Posted by masseur
due to popular demand (well... 2 people suggested it!), here's the Samsung Galaxy S II topic
Mine arrived yesterday but I had far too much to do last night so only managed to open it this morning and haven't done much since.
However, first impressions before turning it on that despite its big screen, its a very compact device, and certainly not ugly.
On putting the battery in I can see what the reviewers are saying about the tacky plastic battery cover, when off the phone it really is flimsy and not what you'd expect from such a device. But once you get it all clicked back onto the phone its perfectly fine and its textured look and feel really add to the overall beauty of the phone.
Turning on for the first time the screen is really very vibrant and would seem a good match for the iphone 4.
You go through the usual Android setup fairly quickly and then arrive at the home screen which offers a standard set of icons.
Apart from connecting up to my mifi I haven't done much else yet so will add more later, including a couple of unboxing pics and also a pic of that back cover, both on and off the phone for you to see.
Posted by rikken
Congrats
looking forward to more info 
Posted by Bonovox
Ooh mass we want pics
Posted by skblakee
I have been looking forward to this a long, long time. Let us see those pictures.
Posted by masseur
pictures coming when I get home tonight.
I've been using it on and off today and had google maps crash repetitively while it was statring and I was rotating the device from portrait to landscape.
Other than that, fairly stable so far and colleagues with androids (mostly desire/desire S) are suitably impressed by the performance and responsiveness.
Also tried the marketplace on the web and pushed an app to the device which wasn't available last time I had an android. quite smart and certainly something Apple can't do (yet).
But I can certainly see Apples displeasure with Samsung as there is quite a bit that 'feels' like iphone
Posted by julias
What i'd like to know is how does this Galaxy S II compare with the SE arc?
Posted by Bonovox
Oh good. But with this Galaxy S II I think it looks nothing like an iphone at all. It's way thinner has a much bigger screen & it is more box like in shape. Apple are just being silly imo. Lots of manufacturers copy each other in terms of features & many Samsung touch screen phones looked similar in design before the 3GS was out.
Posted by skblakee
To me the SGS2 does not mimic the iPhone in shape as in many ways it is larger. Software wise most of the smart phones are coming closer and closer to each other and that will only continue. Apple would have to sue everyone if that holds.
Where Apple has stood out and the others are fighting to get to is basic everyday performance as is stated on reviews and instructions. When Apple makes a phone it performs to expectations.
Posted by andz
sir im jst asking if samsung i9003 galxy can installed a opera mini handler version??? what kind of opera mini does the i9003 compatible?? coz i really want to install opera mini for my i9003.. hope you can help me.. tnx in advnce sir's/maams...
Posted by masseur
ok, pic time
here's a couple of the box before I opened it
and the phone just taken out of the box still with stickers on
a look at whats in the box
the unlock screen
and the home screen
this is the back
here's the flimsy battery cover but you can see all the tabs and when they are all correctly pushed into place the back is nice and firm on the phone
Posted by Bonovox
Wow beautiful screen indeed. That back cover is like a thin bit of paper
Posted by skblakee
I can see why some complained that the back might seem a bit flimsy.
Posted by masseur
but its only flimsy when removed. when properly fixed on the phone its rock solid
I gotta say I'm loving this device and am not missing HTC sense like I thought I would.
its rediculously light and thin and yet has a fantastic screen which is the perfect size.
I do wish/hope that iPhone 5 has a larger screen like this...
it also reminds me of the customisability that I loved in windows mobile devices, though strangely, WM7 doesnt appeal to me at all!
Posted by Bonovox
I am sure the new iphone will have larger screen. Samsung are renowned for their build quality. Glad you like it as for the price its gotta please in some way.
Posted by masseur
curious what makes you so sure about iphone 5 screen size when the rumour-mill is 50/50 each way?
some say iphone 5 will be same dimesions but screen will be wider within the same housing. Other say it will be same dimensions and iphone 6 is planned for a larger screen.
Also curious what price you think makes a device value for money such that it must please? I certainly didn't pay anywhere near rrp but I haven't mentioned how much I did pay.
However, I'd happily pay full price for this now that I have given it some workout
my initial goal though is to make the S II do everything I do on the iphone, and the biggest challenge there is finding some way to auto download and sync my music, videos and video podcasts, not neccessarily with itunes though that would be a plus given that my content is already there.
Posted by Bonovox
I was just stating something that expensive should have something good about it.
Posted by skblakee
I think the general consensus is that the next iteration of the iPhone will have a larger screen whether the overall dimensions are increased or remain the same.
In fact it is rumoured that the next SGS would similarly have a screen that is edge to edge (bezel to bezel) like the next iPhone. Apple apparently does not like that and other things and hence the lawsuit.
I see myself having one of these phones and a Galaxy Tab 10.1
Posted by Bonovox
This thread has already gone off topic
Posted by Caspa
Let me bring it back on track...
but its only flimsy when removed. when properly fixed on the phone its rock solid
I gotta say I'm loving this device and am not missing HTC sense like I thought I would.
its rediculously light and thin and yet has a fantastic screen which is the perfect size.
I do wish/hope that iPhone 5 has a larger screen like this...
it also reminds me of the customisability that I loved in windows mobile devices, though strangely, WM7 doesnt appeal to me at all!
I gotta say I'm loving this device and am not missing HTC sense like I thought I would.
its rediculously light and thin and yet has a fantastic screen which is the perfect size.
I do wish/hope that iPhone 5 has a larger screen like this...
it also reminds me of the customisability that I loved in windows mobile devices, though strangely, WM7 doesnt appeal to me at all!
Liking all of that, I really do think the SGII will be my first flurry with Samsung... Looking forward to hearing more M...
Posted by jj03
will wait for sgs3...had a play with the gs2 in cpw and its fantastic but i can't justify purchasing the sgs2 when my sgs is performing so well.
Posted by rikken
My SGS is performing well too, but I would like to have the SGS II`s camera with flash
Maybe soon, very soon. . . . . . 
Posted by masseur
a couple of quick snaps taken with default settings. I'm not that impressed so far but I'll have a play with the scenes available, and other settings and see what can be done
Posted by rickster2kuk
Sharpness and image seem fine but the colours are a little faded/washed out and the white balance seems a little harsh.
Posted by mriley
I agree, white balance in particular ruins the shots. Exposure and colour sat also a problem.
May be because of bad light in the shots though.
Masseur, how did you avoid paying rrp?
[ This Message was edited by: mriley on 2011-05-07 14:54 ]
Posted by tindo96
mabe going to O2 and getting it for 399quid pay&go
Posted by Caspa
On 2011-05-07 07:50:00, jj03 wrote:
will wait for sgs3...had a play with the gs2 in cpw and its fantastic but i can't justify purchasing the sgs2 when my sgs is performing so well.
So CPW stores have them on display? Wanna try one out so could pop to Westfield tomorrow...
Posted by daviep
what is the facebook app like,is it the standard android one?
Posted by jj03
@ caspa, they didn't when i went in. my old boss @ bolton deansgate store is now manager at another store so he whipped one out for me to look at.
Posted by Bonovox
Them pics look over exposed. Where has that almost mist type thing come from did you have a dirty lens?? The pics on GSM Arena looked far better than this. Maybe it's masseur's poor photography
Posted by daviep
the pics look as though the sun light was directly in the lens
Posted by skblakee
Well Masseur did say he was using default settings plus maybe he was facing the sun.
Masseur, has anything stood out at you? I don't know if you tried the SGS1 so that you could compare.
Posted by masseur
for sure I'm no photographer but I do know to not take pics towards the sun!
I didn't get much time for more testing yesterday but I'll have some time today so lets see what I can come up with.
@daviep, I don't use facebook but I see it offered within the "social hub" along with windows live hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail, my space, twitter and linked in.
I've setup the linked in part and it only shows the latest status and message info of my contacts and is not the full app that I also have installed separately. The full facebook app is not installed so I'd guess that you use the market place version.
Posted by Bonovox
Sorry mate did not mean that in a nasty way
Posted by Caspa
On 2011-05-07 20:58:00, jj03 wrote:
@ caspa, they didn't when i went in. my old boss @ bolton deansgate store is now manager at another store so he whipped one out for me to look at.
ahh, i see....
Posted by masseur
Guess I still have something to learn about the camera settings as below is the best I could do so far.
A little less washout but still not the best.
Posted by Bonovox
First one is much better in the sun
Posted by masseur
yeah, I keep trying to improve because I'm sure it can do better.
btw, I found by reading the manual that you can finally get screen captures without rooting, installing an app and the sdk (or whatever the long winded procedure was before).
In fact it now works just like the iPhone, i.e. press the home and power buttons simultaneously and voila. There is even a screen capture folder under "my files" where these are stored!
Posted by rickster2kuk
Yep, first photo is miles better.
I did read in a review that sometimes the camera can find it difficult to focus on different areas of lighting, i.e you get sky blow out or foreground very dark but I imagine it just takes the sensor a little while to work out the best light levels.
Posted by Bonovox
Don't think I would know anything about that It seems to me though compared to the older Galaxy S it's a definate worthy upgrade. So many phones these days the newer versions are too much of the same. The Galaxy S II has so much more to the older one. What's the full HD video like??
_________________
[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2011-05-11 23:05 ]
Posted by SE-Naz
I have got this phone too... Picked it up yesterday...
Really good phone... Not a big fan of touchwiz so have installed golauncer... which is better
Posted by tranced
Congrats masseur for this phone.
I must say I'm not impressed by these photos. I thought it'd do much better than I expected. I would like to think that the photographer is not doing justice to the phone though
Posted by skblakee
From the looks of things this phone is doing really well. Three million pre-orders from carriers Gsmarena.com.
Posted by masseur
cool. I'm getting more and more tempted away from iPhone but... well.. lets just see what iPhone 5 brings
In the meantime I have to report that I'm seeing a few crashes each day, mostly in maps and the camera app.
Posted by Bonovox
Wow!! Samsung really are selling well these days. With the Galaxy S sold 10 million & probably still counting & some of their other handsets doing well. This will be a big one for them maybe bigger than the Galaxy S!! I seen the older Galaxy S in Phones4U last week down to £299 though it's taken a while to come down in price. @masseur you say that everytime about being tempted away from iphone but you never are in the end
Maps crashing that is familiar as it happened early on in the older Galaxy S[ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2011-05-09 13:28 ]
Posted by jj03
much prefer these android samsungs to iphones...ive seen nothing from apple to tempt me away from samsung...besides the fact that apples phones are quite overpriced imo. ive played with the wifes iphone4 and its lovely, but certainly wouldn't tempt me away.
Posted by rikken
Bono, the SGS has sold 14 mill copies and counting
Norwegian website: amobil.no, says the SGS II takes better daylight pictures then the Arc but the Arc is better on lowlight.
Posted by Bonovox
Blimey 14 million
that would probably account for total of 
sales but this is one device
Posted by Caspa
On 2011-05-08 23:24:39, SE-Naz wrote:
I have got this phone too... Picked it up yesterday...
Really good phone... Not a big fan of touchwiz so have installed golauncer... which is better
Right then, now you have let the cat out of the bag... How do the two compare?
The Arc and SGII of course...
Posted by Bonovox
That will be an interesting comparison
Posted by skblakee
How is the sreen resolution versus iPhone 4? Satisfactory, close, dramatically less?