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[Q] Which Galaxy SII ?

I am currently a Blackberry AT&T customer and i really would like to jump to an android based phone and see if i can knock my monthly cost down a bit as well. The Galaxy S2 phones have really caught my interest but i am having a hard time picking which variant to go with.
The Sprint Epic 4G Touch sports the nice large screen, slightly less monthly cost. but seems to have an unresolved Loss of Network issue that tons of people are having plus battery issues and lacking NFC.
The T mobile variant has the same nice screen but the Qualcomm processor due to their network which supposedly is a bit slower.
Or the last option is to go with the ATT version, smaller screen, has NFC and the higher monthly cost.
Currently with AT&T data connectivity and having fast service mostly everywhere has been pretty good. What are your thoughts and experiences with the other carriers and why ?
Thanks

Its usually better to choose the carrier based on pricing, features and coverage and then choose your device.
Picking carrier based on device is something that started when iphone was only on at&t. With android its not necessary.

The ATT version has kept the GSII the closest to it's original form in both looks and internals. However the T-Mobile version does have the bigger screen, faster network, cheaper prices (rate plan wise) and the Qualcomm supposedly has been benching better than the Exynos oddly. Either way, the difference in processing speed is going to be negligible, they are both beasts.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

OG Galaxy s2 or Skyrocket?

Should I return my OG galaxy s2 that I just got about a week ago for the skyrocket? I heard the OG Galaxys2 is still faster because3 of the Exynos processor. Need some advice on which phone is faster/better.

I think there is already like 4 other threads about this haha. I think it really boils down to whether you have LTE in your area or not. I have LTE where I live and made the switch, LTE is so fast that it was well worth the switch. The Exynos vs Snapdragon debate is a little played out and doesn't make as big of a difference in the phone as many are making it out to be, my Skyrocket is just as fast in real life day to day usage. Should we assume you are thinking of returning your OG GSII before your 30 day window of opportunity? Are you expecting to get LTE soon?

jbsg02 said:
I think there is already like 4 other threads about this haha. I think it really boils down to whether you have LTE in your area or not. I have LTE where I live and made the switch, LTE is so fast that it was well worth the switch. The Exynos vs Snapdragon debate is a little played out and doesn't make as big of a difference in the phone as many are making it out to be, my Skyrocket is just as fast in real life day to day usage. Should we assume you are thinking of returning your OG GSII before your 30 day window of opportunity? Are you expecting to get LTE soon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im within the 30 days yes. I live in Toledo, Oh so I have no clue when we would get LTE coverage in my area.

Without LTE I would have stuck with my original GSII, I like the 4.3" screen a little better

Everyone will say that it depends on the person and their needs/wants. But then again, you are posting in Skyrocket forum...
I returned my $200 SGS2 and walked out with 2 Skyrockets for $300. One for me and the wife. If there wasnt that deal, I would probably stick with the SGS2. Both almost the same size, might as well get a bigger screen.
As for speed, they're both still fast. A hairline in bench marks didnt bother me. Resolutions still decent- some people exagerate about its low quality. Heck, I'm a graphic designer and photographer, I'm good with the resolution. Phone is usually a foot away from my face anyhow. Also, I'm not really much a gamer, but I do love my tower defense games (Sentinel 3 is awesome with a bigger screen).
My opinion, SGS2 has better screen quality, better 3D graphics, (insanely better? no. but technically better). Skyrocket has weird issue with their screens in dim lighting with neutral grays (doesnt bother me, I not at dim or looking at neutral grays). Some encounter problems, some look for it. Would I go back to SGS2 if it was the same price? No.
Why Skyrocket (for me): Bigger screen, faster internet speed. Use internet more than anything, play games where a bigger screen would be nicer.

If I had the opportunity, I would probably get the Skyrocket. The larger screen is magnificent. While the exynos variant gets better development support, the real world differences between the two are likely negligible. Most people I've seen say that there isn't much difference, others say they notice. Initially, I made the decision to keep my original GS2. A short time after my 30 day window passed, I kind of regretted it. Either one will be an excellent choice. I just want the larger screen. I may buy it outright just for the heck of it.

I had the S2 and exchanged it for the SR being as I was in my 30 return window.
I like the phone much better. The extra screen size for me is a plus, I don't notice the pixelation other people talk about.
For what I do with the phone I don't notice the difference in processors. I really think a lot of people put too much stock in the benchmarks just to say their phone is faster that your's. Faster benchmarks mean nothing to 90+% of phone users being as most people never probably use a fraction of the processor speed anyway.
My only issue is that although I live in an LTE area, I am on the fringe of the LTE coverage and often it will hover on lower bars of reception on LTE where as HSPA would give me full bars. You would think I would get a bit better reception with LTE being as it is a lower freq with better building penetration.
I really wish there was a way to turn off the LTE radio and stick with HSPA if I wanted to. When I am in a deep LTE coverage area it is fine, but where I live at I would prefer to keep it on HSPA to maintain a better signal and battery life. I am not into rooting, and I am sure when the ability to turn off LTE comes out it will probably be for custom ROMs.
I know it is a contridiction to want an LTE device and want to run it on HSPA, but until they convert a few more towers in my fringe area, HSPA is fine. Also at home I am always on my WiFi.
One thing I did notice, which is wierd. SMS and MMS send much faster on LTE than on HSPA. I can actually notice how much faster it is.
But I did want to be a bit more future proof and have the latest phone. Of course I can't remember keeping a phone over a year anyway. I am sure there will be a Galaxy S 3 out by the time LTE starts getting built out a bit more.

I'd do the exchange you get a bigger screen and more CPU power. I'm not in an lte area and haven't noticed any difference still get great speeds.. I did the exchange your talking about

Thanks for all the help. I think im gonna keep the OG galaxy2 just because I have no idea when I will have LTE

much more dev support on og sgsII

I had the original Galaxy S2 but took it back because of some dead pixels and Mini USB port was very loose and was causing disconnect with the slightest movement. I loved the original Galaxy S2 my only complaints about it would be the battery life, loose mini USB connection (bad design I feel) and it was too thin for me. I don’t have the biggest hands in the world but the phone was not comfortable to me in the hands.
I did see all the comments about how the skyrocket would not be beneficial unless you were in a LTE network and also since the proc in the GS2 seems to be outperforming the proc in the skyrocket it didn’t make since to purchase it in addition to that it had a worse battery life.
I don’t do a lot of gaming so the proc was not a huge concern to me and even though LTE is not available in my area they explained it still connected faster on the networks. I tested the both phones at att and at my house. The GS2 connected on average at a 1.2 Mbps while the skyrocket on average was 3.2 Mbps. It was nearly doubled. So even though you may not have LTE in your area you will still see some benefits with LTE technology. However my battery life was even worse on the skyrocket. This is because I am downloading files via torrent on both phones when testing them.
I rooted my phone removed all the crap At&t loaded and also removed some auto starts up applications. Now my phone works very well. Out of box I though it was slow compared the GS2. Now it seems to be working fine and performance wise I cannot tell the difference.
Quadrant scores were very close to the same. Out of box my score on the GS2 was on average 2900 with the sky rocket it was 2500. After freeing up some memory and disabling LTE by connecting to wifi vs LTE to upload my info my scores were anywhere from 34426 to 3633!
Those of you with Skyrocket phones I am curious to know what your quadrent scores are. Here is how I improved my scores and tested between none LTE and LTE connection. I downloaded root uninstaller and removed all the crap Att installed and then downloaded start up manager and ran only a few apps. After a clean reboot I then connected to wifi opended task manager and exited all programs and cleared ram before each test. Ran quadrent 5 times and wrote down my scores (3573, 3429, 3633, 3459, 3426) on wifi. Disconnected wifi and let LTE connect. Cleared ram and cleared programs again then ran the tests on LTE my scores were (3075,2045, 2312, 3104, 2287).
My question to all the developers is can LTE be taking up a lot of the proc speed during benchmark test and this is why people are claiming the SG2 is outperforming the proc in the skyrocket? Also can anyone develop a toggle to turn off LTE? I think this will free up the unnecessary stress on the proc for those who don’t have LTE networks in their area and also increase battery life.
So fare I am happy with the Skyrocket. What I liked is the not so thin rounded back that feels a lot better in the hands while holding in landscape mode. Performance wise I did not notice any difference between the two phones (after tweaking). Battery life the GS2 was better. Connection speed on the skyrocket was nearly doubled even though LTE not available in my area. The screen was noticeably bigger at a first glance compared to the GS2. The mini usb connection is a lot more secure and is not wobbly on the skyrocket, even the displays at the store had a wobbly loose connection. Viewing angle was better on the Skyrocket and it did not have the blueish tint when viewing at a angle like the GS2 did. I go through At&t and the GS2 did not come with a headset, the skyrocket came with a headset as well as a smaller power adapter similar to the square iphone power adapter. I hope this helps those of you trying to decide if you want to buy the GS2 or the Skyrocket. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hello to all.
New Android user here, coming from Iphone 3GS. Finally was eligible for AT&T upgrade, and decided to go Android. Took advantage of the $99 Target deal for the Galaxy S2. I wanted to the skyrocket, but they didn't have it in the store yet. Told me to get the GS2 for now, learn Android in the meantime, and later on swap out for Skyrocket when available. I was afraid of losing my grandfathered unlimited data plan, so didn't want to order online. AT&T was too pricey for the Skyrocket ($249)
So, have the GS2 for now and trying to flatten the Android learning curve. But as I'm in my 30 day window, I am lurking here finding out how you guys like the Skyrocket.
My eyesight isn't getting any better (late 50's) so the bigger the screen the better, but don't want to be trying to put a tablet in my pocket.
Was a jailbreaker on the iphone, and consider myself an old hacker in pc world, so probably will be getting into rooting, and rom's eventually. For now just trying to learn Android without taking on too much at once. I hope the Skyrocket development will pick up like I see for the GS2. No hurry for now!
Don't have LTE in my area yet. But it seems like the Skyrocket does better on HSPA than the GS2. Little nervous reading that AT&T doesn't seem to honor the "unlimited" plans for LTE. And no way to turn it off on the Skyrocket. Maybe this will be possible in future ROMs?
After reading all your informative replies, I believe I am still leaning to swapping out the GS2 for the Skyrocket.
Nice to see that these forums are so active with so many helpful folks!
Nice to be here!!

Another one of these threads....
SGS2 is outdated now. Especially since LTE will be rolling out all over the place next year. My phone is OC'ed to 1.83mhz and I can tell you it is noticeably faster than my old s2. This phone is most likely to get ICS before any other at&t phone also. Out with the old, in with the new.
Skyrocket is superior
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Global Swag said:
Another one of these threads....
SGS2 is outdated now. Especially since LTE will be rolling out all over the place next year. My phone is OC'ed to 1.83mhz and I can tell you it is noticeably faster than my old s2. This phone is most likely to get ICS before any other at&t phone also. Out with the old, in with the new.
Skyrocket is superior
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ogs2 already has ICS.

Yes a buggy unofficial version

Global Swag said:
Yes a buggy unofficial version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is true..
I will be keeping my SR... I had them side by side.. and the SR is a superior phone ... all my issues are solved...
I take back all my nasty comments!

I need help understanding how AT&T's HSPA+/3g towers work

K...
Well I had an Infuse (HSPA+) and as a lot of people have said, it has a weak antenna and I just sold it. I have a Nokia phone from T-Mobile (dumb phone; unlocked) and it pulls in such great signal. It's a 3g phone(?) though, but we all want/have 4g phones nowadays, right? (I know HSPA+ isn't real 4g, but I my point still stands) The Nokia was a Nokia N... something (can't remember... too lazy to look. ) and in some spots of my house, it easily pulls in five bars consistently and usually constantly stays on 3g while my Infuse was almost always on EDGE and even in some cases, GPRS. That's how bad it was. I'd get lucky to get three bars anywhere in my house with the Infuse, but with the Nokia, I can easily pull 3-5 bars. I know bars don't always mean everything, but with this phone, texts DO go through all the time (and quickly) and call quality is almost always perfect whereas the Infuse constantly dropped signal. The Nokia's kind of a 3g phone (I say that and there was a question mark early on in this post), but occasionally gets "3.5g" (which is most likely HSPA+). Normal 3g is HSUPA while enhanced (HSPA+) 3g is HSDPA. My question is can HSPA+ phones connect to AT&T's HSUPA towers? Or are the 3g towers all one tower? This sounds so basic even to me, but I'm just checking because I'm supposed to be getting a Galaxy S2 soon and I'm hoping its signal is almost (if not, the same) as good as the Nokia phone I'm using. And will I know if it's on HSUPA? The Nokia was usually on 3g, but occasionally said 3.5g and that must mean I don't have a lot of HSPA+ coverage in my area, right? AT&T's maps SAY I'm supposed to have a lot of HSPA+ coverage here though. I trust that the Galaxy S2 will have stronger signal strength?
Tl;dr: If I were to get a SGS2 or even a LG Thrill or Nitro (Definitely not getting them... they're just examples. No one has ever really said these LG phones have weak antennas along with the SGS2 save for wifi, but I don't really care about that.), would they get good HSPA+ signal like how the Nokia N- something gets good 3g signal or what? Not sure if this makes any sense still...
Other unimportant crap and thoughts to self: I used to think AT&T had horrible coverage (because I'd get lucky to get a decent signal with the Infuse), but after using this Nokia, it's the only reason I've convinced myself to get a different phone instead of switching to Verizon, which I KNOW is reliable. I was very impressed with the signal I was getting in the Nokia phone and was quick to decide to sell the Infuse and use the nokia as a temp until I get a SGS2. I saw some SGS2 vs Infuse vids and the SGS2 always had better signal. A lot of people have also said the Infuse had a weak antenna and the SGS2 was only weak on wifi, which I really don't care about at all. Definitely can't wait to get the SGS2 though.

Cheap, knockoff phablets that sacrifice the least performance

I was browsing the web earlier, looking for a cheap upgrade to my LG Nitro which is slowly getting on my nerves with its battery life. I came across these two phones, which are fairly impressive knockoffs of the Samsung Galaxy S4:
http://technokarak.com/orient-n9500-samsung-galaxy-s4-clone.html
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1qUhm...agon-v89-specs-samsung-galaxy-mega-clone.html
The Orient N9500 is most impressive, delivering similar performance as the S4 at only $234 USD. The only problem is that it doesn't support LTE, which for me is a total deal breaker living in one of the largest US metro areas.
Does anyone know of any similar knockoff phones and/or cheap phablets that support LTE? The Nexus 4 would be a no brainer with it's ROM support and quality at $299, but once again, no LTE.

Technocian said:
I was browsing the web earlier, looking for a cheap upgrade to my LG Nitro which is slowly getting on my nerves with its battery life. I came across these two phones, which are fairly impressive knockoffs of the Samsung Galaxy S4:
http://technokarak.com/orient-n9500-samsung-galaxy-s4-clone.html
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1qUhm...agon-v89-specs-samsung-galaxy-mega-clone.html
The Orient N9500 is most impressive, delivering similar performance as the S4 at only $234 USD. The only problem is that it doesn't support LTE, which for me is a total deal breaker living in one of the largest US metro areas.
Does anyone know of any similar knockoff phones and/or cheap phablets that support LTE? The Nexus 4 would be a no brainer with it's ROM support and quality at $299, but once again, no LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although the Orient / Star n9500 has a smaller battery than preferred for such a beefy package, I'm seriously considering it. If its relatively steady - and that price range - it will probably see massive outspread - wich means mods & ROM galore ^^,
As to LTE, You'll most likely have to look in a different price range, "china phones" targeted for international marked - as China wont be getting LTE services untill estm. early 2014. And The largest network provider by far, China Mobile - is backing LTE TDD - a different standard.

pr0xZen said:
Although the Orient / Star n9500 has a smaller battery than preferred for such a beefy package, I'm seriously considering it. If its relatively steady - and that price range - it will probably see massive outspread - wich means mods & ROM galore ^^,
As to LTE, You'll most likely have to look in a different price range, "china phones" targeted for international marked - as China wont be getting LTE services untill estm. early 2014. And The largest network provider by far, China Mobile - is backing LTE TDD - a different standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I assumed when they meant "Galaxy S4 clone" that it included the pentaband/multicarrier radio.
Oh well, the Orient is still amazing for the price and honestly HSPA+ really is good enough! If you are streaming Pandora and it never skips or buffers, you can't tell the difference between even a good EDGE connection and LTE unless you ran Speedtest. Wifi is the thing to be on anyways so you don't go over any data limits. I might go for it myself.

Kickstarter "petition" for QWERTY Android phone?

Hi everyone, my relay is approaching end of life and there is nothing on the market to replace it. There are so many OEMs and so many people who want a half decent Android QWERTY slider... I'm sure it's a matter of connecting demand and supply. Is there any platform similar to Kickstarter where you can "shop" or sell ideas, something like a petition to manufacturers? I'm sure a lot of people would commit $200 to a phone like this, the problem is that I cannot offer it myself since it's not my area of expertise...
Ideas welcome.
Cheers!

I'd sign that...

DITTO

Kickstarter doesn't really work for 'petitions', as the only people who can pick up the money involved is the project creators, and they'd be the only one who could deliver the goods, goals and other things associated.

I am in favour of such petition but it has no sense. Vendors will produce such device only if they feel demand of it. And if the demand will be sponsible. If no, they won't do it. And this type of devices is highly sophisticated therefore only great corporations (industry leaders) are able to produce it.
Nevertheless petition will help to make them sure in this demand.

Be aware that no one would be able to agree on the spec of it. Some people would say that the phone HAD to have a 6" or bigger screen, while others would say that the phone HAD to be no more than 4.5" diagonal, etc.
Then the manufacturers would release a phone of lesser spec than the Relay, somehow, like LG did with the feck.

I was thinking of switching to the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE for the slightly bigger screen and almost identical specs. The phone can be converted to use a SIM card, but the problem is with T-Mobile's use of 1700/2100 for HSPDA speeds while the Motorola does not support this unless I happen to get onto one of the refarmed EDGE networks.
In the end, it wasn't worth it so now I am waiting for another QWERTY phone as well. Another solution is to get a regular candybar phone and stick a bluetooth slider keyboard on it. Kind of crappy though.

John5788 said:
I was thinking of switching to the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE for the slightly bigger screen and almost identical specs. The phone can be converted to use a SIM card, but the problem is with T-Mobile's use of 1700/2100 for HSPDA speeds while the Motorola does not support this unless I happen to get onto one of the refarmed EDGE networks.
In the end, it wasn't worth it so now I am waiting for another QWERTY phone as well. Another solution is to get a regular candybar phone and stick a bluetooth slider keyboard on it. Kind of crappy though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no more sliders around. I was also picking up between relay and photon, chose the easier way (as I need sim card). Only LG F3Q, but its specs are rather worse then relay.

sorgo said:
There are no more sliders around. I was also picking up between relay and photon, chose the easier way (as I need sim card). Only LG F3Q, but its specs are rather worse then relay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5998&idPhone2=4914
True, but it has 4G LTE at the least. Might be worth to "upgrade" to for faster speeds.

Maybe we'll see a qwerty module for project ara: projectara.com - lets pray

John5788 said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5998&idPhone2=4914
True, but it has 4G LTE at the least. Might be worth to "upgrade" to for faster speeds.
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Click to collapse
4gb internal storage? even the reviews in lg site itself are against it.