Samsung Galaxy S2

Mental Mickey · 01-09-2011 3:32pm #1

Is this phone any good? I just received a text from o2 offering me this phone for free!!!

Four of a kind · 01-09-2011 3:36pm

One of the best if not the best on the Market right now you will find.

00sully · 01-09-2011 3:37pm

snap o2's arm off with the phone still in the hand

Mental Mickey · 01-09-2011 3:37pm

Four of a kind wrote: »

One of the best if not the best on the Market right now you will find.

I'm not big on surfing the net from my phone, so I don't know about going for it.....?

Mental Mickey · 01-09-2011 3:59pm

Not due an upgrade until February next year!

RangeR · 01-09-2011 4:08pm

Mental Mickey wrote: »

I'm not big on surfing the net from my phone, so I don't know about going for it.....?

I'll take it off your hands

Mental Mickey · 02-09-2011 8:12am

RangeR wrote: »

I'll take it off your hands

Haven't bought it yet.

Mental Mickey · 02-09-2011 8:53am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Not due an upgrade until February next year!

This phone will probably be replaced by something else by the time I'm due my upgrade.......?

RangeR · 02-09-2011 10:18am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

This phone will probably be replaced by something else by the time I'm due my upgrade.......?

But didn't O2 offer it to you for free now?
Having said that, they will probably tie you into another 18 month contract.

Kenny Logins · 02-09-2011 10:48am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

I'm not big on surfing the net from my phone, so I don't know about going for it.....?

If you don't already want it there's no sense in committing to another long contract IMHO.

Mental Mickey · 02-09-2011 10:55am

RangeR wrote: »

But didn't O2 offer it to you for free now?
Having said that, they will probably tie you into another 18 month contract.

I queried this with them, and it was a generic text alerting people of the availability of the offer. I checked with both 02, and the Carphone Warehouse, and I'm not eligible for an upgrade until February next year.

Kenny Logins · 02-09-2011 11:13am

So they said 'now available free', but not to you specifically?

Mental Mickey · 02-09-2011 11:22am

Kenny Logins wrote: »

So they said 'now available free', but not to you specifically?

It was a generic text. It was available free if you were eligible for an upgrade? Which I'm not.

Mental Mickey · 02-09-2011 12:06pm

Mental Mickey wrote: »

It was a generic text. It was available free if you were eligible for an upgrade? Which I'm not.

just to add...................I wonder why they sent it to everyone on their network, if some of those customers were not eligible for an upgrade???

Surely they would be able to distinguish who is/isn't eligble for upgrades, and send it to the appropriate people only??

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 10:00am

Can anyone enlighten me as to the pro's/con's of this phone?

RangeR · 05-09-2011 10:36am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Can anyone enlighten me as to the pro's/con's of this phone?

Pro's
===
Probably the BEST [android] phone available to date.
Dual core CPU
Hefty GPU
Lickity Split Fast

Con's
====
Expensive

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 10:38am

RangeR wrote: »

Pro's
===
Probably the BEST [android] phone available to date.
Dual core CPU
Hefty GPU
Lickity Split Fast

Con's
====
Expensive

It may be free to me on BillPay when I'm due my upgrade next year.......?

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 10:41am

RangeR wrote: »

Pro's
===
Probably the BEST [android] phone available to date.
Dual core CPU
Hefty GPU
Lickity Split Fast

Con's
====
Expensive

GPU?

RangeR · 05-09-2011 10:50am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

It may be free to me on BillPay when I'm due my upgrade next year.......?

Free = 18 [24?] months of €60~ a month contract:)
SOMETIMES it works out cheaper to purchase the phone outright for €500~ but get a cheaper, 12 month [or rolling 30 day] sim free contract. Most people cannot afford the outright expense.

Mental Mickey wrote: »

GPU?

Graphical Processing Unit [in short, good games

]

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 10:54am

RangeR wrote: »

Free = 18 [24?] months of €60~ a month contract:)
SOMETIMES it works out cheaper to purchase the phone outright for €500~ but get a cheaper, 12 month [or rolling 30 day] sim free contract. Most people cannot afford the outright expense.

Graphical Processing Unit [in short, good games ]

Eh?

RangeR · 05-09-2011 11:05am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Eh?

Option 1
18 month @ €60pm including free SGS2 = €1080 minimum over the 18 months.

Option 2
Purchase phone yourself from Expansys = €580
and take out a rolling 30 day sim only contract @ €20pm = €360 minimum for 18 months.

Option 1 costs you €1080 over 18 months. You MUST run the full 18 months.
Option 2 only costs you €940 over 18 months but you can cancel the sim only contract with only 30 days notice, at any time.

EDIT : Actually, the SGS2 is only free when you spend €100 a month. Change option 1, above, to €1800~ over the 18 month course. A difference of nearly €1000 over option 2

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 11:07am

RangeR wrote: »

Option 1
18 month @ €60pm including free SGS2 = €1080 minimum over the 18 months.

Option 2
Purchase phone yourself from Expansys = €580
and take out a rolling 30 day sim only contract @ €20pm = €360 minimum for 18 months.

Option 1 costs you €1080 over 18 months. You MUST run the full 18 months.
Option 2 only costs you €940 over 18 months but you can cancel the sim only contract with only 30 days notice, at any time.

F**k. I was thinking of upgrading my phone on my current o2 account

Makdoll · 05-09-2011 1:58pm

Can anyone recommend a business where they can fix the galaxy s screen on my phone. I've tried a lot of local businesses in Clare and had no joy..

Mental Mickey · 05-09-2011 2:36pm

Makdoll wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a business where they can fix the galaxy s screen on my phone. I've tried a lot of local businesses in Clare and had no joy..

Bring it back to where you bought it?

seligehgit · 05-09-2011 3:59pm

RangeR wrote: »

Option 1
18 month @ €60pm including free SGS2 = €1080 minimum over the 18 months.

Option 2
Purchase phone yourself from Expansys = €580
and take out a rolling 30 day sim only contract @ €20pm = €360 minimum for 18 months.

Option 1 costs you €1080 over 18 months. You MUST run the full 18 months.
Option 2 only costs you €940 over 18 months but you can cancel the sim only contract with only 30 days notice, at any time.

EDIT : Actually, the SGS2 is only free when you spend €100 a month. Change option 1, above, to €1800~ over the 18 month course. A difference of nearly €1000 over option 2

Just wondering if the phone for sale on expansys.ie is unlocked/sim free?As in any irish mobile phone network operators sim card can be used in it?

Would you guys recommend expansys?

RangeR · 05-09-2011 4:21pm

seligehgit wrote: »

Just wondering if the phone for sale on expansys.ie is unlocked/sim free?As in any irish mobile phone network operators sim card can be used in it?Would you guys recommend expansys?

Yes and Yes

seligehgit · 05-09-2011 4:45pm

Thanks a mill RangeR,appreciate it!!:D Off I go shopping!

Kenny Logins · 05-09-2011 6:13pm

It's only €480 on Vodafone PAYG and easy to unlock.

FearDark · 05-09-2011 6:38pm

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Can anyone enlighten me as to the pro's/con's of this phone?

Its the best phone out at the minute, absolutely crushes the iPhone 4, they dont even compare. Downside of the phone is poor battery life and dont let anyone convince you that its anything less than poor. Still, wouldnt trade it for the world.

seligehgit · 05-09-2011 6:42pm

Kenny Logins wrote: »

It's only €480 on Vodafone PAYG and easy to unlock.

How does one unlock it Kenny?PM me if you wish,I'd appreciate your advice,loads of on line unlocking sites,hard to see wood through the trees!:D

RangeR · 05-09-2011 7:02pm

seligehgit wrote: »

How does one unlock it Kenny?PM me if you wish,I'd appreciate your advice,loads of on line unlocking sites,hard to see wood through the trees!:D

Normally Google is your friend but in this case www.xda-developers.com is your friend.

Kenny Logins · 05-09-2011 7:05pm

RangeR wrote: »

seligehgit wrote: »

How does one unlock it Kenny?PM me if you wish,I'd appreciate your advice,loads of on line unlocking sites,hard to see wood through the trees!:D

Normally Google is your friend but in this case www.xda-developers.com is your friend.

This is the best place to start, have a read here before committing to buy.

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/sgs-2-sim-unlock-code-finder-frees-your-sgs-2/

seligehgit · 05-09-2011 7:44pm

Kenny Logins wrote: »

This is the best place to start, have a read here before committing to buy.

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/sgs-2-sim-unlock-code-finder-frees-your-sgs-2/

Sounds a bit risky??Found a thread on that website's forum re the sensation,has 2 alternate methods for unlocking the device.Might just pay the few extra euro with expansys,rather than save the few euro and potentially be unable to definitely unlock myself from Vodafone?How likely is it that these unlocks could fry your phone and void one's guarantee?

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 8:08am

FearDark wrote: »

Its the best phone out at the minute, absolutely crushes the iPhone 4, they dont even compare. Downside of the phone is poor battery life and dont let anyone convince you that its anything less than poor. Still, wouldnt trade it for the world.

How long would you get out of a full charge? Also, the last time I upgraded, the salesperson tried to push the Iphone 4 onto me. I wouldn't take it though. Sounded like they were desperate to get rid of them.....?

RangeR · 06-09-2011 8:43am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

How long would you get out of a full charge? Also, the last time I upgraded, the salesperson tried to push the Iphone 4 onto me. I wouldn't take it though. Sounded like they were desperate to get rid of them.....?

Apples and Oranges. If you compare the SGS battery to a Nokia 5110, then yes, it's piss poor.
If you compare the SGS battery to ANY large display phone out there today, iPhone included, it's highly comparable.

With all of these large display devices, you will be hard pushed to get two days of use out of them. But it all depends on how you use it. If it spends most of it's time in your pocket with screen off, you might even get three days out of it.

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 10:35am

RangeR wrote: »

Apples and Oranges. If you compare the SGS battery to a Nokia 5110, then yes, it's piss poor.If you compare the SGS battery to ANY large display phone out there today, iPhone included, it's highly comparable.

With all of these large display devices, you will be hard pushed to get two days of use out of them. But it all depends on how you use it. If it spends most of it's time in your pocket with screen off, you might even get three days out of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110. You mean this piece of ****??

RangeR · 06-09-2011 11:24am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5110. You mean this piece of ****??

Yes. The battery in those types of phone could last a week or more without recharge. And the 5110 was THE best phone in it's day.

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 11:25am

RangeR wrote: »

Yes. The battery in those types of phone could last a week or more without recharge. And the 5110 was THE best phone in it's day.

LOL

srsly78 · 06-09-2011 11:31am

Not comparing like with like. Turn off 3g etc on galaxy and the battery will last a full week.

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 12:07pm

srsly78 wrote: »

Not comparing like with like. Turn off 3g etc on galaxy and the battery will last a full week.

Ive got a symbol on my current phone - NOKIA 5230 - which reads "3.5G" - its in the top left hand corner of the screen under the signal bar...what does this mean?

srsly78 · 06-09-2011 12:11pm

It means it senses a 3.5g network. Does it have push-mail like on android? Does it have loads of apps active that poll the network?

Fact: I was in London so I turned 3g off (lol meteor roaming charges). Desire lasted a full mon-fri on one charge. Was used as mp3 player and for some calls (not that much) during the full week. SGS2 has bigger battery (bigger screen too tho) and gets good battery life with latest rom. 3g and data sync are the main killer of battery, and it's even worse if you have weak signal.

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 12:21pm

srsly78 wrote: »

It means it senses a 3.5g network. Does it have push-mail like on android? Does it have loads of apps active that poll the network?

Fact: I was in London so I turned 3g off (lol meteor roaming charges). Desire lasted a full mon-fri on one charge. Was used as mp3 player and for some calls (not that much) during the full week. SGS2 has bigger battery (bigger screen too tho) and gets good battery life with latest rom. 3g and data sync are the main killer of battery, and it's even worse if you have weak signal.

Its got the home screen and another symbol(a small dot and a blue square with arrows pointing in different directions)on it when I check the Open App's. What does the second one mean?

EDIT - first symbol means menu. What do u mean by push mail?

Morlar · 06-09-2011 12:57pm

The Galaxy S2 is fine by me so far.

The display is outstanding, seriously the best I have seen, decent sized too. There is some kind of feature whereby when the background colour is black it's not backlit, so the colours stand out and the blacks are really black.

The camera is surprisingly good too, also has a HD video recorder and all the usual bells and whistles. Very responsive in everyday use too.

3 are doing an offer at the moment, 24 months x €40 contract = 16GB phone for 'free'.

+ free 3 network to 3 network calls, all you can eat data, + 350 units free per month, (where one unit =1 minute of call or 2 texts). There are multiple other add-ons to go with that.

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 12:59pm

Morlar wrote: »

The Galaxy S2 is fine by me so far.

The display is outstanding, seriously the best I have seen, decent sized too. There is some kind of feature whereby when the background colour is black it's not backlit, so the colours stand out and the blacks are really black.

The camera is surprisingly good too, also has a HD video recorder and all the usual bells and whistles. Very responsive in everyday use too.

3 are doing an offer at the moment, 24 months x €40 contract = 16GB phone for 'free'.

+ free 3 network to 3 network calls, all you can eat data, + 350 units free per month, (where one unit =1 minute of call or 2 texts). There are multiple other add-ons to go with that.

That'll probably change by February - when I'm due my upgrade!?

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 9:42pm

I've had a few friends say that this phone is very awkward to use......? Are they right?

FearDark · 06-09-2011 9:48pm

Mental Mickey wrote: »

How long would you get out of a full charge? Also, the last time I upgraded, the salesperson tried to push the Iphone 4 onto me. I wouldn't take it though. Sounded like they were desperate to get rid of them.....?

For me a full charge lasts about 24 hours, I'm a very heavy user of the internet/games/videos though - you'd probably get two days out of it if you were only texting/phone calls etc but I never have as I tend to forget to turn off WiFi when not using it, I also like to have the screen settings up to the max!

Mental Mickey wrote: »

I've had a few friends say that this phone is very awkward to use......? Are they right?

Awkward how? Well, its very big but its extremely thin, I don't find anything awkward on it at all, I suppose the hardest thing for me to adapt to was going from buttons to a touch screen for texting and if I'm honest I still prefer buttons...

Mental Mickey · 06-09-2011 10:00pm

FearDark wrote: »

For me a full charge lasts about 24 hours, I'm a very heavy user of the internet/games/videos though - you'd probably get two days out of it if you were only texting/phone calls etc but I never have as I tend to forget to turn off WiFi when not using it, I also like to have the screen settings up to the max!

Cheers.

Awkward how? Well, its very big but its extremely thin, I don't find anything awkward on it at all, I suppose the hardest thing for me to adapt to was going from buttons to a touch screen for texting and if I'm honest I still prefer buttons...

Fiddly.......too many menus? I prefer touch screen for texting. I wouldnt go back to a button phone anymore.

RangeR · 07-09-2011 8:25am

FearDark wrote: »

For me a full charge lasts about 24 hours, I'm a very heavy user of the internet/games/videos though - you'd probably get two days out of it if you were only texting/phone calls etc but I never have as I tend to forget to turn off WiFi when not using it

Download, install and configure ... llama.

This will give you a huge boost in battery life. You can configure it to automatically ...

Turn on WIFI at home or work. Turn off at all other places
Turn off bluetooth at home or work. Turn on in the car [leaving home or work]
Mute your phone between 10pm through 6am.
Turn on or off most other services in a similar fashion.

Location and/or time based rules. Fantastic app and free.

RangeR · 07-09-2011 9:03am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

I've had a few friends say that this phone is very awkward to use......? Are they right?

It can be akward in the sense that smaller phones are one handed phones. You can hold and text with one hand.

SGS or SGS2 are two handed phones. Hold with one hand and text with the other. It can take a while for some people to get used to.

Mental Mickey · 07-09-2011 9:46am

RangeR wrote: »

It can be akward in the sense that smaller phones are one handed phones. You can hold and text with one hand.

SGS or SGS2 are two handed phones. Hold with one hand and text with the other. It can take a while for some people to get used to.

I can hold my current phone - Nokia 5230 - and text with one hand. Is the SGS/SGS2 bigger than this phone?

RangeR · 07-09-2011 9:56am

Mental Mickey wrote: »

I can hold my current phone - Nokia 5230 - and text with one hand. Is the SGS/SGS2 bigger than this phone?

Yes.

Nokia 5230 - 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm, 83 cc [3.2 inch screen but different aspect ratio]
SGS - 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm [4.0 inch screen]
SGS2 - 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm [4.3 inch screen]

Courtesy of GSM Arena.

EDIT : Side by Side comparison

Samsung Galaxy S2

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