Monthly Archives: October 2011

I recently decided to take the plunge into the world of Android and managed to get a pretty decent deal out of O2 UK for Samsung’s current flagship phone, the Galaxy S II. I’ll start by saying, I’m reviewing the UK GS2 as Samsung have recently launched the GS2 in the US with slightly revamped specs.  For the UK you get a dual core 1.2 ghz cpu, 1GB RAM, 16GB Memory, and an 8 mpx camera capable of 1080p recording.  The standout spec though in the glorious 4.3 inch Super ALOMED Plus display at 800 x 480 pixels.

For those who have never heard of OLED displays, basically, with a standard LCD display you have a single back light responsible for lighting the display. With OLED, each pixel is self lit, therefore, a single pixel can be completely switched off for black while the one next to it can be fully lit for white. Essentially giving a perfect contrast ratio.  This is most notable on the GS2 when browsing the menu’s with their black backgrounds and white text.  Colours on the display also pop, it truly is stunning and you really have to see it to believe it. I honestly think there is other display on the market that can match it, and that includes your TV’s!

In general use, the Galaxy S II flies, the dual core CPU is really used to its max to make flicking through screens and loading apps fast and smooth.  I can get a whole day out of the phone easily too, which includes a couple of hours of music listening, internet browsing, game playing and texting (oh and the occasional phone call!).  So Samsung has really done a remarkable job on their power management with this phone.

The phone is made of a light plastic which does give the phone a slight cheap feel over devices like the iPhone 4 and most recent HTC phones, but for that, the GS2 is only 8.8 mm thick at the point you hold it and is very light. Quite a feat given the phone’s extensive spec sheet.  The screen is also covered by the almost indestructible Gorilla Glass.

Onboard, the phone runs Android 2.3.3 out of the box, although I’ve seen mentions of 2.3.4 being available, I’ve not seen an update yet.  However, Samsung employ’s it’s now well established TouchWiz interface, adding the usual bells and whistles, with a few extra features like being able to hold two fingers on the screen in the browser and move your hand back and forward to zoom in and out.  Something I’ve found very hand when holding the phone with two hands.  Theres also a few included Samsung Hubs to be found, covering, Music, Social, and Games but none are particularly that useful. The Music hub does include access to 7digitals online store so there’s a pretty impressive list of music to choose from.

On the back is the 8 mpx camera with a (very bright) flash, picture quality I’ve found to be pretty decent in good light, but don’t think you’ll be taking many night pictures with this phone as anything out of the reach of the flash is a no go.  Whilst away on a recent holiday I attempted to try to get photo of out hotel lit up and night-time. The best I got the from the phone was some faint lights in the distance. The camera does have some great little extras though, like smile detection and an awesome panorama mode where you press the shutter button one, move the phone round in an arc and the phone does the rest stitching together upto 8 photo’s.

 

This panorama would have been perfect had it not been for the couple on the right....

Conclusion

I’ll go more in-depth on Android in a later article. But for the Samsung Galaxy S II? Well it is by far the best phone I’ve had, and that’s saying something as I’m massive Windows Phone fan. It’s the snappy responsiveness, incredible screen and all round complete package you get from GS2 that really does set it apart.  Samsung seems to be going down the road of having their Galaxy S phones showcase the best of tech, so I can’t wait to see what they’ve put together for the Galaxy S III.

There’s very little not to like about the GS2, if you’re not wanting an iPhone then I don’t really see any other device on the market in the UK that’s a better alternative. It gets a massive thumbs up from me!