My review of the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE

[howard]

Here’s my review of the Galaxy S II LTE. Over the past couple of months, Samsung has been filling out their Galaxy S II line. First we had an HSPA+ only version, then we got one that supports all North American HSPA+ frequencies and now we have an LTE version.

Like the rest of the Galaxy II line, the body of the Galaxy LTE appears to be made out of plastic. While I didn’t mind the dimpled plastic cover on the Galaxy S II (the ‘original one), the Galaxy LTE’s plastic cover has a faux metal finish that looks really cheesy. It isn’t flimsy, but the look leaves much to be desired. It doesn’t affect the performance of the phone but it does make it feel a little less special to use.

On the right side is the power/lock button

3.5mm headphone jack

Volume buttons

You get a 4.5” Super AMOLED plus display which has a resolution of 800x480. These days similarly sized displays can have resolutions of 960x540 or even 1280x720. I used the Galaxy LTE and the Galaxy Nexus (1280x720) side-by-side and to be honest, while there is definitely a difference in screen sharpness it’s not as much as you’d think. We’ve kind of reached a point where increases in resolution are having diminishing returns.

Resolution aside the screen looks fantastic. the black levels are so deep that sometimes I wonder if the screen is actually on. The viewing angles are amazing and the screen works well in direct sunlight. It’s so good that sometimes I forget it’s a real screen and not a dummy phone.

The camera has an 8mp imaging sensor which can also record video at 1920x1080. It has auto-focus along with an LED flash. Auto-focus speeds aren’t slow but they’re not as fast as the Motorola RAZR, HTC Raider or Galaxy Nexus. While focus speeds were a little slower than I’d like to see it’s generally quite accurate. I’ve noticed that cameras with faster focuses tend to trade speed for accuracy. Personally I’d like to have an option to choose between the two.

Image quality is great outdoors. Indoors the LTE tends to use slower shutter speeds, so some pictures turned out blurry. The camera can actually use up to ISO 800 but it doesn’t like to go that high. I’d trade slightly grainy pictures for a more usable camera any day of the week. Still, you can set the ISO manually but I’d like to see the default settings use them more often.

After you’ve snapped your photos there’s an included picture editor which I found useful. Besides being able to rotate and crop the image you can also create masks (it sort of works), change the colour (Saturation, Contrast, Brightness, Greyscale), and add effects (Blue, Lens, blur, Linear blur, Radial blur, Ghost effect, Speed lines effect). It’s not Photoshop but it seems appropriate for a smartphone.

I was annoyed that the camcorder records videos using only the pixels in the center of the sensor. This means videos are always ‘zoomed in’ which means that they’re more susceptible to vibration (like my shaky hands). It also means you have to stand further back from your subject than when you’re just taking pictures. The HTC Raider and Motorola RAZR both use all the pixels on their sensors when they record video, so they don’t have these problems. Video is captured at 1080p and is decent outdoors and average indoors provided you have enough light.

The front facing camera can not record video using the built in camera app.

Software-wise, the Galaxy has Android 2.3.5 aka Gingerbread, with Samsung’s Touchwiz user interface on top.

If you’ve never used Touchwiz before, the main menu resembles the iPhone in that the program list is split into separate screens. It also has four programs which persist across all main menu and home screens.

I wish Touchwiz’s lock screen had more functionality. Out of the box all you can do is swipe it to unlock the screen. You can’t use it to mute the phone, launch the camera, etc. Another extremely minor problem I have is that you have to give it a long swipe to unlock the device. If you just swipe it a little, it won’t unlock. I find that to be unintuitive.

It’s a simple feature but my favourite thing about Touchwiz, is that there’s an orientation lock when you pull the notification area down.

There are two English keyboards: One is from Samsung and the other is SWYPE. While a lot of people prefer SWYPE these days, I liked the Samsung one a lot. To get the most out of it I changed a few of the default settings (like turning on text prediction), but after that I find it works really well.

The email client (not the Gmail one) has a cool split screen feature in landscape mode. I’m a little disappointed that you can’t select text from an email unless you hit reply first.

Allshare is Samsung’s DLNA program. It’s useful for sending pictures and videos to your DLNA connected devices. It also has the ability to playback media stored on DLNA servers - I couldn’t get it to view any of the videos stored on my network.

One really cool feature is Kies Air. With it you can access the Galaxy LTE from a computer located on the same network. While it is activated, you can manage your photos, video, contacts, browser bookmarks, text messages, files, set your ringtones and browse your call log.

Kies Air is pretty comprehensive. It will let you upload files to the Galaxy LTE including videos, pictures and music. You can actually view/listen to photos, music and video stored on the phone FROM your computer browser. You can send SMS, save numbers to your phonebook, etc. - very cool!

There’s an IM program which supports Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. I like how it has a split screen option.

You also get a version of Quickoffice that can view as well as edit and create new files. It includes support for cloud based services like Box.net, Google Docs, Dropbox, huddle, SugarSync and mobileme. The Galaxy S II I tested a while back came with Polaris Office which only came with Box.net support.

I was impressed with the videos application. Besides allowing you to view videos you’ve taken with the Galaxy LTE, it does a surprisingly good job when it comes to viewing 720p mkv’s and 480p avi (divx) files. I like how pressing the power/lock button locks the hardware buttons when you’re viewing a video. It’s very handy since it’s easy to accidentally press the menu buttons.

There is NFC support which I tested with the Galaxy Nexus. What you can do is create a tag that you want to send. The tag can contain a url (like www.howardforums.com), text (Motel 8, room 7, what do you think?) or a contact from your phonebook. Presumably you can also use it with a payment service like Google Wallet, though I couldn’t test it myself.

The Galaxy supports LTE. I installed speedtest applications and saw speeds of up to 50mbps. I’m sure given the right circumstances it can reach 75mbps (Roger’s LTE’s maximum speed). You’re probably wondering why you actually need a phone that can download at 50mbps. First off, LTE doesn’t usually run this fast. Since LTE is still new and there aren’t a lot of customers on it, it’s blazing fast. It remains to be seen if a) Rogers will oversell the LTE network and b) Rogers’ will
upgrade their network to keep pace with demand.

One potential benefit for LTE is that for a given signal strength, it should be faster than an HSPA network. Indeed I’ve seen speeds of over 20mbps even with only 1 ‘bar’ of signal. The problem with this is that Rogers’ LTE runs on a different frequency from their HSPA. So, if you’re getting a slow connection due to weak HSPA signal there’s no guarantee that LTE will fix your situation. In fact, since LTE is still new on the network it’s probable that the LTE coverage in your area isn’t as dense.

Let’s not forget that carriers plans come with very little bandwidth. For example you could blow through 6GB of data in under 20mins at around 40mbs if you downloaded continuously. I like to think of it as having a car with a ridiculous amount of horsepower but only one gallon of gas. The information superhighway is vast but you’re not going to get very far with such a low limit.

To me LTE’s biggest problem is that I get excellent speeds with DC-HSPA+. It’s not usual for me to get 10mbps+. At that speed, it’s difficult to notice the difference between that and LTE for many applications.

So, while it’s nice to have LTE right now it’s not yet a must have feature.

There’s 16GB of built in storage of which only 11.2GB is available. I clocked the storage’s write speed at a blazing 10.8MB/s while the read was an equally impressive 17.7MB/s. I stuck a class 10 microSDHC in and observed similar results: 12.1MB/s write, 16.7MB/s read

Like most Samsung phones the Galaxy’s RF performance was average. I compared it with the Motorola RAZR (Which is outstanding) and the Galaxy dropped the call where the RAZR was still solid.

It's worth pointing out that the Galaxy can handoff from HSPA to LTE and back while maintaining an active data connection (ie streaming video). I've observed some LTE devices like the HTC Raider can not do this.

Incoming sound quality is good. Outgoing is average. Maximum earpiece volume is adequate.



Included is a 1850mAh battery which is almost as big as it gets - if I remember correctly on the ATRIX with it’s 1950mAh battery is larger. I’m not sure whether it’s because I don’t have LTE where I live, but the Galaxy LTE’s battery seems a little better than what I’m used to seeing from a high-end Android phone. That said you’ll still be charging it every night.

Motorola RAZR, Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Nexus, HTC Raider, Apple iPhone 4s

In a way the Galaxy S II LTE should be called the Galaxy S II.5 LTE because its got a few extra tricks that the regular Galaxy S II doesn’t have. Beside the LTE support it also has a bigger battery, NFC and WiFi direct.

Apple iPhone 4s, HTC Raider, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II LTE, Motorola RAZR

The past year has seen Android hardware improve at an unprecedented pace. We’ve gone dual core, 1GB RAM, HD displays, 8MP cameras and LTE. While I really enjoyed the Galaxy S II LTE, I also find the S II line getting a little long in the tooth. The display looks fantastic but at the same time it needs more resolution. It’s true we’re getting diminishing returns when it comes to screen resolution, but this is the Galaxy S line which has become the poster boy for high end Android devices. The camera which used to be about as good as it got on Android, has been surpassed by the ones in the HTC Raider and Motorola RAZR. I do like that it comes with LTE, NFC and WiFi direct. While they’re not yet critical features to have, they do future-proof the LTE to degree. I also think Touchwiz is due for an update. Besides the camera software the lock screen needs more functionality, but more importantly much of Touchwiz’s usability enhancements are now found in Ice Cream Sandwich.

Really, it feels like the Galaxy S II LTE is a tweener phone. A phone that’s kind of launched in between generations. It was launched a month or so too late. While I feel kind of silly saying that because one month isn’t a lot of time, Android hardware is currently moving that quickly. The Galaxy Nexus and a bunch of other 720p enabled phones, some of which run Ice Cream Sandwich... are just around the corner.

ups:
awesome screen
very fast storage/microSDHC slot
LTE support

downs:
plastic back cover looks and feels cheesy

interestingly:
WVGA on a 4.5” display is sharper than you’d think

[Furry Atom]

Good review. I totally get what you mean about the very little noticeable difference between DC-HSPA+ and LTE when loading webpages, I barely notice a difference. There is one thing though. Raw speed is good for webpages, but for things like video chatting and gaming if you're say..tethering to a laptop you also need low latency which LTE has a significant edge over HSPA with.

[Oettinger]

Great review! I learned a few things about this phone as I just got mine last week. Interesting to read that the RF radio is not as good as the Motorola Razr. The guys at Best Buy told me the Samsung has the better radio. Hmmmm

[howard]

Great review! I learned a few things about this phone as I just got mine last week. Interesting to read that the RF radio is not as good as the Motorola Razr. The guys at Best Buy told me the Samsung has the better radio. Hmmmm

They're probably referring to the fact that the Samsung can also use LTE.

[howard]

Heads up. I just updated my review with some information about how the Galaxy can stream a video and handoff from HSPA to LTE without any interruption to the video. The HTC Raider I tested a while back along with the Sierra Wireless 313U can't do this.

[HC - NO "i"]

Fellow HC,

Yeah, I was surprised by the HSPA < > LTE hand-offs last night too. However, the buffer holds certain amount of data when we stream those videos and it just reconnects after the hand-off taking place.

[tech4fun]

Wonder what WiFi direct does?

I own this device.

[big samm]

Wonder what WiFi direct does?

I own this device.

2 wifi direct devices can communicate between each other via wifi without a router


Sent from my iPhone 4s

[plumed]

Never knew what this feature was. Just checked youtube. It's such a cool feature! Basically, same thing as bluetooth sharing, except it's a direct wifi connection for blazing fast transfers! Cant wait to start using this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCEawDprnOQ

[Eluder]

2 wifi direct devices can communicate between each other via wifi without a router


Sent from my iPhone 4s

I thought it was only one device had to be wifi direct capable?

[hwforumer]

While I really enjoyed the Galaxy S II LTE, I also find the S II line getting a little long in the tooth.

Really, it feels like the Galaxy S II LTE is a tweener phone. A phone that’s kind of launched in between generations. It was launched a month or so too late.

I'm so sick of all my iPhone's tiny screens and would like to upgrade to the Samsung GSII, but like the reviewer said, maybe it's a phone that has arrived too late? Especially since I keep reading about Galaxy S III coming out soon with Quad-core and HD screen in early 2012. So is this still a good time to buy the G S II LTE? or should I wait for a few months for the G S III?

[tech4fun]

The next Galaxy phone in the series, the Samsung Galaxy S3, is rumoured to be ready for release in 2012. It is expected that the S3 phone will be availble in mid 2012 with a possibility of a release date earlier on in the year as well.

You will not see it in Canada until about this time next year and also it does not mention LTE

By the time you do see the devices here there will be rumours of a even newer device, you can not win.

[skipjacson]

Does this phone have LED notification?

[Oettinger]

Does this phone have LED notification?

Nope it doesn't.

[skipjacson]

Does the HTC Raider or Motorola Razer have it??