Samsung Galaxy S2 - August! ...finally

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

played with my Dad's S2 today (Asian version)

honesty it feels like a toy compared to my sensation. the stock UI has massive fonts, and you can't change the size. samoled is amazing, but once you've used a similarly sized qHD screen it is hard to go back.

the phone is FAST as helll though. 50% faster FPS than my sensation in every 3d test I tried. also thinner and lighter.

is your sensation stock or what? because i played with the sensation in june and it felt like a POS with Sense 3.0.

 

[Bateluer]

Why would Verizon release two high-end LTE devices on the same day (or time frame)?

Also If both are released the same day with LTE, then shareholders of Moto need to file a lawsuit against Moto and call for Sanjay Jha's head since they were misled by management claiming the Bionic would be the first dual core LTE phone during the quarterly earnings conference call 2 weeks ago.

Verizon's current LTE phones weren't launched very far apart. The T-bolt, the Charge, and the Revolution were all released within a month? Two?

 

[vshah]

is your sensation stock or what? because i played with the sensation in june and it felt like a POS with Sense 3.0.

i'm running one of the mildly de-sensed roms...waiting patiently for CM7 to come out.

I tried the CM7 nightlies on my dad's GSII and that fixed all my complaints (except for low res, but changing screen DPI helped a ton). Once that is ready for primetime GSII will be a beast.

 

[gorcorps]

Hmmm... so it looks like that AT&T version with the hardware keyboard is NOT the GS2, but some other phone. That changes things a bit, and I may just buy the GS2 from newegg as I'd have to get it unsubsidized anyway.

Then I could sell my iphone 4 to Moosey

 

[Plester]

qHD is a gimmick, particularly when all the Motos have been Pentile.

Now if 720p is really imminent, that might make me think twice.

qHD isn't a gimmick - its superior to wvga even if its pentile. I would take the screen on my Atrix over the 4" wvga on my old Captivate every time. Couple 'qHD is a gimmick' with all the bandwagon pentile hate and you have the perfect storm of misinformation.

 

[lothar]

Verizon's current LTE phones weren't launched very far apart. The T-bolt, the Charge, and the Revolution were all released within a month? Two?

Releasing within a month or two is quite different from releasing two high-end dual core LTE devices on the same day.
If you get my point...

I have yet to see anyone give any valid explanation for that.
I'm just saying people shouldn't get their hopes up. If it does happen, then go buy the phone over a Bionic. You lose nothing.
If it doesn't happen, keep your option open. I don't know many people that would buy SGS2 with only Verizon 3G on it. (I'm in that category).

Like I said before...
If it happens, then it happens.
If it doesn't happen, I will either wait for the Nexus Prime or change AT&T(or European)/Sprint's version of SGS2.

Even though Google just bought Motorola today, the Bionic isn't on my radar at all. This merger won't affect that.
By the time one sees the benefits of the merger(assuming Google plans to swallow them whole and not just leave them functioning independently), the Bionic would have long been outdated.

Heck, the SGS2 has been delayed so much by the US carriers that I'm almost no longer excited about it as I was before. Almost.

 

[vshah]

qHD is a gimmick, particularly when all the Motos have been Pentile.

Now if 720p is really imminent, that might make me think twice.

just curious if you have used a qHD phone.

i can't go back to using my nexus one after having the sensation (which is qHD non-pentile) for just a few days.

 

[s44]

just curious if you have used a qHD phone.

Yes, the Atrix. And the Droid 3, but that one not for long.

The Atrix is a nice phone, feels really good in the hand, and the fingerprint unlock is quite useful (too bad this wasn't on the D3), but like for the majority of (not all) Galaxy S folks who tried it out, the screen just felt to me like a downgrade from even pentile SAMOLED WVGA.

Smaller fonts and icons you can get just by messing with the density (or just fonts). I don't want more pixels, I want a bigger screen and LTE. I may feel differently on seeing 720p, but that's a while yet (forever, in Android time).

 

[lothar]

Lothar's Predictions?:

1.) The Samsung Stratosphere(Samsung Galaxy S II?) with NOT have 4G LTE.
-If it's launched the same day(or week) as the Bionic, it makes more sense for the Samsung Stratosphere(Samsung Galaxy S II?) to be $199 on contract with the Bionic retaining it's $299 price point.
-Why would Verizon release two $300 dual core LTE phones on the same day? The Bionic will be priced at $299(Droid Charge is currently $250 for reference) on contract. The idea of them releasing another top tier phone and pricing it at an even higher price tier of $350+ on contract is laughable. The same Samsung Galaxy S II will be selling for $200 on contract with Sprint's 4G.
Estimated chances of this happening: 60%

2.) The Samsung Stratosphere is NOT the Samsung Galaxy S II that everyone on the internet is assuming it to be.
-The Samsung Stratosphere may just be another mid-range phone meaning the real Samsung Galaxy S II has been pushed back or will come out much later.
-If the real Samsung Galaxy S II is released at the end of September, it is still possible for it to have LTE and keep the $299 price point.
Estimated chances of this happening: 33%

3.) The Samsung Galaxy S II(whatever the codename ends up being) has been cancelled in favor of the Samsung Nexus Prime.
-Not enough info on the Nexus Prime...Besides the Moto Droid, Big Red doesn't have a history of supporting openness.
-This is probably one of the most speculative of the possibilities.
Estimated chances of this happening: 5%

4.) Everything happens exactly as expected...Two dual core LTE phones launch the same day, $300 on contract. No one is disappointed...Galaxy or Bionic fans.
-Probably won't happen at all.
Estimated chance of this happening: 2%

Let's see what Samsung's announcement will be next week.

 

[Bateluer]

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/2...e-prepares-to-bring-it-to-the-u-s/#more-44030

Official announcement on 29 Aug. I want details. At least, they seemed to have dropped that god awful oversize home button from the US design.

 

[Anubis]

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/2...e-prepares-to-bring-it-to-the-u-s/#more-44030

Official announcement on 29 Aug. I want details. At least, they seemed to have dropped that god awful oversize home button from the US design.

yea but the back button is in the wrong place

 

[yh125d]

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/2...e-prepares-to-bring-it-to-the-u-s/#more-44030

Official announcement on 29 Aug. I want details. At least, they seemed to have dropped that god awful oversize home button from the US design.

Thank god. Even though they switched menu and home its still way better.



Although these lazy bums (samsung/carriers/whoever is resonsible) have delayed this so long I'll probably wait for nexus prime after all >.>

 

[ponyo]

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/2...e-prepares-to-bring-it-to-the-u-s/#more-44030

Official announcement on 29 Aug. I want details. At least, they seemed to have dropped that god awful oversize home button from the US design.

Cute commercial. But this delay was annoying and I hope the US public ignores this phone. But it will probably sell like hotcake. But I'm off the bandwagon.

 

[Demo24]

Yeah, I no longer care for this phone. I've wanted one for so long but they drug their feet too damn long for me to continue to be interested.

 

[Bateluer]

Cute commercial. But this delay was annoying and I hope the US public ignores this phone. But it will probably sell like hotcake. But I'm off the bandwagon.

I'm only interested in it if it has an LTE radio. If it doesn't, then I don't care. The next Nexus is too close. But again, if the Nexus Prime ends up on AT&T/TMO, then I'm not interested in that either.

If it launches in September with only 3G, it'll still be the best dual core phone out.

 

[poofyhairguy]

So close. After months of waiting so close.

I don't get the "I'd rather wait for the Nexus" crowd. I mean if you were gonna buy an unsubsidized phone anyway (like the Nexus always is at first) you could have gotten a SGS2 months ago.

 

[Bateluer]

So close. After months of waiting so close.

I don't get the "I'd rather wait for the Nexus" crowd. I mean if you were gonna buy an unsubsidized phone anyway (like the Nexus always is at first) you could have gotten a SGS2 months ago.

Only if they had AT&T as a carrier. Not everyone wants to switch carriers every time they switch/upgrade phones.

Whether the ICS Nexus is stuck on AT&T/TMO again, or has other carriers, is still up in the air.

 

[gorcorps]

I'm almost to the point of picking something else up too. This is ridiculous to wait for something so long that will no longer be cutting edge on release. I don't know if it's the carriers or Samsung causing such an issue, but I'm not really looking for this anymore.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

I'm almost to the point of picking something else up too. This is ridiculous to wait for something so long that will no longer be cutting edge on release. I don't know if it's the carriers or Samsung causing such an issue, but I'm not really looking for this anymore.

I'd be willing to bet it's one carrier (VZW is likely) that held shit up, and Samsung wants to release it on all carriers at the same time.

 

[sygyzy]

I'm almost to the point of picking something else up too. This is ridiculous to wait for something so long that will no longer be cutting edge on release. I don't know if it's the carriers or Samsung causing such an issue, but I'm not really looking for this anymore.

I totally agree. I really don't like how the campaign was handled either. Every day there was some rumor or tweet or blurry image of an inventory screen. I know this is not Samsung's fault but why are they taking so long? Compare this to each new generation of iPhone. Sure there are some rumors here and there but really it's just an invite from Apple for the next conference then Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone. Right now if you want an iPhone 5, you know it's coming roughly mid-October. If you want a Galaxy S II, the date's changed a dozen times and you don't even know what to call it depending on which provider.

If the iPhone 5 is really dual band, I am going Sprint/Verizon all the way with the option of GSM when I travel. The best of both worlds.

 

[ImDonly1]

Phone is old news now. The 720p phones are coming soon such as the nexus prime. Also the new iphone. I will not be getting this phone anymore. I'm sure it will still sell well though.

 

[evident]

again, why the hell would anyone buy an unsubsidized phone in the US? someone explain the economics of that to me where all of the carriers here FORCE you to have a data plan,

do you have money burning a hole in your pocket? do you want to piss away $600 upfront just to be cutting edge?

 

[gorcorps]

I did it... I bought a used Atrix

Screw you Samsung, you've strung me along further than I wanted. I bought a used phone for a bit more than I probably should have, but it'll get me into the Android world and then I'll get whatever's good in April when my contract is up.

I win

 

[ImDonly1]

again, why the hell would anyone buy an unsubsidized phone in the US? someone explain the economics of that to me where all of the carriers here FORCE you to have a data plan,

do you have money burning a hole in your pocket? do you want to piss away $600 upfront just to be cutting edge?

1. Buy cheap on craigslist.
2. Cheaper data plans or no data plan (ATT can't tell its a smartphone).
3. Use it in a loophole in the att gophone or straighttalk. Or other prepaid service. ~$50/month is better than $90/mo with att postpaid.

 

[lothar]

Lothar's Predictions?:

1.) The Samsung Stratosphere(Samsung Galaxy S II?) with NOT have 4G LTE.
-If it's launched the same day(or week) as the Bionic, it makes more sense for the Samsung Stratosphere(Samsung Galaxy S II?) to be $199 on contract with the Bionic retaining it's $299 price point.
-Why would Verizon release two $300 dual core LTE phones on the same day? The Bionic will be priced at $299(Droid Charge is currently $250 for reference) on contract. The idea of them releasing another top tier phone and pricing it at an even higher price tier of $350+ on contract is laughable. The same Samsung Galaxy S II will be selling for $200 on contract with Sprint's 4G.
Estimated chances of this happening: 60%

2.) The Samsung Stratosphere is NOT the Samsung Galaxy S II that everyone on the internet is assuming it to be.
-The Samsung Stratosphere may just be another mid-range phone meaning the real Samsung Galaxy S II has been pushed back or will come out much later.
-If the real Samsung Galaxy S II is released at the end of September, it is still possible for it to have LTE and keep the $299 price point.
Estimated chances of this happening: 33%

3.) The Samsung Galaxy S II(whatever the codename ends up being) has been cancelled in favor of the Samsung Nexus Prime.
-Not enough info on the Nexus Prime...Besides the Moto Droid, Big Red doesn't have a history of supporting openness.
-This is probably one of the most speculative of the possibilities.
Estimated chances of this happening: 5%

4.) Everything happens exactly as expected...Two dual core LTE phones launch the same day, $300 on contract. No one is disappointed...Galaxy or Bionic fans.
-Probably won't happen at all.
Estimated chance of this happening: 2%

Let's see what Samsung's announcement will be next week.

My position hasn't changed.
Sorry, but I just don't see Verizon cannibalizing their "Droid" brand for the Samsung Stratosphere(assuming that is the Samsung Galaxy S II)

I'd still guess that it won't have LTE.