Greetings, a couple of weeks ago I managed to grab the new Samsung Galaxy S II I9100 for a review. This pocket rocket is claimed to be the mobile phone that offers the best performance in the market now.
This review will basically cover everything you need to know in a nutshell. The Samsung Galaxy S II will be launched in Malaysia this week at Mid Valley Megamall's ground floor centre court concourse. Not only that, Maxis is offering very attractive plans and the registration of interest has already been going on for the past two weeks.
The pattern lock screen of the Samsung Galaxy S II.
“In Korea, the Samsung GALAXY S II sold 100,000 units sold in the first 3 days, 200,000 sold in 8 days, 500,000 sold in 18 days and over a million units sold in under a month. We expect the demand for the Samsung GALAXY S II in Malaysia to also reach a fever pitch,” Mr. Kwon Jae Hoon, Managing Director, Samsung Malaysia Electronics Sdn. Bhd.
“People want faster, smoother, brighter and stronger. The Samsung GALAXY S II delivers on all fronts. The Samsung GALAXY S II has received over 3 million advanced and pre-orders globally,”
The phone has been selling like hotcakes ever since it's debut because it is the successor of the best selling Samsung Galaxy S, which sold a record of over 14 million units globally last year.
The phone features 1.2 GHz dual-core application processor, the fastest of its kind using the Android™ 2.3 Gingerbread platform that allows its users to enjoy the unrivalled merits of multi-tasking capabilities. Not forgetting the 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display. The phone tends to get heated up really quickly as users launch & use apps for a long time due to the fact that it's dual-core & processes much more.
The Samsung Galaxy S II is only 8.9mm (0.33 inches) thin, and weighs only 116grams!
The loudspeaker on the Samsung Galaxy S II is fantastic, the audio churns out clear, crips & loud. Even at the maximum volume (volume 15), there wasn't any break ups/cracking sounds of the treble & bass. Though, one thing I did not fancy about the loudspeaker was the placement of it, it was located at the back of the phone and the audio coming out from it was muffled when placed flat on a table. But what impressed me was the capability of the Samsung Galaxy S II being able to play music in
FLAC format, definitely a plus point for audiophiles to enjoy their dose of music on this gadget.
The 8.0 megapixel camera snapped great & sharp photos just like a compact camera. The video camera was also able to record Full HD videos in 1080p. But one slight problem about the video recording was that it had rolling shutter issues, in which images are not recorded at the same time as the audio.
Pictures taken under normal daylight:
During Super GT 2011 over the weekend. The camera produced sharp & perfectly exposed pictures, thumbs up for a mobile phone camera!
Picture taken under lowlight w/o LED flash:
Noise is visible but tolerable in this picture.
Picture taken in a dark condition w/ LED flash:
The LED flash produces a bright but harsh light on the subject.
Picture taken in macro mode:
In macro mode, the camera produces a nice DoF (or also known as bokeh), but the minimum focus distance for the Samsung Galaxy S II's camera is about 10cm. (self measured)
Apart from the loudspeaker & the camera's performance, the 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus screen was a pleasant experience on the eyes. The screen produced vivid, sharp & bright images, definitely a breeze when using it daily, especially when playing games like this:
Upon normal usage, the 1650mAh battery managed to last a full 3 days before finally showing the low battery warning level notification. Upon excessive usage with a generous amount of time spent on playing games, listening to music & surfing the web, the battery only lasted me 1 & a half days. Pretty good for a phone with such a huge display. However the amount of battery used by a person depends on the level of brightness, 3G connection, games and video playback.
Quote from
Azrin:
"One of those major features that Samsung feature is the Live Panel. From the Samsung website, they describe the L!ve Panel as “.. live content ecosystem can be customized to your taste and provides easy access to your contents”. It is definitely an ecosystem as I was able to customize notes, apps, weather widget, music and video. The possibilities are endless. According to Samsung “Content is King”. I have to very much agree with that statement as I was able to have everything on my fingertips. I do not have to browse through the application page and look for the app I want. Everything is on the L!ve Panel."Here are a few videos for your reference:
In conclusion, almost everything is perfect & packed nicely into this pocket rocket. If you don't mind the minor flaws I stated and maybe a few other issues I left out, then by all means this phone is definitely for you! No matter if you want to look stylish, professional, trendy, cool... The Samsung Galaxy S II fits all occasions!
Verdict?
9.5/10.Worth the buy?
YES!!!
