Samsung Galaxy S II

Ardent

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

anyway I just pointed out of course this phone is better than the 3gs and the iphone it is much much newer

Newer is not necessarily better. What makes the SGS2 so superior is the hardware specs and the flexible (i.e. better) OS.

conor.hogan.2

In technology and especially in phones and with apple and samsung/google involved newer is always better.

Now that the new ios coming out and a bigger update with iphone5 - the os is coming back to a personal preference.

alanucc

Is there any way to get text reflow to activate with pinch zoom rather than double tap? Kinda miss that feature from the desire.

bd250110

The SGSII is a good phone. It might even be a great phone. For me the screen is the saving grace of the phone, it is big and beautiful.

I don't really see the attraction to Android. I have yet to see something I can do on a droid that I can't on iOS. For me a smartphone is all about Web, Mail, Apps, Music, Calendar, in that order. I've not found a browser as nippy as Mobile Safari or one that renders up images properly. I have trouble authenticating on enterprise networks, trouble using corporate web interfaces, to the point where I still need to have my work provided 3Gs or my on iPad with me pretty much all the time. K9 is a great e-mail app, it works really well. iOS wins for Apps in terms of numbers and quality. Calender works well on both platforms. Personally, I like DoubleTwist, so that works well for me too.

The SGS II is the best phone out there, right now. But I feel with iOS 5 the iPhone 4 will be hard to look beyond.

Kenny Logins

bd250110 wrote: »

The SGSII is a good phone. It might even be a great phone. For me the screen is the saving grace of the phone, it is big and beautiful.

I don't really see the attraction to Android. I have yet to see something I can do on a droid that I can't on iOS. For me a smartphone is all about Web, Mail, Apps, Music, Calendar, in that order. I've not found a browser as nippy as Mobile Safari or one that renders up images properly. I have trouble authenticating on enterprise networks, trouble using corporate web interfaces, to the point where I still need to have my work provided 3Gs or my on iPad with me pretty much all the time. K9 is a great e-mail app, it works really well. iOS wins for Apps in terms of numbers and quality. Calender works well on both platforms. Personally, I like DoubleTwist, so that works well for me too.

The SGS II is the best phone out there, right now. But I feel with iOS 5 the iPhone 4 will be hard to look beyond.

I think they have addressed the awful iTunes sync requirement nonsense, which is one of the reasons why I chose Android over iOS, but the context share menu is something I couldn't live without now, and of course, drag and drop.

seanp_25

Ardent wrote: »

Battery life is amazing once you block the Samsung "Hub" apps

Have you a link or guide how to do this?

I never set them up in the first place, but they seem to be in my running services list anyway.

bd250110

Kenny Logins wrote: »

I think they have addressed the awful iTunes sync requirement nonsense, which is one of the reasons why I chose Android over iOS, but the context share menu is something I couldn't live without now, and of course, drag and drop.

I think Apple have put a lot at stake here. MobileMe promised a lot, but took about 12 months to deliver - worse it broke a lot of what used to work with .Mac! Im reserving judgement, but IF iOS 5 / iCloud delivers all what Apple are saying it will, it's going to be very hard to look beyond.
Im not sure I could go back to a 3.5" screen permanently though, I like the extra real estate, now I have it!

Kenny Logins

Hmmm, I think Vodafone have done me a favour in grabbing exclusivity on the HTC Sensation, I was waiting to get one, but from reports read on here and other forums I think I'll order an SGS2 today instead.

nellocono

Would also love to know how to block the social hubs and ot
her hubs to explainsave battery. please

bd250110

+1 for me. Suspect you need root access, as the Samsung bloatware is part of any official ROM. I hate that google allows manufacturers to force their apps on end users, I should be able to choose what is on my phone. Especially as it messes with the update process too.
I honestly, truly believe that devices should ship with stock android, or at least give users the option to run stock android w/out rooting, if they wish. Google have enough strength to force this issue now, can't see WP7 taking the torch from Androidz, at this point. To quote Monica from friends "rules are good, rules control the fun".

jimmynokia

Ok so from been an avid nokia fan for ten years and writing for them on discussions i have had it so you reckon the galaxy S2 is the best and better than the iphone4, dont have much knowledge on samsung at all and ive been messing around with them the last few days and im thinking of moving away from nokia for good,and so is many many others,they just will not support the phone with updates promises months ago.
what are the pros and cons on this device?
Im now on the meteor network and they are looking for 150 euro on top tariff which is a rip of when most are giving it free.
And with the iphone4 coming soon im not sure or dont know how much that will be, one thing ive noticed with the iphone4 it dont seem to see a back button maybe im not looking enough to find it but nokia and samsung do have a back button.

bd250110

On the iPhone the home button takes you out of the app and to the home screen, always. If you want to go back a level in the app there is an arrow in the top left pointing backwards with the word "BACK" on it. This is pretty much 100% consistent across the OS, although some apps do have a custom UI. Most don't though and just use the standard apple APIs.

Honestly it's really hard to say one is better than the other. I got sick of the notifications on iPhone, for phones that are shipping right now, the galaxy is defiantly the best. The screen is beautiful too, big bright and colourful. The dual core is a bit of a red herring neither android nor any of the aops can utilise the second core properly. When the iPhone 4 is updated with iOS 5 much of what was missing before will be implemented. No iTunes, no wires, integrated cloud storage and back-up, new notification system and possibly some widgets too. I don't think either is a bad choice.

I think the SGS is free from 40 EUR/month on 3, with a 24 month contract.

Ardent

seanp_25 wrote: »

Have you a link or guide how to do this?
I never set them up in the first place, but they seem to be in my running services list anyway.

nellocono wrote:

Would also love to know how to block the social hubs and ot
her hubs to explainsave battery. please

You need to root the phone first. Then you download a free app called "Gemini App Manager" which allows you to block just about any app. Block the Samsung Hub apps and reboot the phone. In Settings, turn off auto-sync on mail, contacts etc and watch your battery life increase dramatically!

A guide from xda-developers.com on how to root the phone (as well as links to the latest firmwares) is posted a few pages back on this thread.

Ardent

jimmynokia wrote: »

Ok so from been an avid nokia fan for ten years and writing for them on discussions i have had it so you reckon the galaxy S2 is the best and better than the iphone4, dont have much knowledge on samsung at all and ive been messing around with them the last few days and im thinking of moving away from nokia for good,and so is many many others,they just will not support the phone with updates promises months ago.
what are the pros and cons on this device?
Im now on the meteor network and they are looking for 150 euro on top tariff which is a rip of when most are giving it free.
And with the iphone4 coming soon im not sure or dont know how much that will be, one thing ive noticed with the iphone4 it dont seem to see a back button maybe im not looking enough to find it but nokia and samsung do have a back button.

When my n95 finally died (sob!) I picked up an iphone 3GS. I can honestly say that the only things I liked in the iphone over the n95 were the bigger screen, the browser and the predictive keyboard.

Other than that, I missed the hardware and software features of the n95 (better camera, FM radio, microSD, better removable battery, free voice assisted navigation, easy file transfers, etc). And I loathed having to use that POS iTunes to interact with the phone in any way.

The SGS2 is like a cross between the N95 and iphone, all in one incredibly light, thin package and with an amazing display. And the OS is arguably the most popular, evolving and widely supported mobile software on the market today. You won't go wrong.

Rsaeire

Ardent wrote: »

You need to root the phone first. Then you download a free app called "Gemini App Manager" which allows you to block just about any app. Block the Samsung Hub apps and reboot the phone. In Settings, turn off auto-sync on mail, contacts etc and watch your battery life increase dramatically!

Does the method you're referring to not simply auto-kill the Samsung apps every time they try to open reducing battery life as a result? Would it not be easier to just rename the Samsung apps, e.g. Music hub.apk => Music hub.apk.bak so that they don't open in the first place?

Ardent

No idea dude.

conor.hogan.2

Yes, root is the only real way to stop this ****eboxes from wasting battery.

amdaley28

Some posters keep judging the Galaxy S2 with the coming Iphone 5. If you were to continue that thinking you would never get a phone.There will always be better coming down the track. I hear in 20 years we will be able to just think & the phone will ring the correct number. Can you just imagine "God I really feel like a Chinese tonight" Ring Ring !:D
You have to look whats available in the here & now.
I can't see Apple giving up any of the control they have over the Iphone whether its Iphone 5 or 6 or whatever. They're like politicians."All promise & no action. You feel like you're getting something but in reality you're not"
Apple are like Microsoft,we hate their software but no one has come up with better until Android 2.3 Gingerbread perhaps ?
I had a play with a Galaxy S2 on Friday & that screen alone is to die for.
I found the software very quick in use & very easy to get around.

conor.hogan.2

I dont think anyone was advocating waiting or even getting an upcoming phone (especially, shock horror, an iphone) that is unless you would prefer to stick with phone X because you prefer it but atm it is out-specced etc
Lol, who hates apples software. There software is great imo but in iOS it is limited (but for a reason)

amdaley28

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

I dont think anyone was advocating waiting or even getting an upcoming phone (especially, shock horror, an iphone) that is unless you would prefer to stick with phone X because you prefer it but atm it is out-specced etc
Lol, who hates apples software. There software is great imo but in iOS it is limited (but for a reason)

My partner for one.She complains that everything needs to go through Itunes & that annoys her greatly & me because I have to listen to her

conor.hogan.2

Whats wrong with itunes though? Especially when you buy an iPod/iPhone….
Anyway extremely off topic.

amdaley28

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Whats wrong with itunes though? Especially when you buy an iPod/iPhone….
Anyway extremely off topic.

Nothing at all if all you want to use is Apple.Is the software on the Iphone 4 crippled in some way or is it just skewed in Apple's favor ?

conor.hogan.2

Apple design and make it (well samsung make the battery, and so and so the ram etc) so it is limited to do what they want to make it the best for a certain user.

amdaley28

When I saw the Iphone 4 & the Galaxy S2 next to each other I thought they looked very similar in looks.:)

conor.hogan.2

Well check the lawsuits, Apple seems to think so too.

amdaley28

conor.hogan.2 wrote: »

Well check the lawsuits, Apple seems to think so too.

Or maybe Apple are worried that someone has at last produced something which might be as popular as the Iphone but they did look very alike :rolleyes:

conor.hogan.2

Sure, Apple are worried about all competitors as are HTC and Samsung etc.

Technology is a web of lawsuits at the moment, sure MS get 5 dollars off every android HTC android phone sold.

Dr. Jonathan Crane

I went from an iPhone 4 to this and can honestly say I'll never go back to Apple. Being able to use the phone as a USB drive when copying over files is much, much better than going through iTunes, if a little slower. The iPhone screen simply can't compare to the SG2. I prefer the iPhone music player interface but notice no sound quality differences. This is my first Android phone and the ability to customize is endless, even my Jailbroken iPhone 4 looked very stock and now it seems so slow next to my SG2. One gripe, is there any autocorrect for the keyboard? Stubby fingers mean a lot of misplaced letters in my texts

Headshot

What could be wrong?

using the phones browser the bloody thing just shuts the browser off :mad: and i have to restart the browser

Testament1

I'm thinking of getting either this or an iPhone in the coming weeks. Never had a smartphone before (current phone is a Samsung ToccoLite), is the S2 easy to use for someone who wouldnt be a techie?? Looking through some of the posts on here and I dont really know what ye're on about with all the talk of kernels and roms and rooting!

Also I'm thinking of switching from prepay to bill pay. I like the idea of Meteors Smart35 plan, 12 month contract but I'm unsure of the 1GB limit on data/internet. How quickly would you use that up with regular use?

Ardent

Dr. Jonathan Crane wrote: »

I went from an iPhone 4 to this and can honestly say I'll never go back to Apple. Being able to use the phone as a USB drive when copying over files is much, much better than going through iTunes, if a little slower. The iPhone screen simply can't compare to the SG2. I prefer the iPhone music player interface but notice no sound quality differences. This is my first Android phone and the ability to customize is endless, even my Jailbroken iPhone 4 looked very stock and now it seems so slow next to my SG2. One gripe, is there any autocorrect for the keyboard? Stubby fingers mean a lot of misplaced letters in my texts

Install the Android Gingerbread keyboard from the market. Then activate it by long-pressing and selecting it via the Input Method option. It has auto-correct similar to iphone.

BenEadir

Wolflikeme wrote: »

In iTunes, you can right click on a file and higher the maximum volume under get info/options. When you sync the track(s) with an iPhone or iPod etc, it'll play at that higher volume level.

With my earphones (iphone4), I only ever need the volume bar about a third of the way up. And just over half way if I'm cooking and have it beside me on speaker!

Does anyone know of a way of carrying this kind of volume 'performance' over to Android devices? I've had 3 previous Android devices and listening to music was a bit annoying at times because of this.

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.projectvoodoo.controlapp&feature=search_result this app works great on the SGSI, not sure if it's working on the SGSII though.

Ben

erie

anyone, any suggestion for SGS2 case? with link if possible (where to buy)...

Thor

erie wrote: »

anyone, any suggestion for SGS2 case? with link if possible (where to buy)...

I got two of these ones here(Black one and a blue one)

http://cgi.ebay.ie/TPU-Silicone-Gel-case-Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-i9100-/280689837527?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhonesCasesPouches&hash=item415a6b05d7#ht_727wt_1139

Must say, They are very nice case's, I know they are made on the cheap but believe me when I say, They don't show it.

Very smooth and a perfect fit.

Also the guy is in Dublin, So that's a plus for shipping and speed. Not bad for the few euro.

captain_boycott

Am currently iPhone user but attracted to s2 due to larger screen, and better specs. Now that IOS 5 is announced and there was nothing there to keep me, time is now good to switch. Just one question...a lot of forums are full of stuff about rooting,roms,etc. But is there really any compelling reason , other then geek cred, to root?

With a stock s2 from vadofone will I still be able to access the google and amazon apps stores, and download direct from websites or do I need to root first?

I can understand wanting to remove carrier specific branding, but if that's not an issue, and I can live or even like touchwiz, should I still root?

TheIrishGrover

captain_boycott wrote: »

Am currently iPhone user but attracted to s2 due to larger screen, and better specs. Now that IOS 5 is announced and there was nothing there to keep me, time is now good to switch. Just one question...a lot of forums are full of stuff about rooting,roms,etc. But is there really any compelling reason , other then geek cred, to root?

With a stock s2 from vadofone will I still be able to access the google and amazon apps stores, and download direct from websites or do I need to root first?

I can understand wanting to remove carrier specific branding, but if that's not an issue, and I can live or even like touchwiz, should I still root?

Hey captain_boycott. I'm currently running stock S2 from Meteor and I like it just fine. I didn't root my last phone (HTC Desire) rither although that could have done with it. No, I'm running stock S2 and I love it. I'm sure there are many reasons for rooting your phone but I like it the way it is.
Yes, you get the full google experience on a stock phone. Marketplace, direct download (Once you tick unknown sources in the applications setting). You can install all the available widgets (I'm a bit of a widget fanatic meself, running RSS reader, facebook, google, marketplace and numerous other widgets). You can link your contacts up with facebook etc. I've never had an iPhone so I'm not going to give an opinion on which OS is better except to sat that I love the android OS and cannot see myself moving from it anytime soon. Here's screengrabs of my screens on my unrooted stock S2.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72735986#post72735986

So, in my opinion, if you don't want to root you don't have to and you can still have an effing brilliant phone.

seanp_25

There's a new official firmware released today called KF1. It's still Android 2.3.3, and not an upgrade to 2.3.4 as expected.

Headshot

seanp_25 wrote: »

There's a new official firmware released today called KF1. It's still Android 2.3.3, and not an upgrade to 2.3.4 as expected.

when can we download it ?

Thor

Headshot wrote: »

when can we download it ?

WWW.SAMFIRMWARE.COM

That's where it has been uploaded too,

No word on what the update does, Seeing as there is never a change log with Samsung.

Headshot

Thor wrote: »

WWW.SAMFIRMWARE.COM

That's where it has been uploaded too,

No word on what the update does, Seeing as there is never a change log with Samsung.

bloody Kies is saying iv the lastest update KE7

Thor

Headshot wrote: »

bloody Kies is saying iv the lastest update KE7

Yeah, Kies doesnt have this update yet, Also won't show it if you have a provider(vodafone) type firmware.

At least that's what i think. New to android myself.

Headshot

Thor wrote: »

Yeah, Kies doesnt have this update yet, Also won't show it if you have a provider(vodafone) type firmware.

At least that's what i think. New to android myself.

Iv a simfree one, im newish to android myself, so we're in the same boat :pac:

Thor

Headshot wrote: »

Iv a simfree one, im newish to android myself, so we're in the same boat :pac:

Was shocked about how much goes into flashing the roms.

Got the hang of it pretty quickly thanks to using an n900 for a good while.

You can just flash the new firmware with Odin, But you will need to root it again(If you are rooted in the first place)

Pretty simple thanks though, But don't think there is an insecure kernel for KF1 yet.

Don't think its needed but then again, Its a new kernel so it might be.

jonnny68

Folks - does anyone know if this phone is unlocked on Meteor or locked to Meteor?

Sorely tempted to take out contarct with Meteor, im with them years anyway and wont be changing especially with the free roaming which is brilliant.

Thor

jonnny68 wrote: »

Folks - does anyone know if this phone is unlocked on Meteor or locked to Meteor?

Sorely tempted to take out contarct with Meteor, im with them years anyway and wont be changing especially with the free roaming which is brilliant.

Not sure why it would matter if its unlocked or locked on meteor if you are indeed going to be using meteor.

But aside from that, I don't believe it's locked. I could be wrong, But either way, I'm pretty sure its easy to unlock them.

jonnny68

Thor wrote: »

Not sure why it would matter if its unlocked or locked on meteor if you are indeed going to be using meteor.

But aside from that, I don't believe it's locked. I could be wrong, But either way, I'm pretty sure its easy to unlock them.

cheers i would also be using my UK SIM card in it as well was just wondering if anyone had one on Meteor but as you said im sure for a tenner or so it can be unlocked.

Thor

jonnny68 wrote: »

cheers i would also be using my UK SIM card in it as well was just wondering if anyone had one on Meteor but as you said im sure for a tenner or so it can be unlocked.

Actually its free

http://samsunggalaxys2review.org/samsung-galaxy-s2-sim-unlock-app-guide

jonnny68

Thor wrote: »

Actually its free

http://samsunggalaxys2review.org/samsung-galaxy-s2-sim-unlock-app-guide

much obliged ill save that page in case i need to unlock it.

ScrubsfanChris

Anywhere to buy online/elsewhere thats cheaper than the Irish providers?

Thanks in advance.

superfish

there is a free app on the market that unlocks them I just used it to unlock my galaxy s