Sometime in the next few months I will be buying a new large smartphone... my nokia n900 just isn't doing it for me anymore.
I'm leaning towards a 4.3 or 4.5 inch smartphone as something to blur the line between smartphone and tablet. The other requirement is that the phone be compatible with squareup's credit card reader (I may be opening my own business as a solo soon) which nixes all windows phones.
I currently live in an area with ~200,000 people which no carrier as announced plans to bring 4g too... anyway 3g is fast enough for any feature I would use on the phone.
I suppose the point of the above ramble is to point about that the Galaxy S 2 looks like a contender, I just wish I knew what was upcoming in the pipeline.
Phonescoop, phonearena, and engadget mobile tend to give an outlook on future devices, though they are all speculative as handset manufacturers and providers have final say on when a device is released.
You'll always be waiting for a phone of the future but this phone is very good now. 2 years from now, you won't be laughed at for having a Galaxy S II.
I'm not sure what you can take from not yet being listed by anyone for 4g expansion plans. AFAIK VZW hasn't published any detailed 2012 plans, but with a goal of full coverage sometime in 2013 I'd expect to see most places that aren't minimally inhabited cornfields/forests to get their 4G coverage next year.
I've also got a N900 which is sadly feeling pretty old given support has been dropped for a long time, I've tried both a Galaxy S2 and Sensation and while the Galaxy was very impressive I don't know if I can live without a keyboard. Annoyingly we're not getting the Droid 3 in the UK or so it seems as that seems the closest replacement for the N900.
Every windows phone 7.0 phone only have a adreno 200 GPU. And you(Anand) described the user interface "liquid". I have a HTC mozart and every microsoft developed app runs at 60 fps. Even the 1. generation iphone does have enough gpu "horsepower" and memory bandwidth to scroll at 60 fps (480x320).
I would not blame the scrolling performance on the hardware.
It's stated both here and in the review that the Android UI and browser are GPU accelerated on most Android phones. It's not just the hardware here that makes it smooth. But so far Samsung have done the best job of accelerating the UI.
By default Android 2.3 is not GPU accelerated so it's left up to the manufacturers. But Android 3.0 on tablets is GPU accelerated by default. Icecream Sandwich will surely bring GPU to phones without the manufacturer having to do it.
I've also tested this by clocking my own GSII down to 800MHz using the Set CPU app, and even at this speed it's just as smooth as any iPhone. Even at 500MHz it's still good. So it's not just the hardware, it is actually GPU accelerated.
I do think it's taken Google WAY too long to get GPU acceleration though.
I don't agree. Google aimed Android to run on as much hardware as posible, Adding GPU acceleration would have made the task much harder just look at how many SOC's WP7 runs on.
I would rather have the huge choice hardware & features then the superficial Smooth UI of the other OS'es
60 fps is VERY underrated by the tech savy. I have a windows phone 7 and a HP touchpad(had pre plus before the wp7). And navigating through the wp7 is so much faster. I am not talking about loading, but navigating through lists.
And who cares what SoC is behind the screen if a higly optimized OS performes better with a 6-12 months old SoC than a unoptimized energy eating expensive SoC?
Totally agree. There's nothing "superficial" about an interface that is smooth and fluid.
When I play with an iphone it actually feels like I'm manipulating an object that's directly beneath the screen. This was on my old 3GS from 2009. Compare that to my current Samsung Fascinate (galaxy s) and the iphone (and WinMo7 for that matter) is so much smoother.
A laggy interface just feels flaky, old, and instable. Reminiscent of the BSOD days from the 90s. I love Android but they better stop the choppiness by the time my contract runs out. :p
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claytontullos - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
Sometime in the next few months I will be buying a new large smartphone... my nokia n900 just isn't doing it for me anymore.I'm leaning towards a 4.3 or 4.5 inch smartphone as something to blur the line between smartphone and tablet. The other requirement is that the phone be compatible with squareup's credit card reader (I may be opening my own business as a solo soon) which nixes all windows phones.
I currently live in an area with ~200,000 people which no carrier as announced plans to bring 4g too... anyway 3g is fast enough for any feature I would use on the phone.
I suppose the point of the above ramble is to point about that the Galaxy S 2 looks like a contender, I just wish I knew what was upcoming in the pipeline.
Omega215D - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
Phonescoop, phonearena, and engadget mobile tend to give an outlook on future devices, though they are all speculative as handset manufacturers and providers have final say on when a device is released.dagamer34 - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
You'll always be waiting for a phone of the future but this phone is very good now. 2 years from now, you won't be laughed at for having a Galaxy S II.DanNeely - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
I'm not sure what you can take from not yet being listed by anyone for 4g expansion plans. AFAIK VZW hasn't published any detailed 2012 plans, but with a goal of full coverage sometime in 2013 I'd expect to see most places that aren't minimally inhabited cornfields/forests to get their 4G coverage next year.Johnmcl7 - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
I've also got a N900 which is sadly feeling pretty old given support has been dropped for a long time, I've tried both a Galaxy S2 and Sensation and while the Galaxy was very impressive I don't know if I can live without a keyboard. Annoyingly we're not getting the Droid 3 in the UK or so it seems as that seems the closest replacement for the N900.John
webmastir - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
this phone looks promising for sureOBLAMA2009 - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
learn to readasmoma - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
Every windows phone 7.0 phone only have a adreno 200 GPU. And you(Anand) described the user interface "liquid". I have a HTC mozart and every microsoft developed app runs at 60 fps.Even the 1. generation iphone does have enough gpu "horsepower" and memory bandwidth to scroll at 60 fps (480x320).
I would not blame the scrolling performance on the hardware.
steven75 - Monday, September 12, 2011 - link
Yeah it's definitely the OS. Not sure why Anand doesn't just come out and say that the core of the OS is still not 3D accelerated.ph0tek - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
It's stated both here and in the review that the Android UI and browser are GPU accelerated on most Android phones. It's not just the hardware here that makes it smooth. But so far Samsung have done the best job of accelerating the UI.By default Android 2.3 is not GPU accelerated so it's left up to the manufacturers. But Android 3.0 on tablets is GPU accelerated by default. Icecream Sandwich will surely bring GPU to phones without the manufacturer having to do it.
I've also tested this by clocking my own GSII down to 800MHz using the Set CPU app, and even at this speed it's just as smooth as any iPhone. Even at 500MHz it's still good. So it's not just the hardware, it is actually GPU accelerated.
I do think it's taken Google WAY too long to get GPU acceleration though.
pSupaNova - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
I don't agree. Google aimed Android to run on as much hardware as posible, Adding GPU acceleration would have made the task much harder just look at how many SOC's WP7 runs on.I would rather have the huge choice hardware & features then the superficial Smooth UI of the other OS'es
asmoma - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Superficial smooth UI?60 fps is VERY underrated by the tech savy. I have a windows phone 7 and a HP touchpad(had pre plus before the wp7). And navigating through the wp7 is so much faster. I am not talking about loading, but navigating through lists.
And who cares what SoC is behind the screen if a higly optimized OS performes better with a 6-12 months old SoC than a unoptimized energy eating expensive SoC?
THX - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
Totally agree. There's nothing "superficial" about an interface that is smooth and fluid.When I play with an iphone it actually feels like I'm manipulating an object that's directly beneath the screen. This was on my old 3GS from 2009. Compare that to my current Samsung Fascinate (galaxy s) and the iphone (and WinMo7 for that matter) is so much smoother.
A laggy interface just feels flaky, old, and instable. Reminiscent of the BSOD days from the 90s. I love Android but they better stop the choppiness by the time my contract runs out. :p