Samsung Galaxy S2 Review
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Review: April 2011 |
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Phone rating: 
In a nutshell: The Samsung Galaxy S2
is Samsung's flagship phone for 2011 and is the first Samsung phone
to be powered by a dual-core processor. The Galaxy S2 runs Android
version 2.3 (Gingerbread) and has an incredible 4.3 inch Super AMOLED
Plus touchscreen. Other highlights include 1080p Full HD video recording,
an 8 megapixel still camera and a secondary front-facing camera for
making video calls.
Best buy: *Free* with free line rental from Dialaphone
(Black) or Dialaphone
(Pink) or Dialaphone
(White).
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Back in June 2010 we reviewed the Samsung
Galaxy S and proclaimed it the best phone on the market today. And
the thing is, it probably still is the best phone on the market. Until
now, because the best phone in the observable universe just got better!
You'd think that the best phone couldn't get much better, but Samsung
have entered some kind of crazed accelerated development programme and
have introduced loads of improvements over the original Galaxy S. The
first thing you notice is the absolutely incredible screen. This has
grown from a huge 4 inches to a mega-enormous 4.3 inches, matching the
HTC Desire HD and making this the biggest
screen on any phone. The poor old Apple
iPhone 4 has just 3.5 inches of screen. But it's not just size that
counts. The Galaxy S2 introduces a new technology called Super AMOLED
Plus, which is eye-popping in its brightness and clarity. The Super
AMOLED display of the original Galaxy S was leagues ahead of most smartphones,
so to leap forward to yet another generation of display technology is
mightily impressive. It's certainly a match for Apple's Retina display,
even if the S2's resolution of 480 x 800 pixels isn't quite the highest.
The surface area of the phone has grown to cater for the enlarged screen,
but the phone still rests in the hand nicely due to its incredible thinness.
At just 8.5mm, it's the thinnest smartphone on the market (the iPhone
4 is a flabby 9.3mm). Below the screen you'll find a single home
button flanked by two touch-sensitive buttons for Menu and Back. It's
a minimalist design that gives you everything you need. At 116g the
phone is pretty light for such a high-powered beasty, and that's thanks
to the plastic construction. It lacks the high-end feel of a metallic
case, but avoids the reception problems that have plagued the iPhone
4 and also to some extent the HTC Desire
S. Something called Gorilla Glass is used to protect that all-important
Super AMOLED Plus display.
The operating system is the latest version of Android - 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Android is our top choice for smartphone OS, and global sales of Android
phones seem to be overtaking iPhone quite decisively. The number of
apps available has exceeded the 100,000 mark and is continuing to grow
rapidly. Android 2.3 is combined here with a new version of Samsung's
TouchWiz user interface - version 4.0. Along with various home screen
customisations and Swype text input for faster typing on the QWERTY
keyboard, this introduces a number of hubs into the user interface.
The Social Hub, which we've seen on previous Samsung smartphones brings
together contacts, calendar and email with Instant Messaging, facebook
and twitter. Reader's Hub is a platform for ebooks and magazines, with
access to over 2000 newspapers in 49 languages and featuring interactive
features like page curling effects. Music Hub is a combined music player
and Music Store - we'll have to see how that works out. Perhaps more
interesting is the Games Hub where you can download premium HD games
(and some free games) optimised for the S2's dual-core processor, Super
AMOLED Plus screen and 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope sensors. The
phone also comes preloaded with social games - We Farm, Safari, We Rule,
We City. Being an Android phone, the S2 comes with pre-installed with
all things Google, including Google Maps 5.0, Gmail, YouTube, Google
Calendar, Google Talk and Picasa integration.
The headline grabbing feature of the S2 is its dual-core processor.
It isn't the first dual-core phone to be released (that was the LG
Optimus 2X) but it's the most highly anticipated. Anyone who's experienced
the instantaneous response of the single-core Galaxy S might question
the need for a faster processor, but the 1.2GHz dual core processor
opens up new possibilities in video - particularly the Full HD video
recording capability and the enhanced gaming experience.
It's logical then to talk about the camera next. This has been dramatically
improved, with an 8 megapixel sensor and an LED flash (which was incomprehensibly
missing from the original Galaxy S.) The camera has plenty of features
taken from Samsung's digital camera range, including autofocus, touch
focus, face detection, smile shot and image stabilisation. As already
mentioned, the video camera has been uprated so that it can now record
at Full HD resolution - that's 1080p format. Only the LG
Optimus 2X can match that, and the Samsung does a better job with
a sharper, more detailed picture quality. A secondary front-facing video
camera is available for making video calls. There's a pre-installed
image and video editor too.
The media player brings a great deal of functionality to the table
and is capable of playing DivX and XviD format movies. The Super AMOLED
Plus screen and the dual-core processor are a match for any video you
might want to watch. 5.1 virtual surround sound is also supported. There's
also an FM radio with RDS for listening to music on the move. Naturally
a 3.5mm headphone socket lets you plug in your choice of headphones,
and you can also connect the phone to a Full HD TV via DLNA and play
movies or even games on a big screen.
Another area where Samsung have taken a great leap forward is in internet
connectivity. The Galaxy S2 has an uprated implementation of HSPA enabling
downloads of up to 21 Mbps where a network supports it (3
have just rolled this out.) That's faster than home broadband! This
really is a phone created by speed junkies. And when it comes to web
browsing, the fast internet access combined with a crisp, large display,
multi-touch zoom and the super-fast Android web browser with Flash support
and BBC iPlayer compatibility make it top dog.
Signal strength and call quality are good too (hey, it's a phone as
well?) and battery life is excellent. For a device with so many features,
you'll probably be playing with it all day and night, but Samsung have
recognised the need for a monster battery and have stepped up to the
mark. The S2 has a 1650mAh battery, which is the largest we've seen
as standard in any mobile. Amazingly it doesn't seem to add any great
weight to the phone (have Samsung secretly captured an alien spacecraft
and stolen their technology?) Nevertheless, as any smartphone user knows,
overnight battery charging will be required for the first couple of
months at least. Once the battery - and the user - have been properly
conditioned, the battery may last 2-3 days. That's pretty good going.
We're totally in awe of the Samsung Galaxy S2. To our minds, this is
without question the best phone on the market today. The only reason
not to buy it is the cost. But as of June 2011, it's available for free
on contract for around £30 per month, which is gallons less than
the iPhone 4. There will be more dual-core phones released later in
2011, and the next iPhone of course. But if you want our opinion, you
should choose the Galaxy S2 - you won't have any regrets.
Features of the Samsung Galaxy S2 include:
- 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus, face detection, smile
shot and 4x digital zoom
- Full HD video recording (Up to 1080p)
- Display: Super AMOLED Plus, 16 million colours, 480 x 800 pixels
(4.3 inches) capacitive touchscreen with auto-rotate
- Music player
- Stereo FM radio with RDS
- MP3 & WAV ringtones
- Integrated handsfree speaker
- AGPS with geo-tagging and Google Maps
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, instant messaging, email
- Personal organiser functions
- Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Memory: 16GB plus 4GB MicroSD memory card (up to 32GB)
- Connectivity: Dual channel Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, 3.5mm
audio jack, DLNA, TV-Out, NFC
- Internet: Layar Reality Browser, Chrome-Lite web browser with Flash
support, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSPA (21 Mbps download)
- Quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900), dual band 3G (900/2100)
- Size: 125 x 66 x 8.5 mm
- Weight: 116g
- Battery: 1650mAh battery
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Galaxy S II deals, Samsung
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Samsung Galaxy S2 Consumer Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 218 reviews: 
Reviewed by Tim from South Africa on 20th Feb
2012
Had the phone for 7 months now and it has never given me a headache
or increased my blood pressure. Has only crashed and restarted once
since I've owned it but I'm sure it was down to a buggy app. I've also
tried really hard to make the system laggy by running it with as many
processes as possible, but with no success.
The only small gripes I have is the battery life. Its not excellent
but with the right amount of conditioning and optimizing, it makes it
quite bearable. Bought an extended 1900mah battery which helps. Also
when using the camera's flash at night, there is a purple tint on the
side of the picture. And if I want to be really picky I'd say the wifi
signal receiver isn't the strongest.
All in all, superb phone. Can see myself with this phone in the years
to come
Rating:
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Reviewed by salim from INDIAN on 19th Feb 2012
GOOD
Rating:
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Reviewed by nitesh from india on 18th Feb 2012
Hi,i am using this phone since last 2 month.this is one of the best
phone i ever had.thank
You SAMSUNG.
Rating:
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Reviewed by George from Surrey - England on 17th
Feb 2012
Fantastic phone, a lot better than the iPhone due to the smoothness
it has whilst navigating through the phone. The screen is the best screen,
in my opinion, of all of the touch phones out there. I haven't seen
better yet.
Apart from the perfect clarity of the screen, there is little to be
disappointed about. The interface is superb, the applications all run
smoothly and are really nice to use.
Only problem is the music program. When playing music, the background
is an image of flowers with a pinky-orange background, I don't use the
music on the phone, not because of this, but because I have an iPod
Touch. The Touch screen on the iPod touch, is NO WHERE NEAR that of
the Samsung Galaxy S2 :)
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Reviewed by Noland from USA on 16th Feb 2012
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and I have had problems with the phone signal
inside a building. I had a HTC G1 and the phone would work in numerous
places inside the building. the Samsung will not do that. I have to
be at a certain point to get the signal I need to talk to someone. For
a phone so expensive and 2 years newer you would think that would not
be a problem. Well in my case it is a problem.
Rating: 
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Reviewed by Gary from UK on 15th Feb 2012
If Volkswagen made phones, this would be it. Perfect phone. Been a nokia
guy for years. Just love this phone and the Gingerbread operating system.
Rating:
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Reviewed by caroline from uk on 15th Feb 2012
my screen is so sensitive which is annoying. When i hold the phone to
my ear it cuts off many times when I answer calls. Can anyone advise
me? Thanks
Rating: 
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Reply by Sue from UK on 16th Feb 2012
check the settings you have on answering and finishing calls. Go to
settings, call and the answering/ending bit, you can use different keys
to turn off and on, may work better for you.
Reviewed by Mark from United Kingdom on 14th Feb
2012
The Galaxy S2 has a big screen, and a nice camera. And you can probably
get it for a chunk less than an iPhone, due to Apple's airtime/hardware
pricing policy.
HOWEVER, here is a list of things I really don't like about the phone
and the Android apps for it:
-Swype is more of a pain than it is useful: despite repeated tinkering
with the speed vs accuracy scale, its accuracy is poor enough to require
such careful Swyping that it takes me twice as long to type a sentence
with Swype as it did with an old numerical keypad. Additionally, 50%
of the time, predictive text chooses words which have yet to ever appear
in my vocabulary.
-The phone randomly crashes every week or two, and will not do anything.
-The battery lasts at absolute maximum 2 days, and that's with screen
timeout set to 30secs, wifi turned off, virtually no web/email usage,
virtually no talk time, and Advanced Task Killer installed and set to
auto-kill all apps at maximum frequency. By contrast, a friend has wifi
on all the time, uses it regularly for web access and does not have
Advanced Task Killer installed, and he has bought an extra battery as
he cannot go out for a NIGHT OUT with only one battery - it does not
last.
-The search button on Google on the web browser does nothing. Press
it, and I get the brief highlight to register that I've pressed it,
but nothing else happens. No search. Press it as many times as you like.
To google something I have to go to Images, run an Image search, then
click "Web".
-1/3 of the time, dragging the screensaver all the way from one side
of the screen to the other will still not unlock the screen.
-Over 50% of the time, images upload sideways: 90 degrees anti-clockwise
from the correct orientation. It doesn't matter how many different ways
around I try uploading it, I'm stuck with a sideways image. So in order
to reliably upload images, I have to email them to my computer and upload
from there.
-Sometimes, the Gallery will refuse to open. It gets stuck at the Loading
screen.
-Sometimes, when I take a picture with the camera held in portrait orientation
(double-checking with the reticule that this is definitely the case),
when I go to gallery the image is in landscape orientation.
-Reading or marking emails as read/unread or deleting emails or saving
drafts in the Gmail app does not register these changes with Gmail itself.
So when I go into Gmail through a computer, the drafts are not there
and the read/unread/deleted changes have not been made.
-Just now I was writing an email, using the Gmail app. Holding down
backspace deletes word by word rather than letter by letter, which is
quite useful. So I did that, until it had deleted the words I didn't
want, then I let go. It wouldn't stop deleting. It backspaced through
half of my rather long email, before pressing random letters stopped
it.
I was sucked in by a big screen and nice camera.
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by goli from uk on 7th Feb 2012
this is worst phone i have never seen in my life it has poor battery
life and poor touch pad
Rating: Reply
Reply by Andy from UK on 11th Feb
2012
I have it and it is amazing
Reply by Jpd from Yorkshire on 11th
Feb 2012
Try reading the description above or RTFM. Battery needs conditioning
by charging frequently in the early days. Duhhh!
Reply by Ian from UK on 14th Feb 2012
Well I've had mine for 4 weeks and battery life is excellent. I always
charge overnight and it has no problem lasting all day with heavy use
(Wifi, 3G, email, music etc) and a couple of days with light use (calls,
SMS).
Reviewed by Visigoth from England on 7th Feb 2012
I've had this phone for a while now and whilst being a bit of a technophobe
I've forund it really easy to get along with after 4yrs with N95. Texts
are really easy once you've worked out the T9 predictive text and added
your own short cuts. The camera has more features than my hand held
cybershot and takes brilliant snaps and pin sharp videos. The screen
is superb and crystal clear, yes it uses the battery heavily but then
this is more of a computer with phone rather than a phone with a computer
I've bought the extended life batery and it lasts 2 days easily. From
and old git with a N95 to full touch screen phone user this was an easy
transition. I'm really pleased with my S2 and think it was worthwhile
jumping to a full touch screen phone. I think some users want everything
yesterday and have no time to read a user manual so as to work out what
this phone actually do.
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Reviewed by Oliver from UK on 5th Feb 2012
Riddled with problems:
I have gone from an i-phone to this and I would not recommend anyone
else to do the same transition. Firstly the battery life is poor, even
when spending time making sure all applications are closed.
Also I find it rather annoying that the texting is so unintuitive that
you have to press shift then i then cycle through the punctuation to
get to ' then press m to get I'm (which you use rather a lot in messaging),
rather than simply typing i then m, which you could do on the i-phone.
The camel-back-breaking straw for me has been incessant problems with
the usb connection, which cuts out every 5 seconds. I was looking forward
to not having to bother with i-tunes but now I miss it.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Ruben from UK on 5th Feb 2012
Hmmm where do I start? I've only had the phone two days, so I feel like
I'm still only scratching the surface, but from what I've seen and experienced
so far I can honestly say I'm very impressed.
I was torn between this and the Desire HD, but in the end went with
this and think I've made the right choice.
It's super responsive, the double tab zoom with 'Auto Fit Pages' option
set for web browsing makes scrolling and reading websites a breeze,
the camera is pretty sweet, although I'd have possibly preferred a button
integrated within the phone's chassis.
Anyway, I can safely say I've had no connection problems, connects to
my wifi flawlessly and loads pages very quickly. Still can't believe
the technology to phone size ratio.
I had a Blackberry Curve which I could only text and call off (think
that was my fault mind) but as you can imagine this is worlds apart.
If you want an alternative to the iPhone look now further.
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Reviewed by technostein from UK on 5th Feb 2012
Had this phone for a couple of Weeks, very pleased with it, much better
than my HTC sensation speed and design wise. I have.good.knowledge of
Android and touchwiz user interface is one of the most simplest you
can get on android phone. Battery life is terrible so got the official
Samsung extended battery adding only 1mm in thickness. Now this is a
perfect phone for everything. Strongly recommend.
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Reviewed by Trevor B from UK on 4th Feb 2012
Only had the S2 for about a week but have spent quite some time playing
about on it (I should get out more ).Setting up email,internet and most
settings very easy all just works straight out of the box.A particular
interest of mine is the video recording, once the auto focus has set
up you are good to go with fantastic picture and sound quality.I tried
both HTC sensation models but neither are as good as the Samsung.The
S2 battery is as good as it gets at the moment and should give about
a day and a half with steady use.I will update this review in the future
to report any faults but on my some what short time with the S2 I am
very impressed.Samsung seem to be working very hard at the moment.Well
done.
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Reviewed by Scott from uk on 4th Feb 2012
Like previous reviews I wasn't sure wether to get another I phone after
having the 3gs for two years a few of my friends have the 4s but it
want different enough to warrant a change.had a play with this phone
and oh my God this phone its amazing, if you are in the same position
as I was wondering to get get one or not don't worry you will not be
disappointed.my friends who have the 4s wish they had got one too !!!
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Reviewed by jenny barker from england on 4th Feb
2012
I would agree that this phone has a lot to offer but I have recently
found after signing up for a contract that if a sms message is too large
it will convert to mms which I have to pay for so I am not happy with
this and will probably look for another phone as will cost me too much.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Gill from England on 4th Feb 2012
sorry to say very disappointed. Had phone for only a day and was unable
to send messages apart from brief interval of maybe 30 mins then all
failing again. Advised by O2 takes 24 hrs to set up everything, but
switch on and off every hour and if no luck register call with helpdesk!!??
I think not O2 it will be back with you shortly. I see on various forums
this common p-roblem and not exclusive to the initial 24 hrs after purchase.
Plus 2 phone calls that were totally incomprehensible, also highlighted
on forums. On balance my sister has had same phone for sometime and
it's been faultless. Everything else on the phone fab but if can't make
calls or text when required it's not up to job!
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Reviewed by Deanie from England on 3rd Feb 2012
I have had the Galaxy S2 for around a week now & its excellent does
everything I want a phone to do emails, nice camera etc..
But it does have a flaw & that's the battery life which is only a 1650mah
battery which gets you through the day just.. but Samsung do a bigger
battery for the S2 & its called a Extended battery & is 2000mah which
now lasts up to 2 days ! but you lose the slimness part of the phone
& you get the same backcover as before but it lines up with the hump
at the bottom of the phone which is no big deal to me only 1mm difference.
Also get a pouch case because those nearly fit cases causes the phone
to give a echo to the caller when you speak very strange, but apart
from that its a superb phone get one now they are much cheaper on contract
than the iphone & has around the same spec as the iphone... I picked
one up for £25 per month from Tesco great deal.
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Reviewed by sarah from wales on 3rd Feb 2012
Love the phone so glad I got it
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Reviewed by Kasser from England on 3rd Feb 2012
You'll love this phone, until you want to connect to wifi. It will work
for a few weeks then BOOM! Nothing! It will show full bars for wifi
but there will be zero data transferred. Don't believe me? Google 'wifi
Galaxy S2' and you'll see. This POS is going on ebay and going back
to BlackBerry. (Ps, call volume is absolute nrubbish as well. Believe
it or not, if you lower media volume in, say, a game, it affects the
volume in a call!!! KOREAN RUBBISH! And don't even get me started on
Kies desktop software!!!). GARBAGE.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Dan from UK on 2nd Feb 2012
I do like this phone, but it feels a bit plasticy. Its like a wizard
purple phone!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Kev from UK on 1st Feb 2012
Best phone out there by far, only gripe is the oral speaker phone is
at the back and like the numpty i am i keep covering it up with my hand
so the caller can't hear me or turning my head away from the phone which
has the same effect......get one
Rating:
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Reviewed by chris H from uk on 30th Jan 2012
I pondered for a long time whether to go for the S2 or the 4S (previously
was a iphone 3GS user). It partily came down to price, S2 contract significantly
cheaper, and I was really not sure about android having used apple for
2 years. All I can say is WOW, the S2 is amazing, I was affaid I wouldn't
get on with it, apple is designed for your nan to use it, but I shouldn't
have worried. within two days it was 'apple' who? the screen is amazing,
it is super fast, has flash, add a memory. I really can't rate it enough.
If like me, you like the new tech, but it slightly scares you, especially
when you read that you can customise etc, fear not, it really isn't
difficult. Video play back is great, the camera is amazing, more or
less done away with my digital camera and recording HD video is brilliant.
There are a couple of points to note, as has previosuly been mentioned,
the app store isn't as great, IMO, than apple, a lot of second rate
apps, but there is something out there fore everyone. Also, the battery
doesn't last for ages. Most days it will get me through until I go to
bed, I'd say I am medium user, listen to music, check emails, texting,
a few calls, a game or two. However, just buy a spare charger, or use
one from all other devices except apple. If you are wondering which
one to go for S2 or 4S, go for the S2. And to be fair, I can imagine
Siri will get boring after a short time.
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Reviewed by gee from uk on 30th Jan 2012
Xcelent fne had it for two months cnt go rong touch wood
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Reviewed by GeeBee from Scotland on 29th Jan 2012
i've had this phone for around 4 months. absolutely love it, apart from
the battery on my phone only lasts almost a day but thats because i
always have apps running and always texting or calling people. so easy
to use. got nothing bad to say about the phone at all. i love it!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Jess from England on 29th Jan 2012
Love this phone so much, infact our whole family has one now! Great
apps, Very quick and good battery. Best phone Ive oned yet, and I upgraded
from a I-phone 4 and I am very pleased with this phone.
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Reviewed by lee from England on 27th Jan 2012
The only problem is the typing (dictionary and predictive text). if
this phone had the iphone dictionary and predictive text it'll be 100%.
Nevermind
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Reviewed by Cesc Fabregas from Spain on 27th Jan
2012
quality phone screen is brilliant and amazing camera the battery life
is good as well with the amount of texting i do
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Reviewed by Khaled from EgYpT on 25th Jan 2012
@ 1st moment when I bought & saw the Screen's Super AMOLED plus I was
WOWED & gazed as if in a dream world from its superior colouful big
Display, What an "all in one" Device, It has everything that I need,
From Sharp Detailed camera's Image Quality To Full HD 1080p Video recording
"although 720p is way better @ low light night" , & what a powerful
instant response from its dual 1.2 Ghz core Processor that cope with
pcs' frequencies ! From Best of the options is the intelligent voice
talk capability that is highly responsive & quite interesting, Its considered
an excellent gaming console performing great even in most sophisticated
latest 3D games thanx to its powerful GPU which is way faster than the
galaxy tab 10.1 Not to mention the many custom kernels made that enhance
the performance & the battery life obviously. Its the Smartest Super-phone
Ever-made up-to-date till the OMG GALAXY s III is out there YET !!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by terry c from uk on 24th Jan 2012
Changed from another large screen brand because of continually dropped
signal (3 phones in all!) and not regretted changing. Does everything
effortlessly. Any gripes? - a small one. In calender, changing time
is fiddly (time is coverd by finger so have to crane neck to see what's
happening) and when typing the comma is on the numeric page, not the
ABC page!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Knackeredmum from UK on 23rd Jan 2012
Right, first off I have had this phone now for 5 months so am not commenting
on the back of a 5 minute play. I have to say overall I love this phone.
After reading some comments (and after previously owning a Samsung Tocco)
I was worried about the quality of the signal and call dropping etc.
I can honestly say that I have not had a problem with the S2. Calls
are clear and generally the speaker is loud, just make sure that there
is nothing too soft like a jumper covering the speaker. If you were
to put your finger over the speaker at the back the sound is significantly
reduced. The user interface is easy to negotiate and the phone is largely
intuitive. The screen is great and also very sensitive so you don't
have to constantly stab at things to get them to move or when playing
games. surfing the internet is also fast and I often use the phone over
the laptop these days. Setting up e mail/facebook etc is a piece of
cake and compared to my old Nokia N97 mini (which grumbled about having
to download anything)everything downloads swiftly. For those who are
concerned about how flimsy the phone looks and feels, there are some
brilliant hard cases avaliable on Amazon (I got 5 for a couple of £££).
I have dropped my phone several times and have had no problems with
the back or cases coming off or the screen getting damaged. My main
problem with the phone (and for me it's a biggie) is the fact that the
phone automatically changes from text message to multimedia message
when you have used your quota of 160 charactors. With every other phone
i have had it just counts anything over this as additional texts. Ideal
when you have unlimited texts on your plan. I have been stung for MMS
charges a few times because of this flaw on the S2. According to Orange
this is an inbuilt thing that can't be changed as the phone was designed
for the American market so TEXTERS BEWARE! I really think that Samsung
should sort this out as I would've thought twice about purchasing my
phone plan if I'd known. No where is this problem mentioned either.
not by samsung, reviews or phone retailers. Also the QWERTY keypad is
a pain and far too sensitive and I find that I have to check every text
for mistakes before sending. Again reletively minor but a little more
thought in the design would've been helpful, we don't all have fingers
as thin as twigs! Battery life is variable and I often find that even
if i charge the phone over night by early evening I have hardly any
juice in the battery and have to stick it on charge again. Also when
the battery is low the phone turns off without any prior warning, leaving
you to wonder if there is a fault with the phone or just a dead battery.
The calender doesn't seem to have an alarm reminder function either
but that could just be me being a bit thick! and some of samsungs embedded
apps are useless and a pain in the arse too (like their 'hubs') I would
love to give this a 5 star rating but for me the whole text thing means
I can't. (It costs me extra money every time I forget!) but as I said
I love my S2 and the good about this phone far outways the bad. In fact
there are a few other niggles but they are so minor I can't even remember
what they are now...!
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Reviewed by lynn from England on 22nd Jan 2012
had my Galaxy S2 about 6 weeks, picture quality amazing, playing music
- sound is louder than the iphone, dounloading is very quick, when you
have a signal, i'm on 3 network, i'm still finding out shortcuts n stuff,
only thing i've not been able to do is increase the font size, you get
three options, normal small and tiny, i would like to have a large option,
i thought having a bigger screen i wouldn't have that problem, has anyone
else found a solution to this yet? i know i can go on to the market
for font styles but it's the size increase i'm looking for . . other
than this, the phone is excellent . .
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Reviewed by cow1 from UK on 22nd Jan 2012
I've had this phone for 8 months and it has performed consistently well.
It's one of the best phones I've had and it's hard to fault. Well worth
every penny.
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Reviewed by mr wilson from uk on 22nd Jan 2012
my first android phone and its fantastic cant fault it
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Reviewed by Nick Esh from UK on 20th Jan 2012
Love the phone but no one can hear me at the other end, apparently this
may be firmware problem
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Reviewed by jordan from uk on 20th Jan 2012
To the poster below. Youve obviously got a bad phone. I havent experienced
any of the issues you mention and have nothing but good things to say
about the phone. My friend has the HTC Sensation and I wouldnt say that
looks any better than the samsung with regards picture quality and colours.
The ONLY issue ive had is that very occasionally the web browser will
grind to a halt and you have to exit the app and restart it. Cant recommend
this phone enough and puts the iphone in the shade.
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Reviewed by Matt from UK on 18th Jan 2012
Hmmm... Not convinced by the Samsung Galaxy S2. Having moved up from
an HTC Desire I'm yet to find much that I like about the S2, apart from
the huge amount of memory and speed. The beautiful HTC Sense Interface
is sadly missed. The Samsung has nothing by comparison, just bog standard
Android. It crashes frequently, randomly restarting several times a
week - sometimes in the middle of the night, waking me up with its annoying
start-up tune. The colours are too vivid and bright, not natural at
all - held side by side it is visibly poorer (MUCH poorer) than the
HTC with the same app or pic installed. The built in auto dimming function
is AWFUL (but you can switch it off), flashing from bright to dim every
few seconds, its unusable. And whilst we're on colours - why is there
is much colour banding on the S2 in some apps? They seem to drop to
16bit colours, whereas on other phones the same app is in glorious full
colour. Something is messed up with its colour representation. Try using
the excellent Go Weather backgrounds and you'll see what i mean. They
look gorgeous on the HTC and dreadful on the S2....why?! The supposed
'Gorilla glass' screen has scratched badly in several places within
2 weeks of ownership - no idea how this has happened (the HTC had no
scratches in 2 years) - I've now resorted to using a plastic screen
protector, something I've never had to do with the HTC. The alarm clock
has no snooze function (irritating). The Kies connection software is
a nightmare - even though it tells you it works with Bluetooth, it doesnt
- its not supported. So you have to use the cable. IN fact I'm yet to
be able to connect my S2 to any PC via Bluetooth for file transmission
- it fails every time... The lack of any LED's is another irritation
- there is no way of telling if you've got a message or if the battery
is charged etc without switching the screen on - very poor on a supposed
high end smart phone. Its not even that good a telephone - the audio
on the ear piece is very tiny - far poorer than my previous phones,
and yes, I've tried them side by side. I admit that it is very very
very light. But that actually makes it feel very flimsy and fragile
too - I would hate to drop this phone - it would literally smash into
a thousand pieces. All in all, I will not be buying a Samsung again.
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Reviewed by RoyBoy from UK on 17th Jan 2012
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING PHONE!!! Not only the best android phone out there
but makes the iphone feel so boring and dull (which it is!) !!!
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Reviewed by LUKE from wales on 14th Jan 2012
everything you can ever ever ever want from a mobile phone..... no problems
what so ever and superman quick 10/10
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Reviewed by Rico from UK on 13th Jan 2012
I have Samsung galaxy s ii and never seen so many problems it al most
dangerous the brightness keep going up it hurts my eyes real bad and
also keep crashing on me. i have had three Samsung galaxy s 2.please
Samsung stop founding people miss selling. its not nice
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Reviewed by craig from uk on 12th Jan 2012
had this phone for 4 month or so and its easyly the best phone i have
ever had alot of people i know have iphone 4s n wish they had the galaxy
s2 after having a go with mine love it anyone thinking of buying one
just do it you wont regret it trust me :)
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Reviewed by Ray from UK on 12th Jan 2012
Got white version for quite a while, faster than even 1.4Ghz phones
and many new ones, GS2 is still the reigning champion :)
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Reviewed by nottmbantam from Saudi Arabia/UK on
12th Jan 2012
Well, I wrote a review on Dec 1st, and on Jan 6th, I got rid of the
Galaxy SII. Why? Basically, I prefer the ease of us and functionality
of the iPhone 4. Don't get me wrong, I think the SII is an excellent
handset, but for me and how I like to use a devise, I just think as
an overall package, the iPhone delivers on a wider range of fronts than
the SII did for me. Many other people are quite happy with the SII and
quite rightly so, even though I could customise away to my hearts content,
at the end of the day, the overall experience of the phone just wasn't
as slick or as enjoyable as the iPhone, and so I sold the SII and went
back to a iP4. Each to their own.
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Reviewed by Lee Haskinsq from UK on 11th Jan 2012
I dont know what the fuss is about, I have had my S2 for 2 months and
re-charge the battery every 3 days. I call, text alot, use facebook,
surf etc everyday. I kill all apps after use and I get three days its
brilliant, how do you only get a day from it beats me.
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Reviewed by Stephen C from Northern Ireland on
10th Jan 2012
This is the best phone on the market today. Unbelievable what you get
for the cost in comparison to the in my opinion highly over rated iPhone.
The Galaxy is far superiod to the iPhone 3GS and debatable if better
than iPhone 4 and indeed 4s. It's very easy to use all of the features.
The screen is very responsive and the colours and sharpness are brilliant.
I cannot recommend this phone highly enough.
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Reviewed by WALLIE KAMARA from SIERRA LEONE on
9th Jan 2012
I have used many phones (normal as well as smart phones), i believe
Galaxy S2 is the best.
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Reviewed by Alex from America on 9th Jan 2012
The Samsung galaxsy phone is so cool and not complecated.
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Reviewed by Lee Park from England on 9th Jan 2012
I have been using mobile phones for 15 years now and this is by far
the best I have ever had. In fact to call in just a phone is a insult,
like other people have said its like havinv a laptop in your hand. So
much so my sony vaio is now covered in dust. I can sync all my contacts
from faceboom to twitter. I can listen to spotify and snyc that with
last.fm. Browsing the web is a joy to use, its faster than my laptop.
It takes great pictures and video recording is amazing. I honestly cannot
fault this phone it does everythin I wish for and more.
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Reviewed by Luke from UK on 7th Jan 2012
An excellent phone. I agree with the post that describes this phone
as a mobile computer. Yes it has the occasion glitch but only because
it has so many different functions. Those people who feel the iphone
is superior are simply deluded. I have an iphone 4 for work and while
it's an excellent phone it's not in the same league and I find myself
bored and utterly constrained by the lack of customisation options.
On the S2 (and any Android phone) if you don't like a feature you can
just change it for something you do. One last point for those who think
Siri is worthwhile, try Jeannie from the market. It does everything
Siri does and you can ask it to navigate (a feature that only works
in the US on the iphone 4S
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Reviewed by Lizzo from UK on 6th Jan 2012
Samsung Galaxy has done me no favours. It keeps refreshing, 'can't connect'etc
etc It's a total waste of space, very disappointing.
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Reviewed by Andder from Slovenija EU on 5th Jan
2012
Best Phone, Videos for Kids, Web for Wife and Bill for me. But we like
it all.
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Reviewed by polko from germany on 5th Jan 2012
After drowning my iPhone, I bought the S2. I use it for internet browsing,
GPS and send/receive mail. I sync Outlook and Office, music and pictures
with the PC plus backup in a cloud. I am an experienced user and no
technophile. 1) To all Android lovers: this is Google software. Google
is selling advertising. Unless you use multiple opt-outs, Google and
Samsung sync between your location and phone, contacts, browsing, phone
numbers, Skype, FB, Twitter.... Android is the Troian horse in your
pocket. The app "Adservice" is nowhere on your screens, but it is there:
find it in Settings/Applications/Manage applications. I deleted it and
it came back, I do not know how. 2) Like an old joke: just as a camel
is a horse designed by a committee, the S2 is an iPhone designed by
a committee. The S2 is difficult. There is no manual and no websupport.
I bought it early December 2011 and there is no software update. 3)
3 different voice command softwares are proposed. Why 3 and none that
works? Why do I have to choose between the one by Google and the one
by Samsung plus 1? I am not qualified, I need one that works. Also choose
between cards, music players. Transferring music files from PC to S2:
your file MAY have to be converted, if not it MAY not play on the S2.
Conversion takes a long time. Videos: you need to convert, and it is
LONG. S2 cannot read formats that are neither problem for iTunes nor
for WMedia player. 4) 16 GB memory is short so I add a memory card.
But now each time I push "SAVE" I have to choose between card 1 and
2. How? No clue is offered. 5) KIES relates to iTunes as a rhino to
ballroom dancing. Period. Just connecting S2 to your PC (W7) fails 4
times out of 5. Open KIES and read: “Troubleshoot connection problems”.
So now it is your problem.6) The screen is a www praised S2 feature,
and rightly so. But short battery life is criticized. My S2 battery
lasts on average 10 hours and the screen swallows 50-60% of the power.
No free lunch! 7) Quickoffice: Word documents created on the S2 are
rejected by my PC (message: document is corrupted). If you copy any
message and open Quickoffice Word or Excel after that, S2 will paste
into any document. Go to “power off” to interrupt this 8)
Related battery issues: heating triggers a blackened screen. To overheat
the battery: combine GPS with music playing and toast your sandwich.
Heating problems are aggravated by a protective casing (optional). 9)
Some bugs: automatic brightness does not; if I do not branch the phone
to a socket tonight I may miss my train tomorrow; no white-on-black
option for power saving; sync photos from the PC in reversed chrono
so your holiday slide show will start when you come back and stop at
your departure; all pictures show up in Gallery in OPEN files so you
cannot separate your lover from your husband; the camera takes pics
of documents at random vertically horizontally or upside down, very
impractical; no search button; impossible to save an email attachment
to the cloud (Dropbox); the reset deletes all the data; and so on.....
On the www you can find all the praise for the S2. How many of these
reviews were written by Samsung personnel? I would love to know how
much money Samsung spent on feasting reviewers, journalists and other
YouTubers. PS: an update arrived for the new year! I tested all the
issues raised here, NONE is solved. Since I had to reinstall drive manager
3 times.
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Reviewed by alpesh from uk on 4th Jan 2012
Best phone ever bought. best screen. user friendly and not like iphone
u r restrict to apps android rocks.
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Reviewed by Timi from Nigeria on 1st Jan 2012
Once you stop thinking of the device as a phone and start thinking of
it in terms of a computer in your hand that happens to make calls, then
you'll be fine. Have had my S2 for just over a month and can honestly
say it is an incredible phone. I've had my fair share of wow moments
and trust me,I'm pretty hard to impress, some might even say jaded...the
video is incredible, the pics are sharp,the screen will have your eyeballs
dribbling and thank heavens it remembers that it is after all a phone
and makes excellent calls. Was actually at an outdoor event over the
new year and took a call from a friend of mine. Loads of noise around
me, and still my friend yacked on oblivious to the less than ideal call
conditions. noise cancellation doing a more than stellar job! Remarkable.
Yes, its got its quirks, like a proximity sensor that sometimes decides
to keep the screen asleep for a second or two longer than necessary
which makes ending calls a bit of a pain at times. Then there is the
Gallery that can take a full ten seconds plus to load, but in fairness
this is not always the case and more the exception rather than the rule.
Other niggles abound, but remember what I said in the beginning about
thinking of it as a computer first rather than as a phone. Got that
image sorted in your head? Good. It means you can now customise your
phone to your hearts content, wait for updates and use numerous available
workarounds, just as you would on a computer. Even with my less than
totally glowing report, I'm still giving it a five out of five. Surely
that must tell you something!
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Reviewed by Dave Home from London, UK on 31st
Dec 2011
I recently bought an S2 and am generally very pleased with it. However,
it's a real pity that Samsung have compromised so much on the quality
of the handset speaker. My old phone, a Nokia N95 8GB, had fantastic
stereo speakers that delivered really good sound. By comparison, the
single speaker on the S2 is woefully inadequate. Apart from that, it's
a great phone.
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Reviewed by Dave Smith Dundee from UK on 30th
Dec 2011
The S2 is a nice idea with all the desirable features but what's the
point when they simply don't reliably work. This is by far and away
the most infuriating phone i have ever had. I will list but a few; Very
poor signal strength reception, network and wifi, gps intermittent if
at all, Bluetooth does not connect, predictive text truly awful, constant
freezing/hanging up that requires switching off and on, charging takes
3 times longer than the iphone. Fantasic spec but simply rubbish performance,
stay well away from this poorly performing device.
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Reviewed by Xavier from South Africa on 26th Dec
2011
Galaxy S2, What a great Super-smart-phone in the world!!! I bought it
for R7,450.00 it deserves it. Great big massive screen for best videos
and movies. Works very well on Mobile data networks like your GPRS and
3G, best performance results when using it on Wi-Fi esp with these browsers:
Opera, Dolphin and Firefox. WOW the speed is amazing on booting, usage
and I heard people criticizing the battery, Look for a phone with quality
and brilliant features you cant be negatively judging the battery like
that, I believe this phone is far better than many cellphones and laptops
out there. Latest OS is just another aspect that makes this phone rank
number 1 all over, Samsung has released nothing but a super-smart-phone,
Looking forward to see the Galaxy S3. PLEASE REMEMBER!! If you are not
talking about SAMSUNG or BLACKBERRY you are lost in the scene, they
are best selling phones with improved and enhanced technology, goodbye
Apple with your iPhone you are expensive for nothing.
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Reviewed by sasha from UK on 26th Dec 2011
oh my gosh !! this mobile has higher specs than my first pc !! LOL
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Reviewed by mohamed from uk on 25th Dec 2011
poor looks and very copmlicated
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Reviewed by Dr.Khanjan from India on 23rd Dec
2011
best phone in market..go for it guys..and have universe in ur hand
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Reviewed by lucky from India on 23rd Dec 2011
its a smart leader of all phones. To buy dis u'll not be disappointed.u
feel a smart and intelligent buyer. anyway guys if u wont to try a new
gadget, u'll have to take this its really worthy to ur money. no way
to take some one else.
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Reviewed by Humera from Canada on 22nd Dec 2011
best phone in the world is what i think!!
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Reviewed by Ben from England on 21st Dec 2011
Amazing phone. To the guy who said there is no decent PC software to
use it with, try myphoneexplorer, it works a dream, it'll sync your
newly taken photos, all your messages, calendar updates, call logs etc.
You can type messages from your laptop. It reduces the volume of your
pc to 10% when you have an incoming call! Can connect through wifi,
usb and bluetooth. Almost all the 1 star reviews are from people with
faulty handsets that they should send back for a replacement, none of
the issues quoted are normal (aside from the battery life perhaps).
The wifi signal is excellent, as good as my laptop. It is absolutely
a smart phone, I have yet to come across any conceivable function that
it can't do. Bluetooth connectivity is excellent. I can connect to my
bluetooth speakers from very far away, and all the bluetooth functionality
works fine with my laptop. The battery life is how you would expect
for a screen as large and bright as this, I've had it last well over
a day when the usage hasnt been too heavy. Typing is so quick with the
Swype keypad. Brilliant phone.
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Reviewed by Farfalla25 from England on 21st Dec
2011
No idea where to start, im really struggling to use any of the functions,
but im a total techno moron. I wish the manual had a guide on how to
work each function, but your just kind of left to work it out for yourself.
The biggest issue for me is the calender function, which I would normally
use for everything, however I can set a calender note but cannot get
an alert of my calender note. Im used to using a nokia 6100 which would
sound out an alarm for all my calender notes, but with this phone I
get nothing, ive asked quite a few people but no one has been able to
work it out. Any help would be much appreciated.
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Reviewed by harvs from england on 19th Dec 2011
Im writing this in a car and its pouring with rain and im using 3g and
its still quicker then my laptop at home with wifi, best phone invented
yet, cant name a fault 5 stars!
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Reviewed by Bhavesh Upadhyay from India on 19th
Dec 2011
Reasons why not to buy Samsung Galaxy S2 i) No good client on PC to
manage your phone efficiently. ii) Poor battery performance. iii) bluetooth
connectivity is very poor with PC. Hardly of any use. iv) consumes alot
of data bandwidth. v) Poor call/SMS management functions. IMPORTANT:
All Nokia (Symbian fans) users Android is still a baby to give you real
feature of smart phone. People who call this a smart phone, tell me
what is a smart phone ???
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Reviewed by DJBC from Ireland on 18th Dec 2011
I bought SGS2 in late Nov. When I swipe phone to answer a call the call
will connect, and you can see the icon of the person on the screen but
hear nothing. Sometimes the call just hangs and the person on the far
end is disconnected while other times when this happens the person on
the far end can hear me but I cannot hear them. I have returned it to
Samsung and they did a software sweep but found nothing wrong. I took
back the phone and within an hour 2 of the calls I answered ended with
the same result. The real problem is that it is unpredictable...most
calls answer perfectly. I have seen on other discussion boards that
this problem could be a software issue that could be solved by updating
firmware but I think if Samsung are not able to fix it, I hardly will...Other
comments greatly appreciated...Problem is I really like the functionality
of this phone so would be great if this problem could be solved. Am
waiting again on Samsung to find out what's wrong
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Reviewed by Joe Mensah from UK on 17th Dec 2011
Samsung Galaxy S2 - it reigns supreme, best phone ever.
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Reviewed by Wayne from South Africa on 16th Dec
2011
Had an SII for week now. Battery lasts no longer than 8 hours for me.
Wi-fi only connects no further than a measly 8 meters. Even my 3 year
old Blackberry done better than this. The phone has lots of pretty features
which encourage you to consume data bundles, but it seems like some
of the basic features are overlooked.
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Reviewed by JAGDISH PUROHIT from INDIA on 15th
Dec 2011
BEST EVER SMART PHONE I HAVE USED IS SAMSUNG S2 I AM TELLING OR WRITTING
IN THIS COLOUMN IS VERY TRUE AND I AM MOST SATISFIED WITH THE PHONE.
ONE REQUEST TO THE SAMSUNG MFRS,. TO KINDLY SUGGEST ME FOR LONGER LIFE
OF THE BATTERY OF IT.ALL THE BEST TO THE COMPANY AND NEW USERS OF THIS
PHONE AND HAPPY TALKING, CHATING AND VIEWING. THANKS AND REGARDS ITS
SIGNING OUT JAGDISH PUROHIT CHENNAI INDIA.
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Reviewed by Feng Shui from Malaysia on 15th Dec
2011
smart and nice.
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Reviewed by elisa from australia on 15th Dec 2011
The worst thing about this phone is you cant save text messages to a
file already installed on the phone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by howard from uk on 14th Dec 2011
bought i phone 4 definately didn,t like sold it immediately replaced
with galaxy s2 in one word BRILLIANT can,t fault it, even for techno
phobe like me i am for the first time having fun with phone (i,m 60
) thank you samsung can,t wait till yout next developement
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Reviewed by Jamie from Scotland on 14th Dec 2011
Got the GS2 from O2 about a month ago and was pretty impressed by it's
performance until a couple of days ago when I tried to perform a kies
firmware update and the phone could not boot up anymore, just kept switching
itself on and off. Took it to the O2 shop and they have sent it away
to get fixed. I was told I would lose all data on the phone and they
gave me a really cheap loaner. Very annoying as it's a contract and
you can bet they'll keep charging me the full GS2 price while I am using
the little cheap loaner.
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Reviewed by Ari from Australia on 13th Dec 2011
This is a 5 star phone. Pro's - no safari, no iTunes, no restrictions
(sorry Apple fans - that's just me) - windows and Google compatibility
- thousands of applications to download - fast - highly customisable
and can 'root' phone for extreme personalisation - excellent video with
big enough screen to watch it on yet still a smartphone that can fit
in your pocket - internet surfing is a breeze with fast response - can
do Skype video calling with quality as good as, if not better than on
a PC - fairly good phone call quality and call does not drop off ever
- light yet robust, with gorilla glass - with lightweight plastic protective
case it is strong enough, and the 'feel' quality is good Cons - camera
picture of a plain grey wall will produce a pinkish red effect in the
middle - keyboard is not good. Can buy different keyboard apps but they
are not as good as the blackberry qwerty keyboard, for example they
all have this annoying microphone key taking up valuable space and there
are also other keyboard issues, but no time to go into it now. Overall
- This is undoubtedly the best phone in the market as at Dec 2011.
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Reviewed by Bufferin from UK on 13th Dec 2011
The most overhyped phone in the world, and I'll tell you why. Battery
life!!! I am not a heavy user of mobiles but I managed to get at most
30 hours out of it. But here's the worst part - it then takes hours
and hours to charge. This phone is fine if you charge your phone overnight
but if you run out of juice midway during the day then forget it. Almost
useless if you use it as a work phone, I became almost paranoid about
checking all tasks were closed down. In addition, despite the supposedly
super duper processor it is a bit laggy. On occasion the icons appeared
one by one on the home screen after closing down an application. I don't
understand the rave reviews at all.
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Reviewed by Justin from USA on 12th Dec 2011
Why us there a key you change the language on the standard text screen?how
oftendoes anyone change the languag they are texting in? With the language
key so close to the comma and SYM key, sometimes it accidentally gets
hit. Get rid of it!
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Reviewed by official Macheke from zimbabwe on
11th Dec 2011
bought the phone a few weeks ago, its awesome cant get enough of it
connectivity over wifi is great. Its the best phone in 2011
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Reviewed by Jesus from USA on 11th Dec 2011
I had all the versions all the iPhones I just wanted something different!
!! The phone is great!! That is if you're able to get a signal!!!!¡!¡!
What's. The point of having a device like it if you're not able to browse
on the net!!!! Will exchange it for something else!!!¡!!
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Reviewed by zea from england. on 8th Dec 2011
i had a samsung galaxy s liked it very much. was good in all aspect.
specially the camera. now i purchased a galaxy S2 which is also amazing
but found that the camera is not as good as S. though they both have
8 megapixel cameras. when taking picture with S2... looks good but when
review it, it doesnot came as sharp as while takeing the picutre.
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Reviewed by Mike Mai from Thailand on 8th Dec
2011
I9100T Review. Samsung's done it again by putting out multiple versions
of the same smartphone without making any mention of the differences
to potential buyers. I was unfortunate enough to get the I9100T version
of this phone. The antenna on this phone sucks. No better way to put
it. Signal bounces up and down from no bars to 4 bars without even touching
the phone. Take the SIM out of this phone and put in any other phone
and I'll get a strong gsm signal just about anywhere in Thailand. Obviously
the fix to this problem is to replace my I9100T with an I9100 but Samsung
was unwilling to do this. One star for the I9100T and -1000 stars for
Samsung Support.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Pankaj Sharma from India on 7th Dec
2011
I am using Samsung galaxy s2. The set is very good . The only problem
which I am facing is that sometimes the set restarts again and again
it self. Please reply at pankaj13sharma@hotmail.com
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Reply by Matt from England on 28th
Jan 2012
Hi. Turn off auto update.
Reviewed by sososo from India on 6th Dec 2011
nice and smart
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Reviewed by Gemma from England on 6th Dec 2011
I've only had this phone about 1 month and i now hate it already. The
battery life last no longer then 10 hours its mad. I have to keep closing
down all the apps but the stupid phone re opens them and drains around
65% of my battery life. Other then that the phone is brilliant. Warning
to people that want to buy this phone!! dont if you text, call and use
facebook regularly ! your phone wil not last
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Reviewed by Donald from Zimbabwe on 5th Dec 2011
Great phone. I have had for a month now. I like the speed, the quality
of the display and ease of use and customisation. I can use it easily
in bright sunlight. I have not been without problems. I can connect
to wifi easily but I can't do much with it. For example, I can browse
with my default browser but not with Opera. I can't access google talk,
gmail over wifi. In fact I can't use any application via wifi including
the Android market app which means I cant download anything over wifi.
I think these bugs differ from one Galaxy S2 to the next which suggests
to me that the manufacture process is not properly standardised. Samsung
needs to put more diligence into this so that their quality is more
consistent and high across all gadgets. Camera is great, makes me a
great fan of beautiful moments. However, it can be a bit difficult to
set up for different conditions. Indoor setting does not always produce
great pictures indoors!!! Kies is a bit slow but still great. Everything
else for me is just a great joy. Typing is very easy and a much better
experience than I had on the Optimus 3D which used to repeat characters
uncontrollably. I am proud to own one.
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Reviewed by Amanda from uk on 2nd Dec 2011
overall great phone! I've had it for 1 week, previously had the iphone
- only issue I'm experiencing with the galaxy s2 is when im trying to
open email attachments eg. documents or jpeg files it wont allow me
to, it keeps asking me to download the file or says its to large to
open, but the same files my iphone opens right away without bringing
up these messages, Ive tried to download various email apps to determine
whether this is a software issue however, the same message displays.
also the kies software is not as great as itunes - I can't sync my phone,
it isn't as user friendly as itunes. the battery life its better than
the iphone I found, also being able to personalise the screen and the
wigets is amazing! although I'm having problems opening attachments
I still wouldnt go back to iphone - this phone has a lot more to offer
compared to the iphone! the call quality is much better, my iphone always
had a high frequency noise to it that could be heard by both the recipient
and myself - I had this issue with my iphone since I purchased! the
iphone compared to this phone seems quite boring and straight forward
in terms of what you can do with it. this phone is more for the tech
savvy and who appreciate gadgets, not for anyone who is looking for
a simple smart phone.... although once you know how to navigate through
this phone properly, you'll appreciate how amazing it is and how it
has a lot of features to hand that iphone doesnt eg menu and back key
and for each app you go into the options for the menu key are personalised
options. overall amazing phone, hats off to samsung!
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Reviewed by Jim from Ireland on 2nd Dec 2011
Have the phone since May 5th 2011. Never gives me any trouble. Screen
very durable, after 8 months of hard use no scratches or marks. Battery
life good for a smart phone ( two days ) and improved after latest Android
upgrade. In rural Ireland the 3g is very patchy to non existent and
it copes well. A few friends have the Apple 4g and while I have good
signal the have none.It takes a normal size sim and takes a SD card
which is very handy. The pc sees it as a HDD so just drag and drop.Best
camera on any phone by far. Compared prints from S2 and 4GS and the
S2 still beats it. The phone is very configurable which causes some
people problems but this is what makes the phone so good.I am not anti
Apple,the 4GS is a very good phone but the hardware is only catching
up to the S2 and its alot more expensive. Samsung are rumored to have
a quad core S3 in the pipe line for Q2 2012 which will up the stakes
even more.
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Reviewed by nottmbantam from UK/Saudi Arabia on
1st Dec 2011
Ok, I'm trying to write a balanced review, rather than a gushing "this
is the best phone ever" or "it won't connect to the pc so its the worst
handset ever" type of report. I've had a wide range of smartphones,
mainly running on the older Symbian OS / Nokia but have just sold my
iPhone 4 which I had for 6 months and bought the Galaxy SII which I've
been using for just over a week. On the whole, I do like the ability
to customise the home screen(s) on the GS2, the widgets available as
stock run pretty well, no issues and they are generally quite easy to
use, install and customise. However, I have to say that I prefer the
UI of the iPhone, the iOS - for me - works better, is easier to navigate
and the applications are far easier also to customise. For example the
Calendar. I work in Saudi Arabia. THe working week starts on Saturday
and runs through to Wednesday. THe weekend is Thursday and Friday. So
the first day of the week for me is Saturday. I can customise the calendar
on the iOS but NOT in Android - this is very limited as it only allows
you to choose Monday or Sunday as the first day of the week - which
is far too limiting. Further customisation was available on iOS. Speaking
of Apps, far far bigger range of Apps on iTunes / App store. Another
burden of being in Saudi, is that the Apps Market is restricted. I can
either get the phone rooted, or stick to quite a small number of apps.
Having said that, many of the Apps on iOS App Store were garbage, and
had zero appeal to me anyway. Sync and backup - THe phone sync system
is sporadic. Kies Air over Wifi doesn't work, so have to connect via
USB. THis in my view only gives you limited choices - for example, I
cannot sync over my bookmarks from my Macbook Pro to my GS2 internet
browser - have had to enter them all manually. A right pain. One of
the confusing things is that after adding all my gmail accounts details,
this was still not showing on the 'Social Hub' app, and had to enter
them all again. THis then lead to other minor irritations, such all
my contacts now have around eight or nine entries for each person, their
Facebook , gmail, Skype, email, home phone, mobile phone etc entry and
each entry seems to be repeated several times. Haven't got down to what
is causing this and why. The sync system with iPhone and iTunes seemed
much easier and far more reliable. However one major drawback of the
iPhone is the inability to transfer contacts back onto the sim card.
Huge irritation factor that was. However, one advantage for me is that
I am a google / gmail user so when I first set up the phone, it was
very very easy, quick and simple. All calendars sync together very well.
Camera. First impressions is that I think the iPhone camera takes better
pics. How this happens, I don't know, I'm not an expert, but can only
go on the result. Indoor flash lighting is ok, not as good as iPhone,
doesn't provide as far a beam or in depth coverage. THe geo tagging
works very well though with GSII, first few snaps I took, the location
was all loaded up with the details. Internet browsing / Wifi Connectivity.
So far, works superbly well, picks up wifi signals, connects with ease
and here the phone comes into it own, the built in browser is quite
nice, easy to navigate and the bookmarks come upas small thumbnails,
so quite nice on the eye. Browsing speeds are noticeably quicker on
the GSII, loading full web site details with ease and again, looks very
nice. Hardware and build. THis is something where I feel a bit cheated
really, the GSII is very light for its size, with that big a screen,
you expect the device to be very heavy, but its very light. So much
so, that it actually feels a little cheap. THe battery cover is paper
thin, and generally the phone feels a little fragile. I'm usually very
careful with phones, nearly all are scratch and mark free after months
of solid use. However, this does feel like a sneeze in the wrong direction
and it'll break. Storage - comes with built in 16gb and here's the plus
point, removable storage. I have a 8gb SD Card in there, and nowadays,
these can go to 32 and up upwards, so no problems in adding or removing.
However, the SD cards are not 'hot' swappable as in the Nokias, you
have to remove the battery first. Bit of a hassle really, this should
have been designed better IMHO. Day to day stuff. Phone calling and
text messaging works well, with SMS messages being shown in threads
and conversations - better interface than the iOS. Call quality seems
good, reliability seems good, so nothing untoward going off there. Battery
life. In a nutshell - rubbish. Some days, from an overnight start, it
barely makes it to the end of the day. SO far have had to have it on
overnight charge every day since purchase. It's so bad, I now have to
go out and buy a car charger. So , overall, a few minor niggles but
on the whole a pretty solid effort. Very quick and really nice when
customised. Feels flimsy though. Samsung need to sort out the Kies sync
software, it's pudding. Four stars. Excellent, but not outstanding.
Rating:
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Reviewed by fay from england on 1st Dec 2011
i hate having this phone. it turns self of alday and night. it wnt let
my charger connect. got a new charger stil the same so it must be the
phone.Also when texting and doing afew other things onit, it loves to
lag! Plus side, screen is amazing and the cam is good quality. wish
i never got a 2 year contract with this plank!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by roger from tel.aviv on 30th Nov 2011
the.best.phone.nothing.comes.near.buy.it.keep.it
Rating:
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Reviewed by chris from ireland on 29th Nov 2011
The best phone Ive ever had, no issues with it at all!
Rating:
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Reviewed by cseejay from England on 26th Nov 2011
This phone was to replace my iphone 3G. got to say it is a fantastic
phone and is a lot easier to use and modify than the iphone. although
its bigger you dont notice this when it is in your pocket because it
is so thin and light. I cannot find anything i do not like about this
phone and if you are choosing between this or an iphone i would go for
the galaxy S2 even though i been using an iphone for the past three
years and loved it. I have no connectivity issues with it what so ever,
and cannot reccomend it enough.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Liz Bayly from uk on 26th Nov 2011
I cannot connect to the internet. The phone is constantly refreshing.
I have downloaded the inch thick manual, no help. I'm in a contract
so my phone company gives only reluctant help and I've had to get quite
nasty to get even a promise of an exchange. The phones a massive disappointment.
If I'm in a bad Wi-Fi reception area why didn't my phone company tell
me this?
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by barry withers from England on 25th
Nov 2011
i think the s2 is the best phone on the market
Rating:
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Reviewed by wongchin from malaysia on 23rd Nov
2011
Samsung Galaxy S2 shut down itself and failed to switch on back, battery
last for 3 hours after 5th day purchasing the phone. Failed to charge
the phone; error message “Battery Disconnected” when plugging
travel charger on 9th day after date purchased. Samsung refused to change
new unit even phone faulty less than 2 weeks, technician expect customer
to send mobile to service center every time same problem persist. Samsung
technician is blaming market application causing phone problem even
never take other aspect to consideration like battery or phone circuit
faulty.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Robert from Usa on 23rd Nov 2011
Hands down the best device on the market,i sell phones fora living so
I am very familiar with the available devices and I can promise u this
will be the best phone youve ever owned, I have had one for a week now
and I dont have a single complaint,(and im known for complaining) everything
you can do on a phone works better and looks cooler on the S2 Seriously
just pay that enormous price tag and move on, u will never look back,
using any other phone will seem crazy after a few days with it.
Rating:
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Reviewed by john westover from uk on 22nd Nov
2011
This phone is amazing.I was going to go for an iphone but read the reviews
and thought £100.00 less go for it.I am glad i did.The speed and screen
are so good.Its easy to suss out even for an oldn like me.Since i cant
leave it alone..call quality is the best i have had from any phone.Music
superb....All in all well worth the money in my opinion.If you are in
the market for a smart phone buy this one.
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Reviewed by vishwanath from india on 22nd Nov
2011
superb phone...nice features.. some small defects..there is no pause
in video recording :-(
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Reviewed by mike from us on 22nd Nov 2011
buy samsung s2 you wont regret it
Rating:
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Reviewed by mark from canada on 21st Nov 2011
the s2 is by far the best phone out there .... if yer thinkin of buyin
an iphone dont.. get a galaxy s2 u wont regret it
Rating:
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