Samsung Galaxy S II / SGH-T989
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 21, 2011 by Eric M. Zeman
T-Mobile scores the best version of the Samsung Galaxy S II with its large display, faster processor, and zippier wireless data radio. But those aren't the only noteworthy features of this superlative smartphone. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
hide detailed ratings
Samsung Galaxy SII--T-Mobile (Great Phone)
This is one of the best devices I've ever owned. It's pretty much a mini computer. It can do anything a regular computer can do besides print. You can copy and paste, scan files, upload PDF Forms, etc. I love this device. Good work T-Mobile.
Pros-- Great screen picture, takes great photos, fast internet connection, love the auto rotate on screen, and the battery life is amazing.
Cons-- I don't get good signal in my house around a certain time of day, (Hermitage, TN 37076).. The device likes to freeze up at times during games, The device will sometimes shut off during phone call or freeze up while sending text message which takes it longer to send or go through, also when forwarding pictures to Gmail they do not show up right away it takes about an hour at times. If you have too many windows open it will not let you view videos, it will tell you to close other windows out, but doesn't tell you how to do it or where to go to close them out.
Other than this, it's a great phone. I'm sure these cons can be fixed but I don't have much time to make a 1hr phone call why working during the day.
hide detailed ratings
Despite the S3 now on shelves, the S2 is still a contender.
I will admit I had a bad taste in my mouth when the S3 released two months after buying my Galaxy S2. I was long overdue for an upgrade as I was still packing a BlackBerry Bold 9700 (which was really giving me problems due to memory issues). It was time to retire the old 'Berry...
Pros...
The speedy 1.5Ghz processor with the capable Adreno 220 graphics chip.
The beautiful beast of a display, just admiring a quick photo still amazes me.
Contacts management was much easier than I though it would be as had been used to the BlackBerry way of things.
Battery life is far better than I ever expected. Older Android phones with battery life issues made me choose the BlackBerry years ago.
Folders in TouchWiz to help organize your apps. Coming from a 'Berry, I loved this!
A huge surprise from Samsung and T-Mobile releasing "Ice Cream Sandwich" (4.0.3) on the Galaxy S2.
Cons...
1080p video capture is not quite smooth as it could (or should) be, 720p is okay.
Loaded with bloatware that I may never use. Thankfully I can shove it all in a folder and get it out of the way, I'd rather have the ability to remove it.
After the Ice Cream Sandwich update, the Galaxy S2 did lose some of it's "zip". Sometimes the phone grinding to a halt for a minute or two for the most mundane of tasks (looking at a photo after capture for example).
Overall, I really do like this phone, coupled with a 32GB class 10 MicroSD card, this phone feels like a miniature tablet with it's large display which is still a marvel to look at.
On board is a great music player with a full custom equalizer option in addition to the pre-set profiles and with a good headset, it's replaced my iPod for now. Even the quick double click of the mic button advances to the next song. I only wish I had a remote volume control.
Calls are clear but sometimes have a delay if using wifi calling. Otherwise out and about, the S2 never skipped a beat. Still a great phone!
Best phone ever
Replaced the 9780 with this.
the Samsung is superior in every way
Pro: signal strength everywhere GSM network
Screen size Voice quality clear sound
Like a small tablet that is also a phone
Speed is awesome
Great Value rate plans with flexibility
No contract $150 prepaid Telefonica, Claro, Digicel, Tigo
3G is as fast as cable in most locations where available except the country side
Apps Apps and more apps
did I mention that it is a Awesome phone
Otherwise Cons: None
Probably the Best Phone Ever
I don't remember the last time I had a phone in my hand and was literally titillated by the shear touch of it.
you know the specs on the phone, I don't need to explain it. It is phenomenal, about time T-mobile starts competing with the other companies, possibly beating them out with this one.
Great phone
I have had this phone for about 3 months and have been very pleased.
The metal accent on this T-Mobile variant is a great touch, and it feels more substantial than the Sprint version.
I think that the screen quality is a bit worse than the Sprint version. There are striations visible when used at the lowest brightness setting (that I did not see on the Sprint version) but this is not a deal breaker.
Call quality is a bit disappointing, I can hear other people well but it seems like others cannot hear me very well, too frequently.
Speed is great. I wish that it did not have TouchWiz (PLEASE SAMSUNG LET US OPT OUT OF THIS CRAP).
Greatest phone I've owned
This phone is great. Its huge and I love it. I just put it next to a Droid RAZR and its just maybe a 16th of an inch thicker. the screen is amazing compared to the Droid 3 I had before and android in general puts Black Berry to shame. The battery is fantastic. I listen to Pandora Radio all day when I'm in shop at school and only use half a battery. It took a lot to get me to leave Verizon but now that I have this awesome phone, I'm glad I did.
Simply the BEST
I have gone from Blackberry to Windows to Android.....this phone is by far the best I have ever owned.
Pros:
Display
Internet Speeed
Camera is great
No Memory concenrs
Android
Screen size
Ease of buttons
Lightweight for size
Cons:
I guess size causes portability concerns
having an issue using voice commands
surprisingly awesome.
i was very skeptical at first b/c my first galaxy s phone (vibrant) was so glitchy and aggravating after a while. but they have done some improvements.
pros:
1. processor is great.
2. internet is speedy
3. the phone is huge, n i love them this size.
4. the screen is superb.
5. androids synching process is pure genius, i switched sim cards and it was awesome not having to redo my ringtones, and re-download apps.
6. the phone is just sexc
7. battery life is great.
8. camera is great
cons:
1. only prob is that its so big, that i had 2 buy a much bigger case 4 it, lol, otherwise its good.
samsung actually created a good phone this time, hopefully they'll let this one stay out for a while before they come out with something new again.
Best phone I've ever owned!
Pros: Very fast phone, long battery life, screen is absolutely amazing, web browsing is phenomenal, Touchwiz 4.0, nice and large screen, thin and lightweight.
Cons: screen resolution, not a deal breaker, but Qhd would have been nice, 1.5 Ghz processor is plenty fast but it's no exynos.
This phone is amazing, the web browsing experience is excellent to say the least, the 4 g speeds are insane. In my basement it reached 10Mbps without breaking a sweat. Even though it's not exynos which I would have preferred, this phone is fast Fast FAST!!!! I mean think about it for a sec, 2 cores clocked each at1.5 GHZ.... That's more power than a lot of laptops out there. It's an amazing phone and probably the best on T-mobile right now. If you don't like touchwiz the HTC amaze is also a great option.
hide detailed ratings
Bye Bye Blackberrry
Replaced the 9780 with this.
the Samsung is superior in every way
Pro: signal strength
Screen size Voice quality
Like a small tablet that is also a phone
Speed
Great Value rate plans with flexibility
4G is as fast as cable in most locations where available
Apps Apps
Good app replaces BB enterprise and only locks one app not the entire phone.
Cons......4G not available everywhere
Otherwise Cons: None
