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Question for ex-Galaxy SII owners

olly666

olly666

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 27, 2008
201
0
Seattle, WA
Please don't chime in if you're not an ex SII user (we all know you think the iphone is great). I'm especially interested in comments from anyone that might have tried out an SII and switched back to the iphone. What didn't you like about it? Thanks!
 
im not an ex-galaxy s2 owner as i *still* own one alongside my iphone 4s.

things i dont like about it hardware build-wise:
- extremely surprised when i popped off the back of the phone to put my sim card in it. the backing is literally this wafer thin insanely cheap feeling plastic cover.

- all the buttons are super cheap plastic feeling

- screen has an obvious blue tint to it compared to my brothers htc sensation

- not convinced that bigger screen automatically means better. maybe i still have youthful eyes or something but i haven't found anything to be easier to read etc compared to my iphone 4s.

software-wise:
- well its still running android 2.3.x seeing as theres no ICS version for it either custom rom wise or official. i have to wait till april 2012 for an official one and who knows when a bug-free custom rom will be ready. currently i'm running the latest MIUI build and its B-U-G-G-Y.

- scrolling and zooming feel wholly unnatural. natural inertia on it is completely wrong. zooming definitely isn't smooth in the stock browser.

- apps, quality-wise are still ****. lots of big companies are coming along just fine with major apps so thats good, but all the main popular 'little' apps like ES File explorer STILL look like complete garbage and looks like it was made for windows 3.1. i don't know why there doesn't seem to be ANY design focus for android apps at all and is a huge turn off, especially after you skinned/customized the OS to your liking and then have to open up the ugliest apps ever.

i could go on and on but if you have any specific questions feel free to shoot.
 
I just tried it out last week. I loved it but in the end the iphone wins for me. The GSII has much more features but doesn't win in the stability category. I was using the AT&T GSII with 21Mbps and for some reason my iPhone 4s would always average 1Mbps faster. My signal seemed to fluctuate more on the GSII. The GSII would also get hotter and froze up a few times.

So at the end of the day the iphone won for me and I don't think I'll be going Android for a long time. Not to mention, I've invested a lot into apps in the 3 months I've owned the 4s.
 
Well personally the main I decided to keep my 4S over the SGS2 because of the look and feel. Like I've always said both OS's are great and I don't mind using either (also I would still say I prefer iOS by just a little), just the iPhone 4S' form factor and size made the difference.
 
stevelam said:
im not an ex-galaxy s2 owner as i *still* own one alongside my iphone 4s.

things i dont like about it hardware build-wise:
- extremely surprised when i popped off the back of the phone to put my sim card in it. the backing is literally this wafer thin insanely cheap feeling plastic cover.

- all the buttons are super cheap plastic feeling

- screen has an obvious blue tint to it compared to my brothers htc sensation

- not convinced that bigger screen automatically means better. maybe i still have youthful eyes or something but i haven't found anything to be easier to read etc compared to my iphone 4s.

software-wise:
- well its still running android 2.3.x seeing as theres no ICS version for it either custom rom wise or official. i have to wait till april 2012 for an official one and who knows when a bug-free custom rom will be ready. currently i'm running the latest MIUI build and its B-U-G-G-Y.

- scrolling and zooming feel wholly unnatural. natural inertia on it is completely wrong. zooming definitely isn't smooth in the stock browser.

- apps, quality-wise are still ****. lots of big companies are coming along just fine with major apps so thats good, but all the main popular 'little' apps like ES File explorer STILL look like complete garbage and looks like it was made for windows 3.1. i don't know why there doesn't seem to be ANY design focus for android apps at all and is a huge turn off, especially after you skinned/customized the OS to your liking and then have to open up the ugliest apps ever.

i could go on and on but if you have any specific questions feel free to shoot.
Click to expand...

I don't have the time or patience to respond to every point you made here, but the only one I sort of agree with is the first one about the back being thin plastic. To that I say, so what? Who cares about the back? I completely disagree with everything else you said. I came from the iPhone 4 to the Epic Touch 4G and I love it. The screen blows away the iPhone's in my opinion. All my buddies iPhones look tiny and washed out to me now. It's every bit as smooth and fast as the iPhone and the apps that I installed that replaced the ones on my iPhone are fine. In fact, in some cases they are better. The Dropbox app for example is much better on android.
 
stevelam said:
im not an ex-galaxy s2 owner as i *still* own one alongside my iphone 4s.

things i dont like about it hardware build-wise:
- extremely surprised when i popped off the back of the phone to put my sim card in it. the backing is literally this wafer thin insanely cheap feeling plastic cover.

- all the buttons are super cheap plastic feeling

- screen has an obvious blue tint to it compared to my brothers htc sensation

- not convinced that bigger screen automatically means better. maybe i still have youthful eyes or something but i haven't found anything to be easier to read etc compared to my iphone 4s.

software-wise:
- well its still running android 2.3.x seeing as theres no ICS version for it either custom rom wise or official. i have to wait till april 2012 for an official one and who knows when a bug-free custom rom will be ready. currently i'm running the latest MIUI build and its B-U-G-G-Y.

- scrolling and zooming feel wholly unnatural. natural inertia on it is completely wrong. zooming definitely isn't smooth in the stock browser.

- apps, quality-wise are still ****. lots of big companies are coming along just fine with major apps so thats good, but all the main popular 'little' apps like ES File explorer STILL look like complete garbage and looks like it was made for windows 3.1. i don't know why there doesn't seem to be ANY design focus for android apps at all and is a huge turn off, especially after you skinned/customized the OS to your liking and then have to open up the ugliest apps ever.

i could go on and on but if you have any specific questions feel free to shoot.
Click to expand...

I have both too, and I'll just make one point in regards to the highlighted above.

You should try ISCreweD ROM. Fast, has a blue and green edition now (modeled after ICS), and the battery life is amazing. Running this ROM, which uses Entropy's DD kernel, my 4S and GSII having roughly the same battery life now. It really is amazing what these ROM developers can do with these custom ROMs now.
 
I still have an S2, but I'll tell you what I don't like about it: -

1) you can't change the voice command app to something else without rooting, which I don't want to do to a three month old phone. Vlingo is rubbish compared to some of the others on the market.

2) the lack of decent syncing software. Kies is rubbish. I tend to use my phone as a drive more than kies.

3) the fact that firmware updates are released for network branded devices before sim free :mad:

4) cannot delete Samsung apps without rooting.

5) touch wiz ui. Stock android looks a lot better.

6) one of my favourite apps, cardio trainer, doesn't work properly on it (music integration doesn't work)

That's about it I think. It is by far the best phone I've ever owned :)
 
stevelam said:
im not an ex-galaxy s2 owner as i *still* own one alongside my iphone 4s.

things i dont like about it hardware build-wise:
- extremely surprised when i popped off the back of the phone to put my sim card in it. the backing is literally this wafer thin insanely cheap feeling plastic cover.

- all the buttons are super cheap plastic feeling

- screen has an obvious blue tint to it compared to my brothers htc sensation

- not convinced that bigger screen automatically means better. maybe i still have youthful eyes or something but i haven't found anything to be easier to read etc compared to my iphone 4s.

software-wise:
- well its still running android 2.3.x seeing as theres no ICS version for it either custom rom wise or official. i have to wait till april 2012 for an official one and who knows when a bug-free custom rom will be ready. currently i'm running the latest MIUI build and its B-U-G-G-Y.

- scrolling and zooming feel wholly unnatural. natural inertia on it is completely wrong. zooming definitely isn't smooth in the stock browser.

- apps, quality-wise are still ****. lots of big companies are coming along just fine with major apps so thats good, but all the main popular 'little' apps like ES File explorer STILL look like complete garbage and looks like it was made for windows 3.1. i don't know why there doesn't seem to be ANY design focus for android apps at all and is a huge turn off, especially after you skinned/customized the OS to your liking and then have to open up the ugliest apps ever.

i could go on and on but if you have any specific questions feel free to shoot.
Click to expand...


This does not sound like a reasonable comparison at all. Thin plastic on SGSII back beats iPhone 4S' glass any time. Nobody complains about this plastic breaking (and even if it did it would be a $5 replacement). On the other hand, SGSII is really light. Feels great in the pocket. After SGSII, iPhone feels in a hand as a brick. Some call this feeling as caused by "premium build" :D But it's just weight. One can easily attain this feeling on SGSII by slapping a couple of heavy nuts with Duct tape (not that I am advising this).

Same goes for "cheap" plastic buttons. There are much fewer complaints (if any) about those buttons from SGSII owners than from IP4 owners about stuck/worn out "premium" home button on IP4.

SAMOLED+ screen is universally recognized as the best mobile screen out there as far as colors are concerned. All other screens compared to SGSII look bleached.

Screen size affects not only your eyes but also your ability to control/select objects on the screen. WEB browsing on IP4 is comparatively hard exercise because of its minute screen size. It requires a lot of zooming in and out.

Whenever people start talking about "unnatural" inertia it means that they have just switched from one phone to another and new interface feels differently. There is no such thing as "natural" inertia for GUI. It's just what you are used to. SGSII GUI is extremely responsive. Scrolling in browser is faster than on IP4 (some call it "unnatural" inertia but those who switches from SGSII to IP4, not surprisingly, think opposite).

Judging quality of Android apps based on file managers is just stupid. Firstly, alternatives on iOS do not exist. More importantly, these apps are niche utility apps produced by small companies and offered for free. When it comes to applications that matter (Angry Birds, Google Maps, Google Navigation) situation is totally different.
 
lilo777 said:
SAMOLED+ screen is universally recognized as the best mobile screen out there as far as colors are concerned. All other screens compared to SGSII look bleached.
Click to expand...

Judging from a photographer's perspective, the SGSII's display is awful. Way over saturated and the colours are not accurate. It might look nice for consumers that the colours 'pop', but it is very inaccurate in colour reproduction.
 
thunng8 said:
Judging from a photographer's perspective, the SGSII's display is awful. Way over saturated and the colours are not accurate. It might look nice for consumers that the colours 'pop', but it is very inaccurate in colour reproduction.
Click to expand...
Yeh I used ScreenAdjuster to adjust, everything else seems the same (colors when browsing or in use, but photo's now look natural vs humans having like a really tan tone to them before lol). Some people online put the settings they used for it.
 
thunng8 said:
Judging from a photographer's perspective, the SGSII's display is awful. Way over saturated and the colours are not accurate. It might look nice for consumers that the colours 'pop', but it is very inaccurate in colour reproduction.
Click to expand...

I agree but phone screens are simply too small to be used for any photography work anyways. As far as I am concerned, they are too small for viewing any videos where the colors would matter. IP4 has an advantage of higher resolution (which does matter for what people do with their phones), SGSII provides attractive (although accurate) colors and great blacks/contrast making the pictures/screen look special.
 
lilo777 said:
Whenever people start talking about "unnatural" inertia it means that they have just switched from one phone to another and new interface feels differently. There is no such thing as "natural" inertia for GUI. It's just what you are used to. SGSII GUI is extremely responsive. Scrolling in browser is faster than on IP4 (some call it "unnatural" inertia but those who switches from SGSII to IP4, not surprisingly, think opposite).
Click to expand...

I believe you mean a touch interface not GUI, but there is such a thing as unnatural inertia. An example of unnatural inertia would be if the scrolling happens faster or slower than your mind expects based on how fast you moved your finger when you removed it from the screen. You can get used to it, but that doesn't make it natural. Too responsive can be unnatural and annoying. In analogue terms it's increasing your mouse tracking to an extreme level, or throwing a rock and it behaving like you threw a feather.

lilo777 said:
I agree but phone screens are simply too small to be used for any photography work anyways. As far as I am concerned, they are too small for viewing any videos where the colors would matter. IP4 has an advantage of higher resolution (which does matter for what people do with their phones), SGSII provides attractive (although accurate) colors and great blacks/contrast making the pictures/screen look special.
Click to expand...

A photographer's perspective is the perspective of wanting accurate colors, not the perspective of doing retouching. The SGS2 does not provide accurate colors, the contrast and colors are over saturated. The pictures do look special, just not accurate. Don't confuse accuracy and pleasing; the warmer-tinted iPhone screens have been shown to be more color accurate, but people are happier with the more blue-tinted screens.
 
Last edited:
I have my Galaxy S2 along with my new iPhone 4S.
Things i liked
-Huge screen, super clean, very vibrant
-So, so so so fast! Everything you do on the phone is quick. No slowdown at all
-Very, very good camera (front and back!)
-Android OS is great

Things i didnt like
-Typing on any keyboard that comes with the device is annoying as it doesnt detect some typing due to an overly sensitive touch screen.
-Android OS is stuck at 2.3 and although the TouchWiz 4.0 skin isnt bad, its not great either. Simple applications like MMS/SMS are terrible and look like crap. Button placements for "Send" are all wrong and it forced me to have to rethink the way i used the phone to send texts'.
-Sometimes odd battery behavior. Sure the battery was great, at most times. But there was some instances where the phone would reboot itself at 60-55% left,only to restart with 10% charge left. Very odd
-Android Apps. This is a multiple part issue, but some apps work, and some dont. Some look ok at best, some look terrible. Some are paid that work as advertised, some are paid that dont work at all (yes i know you can refund). Most look like they have been coded using Windows 3.1 as a design platform (as someone here put it).

All in all, this is a fantastic phone. Does everything you need it to do. Until CM9 (Cyanogenmod 9) releases, it will be in the box waiting for it. For me personally, nothing out there with the exception of Windows Phone has the polish and cleanliness as does iOS and the iPhone. I think that once Nokia releases a real phone (not the Lumia 710), it will be a great competition. Those are my thoughts.

TL;DR - Android OS is buggy and sloppy, GS2 is quick but has its flaws; iOS is complete and clean as is Windows Phone.
 
thunng8 said:
Judging from a photographer's perspective, the SGSII's display is awful. Way over saturated and the colours are not accurate. It might look nice for consumers that the colours 'pop', but it is very inaccurate in colour reproduction.
Click to expand...

completely agree. its insanely oversaturated. try looking through the s2 camera of anything in a slightly dark environment. every colour is ridiculously exaggerated in the camera. pale greens turn fluorescent green. browns turn into reds. its just awful. take a picture then email it to yourself or whatever and look at it. it is NOWHERE near as bad as how the screen shows it.

its like those computer monitors with silly "vibrant photo" settings and options on them.
 
Last edited:
stevelam said:
completely agree. its insanely oversaturated. try looking through the s2 camera of anything in a slightly dark environment. every colour is ridiculously exaggerated in the camera. pale greens turn fluorescent green. browns turn into reds. its just awful. take a picture then email it to yourself or whatever and look at it. it is NOWHERE near as bad as how the screen shows it.

its like those computer monitors with silly "vibrant photo" settings and options on them.
Click to expand...

The irony here is that picture (camera) quality obviously has nothing to do with the screen, so the pictures taken by SGSII are just fine whereas pictures taken by IP are considered by many to be over-processed for eye pleasing effect.

And again, while SGSII screen does not provide photographic color accuracy, it's totally irrelevant because most real life use cases for phones are not affected by this effect. Angry Birds (or any other game) does look better on SGSII. Navigation, Twitter, Facebook, messaging - you name it - they all look better on AMOLED.
 
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