Samsung Galaxy S2 Review

Haven't blogged in a while but I guess this is as good a time as there is. If you follow me on twitter you may have seen I got a new cellphone and have been tweeting a lot about it.

As much a geek as I am, up until 2 days ago I had never had a 3G phone. So I was basically living in the early 2000's and it was a time for a change; after giving it lots of thought it came down to two options: Apple's iPhone4 and the Samsung's Galaxy S2.

Some may ask why the iPhone4 and not wait for the 4s. I was watching the 4S presentation and waiting for it to end to decide if I should wait or go ahead and get a new phone. After seeing it was not much of an improvement, I headed down to my cellphone providers store still with both options in mind.

After seeing the plans and both phones I had asked for an iPhone4... or so I thought. I found a Galaxy S2 to play a bit with and just loved the heck out of it. I ended up getting the S2, I'll tell you why.

[caption id="attachment_191" align="aligncenter" width="511" caption="Samsung Galaxy S2"][/caption]

• Screen size: compared to the iPhones 3.5 inch display, the Galaxy has a huge 4.3 inch display. It is just beautiful to look at, and with the AMOLED screen you have really deep blacks. The size is just great for people with bad eyesight like me, although it could also be a liability because it will suck a lot of power out of the battery. Still consider it a great part of the device.


• Overall size: the phone is as thin as can be, even a couple of millimeters thinner than Apple's phone which is a good thing. Also it is incredibly light, you just are surprised when you pick it up. The phone fits just perfectly in my hand, I don't have to clinch my hand or make any effort to hold on to it.


• Processor and memory: this baby has a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and 1GB of memory, that makes it the fastest phone I have EVER used. It is just remarkable how responsive it is regardless of how many apps you have open. Also can be a battery drainer but that is something I haven't experienced yet.


• Battery: battery life is somewhat of a issue for me and something I hope I don't have to deal with. The first week is not a good indicator on how this will work out as I have been using it a lot more due to the "new toy factor". But for what I have seen, battery life could be a problem. Today I tweaked the phone a little and it has helped out a lot. The thing I love is that it has a removable battery and down the line I can get a new one (all batteries start to decline in performance after a year o so) unlike the iPhone that has a locked battery.


• Flash support. This is not that big of a deal for me, I have an iPad and have not missed flash that much; only problem has been when I want to see any live steaming, well you just can't as must of it is based on Flash. S2 supports flash which helps to have a computer-like browsing experience.


• Camera: while Apple announce the new iPhone will have a 8MP camera, why wait? This baby has a 8MP camera that also records video in Full (1080p) HD resolution. Have taken a few shots and all I can say is WOW! Still want to test how pics come out in dark environments or with moving objects, but for the moment this is a real good camera phone.


• Android Market: while researching and asking friends about Android and Iphone one of the biggest issues the Mac Fanboys (I really like Apple products but it's now one of those obsessive things some people I know have) was that the Android Market didn't have as much apps as the AppStore. While the mere number of apps is much larger in the AppStore, 99.9% of the apps I'm interested in are also available on Android so this has been a non issue; heck even a lot of apps you need to pay for with Apple are free over here (Angry Birds, Whatsapp, etc).


• Price: this was a non-factor as the iPhone and Galaxy S2 cost exactly the same (at least here in Mexico).


• OS: this is the first Android devide I have owned and it was part of what got me hooked. I had already asked for the iPhone but after playing with the Galaxy for no more than 5 minutes I changed my opinion. It is that good.

All of these factors were determining factors for me to pick up a Galaxy S2 instead of an iPhone. Not saying one is better than the other, but plain and simple, I liked this one more and believe this will fit my needs in a better way than the iPhone.

Over these two days lots of people have been impressed with the phone. I have found that most iPhone users are that more because of marketing than any other thing; they don't open up and even try other devices. And this comes from a guy that owned the 1st generation iPhone and a real happy iPad2 owner. Some of the comments have been: "wow the screen is so big and bright", "this thing is so light" and "Android looks so clean and neat". Naturally there are those that can't get their head out of their but, have never even tried a Android device and just say "oh so you got the iPhone copy". Really??? Check out the specs, and you'll see this is a different kind of animal.

Will I be a loyal Android user from now on? Not sure, I'm not limited to use only one OS, I'll try stuff and find out for myself what is better for me.

Is this the best phone right now? Maybe, maybe not; spec-wise it clearly is, OS-wise everyone will have different opinions; as far as I'm concerned this is the best phone for my needs.

Will I recommend Android and specifically the Samsung Galaxy S2? Damn right I will

I'll keep playing with my little toy and have a update entry in the next month or so with more details on the phone, the usability, battery life and everything there is to know about the phone. For now....

Mr Khakbaz out!!!