Samsung Galaxy S vs Samsung Galaxy S II

The Samsung Galaxy S enjoyed phenomenal success and received rave reviews ever since it was launched globally. Now Samsung has released the advanced version of its successful Galaxy S model, the Samsung Galaxy S II.

No wonder the Galaxy S lovers are expecting a lot from this new Android-powered device. And the onus now lies on to the the new Galaxy S II to show as to how far it can carry on the torch. We compare the specs of these devices to see what all new features are added to the new Galaxy S II.

Form
Samsung Galaxy S II - 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm, 116 g
Samsung Galaxy S - 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm, 119 g

The Galaxy S II has been tweaked a lot in comparison to the Galaxy S.

In terms of visual styling, many of them are quite subtle but the overall effect is very noticeable.

The S II is slightly larger but also slightly thinner than the Galaxy S, the S II is also a few grams lighter.

The thinner and longer shape of the S II has been combined with less rounded corners to make a sharp and distinctive silhouette which gives it a different appearance to the Galaxy S, the S II looks sleeker and more modern when you put them side-by-side, though you can still see the heritage.

They’re both very attractive handsets so it’s difficult to call but thinner and lighter is the order of the day with smartphones and the S II is both of these plus the refined styling makes it our preferred choice.

Winner – Samsung Galaxy S II

Display
As might be expected with phones in the same series, the touchscreens for these two models are virtually identical when you run down the list of features.

However, there are two relatively minor upgrades on the S II which give it the edge. First, let’s look at what they both have in common.

The Samsung Galaxy S II uses Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, where the Galaxy S takes of the 'Plus'.

Both include a 480x9800 pixel resolution and feature multitouch input, a ‘Gorilla Glass’ display which is supposedly scratch resistant and near unbreakable, an accelerometer and gyroscope for auto-rotate and Swype text input.

They both have a TouchWiz UI too but where the Galaxy S has version 3.0, the Galaxy S II has been updated with 4.0. The other area in which the Galaxy S II has been improved over the original is in having a 4.3-inch screen instead of the 4-inch of the Galaxy S.

Not a massive difference, but progress is progress however slight so again we have to go with the S II on this one.

Winner – Samsung Galaxy S II

Operating System
Both the Galaxy S’s are Android phones, the Galaxy S runs 2.1 Eclair but is upgradeable to 2.2 (Froyo) while the S II runs the latest version which is 2.3 Gingerbread.

Gingerbread is generally a big improvement on the Android system tweaking most of its features, notably the keyboard has received a welcome revamp, for example.

Gingerbread is the best smartphone version so far but it’s going to get replaced by the next version which will merge Gingerbread with the tablet-centric Honeycomb 3.0, it seems probable the S II will be able to upgrade to the new version when it releases and the improved tech in the S II should allow it to really fly under the new OS.

Winner – Samsung Galaxy S II

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