Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) Simply Amazing SmartPhone

Blog Hardware & Software | Review Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) Simply Amazing SmartPhone | I've been waiting for this phone since I caught wind of its release in Europe earlier this year. According to the AT&T sales rep, I was the first person in my state to buy it yesterday (I was there right when they opened at noon). I previously had the Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S 1) and I liked that phone a lot, but hated the fact that it was the only GS1 with no camera flash (***, AT&T, really?). Also, after a year of usage and tons of apps, my Captivate was starting to show its age; it just wasn't as responsive. The Galaxy S2 is far faster than I ever remember my Captivate being, though. I was surprised at how thin and light it is. It's amazingly responsive and zippy, flying through home screens and app screens like a ninja. Apps open up immediately with absolutely no lag. I don't have 4g in my area until later this season, so I can't comment on that just yet, but I will update once it arrives.

Pros: Super fast, amazing screen, nice nuances with Gingerbread OS, very thin

Cons: This isn't really a con, but I wish it had come with an hdmi cable like the Samsung Infuse.

Call quality was good, I had no complaints there. Gingerbread looks noticeably better than Froyo and some of my apps actually look slightly different once I redownloaded them from the Android Market. Overall, though, if you're already familiar with the Galaxy S 1, and the Galaxy S 1.5 (which is basically what the Samsung Infuse is) then you won't see a drastic cosmetic change here. Something I do find a little odd is that my Captivate responds to app notifications (WordFeud, at least) about a second sooner. One new feature that I particularly love is the Beaches Live Wallpaper that comes with the Galaxy S 2; this wallpaper reflects the weather outside in your local area (so does the Windmill Live Wallpaper), so if it's raining outside, it'll be raining on your phone's homescreen, if it's sunny outside, it'll be sunny on your phone, etc. I'll update this review as I become more familiar with the phone.