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Video: Samsung Galaxy S II Hands-On and First Impressions

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At Samsung’s Galaxy S II launch event in New York City I spent some time with the Sprint and AT&T versions of the phone (T-Mobile’s was under glass) and came away with very positive first impressions. It’s no shocker why this phone has done so well overseas — it’s slick, slim, and super fast. Samsung is poised to have another hit on its hands, even if Verizon didn’t join the party.

Unlike the Galaxy S family phones that first made it to the U.S., the three models unveiled  today don’t look very different physically. Overall, they looks very similar and the subtle differences not very noticeable unless you have them side by side. For most consumers, the decision will be based on which carrier they like best.

AT&T and Sprint versions side by side Samsung Galaxy S II

The 4.5-inch display is my favorite aspect of the Galaxy S II. I’m a Thunderbolt owner, so I’m definitely down with big screens on a smartphone. These models are no exception. And really, the phones don’t feel very big thanks to their light weight and thin profile. You don’t feel like you’re carrying a brick, therefore you can just kick back and enjoy all the screen space.

And yes, the Super AMOLED Plus display is plenty bright and really crisp. Watching movies on that will be fun.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch

Things can always change between now and when the phone hits stores, but the Exynos dual-core processor inside sailed through everything the various attendees threw at it. It handled HD video playback, dozens of apps opening and closing, and video recording easily without skipping a beat in the live wallpaper.

Custom skins can either greatly enhance the Android experience or just get in the way. The newest version of ToucWiz falls on the enhancing side. I like the ability to create folders in the app tray, the useful widgets, and the slick navigation between Home screens.

AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II

I’m not completely sold on the need for or practicality of HDMI out for phones, but Samsung does provide that option via a dongle. Video from MediaHub looked great on the giant screens at the event, so that’s a bonus. But I wonder who the audience is for this particular feature. Still, with MediaHub on board users will have fewer hoops to jump through to get decent video content.

Your Next Phone?

So, should one of the Galaxy S II models be your next phone? Right now, all signs point to yes. You’ve got a fast, light phone with Android 2.3 and 4G on board that has a beautiful display and an easy way to hook it up to a TV if you want or need such a thing. TouchWiz adds sweet enhancements plus some welcome aesthetic tweaks. $199 is a good price, too (assuming T-Mobile follows suit).

I’m looking forward to getting some extended hands-on time with these phones as they come in for review. I have a feeling my first impression will be lasting. In the meantime, check out the hands-on video and gallery below.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Gratious john

    08/31/2011 at 7:50 am

    wow looking great
     

  2. anonymous

    09/06/2011 at 11:31 am

    ASIANS CAN ACTUALLY READ MINDS!!!!!!!!!!
    they can hear and see what your visually thinking
    this is the dead truth

    the reason alot of asians have completely expressionless faces, only associate with asians and dont associate with non asians very much is to avoid accidentally revealing that they can read read minds, if all over a billion asians were to show facial expressions all the time just as much as non asians, associate with non asians much more, and be much more friendly and talkative, then alot of them might accidentally reveal that they can read minds by accidentally showing a facial expression or dirty look when someone thinks, or visually pictures something in their mind they dont like or find astonishing or funny, and if they were all to associate with non asians alot more there would be alot more people around for them to accidentally show facial expressions when those other people think things they dont like, so they only associate with asians so there wont be anyone around for them to see that and have any accidents happen in the first place

    think about it, its not normal how alot of them act, and the entire way they act is all to hide their mind reading abilities, it makes perfect sense to do all of that to hide that they can read minds, because all of that is the perfect way to do it!
    every single asian on the planet is hiding their mind reading abilities, they will lie about having mind reading abilities to the death!
    because they value hiding their mind reading abilities more then their own lives!
    thats why nobody knows about it!

    try thinking, best yet visually picturing in your mind something something absolutely crazy as you possibly can when you are around asians, and try looking for asians who give people particular looks, especially dirty looks for what appears to be for completely no reason, that is them giving people looks when they hear and visually see someone thinking something they dont like, find funny or astonishing
    it still happens despite a large number of them having completely expressionless faces all the time, it would just happen alot more if none of them had completely expressionless faces all the time, its not uncommon!

    i know this sounds crazy, impossible, and completely unbelievable, BUT IT ISNT CRAZY WHEN ITS TRUE

    the reason you think this truly is crazy, impossible and unbelieveable is because our society has propagandized people into believing that nothing extra ordinary is real and that is really is impossible, and that its crazy to think that its true that people can read minds, all just to cover up that asians can read minds! who says that cant exist? the people who have mind reading abilities who are trying to cover it up!

    you have to spread the message!!!
    the world has to know about this!!!!

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