These two buttons light up for a few moments after you press them, but otherwise they're invisible. This makes the S2 look stealthy and cool, but it means that you have to memorise where the buttons are. That's not tough once your muscle memory is used to the S2, but it can be disorientating at first. If it bothers you, dig down into the display settings to turn the lights on for longer, or all the time. The volume rocker button on the left-hand side of the phone sticks up enough to use easily, without ruining the S2's sleek lines.
The power button, which doubles as the unlock button, is also on the left, rather than the top, where it has come to rest on many other smart phones. The button is big enough, but we found it awkward to press it and then unlock the phone, by swiping the screen, if we were operating the S2 with one hand.
The Galaxy S2 is one of the most desirable phones running Google's Android operating system. The fact that it's Google-powered means this phone works best if you have a Google account -- in fact, you must sign in with your Google account before you can even use some features, like the Android Market.
If you've got a few different Google accounts -- one for work and one for home, for example -- the phone can support all of them. But we'd suggest picking one main one, and logging into that first. That's the account that will be linked with all the apps you buy, so you can restore them if you need to swap phones or reset your S2 to its factory settings.
Having Android on-board means the Galaxy S2 is packed with useful features, from Google Maps to free turn-by-turn navigation software. Google even gives its email program, Gmail, special treatment, keeping its own app separate from the app that supports other types of email, such as POP and Outlook mail. This separation of email apps can be annoying, but Google says it's necessary because it has to support Gmail's unique features, such as archiving mail instead of deleting it.
It's a valid point, and the bespoke Gmail app is better at reproducing the online experience than other email clients. But, if you're used to being able to see all your accounts in a unified inbox, like on BlackBerry phones , you'll be disappointed.
Next page: Samsung Galaxy S2 screen and battery life. The Galaxy S2's screen is its crowning glory. It's truly epic, nudging into tablet territory, at 4. We still had no trouble packing the S2 into our pocket, though, since the bezel around the screen is narrow and the phone is so thin.
We did, however, have nightmares about the phone snapping in two like an After Eight mint when we sat down. We can vouch for the fact that it's eye-searingly bright in dim environments, and it's possible to use it in very bright sunlight as long as it's turned up to maximum brightness. The brightness of the screen is also its undoing if you like realistic-looking images.
Colours look stunning but they're far too oversaturated. Images and videos generally look brighter and more saturated than they would on a monitor or TV screen. Pixel count stands at x, which equates to pixels per inch. This pales next to the ppi on the iPhone 4S. Compared to an LED screen like the one on the iPhone, the Galaxy S2 seeks to blow your eyeballs away, rather than massage them with a realistic image.
Still, we don't think the screen will annoy anyone except those who are obsessed with calibrating the colour temperature of their monitor.
As an added bonus, the S2's display floats spookily close to the top of the glass front of the phone, which lends it an extremely classy veneer.
It's something we also appreciated on the oozing-with-class Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. The viewing angle is very wide, so you'll be able to appreciate every colour and hue even if you're not looking at the screen dead on. With a smart phone this light and with so much resource-guzzling tech inside, the battery life was a pleasant surprise. We'd wager you'll still want to top this bad boy up every night, but, based on our tests, a full day's use shouldn't be a problem.
There's an automatic battery-saving mode that comes in very handy, and it can be customised to kick in at whatever point suits you. This feature is much more extensive than other battery-saving modes we've seen on phones like the HTC Desire HD , and it's a real help on a phone this powerful.
There's also a home-screen widget that keeps its eye on your various apps and warns you when one is consuming more battery power than it should. Watch out when the battery is completely discharged. Our S2 took forever to wake up after we plugged it in when the battery was totally flat.
If you're frantically stuffing in more juice in the hope of not missing an important call or text, that's torture. The Galaxy S2 swaggered through our barrage of benchmark tests, coming out ahead of much of its dual-core competition. In the Neocore and Softweg graphics tests, it didn't quite have its own way, but it still put in a strong showing.
In the overall Quadrant test, it was the clear winner among the phones we tested. You have the choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal memory, which means there's loads of space for storing your photos, music and apps. There's also a microSD slot that comes with an 8GB card in it, so you can pump the storage space up even more. You'll have to take out the battery to swap the card, though. We tested the slot with a 32GB card that worked in several other Android phones and the S2 struggled at first to scan it.
But, once we'd reformatted the card in our computer, it worked without a hitch, so try that if you have problems. Unlike the original Galaxy S, which was inaudible when making calls unless you lined the speaker up with your lughole exactly, the Galaxy S2 is wonderfully loud.
Even in windy environments, our caller's voice was as clear as clingfilm over a toilet seat. The vibration intensity wasn't as bold, though, and we found that we often missed calls when the phone was on silent. As we mentioned earlier, we'd also suggest changing the ring tone to something less soothing that the default option.
The 8-megapixel camera on the back takes high-quality shots. We were impressed with both the quality of images and the camera software itself, which features a broad array of scene modes and options if you fancy delving into them. Take a look at these sample shots to see if you agree -- click each one to see the full-sized original. The camcorder mode shoots p video, which plays back smoothly, and looks very crisp.
The Galaxy S2's snapper isn't as capable as a decent compact digital camera , but, for capturing decent photos and videos quickly, it's a worthy substitute. Samsung is very keen that you use its syncing software, Kies, to transfer files between your phone and your computer. The software has been very buggy in the past, but there are plenty of ways to get around it. Thankfully, Samsung doesn't require that you plug your phone into your computer to update your version of Android.
Instead, head over to the 'about phone' section of the settings to perform an over-the-air update. Note that Samsung still doesn't like to make this too easy for you -- you have to register for a Samsung account before you can proceed to the download.
We recommend that this is the first thing you do when you get the phone, since the brand-new samples that we tested all had software updates waiting for them straight out of the box. To get photos and videos off your phone, you can send them straight from the phone to the email recipient, website or social network of your choice. But this can be confusing, since the options are split between two menus.
When looking at a photo in the gallery, you can either tap the 'send via' button on the screen to use Gmail, MMS messaging or wireless transfer over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. If you're looking for non-Gmail email, Facebook, Twitter or wireless transfer over Allshare DLNA, you must tap the menu key and then choose 'share via'.
This is the type of menu madness that can sometimes ruin the fun of the Galaxy S2. If you fancy connecting the Galaxy S2 with a cable -- to transfer photos in bulk, for example -- it's possible to tiptoe through its folders just as if it were an external hard drive, without using Kies. If you just stick the USB cable in, Kies will launch automatically, so don't do that.
Instead, browse to the 'wireless and network' settings and select 'USB utilities'. Tap the connection button before you plug in the cable, and then you're ready. Unfortunately, you have to do this every time, and there are a flurry of confirmation screens to get through, but, once you're up and running, you can see all the folders on your microSD card and the phone's internal memory.
There's more -- you can also use Kies Air to trawl through your phone over Wi-Fi. It's very simple to use. When you open the app from the phone, you'll be given an IP address to visit. Type this out on your PC or Mac, and you'll see an exploded view of your phone in your browser, from which you can upload or download media, stream music saved on the phone and even send text messages. It's a cool feature, radically more useful than the Kies desktop software, and, because it uses your Web browser, you can use it anywhere without having to download bulky programs.
The Galaxy S2's keyboard offers a smorgasbord of options. The default keyboard is a standard Qwerty affair with number shortcuts along the top row. Galaxy S II in white Mass g 4. You need to copy and paste SlimSaber Android 4. Turn off the Galaxy S2 after it has been disconnected. When the Samsung logo appears, press and hold the volume up, home, and power keys at the same time until you are in Recovery Mode. You can update your Android version on your Galaxy Tab S2 9. The Settings App should then be found and opened.
You will then be able to choose Software Update. You will then be able to download and install the program. Watch how to update software on samsung galaxy s2 gt i Video. This includes some landscape display options that let you split the keyboard in half for easier use, loads of themes and its well-known ability to "learn" your typing style by analysing your texts and social media posts. The free trial lets you see if it works for you for one month, after which you'll have to chuck some money at it to unlock the full release.
The Galaxy S II had the best camera on it by far back in the day by which we mean two years ago , and the output from its 8-Megapixel sensor is still better and brighter than that of many of the cameras that come in today's new smartphones. Get even more out of it by installing Camera MX, which, among many, many other features, includes a filter option that lets you create madly fashionable tilt shift images, making people look like toys and cars resemble matchboxes with Smarties for wheels.
It also adds filters to images live, as you take them, so you can set up a favourite effect and have it applied to your snaps by default with no post-production fiddling required.
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