It looks like the point where it all ends. A galaxy outgrowing its own limits. An explosion of energy and speed. An overdose of smartphone power. A phone that makes you love the smell of Android in the morning.
Samsung Galaxy S II official photos
The likes of Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II make it easy to get carried away. But wait a minute. There’s nothing quite like the Galaxy II. The brightest stars on the smartphone scene have graced our homepage, but this one is trying to eclipse them all. The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is in no mood to share – the spoils or the
spotlight.
Samsung Galaxy S II official photos
With a spec sheet like that, it’s a beast of a droid. Even in today’s viciously competitive market, the Galaxy S II has so many firsts to be proud of. Samsung’s very own Exynos chipset, the unmatched Super AMOLED Plus screen and the ultra-slim body only begin to tell the story.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
- 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
- 4.3" 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
- Android OS v2.3.3 with TouchWiz 4 launcher
- 1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset, 1GB of RAM
- 8 MP wide-angle lens autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
- 1080p HD video recording at 30fps
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
- 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slot
- Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
- Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
- FM radio with RDS
- Great audio quality
- Extremely slim waistline at only 8.5mm and low weight (116g)
- 2MP secondary video-call camera
- Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration for the web browser permit 1080p flash video playback
- NFC support (optional, not without a software update)
- Document editor
- File manager comes preinstalled
- The richest video format support we have seen
Main disadvantages
- All-plastic body
- No dedicated camera key
- Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
- Non-hot-swappable microSD card
You’ve got a problem with the PenTile matrix of the original Galaxy S – the Galaxy S II is here to fix that. Or was it the laggy RFS file system bothering you? Well, be our gest and enjoy it the EXT4 way. The GPS issues or the lack of flash for the camera too much for you to handle – they’ve got it all fixed here.
The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II at ours
But fixes are just the beginning and they come to show that Samsung has listened to the customers. The key selling points of the Galaxy S II will most certainly be the impressive 1080p video recording, better still photos and, probably most important of all, the new Exynos chipset that powers the whole thing.
You get an extra core, higher clock speed and the new Mali-400 GPU that’s supposed to blow everything we know out of the water. Not to mention the sweet gig of RAM to make sure that multitasking is a walk in the park for the Galaxy S II.
As long as everything works as promised, there’s no doubt users will be delighted with this one. But let’s find out – the Samsung Galaxy S II is back after the break for a proper hardware inspection.
Review
Absurdly powerful and having a one-of-a-kind screen – the Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is an easy phone to recommend. But that’s one thing you don’t need to do. Its reputation precedes it. The Galaxy II succeeds where previous dual-core droids have failed and provides the most complete smartphone experience to date.
Samsung were a few months late to enter the dual-core race, beaten by both LG and Motorola, but the time was obviously used well. The Galaxy S II doesn’t look like it was rushed to release halfway through the i-dotting. It’s a monster of a phone and one that feels comfortable with all that horsepower.
Little wonder really that Samsung are currently selling the Galaxy S II faster than they can manufacture it, never mind the slightly inflated price tag. Not only does it have everything – it sets the bar for the things to want in a phone. We just cannot see beyond the new Samsung flagship if we’re to name the ultimate smartphone.
And if rumors are to be trusted, and the iPhone 5 misses the expected June release, there only seems to be one challenger on the horizon – the HTC Sensation. We can’t be sure of course exactly how the HTC will fare against the Galaxy S II. Samsung are already using their head start though – they are selling their flagship as hot cakes.
HTC Sensation
Of course the LG Optimus 2X has the advantage of a lower price tag, while the optional lapdock gives the Motorola Atrix an added dimension. In terms of raw power though – and number of premium features – the Galaxy S II is the obvious choice.
LG Optimus 2X • Motorola ATRIX
Of course, Samsung will gladly have you believe that the AT&T-bound Infuse 4G is the next best thing. But we just can’t see how more than a year-old hardware is to match the Exynos. So even if the bigger Super AMOLED Plus screen gives the Infuse 4G a bit of an advantage, it’s the Galaxy S II that has the future proofing. .
Samsung I997 Infuse 4G
That by the way goes for the Sony Ericsson Arc as well. You may be saving a few bucks today but you will certainly be better off with the Galaxy S II in the long run. Especially given Samsung’s update record (the original Galaxy S is enjoying Gingerbread now and has seen two major OS updates since its launch).
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
There’re phones to look for, phones to talk about, phones to be seen with. The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is all that and more. Android is the smart platform of choice these days. With phones like the new Galaxy, Samsung is set on becoming the brand to beat.
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