Review: Samsung Galaxy SII I9100

[DKT27]

Yup. No mobile will get 3.0 Honeycomb. The ones having 2.3.x and are going to update will get 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

[Lite]

Someone tried to connect Galaxy S2 with Kies, it did 28 times not work. Then he suddenly could upgrade his Android.

If you are about moving MP3 or other data to your Galaxy S2, then you do not need Kies.

I've not had a problem ever connecting my S or S2 to Kies. Not that you ever really need to use it though :rolleyes:

Just to be sure to switch back to TW Launcher before connecting.

[Olexijl]

Well, i got it today.

First impression: awesome!!!!

Tip: If you do not want to pay for your mobile internet - disable it simply. Use WLAN with your router instead! Advantages: much faster and at no cost.

Following should be at your attention: please check your display if it has blue cast in white colour. Please go to your Phone and just do like calling the following number: *#0*#

You'll see display with different tests. Check if the background is really WHITE and not WHITE with blue cast.

I'll play with it for some days before making details.

[Olexijl]

Scratch test on the phone with Gorilla glass (same glass is included with SGS2):

[Tweety.Abd]

Well, i got it today.

First impression: awesome!!!!

Tip: If you do not want to pay for your mobile internet - disable it simply. Use WLAN with your router instead! Advantages: much faster and at no cost.

Following should be at your attention: please check your display if it has blue cast in white colour. Please go to your Phone and just do like calling the following number: *#0*#

You'll see display with different tests. Check if the background is really WHITE and not WHITE with blue cast.

I'll play with it for some days before making details.

I haven't got mine yet, I'll be getting it within a week or two, but I'll make sure to check the things you've mentioned out. And it'd be awesome if you provided some tips/tricks about the phone. Thanks for sharing the tip(s) :)

[Olexijl]

<div align="center"><h3><b>Samsung Galaxy S2</b></h3></div><br>

<img src="http://www.24mobile.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Samsung-Galaxy-S22.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="500" width="700">

<img src="http://www.tech-mobile.de/images/product_images/original_images/samsung_galaxy_s_ii.jpg" alt="" border="0" height="600" width="600">

<h3><b>Essential android market apps:</b></h3><br>

<a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=net.maicas.android.wsleep&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsIm5ldC5tYWljYXMuYW5kcm9pZC53c2xlZXAiXQ.."><b>Tap Tap App</b></a><b> - Lock and unlock the screen with a double tap the proximity sensor.</b>

<a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=de.mathis.android.ultimatebattery&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImRlLm1hdGhpcy5hbmRyb2lkLnVsdGltYXRlYmF0dGVyeSJd"><b>Battery Info</b></a><b> - Battery Status Indicator (caution german language)</b>

<a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.katecca.screenofflock&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5rYXRlY2NhLnNjcmVlbm9mZmxvY2siXQ.."><b>Screen Off and Lock</b></a><b> - Lock your phone without power button... (caution german language)</b>

[DKT27]

O.T.	Wait. THAT's how Galaxy S II looks? Someone give me a shovel to hit Apple's exes and the judges ruling in favor them. No way does that thing looks like iPhone.

[LeetPirate]

O.T.	Wait. THAT's how Galaxy S II looks? Someone give me a shovel to hit Apple's exes and the judges ruling in favor them. No way does that thing looks like iPhone.

The lawsuit is not over the phone itself, it is over Samsung's user interface. I think Samsung calls is Touchwiz, it's basically their own user interface or "theme" that they put on all Samsung Android phones. Except for the Nexus line which is purebred Android with the default UI. Other companies also put their own customized user interfaces, HTC has their own and LG has their own. The problem was that the Samsung Touchwiz UI mimics the layout of the iPhone, even the icons came with the same type of rounded edges. They changed it up for later versions so on the S2 you won't see the same old Touchwiz, they updated it, now it has more square edges and it looks cleaner and less apple-like.

[DKT27]

AFAIK, Apple also claimed that even the hardware of Galaxy phones copy iPhones, etc. Hell, Apple claimed that even the packaging was copied.

[LeetPirate]

AFAIK, Apple also claimed that even the hardware of Galaxy phones copy iPhones, etc. Hell, Apple claimed that even the packaging was copied.

Yea, this is because the A4 is manufactured by Samsung, lol. American corporations are funny in that aspect, Apple pays Samsung to build their A4 chips, then puts them in court. Seriously though I don't think the lawsuit is about the hardware, that would not make sense because Apple didn't design anything, they just bought out the company that designed the chip for them and collaborated with Samsung to manufacture it. Samsung would not just use the same chip unless they had rights over it. The only legal grounds Apple really has is the user interface and possibly the packaging. Having seen the box I must admit it did look quite apple like.

You can check out this url that gives a brief comparison of the various mobile chipsets based on ARMv7 instruction set.

http://www.tested.com/news/hummingbird-vs-snapdragon-vs-omap-vs-tegra-2-arm-chips-explained/1704/

[DKT27]

I'm talking from the outside design point of view, the shape and everything were patented by apple. But I guess you would be knowing better. :).

BTW, why Samsung wants to release a different version in germany? Wanna know.

About Siri, see what Windows guys are saying.

[LeetPirate]

Note that Samsung also manufactures the Apple A5 chip used in the iPhone 4s. It is based on ARM Coretex A9 design which is the same basis for the Samsung Exynos chipset used in the S2. LOL. Honestly I don't know what their deal is, surely they must have some sort of mutually beneficial deal because on the outside they are at war, but on the inside Apple's production of the iPhone depends on Samsung. Friends and enemies at the same time I guess.

Surely Apple would have patented their designs and so on. But I have checked out the S2 and the iphone 4 in a store and the physical designs are different, or I should say different enough. If a court rules otherwise then they are retards. From my experience using both devices the only extreme similarity I saw was the Touchwiz UI on the earlier Samsung Android phones that looked extremely apple-like. I never paid attention to the packing box but since you mentioned it I remember that Samsung also give you a nice looking high quality black box.

The different version for Germany might have to do with the carriers, I'm not sure. I know they have a white version for T-mobile. The Galaxy S had a Brazilian version with a tv tuner or something, not sure if there will be a similar S2 version. From what I know, the regional changes are minor, most times it has to do with which 3G bands the phone works with. The majority of American and Latin phones come with 850Mhz 3G band but European carriers don't typically use 850Mhz 3G.

[Olexijl]

Added white image to the post.

[TechWarez]

S2 drain lots of battery which make is troublesome

[Olexijl]

Where can i get HTC Clock Widget for my Galaxy S2?

[Tweety.Abd]

I've been told that iPhone 4S has better display than Galaxy S2? Is it true? If yes, is the difference significant?

[Olexijl]

I've been told that iPhone 4S has better display than Galaxy S2? Is it true? If yes, is the difference significant?

That is not directly true. Yes, the display of iPhone 4S has much better resolution (960 × 640 Pixel Retina Display on 4S / 800 × 480 Pixel Super AMOLED+ on S2), but it is based on completely different technology. The technology is the default one (TFT).

The technology in Galaxy S2 is different: pixels are organic (Super AMOLED+): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_AMOLED#Super_AMOLED_Plus

In comparison with Retina display, the display of S2 is (as some people say) less sharp. But AMOLED has much more advantages.

Only AMOLED can display the complete colour palette like it should do. Black colour is deeply black, not sometimes gray. Red is red, blue is blue.

[RadioActive]

You should note that there 2 different version of the Galaxy SII. The 9100 and the 9100G. Both are almost identical expect for the CPU I think. And from what I've read the "G" variant has a a better battery life but the plain variant offers better performance.

For more information check this article: http://bit.ly/nMgkop

[downserad]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 for about half a year. The stock samsung ROM sucks ass, but if you flash a custom one from XDA Developers (very very easy to do), the phone is much better. I overclocked mine to 1.4 Ghz (the European Exynos 1.2 Ghz Dual Core version) and also undervolted the CPU. With normal usage (calling, messaging, mailing, brwosing, music, etc) the battery life is about 2.5 day. The Super AMOLED screen is sharp, has good contrast and the colors are just beautiful. Indeed the Retina screen from the iPhone 4S has higher resolution, but you can always use LCD Density Changer for some compensation. For some the phone may be too flat and/or too large, but I like it.

Current ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1312240

Current Theme: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1326272

[Tweety.Abd]

I've been told that iPhone 4S has better display than Galaxy S2? Is it true? If yes, is the difference significant?

That is not directly true. Yes, the display of iPhone 4S has much better resolution (960 × 640 Pixel Retina Display on 4S / 800 × 480 Pixel Super AMOLED+ on S2), but it is based on completely different technology. The technology is the default one (TFT).

The technology in Galaxy S2 is different: pixels are organic (Super AMOLED+): http://en.wikipedia....per_AMOLED_Plus

In comparison with Retina display, the display of S2 is (as some people say) less sharp. But AMOLED has much more advantages.

Only AMOLED can display the complete colour palette like it should do. Black colour is deeply black, not sometimes gray. Red is red, blue is blue.

So apart from the resolution (which isn't much important to me) the display screen is more or less similar to iPhone's Retina display in terms of viewing experience? And about the black, red and blue, are they different in iPhone? Just curious to know since you mentioned them :)

You should note that there 2 different version of the Galaxy SII. The 9100 and the 9100G. Both are almost identical expect for the CPU I think. And from what I've read the "G" variant has a a better battery life but the plain variant offers better performance.

For more information check this article: http://bit.ly/nMgkop

I think my carrier has got the Galaxy S2 I9100 only, but either ways I'll make sure what all versions they have before I purchase, but I'll prefer the non 'G' version, if available. Thanks for your information regarding different versions.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 for about half a year. The stock samsung ROM sucks ass, but if you flash a custom one from XDA Developers (very very easy to do), the phone is much better. I overclocked mine to 1.4 Ghz (the European Exynos 1.2 Ghz Dual Core version) and also undervolted the CPU. With normal usage (calling, messaging, mailing, brwosing, music, etc) the battery life is about 2.5 day. The Super AMOLED screen is sharp, has good contrast and the colors are just beautiful. Indeed the Retina screen from the iPhone 4S has higher resolution, but you can always use LCD Density Changer for some compensation. For some the phone may be too flat and/or too large, but I like it.

Current ROM: http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1312240

Current Theme: http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1326272

How did you overclock your phone? I never heard anyone overclocking their phones (probably because I'm new to all this smartphone thing). Since you're experienced in overclocking, I'd like to know the pros and cons you faced by overclocking your phone. And additionally, I'd like to know if there are other ROMs like XDA Developers you've mentioned, and how do they differ? I'd be grateful if you could help me out. Thanks :)

Note: I'd also like to know if installing a 3rd party ROM and/or overclocking the phone, voids the warranty.

[Olexijl]

Overclocking phones: http://www.nsaneforu...s2-tips-tricks/

PS: Yes, the display of Retina can not display colours so beautiful. TFT displays have this problem...

[Tweety.Abd]

PS: Yes, the display of Retina can not display colours so beautiful. TFT displays have this problem...

So the Galaxy's display is LCD, am I correct?

[Olexijl]

PS: Yes, the display of Retina can not display colours so beautiful. TFT displays have this problem...

So the Galaxy's display is LCD, am I correct?

Retina Display / 4S = TFT = improved LCD

Super AMOLED+ Display / S2 = improved AMOLED (better)

[Tweety.Abd]

PS: Yes, the display of Retina can not display colours so beautiful. TFT displays have this problem...

So the Galaxy's display is LCD, am I correct?

Retina Display / 4S = TFT = improved LCD

Super AMOLED+ Display / S2 = improved AMOLED (better)

Thank you for the information. If I read correctly, it said on GSM Arena that Galaxy S2 has Super AMOLED Plus display - what special features and difference does 'Plus' make from the ordinary version?

[Olexijl]

Well, indeed Galaxy S2 has that Super AMOLED+ display. Actually the + is an improvement of technology already existed: AMOLED.

AMOLED is the way, how pixels are organized and displayed.

Schematic of an active matrix OLED display

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia....ung_Galaxy_S_II):

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S II uses a 108.5-millimetre (4.27 in)^[10] WVGA Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen that is covered by Gorilla Glass with an oleophobic fingerprint-resistant coating. The display is an upgrade of its predecessor, and the "Plus" signifies that the display panel has done away with Pentile matrix to regular RGB matrix display which results in a 50% increase in sub-pixels. This translates to grain reduction and sharper images and text. In addition, Samsung have claimed that Super AMOLED Plus displays are 18% more power efficient than the older Super AMOLED displays. Some phones have display issues, with a few users reporting a "yellow tint" on the left bottom edge of the display when a neutral grey background is displayed.^[31] The resolution of the display is 800x480 pixels.