Samsung has finally added a good-looking set of widgets for the clock, calendar, and social items. The silly iPhone-like icon boxes and other iOS copycat features are gone, replaced by a more colorful, and feature-rich interface. We haven’t loved previous versions of TouchWiz as much as the default Android interface, or HTC’s Sense UI, but TouchWiz 4.0 is a big improvement. The Galaxy S II runs on the speedy Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), topped off with Samsung’s newest custom interface: TouchWiz 4.0. Luckily, it looks like the torture is over. We might lose it if we see another Android 2.2 (Froyo) phone hit the market. Operating system: Android 2.3 with TouchWiz 4.0 Assuming Google Wallet actually takes off, you should be able to run it on this phone. The phone is as powerful as anything on the market, and more powerful than almost all competitors. The 4.3-inch screen uses Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus technology and has a resolution of 480 x 800. It runs a 1.2GHz dual-core Samsung Exnyos processor, has 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The Galaxy S II has great specs, but they’re similar to every other dual-core phone that’s been hitting the market in the last couple of months. The speaker tends to go completely quiet if you block it with a finger, as well. While we don’t expect much out of smartphone speakers, this one is in a place easily blocked by hands or anything the phone happens to be lying on. Our only complaint is that, like the Infuse, the Galaxy S II only has one anemic little speaker on the back, bottom left of the unit. The front and rear cameras are nicely placed. Power aside, there is a stereo audio jack up top, a volume rocker on the left side, and a micro USB charging port on the bottom center. For those of us with normal-sized hands, the new location of the power button takes some getting used to, though we wouldn’t consider it a terrible design choice. We’re not quite sure why, but it might be for the benefit of those with smaller hands. The power button is on the right side of the phone, but it’s a bit smaller and placed lower than on most phones. The shell is a glossy slate-grey plastic, with a textured back panel that snaps off to reveal the battery, SIM, and microSD card. The camera protrudes a couple millimeters, but it’s almost flush with the back of the unit as well. Other than a slight protrusion at the bottom for the speaker and antenna, the back of the unit is pretty flat. The Galaxy S II weighs about a third of a pound (4.3 ounces) and measures about a third of an inch (0.35) thick. We wish Samsung didn’t use so much plastic in its phones, but we’ve begun to warm to the tradeoff, considering how incredibly thin and light the S II is. Like the Infuse, the Galaxy S II is a good-looking phone. Left: Samsung Galaxy S II, Right: Samsung Infuse 4G And the S II has roughly double the processing power, but we’ll get into that later. It has almost the same exact design, with one small difference: The Galaxy S II has a 4.3-inch screen, while the Infuse 4G had a 4.5-inch. The Galaxy S II is actually almost identical to the Infuse 4G. If the Galaxy S II looks familiar to you, it’s not because you’re crazy. The Samsung Galaxy S II was announced way back in January at CES, and has been out around the world since April, but we’re only just now getting a taste of the Korean manufacturer’s flagship phone here in the States.
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