My experience and negatives of SGS II

[dk206]

I have already put this up on xda but thought it would be relevant here also.
Hello XDA.

These are NOT MAJOR problems for me personally. The phone is brilliant, blazing fast. However if I had to pick out things I disliked/gripes these would be it. And will update if I or we happen to find more.

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Hardware

- MicroSD and Sim slot has switched places from original SGS
Its more common to take the MicroSD out than the SIM card. Have to take the battery out just to insert/take out my MicroSD!!!

- Camera prone to scratches
The little platform that the camera is raised on is prone to scratches.Laying on a table the phone virtually rests on the camera lens! Comparing with the SGS the case takes the damage.
Best way would be to stick a bit leftover from invisishield or whatever onto where the "8.0 MEGA" sign is and let that take the weight.

- Gap in Speaker
I don't know if you've noticed but there is a GIANT GAP between the slits of the cover and the internals underneath it. And unlike the SGS I. There is noway to reach inside it get get dirt/bits out. Is a big whole waiting to collect dust IMHO. :S

- Lack of Base comparing to the SGS I
I have to say the speakers on SGS II imho is not better than SGS I. Maybe there was a bit of compromise in the design?
On the original SGS you couldn't listen to it whilst on the table or sofa.
Now on the SGS II there is a massive gap between the outer chasis and the internal speaker inside so you can listen to music perfectly without any muffling when laid on a surface. However there seems to be a real lack of base comparing with the SGS I.

- No cover for MicroUSB slot
Again dust prone. Why they took that feature out from the Original sgs I don't know.

- Did not come with USB2go or HDMI cable EDIT: Samsung Infuse 4G has a USB2Go adapter included in box!
I know they didn't advertise this as one of the strongest points but a little disappointed that it didn't come with it. I actually asked about this at CPW on launch day but the accessories were still all boxed up so couldn't take a look.

- Some people having problems with Screen
Pixel/Lines appearing and disapperaing. But looking at this forum and others only a minority/rare case and I personally don't have this problem on my SGS II.
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Software

- Flash videos
Problems with BBC iPlayer, video stuttering. A faint mesh background when you watch any flash embedded videos using the stock browser.
TRY TESTING THIS YOURSELF. Play a video which has a white if not a bright coloured background.

- Menu Key vibration in Game Hub
It is excessively long and loud unlike any other hubs or just when you press the menu key. <<- maybe this is just me please check

- Cannot silence Camera shutter sound
Don't know why but U.K I thought majority of Europe phone firmwares you could.
Never had this problem on SGS.

- Music stopping when going into camera mode
Probably due to the reason above but it is annoying since I have to press play again. Music does not automatically continue even after quitting Camera mode.

- Slow to wake up (Occasionally)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1066283
There tends to be around 1 second wait when waking the phone up from sleep. (as in when phone has been left alone for quite awhile, surpassing the display time-out)


Thumbs up if you found this helpful, and hope it gives future owners some insight into what the phone is like. Like I said these are minor problems most which will likely to be fixed/changed in the coming weeks with updates.

(PM me if you find anything, I will keep updating, hopefully not )

Thanks
dk

[mark22]

I think a couple of Gb a partitioned off for installing apps to, I saw something like this while exploring. Could be wrong though, anyone more experienced with android might know how this works.

[Doomed]

Thank you for making me feel a bit better for not having an SGS2

I knew they moved the sim to a better place, but now you'll lose the hot swappable for the memory card I know which one I prefer.

[someuser]

Really? I feel the opposite about this thread. If you have bought an SGS2 and these are the biggest negative points you can come up with, then this phone must be awesome. Not a single mention about any lag, fc's or other software issues. Not a single mention about any other faults like the GPS doesn't work etc.

These faults mentioned are pretty minor in my eyes compared to the flood of issues we all had with our SGS 1 on day 1 of release.

[zippy]

thanks dk206! I'm waiting for my phone to arrive, but its good to see honest opinions. No phone is perfect!

[Briggs]

I'm with someusers on this, if thats the worst you see with the phone then really its awesome. Nothing major I can see there. A vacuum with a brush attachment can fix the dust/dirt problem withthe usb plug and speaker plug. I never remove the SD card either as I use the mass storage mode to access my SD card. I'll have my SGSII tomorrow and post a sort review of it.

[v300]

I look forward to hearing more reviews.

[RangerJim]

Its a very nice phone, recommend it!

Had mine for 2 days now. I love it. Bear in mind I have never owned a Samsung and I have gone from a Nokia N97 mini to this beast!

Bought from Phones 4 U on a vodafone upgrade. Un-branded, which obv means no crappy Voda softeware or random pictures and videos. 18 month contract 600mins, unlimited txts, 500mb web. They waived the £50 cost for me too.

I have known that I wanted this phone for months. It was good timing with my contract due for upgrade end April. I Dont do iPhones. Have an Ipod touch insead.

Obviously you lot will know plenty about the phone already, but here's my positives:

Super slim,
Super lightweight,
Superb camera,
No lag in menu switching (in fact - no lag at all!),
Exceptional web browsing when not on Wifi,
Superfast wifi browsing,
Flash videos,
Excellent phone settings control and customization options,
Motion detection and gyro is slick and flicker/lag free,
Power Saving mode helps,
Amazing screen clarity,
Sound quality on the speaker is joyous, even on ring tones,
Voice control,
Voice to text SMS,
Swype option,
Qwerty or 3x4 numeric keypad or handwritten options for text,
Super fast GPS and maps,
Animated live wallpapers; change from day thru dusk to night,
Free Android Apps! I have added; Angry Birds Rio, Duck Hunt, Tune In Radio, Zedge, Hey Tell.

And very few negatives:

I worry about scratching it! Its so pretty!
No dedicated camera button.
XT9 predicitve text is a little clunky.
Web based flash video quality is not quite as good as I'd hoped.

Ive orderd a silicone skin for it off Amazon to protect its good looks.

Hope this has convinced y'all

[Loz]

The OP did say they were minor flaws, let's face it we are all different and will have varying views. I have had mine for 10 days now, and haven't found anything I would complain about. I do wonder how long it will stay looking so gorgeuos (in my eyes) and when I will find the first thing that really dissapoints me about it but I am also new to Android and this is my first Samsung Smartphone. I had an N97 before as well, probably why I am so pleased with the SGS 2 and also got mine through Phones 4U, great service and I always avoided them before, more fool I. Then again I have always avoided iPhones as well, maybe that proves it :-)

[fred wren]

Ref the scratching,potential camera damage, you could get a clingo desk holder. I`ve used one for my N8 and they are really good. Check it out.