Instantly, you’ll find yourself impressed by the Gorilla Glass-protected 4.3-inch display. The 800x480 resolution is far from top-of-the-line, but the Super AMOLED Plus technology results in an even clearer image as a result of the increased sub-pixel count in comparison to non-Plus Super AMOLED displays. Beneath the screen are the Android navigation buttons in capacitive form, keeping the overall look of the phone smooth and clean.
At 8.9 mm thin and weighing in at just 4.1 oz, the Galaxy S II almost feels fragile, and the plastic backside doesn’t help. Luckily, the reinforced front end gives extra reassurance that the device won’t snap in your hands or crumble when dropped.
Underneath the hood is a dual-core 1.2 GHz Exynos processor and 1 GB of RAM, and together they make the phone fly. Switching between apps, playing games, reading e-mail, and checking Twitter updates are all done without a hiccup or hesitation. As Samsung’s flagship device, it’s clear that they didn’t hold back in this department.
The beauty of the Galaxy S II continues through the device’s camera. The 8 MP shooter delivers fantastic photos, the shutter is quick, and manual focusing capabilities work as planned. Low-light shots could have benefited from a pair of LEDs, but the single light flash gets the job done.
Video recording is executed extremely well, leaving little blur and keeping accurate color and clarity along the way, with the option to bump up the settings all the way to 1080p.
The Galaxy S II comes loaded with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, and is accompanied by Samsung’s TouchWiz 4.0 UI. Some may prefer the base version of Android, but TouchWiz is functional and easy to navigate, and isn’t nearly as overwhelming as something like HTC’s Sense UI.
It's safe to say that the Samsung Galaxy S II is the best Android phone on the AT&T network today, but you should hold back any feelings of picking up one. Despite being an impressive device, the LTE Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket was just announced to be released in a week, featuring a better processor and a larger Super AMOLED Plus display.
With AT&T rolling out their LTE coverage, the HSPA+ 4G standard Galaxy S II can already be considered outdated, and future HSPA+ support can be questionable over the next two-years of contract life. As far as price is concerned, the standard Galaxy S II is currently listed at $200 and the Skyrocket will cost $250. Folks who picked up the Galaxy S II shouldn't feel discouraged, the device is absolutely fantastic, but those currently in the market should wait for the next best thing.