Review: Samsung Galaxy S2

It's been a full week now since I got my new Samsung Galaxy S2 so I think it's time for the full  review.

Okay so here are the physical specs that matter hardware-wise:
•CPU: Dual core processor, 1.2GHz
•Camera: 8mp camera with led flash + 2mp front facing camera
•Video: Full HD playback and recording (1080p, 30fps)
• Battery: 1650mAh
• Super AMOLED plus screen, 4.3 inch
• Weight: 116g
•...and blah blah blah, get the others from the net.

The first thing that caught my attention in a major way from this phone in the first few moments after switching over from kon, my nokia 5800, is the slim build. Yes yes the screen is amazing but we expected that, but the thinness is just shocking almost after living with my 15.5mm thick nokia for 2 years. It almost invalidates the whole fact that the screen on the s2 is huge. And yes I say huge in the negative manner because I happen to have small lady hands so getting around on this screen with 1 hand has been tricky for me, but the phone is so epic, who cares.

On the matter of the Super AMOLED plus screen, Wow. The forums, the blogs, the reviews all go on about how great the view is but nothing can really prepare you for it. It's literally breathe taking. I'm even starting to wonder if I shouldn't upgrade my pc's graphics card cause right now it has nothing on my galaxy s2 which is shameful.

Another thing you notice after switching on is the speed. I see everyone complaining about lag and what-not but please do understand, for me coming from my King-of-Lag nokia, this is like heaven. It's almost too perfect. Touch sensitivity is good, I could swear some of my hovers are picked up sometimes. On kon it was the opposite, I felt like I was using buttons rather than a touch most of the time.

Samsungs Touchwiz was slightly tricky to figure out in the first few minutes for me because my last two phones have been symbian so it was like stepping out of a box. The keypad took a bit of time to adjust to but swype has made it much easier and faster.

The camera, wow, except if you have an unsteady hand that is. The lack of a camera button is highly inconsiderate from the guys at Samsung in my opinion. Your stable hold is completely thrown off by the process of having to touch the screen to take the shot. Hmm, maybe it's time for a voice activated camera app, just thinking out loud.

The video capturing is pretty good. Almost as good as the quality on, my Nikon camera which is 14mp with hd ready video recording. It makes for a good substitute for when I don't have space for carrying around a camera. Video playback on the super AMOLED plus screen is crisp. The video player is very functional and has a nice looking interface too.

During the week I have downloaded a few games to test out the phone. I downloaded mainly games that I had on kon before that I didn't manage to finish, and now I feel cheated, these games have the same names but on the galaxy s2 they are presented like something designed for pc.

Example, Gangstar Miami Vindication. On the 5800 it's a simple 2d drive around and do missions game, viewed mainly from an ariel perspective. On the galaxy s2 it's like playing the old gta's on pc. Everything is suddenly in hd 3d and missions are suddenly longer. If it didn't have the same name, I would swear it was a different game. Things truly are better on the galaxy s2.

Internet is fast and smooth. The browser being flash enabled almost makes browsing on other devices pointless. Downloads start instantly and speed of download is fast.

Maps are great, the navigation actually pinpoints your location accurately on the road. One place where ovi maps still wins for me is in offline navigation. Data is expensive so it's always better if I have the option of doing things offline without much hassle or drop in operation quality.

The app market, recently renamed the play store, is a great place to do some window shopping for apps for your every needs.

The music player is as reviewed by most posts out there, the sound could be better when playing without the earphones, but with them it's pretty top notch.

One last thing worth mentioning before I conclude my review is the radio. On all of my previous phones I have had to struggle to get proper signal for all the stations, I started believing it was impossible until now. I have managed to search and save all the available stations in my area with just one touch on my galaxy s2 and they all play crystal clear with no background static, I am extremely impressed right now with this phone.
 
Well that's my review of things that I think matter in the Samsung Galaxy s2. It's really a super phone, and offers lots of chances to explore and play. Still feels unreal.

TouchToTouch.end


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