The Samsung Galaxy S II (a.k.a. SGS2) has been lauded as the best smartphone to date. It may as well be with its mind-boggling super high-end specs. This lovely piece of hardware does come with a drawback, a very steep price -- PhP 29,990 contract-free. This is even more expensive than some of the iPad 2 models.
Of course, being a fan and frequenter of bargains, grey markets and cheap places, I was able to score a Samsumg Galaxy S II SWH-M250S model (unlike the international, GT-I9100) for a not-so-cheap-but-not-so-expensive PhP 21,000! This is one of the three Korean versions for Galaxy S II (two of which should work in our country). This variant is specifically for the SK Telecom mobile service provider.
How do I know I got a genuine unit? I tested it, of course, and, let me tell you, it is hella fast! The bootup time itself is amazing. I was already impressed (and bragging) about how fast my Nexus S boots up in just a few seconds but even that was slow compared to the Galaxy S II.
I had a bit of a problem at the start though. I was able to use the internet, use WiFi, make a call, receive a call and receive an SMS but I can't send any SMS! Not even to inquire for balance! After a few days of googling(it's a word) and browsing thru XDA Forums, I was able to find out that your SIM needs to have an entry for "My Phone Number" to be able to send an SMS. I used my CM7-powered Nexus S to change that detail and, voila, it was working! Almost, at least. I just can't send long messages since it's being sent as MMS but still I got a working SGS2 for 70% of the usual price.
Update: I installed the Infusion ROM (a blatant rip-off of Cognition S2 only w/ Stock Gingerbread launcher) and now it displays GT-I9100 as the MODEL number instead of SWH-M250S! I can now send long message and MMS. It's 100% working and it can pass off as the International Version if not for the SK Telecom logo at the back! Sweeeet!
The SGS2 is performing quite well. There is no lag in the UI and the responsiveness of the screen is perfect. All of the non-gaming apps work perfectly except those that are just really buggy on their own.
I love playing resource-intensive games that can potentially lower down my FPS (frames per second). On the Nexus S, I get some occasional slowdowns when playing Deathworm and FPSe (a playstation emulator) but I've never experienced those on the SGS2!
Deathworm feels really smooth and it becomes easier to kill-off those helicopters and tanks trying to destroy me. I easily beat my score on my Nexus S. The bigger screen may have also helped in that department.
Same thing with the FPSe (playing Vagrant Story). The animation runs very well. I'm just amazed that it took a dual core to emulate what was done by the old PSX several years before. I know it is emulators are generally slower because they are run indirectly blah blah blah but still, pretty cool. Although it's fast, the graphics is still PSX so the pixelations are obvious and annoying in today's standards.
The battery life of this device is still a mystery to me. There was a day when I continually used the phone (for gaming) and it only lasted for around 8 hours before totally draining but later I was able to conserve 15% of battery for a whopping 12 hours of very light usage.
Some people are fuming about how Samsung builds its device with plastic. They're calling it "cheap" but I think that using plastic is a brilliant idea. This translates to a lighter phone despite its size. The components are small which results in a very thin phone. Even with your tight pants, you can just slide it in there without a problem.
To recap:
+ speed
+ screen size
+ slim and sexy
+ raw power
- price (unless you got the Korean version)
hi!
ReplyDeleteHow were you able to send long sms?
I'm having a hard time :/