Samsung Galaxy S II

Invincible

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-gets-two-updates-to-fix-auto-brightness-problem-and-to-improve-Swype_id18832?utm_

bd250110

daveccork wrote: »

anyone know if there are any disadvantages in buy this phone sim free ? i.e. network settings, carrier updates etc?

With Android you are very much better off getting an unbranded version, updates are much faster. With Apple the release is sent to the device via iTunes, directly. There is no carrier involvement, Apple do not let carriers touch iOS, other than via the "Carrier Settings" package. With Android it goes Google -> Handest Manufacturers -> Carriers. Each party meddles a bit with the OS (in the case of carriers adding branding and bloatware) so updates can take months after release from Google. At least with an unbranded handset you only have to wait for Samsung to tweak and push. You would be among the first to have the update.

daveccork

Thanks for the detailed response bd250110

LukeS_

I can't wait 'till this becomes readily available in Ireland. I want to get rid of my iPhone 4 and get this beast.

Anybody who has one - have you tried out Kies Air? Any good?

Dave147

I bought mine off eBay today, got it for £485, which was about as cheap as I could find. Need to lodge to my VISA tomorrow and pay for it, so hopefully can have it dispatched tomorrow as well. Would like it before the weekend!

valdigre

I am a bit puzzled, as I am getting relatively low 3g speeds.

I was testing it on Three and Meteor, and with a full 4 bar network coverage, I wasn't getting more than 2 mbits of download speeds...

I seem to have APS's configured correctly, so a bit puzzled about this one

fionny

valdigre wrote: »

I am a bit puzzled, as I am getting relatively low 3g speeds.

I was testing it on Three and Meteor, and with a full 4 bar network coverage, I wasn't getting more than 2 mbits of download speeds...

I seem to have APS's configured correctly, so a bit puzzled about this one

Seems about right to me, 3g speeds in Ireland are diabolical, mostly due to demand on the network. That said I just managed to get 4.1download and 1.2upload on my meteor phone... again though it all depends on network strain,

digiman

Has there being any release dates for this on any Irish network yet?

fionny

digiman wrote: »

Has there being any release dates for this on any Irish network yet?

Its been mentioned a good few times now... no 100% solid date but likely around the 1st of June.

bd250110

Got the phone delivered today.

First impressions are really good. I'll list them as follows;
1) The battery cover is literally peeled off the phone, it's sounds horrible! Worse than even the £10 Nokias. That said, once back on the handset feels very sturdy, build quality is excellent. The handset feels great in the hand.
2) Wonderful screen, it's very vivid. Coming from an iPhone4 I don't notice the "non-retina" resolution, but am blown away by the colour balance. It's very impressive, with none of the over saturation seen in the SGS or Wave, etc.
3) Very fast, snappy phone. Webpages load nice and quickly apps are silky smooth. Great experience.
4) Kies Air and DoubleTwist Air Sync mean goodbye to to wires. This makes me happy.
5) Camera takes pictures instantly, as promised. Very nice pictures they are too.
6) The handset is beautifully thin, but camera lens protrudes quite markedly from the back, the handset rests on it, which is a bit of a flaw, I feel.
My case hasn't arrived as yet, so I won't be using it day-to-day till it does.

Bikerguy

just bought a case from guy throguh gumtree 5e and fit extremly well. build quality of the case is great. i was very surprised.

btw i am getting very fast 3g speed in cc on vodafone.

Bikerguy

but the problem is that i am getting only about 10 hours of battery life with 3g off and sometimes on wifi. using dolphin browser. hm i hope it will get better somehow. much lower then with SGS1

tman

Bikerguy wrote: »

but the problem is that i am getting only about 10 hours of battery life with 3g off and sometimes on wifi. using dolphin browser. hm i hope it will get better somehow. much lower then with SGS1

Might be worth trying Mossie's link in the other thread (don't blame me if it explodes your phone though!)

valdigre

Bikerguy wrote: »

but the problem is that i am getting only about 10 hours of battery life with 3g off and sometimes on wifi. using dolphin browser. hm i hope it will get better somehow. much lower then with SGS1

Don't experiment with any "solutions" just yet, give the battery time. If you still have problems with it after > 5 cycles, you may start worrying however I would wait for a firmware update instead

For me the strangest problem is, that for example yesterday, I opened youtube app, loaded some streamed video and the phone froze completely. No response, had to remove the battery.

When I turned it back on, my battery dropped from 34% to 16%, although when I was discharging it, it held the charge more as 34% than 16%, if you know what I mean. It was loosing %very slowly.

Oh well, it was 4th charge, I tend to fully discharge the phone now and charge it when turned off.

fionny

Well if the HTC Desire was anything to go by the battery had to be calibrated, the process with the Desire was:

Charge until green LED came on,
Plug out and turn off phone, charge again until light came on.
Plug out and turn on,
Charge until green light comes on again.

Maybe something similar with the GS2 will do the job.

For rooted devices there is this; http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/04/08/calibrate-your-battery-stats-the-easy-way-to-improve-battery-life/

Bikerguy

tman wrote: »

Might be worth trying Mossie's link in the other thread (don't blame me if it explodes your phone though!)

i saw that before..but many people are stating that they have to charge the phone every afternoon since morning fully charged. so i say i have to live with it. i am not gonna root the phone or change any system settings at all. i believe the manufacter did the best..if not they woudlnt release it...but with sgs1 i could manage 2 days of normal usage without problems..i mean bit of games + wifi etc ...now i wont be able to reach that...maybe i have to buy second battery and just try to survive.

fionny

Bikerguy wrote: »

. i am not gonna root the phone or change any system settings at all. i believe the manufacter did the best..if not they woudlnt release it....

Each to their own of course but that is quite far from the truth, besides rooting the phone doesnt alter the settings it just allows you Superuser access and thus expanding your options. It seems to be a common misunderstanding that Rooting and ROMs are the same thing.... sure they can go hand in but are not the same.

I found i got much better results from my Desire after I rooted and started playing with settings and custom ROM's.

Once I get my SGS2 and a stable root has been released I will be in like sin!

Bikerguy

fionny wrote: »

Each to their own of course but that is quite far from the truth, besides rooting the phone doesnt alter the settings it just allows you Superuser access and thus expanding your options. It seems to be a common misunderstanding that Rooting and ROMs are the same thing.... sure they can go hand in but are not the same.

I found i got much better results from my Desire after I rooted and started playing with settings and custom ROM's.

Once I get my SGS2 and a stable root has been released I will be in like sin!

yeh i know what u mean..but rooting is change to the OS and i paid a lots of money to loose that by mistake...what i wanted say is i believe that developers of SGS2 did a great job and atm no change is needed at all. its like a buy a new car and trying to set up engine. i will root it and possible install new ROM but this wont happend now or in close future.

pok3rplaya

Is there any information/guesses as to what the price will be on the networks when this is released?

fionny

pok3rplaya wrote: »

Is there any information/guesses as to what the price will be on the networks when this is released?

My guess is around 180euro for an 18month contract on most networks on lowest tarrif...

digiman

fionny wrote: »

My guess is around 180euro for an 18month contract on most networks on lowest tarrif...

Do any networks give out 12 month contracts anymore? I can't remember now what I signed up to when I got my HTC Desire, I probably won't be due an upgrade so going to try and get this through work. Sounds like a class phone

Atomic Pineapple

Has anyone any more updates from the networks? Would be hoping some info would be coming from them by now.

daveccork

Three have it listed in their in store catalogue
€573 for pay as you go.
Can't remember the rest of the options and I didn't take the catalogue away !!

fionny

digiman wrote: »

Do any networks give out 12 month contracts anymore? I can't remember now what I signed up to when I got my HTC Desire, I probably won't be due an upgrade so going to try and get this through work. Sounds like a class phone

Meteor do by offerening the ability to pay a small bit more per month for 12month which i think is a pretty good idea. But yes most networks are trying to get people to go for the 18 or even 24month contracts (iphone4 on three) then at least its not canada where an iphone will cost you a 3 YEAR contract! Madness

reb73

Slightly off topic, but for those with slippery hands and willing to be seen with a purse/satchel kinda contraption, this should keep their SGS 2 safe..

Linky

5500

My battery life is somewhat diminshed at the minute too. Seems to be a good few people on xda experiencing a drain from wifi sharing. It appears to activate itself and not shut back down even with wifi turned off, in turn its eating the battery. I've noticed it running on mine so Im presuming its causing the problem for the moment

Bikerguy

eireal wrote: »

My battery life is somewhat diminshed at the minute too. Seems to be a good few people on xda experiencing a drain from wifi sharing. It appears to activate itself and not shut back down even with wifi turned off, in turn its eating the battery. I've noticed it running on mine so Im presuming its causing the problem for the moment

u are reading my mind...:( i found that many apps are running in backround...for example

google maps + location - even with gps and wifi sharing location off
gmail - running even with wifi off and 3g off..
voice commands - all share and much more apps runnning and even if u force them to close they automaticly reopen in few moments...:( crap

and there are like 5 more apps running at all the time...amazing...
i used application killer...android booster...so far d battery doctor is the one that helped me most..but it makes me sad - use thrd party apps to keep the phone running for longer.. i hope they will release the update..

the already did release 2 updates - for screen brightness issues + connectivity... and i hope the next will touch this problem...

Bikerguy

reb73 wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but for those with slippery hands and willing to be seen with a purse/satchel kinda contraption, this should keep their SGS 2 safe..

Linky

ouch..i feel pain even watching that...L:(

valdigre

Yep, I am waiting for a decent transparent silicone/rubber "condom" for the phone, as it is too thin and slippery in my opinion...

It slips out of my pocket in car, when driving... :eek:

5500

valdigre wrote: »

Yep, I am waiting for a decent transparent silicone/rubber "condom" for the phone, as it is too thin and slippery in my opinion...

It slips out of my pocket in car, when driving... :eek:

Ive black ones for sale on adverts, good cases they have a grip on the sides and defintly make the phone less slippy in the hand.

On the battery issue, the KE2 update has been pulled, aparently it was causing even more battery drain issues. So anyone with KE2 installed this could be causing part of your problem