Samsung's Galaxy S II gets reviewed, leaves us grinning

Score

4.7 stars
"Excellent"

(How we score)

Good design, brilliant display, very fast processor, solid 8mp camera with 1080p video recording, good battery life, improved user interface

Some Wi-Fi issues, no NFC support

Summary

Samsung's first generation Galaxy S flagship smartphone, and the myriad variants it spawned, helped drive Samsung to the top of the heap in the Android world. It was fast, had a great display, and offered a solid user experience in general.

Samsung's second time at bat, however, promises bigger and better things. The new Samsung Galaxy S II is even larger, yet much thinner, and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display and well over twice the processing power of the original.

With HSPA+ data support, slick new user interface features, and Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, the Galaxy S II establishes a new high-water mark that will force all other devices to scramble to stay afloat. For now, at least.

You'll find two videos of the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone in action after the Table of Contents, below.