The
Samsung Galaxy S II (or Galaxy S2) is an Android smartphone that was announced by Samsung on 13 February 2011 at the Mobile World Congress and is currently the world's second thinnest smartphone, behind the NEC Medias N-04C.[8] The Galaxy S II is the successor to the critically acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S. It features a 1.2 GHz dual-core SoC processor, in either Samsung's own Exynos processor (GT-i9100 model) or Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor (GT-i9103 model). It has 1 GB of RAM, a 10.80 cm (4.25 in) WVGA Super AMOLED plus display and an 8 megapixel camera with flash that can record videos in full high definition 1080p. It is one of the first devices to support Mobile High-definition Link (MHL), which allows up to 1080p uncompressed video output with HDMI while charging the device at the same time. Support for the USB Host (OTG) function was also specified and confirmed on this device.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is 8.49mm (0.33 inches) thick. We whipped out a ruler and checked, it's true. Admittedly, that measurement expands a little at the handset's bottom, where a curvy bump houses its loudspeaker, and around the camera compartment, which protrudes ever so slightly from the rest of the body, but even at its thickest point, this phone doesn't allow itself to go beyond the 1cm mark. Given the veritable spec sheet overload that Samsung has included within the Galaxy S II, we consider its thin profile a stunning feat of engineering. In terms of the pursuit of the absolute slimmest device, NEC'sMEDIAS N-04C is still the champ at 7.7mm, but global audiences should feel comfortable in replacing the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, which measures 8.7mm at its thinnest point, with the Galaxy S II for their benchmark slim device.
Hardware
Processor
The Galaxy S II has a 1.2 GHz dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor depending on either one of two SoCs.
Exynos 4210
Samsung's own Exynos 4210 SoC was previously codenamed Orion and was the source of much speculation concerning a dual-core Samsung owned successor to the previous Hummingbird powered single-core of the Samsung Galaxy S. The Exynos 4210 uses ARM's Mali-400 MP for its GPU which is a change from continuing to use PowerVR's GPU which was featured in the previous Samsung Galaxy S.
Tegra 2
Nvidia's Tegra 2 SoC uses Nvidia's own GeForce ultra-low power (ULP) for its GPU.Nvidia's Tegra 2 supports the Tegra Zone application and service which is intended to give Android users an enhanced gaming experience by allowing users to download games that have been well optimized for Tegra 2 powered devices. This has been marketed as "console-quality gaming" by Nvidia.Tegra 2 also features support for hardware acceleration for Flash and Javascript within websites, and is one of the first SoCs to be natively supported by Android 3.0 (a.k.a Honeycomb).The Exynos 4210, unlike Tegra 2, features support for ARM's SIMD engine (Media Processing Engine, a.k.a NEON instructions) and this may have a significant performance advantage in some cases over Tegra 2 in critical performance situations such as accelerated decoding for multiple multimedia codecs and formats (e.g., On2's VP6/7/8 or Real formats).At the 2011 GDC, ARM's representatives were able to demonstrate playback in stereoscopic 3D on their Mali-400 MP on the Exynos processor at a 60 Hz framerate. They went on to state that an increased framerate of 70 Hz would be possible through the use of HDMI 1.4 port.
Memory
The Samsung Galaxy S II features 1 GB of dedicated RAM (in either Mobile DDR or possibly DDR2 by Samsung) and has 16 GB of internal memory. It is not certain whether Samsung will manufacture the 32 GB versions due to higher costs. Within the battery compartment of the device, there is an external microSD card slot that can support up to 32 GB of additional storage memory.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S II uses a 4.27-inch (108 mm) WVGA Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touch-screen which is covered by Gorilla Glass, a special crack and scratch resistant material.It is believed that not all regions would receive the Super AMOLED Plus model.
Camera
On the back of the device is an 8-megapixel camera with single LED flash that can record videos in full high-definition 1080p at a 30 Hz framerate. There is also a front-facing 2-megapixel VGA camera for video calling.
Connectivity
The Galaxy S II is one of the earliest Android devices to natively support NFC. This follows on from the Google Nexus S which was the first de-facto NFC smartphone device.
Samsung has also included a new high-definition connection technology called Mobile High-definition Link (MHL). MHL has been noted as being "connection agnostic" in that it can use virtually any interface connection, such as those of HDMI or USB, for sending high-definition uncompressed 1080p video and audio from a mobile device. The main specialty of MHL is that it is optimized for mobile devices by allowing the device's battery to be charged while at the same time playing back multimedia content. For the Galaxy S II, the standard Micro USB port found on the bottom of the device can be used with an MHL connector for an HDMI connection to an external display such as a high definition television. The mobile device can then draw power from the external display on MHL-supported displays. Currently there are no MHL-supported televisions available but this is expected to change by the Q4 of 2011. On the side of the MHL connector is also standard charger input to still supplement battery charging while outputting multimedia
A standard 3.5 mm TRS headphone jack is available and is located on the top-side of the device. The Micro USB connection port is located on the bottom-side of the device.
Accessories (separate)
There are optional separate accessories for this device, which will include, a dock connector for battery charging and audio-visual output, a separate MHL cable which makes use of the device's Micro USB port for HDMI output and then a USB OTG adaptor for use with external usb devices such as USB flash drives.
Amongst the accessories discovered, is also a special stylus pen for use on the device's capacitive screen.
- 4.3" SUPER AMOLED Plus
The 4.3" SUPER AMOLED Plus display goes a step beyond the already remarkable SUPER AMOLED to provide enhanced readability, a slimmer design, and better battery consumption for the best viewing value of any smartphone.
- Dual Core Application Processor
Clocking at lightening speeds the unrivaled performance of the Dual Core Application Processor provides unsurpassed functionality and density for faster browsing, quicker multi-tasking, a smoother UI, snappier streaming and highly efficient gaming. With encoding/decoding ability that supports video play and recording, makes it no.1 among dual cores.
8.49mm Slim Design
Taking slim to the next dimension. The Samsung GALAXY S II rides the leading edge with an ultra-slim 8.49mm form factor, a luxurious design and an easy grip. The ultra-slim smartphonealso boasts 3D TouchWiz UX adds to the evolutionary experience with a futuristic user interface.
Display
The Galaxy S II's screen is nothing short of spectacular. Blacks are impenetrable, colors pop out at you, and viewing angles are supreme. This would usually be the part where we'd point out that qHD (960 x 540) resolution is fast becoming the norm among top-tier smartphones and that the GSII's 800 x 480 is therefore a bit behind the curve, but frankly, we don't care. With a screen as beautiful as this, such things pale into insignificance. And we use that verb advisedly -- whereas the majority of LCDs quickly lose their luster when you tilt them away from center, color saturation and vibrancy on the Galaxy S II remain undiminished. It is only at extreme angles that you'll notice some discoloration, but that's only if you're looking for it and takes nothing away from the awe-inspiring experience of simply using this device.
Battery life
The story of the Galaxy S II's battery life cannot be told without returning to its luscious screen. Being an OLED panel, the 4.3-inch display here doesn't use one single backlight as LCD screens do, and instead only illuminates the pixels that are needed to actively display content. This is the reason why it can generate truer blacks than any backlit panel, but it also permits the user to optimize battery life by doing such things as switching to a darker wallpaper or reading ebooks against a black background. We didn't actually bother with such tweaks, we were too busy exploring every one of the myriad features on this phone, but the option's there as an extra dimension of obsessive control if you care for it. As to the Galaxy S II's actual endurance, we found it highly competitive with the latest batch of Android phones. After 20 hours, half of which were filled with the above tinkering and exploration, we managed to drag the Galaxy S II down to 15 percent of its original charge. This was with our usual push notification suppliers, Gmail and Twitter, running in the background and while constantly connected to our WiFi network.
Loudspeaker / earpiece
The loudspeaker is surprisingly passable, hell, it's more than passable. We're probably being swayed by the gorgeous screen on this phone, but playing back video without relying on headphones feels just fine, unlike the usual grinding chore that it is on most current phones. That being said, Tinie Tempah's Pass Out -- a song that starts out dominated by deep bass -- sounds like a hilarious remix of the original on the GSII owing to the speaker's inability to dip down low enough to sound out the track's bassline. Bass deprivation is a typical shortcoming of smartphones, which isn't looking likely to find a fix any time soon. You still won't be forced to abandon your dubstep addiction while on the move, however, as Samsung bundles a solid pair of in-ear headphones that do a very respectable job of both isolating external noise and delivering audio to your cranium. Including an in-line mic that doubles as a music play / pause button is no bad thing either. We'd be remiss not to point out that the Galaxy S II's loudspeaker is positioned rather poorly -- it and the two slits cut into the phone's rump for its output face the rear. Laying the handset down on a flat surface immediately alters the sound and a stray finger - a single fleshy finger -- can mute almost everything.
Camera
Samsung eschews the default Gingerbread camera app for its own effort, which comes with a neat slice of customization. The left menu column gives you three shortcut slots for the functions you consider most relevant to your photographic exploits. By default, two of them are populated with a button to flip between the rear-facing 8 megapixel and front-facing 2 megapixel camera and another one for controlling the flash, but you can do whatever you fancy. Resolution, ISO, scene and shooting modes, or adjustments like white balance, contrast, metering, and after-effects can all be included in there. And if you consider different things important when in video mode, that's no problem, because that retains its own set of shortcuts separate from the stills mode. It's a fully realized suite of options, even if most users will neglect the left side and just keep bashing the capture key on the right.
When they do so, they'll be treated to some excellent results. The camera compartment on the back of the Galaxy S II justifies its size (it's still tiny, it just happens to protrude a little bit from the ultrathin GSII body) with the collection of great detail in nearly every shot. What most impressed us about this sensor is that images remained relatively sharp at full resolution -- such as the one you see above, it's a 100 percent crop from an 8 megapixel capture -- with Samsung feeling confident enough in the quality of its hardware to apply almost no noise-reducing blur under default settings. That does permit for graininess to sneak into some images, but on the whole, we're looking at one of the finest smartphone camera sensors around. Closeup shots are handled very well too, in spite of the lack of a dedicated macro mode (There's a Macro setting under the Focus mode menu; thanks, Josh!). The flash is a typically overpowered LED unit, though we were impressed to see the Galaxy S II use it while focusing on a nearby object but not while shooting -- had it been used in the shot, the flash would've whitewashed the entire composition, so it's good to see the software showing a timely bit of restraint.
Software
General responsiveness is absolutely exemplary. If you've read what we had to say about the
G2x and the way it simply flies through homescreens, menus and applications, you'll know that we have a high bar for Android performance already set, but the Galaxy S II beats it anyway. There's simply never been an Android handset this smooth and this fluid in its operation. Nothing phases the GSII, and the only time we got it to show
any performance dropoff was in enacting a pinching gesture on the home screen to bring up an Exposé-like overview of all seven homescreens. That's seven fully loaded-out homescreens with information updating live (multiple clocks plus news and weather feeds) and the only thing that recipe for memory overload produced was a slight stutter in animating the zooming effect. There's just no getting around the extravagant amounts of power this device has and we can't wait to see Samsung jam one of these Exynos chips inside a future tablet or two.
We know you like your benchmarks, so we might as well hit you with those all-important numbers. Do take heed, however, that graphical tests such as those in Quadrant and Neocore perform at the phone's native resolution, which will bias results in favor of lower-res screens -- so don't take what you see as a conclusive performance comparison, use it just as an indicator. With that out of the way, here are the scores: Quadrant gave us results in the 3,000 to 3,400 range, Linpack produced an average of 47 MFLOPS, and Nenamark and Neocore both brought in a 59.8fps average that was limited by a 60fps software cap on the phone (a suspicion that was further confirmed by running Fps2D and seeing the same behavior). It's a shame that we weren't able to properly quantify the true maximum capability of the Exynos dual-core chip and Mali-400 graphics within, but that Quadrant score can be taken as highly representative of the chasm that exists between the Galaxy S II and smartphones that have come before it. It really is that much better. Put simply, this is the most powerful mobile handset we've yet tested.
Browser
Browser performance is superb in terms of speed but a little troubled when it comes to rendering. In our use of the Galaxy S II, we were consistently met with pronounced aliasing when viewing webpages from a more distant, zoomed-out view. There were no issues in terms of the structure of the page, all sites organized themselves exactly as their makers designed them, but pulling out for an overview brought out the jaggy lines and generally looked unattractive. That's not, however, a functional flaw, it's just a superficial scratch on a muscly brawler. In terms of actually navigating webpages, the Galaxy S II is outstanding. Page scrolling is so smooth it borders on slippery, pinch-to-zoom is flawless, and re-orienting the screen from portrait to landscape and back is done in a flash.
Oh, did we say Flash? One entirely aberrant aspect of our review handset was that we couldn't get it to play back any in-browser Flash content. Instead, it encouraged us to upgrade our Flash Player. We did so, downloading and installing Flash Player 10.2, but still had no joy. This seems like an unhappy fluke and we'll see how Samsung responds to our queries on the matter.
Update: Thanks to our reader David, we've now figured out the root of this little problemo. Turns out the browser required us to tick an "enable plugins" box to get Flash running. We did so and, sure enough, in-browser Flash was a go. Frame rates have been consistently high across multiple websites and videos, which is in keeping with the rest of the Galaxy S II's performance.
