I've been on a Mac since my Apple IIe back in the 80s, and on an iPhone since the first version in 2007. It's not an understatement to say that the device quickly became as close to me as an appendage, and I upgraded to the 3GS and the 4 after their release. I sold my iPhone 4 and was ready to upgrade to the 4S…when I realized I was just not as excited as usual about the upgrade, as it had gotten a bit routine to me.
I'm not here to hate on Apple; Siri looks amazing and all, but considering my line of work as one of the creative minds behind the GetConnected brand of TV shows made me realize that maybe I never quite gave Android the fair shake it deserves. So, I moved on to try some Android phones, and when Virgin Mobile sent us the Samsung Galaxy S2 to try out for the month, I was more than excited to put it through its paces!
The first thing you'll notice is the big, glorious screen on the Galaxy S2. This phone is clearly bigger than the iPhone's 3.5" screen by almost an inch, but its curved back and slim design feels fantastic and inviting in the hand. The screen uses Samsung's Super AMOLED technology which actually doesn't use the screen (and saves the battery a bit) for the colour black, meaning you don't get that washed up looking black that so many screens offer. Do make sure you go to a store and feel it in the hand, particularly if you have smaller hands. I'll admit that the plastic didn't thrill me at first, but it's definitely solid. And don't be fooled by the thin battery cover, as it's very difficult to snap!
The Galaxy really impressed me with its power and punch, and I found surfing the web to be quite snappy and, dare I say, quicker than the iOS experience. Text and images rendered nicely on the screen, and there was very little lag switching apps and such. Speaking of apps, the included apps are a mixed bag. As with all Android phones, you might find the music app or the gallery app to be unsatisfying and even confusing but there are a lot of apps on the Android market to install in place of the included ones. Some, like the included browser, are actually pretty good.
A lot of criticism of Android is directed at the inconsistent interfaces you can encounter, from HTC's Sense to Motorola's MotoBlur, but Samsung's TouchWiz is the most iOS-like and intuitive of the bunch. If you put in the time to customize and tweak the setup you can find most of what you need to have the software react to how you would like it, and the Galaxy S2's robust internals really supplement that. But the key is investing the time to learn the Android interface. An iPhone can be set up in a few hours tops; The Android can take a solid day or more to really set up and get to know at first.
And yes, you might have heard of the new Android OS coming out, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich. The way updates work on Android is that the OS gets integrated with each carriers' skin (in this case, TouchWiz), then it goes through the carriers and gets sent down the pipes. Samsung already stated that they'll roll out those updates in Q1 2012 on their current line and this phone is a monster seller so it's surely going to be done soon. If you must have Ice Cream Sandwich you'll have to wait for the Galaxy Nexus (stay tuned for a review soon), but with the Nexus you don't have some features like the MicroSD card, the camera has less megapixels, and there's no clickable home button. Strangely enough, one of my criticisms about the S2 was that I got so used to the soft keys for the menu/back buttons I kind of wanted that for a home button, but it does feel more familiar to have that big home button on the bottom á la iPhone.
That said, I think with some of the features such as Virgin's 4G speeds, along with handy little add-ons like the ability to add and swap MicroSD cards to bolster the storage on the phone, now is a great time to have a look at Android. There are dozens of choices for Android phones. However, if you want a solid performer that balances form, function and power you will not be disappointed with the Samsung Galaxy S2. The staff had to pry it out of my hands to send it back!