Which Galaxy S 2? - General Questions and Answers

There are so many versions to choose from.
I am looking for the one with the fastest GPU and that can work on GSM networks.
From what I can see, T-Mobile version has a dual core 1.5 ghz.
What advice can you give me?
I am looking for a beefier batterry as well

It would depend on who you're carrier is I would assume. If you're within the States and you have Sprint you're stuck with their version, obviously. If you're outside the States, I would take the T-Mobile version. 1.5Ghz as opposed to 1.2GHz and the battery of the tmobile version is 1850mAh as opposed to 1650mAh...but I would think you can get extended batteries and backs for either s2.

Depends which carrier. If you're on T-Mobile US you have to get the T-Mobile version because the other ones don't support it's 3G bands.
If you're on AT&T you can either get the international version, or the AT&T branded version, or the Skyrocket, or the Skyrocket HD, etc.. All models are effectively the same. The T-Mobile version has a "faster" CPU clock speed wise, but it benchmarks much lower than the international GSM version with Exynos in it.
Here's the phone arena listing for all the models: http://www.phonearena.com/search/section/new-phones/term/Galaxy+S+II
They're all effectively the same inside. The differences are that 1) some have LTE and 2) some have an HD screen (but are more expensive). If you want the most basic, cheapest, model then get the i9100 version. That's the original unlocked model. You'll run on AT&T fine and its been out the longest.
In the screenshot, I've highlighted the AT&T capable models in Blue, T-Mobile in Pink, and Sprint in Yellow.

^ now thats how you answer a question lol

I am on GSM. Vodafone to be exact. From what I can see I can't see anything on sale rather than the i9100 version, being in europe.
I have later seen the Skyrocket and tmobile version. Why do they score lower? THey have the higher clock speed and the adreno 220 that according to benchmarks wipes the floor with any exynos or mali on other s2's.

nemuro said:
I am on GSM. Vodafone to be exact. From what I can see I can't see anything on sale rather than the i9100 version, being in europe.
I have later seen the Skyrocket and tmobile version. Why do they score lower? THey have the higher clock speed and the adreno 220 that according to benchmarks wipes the floor with any exynos or mali on other s2's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exynos processor alone rapes the snapdragons (especially just looking at benchmarks), which is what the 42mbps HSPA+ (T-Mo) and LTE (Skyrocket) versions have in order to support those radios. Exynos has limited radio support so that's why you only see it in the basic 850/1900 GSM devices, like the i9100 and base AT&T model.
If you're in Europe you have no need for LTE, so just check the i9100 it'll have the lowest price in that area. The T-Mo version won't work for you (wrong frequencies unless you do some hackery) and the SII HD isn't really available yet. And at that point you might as well just buy a Galaxy Nexus.

Yes, it has the lowest price but I was fooled by the ghz. Thanks for the heads up.
If you're still here and you talk so well about sgs2 why did you get a nexus?

Related

[Q] no 4G - t-mobile

Hello Forum,
I have a samsung infused unlocked with a t-mobile unlimited 4G data plan. However; I know on some phones there is a toggle to use 4G. I don't see one here? Am I missing something?
I called t-mobile and they said I do have 4G. When I enable "data network mode" I see a "e" symbol
What do you know that I dont about this?
Thanks again!
jchambers said:
Hello Forum,
I have a samsung infused unlocked with a t-mobile unlimited 4G data plan. However; I know on some phones there is a toggle to use 4G. I don't see one here? Am I missing something?
I called t-mobile and they said I do have 4G. When I enable "data network mode" I see a "e" symbol
What do you know that I dont about this?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the infuse uses a 3/4g radio band that is only compatible with ATT. Tmob uses a different frequency.
e or edge is all you're gonna get.
What is the best phone I can get and get 4G?
either a g2x or a sensation
kwaalude said:
the infuse uses a 3/4g radio band that is only compatible with ATT. Tmob uses a different frequency.
e or edge is all you're gonna get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the case for all AT&T phones on T-Mobile to my knowledge - EDGE-only.
Same for all T-Mobile phones on AT&T.
I do not know of any phones in existence that support both T-Mo and AT&T's 3G bands. (Both T-Mo and AT&T use HSPA+ which isn't really 4G, but they've marketed it as such.)
Entropy512 said:
This is the case for all AT&T phones on T-Mobile to my knowledge - EDGE-only.
Same for all T-Mobile phones on AT&T.
I do not know of any phones in existence that support both T-Mo and AT&T's 3G bands. (Both T-Mo and AT&T use HSPA+ which isn't really 4G, but they've marketed it as such.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes this is correct.
i did read somewhere today that Samsung is making an Infuse style phone for Tmob which will be the 4.5inch super amoled + screen but sport a radio capable of using both fauxG bands from ATT and Tmob. probably to accommodate the impending merger. possible BS as i forget which link of a link of a link i clicked on to find that nugget of info, but even if it is true, it's likely to be a while as the merger hasn't even passed regulatory approval and it'd be pretty dumb to engineer a new phone before that's all said and done.
oh, it's also supposed to have NFC
well, except for some dells, sonys, and nokias.
kwaalude said:
yes this is correct.
i did read somewhere today that Samsung is making an Infuse style phone for Tmob which will be the 4.5inch super amoled + screen but sport a radio capable of using both fauxG bands from ATT and Tmob. probably to accommodate the impending merger. possible BS as i forget which link of a link of a link i clicked on to find that nugget of info, but even if it is true, it's likely to be a while as the merger hasn't even passed regulatory approval and it'd be pretty dumb to engineer a new phone before that's all said and done.
oh, it's also supposed to have NFC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is real it is called the samsung hercules
http://www.tmonews.com/2011/05/samsung-hercules-is-t-mobiles-version-of-infuse-4g/
phantom9000 said:
it is real it is called the samsung hercules
http://www.tmonews.com/2011/05/samsung-hercules-is-t-mobiles-version-of-infuse-4g/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anddd of course it has gingerbread
nstong said:
Anddd of course it has gingerbread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good thing. No reason why it won't work on ours.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
MikeyMike01 said:
That's a good thing. No reason why it won't work on ours.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually if you look at the specs, there's a lot of "non-infuse" stuff there... like apparently a dual-core CPU...
i dont believe those figures. it says it has a qualcomm snapdragon dual core, but samsung has their own dual core processor, the exynos, that competes with qualcomm, ti, and nvidia. its used in the galaxy s 2. i think itll have a 1.2ghz hummingbird, the same as the infuse. it has gingerbread but the rogers one will prolly have that and when it does, so will our att ones. and a 1080p camera which was originally touted when the infuse was debuted in january. its the same sensor thats in the galaxy s 2, and its disabled by software and will probably be reenabled with gingerbread. itll have a dual cell hspa radio too, but att isnt going that route, they are investing in lte for faster 4g speeds in the future. hopefully it has the same radio hardware so when the att-tmobile merger finalizes we too will have dual cell connections and thus faster speed, but its only a higher cap right now, and we arent reaching it anyways. if im right, the two i997s dont really have hardware differences.
The Jack of Clubs said:
i dont believe those figures. it says it has a qualcomm snapdragon dual core, but samsung has their own dual core processor, the exynos, that competes with qualcomm, ti, and nvidia. its used in the galaxy s 2. i think itll have a 1.2ghz hummingbird, the same as the infuse. it has gingerbread but the rogers one will prolly have that and when it does, so will our att ones. and a 1080p camera which was originally touted when the infuse was debuted in january. its the same sensor thats in the galaxy s 2, and its disabled by software and will probably be reenabled with gingerbread. itll have a dual cell hspa radio too, but att isnt going that route, they are investing in lte for faster 4g speeds in the future. hopefully it has the same radio hardware so when the att-tmobile merger finalizes we too will have dual cell connections and thus faster speed, but its only a higher cap right now, and we arent reaching it anyways. if im right, the two i997s dont really have hardware differences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming the article is wrong just because it has a non-Samsung processor is not a good idea. Just look at the GT-i9103...
Some of the SGSII's have a nvidia tegra 2 no?
the tmobile version just got Bluetooth & Wi-Fi Certification. and it looks like it does have a 1.2 hummingbird.
http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/06/27...fication-believed-to-be-the-samsung-hercules/
Does that mean there is a prototype that is basically the same the as the infuse running gb? Why can't they just give it to us...
nstong said:
Some of the SGSII's have a nvidia tegra 2 no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only in low priority markets due to processor shortages.
Sent from my Infuse 4G

[Q] Which Galaxy S2 version to get

I want to get either the Galaxy Note or Galaxy S2. The Note is not out in the US yet. So I have been trying to decide which S2 to get of the 3 if I decide on that instead of the Note.
AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket - 4.5" display, 1.5 GHz dual-core
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S2 - 4.52” display, 1.5 GHz dual-core
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch - 4.52” display, 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos, 1200 MHz processor
I am not so concerned with call service because I've had the major 4 providers and don't notice much of a difference. I do like AT&T cause I get the 450min plan and they have rollover minutes which are good for me. But my question is of the 3 providers, which one will have the faster internet. I am not up to par on the 4G and GSM/HSDPA vs CDMA stuff. I am also leaning more towards the AT&T and T-Mobile because of the 1.5GHz vs Sprints 1.2GHz. Any help and info would be much appreciated.
DTre909 said:
I want to get either the Galaxy Note or Galaxy S2. The Note is not out in the US yet. So I have been trying to decide which S2 to get of the 3 if I decide on that instead of the Note.
AT&T Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket - 4.5" display, 1.5 GHz dual-core
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S2 - 4.52” display, 1.5 GHz dual-core
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch - 4.52” display, 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos, 1200 MHz processor
I am not so concerned with call service because I've had the major 4 providers and don't notice much of a difference. I do like AT&T cause I get the 450min plan and they have rollover minutes which are good for me. But my question is of the 3 providers, which one will have the faster internet. I am not up to par on the 4G and GSM/HSDPA vs CDMA stuff. I am also leaning more towards the AT&T and T-Mobile because of the 1.5GHz vs Sprints 1.2GHz. Any help and info would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exynos is a better processor despite the lower clock speed.
So you are saying it's better to get the Sprint version at 1.2GHz over a 1.5GHz version? Does the processor really make that much of a difference that it makes it faster even though the GHz are less? I saw on a YouTube video someone say the 1.2GHz was actually faster. But what I am asking as the main question, which provider will have the faster internet? I do not understand all the differences in 4G's or "almost" 4G networks they use. I was leaning towards AT&T, but the feeling I am getting is they have a slower internet. And do you have any opinion on the Note? I am getting excited about this one, but my main concern with it is the battery life being decent.
You might not be concerned with a call plan, but T-mobile has committed what I basically call out-right fraud to me. I wouldn't sign a contract with them.
I never care about contracts. I understand everyone has a different cost of living, but money doesn't much matter to me. I always get the no contract plan, or just pay the early termination fees when I leave. An extra $200 to get a better phone and leave companies is worth it to me. I've always gone to whoever had the phone I wanted. I just need to know out of the 3 which has a better internet service, and if the Sprint phone is actually better. But now I am really considering waiting for the Note. How is T-Mobile committing fraud? I had them before Sprint, and left just because of a phone. Their service was fine to me.
I would go with T-mobile. T-mobile phones always get great development and their HSPA+ has a very large coverage area.
Well, unless I get the Samsung Note, I think I have made my decision...
AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II - only 4.3" display
AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket - 4.5" display, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II - 4.52" display, 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm APQ8060 (S3) Snapdragon processor
Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch - 4.52" display, 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor
Being the AT&T original Samsung Galaxy S II display is only 4.3", I have to eliminate it because I really don't want anything smaller than a 4.5"
The T-Mobile and AT&T Skyrocket versions look fairly similar in hardware. But as I have heard and seen in comparison videos on YouTube, the Sprint version with the 1.2GHz Exynos processor seems to be faster than the 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. So it looks like out of the 4 versions, the Sprint version will be my choice if I cannot hold out for the Note. I'm not a phone expert, so any other opinions or knowledge is welcome.

[Q] Which Galaxy Note version has the highest overall performance?

Hello. I read that there are several Galaxy Note versions. Could you please let me know which is the best? I live in Asia but I can get any version I want. I also want to get a SIM lock free version that can be used in many different countries worldwide. I do not plan to buy from a carrier.
On the net, some mentioned that the Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon S3 (1.5GHz dual processor) is LTE capable. Although the communication speed and the processor clock are higher than the ones with the Exynos 1.4 Dual 4210 processor (so called International version?), it comes with a slower GPU. As a result, the overall performance is not as good as the Exynos version. However, in other posts, some people mentioned that the Qualcomm/Snapdragon version is better. Who is correct?
Also, which version's battery lasts longer?
Any opinion appreciated.

[Q] What's the differenece between the AT&T and [Non-AT&T]One X?

Anyone?
Well are you talking about the international One X or like the rogers? The AT&T version only has 16gb of storage versus the 32 on international but it does have LTE which isn't on the international version. The only other real difference im aware of is the use of the snapdragon S4 as opposed to the tegra 3 on international models.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
cloudraker said:
Well are you talking about the international One X or like the rogers? The AT&T version only has 16gb of storage versus the 32 on international but it does have LTE which isn't on the international version. The only other real difference im aware of is the use of the snapdragon S4 as opposed to the tegra 3 on international models.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. Righty. "The only other difference is that the processor is completely different"
Thanks
When you say " the "rogers" what is that? I just mean there are two sections - one for AT&T One X and one for One X.
What's LTE anyhow?
Supaiku said:
lol. Righty. "The only other difference is that the processor is completely different"
Thanks
When you say " the "rogers" what is that? I just mean there are two sections - one for AT&T One X and one for One X.
What's LTE anyhow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big question, is what country are you located, and who is your carrier?
LTE = long term evolution. Its AT&T's new 4G data network. Its not rolled out in many places yet (maybe 20 or so cities nationwide? More cities on the way). If you are an AT&T customer, and in a LTE market, you may see download speeds of up to 25 or 30 Mbps, which is possibly 10x faster than 3G (although results will vary widely for any data connection). If this applies to you, than this can obviously be a big motivator to get the AT&T version.
Different processor, and completely different SOC (system on a chip), so that also means different GPU. The S4 is faster in many benchmarks, while the Tegra 3 wins in some, and probably not a huge difference on the whole. But the Tegra3 (international) version seems to be having some graphical and other glitches related to the Tegra drivers, that might not be sorted out for a while. Also, its probably a bit early to say for sure, but battery life seems to be better on the AT&T (S4) version based on early reports.
The international version is probably going to see more users worldwide, and therefore get more dev support. Already lots of custom ROMs for the international version. And the different CPU means that ROMs will not be automatically compatible between the 2 versions (although its possible some devs may be able to port between the 2 . . . still to early to say). But I'm still hoping for dev support for the AT&T version to be decent.
Also, the AT&T version has their typical branding (splash screen, logos, etc.) and bloatware.
Rogers is a Canadian carrier. The Rogers One X is nearly identical to the AT&T version.
Supaiku said:
lol. Righty. "The only other difference is that the processor is completely different"
Thanks
When you say " the "rogers" what is that? I just mean there are two sections - one for AT&T One X and one for One X.
What's LTE anyhow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rogers is a phone service in Canada. LTE stands for long term evolution and it is true 4g speed, it's data only at the moment, and it's considerably faster than 3G internet or Hspa+ which AT&T has called 4g, but it's just really fast 3G. But in the end 4G LTE is faster.
Thanks for clearing all that up!
vioalas said:
Rogers is a phone service in Canada. LTE stands for long term evolution and it is true 4g speed, it's data only at the moment, and it's considerably faster than 3G internet or Hspa+ which AT&T has called 4g, but it's just really fast 4G. But in the end 4G LTE is faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the definition of 4G has been blurred and revised to include HSPA+. But while LTE is obviously much faster than HSPA+; LTE doesn't even come close to fulfilling the original 4G requirements, which specify a peak download speed of 1 Gbit/sec.
redpoint73 said:
Unfortunately, the definition of 4G has been blurred and revised to include HSPA+. But while LTE is obviously much faster than HSPA+; LTE doesn't even come close to fulfilling the original 4G requirements, which specify a peak download speed of 1 Gbit/sec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true, and I just realized I called HSPA+ fast 4g, lol. I meant 3g

How to tell if your S3 is genuine?

I know there are a lot of knock off brands for the S3 - how can you tell 100% to be sure its genuine Samsung (If it bought from ebay or some other method rather than paying $800 for a phone that should cost $300) *flamesuiton*
Make sure the seller isnt in China. Do that and you are pretty much golden
The quality. Especially the screen. It's hard to accurately fake a high end phone.
And the quad core international version would only work on HSPA+ / GSM networks in the US correct? I'm on Verizon and trying to find the quad core LTE version but it looks like it doesn't exist.
enkrypt3d said:
And the quad core international version would only work on HSPA+ / GSM networks in the US correct? I'm on Verizon and trying to find the quad core LTE version but it looks like it doesn't exist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct. There was a quad core LTE GS3 in Korea but I believe that was also for HSPA+/GSM networks.

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