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Is the GS2 for real?

D

DannyKavs

Lurker
Hey guys,

So I'm really close to pulling the trigger on the Bell GS2 (which I believe is the international version)....and I think I just need some encouragement.

I keep seeing threads about issues and annoyances (battery life, yellow screenm, wifi etc....) but I mean is this just the way it is with this phone? Are there people out there who don't experience any of these issues? I understand people who post on a forum will more often than not have a problem that needs a solution....but please, can any of the happy owners chime in and say that their phone works as intended!?? or is that just not that case with the GS2 :(

Dan
 
I have none of these issues. I swaped from a iphone to the gs2. It is just like any phone some people are going to experience problems and others wont. I downloaded battery doctor and I get 2 days of moderate use and 1 to 1 and a half days of full use. I am more impresed with this phone than the iphone 100% customization. Better battery. I am so impressed i got rid of my ipad and bought a samsung galaxy tab 10.1. But as stated some people just get lemons can't have 100% quality control. Go to any phone forum and see they all have problems. Iphone especially.
 
I also haven't experienced any problems, besides i think all the problems you mentioned are software issues which can all be solved with a firmware update.
 
My battery is rubbish, a day max with minimal data use. Yep WiFi issues aswell, well I say issues the reading is incorrect, its rare to see it up full unless sitting on top of the router but it never drops signal.
 
The annoyances are quite minor. As the previous post says, all phones have isses but i have got to say this is the best phone / device I have ever owned (and I have owned a lot!)
Go and get it, you will not regret it.
 
thanks for that feedback!

I am aware that manufacturing mishaps occur....but thats why they have a warranty period or return policy right? lol

I've played with it in the store a million times already and have researched it to death. I only fear buying it and regretting it because the Galaxy Nexus is around the corner...That and I have been through the Galaxy S update nightmare before so I'm still kind of scarred lol.

I guess i'll just have to live with a ROM of ICS as im sure it will take a while for it to be officially released.
 
I don't have any issues that you mention. I bought mine unlocked and bloatware free and put it on Rogers. No issues at all. I noticed early on that GPS was enabled by default and that drained my battery very quickly. Once I turned that off, no problems. I can run most of the day and have about 50 % by the time I head to bed. I moved to the S2 from an iPhone and now realize that an iPhone will someday have the features that the S2 already has!

Oh, one thing I don't like about the S2, crappy music controls. A PITA when you want to listen to music and have to unlock your phone everytime you want to change tracks! iPhone definately beats the S2 in that world...
 
Sword Fish said:
I don't have any issues that you mention. I bought mine unlocked and bloatware free and put it on Rogers. No issues at all. I noticed early on that GPS was enabled by default and that drained my battery very quickly. Once I turned that off, no problems. I can run most of the day and have about 50 % by the time I head to bed. I moved to the S2 from an iPhone and now realize that an iPhone will someday have the features that the S2 already has!

Oh, one thing I don't like about the S2, crappy music controls. A PITA when you want to listen to music and have to unlock your phone everytime you want to change tracks! iPhone definately beats the S2 in that world...
Click to expand...

Thats pretty sweet to hear. Im actually on Rogers right now, unfortunately dont have an upgrade thats available so I wont be able to jump on their LTE version thats being released soon.

My original plan was to buy the bell version and have it unlocked but Im a little skeptical of that play. Does HSPA still work if I unlock it to work with Rogers?
 
i havent had most issues that u mentioned. the only real problem i had was poor battery life, but new firmware has fixed that. go ahead and buy this phone.. it is definitely one of the best u can get at the moment
 
i'm on bell using their galaxy s2. and i got non of these issue. i even upgraded to 2.3.5 firmware from stock 2.3.3 to increase my battery life.
 
the only single issue (not so much of an issue really) is a bit of checker boarding on the stock browser.
I believe 2.3.4 or 2.3.5 will completely solve this,maybe poster above can confirm.
The SGSII is an amazing phone and definitely recommend it.
 
the checker boarding occurs when ur page is not fully renderered.. but i had it on 2.3.4.. havent noticed it on 2.3.5 as yet though, but i cant confirm its fixed
 
heshanj said:
the checker boarding occurs when ur page is not fully renderered.. but i had it on 2.3.4.. havent noticed it on 2.3.5 as yet though, but i cant confirm its fixed
Click to expand...

I never once saw any checker boarding on my Galaxy S until I upgraded to 2.3.3 and now I see it on my SGSII on 2.3.3. I might not wait much longer for an official update from Bell and might try 2.3.5 . Have to search around to get the right files for bell.
 
We have experienced none of these problems on my Wife's SGS2.

So impressed with its performance so far that my son ditched his iPhone and bought a SGS2. I will be following suit very soon!
 
It's a complicated technoligical marvel and as such it's not perfect.

But I am more than happy with mine having come from a desire. Bear in mind that any non-hardware issues can be oh so easily fixed on an Android. Dont like the stock browser? Change it. Dont like the UI? Change it. etc etc.

As for battery, its a smartphone it uses battery. But i have to say i get more life from the SG2 than i did the Desire. But then I have a
 
First of, Galaxy Nexus has just been announce, but looking at it, I don't see it as an upgrade of SGS2. If anything, it is nearly the same in terms of specifications. Galaxy Nexus is running the latest Android OS, but you can get that is SGS2 if you are willing to root.

IP4s definitely does not beat SGS2 specs wise. So I think it speaks for itself which you should get. I love this phone. I know the battery last about one day for medium to high usage, but it is a smartphone and you are meant to use it. :D

If used it like a normal phone, it can last as long as any phone out there. And for me, with a screen this size, I would say it has a better battery life than the IPhone. So get this phone and you won't be disappointed. A lot of the problems highlighted are due to software and not the hardware. So shouldn't blame the phone too much.

Cheers


PS-IMHO SGS2 is still the top smartphone currently. The only possible future competition would probably be SGS3 and IPhone5, but that's a year away. So what are you waiting for?
 
Coming from a N1, I was skeptical about how much better my upgrade to a SGSII would be, especially because the N1 was so close to being a perfect phone (besides wonky multitouch and limited internal memory). Almost had the phone for a month now and I'm loving it. Here are my experiences so far:

- Battery life: The battery really impresses me, considering the horsepower of the phone and the size of the screen. Far outlasts my N1 (with extended battery) with it's smaller 3.7" screen. If I don't go crazy downloading apps and playing games, it will easily last me throughout the school/work day (9-9). No problems here.

- Screen: incredible clarity and color reproduction, and actually usable outdoors. Also, pixel density isn't an issue. Unless you're a troll and/or in a lab with a microscope, you shouldn't make out individual pixels. Multitouch is perfect.

- Yellow tint: Initially I had this on the left side of my screen (only visible when viewing a gray/white page), and this concerned me because I imported the phone with no warranty support. But it went away after updating to 2.3.4 KI4 from Kies. Yellow tint is gone and screen is now flawless.

- Wifi: Works flawlessly as well. no issues reconnecting after waking from sleep, and no issues transitioning from cellular data to wifi. Might be a little hard on the battery though, but probably because faster internet = more usage from me. confounding factor?

- Misc.: Happy it works with my old AT&T Medianet plan (unlimited internet + tethering for $15) so saving a lot of money there. Some Samsung enhancements are good (smart dialing, swipe to call/text, uninstall apps from app drawer). Performance is crazy good.

Downsides:
- Touchwiz. Hated it at first, now it's almost unnoticeable. Not that bad, however manually having to arrange apps in the app drawer (you can only alphabetically order if you're in list view, or if you root) is annoying. Also I'm not a fan of the lockscreen at all (give me back my sliders!) Other than that, it does make up in some places where android lacks features.

- No notification light: Back then on the N1, the trackball notification lighting was amazing, especially after putting CM7 on it and being able to customize colors. Missing the notification lights a lot on the GS2. Tried noled and it's not for me, probably will use BLN when i get around to rooting and whatnot.

All in all, I love this phone. Nothing but compliments from friends, haven't been able to get the phone out of my girlfriend's hands. Even had a coworker decide against getting the iphone 4s after playing with the GS2. And of course I like it :P

Hope this helps!
 
Phone forums like this one are full of people who have problems with their device, so if you base your opinion on what you see here it'll be misguided.

Nobody comes on a phone forum to say "EVERYTHING IS FINE :D" :P
 
I have a Bell SGSII and it works fine. I have not had any problems and the network is pretty good. I'm sure if you go looking for a problem there will be some, but my battery life lasts about a day and half with heavy data use. I had a Telus Galaxy S Facinate and swiched to Bell. Best move I ever made.
 
matttye said:
Phone forums like this one are full of people who have problems with their device, so if you base your opinion on what you see here it'll be misguided.

Nobody comes on a phone forum to say "EVERYTHING IS FINE :D" :P
Click to expand...

Lol yeh, basically this.
 
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