Our Verdict
When we first got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy S II back in February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona , we were anxious to get it into the office so we could try it amply . TheGalaxy S IIbuilds on Samsung ’s successful line of Galaxy Android phones with new display technology , a dual - core processor , and 4 g-force speeds . The Galaxy S II is available in Europe and Asia , but Samsung has not yet denote a U.S. carrier nor details about pricing and availability . How does the Galaxy S II stack up against the other 4 G double - centre animal we ’ve seen this twelvemonth ? Read on to find out .
Superthin design
The first thing I noticed when I picked up the Galaxy S II was how flimsy and light it is . It feel pretty effective in hand , too — less plasticky than some of theprevious - coevals Galaxy Sphones . Overall , the headphone has an attractive , minimalist spirit , but it does n’t feel as well - construct as theHTC Thunderbolt 4Gor the upcomingHTC Sensationon T - Mobile . One nice feature is that the face is made of Gorilla Glass , which is the same scratch - resistive glass that theApple iPhone 4 . Glossy contraband plastic covers the edges of the phone , while the electric battery cover version is a reasonably flimsy textured plastic .
Measuring 4.9 inch marvellous by 2.6 inches full by 0.3 inch deep , the Galaxy S II is remarkably sylphlike . But given that it has a 4.3 - inch display , it still pick out up a bunch of space in your pocket or purse . Nevertheless , at 4 ounces , it ’s comfortable to concord for long catamenia of metre .
The button layout is a snatch foreign on the Galaxy S II . right on out , I noticed that the Google Search button was miss . Touch - sore Menu and Back push button flank a physical Home clitoris . I do n’t understand the purpose of the large physical Home key , but I did n’t witness myself missing the wanting Search key much . You ’ll find the volume cradle on the left spine of the speech sound and the Power button on the right . The micro - USB embrasure sits at the bottom of the speech sound while a 3.5 mm phone jack is at the top .
Noticeably scatty are an HDMI interface ( for connecting your phone to your HDTV ) and a strong-arm television camera shutter button ( which I ’ll discuss in more detail later ) .
Super AMOLED Plus display
The Galaxy S II ’s display is gorgeous — one of the best we ’ve ever seen . It uses Samsung ’s Super AMOLED Plus video display technology , which we first saw at CES . fit in to Samsung , Super AMOLED Plus display have 50 percent more subpixels than the first - generation Super AMOLED displays and do even better that their predecessors in bright light . With a 4.3 - inch display , the newest Galaxy ’s silver screen is 0.3 inch longer diagonally than the screen on the older - gen phone .
Colors looked bright , details were crisp , and the view Angle were very sound . Negroid were deep and colors were richly impregnate without being overdone . Even when held in direct sunlight , the Galaxy S II ’s display remained incredibly seeable .
Revamped TouchWiz 4.0 With Gingerbread
Finally we got to retrospect a speech sound with the latest version of Android — rendering 2.3 ( akaGingerbread ) . Though the Galaxy S II also runs a Samsung - built overlay , TouchWiz 4.0 , most of the new feature in Gingerbread are untouched .
The Galaxy S II ’s keyboard is n’t the native Android one , but it retains the multitouch key - chording feature article ( you’re able to simultaneously press Shift and a letter to get a symbol or number — no need to flip-flop between modes ) and the ability to use your voice to chasten word as you typecast . The copy - and - paste feature film behaves more - or - less the same as in the standard Android setup , but it face slightly different . you’re able to apace select textbook just by press and hold up a word . Then you may adjust the chunk of text that you want to select by dredge the arrows that look around the text . The Samsung ’s keyboard keys are slightly longer and more wide spaced than the stock Gingerbread keyboard keys , and the font is a bit bigger on the keys . The Samsung keyboard replace the emoticon key on the Android keyboard with a return key , which is a more utilitarian subroutine , in my opinion . And Swype fanatics can wallow : The Galaxy S II comes with everybody ’s favored keyboard app preinstalled .
The drug user interface for the cameras take issue from the stock Gingerbread version , but you may still switch between the front - facing camera and the back - face one via a reproducible icon at the top of the photographic camera viewer . Google introduced this diminished but utile feature in Gingerbread in expectancy of an bombardment of smartphones with front - look cameras due out this yr .
TouchWiz 4.0 is n’t much unlike from the previous version , but there are a few aesthetical and functional sweetening here and there . I ’m not the biggest sports fan of TouchWiz , only because I prefer a more straight Android experience . With TouchWiz 4.0 you get seven homescreens that you may customize with all the widgets and shortcuts your affectionateness desires .
acquire a page from ( or directly pull off ) HTC horse sense , TouchWiz get you pinch your homescreen to see thumbnail - size of it versions of all of your screen . Samsung borrowed another feature from HTC Sense , too : When the phone is ringing or playing music , you could hush it by flipping it face - down on a surface .
contact lens gets some cool newfangled motion - free-base subroutine . Swipe right on your friend ’s name , and you ’ll begin a call with them ; swipe left on their name , and you ’ll jump to the SMS composer , where you may station them a text substance . Each of your contact ’s scorecard comes with your communication chronicle — for instance , when you last hollo , texted , or e - get off the person .
One suspect raw feature article is the power to reject a call by send a text message . rent ’s say that your chum is calling to enquire when you ’re going to pay him back for dinner party the other night . A computer menu will come up giving you the selection to answer the call , flow up , or reject it with a text that aver “ I ’ll pay you back tomorrow ! ”
Samsung throw a few other gesture - based ascendence into the mix that seem more like gimmicks than like something most people would actually utilise . For object lesson , you’re able to zoom in and out of images in your gallery or in the internet browser by tilting the phone . It looks neat , I infer , but it feels kind of awkward .
Multimedia: Hubs abound
The newfangled version of TouchWiz comes with new Music , Game , and Readers Hubs that join the Social and Media Hubs . Powered by 7Digital , the Music Hub is essentially an Amazon MP3 choice . you could also use the Music Hub to organize your own library of music . I prefer using the built - in TouchWiz euphony player , which gets a nice face lift in this version of the software program .
The Game Hub , powered by Gameloft , organizes biz for purchase by social games and HD games . The Readers Hub is broken into three services : Kobo ( for Quran ) , Zinio ( for Magazines ) , and Press Display ( for News ) .
Like all Galaxy phones , the S II provides the Media Hub for your movie and TV - see pleasance . television looked fantastic on the French telephone ’s display and played back smoothly . Even if you do n’t like Samsung ’s Media Hub , you ’re travel to need to take in a slew of movies and TV shows on this headphone .
Superb 8-megapixel camera
Like many other recent mellow - close phones , the Galaxy S II has an 8 - megapixel camera plus a front - facing camera for video call . I was very impressed with the image quality of my photos , both indoor shaft and outdoor one . The shutter speed on the camera was fast enough to capture photograph of sports , kids , and other quick - moving study .
One unfortunate design trend that I ’ve noticed various gadget makers bosom is the lack of a physical tv camera shutter button . But superthin , foresightful phones like the Galaxy S II need a physical shutter push button . Trying to hold a phone , steady it on your subject , and then tap the showing without shaking it a bite is incredibly awkward . A forcible shutter headstone solves this problem by allowing you to hold the earpiece , continue your steady bag , and take the characterisation . I do n’t understand why manufacturer have blockade putting them on phones — even though the cameras themselves keep getting better and better ! OK , I ’m off my rostrum .
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S II is brand as a 4 G earphone and Samsung send out it to us with a T - Mobile SIM scorecard . According to Samsung , the Galaxy S II can accomplish HSPA+ download speed of 21 megabits per second and HSUPA upload speeds of 5.76 mbps .
We do n’t get very beneficial T - Mobile HSPA+ connections atPCWorld’soffice in San Francisco . In fact , I could n’t get the Galaxy S II to connect to the HSPA+ electronic connection here at all ; rather , it observe me on sharpness .
We take all such speeds with a grain of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks , however . In our five - city 4 G head - to - mind testing , T - Mobile ’s phones achieved respectable , 4G - like speeds . The Galaxy S 4 G average out 3.38 mbps for downloads and 1.13 mbps for uploads . Though it could n’t entertain a candela to the blazing speeds we examine on Verizon’sLTE web(18.30 mbps and 7.39 mbps ) , it did surpass both AT&T ’s HSPA+ net and Sprint ’s WiMax web .
As I observe antecedently , the Galaxy S II is powered by a double - core CPU , and the twofold - core power was apparent in just about every vista of the telephone set ’s functioning . Scrolling was fluid in apps and Web pages , video played back swimmingly , and I zipped chop-chop through the speech sound ’s menus .
Call quality over T - Mobile was just modal . My supporter on the other destruction of the furrow sounded clear enough , but I point out a piffling distortion in a few of my calls .
Bottom Line
If you ’re in the grocery for a new phone this outflow , you ’re conk to have some tough decisions to make . A lot of spicy earphone have come or will debit before long , including the HTC Thunderbolt , the T - Mobile G2X , theMotorola Atrix 4 guanine , and the forthcoming HTC Sensation andHTC EVO 3D. But when it comes to performance and show quality , the Galaxy S II is pretty much unvanquishable .
The decision - making process really comes down to variations in the Android overlays . TouchWiz 4.0 add some cool features and mapping to the program , but I finger that it sometimes takes by from the Android experience . There ’s also a stack of preloaded subject matter from Samsung on the phone . If you ’re into the pure , straightforward Android experience , I would recommend the T - Mobile G2X rather . Like the Galaxy S II , it ’s a 4 gravitational constant dual - core headphone , but it run evident Android 2.2 ( which I go for will presently be upgraded to Android 2.3 ) .
[ Ginny Mies is an associate editor for PCWorld . ]
