Affordable Mobiles

Description

Look and feelIn terms of style we compared the original Galaxy S to a near carbon copy of the iPhone 3GS which while no bad thing didn't really shout revolutionary. Ok so a touch-screen candybar phone by its very nature will look 'samey' especially when you go for traditional colouring such as black and silver, but we're pleased to say the Galaxy S II is much more its own phone when it comes to design. It's far bigger for starters with a large 4.3-inch touch-screen that Samsung has christened Super AMOLED Plus. In terms of the number of pixels and colours used, there's actually no difference to its older brother. However, due in part to the high contrast ratio and the dual-core processor (more of which later), it succeeds the original Galaxy S in terms of vibrancy and a sharpness of definition between colours. We won't go as far to say it's in the same class as the iPhone 4's Retina Display, which remains the pinnacle in terms of visual displays, but it's certainly up there.



To accommodate the screen, the Galaxy S II has substantial length, yet at just 8.49mm thick it is one of the slimmest smartphones currently on the market. The edges are far sharper than the original and coupled with the correlated back makes for a handsome looking device. A word of warning about said back cover though - when removing it to take out the battery (an unfortunate necessity if you wish to hot swap memory cards) it feels remarkably flimsy and isn't the easiest to clip back in, so take care. Also on the back you'll notice a subtle chin at the bottom f the phone but it's not to the phones detriment in terms of aesthetics.

TouchWiz 4.0The touch-screen is incredibly responsive providing a fluid user interface. Samsung has kitted the Galaxy S II with the latest Android OS; Gingerbread 2.3. However, it's very much a Samsung phone as it's skinned with the manufacturer's own TouchWiz 4.0. Not always a favourite with consumers we're pleased to say this updated version of TouchWiz sits well. Icons have more of a 3D feel about them and there are Live Panels that sit on any of the seven home screens including a real-time weather widget much like that found in HTC's Android range. The graphics aren't as good as the Taiwanese phones - well they're not animated for starters - but you can add up to 10 different cities making it a welcome addition.



Various widgets and shortcuts can be added to any of the home screens via a drag and drop process from the main menu or by simply holding a finger or thumb on the screen for a moment which in turn brings up a menu option. As you drag the icon around the screen you'll notice Samsung dictates where you drop it by implementing a virtual grid or panel system but this has no serious repercussions on how the phone plays out. Somewhat bizarrely two of the four 'set' icons that remain fixed at the bottom of each home screen do the same thing. Both the 'Phone' and 'Contacts' which sit next to each other will enable you to access your logs, contacts, favourites and groups. Surely the space utilised by one of these could be used for something else such as the camera. Pinch and pull on any of the home screens to get an overview of all of them as thumbnails, which is quicker than scrolling through them individually.



In terms of messaging, the options are Samsung's more traditional QWERTY keyboard or the innovative SWYPE method. Both made for a rapid typing process, though as we've seen in previous Samsung phones, the full stop key is in close proximity to the space bar so a degree of awareness is needed. For those of you unfamiliar with SWYPE, it works by you sliding your finger from character to character lifting your digit up each time you've completed a word. It sounds gimmicky but it's actually very slick. Another nice touch is that when texting, by holding the phone horizontally, the screen will auto-rotate displaying your list of messages on the left hand-side and then both the last correspondence you had with a selected contact as well as your own text entry box on the right hand-side.

Gesture controlSomething else that is new with the Galaxy S II is the introduction of gesture control. Utilising the phone's accelerometers hold two fingers (or thumbs) on the screen when browsing and by bringing the handset towards you you'll zoom in, while tilting it away from you will make you zoom out. In similar fashion when dragging and dropping widgets, you can select which home screen and panel you want it to rest on by moving the phone from side to side. Incidentally browsing was phenomenally quick, even when we had multiple webpage's open. Of course this is in part to both the Wi-Fi and HSDPA connectivity speeds, but ultimately it comes down to the dual-core 1.2GHz processor. Streaming videos from YouTube was instant, with barely if any buffering needed, while our gaming experience on the Galaxy S II was fluid with exceptionally crisp graphics. With HSUPA speeds of up to 5.76 Mbps uploading content