Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II review

Introduction

It looks like the point where it all ends. A galaxy outgrowing its own limits. An explosion of energy and speed. An overdose of smartphone power. A phone that makes you love the smell of Android in the morning.

Samsung Galaxy S II official photos

The likes of Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II make it easy to get carried away. But wait a minute. There’s nothing quite like the Galaxy II. The brightest stars on the smartphone scene have graced our homepage, but this one is trying to eclipse them all. The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is in no mood to share – the spoils or the spotlight.

Samsung Galaxy S II official photos

With a spec sheet like that, it’s a beast of a droid. Even in today’s viciously competitive market, the Galaxy S II has so many firsts to be proud of. Samsung’s very own Exynos chipset, the unmatched Super AMOLED Plus screen and the ultra-slim body only begin to tell the story.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4.3" 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
• Android OS v2.3.3 with TouchWiz 4 launcher
• 1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset, 1GB of RAM
• 8 MP wide-angle lens autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
• 1080p HD video recording at 30fps
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slot
• Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
• Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• FM radio with RDS
• Great audio quality
• Extremely slim waistline at only 8.5mm and low weight (116g)
• 2MP secondary video-call camera
• Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration for the web browser permit 1080p flash video playback
• NFC support (optional, not without a software update)
• Document editor
• File manager comes preinstalled
• The richest video format support we have seen

Main disadvantages

• All-plastic body
• No dedicated camera key
• Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
• Non-hot-swappable microSD card

With manufacturers busy making facelifts and sequels to get our hard-earned cash, we are often wondering if an upgrade is worth it. Well this time, it takes but a glance at the specs to tell that the answer is yes.

You’ve got a problem with the PenTile matrix of the original Galaxy S – the Galaxy S II is here to fix that. Or was it the laggy RFS file system bothering you? Well, be our gest and enjoy it the EXT4 way. The GPS issues or the lack of flash for the camera too much for you to handle – they’ve got it all fixed here.

The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II at ours

But fixes are just the beginning and they come to show that Samsung has listened to the customers. The key selling points of the Galaxy S II will most certainly be the impressive 1080p video recording, better still photos and, probably most important of all, the new Exynos chipset that powers the whole thing.

You get an extra core, higher clock speed and the new Mali-400 GPU that’s supposed to blow everything we know out of the water. Not to mention the sweet gig of RAM to make sure that multitasking is a walk in the park for the Galaxy S II.

Update, 28.07.11: We've added an overview of Samsung Dive.

As long as everything works as promised, there’s no doubt users will be delighted with this one. But let’s find out – the Samsung Galaxy S II is back after the break for a proper hardware inspection.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S review

Introduction

Competition is certainly one of the things that make the Android OS so much fun. There are already several manufacturers involved in the Google OS game and each of them has already released a flagship that aims at the peak of the food chain.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S official shots
Samsung might be coming a tad late to the party but they are obviously entering with a bang. The I9000 Galaxy S packs a display of the greatest technology that the mobile world has ever seen and a pretty big one at that. A snappy 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, HD video recording and a sweetly slim waistline make it look like the real deal in the eyes of every real geek.
Let’s take a look at the other features that the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S puts to the table.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm, 118 g
• Display: 4" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
• CPU: Samsung Cortex A8 Hummingbird 1 GHz processor
• OS: Android 2.1 (Eclair)
• Memory: 8/16GB storage, microSD card slot
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection and touch focus; 720p video recording at 30fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio
• Misc: TouchWiz 3.0 UI, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, Swype text input

As you can see the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S specs sheet is long enough to be considered high-end. What’s even better is that it manages to put something on top, namely the large 4” Super AMOLED display, which should become the new thing to beat if it has the performance of the Samsung S8500 Wave unit.

The Samsung I9000 Galaxy S at ours
The TouchWiz-like Android customization still had some performance issues on the Galaxy Spica so we will have to see if those are fixed for the Galaxy S. We are also yet to check out how the new 1GHz Samsung Cortex A8 CPU compares to its Snapdragon peers in the Android environment, but we have a good feeling about it.
At any rate the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S is a fine piece of mobile technology and we are as eager as you to see if it will actually manage to top the charts or end up in the chasing pack. So let’s not waste any more time and head to the hardware part of the preview where we’ll examine the Galaxy S ergonomics.

Sony Ericsson Xperia mini review

Introduction

It comes in a small package but has power to spare. Lovely little phone, assuming you can keep up with it. The Sony Ericsson Xperia mini is a full-fledged smartphone and you’ll need to be at ease with its multiple identities. But it’s not moping around wondering “Who will I be today?” With a friendly face like this, all the horsepower seems so much easier to handle.

Sony Ericsson Xeria mini
Many contemporary phones choose not to get obsessed with size. The Sony Ericsson Xperia mini is – but it works the other way around. Let’s just say it doesn’t want to get into the Freudian end of things. Big phones don’t seem to have the ambiguous symbolism of big cars. Maybe they never will. But the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini likes to be on the safe side obviously.
Whatever. The Sony Ericsson Xperia mini doesn’t need a shrink. Not beyond this point anyway. And we’d better stop analyzing and get busy reviewing it. Let's take a look at the specs first.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 3" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit LCD touchscreen of HVGA resolution (320 x 480), Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine
• Android OS v2.3 Gingerbread
• 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera, LED flash, geotagging
• 720p video @ 30fps, continuous autofocus
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot (32GB supported, 2GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Voice dialing
• Adobe Flash 10.3 support
• User-accessible battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh

Main disadvantages

• No smart dialing
• No front-facing camera
• Loudspeaker performance is a mixed-bag
• No DivX/XviD support
• Typing a bit tricky on the smallish screen
• Doubtful video recording quality

Basically, the Xperia mini is a miniature version of the Neo or the Arc, and all the high-end ingredients that make up the new Xperia lineup are there. The mini has the same, albeit smaller, Reality display, the same processing power and even the same Android version as its elders.

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V review

Introduction

Do we cancel the show if the star is not available? This one must've crossed some minds over at Sony Ericsson when the Xperia Neo had to be discontinued. But no, they didn't cancel it. The crew was told to take five instead while they skimmed the B-list for a possible substitute.
The Xperia neo V is not an upgrade of the original Neo. It’s actually a downgrade forced by circumstances. The only difference is the camera sensor - down from 8 to 5 megapixels - and the more recent Android version. Sounds so little, doesn't it? That's the price for saving the Neo.

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V official pictures
The deadly Japan earthquake took lives and brought the local electronics industry to a halt. Sony was affected too and, with a shortage of 8 megapixel camera sensors looming, someone had to take the hit. That someone was the Xperia neo. This is the story told by a company insider, who we have no reason to doubt.
It's the same phone, different camera and the lower price makes sense. And it should be clear by now the V is the Roman numeral for five, not a letter. Could there be a victory sign anywhere in the picture?

Key features

• Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 3.7" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit LCD touchscreen of FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixels) on Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine
• Android OS v2.3.4 Gingerbread
• 1 GHz Scorpion CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset
• 512 MB RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera, LED flash, geo-tagging, 3D Sweep Panorama
• 720p video @ 30fps, continuous autofocus with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• Front facing VGA camera, video chat (Google, Skype)
• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• microSD slot (32GB supported, 2GB card included)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Voice dialing
• Adobe Flash 11 support
• microHDMI port
• Deep Xperia Facebook integration

Main disadvantages

• Forced camera downgrade to 5MP
• Display has poor viewing angles
• The competition has dual-core CPUs, 1080p video
• No smart dialing
• Loudspeaker has below average performance
• Very limited video codec support
• Memory card slot under the battery cover

So, the Xperia Neo lives inside the Neo V. Patched up with band aid and mildly myopic but sill. The potential deal-breakers are identical, so if you had second thoughts about the original, you'll probably pass on this one too.