthly minutes if you are not on a family plan?

About the carriers...They are like a male dog, they just want to put their scent, smell and stink on an otherwise excellent product. I don't even want to get started on bloat/crap ware...

I currently have three active phones

Samsung Galaxy S rooted and running Mosaic V
HTC Inspire 4G rooted and running NINJA 706
Blackberry 9800 with the latest leak 600

If you are going to wait and complain about the manufactures and espically the carriers upgrade the software then just remember that when releaving yourself make sure the wind is at your back...

Just my two dracmas

Don




Edit: I too want an S2 and am waiting for Samsung to sell direct with a US warrnty , if not then I will most likely pay the carrier tax....
As for who builds the better phone, depends on which one you bought.

d

 

[Droid800]

This is in no way true The 4g Chips are no larger then there 3g counter parts LTE WiMax and HSDPA+ are all about the same size perfect example of this is the Samsung Vibrant 4G its the same size and shape as the Vibrant 3g but one has a newer 4g radio even the motherboard are the same size and look almost the same I had a customer who upgraded to the newer v4g but wanted the same color as his old one i simply took the mother board out of the 4g housing and placed it in the 3g housing no problems what so ever there for has no effect on form factor...

So i am wondering how you came to your conclusion?

You're comparing LTE to HSPA+? Really? Do you even understand what you're talking about?

LTE phones have a completely separate 4G radio that takes up quite a bit of space. Ever wondered why the first-gen LTE phones are thick, heavy 4.3" beasts? Its because of how much extra space they need for the LTE hardware.

A better comparison than the one you gave would be the Fascinate to the Charge: In order to fit the LTE radio in they had to up the device size substantially, add a 4.3" screen, and increase the thickness substantially. Here are the dimensions of the two. They're very telling:

Fascinate: 4.18? x 2.5? x 0.39?
Charge: 5.11" x 2.66" x 0.46"

Face it guys; for there to be an LTE Galaxy SII they would have to completely revamp the design of the handset.

 

[thascourge]

Help me out here, should I wait for a Sprint GSII, or just get the EVO 3D? I like the specs of the GSII, but if there is garbage support, or lack up software upgrades? I might wait for the upcoming Nexus Prime.

I have the Evo 3D and love it - I was considering waiting around on the GS2, but without even an announcement for any carrier (much less Sprint, which hopefully will not force them to add a qwerty keyboard) I figure there is no way it will be released before mid-September.

The seeming lack of urgency on Samsung's part to get it to the US doesn't bode well for US support post-launch either.

If I were you, I'd go read the Evo 3D forums, get some opinions of the pros and cons about it, and make a decision that way. I personally love it even though I barely use the 3D. (3D is a gimmick, but it's the coolest gimmick I've ever experienced on a phone)

 

[cwilson617]

This is why when my upgrade cycle comes around I consider my mobile experience as if it were a triangle. One side hardware, one side service provider, and the last would be software, or more specifically, willingness of both service provider and hardware manufacturer to provide timely updates. Software is fully 50% of our experience on mobiles. Samsung just doesn't respond. Unless it's a Nexus, you're S-O-L. My choices were HTC's Evo 3D coupled with Sprint Service. I know there are many heavy incineration pointing in my direction... Sprint's network leaves much to be desired, and to many, that's putting it mildly. In closing, form your own triangle with yourself in the middle, consider all sides carefully. Choose what combination will gave you the most bang, and longevity for your $. After all, they're hooking us for 2 years on contract. The Epic had potential to much more than it how it ended up. After watching how Samsung handled it (and I don't blame Sprint, cause they aren't responsible) I chose HTC. They respond. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Dmunjal]

Is it Samsung or the carriers? I've just seen a 2.3.4 release for the SGS2 come out from Samsung. If it was from AT&T, it would probably take a lot longer.

 

[gitit20]

I repair phones for a living and have worked on a few LTE phones such as the thunderbolt it has one motherboard and does not have a separate radio board... see this video for proof of this.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkrEdr9WiEM&feature=related

Now on to the Evo 4g also one motherboard about the same size its WiMax 4g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ys12y3Xvw

and for the 3rd an HTC droid incredible as you can see there is not a big difference in motherboard size on this one all the basic components are about the same size the phone is over all smaller then the 4g models but if you look closely you can see that there is not much of a size difference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF-Nztd24eI

You can clearly see there is not really much size difference LTE radios do not require any more room and as far as your compering the 2 in size the LTE radio had nothing to do with it. the fascinate has a double sided PCB with ram cpu and Gpu on one side the radio wifi bt and so on on the other side the droid charge has all this on one side so its going to look bigger but that was Samsung answer to the phones like the droid x and so on its just has a BIG screen its not big because of the LTE radio.

Look at THIS PIC here http://images.anandtech.com/doci/4465/ChargePCB2.PNG the VIA telecom chip is no bigger then the CPU right above it.

You're comparing LTE to HSPA+? Really? Do you even understand what you're talking about?

LTE phones have a completely separate 4G radio that takes up quite a bit of space. Ever wondered why the first-gen LTE phones are thick, heavy 4.3" beasts? Its because of how much extra space they need for the LTE hardware.

A better comparison than the one you gave would be the Fascinate to the Charge: In order to fit the LTE radio in they had to up the device size substantially, add a 4.3" screen, and increase the thickness substantially. Here are the dimensions of the two. They're very telling:

Fascinate: 4.18” x 2.5” x 0.39”
Charge: 5.11" x 2.66" x 0.46"

Face it guys; for there to be an LTE Galaxy SII they would have to completely revamp the design of the handset.

 

[PhoneJunkie]

I am on xda developers as well, you are seriously stretching the truth if you are comparing the build quality issues samsung has to htc's. Also you speak of verizon and sprint preferring to deal with HTC and Moto as a fact. Where is the proof to your claim? As I mentioned, I am aware that the radio in the fascinate is not the best but it was never weak and I still get the same download speeds as htc phones, the only phone that gets consistently better reception and gets better download speeds are motos. If the radio is the problem than how come the gsm counter parts ( t mobil and at&t )also are not announced? Also most of verizon's updates causes more problems than the fixed. The developers do much better running the leaked versions that samsung leaks rather than wait forever for official updates from verizon ( which ironically still has the same issues but we have BING!!! hooray !!! ) A stock fascinate is pretty pathetic, it makes me sad to see it stock all bloated, binged and touchwized up.

edit: Hows that bootloader doing btw that the ceo promises to unlock for you guys? Sorry for rubbing it in. As you can see I've had it up to my head from all the htc and moto fan boys making fun of samsung phones that I decided to play their games..... No samsung is not paying me either, they should though.

Stretching the truth? There are many issues I could have added. Listen I'm not bashing Samsung, I want the Galaxy SII. But all these manufacturers have the same issues when releasing new phones. Look at the disaster the Nexus S 4G is for Sprint. To say one has superior hardware over another just isn't the case. Samsung, Motorola and HTC all make great Android phones, its all personal preference when choosing one.

Since you don't believe me about Sprint and Verizon, here's an article that just came out. There's another one but i can't remember what site it was on. I'll post it for you if I can find it.

Where Are All The Samsung Galaxy S2s For The US?

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I consider myself a smart consumer, I don't root and I don't run ROMs, but I had a fascinate for a few days and I would have been better with two tin cans and a waxed string. The phone reception was terrible, it dropped calls constantly. Took it back, got a Moto and never had that problem again.

I live in a small town with a strong signal, but on the outskirts of town (in the desert) it drops and that is where your so-called great hardware failed. And, I'm not the only one. I have talked with others who returned samdung products for the same reason. Some went with Moto, some went with HTC all are happy now.

So, please, don't try and tell me SamDung products have the best hardware. I have heard that before, and strange enough, it has never been shown to be true.

The only thing that Samsung has going for them is their screens and unlocked boot-loaders. I had a fascinate and had similar experiences with you (terrible radio) and found that while the phone zipped along when new it lagged something fierce after you installed more than about 60-70 apps (other than a couple low end phones I have never had that experience with Android. And don't get me started on the Froyo debacle....

 

[gitit20]

You can buy the GSII here use it on t-mobile or att Smartphones, Tablets, HTC, Motorola, BlackBerry - from Clove

Stretching the truth? There are many issues I could have added. Listen I'm not bashing Samsung, I want the Galaxy SII. But all these manufacturers have the same issues when releasing new phones. Look at the disaster the Nexus S 4G is for Sprint. To say one has superior hardware over another just isn't the case. Samsung, Motorola and HTC all make great Android phones, its all personal preference when choosing one.

Since you don't believe me about Sprint and Verizon, here's an article that just came out. There's another one but i can't remember what site it was on. I'll post it for you if I can find it.

Where Are All The Samsung Galaxy S2s For The US?

 

[Droid800]

I repair phones for a living and have worked on a few LTE phones such as the thunderbolt it has one motherboard and does not have a separate radio board... see this video for proof of this.. YouTube - ‪HTC ThunderBolt teardown.wmv‬‏

Now on to the Evo 4g also one motherboard about the same size its WiMax 4g YouTube - ‪HTC EVO 4G Disassembly Repair Instruction Guide‬‏

and for the 3rd an HTC droid incredible as you can see there is not a big difference in motherboard size on this one all the basic components are about the same size the phone is over all smaller then the 4g models but if you look closely you can see that there is not much of a size difference YouTube - ‪Droid Incredible Disassembly by TechRestore‬‏

You can clearly see there is not really much size difference LTE radios do not require any more room and as far as your compering the 2 in size the LTE radio had nothing to do with it. the fascinate has a double sided PCB with ram cpu and Gpu on one side the radio wifi bt and so on on the other side the droid charge has all this on one side so its going to look bigger but that was Samsung answer to the phones like the droid x and so on its just has a BIG screen its not big because of the LTE radio.

Look at THIS PIC here http://images.anandtech.com/doci/4465/ChargePCB2.PNG the VIA telecom chip is no bigger then the CPU right above it.

I never said separate radio board. Learn to read pal. It has a separate LTE RADIO. So for a phone like the Charge, it has to have the VIA chip alongside a Samsung LTE chip. And its assorted hardware takes up much more space than a non-LTE handset.

Look, there is NOT A CHANCE that there will be a Galaxy S II in its current form with an LTE radio. It is physically impossible. That's the end of the discussion.

 

[gitit20]

No its not the end of it because look at the pic do you see a samsung LTE Chip NO you dont just the VIA LTE radio chip its an all in one design has the normal CDMA as well as the LTE built in to that one chip I know i am right...

I broke it all down for you here see attached photo shows the lay out compered to a lot of other phones no more room is needed and no additional chips are needed just one all in one chip

I never said separate radio board. Learn to read pal. It has a separate LTE RADIO. So for a phone like the Charge, it has to have the VIA chip alongside a Samsung LTE chip. And its assorted hardware takes up much more space than a non-LTE handset.

Look, there is NOT A CHANCE that there will be a Galaxy S II in its current form with an LTE radio. It is physically impossible. That's the end of the discussion.

 

[markus_del_marko]

im almost positive the sg2 will be on sprint & verizon by x-mas this year despite the delays.

 

[aTeam]

No its not the end of it because look at the pic do you see a samsung LTE Chip NO you dont just the VIA LTE radio chip its an all in one design has the normal CDMA as well as the LTE built in to that one chip I know i am right...

I broke it all down for you here see attached photo shows the lay out compered to a lot of other phones no more room is needed and no additional chips are needed just one all in one chip

Great post

 

[Droid800]

No its not the end of it because look at the pic do you see a samsung LTE Chip NO you dont just the VIA LTE radio chip its an all in one design has the normal CDMA as well as the LTE built in to that one chip I know i am right...

I broke it all down for you here see attached photo shows the lay out compered to a lot of other phones no more room is needed and no additional chips are needed just one all in one chip

Erm. Except that's not an accurate analysis you're using. Did you even bother to read the analysis by Anandtech? (Here's a link for you in case you don't bother to go read it: AnandTech - Samsung Droid Charge Review - Droid Goes LTE ) The Charge runs Via for CDMA/EVDO and a Samsung Proprietary chip for LTE. Completely different (and separate) chipset. Via does NOT make any LTE chipset compatible with Verizon. Just look at the Thunderbolt for the added (expensive) components to integrate the LTE chipset. There is no less than four additional (and major) pieces of technology that have to be added for it to work.

From that picture:

1) The Via telecom chip runs CDMA/EVDO only
2) The chip that runs LTE is the one with SAMSUNG in all capital letters. If you look at it, underneath it it says 'CMC220' which is Samsung's LTE baseband chip. To the left of that chip is the Hummingbird. (if you look closely, it says ARM on it)

The chip that runs LTE, and its assorted supporting chips etc., is the size of the Hummingbird. That is part of the cost of first generation; the components run big and they run hot. I'd say the size of the LTE chipset (as big as hummingbird and as power hungry) is plenty enough reason for the SII not to have it.

BTW: in Anandtech's analysis they even spell it out clear as day.

"We don?t have to disassemble anything either, as the FCC has some nice shots of the Charge?s main PCB showing both basebands sitting pretty next to Hummingbird and its PoP LPDDR2. Center bottom is the VIA Telecom 7.1 (you can even make out VIA), and above it is the Samsung CMC220. "


But, that's neither here nor there.

We've heard it out of the mouth of a verizon engineer that it would be physically impossible to package LTE into the Galaxy SII unless they wait until the first revision chips that will physically downsize the LTE chipset. Those haven't even begun to be approved by Verizon yet, so it won't be until early 2012 until that happens.

As I said. This conversation is over. LTE will not be in the Galaxy SII unless there are some major changes to the form factor.

 

[Dmunjal]

This is the same reason Apple has said that the iPhone 5 will not have LTE either. Verizon LTE is an amazing network but the chips aren't ready for primetime unless you're using a MiFi or a USB modem.

 

[JayWill]

Posted 30 mins ago. I found it funny. I'd venture to speculate that they're referring to the article that prompted this thread ...

Samsung Mobile USA ‎@Christopher You might want to do a little internet searching to find out why the GS II isn't out yet in the States. Believe you me, we want it out as soon as possible.
29 minutes ago ? 1 person

That sure looks like a big index finger pointed at the US carriers to me.

 

[grayfox99]

Posted 30 mins ago. I found it funny. I'd venture to speculate that they're referring to the article that prompted this thread ...

Samsung Mobile USA ‎@Christopher You might want to do a little internet searching to find out why the GS II isn't out yet in the States. Believe you me, we want it out as soon as possible.
29 minutes ago ? 1 person

That sure looks like a big index finger pointed at the US carriers to me.

Beyond frustrating, people are ALL OVER Facebook asking where this is, they are ALL OVER Twitter asking where this is and Samsung is stuck in negotiations with US telecoms. They should be beholden to their customers NOT some stupid greedy Telecom, this is hurting them more than they know we are the largest tech market in the world and they haven't even released it in our market due to theses idiotic carriers.

 

[techno_techie]

The answer to question of selling directly to the public can be no surprise. In order to keep R&D funded, PR positive, and prototypes still going to trade shows takes major capital. Service providers are willing to take the risk of purchasing millions of handsets, a guarantee for the phone developers. If you sell to the general public without other contracts, the risk you run is not covering the overhead. That can mean millions of dollars, and whatever people believe about how wealthy companies like Samsung are, what we know in terms cash tied up in deals, contracts, and costs is limited and it could mean that some companies are on a budget that heavily relies on relationships to other companies that fund future ventures. So, while I would love it if Samsung sold their phone straight to my hand, they need the service provider to make the efforts to produce it worth the work that goes into the phone.