The Second Encouter: Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II preview (www.drmobiles.co.nz)

Having earned its place in the Android hall of fame, the original Galaxy S can start thinking about retirement. And these won’t be thoughts of fear and worry. With a replacement on its way, the veteran can look forward to getting the respects it deserves.

   
Samsung Galaxy S II official photos

And what a replacement it is. Samsung’s Galaxy lineup is home of some of the world’s finest droids. But the I9100 Galaxy S II is special. The forerunner was in contention for the Best Droid title and more than once got a hand on it. But it was only a matter of time for the competition to eventually catch up and even get ahead. The Galaxy S II aims to put Samsung back in the lead.

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g

Display: 4.3" 16M-color WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass,

CPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz processor, Orion chipset

GPU: Mali-400MP

RAM: 1GB

OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot

Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image

stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, front facing camera, video-calls

Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,

GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out, USB-on-the-go

Misc: TouchWiz 4.0 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, Swype text input

The success of the original Galaxy S was based on four key features: the big Super AMOLED screen, the processing power, the 720p video recording and the ever evolving Android. The Galaxy S II is not just a cursory update – it upgrades all the key ingredients of its predecessor. The Super AMOLED Plus looks better and is more power efficient. The powerful dual-core processor and faster graphics make the Galaxy S II a silky smooth performer in web browsing and media.

On top of that, Samsung has really listened to the users. They’ve added a LED flash to the camera – and 8 MP sounds like they finally mean business. Not to mention the full HD videos were quite impressive. There is even more – the Galaxy S II has ditched the glossy battery cover in favor of a textured surface that makes the phone appear both more mature and durable.

    
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S II is slightly bigger than its predecessor, but thinner and lighter. It’s a monster of a smartphone with a killer screen and premium imaging. You can bet the Gingerbread ticking inside feels right at home. And though this isn’t the first time we’re about to see it in action, we’d gladly spend more quality time with it.

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 360-degree spin

The slim profile and the new textured back of the Galaxy S II are the key design features. It certainly isn’t the most compact of handsets but a 4.3” touchscreen phone just couldn’t have been better in terms of ergonomics and handling.

    
The Galaxy S II sized up against the first Galaxy S

It’s plain to see, the new Galaxy S II is bigger than its predecessor. 3mm taller and 2mm wider to be precise – and that’s a small price to pay for superior internals and bigger screen. The best part of all is that it’s only 8.5mm thick and weighs 116g – 3 grams less than the Galaxy S.

Design and construction

We are quite fond of the I9010 Galaxy S Giorgio Armani and prior to the MWC we hoped the Galaxy S II would use some of its styling. Well, there is no metal here, but the battery cover comes close enough.

The rest is pretty much inherited from the original Galaxy S – the rounded edges, capacitive controls and bits of glossy plastic at the sides and below the screen.

   
The Samsung Galaxy S II

The rough-textured battery cover is almost paper thin. We guess this is one of the reasons for the phone’s reduced weight.

But while the rear seems to be the place where most of the changes occurred, the screen of course will get most of the attention. We’ve already commented on the new Super AMOLED Plus screen in ourhead-to-head comparison with the LG Optimus 2X. But here are the basics once again in case you’ve missed it.

The first generation of Super AMOLED screens use a PenTile matrix of two subpixels per pixel. In the new Super AMOLED Plus screens, each pixel has three subpixels just as regular LCD panels..The image below demonstrates the difference.Bare in mind these zoomed in samples show a patch of 4 pixels in a group.

Both the original Galaxy S and the Galaxy S II have screens of equal resolution: WVGA, or 480 x 800 pixels. The SuperAMOLED Plus screen of the Galaxy S II has 50% more subpixels, making it sharper. Small text and fine texture is where it matters most but, overall, the difference is barely noticeable to the naked eye.

The SuperAMOLED Plus screen of the Galaxy S II has exceptional viewing angles but the old screen in the Samsung Galaxy S isn't half bad either. Especially compared to a regular LCD unit, as you can see below.

    
    
LG Optimus 2X • Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II • Samsung I9000 Galaxy S

The new Super AMOLED Plus display is said to have improved brightness and lower power consumption. We’ll leave the battery tests for the full-featured review, but we did test the brightness levels. It turned out the SuperAMOLED Plus screen is no brighter than the previous generation used in the original Galaxy S.

The response of the capacitive unit is top notch. The screen is not over-sensitive – it will register only proper taps, not a thumb hovering close. Just like the original Galaxy S, the Galaxy S II display has scratch resistant Gorilla glass.

Moving on, we find three keys below the display. The capacitive Menu and Back buttons are on either side of a hardware home key.

  
The three large keys below the display

 

The keys are large enough to allow comfortable use and the capacitive touch technology makes sure the transition between them and the screen is seamless.

Above the display you can see the earpiece, a couple of sensors and the 2 megapixel front facing camera, which can do video-calling.

 
There are a couple of sensors next to the earpiece and the video-call camera

The top of the phone features the 3.5mm jack and a secondary microphone.

  
The 3.5mm jack is unprotected, the second microphone is next to it

At the bottom are the microUSB port and the mouthpiece. The microUSB port supports MHL,enabling HD video (up to 1080p) and multi-channel audio output. Read more on the MHL tech in our blog here.

  
The mouthpiece and the microUSB port are at the bottom

On the left side of the Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II we find the volume rocker and the lanyard eyelet, while the power/lock key is symmetrically placed across on the right. There’s no dedicated shutter key, which is a letdown for the FullHD video-capable 8 megapixel snapper.

    
The power key and the volume rocker are the only controls on the sides of the Samsung Galaxy S II

The 8 megapixel camera lens and the single LED flash share a common metal-framed plate at the back. The loudspeaker grill is the other thing of note here, in the bottom left corner.

   
There is a LED flash next to the 8 megapixel camera lens

As we already mentioned, the battery cover is made of super thin textured plastic. It covers almost the entire phone’s back and is fingerprint-resistant. It’s a bit hard to remove but the plus side is it fits tightly in place, no squeaks and wobble.

Underneath the battery cover you can see the microSD card slot, the SIM compartment and the 1650 mAh battery. The microSD card is unfortunately not hot-swappable. Surprisingly, the SIM card is.

  
Opening the battery cover reveals the microSD slot, the SIM bed and the 1650 mAh battery

The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is a phone of commendable ergonomics. Surely it’s a big one, but slim and lightweight. It’s comfortable to handle. Better build and better looks than the original Galaxy S is good news for potential upgraders.

  
The Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II is big but nice to handleThis post is sponsored by:Dr Mobiles Limited

 

 

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Weird News: Chinese prisoners forced to produce virtual gold, real profits for their guards

The virtual goods economy of massively multiplayer online games may be thriving, but it's also stimulating an undesirable side-effect: exploitation. A former detainee at a prison in Heilongjiang province, China, has told the Guardian about how he was habitually forced into playing MMOs like World of Warcraft for the collection of loot, which the prison guards would then resell online for as much as ¥6,000 ($924) per day. Such totals would be the product of up to 300 inmates working 12-hour daily shifts, though predictably they saw none of the profits themselves. The unnamed source was at a "re-education through labor" camp where the usual toil would involve actual, rather than virtual, mining. The profitability of the online market has seemingly inspired prison bosses to move with the times, however, with business being so brisk that the computers "were never turned off." A Chinese government edict from 2009 is supposed to have introduced a requirement that online currencies only be traded by licensed entities, but it's believed that the practice of using prisoners in this fashion continues unabated.

This post is sponsored by:  Dr Mobiles Limited
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Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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Hasselblad's 200 megapixel H4D-200MS camera now shipping, breaks your bank

Hasselblad's H4D-200MS is yet another upgrade to its H4D camera line that we want badly, but wouldn't have a need -- or a budget -- for. This latest piece of kit is nearly identical to the 50 megapixel H4D-50MS externally, but internally adds an astonishing 150 more megapixels to the mix -- yes, that's an astounding 200 megapixels! Don't feel forgotten just yet if you have the older model, though, as Hasselblad can upgrade your sensor for €7,000 (roughly $10,000) -- a great deal considering the full kit costs €32,000 (about $45,000). With that said, we should note that details are null on the medium-format sensor's native resolution -- similar to the multi-shot feature on the 50MS, the new 200MS combines six shots to create ridiculously detailed 200 megapixel still images, and it handles less intensive photos with a four-shot 50 megapixel still mode. Should you dare to venture outside the studio, there's a 50 megapixel single-shot live mode for quick shots as well. Excuse us while we wrap our heads around the sheer number of pixels; you'll find more info after the break in the meantime.

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Symbian News Update: Nokia ORO visits the FCC, on its way to a US release (www.drmobiles.co.nz)

It's been a busy week for Nokia's latest creation - the ORO. First, the fancy dressed smartphone got officially announced, then it appeared in an interview as Nokia CEO's phone of choice. It also paid a visit to FCC to get tested and approved for usage in the United States.

This occurrence seems more than logical, since the ORO, like its mortal cousin, the Nokia C7, sports a penta-band 3G support which includes both AT&T and T-Mobile frequencies.

We don't expect the device to be offered by either of the above mentioned U.S. networks (after all, T-Mobile already sells the Nokia C7 under the Astound name), so availability directly from Nokia USA is most likely.

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Google Android News Update: HTC officially dissolves locked bootloader policy (www.drmobiles.co.nz)

The homebrew community may mourn HTC's Thunderbolt, Incredible S, Sensation and EVO 3D, but the company's controversial policy of locking bootloaders is no more. Following a tease yesterday, HTC CEO Peter Chou has decreed from on high -- namely, HTC's Facebook page -- that future devices will be open.

There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we've listened. Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience.

We're holding out hope that this policy will also be retroactive, but this is very welcome news regardless. Ball's in your court, Motorola.

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Tech News Update: Next Google Nexus will be either HTC, or LG built (www.drmobiles.co.nz) "Android Repair"

The Nexus line is the true and original Google phone and we've seen two already. And now we came across a photo of a third Nexus phone in its testing stage. The phone looks HTC-made and lacks the menu/home/back/search keys. It will probably run Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest Android version.

The photo doesn't show much, except a generic phone design, but the information, given to TechHog.com is pretty juicy and intriguing. It seems a Google developer sent this in and reportedly said that the next Google phone will feature some amazing specs. It will most definitely feature the latest (yet unseen) Android version, which integrates with Honeycomb (hence the lack of additional keys under the display), has a HDPA+ and Sprint CDMA (which would mean an early or exclusive appearance at US telecom Sprint), front-facing camera and a rumored first appearance in December this year, along with Ice Cream Sandwich itself.

That's about it for specs and as for the name, it's not given yet but it may not be Nexus 3. It's still undecided. The Nexus phone line isn't a mainstream gadget on its own. It's made to carry the latest software version, in order for it to be a platform for dev testing. And in the case of the original Nexus One it had an HTC twin brother in the face of the Desire. The Nexus S had one in the Galaxy S so we're hoping this yet unannounced 3rd Nexus to have a global market brother as well.

We'll keep track of the matter and update as soon as news becomes available. Rumors so far suggest that either HTC or LG will make the phone.

This post is sponsored by:
Dr Mobiles Limited
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Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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