yARN: Calm down, Samsung Galaxy S II won’t change the universe
- 30 May, 2011 15:52
- Comments 6
Samsung’s Galaxy S II has got a brilliant screen, great performance – no question at all, but it also has inferior ease-of-use (on my scale) and it’s just a bit flimsy.
But is it an Apple iPhone crusher? Unlikely. It comes down to your religion: Android or Apple iOS. It comes to aesthetics versus weight. It comes down to intuitiveness. It comes to down to having a fiddle with the Galaxy S II and seeing how it feels.
And it comes down to whether this week’s hype is better than next week’s hype.
Our expert on this, Ross Catanzariti at PC World, swears the Galaxy S II is bloody brilliant – maybe even the best smartphone ever but, you know, when I first picked it up, I went ‘oh, that’s light’, then I went ‘oh, that’s plasticy’, then I went ‘oh, the screen is really really good’. Then I fiddled and decided I didn’t like the interface. All this in a few minutes, mind you.
I should declare here and now: I own an iPhone 4 – and I wanted to hate it when I got it a few months ago. My wife has been attached to her iPhone 3GS for a year or so and everybody else around me has been oozing iPhone lurve. It was an entirely irrational case of being ornery, particularly as – tech-wise – we’re an all Apple family.
So I tried to hate the iPhone 4. And I failed. It’s bloody awesome. I’m no technical guru but even I could work out how to use it, the apps are fantastic, and bugger the heaviness - it looks and feels great. I’m hooked.
And here’s the point while the Galaxy S II is very good – maybe even great – we’re talking personal taste and degrees of bestness now.
Next week and the month after and the week after that a new bunch of smartphones is going to rollout, some better than others, but at least one or two are going to be greeted with the same kind of hype … until eventually iPhone 5 is released. When? How? Pick your rumour. Anyway, it will probably sell 10 billion in its first week and that will be the end of the story.
Let’s face it, stats wise, Samsung’s aim to sell 10 million Galaxy S II’s by the end of the year, while laudable, is hardly rocking the boat when Apple flogs off 14.1 million iPhones in a quarter. And the Android apps range just doesn’t compete with Apple’s mighty Apps Store – selection- or safety-wise.
It’s a game really. Your job is picking the winner that suits you or your company (if you’re taking a mobile option). But don’t be swayed by all the hyperbole. Go out and just play with half-a-dozen smartphones for 10 minutes each. You’ll soon work out what suits your purposes and tastes.
ARN's Hafizah Osman summed it up perfectly - she owns an iPhone 4 but has been road-testing the Samsung: "It feels like I'm cheating on my iPhone," she said, guilt choking her voice.
I reckon iPhone has this Android covered.
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Comments
Greg
1
Why do people really care (Android vs iOS)? Mike Gee obviously cares a lot, like millions of other people it seems.
I'm due for an upgrade, am bored with the interface on my iPhone 3G, and am going to buy a SGS II when Telstra releases it.
If it really is simply a matter of personal preference, then why bother to express opinions like 'Samsung is so much better than Apple' (or vice versa)?
Go out there and buy whatever you like, consumers, it's your right!
Nitin
2
With usage and comfort comes necessity. Comparing a device which you have carried for few days, even months to a device you mention you fiddled with for a couple of minutes.
The judgement is purely based off image and marketing which I do not dismay because that is what drives the world into buying device, and hey Apple have a massive budget for it.
If even true the above article can only stand true when the Samsung galaxy S 2 is compared with an iPhone 5 at the least. The speed and the brilliance in delivering content of the the device( Samsung G S 2) was not taken into consideration at all. The writer is merely comparing what he is used to seeing to something new which he is not accustomed to.
So to sum up my comment based on your quote from ARN's Hafizah Osman, until you try to put aside Apple's marketing fever you won't truly experience the Android perspective. You can't fill up a glass full of water, it needs to be emptied first.
:)
fizzy
3
I agree that the GS2 is an amazing device- best Android experience. I want to play games and watch videos on it daily. Like Mike said its the brand loyalty Apple created with its product, not all about its marketing; hence the reason why I feel guilty going 'wow' to the GS2. It is going to take alot to convince iOS users to switch otherwise- unless they get bored with it like Greg.
Anthony
4
"And the Android apps range just doesn’t compete with Apple’s mighty Apps Store"
HAHA, there isn't many apps you can't get on Android market place these days.
iPhone's are a bit boring these days. Every man and his dog has one. Is it cool to own the same phone as your Grandpar? I think not.
Anthony Garreffa
5
You make a judgement call after a "fiddle" for a few minutes, yet you parade by saying you're an Apple household.
Come on.
Can I have widgets on the iPhone? No.
Can I have weather/news/Facebook/Twitter displayed on my homescreen of the iPhone? No.
Can I do over-the-air updates with the iPhone? No.
Can I do anything without iTunes? No.
Android-based devices don't need syncing with ANY program, they are SMARTphones... the iPhone OS and style was great, when it was out - they've done nothing to improve it.
Bagging the GSII without even using it - try use the widgets, over-the-air updates, use it for a month and realise "crap, I haven't had to hook it up to my desktop/notebook to sync it", or "wow, I can view my Twitter feed directly from the unlock function, right there on my screen".
I have an iPad, had all the iPhones and now own a HTC Desire. I bought my wife the GSII last week and I think (as an unbiased user) that the Android-based OS is far superior and doesn't feel like a dumbphone like the iOS-based OS.
Each OS has their use - Apple haven't moved along, Google have.
Apple are just great at marketing which is why 90% of people who buy an iPhone only use Facebook on it. No one uses it for anything else.
Want a custom ringtone? Yeah hold on while I crack my phone.
Want a custom icon set? Let me crack it.
Funkmonkey
6
I like the whole idea of basing ANY android review let alone the GS2 on "Oh i dont like the interface... too hard to use... not pretty enough...."
Heres a clue, dont like it, CHANGE IT! There are a myriad of UI and ROM options for any android phone you can think of. Then we come to the GS2 specifically. Trying to claim its not an iPhone killer purely based on replaceable aesthetics is complete douchebaggery. Far superior hardware is only the beginning, and has iPhans running scared to the extent where all they have to pick on is the way it handles because its different to their totally basic, non customisable interface. Galaxy GS2 - Smart Phone, iPhone - Dumb phone, purely aimed at great unwashed masses that believe nothing other than what TV tells them.