• Review: Samsung Galaxy S II

    Review: Samsung Galaxy S II

    Chandrakant 'ck' Isi, Jul 11, 2011 1641 hrs IST

    Droid on steroids.

    Blazing fast UI; Brilliant screen; Super-slim design; Effortless multitasking; 1080p video recording; Extensive multimedia support

    Poor grip; All-plastic body

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Samsung Galaxy S II
MRP: Rs 32,500
Street Price: Rs 30,500 (Flipkart.com); Rs 31,000 (LetsBuy.com)

Nowadays, a high-end mobile phone's specs can give a complex to most Intel Atom based netbooks. Dual-core smartphones are promising unmatched performance, but an additional core means a deeper hole in your pocket. Is the performance boost really worth the premium price tag? Well, the answer lies in the review. Read on to find out.


Design, Build Quality, And Display


The retail package contains the device, a headset, charger, and a micro-USB cable. The headset is too cheap for a premium phone. Moreover, the Koreans aren't even generous enough to include an MHL adapter (for HD-Out) and USB adapter (for USB On-The-Go) in the bundle.

The first thing you'll notice about the phone is its large 4.3" screen covered by Gorilla Glass. Below this screen is the dominant Home button, with two capacitive backlit keys for company.

Review: Samsung Galaxy S II





There aren't many buttons to talk about, except for a volume rocker on the left and a power switch on the right. The other thing that grabs your attention is the ultra-thin body, and at dimensions of 125.3 mm (l) x 66.1 mm (w) x 8.5 mm (d), it s currently the thinnest smartphone in the market. Being insanely slim adds to its looks, but grip-wise it feels like holding a thin bar of soap. Even the textured back doesn't help much in providing a grip. This is because due to the phone's size, the back barely contacts your palm. You're left gripping the gadget by its sides, which feels very insecure.

Design wise, it's still a run-of-the-mill Samsung phone, with only the display size and slimness hinting at its flagship status. The phone is all plastic; this helps in reducing the weight to a mere 116 grammes. However, I would have preferred some metal at the cost of increased weight, as found in most premium phones. Moreover, a fresh design wouldn't have hurt either.

Surprisingly, the SIM slot is hot-swappable, while the memory card slot is not. This is stupid.

Review: Samsung Galaxy S II




The Galaxy S II (GS2) is one of the fastest devices in the market. Packed with a dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU and a Mali 400MP GPU, the phone is absurdly powerful. Additionally, it has a maddening 1 GB RAM to take on all the crazy multitasking you ever wanted to. Other features include an 8 megapixel snapper, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, FM Radio, gyroscope, accelerometer, and an NFC chip.


When it comes to the screen, bigger is better, and Samsung knows it very well. The 480x800 pixel, 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus screen not only impresses with its size, but also its pixel density. The brightness level is great, and is automatically adjusted with the help of an ambient light sensor. Colours can be as vibrant as you like, and I literally mean it. Samsung has thoughtfully given three Background Effect settings to adjust the the colour intensity. The viewing angles are exceptional, and the display remains perfectly visible in sunlight. All in all, no other phone's display can come close to the GS2's extraordinary screen.

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Discussion Board
(23) Comments
Vivek
,New Delhi, on Nov 08, 2011 08:35 PM
Samsung has shamelessly tried to copy iPhone.Its a stolen product...
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Abhi
,Jhanjharpur, on Dec 06, 2011 02:48 AM
Good artists copy,Great artists steal.
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bigus dickus
,yorkshire, on Dec 30, 2011 06:18 AM
are you dumb? samsung make the processor ,the ram, the screen and prob a good 25% more of whats inside a iphone ahahahha noob go play with your penis
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bigus dickus
,yorkshire, on Dec 30, 2011 06:15 AM
great phone looks amazing but i use a laptop for laptop style processing phones are phones to me ....and what the appleheads dont realise is that 90% of their shiddy iphone4 is made of samsung and other makers parts so stop bleating about how good iphone is cos only you really care
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Manish
,Mumbai, on Jul 12, 2011 03:16 PM
It has been a month now since I have been using Galaxy S2.. and no matter what people say about the plastic body, well, it is extremely light ( I don't understand how people can understate it), and no matter how many applications you run, it never slows down. But all things kept aside, what one can never ignore is that it's display is the best on any phone ever. And contrary to this review, I have never experienced any lag ever in using the GPS. The connectivity and call quality are best I have experienced. (was using HTC Nexus previously). Batterywise, it is better than any other offerings around. Someone who has never used such resource-intensive phone might crib about battery, but think of it as mini-laptop and you will realize that lasting a day (which is a norm) is a big achievement. My colleagues in office use I-Phone 4 anId HTC Sensation, and apart from HTC Sense UI ( which i actually adore), Galaxy S2 scores in each and every department. I-phone 4, well, unless you are a fanboy or a mall hopping flaunting girl, is total garbage in front of this and Sensation.
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yoyo
,Vekta, on Jul 12, 2011 09:47 PM
have you used an iphone 4? have you seen how smooth it is? my htc sensation doesnt even come close to matching the quality of the iphone 4. Also, the android appstore is a joke compared to apples app store.
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manna jannata
,bhenke, on Jul 12, 2011 11:38 PM
Due to the use of unacceptable language, the comment has been removed by the moderator.
** Message edited by moderator **
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Anonymous
,jo, on Jul 13, 2011 11:31 AM
Manish- You just don't get it , do you? There are two types of phones. Doesn't matter if its a shittberry, Dickdroid, Lundows or whatever. There is an I-PHONE and then there is an 'Every other' phone. iPhone 4 is the benchmark when you compare phones with iPhone 4 being the benchmark. The camera 'may' be 5 mega pixel, but its got a better sensor. iOS is the slickest UI in the market and is the lead platform for MOST (Over 99%) Developers. There's an iPHONE app and then a Mobile App for other platforms.
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Anonymous
,jo, on Jul 13, 2011 11:34 AM
t e c h 2 ( d o t ) c o m >> t ech t ree
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Maverick
,Delhi, on Sep 16, 2011 06:50 AM
Apple.fanbois are such a disgrace to the tech community.. you guys got to see a world outside of what steve jobs has shown you.. No radio, No bluetooth file transfer, No themes, No true multi tasking, No flash support, most apps that are free in android are paid apps in Appstore.. not a problem the iphone has a good touchscreen and looks fab and costs a bomb.. But fanbois will still praise it..
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Vivek Rajagopal
,Chennai, on Aug 23, 2011 05:26 PM
One of the best mobile to buy. After the nokia 5800 express music mobile, I waited for some while to use heavy applications and this is best one.
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pia
,pune, on Aug 17, 2011 06:32 PM
i want 2 buy d bst andriod phn who is bst in all terms n good durability.my budget is 30000.plz sugest me.
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Rohit
,Bangalore, on Aug 03, 2011 07:02 PM
Its been 2 months since I using Galaxy S2. I bought it on the day it was released and I simply loved it. Its pros lightweight, superfast and gorgeous display, but cons are 4:3 inch display and its heats a lot if I use wifi, gps and while charging. After using S2 all these days, I was happy, but recently I am facing few software problems, like it goes in loop if I press back button when 3 or more applications are opened and also it never exits a game or an application if I press home button. So I wanted to know whether anyone else also facing the same problem..?
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Sricharan
,Bangalore, on Jul 13, 2011 12:51 PM
planning to shift from galaxy S to galaxy sII :D
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swapnil
,Mumbai, on Jul 12, 2011 10:39 PM
awesome in indepth review.... keep it coming....
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dude
,kochi, on Jul 12, 2011 10:32 AM
The battery life seems dismal. But that's the case with all Androids in general. Hey CSK, did you tweak the phone or install Juice Defender or something to get better runtimes?
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Chandrakant Isi
,TechTree, on Jul 12, 2011 02:28 PM
No, I didn't install Juice Defender, and the screen brightness was set to automatic.
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Prithvi
,Pune, on Jul 12, 2011 12:14 PM
Checked it out recently and I absolutely DID NOT like the plasticky build. Its just too cheap to house an otherwise super phone. My Nokia S40 phone looked rich in front of it.
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Maxcool
,Mumbai, on Jul 11, 2011 07:03 PM
The Wifi connection on this phone is very weak . You only get connection when u r near the router . Those who have this cellphone how is ur experience.
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nag
,hyd, on Jul 11, 2011 09:50 PM
Am using for a month now and so far never seen any wifi issues .... not sure why so many people are craving about this
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Sudip
,Bangalore, on Jul 11, 2011 08:51 PM
"Swiping a contact to the left results in composing a message, while swiping it to the right lets you call that person." This feature is not new in GS2 and is available in most samsung touch phones...it's available on my galaxy 3(I5801) and my wife's wave525(which is bada not android)
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Nitin
,Delhi, on Jul 11, 2011 08:45 PM
I think what matters is the integration of software with hardware. I have been using android for more than a year now and I must say that the best integration is achieved only by HTC. But the worst part of trying to win the race of hardware is paid by the battery life. I spend 12 hrs a day travelling and dont really have the chance to plug in the charger, 10 hrs seems a lot less for me. I am not an apple fan, however I must say that they might not have the best of the hardware but nobody cares till the time their phone runs buttery smooth and offers the best UI experience with one of the best battery backup.
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Rahul
,Mumbai, on Jul 11, 2011 07:03 PM
Awesome review!!!!Loved it!!! Samsung has truly lived up-to its commitments of surprising us with such powerful; phones!!!
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