Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket
Average Ratings
Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket- Outstanding!
To preface this review, I've had the following phone most recently in this order:
iphone 3gs
iphone 4
HTC inspire
Samsung Galaxy s2 skyrocket
I also play with most phones when they arrive at the AT&T store.
This phone is amazing. Simply put. I was hesistant to jump to the HTC inspire from my iphone. I'll never look back. There were a few issues with my HTC inspire, but they were primarily software bugs, all of which the SG2 skyrocket resolves.
PROS:
- screen size. 4.5 inch beast.
- Screen clarity is amazing. I can clearly read the screen in broad daylight with no strain.
- Processor is blazing fast. Dual core prevents lag with multiple apps open and switching between them.
- size, shape weight. All perfect for me.
- speaker phone is loud and clear
- cell phone reception and speed are great
- GPS works MUCH better than the HTC inspire
- battery life is better than the HTC inspire
- built in task manager works very well.
- bottom app bar is customizable.
- camera takes excellent pictures.
- music player sounds great and is very responsive.
CONS:
- battery life still isn't as good as the iphone4, but its definitely reasonable.
- touchwiz doesn't seem to have as many pretty widgets as htc sense, but i'm sure I can find some 3rd party ones.
- home and menu buttons are reversed from the htc inspire... I wish it was the same...
- phone is massive, so one-handed use is somewhat difficult depending on what case you use.
Honestly, this is the best phone I've ever used, and unless the size or daily charging is an issue for you, I'd say it's a no-brainer.
1st Android & not looking back!!
If you have been on the fence in switching from iOS look no further!!! This is the phone for you!!! I've been an avid iPhone user for at least 3.5 years and have been contemplating the switch to another platform. I was highly disappointed with the 4s release, therefore it was time.. Well, Well time has gone by and with time comes innovation, and WOWSERS!! This phone is absolutely amazing!! This 1.5 Ghz behemoth is blazing fast!! The clarity, brightness, & contrast ratio is unreal with it's 4.5" super Amoled display. Nothing comes close. The retina has a higher res but 3.5" is just not cutting it. Dolphin HD webrowser from the market place is a must! You view pages in desktop form as if you were in front of a computer. Even with flash pages running and push-notifications, gaming, messaging, etc, it does not slow this monster down. I compared this side-by-side with a 4 & 4s and this thing runs circles around them.
Pros: screen size , market place, ease of use
full customizations, battery life,
DLNA support, Google turn by turn
navigation, battery life, 8 MP
camera & 2 MP font facing
camera, Speaker phone is LOUD & clear
(reminds me of my old treo). The
speaker in general is louder then most
phones period, turning the phone over
to silence while ringing during a
meeting is a plus! Sharing content
couldn't be easier. No USB cable? No
problem, simply run Kies Air and open
a web browser go to URL on your phone
and you are ready to share content.
Got a new Samsung TV with DLNA
support? Simply go to all share and
use it as a display. Last but not
least it supports Microsoft exchange &
office 365 very well, HSPA+ is very
fast & supports tomorrow LTE
Cons: None. This phone is a must have for
the phone geek or business
traveler. Ask Siri to give you turn by
turn directions...
Faster Than Fast, Better Than All
I WAS an Apple fanboy for many years, until I tried a T-Mobile Samsung SGH-T989 Galaxy S II. I really enjoyed playing with it and decided to give Android a try. I now have both T-mobile and AT&T to try out phone and carrier differences.
I returned a HTC Vivid. It had a great build quality, but I did not like the aspect ratio, (too much like the iPhone 4), and their email application.
I got the Skyrocket and WOW, even without LTE in my market this phone is fast. I live in the Southern California are and we have "4G" here. Many laugh at AT&T fake 4G, but compared to T-Mobile 4G it is lightning fast.
Pros:
1. Did I say this phone was fast. It is lightning fast, even without LTE.
2. Great quality screen. I cranked up the brightness, turned off all auto adjustments and it is nearly as good as the iPhone 4.
3. Great email app. I have two Gmail email accounts and can either inbox without having to enter the actual inbox and change to the other one. I could not make the Vivid do that.
4. Great reception. I had heard and had bad luck with reception on Samsung phones, but this phone has great reception.
5. Battery life has been great. I made it through a day without even using up a quarter of the battery.
Cons:
1. Price. Unless you can grab it at a discounted price it is pretty expensive.
2. Hard to find reasonably prices accessories. I know the phone is new, but since I can use a screen protector from my SGH-T989 I should be able to find more reasonably prices cases.
All in all this is one of the best phones I have ever owned. It is fast, light, has a great screen and great reception. I would highly recommend it.
My First Android
Ok, so I converted from an iPhone 4 to the Skyrocket specifically cause I wanted something different and it had LTE.
My LTE experience with the phone is actually pretty good. I have seen speed test of 42mb/12mb up/down. I have had no connection issues what so ever(live in the Dallas Market)
I am really loving Android and so is my wife(she go the Vivid - converted froman iPhone 3GS) The Processor speed of the Skyrocket is AMAZING to say the least(compared to the I4). Can't wait to see Ice Cream Sandwich on this phone.
Pros:
Great processor, very nice screen, good feel to phone, fast network
Con:
Lak of accessories(no cases), battery life(being LTE this is a no brainer - Juice Defender app has helped but still only about a day on a charge), NFC not yet enabled
A+++
I am going to keep this review very simple. GS2 was the best phone on the market. This phone takes it up a few notches. Add LTE connectivity, clocking the processor at 1.5Ghz, and enlarging the screen to a 4.5" display. This is what all phones will be looking up to for some time. I have so far, found nothing negative about the phone. Like I said, they took the best, and made it better.
Samsung SkyRocket = Awesome
I picked up this phone on the 11-8-2011 and I must say I'm a previous owner of the Atrix and this phone is far superior than any other phone thus far , the speed is snappy the sound is good and the size is awesome. The only pitfall is battery It dies if you use it heavy but that can be expected of smartphones other than that awesome phone love it and if you leave in an LTE area you should go get one.
hide detailed ratings
Great phone overall
I've had this phone for over a year now, so I feel a little qualified to speak about it.
Pros:
Screen is very nice at 4.5", with the brightness cranked up it's easy to see clearly outdoors
Fast processor works well for most things
Fast data speeds (around Florida, mainly Orlando, and up to Atlanta once) on the 4G LTE and HSPA+ networks.
Android 4.0 is always a plus
The cameras do just fine for what I need them to do
Cons:
Battery life. It's variable.. some days it lasts all day just fine, others it will heat up some and burn through the battery quickly. I've had days where it was dead by noon with light usage.
Materials. It just feels cheap, especially the flimsy battery cover. I don't like the glossy, cheap plastic feel. That said, I've dropped it a few times (with no case) and it isn't worse for wear except the battery cover wobbling a little bit.
Quality, performance and warranty issues
4G Data connection is very intermittent and frequently apps and browser can't connect to the internet.
Calls typically drop after 10 to 20 mins.
Signal strength is often 1 or no bars where I was getting 3-5 with my Infuse and SIII (Both failed within weeks of new) After three factory resets, and a new SIM card no change.
Comparing my phone to display Skyrockets at the AT&T store confirms my Skyrocket is not functioning properly.
Battery life is also dismal. After a fresh factory reset with no apps installed and no use within 6 hours the battery level is to 52% and 10 hours is 12%. My Infuse would go at least two days, and Samsung says standby time is 250 hours so what gives?
Checking online I see many Galaxy SII owners reporting of similar data connection, dropped call and battery life issues as well as Samsung is denying service an voiding warranties for "Liquid Damage" and "User Damage"
In the last three months I've been through three new Samsung smart phones (Infuse, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket and the Galaxy SIII) and all three have been defective straight out of the box. To date the Infuse has been at Samsung service for nearly 1 month and the SIII for over 2 weeks, Samsung says the Infuse has user Damage to the phone jack (I only used it twice) and the SIII has liquid Damage (I used it two weeks and ever exposed it to moisture. Samsung will not honor the warranty on either phone.
So needing a phone I bought a fresh, unused AT&T warranty exchange unused SII Skyrocket from a friend who just switched to an IPhone after two previous exchanges for various problems with the SII in two months, and it now appears this exchange unit is also defective.
I am hesitant to send it to Samsung from having just been burned twice. Reading Samsung's warranty it has an "As-Is" clause that suggests Service is at the discretion of Samsung.
Based on my experience I simply can't recommend the SII or Samsung.
All good news for this guy!!!
Phone is great, simple as that. My only question is how do you get this mug to vibrate for incoming text msgs. Either it doesn't work or i'm an idiot, leaning toward my being an idiot. Feedback pleeeeease.
Excellent phone
I have had this phone for a few months and I will say its definitely faster than the Captivate I came from. I get excellent LTE Signal in North Atlanta and get great data speeds. The GPS is definitely a lot better coming from OG galaxy s phones and I get an accuracy of 4 meters on a good day. The only 2 real things I have to knock it for are the flimsy batter cover (The one on the captivate was metal) and NFC/Google Wallet functionality being not supported by ATT. I wont knock touchwiz tho since there are better launchers on the market and you can choose whichever one you want. All in all a decent phone.
