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Samsung Galaxy S II

14 Feb 2011

The Samsung Galaxy S II is a dual-core lightweight smartphone that measures only 8.49mm thin, combining an unmatched viewing experience with incredible performance on a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen.

Tags: smartphone, samsung, galaxy s

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HWZ's Overall Rating: 9.0

Design:

8.5

Features:

User-Friendliness:

Performance:

9.5

Value:

Lightweight and ultra-thin body

Easy to use & detailed UI options

Brilliant Super AMOLED Plus screen

Speedy performance

Excellent battery life

Good camera capabilities

Plasticky build

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		<h2>More articles (2)</h2>
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					<li class="current">
			<a href="/review-samsung-galaxy-s-ii-second-installment" alt="/product-samsung-galaxy-s-ii/review?review=189087">Samsung Galaxy S II - The Second Installment</a>			</li>
					<li >
			<a href="/feature-mwc-2011-samsungs-new-round-smart-mobile-devices" alt="/product-samsung-galaxy-s-ii/review?review=143461">MWC 2011 - Samsung's New Round of Smart Mobile Devices</a>			</li>
				</ul>
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			<h2 class="header-green">Samsung Galaxy S II - The Second Installment</h2>
		<span class="byline">Reviewed by Wong Casandra on Thursday, 14 Jul 2011</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">Overview &amp; Design</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">The Second Installment&nbsp;</h3>
<p>The Samsung GALAXY S II returns as the Korean chaebol&rsquo;s high-end flagship smartphone, replacing <a target="_blank" href="/product-guide/view/20283/review/20284">a predecessor that&rsquo;s slightly over a year old</a>. The latter first garnered attention for its patented Super AMOLED screen, which has now been replaced by a Super AMOLED <em>Plus </em>screen on the new GALAXY S II. And that&rsquo;s not all this high-end Android OS&nbsp;2.3 equipped smartphone has to offer. How do specs like a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera sandwiched in a thin profile sound? We're sure, you're keen to know of its performance, but more on that later.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="500" width="500" src="/files/images/GALAXY_S_II_Front__1_.jpg" title="The new Galaxy S II sports a lot of similarities to its earlier Galaxy S predecessor, but not under the hood." alt="" /></p>
<p>Off the bat, the Galaxy S II bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor in terms of design. Except this time, the successor ditches the chrome bezel in favor of a plastic one, with ports and buttons shifted around. The ultra-slim (8.49mm thin) smartphone sports an extremely slim bezel and a clean design that draws attention to its huge 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. It is still has a plasticky feel to it, just like the original Galaxy S, but this gives it an edge - the phone's weight is kept to a minimum at just 116 grams (which brings it three grams lighter than its predecessor).</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="335" width="500" title="Samsung Galaxy S (left) and Samsung Galaxy S II (right). Notice the absence of the chrome bezel on the latter. On the Galaxy S II, the Menu and Back touch buttons lit up once the screen was activated." src="/files/images/Top_VS_S2.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="335" width="500" title="The textured back gives the new phone (in the photo's foreground) a better grip as compared to the rubbery surface on its predecessor (background)." src="/files/images/Textured_Back_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="263" width="500" title="The power button remains on the phone's right profile but is longer compared to the one on the older Galaxy S. However, there isn't any dedicated camera button on both devices. Also note that the Galaxy S II is slightly thinner at 8.49mm compared to Galaxy S' 9.9mm profile." src="/files/images/Power_VS_S2.jpg" alt="" /><br />
<br />
<img height="230" width="500" title="On the left profile, you will find a thin volume button." alt="" src="/files/images/Volume.jpg" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="261" width="500" title="A 3.5mm audio port sits slightly off-center on the top of both phones. The only difference is that the micro-USB port has been shifted to the bottom." src="/files/images/USB_VS_S2.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="219" width="500" title="No USB slide-out cover this time as well." alt="" src="/files/images/USB_12.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img height="335" width="500" title="The back cover is extremely easy to pry open without having to break a nail. Simply snap it off from the little opening at the top. The usual suspects are found here: the battery compartment, MicroSD and SIM cards. The SIM card is hot swappable." alt="" src="/files/images/Battery_2.jpg" /></p>			</div>
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