Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II review: Brightest star
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- philippines
- v0q
- 09 Jul 2011
Tina, 05 Jul 2011Peter n Other s2 admirers if u like every thing about the s... morewow i must be lucky then to have mine last 1 and 3/4 day with normal usage and a day with heavy usage (just got it last tuesday and i didnt put it down most of the day hah! wifi connected the whole day and i was pleasantly surprised to see it still 22% by 7pm whereas my previous wave wouldve been dead by then). hehe so wow!!! this is some technology and the its my proudest moment to own this beast!!
- Y
- Your Beloved Peter
- 3pC
- 07 Jul 2011
Anonymous, 06 Jul 2011its totally STUPID to judge a phone based on the lockscree... moreI totally agree :) It is stupid.
But I'm not telling, that S2 is a bad phone. It's a great phone, where perfection was destroyed with annoying lock screen. Add slider and full date names, and THEN it will be perfect. This is really not so much work, that is why I'm so angry.
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- Anonymous
- TRG
- 06 Jul 2011
its totally STUPID to judge a phone based on the lockscreen of the phone.
after tryin both phones,it.all depends on the preferance of the user. There is no perfect or ideal phone for anyone. Everyone has different needs n interests. for mr personally,i like flexibility n freedom to customize. so of course android phones will be my choie n nt apple. Iphone is probably for people who likes simple interfaces. but in terms of specs,nobody can deny that samsung galaxy s2 is at the upper hand.
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- AnonD-12453
- wrm
- 06 Jul 2011
Your Beloved Peter, 05 Jul 2011You don't get it. As most junior developers do.
I do not... morethat's funny seeing how you deeply bothered by an unlock screen.. you probably spent your time watching how cool your iphone when it's locked.. well who are me to judge..
btw, your "simple" lock screen on iphone is get a little something with it's ios 5 update.. it's still simple, but steve, the one you love so much, really take android as an example this time.. it's weird that you're saying iphone is a perfect ideal phone, but to upgrade it apples still needs a little of android's magic.. it's pretty cool actually..
- Y
- Your Beloved Peter
- 3pC
- 05 Jul 2011
Fongy, 05 Jul 2011????!?!?!?!?
Wow.
That's quite a rant about a lock screen... moreYou don't get it. As most junior developers do.
I do not need "nice screen locker", with its 145 features, 20 add-ons, music player, diary, news and weather. I just need simple, elegant screen locker, that does nothing, but just one thing: unlocks the f** screen.
I have tested some screen unlock apps on Market. They almost ALL are badly designed, poorly written, they eat battery like hungry wolf, they hang home screen, they overload device with useless wallpapers or download SomeVeryImportantData when you are not watching. Or upload your private data to some chinese hacker.
Just look at iPhone 4. Simple, elegant, no stupid useless "features". Just date, and slider. That is why Steve is making tons of dollars. iPhone 4 is nice and simple.
Steve really understands importance of clean UI, ergonomics and User Experience. Most people do not see it. They feel it. They do not understand why it is fun to use iPhone, they just use it, because it is usable.
This is the difference between, for example dead Windows Mobile and iOS. Gates thinks "give user gazilion of options ! Let him loose in maze of our Great Software.". Steve says "give user only, what he really needs. Nothing more.". Simplicity.
Android is going right way. The companies, that are trying to "improve" original Android are f** up.
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- Confused ..
- 0C4
- 05 Jul 2011
i have read many reviews for SE Xperia Arc and for SGS2 .. i watched videos 2 .. and both of them ROCKS .. but am still confused
plus am in love with taking pictures , listening music , browsing web and using applications ..
so who is better : SE Xperia Arc or SGS2 ?? Plzzzz Help Me Out *_*
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- Fongy
- Gjj
- 05 Jul 2011
Your Beloved Peter, 02 Jul 2011So, I bought this phone. Only, because I must - I'm develop... more????!?!?!?!?
Wow.
That's quite a rant about a lock screen...
I didn't realise they were so important...
To be fair, there are much worse out there, and you can change the pic to whatever you want, it's fluid, functional and, well, it's a lock screen (who is actually that bothered???)
Also, if you have something like Poweramp, it replaces the lock screen with a nice 4x4 widget of your music player complete with artwork and gives you full functionality of your player and a nice unlock button.. (well worth purchasing)
There are many ways around this (even lock screen replacement apps) if it's such an issue...
:O/
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- Fongy
- Gjj
- 05 Jul 2011
Tina, 03 Jul 2011friends i have bought this phone yesterday after using sony... moreJust look on Google for "top android applications" - it's all a matter of preference, and half of the fun is actually trying new and wacky apps!
Also you'll find on android market (online) "top free" apps, again - look at the top 10-20 - it'll show you what a lot of people are using (not always the best, but most popular) - it should keep you going for a bit!
:)
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- Tina
- utu
- 05 Jul 2011
Your Beloved Peter, 04 Jul 2011Are you joking ?
Galaxy S2 is coming with FULL essential... morePeter n Other s2 admirers if u like every thing about the s2, then what about battery performance?? Do you like that too?? Mine lasts for about half a day :(and don't know how to improve the battery life :(
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- Jota
- nw1
- 05 Jul 2011
I don't know why no one talks about the horrible color banding that the S2 displays!!! It looks like a 16bit gadget. The markting arround S2 is doing so well that no reviews tal about this! For the folks that are thinking to buy the S2, just do your self a favor and compare the image quality with the S1 and you will see that the Super Amoled Plus is not so Plus after all ... I even doubt it is still Super LOL
- Y
- Your Beloved Peter
- 3pC
- 04 Jul 2011
Tina, 03 Jul 2011friends i have bought this phone yesterday after using sony... moreAre you joking ?
Galaxy S2 is coming with FULL essential software pack. There is great (best on the market) video player, that opens almost all video files, great music player, best browser, and OS included battery manager.
What else do you want ?
The only app I get from Market was Adobe Reader. S2 is the best phone I have ever used, and I used lot of them. The only thing, that could and should be improved is locking screen :D
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- Tina
- ut{
- 03 Jul 2011
friends i have bought this phone yesterday after using sony ericsson w810 for almost 4 yrs but i am stuck now. I dont know how to use it....which apps i should put....s2 users please help suggest some apps for various things like video player, music player, browser, good battery manager app, etc
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- Your Beloved Peter
- 3pC
- 02 Jul 2011
So, I bought this phone. Only, because I must - I'm developing a game, and this is a tool for me.
This is almost good Android implementation among others.
As an UX fan, I have been just striked down, when I saw what Samsung "engineer" (fire him immidiately !), responsible for unlocking screen has done.
This bastard, this stupid mf*** just broke, original, good, clear, usable Google Android 2.3 unlocking screen ! It was the nice slider, clear, legible display with date and time.
Now, Samsung S2, most expensive phone today, has unlocking screen just cheap as some resistive-screen Nokia for 50 bucks ! Even Windows Mobile 5.0 has WAY BETTER usable unlocking screen !
I expect, that Samsung as fast, as they can, release new firmware to repair this misunderstanding and breaking all UI and UX principles.
My screen shows only three letters of month name and three letters of day name (Poland country).
This looks like:
12:00
2 jul, sat.
What a STUPID mf just done that ? I must torture myself looking at this f*** ugly screen hundred times a day ! It destroys all the joy of using this phone !
Samsung "Engineer". Now may I suggest, look at iPhone 4 unlocking screen, if you just do not know how to do that properly.
Date and day should look NICE, not "good enough". Name of month should be displayed as FULL name, not shortcut. As a day name. FULL names, for Christ sake ! This is not Atari 800XL with 320x256 display !
Second. They just actually done unlocking by sliding screen wallpaper in any direction. This is ugly, bad, disgusting, looking cheap. My 15 years old son is doing better UI designs !
So, you wanna good UX experience ? Buy iPhone. Sorry, Samsung. Great hardware is not everything. Invest some money into good engineers and q/a for best UI experience.
Anyway, I can wait 2 months for update. Do your homework.
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- Fongy
- Gjj
- 30 Jun 2011
audio_junk, 29 Jun 2011Will try that out the next time i go to the phone shop.Anyw... moreNo need to worry / panic over screen burn...
Depending on age / contrast / what you have on your screen, similar to a monitor - my old GS1 - you could faintly see where the time / battery / signal had always been in the top right of the screen, but it was barely significant... using a UI that removes status bar, or mixing things up a bit should resolve that (and lets be honest, you don't buy Android just to keep your theme the same all the time)
I've just rooted my GS2 - gives you access to some pretty amazing apps, no problems re: performance, if anything, it's made it better (if that's at all possible) - even if I couldn't update (no reason why not) - there's little coming in the next year I suspect that would mean I'd be missing out (and sometimes it's nice to get a newer phone with whistles and bells you don't currently have!)
Sound-wise from 3.5 is brilliant, I use FM Radio and Poweramp - the equaliser (both from GS2 and PA) really make a difference and 5.1 when watching films is GREAT!
Honestly guys, it's impossible to fault this phone, it's simply IMMENSE. Where do phones go from here? WHERE?!?!?
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- audio_junk
- uCm
- 29 Jun 2011
Fongy, 22 Jun 2011Hi all...
A lot of people asking a lot of questions about ... moreWill try that out the next time i go to the phone shop.Anyways I heard that this comes preinstalled with its own video and photo editor.Is it open to other devices?Looks pretty neat.
How is the sound quality from the 3.5 jack?
Also screen burn it?Yikes.Never heard that problem occuring on my HTC sensation.
Also about the bootloader thing.Currently mine is lock and no way to pry it open with custom ROMs from from xda.(maybe i am doing it wrong)
But how is the performance on the SGS2 with the custom ROMs?Any serious bugs?Will the motion action get canceled if you use a custom ROM?
- ?
- Anonymous
- 8Ug
- 28 Jun 2011
Galaxy S II dropped my jaw. And with the unlocked bootloader and all the friendly attitude towards the developers/modders community, there is nothing else I could possibly want.
They raised the bar of chasing perfection.
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- dhm60
- vCK
- 27 Jun 2011
Best gadget on the thing? Flight Mode that shuts down WAN WiFi, 3G, etc while still allowing GPS and LAN WiFi (Free Hotspots) to function. Great idea – I hate the idea of paying big for 3/4G data.
btw: My wife has an iPhone4 – it’s a bag of bolts compared to the S2.
- j
- jacob
- 2CR
- 24 Jun 2011
my galaxy s2 got a problem with the music player as it keep on shutting phone while playing songs(only if it is in a screen lock mode)
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- Fongy
- Gjj
- 22 Jun 2011
And of course... (I'll shup up now...)
Juicedefender (just the standard one) really does help with your battery life by turning off data when screen is off, and again, it's something that used to slow down the GS1 - but works perfectly with GS2... this is why anyone who says "we don't need dual core yet" is very much mistaken...
All these great HD apps that were sticky / laggy before (and remember that was on a 1gb RAM / 1ghz processor GS1) now run silky smooth...
and if you want to capture screenshots (I always like doing that as I change my theme so much) - press home button and then power button quickly (before task list comes up)
Always handy!
:)
- F
- Fongy
- Gjj
- 22 Jun 2011
Hi all...
A lot of people asking a lot of questions about GS2...
If there's something specific you can't do - ask me - I'm sure it's possible!
(it's odd nobody's found the self-record thing before - there was even a guy doing blogs on YouTube said it couldn't do it - it can!)
I'd also recommend getting yourself a new launcher (UI)...
I've tried pretty much all of them...
The best one I've found is ADW PRO (costs a couple of quid) - amazing customisation options... and it gives you the ability to hide the status bar (to avoid screen burn over time)
Failing that SPB 3D is excellent too... once they give the option to hide status bar, it'll be my UI of choice!
Another tip is that if you find the Galaxy turning off apps because you've got low battery (music / photo / etc) use a market app...
Best music app (my opinion) Poweramp Pro - and I've tried loads
Best camera app (of a s0-so bunch) Vignette Pro
They'll allow you to take photos / play music until your phone dies!
I'd also recommend Dolphin HD as a browser - faster than the stock one and although it was sticky on Galaxy S1 - it's amazing on S2!