Having second thoughts about my Galaxy S II

[laurenestelle]

Hi Everyone,

So I got my Galaxy S II on Thursday, and got it unlocked and running on Rogers today. I love it, but I have been having second thoughts about it, mostly because now I'm wondering if I would have liked the HTC Sensation more for the UI. I know there are a lot of fans of TouchWiz out there, but I feel it's a bit too minimalistic for my taste. However, when I even hinted to some guys at Best Buy that I was considering exchanging the phone, they were shocked.

Am I crazy for thinking I might like the Sensation more? Or is Sense not worth sacrificing the performance of the Galaxy S II? Maybe I just need someone to tell me that I made the right choice lol

[rizwan77]

Very interesting because I am on the fence over the same two phones and I am leaning towards HTC since I like UI and have had HTCs before. I am also worried about battery. Samsung has a longer lasting battery than HTC is what I seem to read. So discussion of Batter and UI will help me decide which way I go.

[Russ T]

Hey laurenestelle; don't worry - you made the right choice to go with the GS2. It's got the best hardware on the market & it's really the phone that is significantly more future-proof than any other device to date. As far as the UI is concerned, yes Sense is great, but it eats up a lot of the phones resources -- I've read a lot of reviews & some say that although it's very visually appealing, it does come at the cost of taxing the available RAM. Additionally, the Sensation has only half the RAM that the GS2 has -- 512 MB comapred with 1 GB.

With the number of great launcher apps out there these days, you can pretty much replicate the Sense experience anyway. Launcher Pro is probably the most popular, followed by ADW Launcher. There's even a launcher that mimicks Sense; I forget the name but I saw a video of it on You Tube when I searched for "Sense Launcher".

I too have been giving my next purchase considerable thought. Like you, it came down to the GS2 or the Sensation. Now Rogers' EVO 3D makes a third candidate. But after all the research & consideration, I've decided on the GS2.

Hope this helps. If it does, perhaps you could do me a favour & let me know what your thoughts are about the GS2's sound quality - especially through the earphones. Is it good? I've heard that it's the one weak spot with Samsung devices. Does MP3 music sound great, good or just okay? Also. the sound quality of calls through your headset? Thanks

[calgaryguy]

I haven't gotten a phone yet and I'm trying to decide between the GS2 and the Evo 3D. I'm interested in hearing how the sound is through the earphones as well as the external speaker. I've read that the external speaker on the Evo is not as loud as others.

[Zirian]

laurenestelle How did you manage to get the phone from Bell if you are not a Bell Customer? Just curious...

[Shopcoop]

Heh guys!

Just got my s2 and I understand the concern about the ui. Being new to android I found it a bit awkward but remember, it's android! Fully customizable! I had it looking like an htc in just a few minutes. Launcher pro is what you want! Oh and you can switch between the uis as you wish!

Awesome phone, remember software can be adjusted! So you can make it look however you like! The easy route is to pay a couple of bucks for an app or just play around with it. The hardware can't be replaced and that is why you got an s2. And because it's run by android, you can have look and operate however you like

Cheers

[zaheedonism]

I am really bummed about the weak Wifi reception I get on my GSII. At home, I have to be in the same room as the router to get full bars. If I am in the next room, I lose a bar and if I go downstairs to the basement, connection drops off completely. My netbook, macbooks and ps3 all connect fine with decent signal. Furthermore, on campus at the local university, I get 2 bars if I am lucky and often 0-1. A little research has found many others (mostly in Europe) experiencing similar wifi issues with their GS2. Anyone here suffer this problem? I am thinking of returning it. Or would an exchange be better?

[shorted999]

My phone has the same issue. Its not a SGS2 though (LG Optimus 7)

I think its just that the phone doesnt have as strong of a Wi-Fi antenna. If you exchanged it I think you will probably have the same problem. Your laptop probably has a better antenna.

However I may be completely wrong and your SGS2 has a faulty antenna.

[unity04]

I've tried both devices, and the Galaxy S II is a much better choice than the Sensation. The Galaxy S II is way faster, and the graphics and colours look much better on the Galaxy S II. Also, on the Sensation, the bottom bar where it shows Menu, Phone, etc, is choppy and not designed properly (looks very bad, you need to see it in person to know what I'm talking about it's not smooth and rounded). The Sensation has been reported to over heat, the screen even over heats, and lags a lot. The bench mark tests haven't been the greatest for the Sensation, and the camera on the Sensation is no where close to the camera on the Galaxy s II. I would stick with the Galaxy S II and give it more time.