After much pain and suffering I decided on a Samsung Galaxy S 11 with ATT.

[ricleo2]

I have been researching smartphones and decided on the Samsung Galaxy S 11 with ATT. Any reason why I should not? This will be my first wireless phone.

 

[alent1234]

Sgs 2 is the best android phone on AT&T. Best android phones are usually on Verizon. Nless the new nexus is coming to the death star

 

[bonkers325]

are you from the year 2021?

 

[ew915]

cool story, bro!

 

[ImDonly1]

I have been researching smartphones and decided on the Samsung Galaxy S 11 with ATT. Any reason why I should not? This will be my first wireless phone.

Wait for the galaxy nexus probably out in nov.

 

[Dulanic]

cool story, bro!

Useful post... adds a lot to the thread.

Wait for the galaxy nexus probably out in nov.

I agree and disagree hehe. The SGSII has a faster CPU and a keyboard, but it will not have ICS right away and has a 4.3" screen instead of the larger screen. So it is a tough balancing act on which is prefered. Some may prefer the slightly smaller screen and some may be patient enough for ICS on the SGSII.

 

[Demo24]

The SGS2 is a very good phone, and the ATT version is pretty good as well. However if you aren't set on a carrier yet, might want to take a look at the Galaxy Nexus which will be coming to Verizon sometime in November(most likely). If that doesn't interest you then by all means go SGS2 on ATT.

 

[ricleo2]

cool story, bro!

Insert smile here.

 

[ricleo2]

are you from the year 2021?

I get that a lot.

 

[ricleo2]

Useful post... adds a lot to the thread.



I agree and disagree hehe. The SGSII has a faster CPU and a keyboard, but it will not have ICS right away and has a 4.3" screen instead of the larger screen. So it is a tough balancing act on which is prefered. Some may prefer the slightly smaller screen and some may be patient enough for ICS on the SGSII.

I almost don't want to ask, but what is ICS?

 

[Dulanic]

I almost don't want to ask, but what is ICS?

Android 4.0. It will be a rather large improvement over 2.3 which is what's on the SGSII. The SGSII will get it but likely not until 2012 where as the Nexus is releasing with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich).

 

[Pliablemoose]

<----Ponders the used prices of SGII and the usefulness of putting an iPad sim in it...

 

[amdhunter]

Ugh. Should have waited a few days until the Galaxy Nexus came out.

I actually had a pretty nice conversation with Tim Stevens about it at the last Engadget show. He is an incredibly cool guy in person.

 

[alent1234]

With ics going omap for the reference platform I shudder to think what performance will be like with Qualcomm and Tegra cpu's

 

[BenSkywalker]

This is your first cell phone? Grats and enjoy the SGSII.

Don't worry about what these guys are saying, know that in a few months your phone will be getting a cool software update that you can play around with and enjoy even more features. For now, have fun exploring the world of modern ultra portable computing

 

[poofyhairguy]

I have had the AT&T SGS2 since launch day and it is a great phone OP.

People will go on and on about the Galaxy Nexus, but what is rarely mentioned is the fact that it is the first 720p phone so it will take a year (maybe longer) for apps to be re-written to actually take advantage of the higher resolution. I have messed with a high-resolution Android device (Nook Color) long enough to know that MANY applications- some that are AAA games - fly to pieces at such high resolutions.

With a SGS2 you get a resolution that is standard and is 100&#37; compatible, you get hardware that is evenly matched to the resolution of the phone (there isn't an Android game you don't have the power to play), you get the only phone of this generation capable of playing full high-profile x264 (think 1080p movies), and you get the ability to swap out batteries and SD cards (something this years other super-phones- the Nexus and the RAZR - won't let you do).

It is a good choice.

 

[lothar]

I have had the AT&T SGS2 since launch day and it is a great phone OP.

People will go on and on about the Galaxy Nexus, but what is rarely mentioned is the fact that it is the first 720p phone so it will take a year (maybe longer) for apps to be re-written to actually take advantage of the higher resolution. I have messed with a high-resolution Android device (Nook Color) long enough to know that MANY applications- some that are AAA games - fly to pieces at such high resolutions.

With a SGS2 you get a resolution that is standard and is 100% compatible, you get hardware that is evenly matched to the resolution of the phone (there isn't an Android game you don't have the power to play), you get the only phone of this generation capable of playing full high-profile x264 (think 1080p movies), and you get the ability to swap out batteries and SD cards (something this years other super-phones- the Nexus and the RAZR - won't let you do) .

It is a good choice.

This. All of it.

 

[iahk]

of course that only matters if op plans on playing games. otherwise, the higher resolution is just fine in everything else

 

[s44]

Good choice. I've been telling people on AT&T to get it ASAP. The Nexus is the obvious choice for Verizon because of LTE and the lack of any SGS2 now. On AT&T, neither applies. Wasting months of your life on a dumbphone for a device that's more advanced but arguably worse is a bad idea.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Wasting months of your life on a dumbphone

*No* phone, not a dumbphone.

 

[poofyhairguy]

of course that only matters if op plans on playing games. otherwise, the higher resolution is just fine in everything else

Not just games.

My friend's bank has an Android app that literally doesn't work on higher res screens. The interface is unusable. He has to use the Honeycomb "Zoom" mode to make it work, which looks terrible.

You never know what apps are going to fly to pieces (or just plain look terrible) at high res on Android until you have a high-res screen. Personally after over six months with my Nook Color I had a pile of applications that I have bought that I was waiting to try on the SGS2 because they broke on resolutions higher than WVGA.

The higher resolution isn't the only issue- onscreen buttons are also a compatibility issue. Some applications just DO NOT like Honeycomb's navigation bar that can't be hidden. They crash or act unstable, waiting to be re-written for such compatibility.

The real issue is that Android is the second platform for too many Android developers- iOS is first. So when new challenges come in Androidland, they drag their feet reworking things to be compatible. Who wants to really bust their buns for a port on an OS that brings you less money?

Even worse is the fact that iOS made it easy for developers when it when high res- everything doubled. WVGA vs 720p is a completely different aspect ratio, so developers that are almost too lazy to develop for Android anyway now have to redo the art in their applications for a new aspect ratio to work well. I just don't see that happening for months if not longer.

The Galaxy Nexus is a great phone if you are a developer, or if you only change your phones once every three years and you want something that is still relevant in three years. For the rest of us by the time we can get an upgrade again after the SGS2, the applications (and SOCs) will have caught up to 720p. We jump from the best of Android's old style phones to the best of the next style.

 

[Red Storm]

By far the most important app that needs to work with the increased resolution is the browser, and it does, so I'm set.

 

[iahk]

I'm only speaking from experience with cm7 with my touchpad which is a totally different aspect ratio as well. I have yet to run across an app that has issues except for the vlc and mpc remote apps force closing.. except thats not a display compatibility.

I have the same apps on it as on my HTC evo.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Pretty weird that some people are trying to spin a 720P resolution on a phone as a bad thing. But personally that's a problem I'd like to have.

I like the Galaxy Nexus better, but I see no reason to try to convince the OP to return his SGS2 for it. It's a good phone too and if he's on AT&T, then it's probably the best he can get right now anyway. Disappointing there is been little info on the Nexus release schedule in the US.

 

[vshah]

With ics going omap for the reference platform I shudder to think what performance will be like with Qualcomm and Tegra cpu's

being the reference platform has less to do with performance and more to do with time to market.

the original droid was an OMAP cpu for 2.0, the nexus one was a qualcomm for 2.2. 2.0-> 2.2 is arguably a smaller change than 2.3 -> 4.0

Phones based on tegra/snapdragon/krait/exynos may take a bit longer to come out with ICS, but performance should be fine.