the Samsung Galaxy S2 is announced

[SubZero]

Samsung Dual Core Application Processor
Dedicated to speed, Samsung Dual Core Application Processor is based on Quad GPU and has 3200M pix/s. Clocking at lightening speeds the unrivaled performance of the Dual Core Application Processor provides unsurpassed functionality and density for faster downloads, quicker multi-tasking, a smoother UI, snappier streaming and highly efficient gaming. With encoding/decoding ability that supports video play and recording of all 1080p/30fps makes it no.1 among dual cores.

Check it :
http://galaxys2.samsungmobile.com/html/feature.html

Oh man that's awesome! thanks.

[Super Chimp]

Q2 Mate, nothing concrete I'm afraid.

As ever Expensys, sorry Expansys have the SGS II up for preorder at £649.99!! Release date cited as 18th April

They do seem to have some interesting pricing sometimes, though to be fair after a while they generally seem to be inline with the others.

[se_dude]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4177/s...00-benchmarked

So much for the Quad core gpu.

[Super Chimp]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4177/s...00-benchmarked

So much for the Quad core gpu.

Interesting to see how it compares to the 2x running 2.2.1.

[Jamdown]

I was going to get the sony xperia arc or htc dhd2 but am defo getting this sammy instead, I had the original galxy s but the lack of flash did drive me mad but this time it has a flash and much more. Well done sammy defo getting this phone on upgrade.

Sorry sony arc and dhd2 just got beaten.

[beatmag]

i had a question about touchwiz, and its removal.

when you use launcher pro. does that give you the vanilla android gui?

so there is no way to root it , and make it use the vanilla gui?

is there much difference with touchwiz and android gui? they can perform the same functionality right? and can use the same widgets???

[kII]

After watching a few hands on, there seems to be no HDMI port, rather disapointing. Why such a glaring ommission?

[MobileTopia7]

Anyone else notice this has USB OTG? Its in Samsungs official specs, so no heresay involved here. Definitely a plus for me.

USB OTG support? Really? I don't believe... would have to check that - does any USB OTG support anywhere exist for external CD/DVD/Blu-ray rom drives because I have many media on discs that I would like to read from and show to me HDTV (Samsung Galaxy S2 has HDMI support)

-superior to Tegra 2 and other dual-core soc's too or so I read.

i had a question about touchwiz, and its removal.

when you use launcher pro. does that give you the vanilla android gui?

NO, because other key elements of the Samsung GUI (menu's on menu key, notifications) is still there. LauncherPro and others just replace the desktop - which is what most users want to see a change in anyway.

so there is no way to root it , and make it use the vanilla gui?

Possible, but from rom/open-hacking scene

is there much difference with touchwiz and android gui? they can perform the same functionality right? and can use the same widgets???

native android gui = plain, less serious features, plain stock apps

touchwiz = more features (custom apps), same or increased functionality, less speed in UI (occasional lags), slower time for users to receive new android updates (samsung has to modify each touchwiz to take advantage of new android updates)

Basically many users who are fanatical android users prefer the vanilla build pre-loaded or just readilly accessible in their devices because of the faster direct offical android updates (not having to wait 2-3 months or longer going through the 'middle-man' like with touchwiz, htc sense, motoblur etc)

After watching a few hands on, there seems to be no HDMI port, rather disapointing. Why such a glaring ommission?

Likely HDMI support would be supported though the USB, like it was (later on) with previous Galaxy S. Fingers crossed.

Any info about the soc? is the graphics processor really adreno 205?

This phone is like the n95 of today, the do-it-all phone! but can ANYONE answer me whats the graphics processor in this?

Samsung Galaxy S2 is using the powerful Exynos processor (that was codenamed 'Orion')

-which is a supposedly superior soc over Tegra 2 and Iphone 4's A4. Supposedly superior to all other dual-core 1ghz soc's currently entering the market.

[MobileTopia7]

Found this from armdevices.net

Samsung Galaxy S2 has a MHL (Multimedia High-definition Link) connector, which basically allows the Micro-USB to do much more than just be a Micro-USB connector, it can for example output 1080p with a Micro-USB to HDMI cable, it can do USB host stuff such as USB keyboards, which basically means, if Samsung wants, they can make it do most of the things the Motorola Atrix 4G does. My understanding is Samsung’s Exynos is better than Nvidia Tegra2, has better/faster memory bandwidth, better graphics in ARM Mali-400 (did they say it does 320 Million triangles/polygons per second?). The units on display were hot, but that’s probably just cause of the hot lights and many people fondling them while launching videos and 3D stuff. It may also be I guess because the Exynos are pre-production and being over-clocked for good performance in these pre-production prototypes, but they told me that was not the case. The Linux kernel in S2 Gingerbread supports Dual-core, but I think Samsung and Google have plenty of software optimizations still to do to fully utilize the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 power. This might be what happens once 2.4 comes out with all the 3.0 tablet features and hardware acceleration but adapted for smartphones.

Galaxy S2 has TouchWiz 4.0 but like a previous poster wrote, I too, would be hooking up my favorite homescreen/desktop Android app - LauncherPro - along with BeautifulWidgets app. Isn't Android customization so exquisite

[MobileTopia7]

1080p Video shot capturd with Samsung Galaxy S2 (dutch guy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUqNUYsb7ZY

-video quality looks impressive
-finally no more sh**ty low quality AMR audio in recorded videos (thanks to Android Gingerbread's implementation of native .aac encoding support)
-Personally, I'd be just satisfied with 720p , but the 1080p support is excellent and progressive.
-Finally a smartphone with native 1080p decode, just wait until I start loading this baby with my mkv's and divx hd files - oh wee can't wait

I predict this smartphone is going to be a worldwide classic in our times. Just like previously classic mobile devices of times like Iphone, Sony Ericsson k800i, Nokia n95 etc

[se_dude]

Umm not really. Its hardly different from any other dual core phone already announced. You can say the Optimus 3d is a revelation coz there are no alternatives to it, but this phone doesnt deserve the N95 tag IMO. At that time, the N95 had no competition. Here, the competition trumps it at a few points.

[NZtechfreak]

Wee correction to a poster above - HDMI support for the original Galaxy S never happened (although the technical specs seem like it could have been supported from the hardware point of view).

Need further confirmation regards HDMI output here, but the armdevices.net info is promising if true (and would remove one anxiety about the device for me).

No reason to believe me about USB OTG, Samsung list it at the SGS2 official site.

[MobileTopia7]

This the offical website spec then (likely not finalized)
http://galaxys2.samsungmobile.com/ht...ification.html

Thanks for correcting me guys on some infos.

Need further confirmation regards HDMI output here, but the armdevices.net info is promising if true (and would remove one anxiety about the device for me).

How the fudge could Sammy not include some type of HDMI connectivity onto this? That would be extremely bad.

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Galax...y-S/m-p/655427

27-01-2011 10:54 PM
Re: HDMI for the Galaxy S

Guys, this has already been covered here

It was a big marketing ploy back in June/July which turned out to be the biggest joke. Loads of stores in the US started to stock these cables in anticipation. Loads of unofficial cables were made in the far east as well. All for nothing.

To my knowledge, Samsung have not got it to work and probably never will.

(I think they've been too busy trying to get froyo working properly on the Galaxy )

[NZtechfreak]

Certainly sounds as if an MHL connection should be possible via micro USB, now that I've done more digging, and armdevices had people on the floor at MWC, so they may have heard this from the horses mouth as it were.

EDIT: Seems HDMI via the micro USB is indeed official. The specs listed in the press materials and the main official site differ slightly, in each case they have details the other does not. In this case the feature MHL is listed in the press material specs, MHL is Mobile High-definition Link, and supports HDMI out via Micro USB connection.

[MobileTopia7]

EDIT:
Can't wait for the GPU soc benchmarks between Samsung's vs. Tegra 2 and other dual-core 1ghz - I hope Samsung triumphs.

Certainly sounds as if an MHL connection should be possible via micro USB, now that I've done more digging, and armdevices had people on the floor at MWC, so they may have heard this from the horses mouth as it were.

EDIT: Seems HDMI via the micro USB is indeed official. The specs listed in the press materials and the main official site differ slightly, in each case they have details the other does not. In this case the feature MHL is listed in the press material specs, MHL is Mobile High-definition Link, and supports HDMI out via Micro USB connection.

Ah that sounds better (sighs). Permission to calm down now from panic?

[MobileTopia7]

Someone raised a very good question on another forum, by asking:

"Is it possible to also use your charger to keep the phone powered while watching a movie through usb-to-hdmi"

That question was on a topic directed towards the previous Galaxy S at the announcement of a cable for that.

It's a valid question and should be considered for this latest Galaxy S2. Imagine watching lots of clips or Hi-def 1080p vids on your HDTV through the cable from your Galaxy S2 and the battery runs out on you. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a solution to defeat that? Perhaps if this hopeful 'MicroUsb to HDMI' hopeful featured two usb plug-ins and not just one (like an OTG cable). Or maybe Samsung have planned to create a docking station device for the Galaxy S2 which would make multiple connections such a breeze...

[NZtechfreak]

In the specifications for MHL (checked at Wikipedia, should probably keep looking for a better source), it says that charging whilst using HDMI out is supported in MHL.

Still, I'd really like to see a demo to be sure (or even to know what the contents of the retail package would be, obviously the inclusion of a Micro USB-HDMI cable would seal the deal).

[Awesome_Aleks]

Among the many features of this phone that really impress me (32GB of memory PLUS a microSD!?!), and the USB OTG functionality, it's actually the NFC technology that has me very curious

In Australia, we are now getting Visa Paywave machines, which work by passing your credit card/debit card past the scanner, I have seen these at plenty of big stores, so it is definitely gaining traction, but would it be possible to get the phone to act as your credit card? This is how it seems to me on the official images, I'm just curious if VISA were to be using some sort of proprietary technology.

Definitely something for me to research, but I think this is a REALLY cool feature (one that had been done in Japan until now admittedly) and I always assumed it would only be able to connect to your phone bill, and add the payment to that.

[Super Chimp]

Among the many features of this phone that really impress me (32GB of memory PLUS a microSD!?!), and the USB OTG functionality, it's actually the NFC technology that has me very curious

In Australia, we are now getting Visa Paywave machines, which work by passing your credit card/debit card past the scanner, I have seen these at plenty of big stores, so it is definitely gaining traction, but would it be possible to get the phone to act as your credit card? This is how it seems to me on the official images, I'm just curious if VISA were to be using some sort of proprietary technology.

Definitely something for me to research, but I think this is a REALLY cool feature (one that had been done in Japan until now admittedly) and I always assumed it would only be able to connect to your phone bill, and add the payment to that.

Actually the version currently on sale is the 16Gb version in the UK and there is no sign of a 32Gb other than one listing on one website. TBH it's probably cheaper to buy this version plus a large memory card than the other. I suspect like with the original GS we will not see much of the 32Gb version at least in the UK.

[NZtechfreak]

It may well end up a carrier exclusive in most locales, just as the 16GB SGS was...

[Super Chimp]

It may well end up a carrier exclusive in most locales, just as the 16GB SGS was...

I bet it will. With the GS Vodafone in the UK took the 16Gb exclusive.

[WhiteHartMart]

Well its this or the SE Arc for me.

Choice of which will depend on 2 things only:-

1. Camera quality
2. Audio quality (via H/Phones)

Leaning towards SE this time tbh - Omnia 7 audio quality was not quite as good as I had hoped.

[Alpha Trion]

Among the many features of this phone that really impress me (32GB of memory PLUS a microSD!?!), and the USB OTG functionality, it's actually the NFC technology that has me very curious

In Australia, we are now getting Visa Paywave machines, which work by passing your credit card/debit card past the scanner, I have seen these at plenty of big stores, so it is definitely gaining traction, but would it be possible to get the phone to act as your credit card? This is how it seems to me on the official images, I'm just curious if VISA were to be using some sort of proprietary technology.

Definitely something for me to research, but I think this is a REALLY cool feature (one that had been done in Japan until now admittedly) and I always assumed it would only be able to connect to your phone bill, and add the payment to that.

"NFC (Near Field Communication)
Leave your wallet at home. The Samsung GALAXY S II has it in hand. It will house NFC short-range high frequency wireless communication technology for contactless credit card payments. It can communicate with existing smartcards and readers and is compatible with existing contactless infrastructure for public transportation and payment systems. Use NFC for secure purchasing, ticket reservations, as a transit pass, or even for electronic door entry. You can even scan smart tags on posters or billboards to download the details to your phone. That's Samsung smart!"

http://galaxys2.samsungmobile.com/html/feature.html

In london we have Oyster cards - pre-payment cards used to pay by 'swipe' on bus/trains etcs, apparently NFC can be used to replace these. Its still early days but like you said VISA is currently trialing payment structures all over the world right now.

[oneclick]

Among the many features of this phone that really impress me (32GB of memory PLUS a microSD!?!), and the USB OTG functionality, it's actually the NFC technology that has me very curious

In Australia, we are now getting Visa Paywave machines, which work by passing your credit card/debit card past the scanner, I have seen these at plenty of big stores, so it is definitely gaining traction, but would it be possible to get the phone to act as your credit card? This is how it seems to me on the official images, I'm just curious if VISA were to be using some sort of proprietary technology.

Apple is not going to like that. NFC is one of the "new" features rumored to be introduced in the iPhone 5. From the rumors, they have been already conducting tests with Visa about using it for mobile payments.



Sent from my Mini using Tapatalk

[Alpha Trion]

Apple are are in a better situation to take NFC mainstream as well because they already have your credit/debit card details linked to your itunes account.

Anyway Back on topic, the USB OTG is in then official specs but as a few have said i'm struggling to find confirmation on the HDMI.

[MobileTopia7]

In london we have Oyster cards - pre-payment cards used to pay by 'swipe' on bus/trains etcs, apparently NFC can be used to replace these. Its still early days but like you said VISA is currently trialing payment structures all over the world right now.

Yes, I'm a London-er (from London) too. Would be interesting to see the technology take foot and how it may replace Oyster's.

[MobileTopia7]

Well done Samsung. They've only gone and done a spitting image of the Iphone line (duh, everyone knows that);

Actually the version currently on sale is the 16Gb version in the UK and there is no sign of a 32Gb other than one listing on one website. TBH it's probably cheaper to buy this version plus a large memory card than the other. I suspect like with the original GS we will not see much of the 32Gb version at least in the UK.

Of course. 32gb or no 32gb out of the box at least it would still come pre-loaded with free 'gigabytes' to use anyway WITH further expansion support for even larger gig memory cards. Unlike HTC Desire eh.

I tell you that the East is much more ahead on tech than the west is because although HTC is eastern company too (Taiwan) they are still corporately more 'Americanized' in their development of devices whereas Samsung seems not to be. Hence the different types of thinking in the markets - the Chinese/Japanese/Korean's etc I notice desire the very latest in high-end technology devices with as many features, codecs supported as possible 'out of the box'. Just my two cents (I mean pennies, I'm British).

[MobileTopia7]

Ok, in the media support for GS2 I see 'FLAC' audio file support but see no mention of 'MKV' 'FLV' file containers or the Sorenson codec support. I hope GS2 maintains native support of these containers and codecs just as the previous Samsung GS had.

Additionaly would be super cool if Samsung had On2 VP6 + VP6 alpha codec support too, I got quite a few high quality FLV videos that I've ripped from the web in that format and so far on Windows the only smoothest media player to play them back without hitch is SPlayer (shooter player) - it's a classier offshoot of MPC-HC. RockPlayer on Android (being ffmpeg based) supports VP6 but with lot's lag probably due to lack of GPU acceleration support in the RockPlayer app. that rbings me to another point to make about Samsung's latest dual-core soc, will they open up the API's for developers of Android native apps to use?

[Super Chimp]

I see its price on Clove has gone up to £528. Hope that's not the final price.

[stoosh]

I see its price on Clove has gone up to £528. Hope that's not the final price.

It should drop, I think they're reacting to the preorder price offered by Expansys.

[Jamdown]

It doesn't matter to me that this does't have a HDMI port my n8 has one, which I don't even use as yet. I just want a android phone for games and music. Not saying the n8 isn't good for those things but for gaming there are more free ones on the android store. At the moment I am aiming for the GS2 but when the GS2, the ARC and the DHD2 come out all I am going to do is check the music quality and how loud the speakers are and which ever is the best I will take that one.

But having had the previous GS and the WAVE I know the audio quality and speakers on samsung phones are good plus I like the concert hall setting in music eqaulizer also HTC phones have good speakers and music quality. The DHD has good music quality but the speaker isn't that loud, so Ill have to test the dhd 2 on that one.

As for the X10 I was not impressed with that personally it had good bass but it wasn't loud enough in headsets from my pov and the lack of eqaulizer pre sets is a big no no for me also I didnt find the speaker that loud on the phone either, so also have to test the arc out aswell after hearing from the press release on the sony ericsson website that it does actually have a music eqaulizer but haven't seen any videos etc of the music player to support this claim but coming from the sony ericsson website them selves I have no reason not to believe it.
Roll on say April Ill be having fun in the vodafone store in oxford street.

[stoosh]

Wonder if an early March release holds true for this bad boy?!

[Awesome_Aleks]

Jamdown

The Xperia Arc definitely has an Equaliser, I've seen a picture of it

If you were looking at phones good for gaming, I would have thought the Xperia Play would have been a contender? Surely its audio quality would match the Xperia Arc

[MobileTopia7]

Samsung Galaxy S2 Full Preview HDblog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6ArhGAne5I

another Italian reviewer over this device @ MWC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVXFRDpzUfM

(check out the football/socer game he's playing on the GS2)

[NZtechfreak]

I'm as certain as you can be without physically having one to test that this will have the same codec support as the current Galaxy S. Their video player is the same across Android and Bada devices, and they tend to roll updates across them all so that they have the same player (for instance the current level of codec compatibility and subtitle support first came in the Wave II, and was then released to the SGS via the 2.2.1 update afterwards). I can't see them changing this now.

[NZtechfreak]

Wow, check this out!

Confirmation of MHL in SGS2, and lots of juicy details, this is a technology that I find extremely exciting.

[MobileTopia7]

Wow, check this out!

Confirmation of MHL in SGS2, and lots of juicy details, this is a technology that I find extremely exciting.

Holy macaroni

That video just put to rest all my worries concerning the Micro-USB to HDMI support in this Samsung Galaxy S2. Thank you NZtechfreak

Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) ---> Micro-USB to HDMI

"the tv will charge the device while your using it"........"the TV's that will have MHL support in them will"

Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) 1.0
"it would do uncompressed 7.1 surround sound 8 channel"

2.0
'3D support and networking may come'

I quoted what the rep said, so basically MHL supported TV's would provide charging 'at that same time' as watching movies, pictures etc over the HDMI on your TV - because of course the charging power will be drawn from the TV itself.

Additionally he went on to show what looked liked a second alternative Micro-USB to HDMI (mhl) adaptor, that would support current HD televison's and could still offer the plug in ability to use your smartphone's charger in the adaptor.

EDIT
The MHL doesn't support it's own USB OTG which means on the Galaxy S2 only one of each can be used separately not at the same time. This understandable as MHL is not focused on usb but on uncompressed audio/video sending to hdmi 'using' usb.

Wow, only too excited about this piece of technology, now I can throw away my Chinese imported Ainol V900hda media player as the Galaxy S2 is going to be my true PMP device all-in-one.
same link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtwTcnR0hqA

[MobileTopia7]

[MobileTopia7]

Right,

Will Samsung provide a USB Otg cable WITH the same ability as the MHL lead to charge the device while hosting the user's plugged in usb stick, hdd etc? OR will that charging power be reserved for powering the plugged in USB device that's being hosted? USB Otg Y-cable - would be awesome if Samsung provided a Usb Otg cable later or out-the-box with the Galaxy S2 that was capable of both charging the smartphone device + powering the pluged in Usb device via a powerful enough AC adaptor that would go into 1of2 end of the OTG cable.


Streaming 1080p MKV files over wireless DLNA from Galaxy S2 to HDTV should be a breeze??

Excuse my post bumps, I am so elated with optimism at all the technology here

[Jamdown]

Jamdown

The Xperia Arc definitely has an Equaliser, I've seen a picture of it

If you were looking at phones good for gaming, I would have thought the Xperia Play would have been a contender? Surely its audio quality would match the Xperia Arc

The xperia play is not for me unfortunately, I don't like it do not like the look of it or anything.
If I was to get an xperia device it would have to be the Arc no doubt, the neo and the play etc are not my cup of tea.
In terms of audio quality just because they are practically same hardware etc doesn't mean the audio wil be the same. Example the N8, C7 and C6-01 ar practically the same underneath yet for music in headphones and loud speaker imo it goes the N8, C7 then C6 - 01 have listened to the same songs on each device on the same settings etc and that is the result imo and there is differences in the volume.

As I have stated before I am in favour of the GS2 atm as i liked almost everything about the GS1 except the lack of camera flash spoiled it for m, so I chose the Wave instead which which I also noticed was slightly louder than the GS1 for music aswell.
But I will wait until the GS2, DHD2 and Arc are in the shops then I will have a play with all of them and decide then which to choose.


BTW do you have a link or the site of where you saw the pic of the Arcs music player, eqalizer. I have been looking for one for ages and haven't found one, thanks in advance.

[Super Chimp]

But I will wait until the GS2, DHD2 and Arc are in the shops then I will have a play with all of them and decide then which to choose.

If you're going to insist on waiting for the DHD2 then it seems be prepared for a longish wait!

[Jamdown]

I am not due for upgrade until august though which is still quite a way away.
Also found this on gsm arena
http://www.gsmarena.com/does_samsung...-news-2335.php

[S A M S U N G]

Full Official specifications Samsung I9100



And MHL in the list

[McKinley]

Streaming 1080p MKV files over wireless DLNA from Galaxy S2 to HDTV should be a breeze??

You are thinking waaaaaaay too big here with your desire of streaming MKV files at 1080p.

Have you got any clue what kind of connection you need, to be able to do that wihout any compression?

[NZtechfreak]

The specs list above is the one I referred to earlier.

Regards 1080p streaming - I think he doesn't mean streaming, but via the MHL cable, which it should indeed do with ease. In fairness to him, I think that is pretty clear from the context.

EDIT: New example camera shots and 1080p video at GSMarena, looking good.

EDIT EDIT: Just ordered mine from Clove. Usual review will come once I get the device in my hands, feel free to ask questions.

[SubZero]

So when is this released? I hope its released during the time im in dubai so I can buy it.

[Alpha Trion]

Those two "buttery smooth" videos taken by GSMarena as mentioned by NZtechfreak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgLy0...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EljP...layer_embedded

looking very very good

[beatmag]

i want the tegra2 version.......

wonder where and when we can get that,,,,,

[MoeOz]

i want the tegra2 version.......

wonder where and when we can get that,,,,,

Does Samsung have a Tegra 2 Galaxy S II I9103 in line too?

Samsung's Tegra 2 Superphone: The GT-I9103

The GT-I9100 is the normal Exynos based Galaxy S II, the I9103 is the Tegra 2 edition. Samsung lists its own dual-core Application Processor in the Galaxy S II as not being used in all regions. It's too early to tell if that means that we'll get Tegra 2 or Exynos depending on physical region.

I suspect Samsung didn't want to confuse users by announcing both a Tegra 2 and an Exynos based superphone at MWC. An unknown user managed to benchmark the GT-I903 at MWC and submitted the data to the GLBenchmark database. The GT-I9103's performance looks comparable to the Atrix 4G, meaning it's going to deliver the same experience we've seen in our Optimus 2X and Atrix 4G articles.

[Slycer]

Why would you want the Tegra 2 version? How much would it differ from the Orion version?