Following the success of its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S II has a lot to live up to. Thinner, faster and lighter, this smartphone features a 4.3” super AMOLED display which, to date, already has users raving.
Samsung has opted for simplicity when it comes to the Galaxy S II’s exterior design. The home button sits at the bottom in the middle with a touch-sensitive key on each side. The volume sits on the left and there’s the power button to the right. An 8-megapixel camera is placed at the back, and a 2-megapixel camera has been added to the front for video calling. The glass screen is surprisingly well-trained to remain smudge and fingerprint free. The phone itself weighs in at only 119 grams.
The Samsung Galaxy II uses the TouchWiz 4.0 interface which has users split on whether it enhances or hinders the user experience. Either way, the focus is on customisation and shortcuts. Android has made the best of the lock screen, where missed calls and unread texts are displayed so users can choose to make the call or text straight back. Within each contact display, you can view your communication history with that person, and receive alerts to remind you which contacts you haven’t touched base with for a while.
The virtual keyboard makes fast typing easy, and is certainly a more user-friendly experience than what’s available on other smartphones. The phone is zippy with a 1.2Ghz processor, and there’s plenty of room for apps with 16GB of memory and 1GB of RAM.
The 8-megapixel camera does the job, and is capable of producing decent photos (unless you have shaky hands). The Samsung Galaxy S II can shoot videos up to 1080p (HD) with autofocus.
While the Samsung Galaxy S II is packed with intricate features and a stunning display, sometimes it feels the smartphone’s battery can’t keep up. Users can try to maximise battery life buy sticking to darker colours and reducing the amount of apps running at once, but this means doing away with some of the phones best features.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is a huge improvement, even when its predecessor wasn’t all that bad. The display, usability and high specs make the Samsung Galaxy S II worth any smartphone user’s attention.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is available from a number of providers, including Virgin (1300 768 103), Optus (1300 768 194) and Vodafone.