Samsung Galaxy S II Review: A Comprehensive Overview

The Samsung Galaxy S II is a powerhouse of a smartphone that's hard to ignore. Released in 2011, it was a game-changer in the Android world.

Its 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display is a standout feature, offering vibrant colors and crisp text that's easy on the eyes. The screen is also quite responsive to touch.

The Galaxy S II is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, which provides snappy performance and smooth multitasking. This is thanks to the Exynos chip, a custom-designed processor that's optimized for Android.

With 1GB of RAM, you'll be able to juggle multiple apps without any issues. The phone's memory can also be expanded with a microSD card, which is a must-have for anyone who likes to store lots of media.

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The Samsung Galaxy S II was released worldwide in May 2011, starting with more than 140 vendors in some 120 countries.

This marked a significant global rollout, with Samsung announcing that they had received pre-orders for 3 million units globally on May 9, 2011.

A variation of the phone, known as the Galaxy R, was released later, using a Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset.

The Galaxy R was an alternative to the original S II, offering a different processing option for consumers.

The Samsung Galaxy S II has impressive storage capabilities, with 1 GB of dedicated RAM to keep things running smoothly.

This phone also has a generous amount of internal storage, with up to 32 GB available for your apps, photos, and music.

The Galaxy S II's battery compartment is also home to an external microSD card slot, which can recognize and use a 32 GB microSDHC memory card.

The Galaxy S II packs a punch when it comes to storage and RAM. The device comes equipped with 1 GB of dedicated RAM.

This is a decent amount of RAM for a phone of its time, allowing for smooth multitasking and performance. The RAM is dedicated, meaning it's not shared with other components.

The Galaxy S II also features up to 32 GB of internal mass storage, which is a generous amount of space for storing apps, music, and other files. This is a great feature for anyone who likes to keep their device stocked with content.

Within the battery compartment, you'll find an external microSD card slot that can recognize and use a 32 GB microSDHC memory card.

The Galaxy S II's display is a notable upgrade from its predecessor, featuring a 108.5-millimetre (4.27 in) WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen.

This display is covered by Gorilla Glass, which provides protection against scratches and other damage. It also has an oleophobic fingerprint-resistant coating to reduce smudges and fingerprints.

The Super AMOLED Plus display panel has done away with the PenTile matrix, resulting in a 50% increase in sub-pixels. This leads to grain reduction and sharper images and text.

In addition, Samsung claims that Super AMOLED Plus displays are 18% more power efficient than the older Super AMOLED displays.

Some users have reported a "yellow tint" on the left bottom edge of the display when a neutral grey background is displayed, although this issue is not universal.

The specifications of a product can be a double-edged sword. Here are some pros and cons to consider.

One major advantage is that detailed specifications can help you make informed purchasing decisions. You can compare different products and choose the one that best fits your needs.

On the other hand, overly complex specifications can be overwhelming and make it difficult to decide. This can lead to analysis paralysis and a lack of action.

Having clear and concise specifications can also make it easier to troubleshoot issues. If you're having trouble with a product, being able to quickly identify the problem can save you a lot of time and frustration.

However, if specifications are not regularly updated, they can become outdated and inaccurate. This can lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction with a product.

In some cases, specifications can also be used as a marketing tool. Manufacturers may exaggerate or misrepresent their product's capabilities to make it more appealing.

The Samsung Galaxy S II was released in various models, each with its own unique features and specifications.

The AT&T Mobility variant, released in October 2011, maintained a 4.3 inch display and included NFC capability. It also came with four capacitive buttons.

The AT&T Mobility variant had two other siblings, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket and the Captivate Glide, which were released in November 2011. The Skyrocket featured an LTE radio and a 4.52 inch screen, while the Captivate Glide included a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a dual-core Tegra 2 processor.

The Galaxy S II was also released in China by China Mobile and China Telecom, with the GT-I9108 and SCH-I929 models respectively. The GT-I9108 had TD-SCDMA support, while the SCH-I929 supported CDMA2000 1x EVDO.

T-Mobile's variant, the SGH-T989, was released in October 2011 and featured a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which was necessary for compatibility with T-Mobile's HSPA+ network.

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The Samsung I9100 is a notable variant of the Galaxy S II series. It was released in 2011, April, with a weight of 116g and a thickness of 8.5mm.

Its display features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. The device also boasts an 8MP camera with 1080p video recording capabilities.

The Samsung I9100 runs on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), which can be upgraded to 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It comes with 1GB of RAM and internal storage options of 16GB or 32GB, expandable via microSDHC.

Here are the key specifications of the Samsung I9100:

The Samsung I9100 also features Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, and NFC capabilities. Its battery is removable and has a capacity of 1650mAh.

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The Galaxy S II had a successor, the Galaxy S III, which was unveiled in London on 3 May 2012.

The Galaxy S III started selling on 29 May 2012 with a whopping 10 million pre-orders. This was a testament to its popularity.

The Galaxy S III was a significant upgrade to the Galaxy S II, offering improved features and performance.

The Galaxy S II was preceded by the Samsung Galaxy S, which came before it in 2011.

Here's a list of some of the Samsung Galaxy series:

The Samsung Galaxy S II was launched with Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" and American variants shipped with the slightly updated version 2.3.5 installed.

The device received an update to Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" in South Korea, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden on 13 March 2012, and in Russia on 5 July 2012. The rest of Europe received the update on 1 August 2012.

Samsung also rolled out an update to Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" for the device in February 2013. This update brought new features such as the TouchWiz Nature interface and Direct Call.

The Galaxy S II employs the TouchWiz 4.0 user interface, which features hardware acceleration and a gesture-based interaction called "motion". This allows users to zoom in and out by tilting the device.

The device also has an optional gesture-based management of widgets, allowing users to move them between screens by holding and moving the device from side to side.

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Four new Samsung Hub applications were introduced: Social Hub, Readers Hub, Music Hub, and Game Hub. These applications provide a centralized platform for accessing social media, reading, music, and games.

The Galaxy S II comes with support for many multimedia file formats and codecs, including FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, and MP3 for audio, and MPEG-4, H.264, and DivX HD/XviD for video.

The Samsung Galaxy S II was a game-changer in the smartphone world, and its reception was nothing short of phenomenal. It won the "SmartPhone Of The Year 2012" award at the MWC's Global Mobile Awards.

Reviews from top tech sites were overwhelmingly positive, with Engadget giving it a 9/10 and calling it "the best Android smartphone yet". CNET UK also gave it a 4.5/5 review, describing it as "one of the slimmest, lightest mobiles we've ever had the privilege to hold".

TechRadar was equally impressed, giving it 5/5 stars and saying it "set a new bar for smartphones in 2011".

The Galaxy S II's hardware is a key factor in its performance. It features a 1.2 GHz dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor that uses Samsung's own 'Exynos 4210' System on a chip (SoC).

This SoC was previously code-named "Orion" and was the source of much speculation concerning another branded successor to the previous "Hummingbird" single-core SoC of the Galaxy S.

The Exynos 4210 supports ARM's SIMD engine, also known as Media Processing Engine, or 'NEON' instructions, which may give a significant performance advantage in critical performance situations.

The Mali-400 MP GPU, supplied by ARM, is a move away from the PowerVR GPU of the Galaxy S, but it's worth noting that a revised Galaxy S II (GT-9100G) based on the PowerVR SGX540 does not exhibit the same issue.

The Galaxy S II variant GT-I9100G uses a 1.2 GHz dual core TI OMAP 4430 processor with PowerVR SGX540 graphics, replacing the Mali-400 GPU.

This difference in the SoC makes the GT-I9100G incompatible with custom ROMs intended for the I9100.

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The Galaxy S II Skyrocket (Model SGH-I727) was released on 6 November 2011, featuring an LTE radio and a 4.52 inch screen.

This variant was notable for its inclusion of an LTE radio, which required changing the device's main processor from the Exynos to the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660.

AT&T Mobility's first variant of the Galaxy S II was the Model SGH-I777, released on 2 October 2011, with a 4.3 inch display and four capacitive buttons.

The Captivate Glide (Model SGH-I927) was introduced on 20 November 2011, featuring a slide-out, physical QWERTY keyboard and a 4 inch Super AMOLED display.

The Captivate Glide had a dual-core, 1 GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, unlike the other two AT&T Mobility variants which had 1.2 GHz Exynos processors.

The Galaxy S II is a touchscreen-only device, which set it apart from other devices like the Epic 4G that included a physical QWERTY keyboard.

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The Galaxy S II received universally positive reviews from critics and users alike. It was honored as "SmartPhone Of The Year 2012" at the MWC's Global Mobile Awards.

Many reviewers praised the device's performance, with Engadget giving it a 9/10, calling it "the best Android smartphone yet" and "possibly the best smartphone, period."

CNET UK gave the device a 4.5/5 rating, describing it as "one of the slimmest, lightest mobiles we've ever had the privilege to hold." TechRadar also gave it 5/5 stars, stating that it "set a new bar for smartphones in 2011."

The device's web browser speed also impressed many, with Pocketnow commenting on its speed. GSMArena noted minor drawbacks such as an "all-plastic body" and the lack of a dedicated camera key, but still called the handset "absurdly powerful."

The Galaxy S II's commercial success was equally impressive, with over 1 million units activated in South Korea within a month of its debut. Worldwide, 3 million units were sold in just 55 days, and 5 million units were shipped globally within 85 days of its release.

The Galaxy S II launched with Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" and later received updates to Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" and Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean".

It also features the TouchWiz 4.0 user interface, which includes a gesture-based interaction called "motion" that allows users to zoom in and out by tilting the device.

The device supports many multimedia file formats and codecs, including FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, and H.264, as well as 8-bit encodes and up to 1080p HD video playback.

This means you can enjoy a wide range of music and video files on the go, and the device's processor is more than capable of handling demanding tasks.

The processor is a 1.5 GHz dual-core model, which provides plenty of power for smooth app performance and graphics rendering.

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The Galaxy S II uses Yamaha audio hardware, which has received feedback that its sound quality is inferior to that of the Wolfson chip featured in the original Galaxy S.

This is evident in user feedback on Internet forums, where many have expressed disappointment with the audio quality of the Galaxy S II compared to its predecessor.

The original Galaxy S used Wolfson's WM8994 DAC, which was praised for its sound quality, and it's clear that the Yamaha chip in the Galaxy S II doesn't quite live up to the same standards.

Overall, the audio performance of the Galaxy S II is a notable step back from the original Galaxy S, and something that users may want to consider when deciding whether to upgrade.

The Galaxy S II was launched with Android 2.3 "Gingerbread", which was later updated to version 2.3.5 and then to 2.3.6 on December 12, 2011.

Samsung rolled out upgrades to Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" to users in South Korea, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden on March 13, 2012, and to the rest of Europe on August 1, 2012.

The S II employs the TouchWiz 4.0 user interface, which features hardware acceleration and an optional gesture-based interaction called "motion".

This gesture function allows users to zoom in and out by placing two fingers on the screen and tilting the device towards and away from themselves.

The Android 4.1 update brought the TouchWiz Nature interface and other features from the Galaxy S III, such as Direct Call and Pop-up Play.

Samsung also introduced four new Samsung Hub applications: Social Hub, Readers Hub, Music Hub, and Game Hub.

These applications provide integration of social networking services, access to online newspapers and ebooks, music downloads, and game downloads.

The Galaxy S II supports many multimedia file formats and codecs, including FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, and MP3 for audio, and MPEG-4, H.264, and DivX HD/XviD for video.

The Galaxy S II is a powerhouse, with a processor clocking in at 1.5 GHz, making it a bit more zippy than other models.

T-Mobile's 4G network is just as fast as Sprint's, and I was able to get download speeds that were a lot faster than my AT&T 3G connection on my iPhone.

You also get an NFC chip, which will be useful once Google Wallet expands to other phones.

The Samsung Galaxy S II is a powerhouse of a phone, and it's hard to summarize its impressive features without getting carried away.

It's the best Android smartphone yet, and it might just be the best smartphone overall. The Galaxy S II has a broad range of standout features and specs that make it stand out from the crowd.

One thing to keep in mind is that the 4.3-inch screen size might not be suitable for everyone, especially if you're used to a smaller screen. But trust me, it's worth considering.

The Galaxy S II is remarkably easy to use, despite its advanced features, making it a great choice for anyone looking for a hassle-free smartphone experience.