The Samsung Galaxy S II hardly needs an introduction; Samsung has sold 10 million of them in four months, and the phone wasn't even available in the US. Now Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have their versions of one of the hottest Android phones of 2011. The S II is the follow up to the very successful Samsung Galaxy line of Android phones, and it features a Super AMOLED Plus display for vibrant colors, a very fast dual core CPU and one of the better 8 megapixel cameras on the US market. AT&T stays true to the European and Asian versions, retaining the 1.2 GHz Samsung Exynos CPU and 4.3" display (Sprint and T-Mobile upped it to 4.52" without increasing resolution). Sounds like a nice high end phone, right? But there's something about the Galaxy S II that's like a pleasantly addictive drug: the more you use it, the more you like it and want to use it more. Fortunately, you won't get busted for toting an S II, and you won't (err, we don't think) need a 12 step program.
What makes it so addictive? The speed of both the HSPA+ 4G (or faux 4G, depending on opinion) and the CPU. Web pages load faster than on other phones, thanks to a fast data connection and a CPU that can render complex desktop sites relatively quickly. The camera is fast, even when working with 8MP images and 1080p video; the usual stop and waits just aren't there. 3D games run very smoothly and Adobe Flash 10.3 is more manageable than usual. If you're upgrading from a Samsung Captivate, AT&T's version of the original Galaxy S, the S II is a big step up in performance and camera quality. The phone runs Android OS 2.3.4 Gingerbread with Samsung TouchWiz software.
Design and Ergonomics
If you've seen the Euro import Galaxy S II, this phone is almost identical. It's extremely thin at 0.35", and light at 4.3 ounces, but it's a big phone nonetheless. Surprisingly, it's not much smaller than Sprint's 4.5" version. Samsung still loves plastics, but they've moved away from the gloss black fingerprint magnets to a textured matte plastic back that doesn't exactly scream chic and expensive from the back. But the front looks like a decent quality piece, with Samsung's signature squared off sides, black face and four capacitive buttons. To be honest, the phone's looks don't do anything for me; it's a fairly generic looking large footprint Android phone. It gains points for extreme thinness and lightness, but lacks the curves of the HTC Sensation 4G for hand comfort, and it doesn't use metal or high end materials like some HTC and Motorola Android phones.
If you've seen the Euro import Galaxy S II, this phone is almost identical. It's extremely thin at 0.35", and light at 4.3 ounces, but it's a big phone nonetheless. Surprisingly, it's not much smaller than Sprint's 4.5" version. Samsung still loves plastics, but they've moved away from the gloss black fingerprint magnets to a textured matte plastic back that doesn't exactly scream chic and expensive from the back. But the front looks like a decent quality piece, with Samsung's signature squared off sides, black face and four capacitive buttons. To be honest, the phone's looks don't do anything for me; it's a fairly generic looking large footprint Android phone. It gains points for extreme thinness and lightness, but lacks the curves of the HTC Sensation 4G for hand comfort, and it doesn't use metal or high end materials like some HTC and Motorola Android phones.
The headphone jack is up top and the power button is on the upper right side directly across from the volume controls. That continues to drive us crazy because it's too easy to hit the buttons when pulling the phone out of a pocket or purse, and it's also easy to squeeze both volume and power at the same time. The micro USB port is on the bottom and the speaker fires out the back under a grille on the gloss strip. There are mics on the top and bottom edges for noise cancelling (Sprint's lacks the dual mics).
If you want to connect the phone to an HD TV or monitor to mirror the phone's display, you'll need to purchase an MHL adapter that converts the micro USB port to an HDMI port. We're seeing this arrangement more often on smartphones these days, and it's a minor inconvenience but as a consolation the adapter sells for less than $20 and has a charging port so your phone won't die half way through your favorite flick.
If you want to connect the phone to an HD TV or monitor to mirror the phone's display, you'll need to purchase an MHL adapter that converts the micro USB port to an HDMI port. We're seeing this arrangement more often on smartphones these days, and it's a minor inconvenience but as a consolation the adapter sells for less than $20 and has a charging port so your phone won't die half way through your favorite flick.
