To the users and devs of GSII; do you find this phone still worth buying in 2014?
I'm considering it based on the activity I see here on XDA; lots of kernels and different ROMs to play with. Dual core and 1GB RAM should be enough for me I think.
Few questions comes to mind;
- How much screen on time can you pull off in one cycle charge with stock battery? 4 hours, or more?
- What are the chances of bricking this phone during rooting and flashing?
Hope to see some replies and perhaps getting to know the users of this community too
If you can find a good deal - take it.It's fast,has a good screen,camera, dev support etc.I also bought it about 6 months ago and never regreted.
With stock battery and 50%brightness,CPU&GPU OC I get a decent 4h30min screen on time.
You will never brick your phone by doing all properly IMHO.And there's always a disclaimer for those who will.
Imo, get s3 instead.. It's pretty cheap now with wifi on all the time with proximity on for gravity screen off can last six hours. I came from s2 very lag only get 600 of mb of ram to use..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
TheImpossibleEnemy said:
You will never brick your phone by doing all properly IMHO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*coughBull****cough*
Ahem
OP, if you want to completely get rid of the risk of bricking your phone, never flash anything to it. That's the only way you're doing it. Every single flash involves a (normally) very small risk, regardless of whether it's Odin or CWM.
Appreciate all the responds!
S3 has too big screen for me, my brother has one and damn its large.
I would love a S4 Mini but the price difference between S2 and S4 Mini makes me want an S2
4h30min screen on time should be good enough for me. I hope listening to music in standby doesn't drain too much battery on S2, though.
Biggest con of this is that I know I want to flash custom ROMs on S2, but I never had a Samsung phone before. So I know nothing about Odin and rooting Samsung phones etc.
I would just like to know... If you end up bricking it (as in bootloop or just stuck) are there easy tools for S2 that can unbrick it or easily restore to original firmware to unbrick? Also, those who have been here a long time, have you seen a lot of people with bricked S2 phones?
Once again, thanks! Great with all this help!
MistahBungle said:
*coughBull****cough*
Ahem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?
Thou I agree with you - take the risk or leave it as it is and live in peace.
Phonne is really good..
Battery on 3G takes a big hit (SOT~3 hrs)..
So battery usage really depends on what networks u use..
Standby efficiency improves a lot for me with custom roms..
Music does not drain the battery so much, so no issues there..
Development levels are great, i love it for that.. I came from xperia U a year back which had abysmal development level due to closed sources of novathor processor..
My thoughts about the phone:
1. Screen is not very sharp but i love super amoled
2. Sound quality is fairly good
3. Battery is just about average
4. Phone with 4.1.2 is very smooth (i don't use cm, aosp roms that much)
5. Large dev community (especially considering it's based on exynos)
6. And yeah camera is superb
Now coming to s4 mini.. It is definitely a better and maybe worth the extra cost due to bigger battery and sharper screen.. It has snapdragon processor so development will improve with time..
Buy wisely my friend!
torstenconrad said:
I would just like to know... If you end up bricking it (as in bootloop or just stuck) are there easy tools for S2 that can unbrick it or easily restore to original firmware to unbrick? Also, those who have been here a long time, have you seen a lot of people with bricked S2 phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bootloops (which are not bricks; bricks are phones that aren't recoverable via 'normal means') are normally easy enough to recover by flashing stock with Odin (How ? Search. This stuff has been covered thousands of times here over the past 3 yrs), likewise to return to 'original firmware', get it from Samfirmware, flash it with Odin.
Bricked phones can sometimes be revived by a JTAG, but many require a motherboard replacement to fix, and you have to ask yourself if you end up in this situation 'Do I want to spend as much as the phone is worth on a new board, when I can easily by a new phone for the same money ?'.
I have seen so many bricked phones on here over the past 2 & a bit yrs I lost count a long time ago. Literally thousands.
However, apart from that very small risk with each flash which you can never get rid of, there's a much larger risk of you borking your phone through not knowing what you're doing. The way you mitigate that risk is you search/read/learn off your own back. You don't rush into things, you take as long as you need to in order to learn, before you 'do'.
All the info you could ever need to ensure you don't end up breaking your phone through user error is here, but you have to seek it out & learn it yourself. Asking people to regurgitate 10 steps to do something (which many people here do) will teach you nothing/will not make you understand what you're doing, and that's where you end up with greatest risk of a borked phone in my experience. Most people I've seen on here who've borked their phones (apart from the maybe 10 who were 'unlucky') failed to learn/understand in their own way/on their own terms.
Totally agree with @MistahBungle......
Search/Read/Learn/Do.......in that order....and don't "do" until you're totally confident that you're going to get it right......and/or know what to do if you get it wrong (all the info you need can be found in the sticky threads at the start of these forums).....
Btw.....don't let the mention of 'thousands' of phones bricking worry you, when you consider that Samsung has sold over 30 million S2s, you can get the picture that those thousands are a vanishingly tiny percentage of the total units sold......
My advice.....if it's cheap enough, get it....and modify the hell out of it (lol)
You won't regret it......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
keithross39 said:
Totally agree with @MistahBungle......
Search/Read/Learn/Do.......in that order....and don't "do" until you're totally confident that you're going to get it right......and/or know what to do if you get it wrong (all the info you need can be found in the sticky threads at the start of these forums).....
Btw.....don't let the mention of 'thousands' of phones bricking worry you, when you consider that Samsung has sold over 30 million S2s, you can get the picture that those thousands are a vanishingly tiny percentage of the total units sold......
My advice.....if it's cheap enough, get it....and modify the hell out of it (lol)
You won't regret it......
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ever since JB update, the no. of bricked devices have reduced considerably.. ics was the real issue!
If you can find one of the snapgragon gs3's I highly recommend that over any exynos phone.
peRFect! said:
Ever since JB update, the no. of bricked devices have reduced considerably.. ics was the real issue!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rubbish. Pure nonsense. We don't see as many bricks on here (as in sheer numbers) as we used to because compared to 18 mths ago, we get maybe 50% of the volume of posts. People still brick their phones here roughly in proportion to the number of posts we get here. Carelessness still means you end up with a busted phone, this is what I'm trying to impress on the OP.
MistahBungle said:
Rubbish. Pure nonsense. We don't see as many bricks on here (as in sheer numbers) as we used to because compared to 18 mths ago, we get maybe 50% of the volume of posts. People still brick their phones here roughly in proportion to the number of posts we get here. Carelessness still means you end up with a busted phone, this is what I'm trying to impress on the OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes ure right.. carelessness leads to trouble!
But the exynos brick bug caused a lot of issues on ics.. that seems to be gone.. that is what im trying to say!
Though I agree nothing is 100% safe..
My company gave me an iPhone 5s to use as a work phone. I still prefer my 3 year old S2. Weighs about the same as the iPhone and is just as thin. Imperceptibly slower but way, WAY more practical. And if you like designing and customizing you'll LOVE this phone. If you get bored with it you can just flash a new ROM. But, be careful, follow instructions EXACTLY. If you're not sure about something, ask. I foolishly thought I could install CWM via CWM and lost EVERYTHING including all my backups! ALWAYS backup to the cloud because you can never be too safe. Of course, if you have the money you can get a newer android phone that's insignificantly faster but has a significantly better resolution. But if you want a good old phone I would say this is the best 3 year old phone you can get, and the dev community here will make sure you always get the latest software tech. Keep in mind also that this still is one of the lightest and thinnest android phones ever made. It's perfect imo and I have no reason to switch to something different.
Something you might want to watch out for is the usb jack sometimes that gets messed up sometimes when you hang the phone upside down while charging. Iv'e had to replace mine 3 times, almost once every year. No biggie though, you can just get the $10 part from miniinthebox and replace with little effort (8 screws).
Oh and I bought an extra battery from china from ebay that cost me like $20 so I don't really worry about battery life. But normally I can't go 2 full days without charging, which is pretty normal for most smartphones on the market right now.
I think that its totally worth it! If you root it and get cm11, it runs extremly well for being 2 years old!
The screen has very good saturation, and overall the phone is really fast!
I dont know if the s4 mini is worth it, since it may not have as much roms as the galaxy s2, but its totally your choice!
Also everything is amazing about it, the roms, specs and other things! And if you get it for a good price, it is totally worth it!
Try 3 yrs. It's old hardware. If you want a 3 yrs ago experience, get an S2, if you want an up to date experience, don't.
I am not recommending you the S2.
Here is why:
1. Screen resolution and size. I love the 4.3" size, but the 480x800 resolution (~217 ppi pixel density) makes it not hd and the screen doesn't make the phone feel premium or high class.
2. Many people have the mic bug (including me, mic doesn't always work like it should work)
3. Instability, even on stock roms the phone can freeze or soft reboot.
4. Battery life. It is amazing how good it can do deep sleep, but once turned screen on (low brightness) and browsing or watching some vids, the battery drops faster than you want.
5. (personal prefrence) no led light on the phone like the s3 and s4.
6. The amoled screen of the S2 doesn't have nice coloring like the amoled from the samsung wave. (I own the wave and S2)
If you want to have it, it should have a good pricing, if it is =<100 euro it is a good deal.
I recommend the S3 more because:
1. 4.8" screen with a 1280x720 resolution (~306 ppi pixel density), feels more HD and feel premium or high class, it also feels less pixelated in games and videos/.
2. 2100mAh battery (much more capacity than s2's 1650mAh battery)
I got mine 3 weeks ago , had it traded for my old Huawei Y300 and Galaxy Mini 2. It's great , definetly worth getting. Had to buy a new battery tho.
I just think that the Galaxy S2 is the best smartphone ever
i had my mates s2 off him, i was using a quad core with 1gb ram, theres no real difference speed wise, and for me this is a good upgrade for the camera, so im more than happy with this phone
Related
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
If I wouldn't of had to sell my first ATRIX I wouldn't have. My fave phone!
Tapped from my ATRIX.
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
kisnerct said:
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
i love my atrix. nothing out there is better to me. im running CM7 beta on it right now. so fast.
With CM7 , everything is happy
Love it, fast, nice camera, nice speaker, good gaming performance with THD games, great community.
timbrendelaz said:
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
kisnerct said:
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
timbrendelaz said:
I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bad battery life reports are the vocal minority. Most of us here consider the battery to be one of the Atrix's strong points. I can get 2 1/2 days with light usage on mine with CM7 installed on it. Thats with wifi set to never sleep, and with GPS and 3G/HSPA enabled.
I love the Atrix. Literally the only problem I have with it is the pentile display, and even then its a very minor issue.
It has a 1930mAh and all the review sites i've read say the battery life is very good. Flashing a custom rom will make it even better! People have been getting like 16-24 hrs with Wifi and everything on, constantly browsing the internet and playing games (read it on youtube)
This is my first Android phone. Came from 4 years with the iPhone. Ill tell you this...not looking back. This phone was great stock. Now running cm7, this thing is fuggin amazing... battery and performance are nothing short of great.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
timbrendelaz said:
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Atrix is an incredibly solid device. Gotta give AT&T credit for getting a top-notch device out of Motorola.
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
timbrendelaz said:
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good choice. The only HTC that is a solid Atrix competitor on AT&T (candybar Android w/o keyboard) is the Inspire4G, but honestly, after several HTC devices and several Moto devices, HTC may come up with cool designs and features, but Moto is great at implementing reliable, high-performing designs. I've never gotten the "oh, that is cheap" feeling with a Moto phone, while Samsung and HTC . . . meh!
Typically find out people who are complaining about battery life have heavy usage that would have even worse battery life on other phones. You had a captivate like I did, so I can tell you this phones battery kicks the **** out of the captivates....and will be even more amazing should you decide to UV it.
If you want to see a GOD AWFUL battery, **** around with an HTC inspire for about 6 hours lol.
Anyway, I think you should at least give the Atrix a try and worst case scenario you don't like it you bring it back within the 30 day window (assuming you will have one).
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
landoftherich said:
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you might have got a lemon. But, I had the ota update and flashed it the very same day with no problems at all so it honestly isn't that difficult.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
landoftherich said:
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many options to get rid of the stock gingerbread Motoblur look. The obvious choice is CM7, which will do away with Blur entirely, and make your phone quite a bit quicker. Most themes available in XDA will get rid of the Blur look, and there is a huge selection in the App and Theme section. I use the ext4 Homebase Rom with his Honeycomb theme, and it significantly speeds up my phone.
I would recommend the Atrix over other Android phones for a few reasons. The biggest reason why I like it so much is because of the form factor. I like the 4 inch screen more than 4.3 or 4.5 or 9.3. Battery life has been pretty good, at least as good as I can reasonably expect from a smartphone. The hardware specs are comparable to any other Android device, and if you're willing to root and flash custom Roms, you will notice a marked improvement over stock performance (which I think is true of any Android phone). What really makes this phone as slick as it is are its accessories. I just bought the lapdock from Vancouver Craigslist for $150 and I love it. I knew when I bought it that it was kind of gimmicky (like the 3D from your Thrill), but for what I need this tool for, it's been outstanding. Nothing beats watching Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad on my hour commute to work while simultaneously charging my phone!
I love my Atrix, and it's a shame the phone got such a bad wrap off the bat due poor implementation of Blur on 2.2, and encrypted bootloader. Now with the unlocked bootloader and better blur, in addition to more and more custom roms being built, this phone is coming closer to its potential. I wish it had a metal back plate, but I understand the potential of worse reception and getting hotter than the plastic cover. All in all, the only phone I would remotely consider exchanging my Atrix for would be the Sensation, and even then I think I'd really have to be sold on the idea. I hope this helps with your decision.
Cm7 is a must on the atrix. I've tried other roms but none ever worked quite right. Annoying fc & other errors - but thanks to those devs for putting in the time & effort. Blur is complete crap: I couldn't even listen to my mp3s without the music stuttering bcuz the phone was busy searching for "suggestions" of similar songs I may like. Damn you, for the unwanted marketing on my device, at&t & Motorola. For a while, I very much regretted trading in my iPhone. But now all is well. Thank you cm7 devs!
So I just got my Atrix
It has 1.2.6 as a build on it, and from reading I'm not finding too much information on that build. I don't think that I want to do the OTA to 4.1.57 though because I keep reading about bricks. I'm going to put a ROM on it, more than likely CM7 so Im not sure what good it would do to update OTA. I'll have to root it though so I guess I can get on that first but all of the root guides are for 1.8.x and up.
My SGS1 took a dip in the water etc. I saw the nexus keynote, ice cream and so on, compared specs, prices, and i have an opportunity to buy this thing cheaper from a supplier. However, i was greatly dissappointed from SGS1.. specifically the lag, and the gps problems.
I read awesome reviews about this thing, and they all agree on its greatness.
Thus im asking, is there any specific issue, problem and so on, like lag, like battery drain specific to this phone, gps etc whatever, a reason NOT to buy this?
Im looking for people who have had the phone for a while.
Thanks
Um think you got the wrong section.
You're talking about the nexus, but you do mean the SGS2 right?
no i meant that i am aware of the nexus prime and all that is going on. but im not in the wrong section, im talking about the SGS2 BEAST
No reason at all not to buy the SGSII remains the best there is 100%, if you get a chance of a good deal id snap it up.
this is so weird, there were quite a lot of people dissappointed with the first one! so happy to hear that.
Are official firmware updates good enough? has it been improved since release for example?
I've had my S2 for about 3 weeks now and I'm yet to come across anything that's made me look twice about choosing it.
If I had to be really picky then I'd recommend you buy a 3rd party USB cable as the one that's shipped constantly loops "connected/ "disconnected", be careful when removing the battery cover - it really is as flimsy as some of the reviews say however when it's in place it feels solid and finally the app drawer doesn't automatically sort into alphabetical order so you either have to do so manually or sort everything into folders (even then it doesn't have an option to sort by anything other than date).
On a side note I have read a lot about people having problems with Samsung Kies Air but haven't used it so I can't comment.
Apart from that it's a cracking piece of kit in my opinion.
Andrewawright said:
be careful when removing the battery cover - it really is as flimsy as some of the reviews say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really?
nesx87 said:
this is so weird, there were quite a lot of people dissappointed with the first one! so happy to hear that.
Are official firmware updates good enough? has it been improved since release for example?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's entirely up to you what you do with your phone but i recommend rooting and flashing a custom ROM, CheckRom is currently merging with Leomar's Revolution ROM to make a super ROM so i cant wait for this and obviously ICS will be coming to the SGSII soon too so that is going to be fantastic,if i were you i would read up extensively on here, i done this 3 weeks before i even got my SGSII so i was familar with some things, freeze all Samsung bloatware and you'll have great battery life, clear cache every day too speeds things up,i recommend Siyah kernel too probably the best there is and the one responsible for getting rid of the dreaded Android OS.
As i said read,read,read the many stickys and topics and in no time your phone will be absolutely top notch.
The only downside I've found so far in this phone is that it can get extremely hot (around the upper side, the camera, where the CPU is, I guess), reaching a temperature that you can't even touch it (it's hot only on the upper area, that means you can still hold it, but not touch the upper area). It only happens to me when I use the browser for over a minute, or when I use the phone in general when it's charging.
Other than that, everything in this freaking phone is amazing!! The screen, the camera... everything! When the new android version comes, the phone will get even faster because of the multicore support, can't wait for it (although it's fast as is...).
Wait for the galaxy nexus (own a sgs2 myself)
Carnelain said:
Wait for the galaxy nexus (own a sgs2 myself)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i disagree, the camera is only 5MP and IMO the screen on the nexus is just too big, asides from that it looks good but ill stick with the SGSII until the SGS3 is released next year.
Only falls short on pixel density imo, particularly noticeable when browsing on desktop mode, have to zoom in a bit to read.
Minor but still a minus compared to SGNx.
skimminstones said:
Really?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't believe that! Why would you try to do that?!
Andrewawright said:
Can't believe that! Why would you try to do that?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to prove a point to the people who said it was flimsy
Andrewawright said:
Can't believe that! Why would you try to do that?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to prove wrong every review that ever said the back was too flimsy maybe
Andrewawright said:
Can't believe that! Why would you try to do that?!
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Click to collapse
I saw that before but dismissed it as aftermarket (check additional logo).
however, that said I've popped the cover off plenty of times and it isn't anywhere near creaking. also unlike some other phones the back is replaceable if it does break.
crypticc said:
I saw that before but dismissed it as aftermarket (check additional logo).
however, that said I've popped the cover off plenty of times and it isn't anywhere near creaking. also unlike some other phones the back is replaceable if it does break.
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if it wasnt a genuine back it wouldnt have samsungs brand name on it
Andrewawright said:
Can't believe that! Why would you try to do that?!
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Just to prove a point that Samsung know what they were doing!
I have done the same thing to my battery cover and I can confirm that it is not flimsy at all.
The light weight of the Galaxy S2 is of benefit to itself when accidentally dropped.
It's less likely to break !
I'm not sure if you folks have seen this video yet was posted on here the other day and says it all really.
Hey Guys,
I know there are probably tons of threads such as this but I would like some concrete feedback from previous S2 owners and new S3 owners as to why the S3 really stands out. I saw a few threads and did enough searching to find out many reasons as to whether the S3 is truly a worthwhile upgrade or not. I'll be honest with you all, I love Android and I love my SGS2. Have had it ever since the launch date and I still don't see any phone out there that has quite truly been this staggering in terms of performance, user customizability and dependability. Sure it has had few hiccups and I have had a few bad ROMS installed before (particularly on Gingerbread) but I haven't had trouble with any ICS roms that I have used so far and I love how this phone handles so well even though I have put it through some extreme loads.
I have seen the S3 being sold in huge numbers within Toronto, even more than the S2 already and I am surprised because I think the 4S is truly a magnificent phone on its own. I'd appreciate your opinions and mostly would welcome previous S2 owners who upgraded this year to the S3 as to why they did so. I'll keep the S2 most probably even if I get the S3 because I truly adore this phone so I am not sure whether the S3 really would cancel the use of my S2 or not. I need good battery life and 2100mAH is a huge improvement and I hear the new phone can go the whole day even with extreme browsing, not sure if its true or not.
I don't play games, I browse, email and perform some normal trades, so it has to be a good premium phone to replace my S2. I don't see any phone out there other than the 4S and SGS3 that competes well against my S2. I'll be okay with stock roms for now, will root for sure but don't necessarily need a custom ROM already. I know the community and its ROMs will grow everyday and finally with Jelly Bean, someone nail it and get us the perfect ROM for the S3 so I'd be okay if there aren't many options on the list of custom roms at this moment.
Yes.
I would honestly just stick with the S2 and wait for the S4 whenever it comes out. Your phone is only a year old, take some more time to enjoy it. Unless you play games, really demand a larger screen or just simply have money to blow, then there's no reason to upgrade so fast.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
The 2GB's RAM is more than enough to make you jump ships. As a former S2 owner, I would definitely do it. Dev support for the S3 has picked up really fast. With CM10 previews being available now, i can only imagine how far this phone will go. Consider that the JB source code has only been out for what...a week or two? This phone will really go far.
Having owned (and still own) both, I'd say you're fine with the GS2 if you have no complaints.
For me, I had 'upgraded' (downgraded) to the GSM Galaxy Nexus, and gave my GS2 to the wifey... and regretted it so much that I bought the GS3 as soon as it came out.
The first thing I said was "ahhh thank God, feels like I have my phone back"
It's nice to have the latest and greatest, don't get me wrong - but I saw no short comings on the GS2, and the few new features of the GS3 are cool, but nothing to lose sleep over.
I'd say wait it out, if you don't have money to blow. If you do, then get it! The GS3 is every bit as good as the GS2 and then of course there is the extra RAM, slightly more internal memory, new features, etc.
but it's a toss up, honestly.
Also I should mention that I prefer the build quality on the GS2, the back cover and design was perfect IMO. Plus capacitive buttons are better than physical (and software buttons IMO)
This is not to take away from the GS3 AT ALL, the truth is the GS2 was simply the best phone ever made prior to the GS3.
Which is just another testament to the amazing GS2.
Sent from the current Heavy Weight champ GALAXY SIII
Thanks everyone for the awesome replies. I'll wait and look out for more suggestions in this thread. I am keen on the S3 and while I can afford it, I also am aware that having two phones of almost the same calibre is a waste so will have to get rid of the S2 if I do get the S3. The only things I am mostly fond of in the S3 is the new development behind all the ROMs and how everyone's making such a great effort into getting the best package out there to all S3 owners. I don't like too big of a phone and the S2 is just as big as it can do for me. I remember S2X and other LTE phones based on S2 came out after a few months of the I-9100 launch date so maybe I can get the second variant come fall/winter time.
auto_freak said:
Thanks everyone for the awesome replies. I'll wait and look out for more suggestions in this thread. I am keen on the S3 and while I can afford it, I also am aware that having two phones of almost the same calibre is a waste so will have to get rid of the S2 if I do get the S3. The only things I am mostly fond of in the S3 is the new development behind all the ROMs and how everyone's making such a great effort into getting the best package out there to all S3 owners. I don't like too big of a phone and the S2 is just as big as it can do for me. I remember S2X and other LTE phones based on S2 came out after a few months of the I-9100 launch date so maybe I can get the second variant come fall/winter time.
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The battery life improvement alone is almost worth it for me. Beyond that, the improvement is incremental. If you're not desperate for the HD screen and you are ok with the battery life on the GS2, I don't think you'll be blown away by the GS3
If you like the s2 as is, keep it. I think its sleeker, nicer to hold, and plenty fast.
Honestly if I were to do it again I wouldn't have bothered with the s3.
Sure its a bit faster, has lte and has a bigger screen, but it really isn't that big of an upgrade.
neubauej said:
If you like the s2 as is, keep it. I think its sleeker, nicer to hold, and plenty fast.
Honestly if I were to do it again I wouldn't have bothered with the s3.
Sure its a bit faster, has lte and has a bigger screen, but it really isn't that big of an upgrade.
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Click to collapse
This is about as spot on as spot on gets!
I'm in the same boat and was set to return mine but work sent me out of town and I missed my window. :crying:
Other than that after my ICS update on the SGS2 a battery calibration kicked my battery life into overdrive and is giving me great usage.
Another thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the lack of Mass Storage on the SGS3. Its my biggest gripe and I really miss it. MTP can suck eggs till the chickens come home to roost. I use my phones alot for everything (play - work [office/field environment]) so its a real problem when I can't preview my pics on the phone through my computer when connected with my SGS3. I have to copy everything over to the PC first then filter through everything deciding on what I am/not going to keep/rename/edit. Also some people have reported having issues when trying to copy a large amount of files and/or large file sizes timing out when trying to transfer to the SGS3. I get that alot of the younger teens/early 20somethings don't care about this but I want my phone to do for me not work against me.
Sorry for my diatribe there...I could tell you how I really feel.
In short you are not missing out on anything if you don't get the SGS3. Don't worry about Jellybean either, the SGS2 WILL get it. Heck most likely even the HTC HD2 is getting Jellybean.
i would stick with the s2
Honestly its a minor upgrade. Would I go back to the S2 though? Hell No!
Sent from my SGS3!
ubigred said:
Honestly its a minor upgrade. Would I go back to the S2 though? Hell No!
Sent from my SGS3!
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This.
The Gs2 was an amazing phone for its time. Almost perfect. The gs3 is an incremental step above that. But it's hard to improve on perfection
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
rosedog said:
This is about as spot on as spot on gets!
I'm in the same boat and was set to return mine but work sent me out of town and I missed my window. :crying:
Other than that after my ICS update on the SGS2 a battery calibration kicked my battery life into overdrive and is giving me great usage.
Another thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the lack of Mass Storage on the SGS3. Its my biggest gripe and I really miss it. MTP can suck eggs till the chickens come home to roost. I use my phones alot for everything (play - work [office/field environment]) so its a real problem when I can't preview my pics on the phone through my computer when connected with my SGS3. I have to copy everything over to the PC first then filter through everything deciding on what I am/not going to keep/rename/edit. Also some people have reported having issues when trying to copy a large amount of files and/or large file sizes timing out when trying to transfer to the SGS3. I get that alot of the younger teens/early 20somethings don't care about this but I want my phone to do for me not work against me.
Sorry for my diatribe there...I could tell you how I really feel.
In short you are not missing out on anything if you don't get the SGS3. Don't worry about Jellybean either, the SGS2 WILL get it. Heck most likely even the HTC HD2 is getting Jellybean.
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The HD2 already has Jelly Bean bro !
man, tough decision even after its been debated 1000 times.
For me, the s2(epic touch 4g) was THE BEST PHONE I EVER HAD. Everything about that phone was just perfect. The display, even at 800x480 was amazing. Amazing camera, fast as hell, GREAT for gaming, great speaker. Even given its so so reception. Still the best phone ever to me.
I went ahead and took the plunge and upgraded to the s3. It is indeed a great phone. Its fast as hell, gets INSANE battery life, has a higher res screen which looks awesome (though because of the pentile arrangement viewing angles are not as good as the s2). Its got a great speaker and some real slick software features.
Heres what I miss about the s2. I miss the camera more than anything. The camera on the s3, while not a bad camera, to ME leaves something to be desired. The camera on the s2 was awesome.
I also miss gaming. its not as strong on the US s3 as it is on the s2. Mostly because of the increase in resolution. I feel like the s2 exynos was more than powerful enough to push the display on the s2. I dont feel the same way with the s4(krait) core and the s3. It just does not seem to perform as well. But that could be due to a number of things.
My opinion? If you got the money, then do it. If not, the s2 is STILL one of the best phones out there.
Im happy with my purchase for the most part. The s2 was a epic phone, the s3 is a minor improvement in my opinion
seoulstyle said:
I would honestly just stick with the S2 and wait for the S4 whenever it comes out. Your phone is only a year old, take some more time to enjoy it. Unless you play games, really demand a larger screen or just simply have money to blow, then there's no reason to upgrade so fast.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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I would have to agree with seoulstyle on this one. Really the only thing I have noticed is biggerscreen, clairity of screen and battery life. I find it really difficult to type on the g3 vs my skyrocket in landscape mode. I had the s2, skyrocket and now s3. So if you have the cash to fork out do it, otherwise just wait. I haven't found the s3 usefull enough to say "man I glad I spent the money to upgrade to the s3" :-(
Dont get me wrong I really like the phone, but I paid the no commit price so its harder on the wallet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
If you got the money and more than one line with upgrades than do it.
It's a very nice phone, it not a huge upgrade, but an upgrade indeed.
If you really think about it from here on out how much better can a phone get. It's always gonna be small upgrades moving forward.
Well at least that's how I see it.
This phone is a beast and I personally like everything about it, so much that I haven't even had the urge to root and flash anything.
Maybe when JB is stable enough, but I'm actually happy stock.
Only real problem I've had is signal drops here and there, but I'm sure that will get fixed with a different modem or something.
Powered by the SGSIII
Thanks for all the replies guys, really appreciate all your efforts into helping me decide. So far I'm inclined to stick with the GS2 since its quite frankly one of the top 3 phones out there and I am so used to it too. I just wanted to experience Rogers LTE since I do have 6 gigs of data to play with. I also would welcome the longer battery life since the GS2 is a thirsty model with every single ROM/Kernel out there. I am going for the 2000mAH extended battery to see if there is a huge improvement or anything and if there is, then I'll stick with the phone till a new version of S3 comes out or better yet next year's S4.
Well, I really like the S3, it's a very smooth device. But, I think I'd wait on the developer community a little longer before deciding whether to upgrade.
Sent from my LOCKED (Verizon, you suck), SCH-I535.
KillaHurtz said:
The HD2 already has Jelly Bean bro !
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:highfive:
I read the comparisons, and they are all old, so many of the disadvantages of the G version are no longer valid, ie. low availability of custom roms, etc.
At the same time, there are three things I am concerned with in I9100:
1. battery life
As far as I gathered from this forum, the battery life in regular I9100 is quite bad, and apparently G version does better in this respect. I am on HTC Desire right now - I get 1-2 days of light use with 2g and automatic Airplane Mode overnight, and I do not want to go any lower than that with battery life.
2. screen quality
Again, from what I read, G version has slightly newer and better screen.
3. GPS performance
I found nothing on this with regard to G version, but GSMarena claims the GPS performance on I9100 is quite bad, the accuracy and lock time terrible when compared to, for example, HTC Sensation.
I would welcome views on those point from I9100 and I9100G owners.
Deleted
I9100/I9300
andrewwright said:
Get the I9100 mate. My opinion.
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Thank you, but unless you support your suggestion with some factual arguments, your post is not much use to me. This is not a voting poll.
You made the exact same thread in the I9500/I9505 section. You need to stop (Don't bother replying, I have you on ignore).
MistahBungle said:
You made the exact same thread in the I9500/I9505 section. You need to stop (Don't bother replying, I have you on ignore).
Click to expand...
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And why exactly would I need to stop if those are two different pair of phones (which already is sufficient reason to ask them), and the questions are very different as well?
Thank you for putting me on ignore as it will save me your ignorant replies.
impactor said:
And why exactly would I need to stop if those are two different pair of phones (which already is sufficient reason to ask them), and the questions are very different as well?
Thank you for putting me on ignore as it will save me your ignorant replies.
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You are right man.MistahBungle,,why would that be a problem? He asked 2 different questions in 2 dfferent sections.Maybe he wants to decide whatever he wants to buy: S4 or S2....They are not the same questions.
and impactor,better buy the S4...newer phone,better performance,etc....but I suggest you something.Wait 1 month untill Note III is launched.Then decide.
GamingDj said:
and impactor,better buy the S4...newer phone,better performance,etc....but I suggest you something.Wait 1 month untill Note III is launched.Then decide.
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Thanks, that is an option, indeed. However, I am not sure I want to spend that much on a phone (even if its price will be on current S3 price level), which is why I am considering getting S2.
And while doing so, I am trying to decide whether the G-version would be better for me, or not, bearing in mind I am concerned by the points from the first post, and that I never play games.
impactor said:
Thanks, that is an option, indeed. However, I am not sure I want to spend that much on a phone (even if its price will be on current S3 price level), which is why I am considering getting S2.
And while doing so, I am trying to decide whether the G-version would be better for me, or not, bearing in mind I am concerned by the points from the first post, and that I never play games.
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Get I9100,no G.G = Australia Verison
I9100 has better development support,too.And yes,I can have 2 days of battery.
GamingDj said:
Get I9100,no G.G = Australia Verison
I9100 has better development support,too.And yes,I can have 2 days of battery.
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How about GPS performance? This is very important to me.
Hey,
I'm not very techy.. but i would choose s2 solely because it has better development support. So if you think you will root, and flash all types of things - get I9100
About GPS. Yeah, lock time does take quite a time, but only with data connection.
When i had wifi and enabled GPS, i remember that it took less than 8 secs before locking. And maybe it could've been problems with my data connection... you never know.
But don't base GPS on me, cause i rarely leave my city, and in my city i dont need gps so i never use it.
EDIT- tried GPS with wifi on G maps - no locking even after 1 ½ min | But as stated others could have other times, so dont base this on me.
TheMasterOfToast said:
I'm not very techy.. but i would choose s2 solely because it has better development support. So if you think you will root, and flash all types of things - get I9100
About GPS. Yeah, lock time does take quite a time, but only with data connection.
When i had wifi and enabled GPS, i remember that it took less than 8 secs before locking. And maybe it could've been problems with my data connection... you never know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always use custom roms, but I don't change them 5 times a month, just find one CM-based with best battery and performance, and stick to it.
And so I read G-version has better CM support as it uses open-source CPU.
As for GPS, I always use GPS offline without data or wifi, so offline performance is what I care about.
I wonder if you ever tried using modified gps.conf available here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447599
I think I found my answer:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=31873214&postcount=7773
I9100g (omap4, same hardware as i9100) got jellybean pretty instant. opensource hwcomposer, opensource audio, butter, working tvout
I9100: (exynos4, same hardware as i9100g) buggy jellybean, closed source and incompatible audio, no butter, no tvout, bugs which will never be solved.
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still dont read a definative answer
read a lot about the G or non G s2 variant but never having done any modding I cant decide.
Battery life is very important (I might even get a 2nd higher capacity to guarantee a full day of heavy use) but I hear that isnt a problem either if I want to customize the i9100
I know the phones old now but I prefer the the size of the S2 and dont want to spend much
I plan on keeping it for a long time (will prob buy new) so It would be good to hear others advise on this for someone who doesnt want to muck around much modding but is willing to do it to get a good all round work horse?
don think I want to complicate matters with asking about the 4G unless people think its still a no brainer?
If you don't intend to play games form 2013 onwards, get G version.
Or do what I did and get i9195 - much better and smaller phone.
I had previously bought an AT&T version of this phone, and I regretted it because there were SO many problems. The battery life, the fact that it couldn't be rooted, the absurd amount of bloatware, I HATED IT. So I'm switching to the Tmobile version, because I am with Tmobile. So questions, here we go.
Question 1: Is the battery life really crappy aswell?
Question 2: Is it rootable, or still encrypted to the point that not even GOD can decrypt it?
Question 3: is the development of this phone alive?
Question 4: Can you put AOSP roms on it, or just touchwiz?
Thank you for reading, and (hopefully) answering this questions
XDA3K said:
I had previously bought an AT&T version of this phone, and I regretted it because there were SO many problems. The battery life, the fact that it couldn't be rooted, the absurd amount of bloatware, I HATED IT. So I'm switching to the Tmobile version, because I am with Tmobile. So questions, here we go.
Question 1: Is the battery life really crappy aswell?
Question 2: Is it rootable, or still encrypted to the point that not even GOD can decrypt it?
Question 3: is the development of this phone alive?
Question 4: Can you put AOSP roms on it, or just touchwiz?
Thank you for reading, and (hopefully) answering this questions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 for the most part
2 yes
3 pretty much dead
4 yes
but honestly I wouldnt buy it. Least not now. Its old, plenty of better devices, etc
ShinySide said:
1 for the most part
2 yes
3 pretty much dead
4 yes
but honestly I wouldnt buy it. Least not now. Its old, plenty of better devices, etc
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I just bought a used SM-G900T and am using it on TMobile. I get good to great signal on the network.
1. I'm getting around 36 hours battery life, with 5-6 hours screen-on-time each day. On stock Marshmallow 6.0.1
3. Word is that there are 4-5 devs working on CM14 for this phone.
You didn't name a single new phone as an alternative. You didn't ask or take into account OPs usage requirements either. I got the S5 because I still want SD card and removable battery. The only new phone like that is the G5, which I personally don't like or trust. Certainly not for $500.
I'm loving the S5. Performance, in my experience, is still perfectly fast and smooth.
unknownsoldierx said:
I just bought a used SM-G900T and am using it on TMobile. I get good to great signal on the network.
1. I'm getting around 36 hours battery life, with 5-6 hours screen-on-time each day. On stock Marshmallow 6.0.1
3. Word is that there are 4-5 devs working on CM14 for this phone.
You didn't name a single new phone as an alternative. You didn't ask or take into account OPs usage requirements either. I got the S5 because I still want SD card and removable battery. The only new phone like that is the G5, which I personally don't like or trust. Certainly not for $500.
I'm loving the S5. Performance, in my experience, is still perfectly fast and smooth.
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1. You're one of few
3. I could care less about CM
Why make a suggestion? When i dont know his price range or anything else. I'm sure he's wise enough to find a device he likes in his price range.
Reason I said look into another device? The device is over 2 years old almost 2 1/2. It's outdated. Updates are going to stop. There's mid range phones that keep up and/or beat it. Considering he's on xda, he probably likes development. Which many devs have jumped ship and moved on and it's only going to continue. Far better options out there for the price and no where near 2 1/2 years old.
ShinySide said:
1. You're one of few
3. I could care less about CM
Why make a suggestion? When i dont know his price range or anything else. I'm sure he's wise enough to find a device he likes in his price range.
Reason I said look into another device? The device is over 2 years old almost 2 1/2. It's outdated. Updates are going to stop. There's mid range phones that keep up and/or beat it. Considering he's on xda, he probably likes development. Which many devs have jumped ship and moved on and it's only going to continue. Far better options out there for the price and no where near 2 1/2 years old.
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LOL I can't believe this thread is still active I switched to s6 edge long time ago