After being a user of an iPhone 3GS for the last 18 months, I was getting a little tired of the overall speed of the phone, and after seeing an HTC Desire looking rather sleek and powerful, I was tempted to look elsewhere on upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy S2 the Winner – On Android – choice comes at a cost:
I am not going to delve deeply into the technical specifics here, this is about how the phone looks and feels and how the operating system works compared to an iPhone…..the important bits!
Suffice to say:
The iPhone 3GS has a 833 MHz (underclocked to 600 MHz) processor
iPhone 4 has 1 GHz (underclocked to 800 MHz)
And Samsung Galaxy S2 has a Dual core 1.2 Ghz processor.
Yeh it’s miles faster.
Apologies that this review is based on a 3GS but there is not a huge amount of difference between 3GS and 4. However speed and responsiveness is faster having tried one…but not massively.
The casing is sharper and more square, a touch lighter and with a great screen that does beat the Samsung for clarity and resolution.
Aesthetics/Style:
iPhone 3GS
Solid feel, nice weight, slightly small screen and a bit slippy (can be easily dropped as it is so shiny)
But no need for extra cover and comes with a screen guard…mine lasted 18 months+ no problems at all.
Samsung Galaxy S2
Now do not get me wrong, when my brand new Samsung Galaxy S2 came through I was in many ways impressed.
It looks good (slim iPhone), has a nice, albeit light weight feel, but what I was unhappy about was the casing on the back, definitely will need added protection (I assume the lightweight case is to aid heat loss from the dual core processing power)
Screen looks great though….bit “tarty” but nice, big and bright.
Power
Without doubt the Samsung kicks some serious butt here, It is far more responsive and seriously is the biggest thumbs up from me in the whole review…no more waiting 10 seconds to see a text!
Apps
Wow! Massive apps:
With the Apple app store having many hundreds of thousands of apps (350,000) and Googles Android marketplace having a comparably huge number, the sheer volume of apps is not the issue.
The issue is, are apps different and does one operating system miss out on certain apps that the other boasts?
I may be wrong here but apps seem more expensive overall on Androids marketplace, having said that most seem to be available for both platforms and this is growing.
Usability
Good:
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- Bigger screen
- Flash
Like it or not I really missed this and felt Apple showed their arrogance when not providing support for at least a few more years while alternatives become commonplace. - Ability to change battery
I just like the option, simple. - Good inherent navigation software not a purchased extra – nice.
- No restrictions on apps to download
Without a ball ache, jail breaking episode and losing your warranty in the process. – I could never be bothered. - Multitasking Support
A great feature showing off the OS and power of the handset and something that my old iPhone 3GS did not do at all.
A massive thumbs up…though the iPhone4 has better support it is not as it should be. - Some novel usability tricks that I am starting to like such as swipe calling, and general time saving short-cuts
- Extra storage options (Micro SD card)
- No iTunes – Android music issue
Android has no replacement for iTunes and indeed I can see that the Android operating system is lacking in a music purchasing option, quite a big downside I feel.
Mspot is a great idea but has terrible reviews and I simply hate having to research a decent application that should be a default quality app (Google you are missing out big time on music royalties)
So yes I will have to probably pay for an app to play my music how I like. - Keyboard is relatively poor by and large, and it seems that many owners recommend buying another 3rd party app to improve the standard keyboard set…..yet again another potential expense, thanks for all this choice!
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Bad:
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MSpot Video
Open source security issues?
Now I love open source software and the ethos behind it but I can not help think that in the not so distant future the fact that we are starting to use our phones for making purchases and running our on-line lives more and more openly soemthing will give security wise.
This will in turn lead to hackers wanting a piece of the action.
Credit card details, email details etc.
With the Android O/S making it so easy for you to download apps of your choice, perhaps this bowing down to consumer demand to not be micromanaged may bite them in the ass in the end?
I can envisage serious security issues ahead and would put my money on the Android system taking the biggest hit when it does.
Could Apples controlling backbone yet again come to their rescue if the shit hits the fan like it has done for Sony?
An interesting point I feel.
Overall
Right first things first I do like Apple, I do not care what PC users say, I know no one who has ever gone back to a Microsoft PC after using an Apple…EVER!
And in all honesty the comparison between the Apple iPhone 3GS (sorry its not an iPhone4) but trust me they are just a bit better..;)…and the Samsung Galaxy S2, makes me hark back to the obvious differences between Mac and PC.
With mac you get what you need out of the box, they cost more but it works well and it looks great…no conflicts, but nothing overly amazing if you are a technical buff.
With PC (android based devices) the software/apps work well, but need tweaking, its not quite as good as it could be, but it has bells and whistles in areas that quite frankly are not that important by and large…(video chat, tethering)
That said, I am loving the speed and power of the Samsung, it does look good, but it feels just that little bit cheaper than the iPhone and for that I forgive it because over the last two days I am starting to forget my iPhone and for now embrace a new friend in my technology closet who I think may prove to be a little more versatile and keep me on my toes a bit more with what can and can’t be done with it.
Unfair comparison?
Yes I agree this review is wholly unfair considering that the iPhone 4 is well into its product life-cycle, but right now these are what you have in terms of choice between this new Samsung and an Apple device.
Samsung Galaxy S2?
Love it.
What do you think of the new Samsung Galaxy S2, are you an Apple convert?
Or would you never be a traitor and go to the other side no matter what bells and whistles were there to entice you?