Samsung Galaxy S II ICS review: Sugar coated

16 March 2012
The Samsung Galaxy S II has sold in record numbers worldwide and millions of users must've cheered the news of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out. The latest OS from Google is a new lease of life for the Galaxy S II...

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  • S
  • SickOfAndroid
  • iIw
  • 20 Apr 2012

It's been about 10 months using sgs2 and while it does web surfing very well and there's a lot of good games available ... I hate the fact that basic things are still either missing or poorly implemented. E.g. profiles can be found on even the cheapest Samsung phone but not on ICS!?!?! No amount of buggy 3rd party software will fix that, I've tried many. The calendar sucks, there's no navigation for Finland and no offline navigation for any country I assume, unless you pay.

Android has the same problems that linux has on PC's, nothing's properly done. I have linux running on 3 PC's at home so I know what I'm talking about.

If my sgs2 get's lost or something, I'll go back to Nokia Symbian, at least it worked!

    • s
    • salMan
    • u1F
    • 20 Apr 2012

    When ics comes in G version....

      • J
      • Jay J
      • n5P
      • 18 Apr 2012

      abid, 17 Apr 2012hi,i am in the uk i have just updated my sim free sgs2 via ... moreYeah Im in the same boat as you, i had sim free on Orange and I notice the firmware upgrade..not done as yet cos my battery is having a charge, but yeah keep posted on the changes...cheers

        • v
        • vrinda
        • PV@
        • 18 Apr 2012

        JamsheerMckr, 11 Apr 2012Galaxy S2 Android ICS 4 UPDATE available in india @ 2012 Ap... morewill it be available on G version also and at the same time?

          • S
          • Sojie Brown
          • vxt
          • 17 Apr 2012

          I am from the Philippines, and had my S2 official ICS update 3days ago, and here are the problems I have encountered so far:
          1. Battery Life seems a little shorter than GGB. I am not a hardcore user, and my S2 on GGB used to last for 2 days. But now, I need to recharge everyday.
          2. Music IDs take time to load. A problem I did not encounter with GGB.
          3. I noticed that while playing music or movie, my S2 on ICS tend to overheat, something I did not encounter with GGB.
          4. Takes more time to recharge, around 90-120mins more. And may I add, the unit did get frighteningly hot whilst charging that I have to remove the protective case and battery cover in an attempt to cool it down.
          5. Certain apps run slower on ICS than on GGB, which is tremendously disappointing given that ICS is supposed to be an improved iteration of GGB.

          On the overall, I am begining to regret having upgraded my phone to ICS. Looks like the upgrade was prematurely released. I hope Samsung will be able to fix these problems.

            • a
            • abid
            • myj
            • 17 Apr 2012

            hi,i am in the uk i have just updated my sim free sgs2 via kies to ics 4.03,
            dont see any major changes the only changes i can see so far is face unlock and press home key to get all recent apps open to clear swipe them off.The battery i cant comment on just yet,browser and usabilty of the phone seem the same ,will comment if any more changes i notice.

              • G
              • GeekStylzz
              • AL8
              • 17 Apr 2012

              I am in KSA & yet didnt recieve the OTA Update via Kies.
              I flashed my ROM with European Firmware but it has 3 bugs which really trouble me:
              1. Asphalt 6 doesnt run properly(its my fav. game)
              2. Unable to capture screenshot(always says coudnt save screenshot)
              3. Gets stuck very often usually in Contacts & Dialer

                • z
                • zoya
                • u1F
                • 17 Apr 2012

                Plz.....tell me when 4.0 comes in G version?

                  • M
                  • Mr. Curiosity
                  • thd
                  • 17 Apr 2012

                  Please tell me.. when will ICS be available for the At&t version of the Galaxy S II? :( i777?

                    • H
                    • Hass49
                    • j01
                    • 17 Apr 2012

                    My SGS2 is still running Gingerbread 2.3.5 and I am in Muscat- Oman.. Is the ICS yet not available here or 2.3.5 software cannot update ??

                      • s
                      • salMan
                      • u1F
                      • 16 Apr 2012

                      When ICS update comes in GT -I9100G???????

                        • g
                        • grangos
                        • NH5
                        • 16 Apr 2012

                        I am in South Africa, and i flasshed my phone using Resurrection Remix, and i must say, that i have compared it with my friends Galaxy Nexus, and this firmware on my S2 smokes it completely, not only by performance but by the functionality of this firmware...

                        http://galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-roms/resurrection-remix-ics-pro-edition-v1-0-for-galaxy-s2-i9100-best-ics-rom/

                          • g
                          • grangos
                          • f4T
                          • 14 Apr 2012

                          I just flashed my S2 using resurrection and it is by far better than the Official ICS... I am the First Person In South Africa to do this... No More touch wiz, phone is on 4.0.3

                          http://galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-roms/resurrection-remix-ics-pro-edition-v1-0-for-galaxy-s2-i9100-best-ics-rom/

                            • u
                            • user6765-s2user
                            • 9Lb
                            • 14 Apr 2012

                            guys perhaps someone can raise this with samsung, they have got to intervene and force an udpate on the current ICS. The SG2 is almost useless now!!!

                              • J
                              • JamsheerMckr
                              • 7ty
                              • 11 Apr 2012

                              Lui, 11 Apr 2012Hi, Still it is not available in India. Please let us k... moreGalaxy S2 Android ICS 4 UPDATE available in india @ 2012 April Last Week, this Report from Samsung Customer Care, Chennai.

                                • L
                                • Lui
                                • MHx
                                • 11 Apr 2012

                                Hi,
                                Still it is not available in India.

                                Please let us know wen it will launch in INDIA. All Indians are eagerly waiting for this.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-24055
                                  • YTL
                                  • 10 Apr 2012

                                  Did anyone notice, ram is locked to 837 mb in gb rom and in ics it is locked to 831 mb?

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-24055
                                    • YTL
                                    • 10 Apr 2012

                                    Can sgs2 with official ics play 1080p videos in browser?
                                    I am using ics on my sgs2 but its cm9 and i am on 2g spectrum so i dont get that much speed to try it so please let me know whether it is able to play 1080p video in browser or not?

                                      • b
                                      • bunny
                                      • v{P
                                      • 09 Apr 2012

                                      update available for google nexus s. when will the update come for galaxy s2 ??? galaxy s2 is still latest than nexus s but didn't get the update yet. shame on you samsung...!!!!!

                                        • S
                                        • Suri
                                        • P$u
                                        • 09 Apr 2012

                                        Still not available in India