Smart Phone Review: Samsung Galaxy S II Vs. IPhone

I don't own a smart phone and am perfectly happy with my dumb phone that can make calls and text. But when riding shotgun with relatives or friends who own smart phones, often times I'm tasked with using their phone to look up directions or other things people usually do with smart phones while the driver focuses on driving. Most of the time I've been shotgunning with the ubiquitous iPhone even though I'd feel more comfortable with an actual shotgun. Then my girlfriend picked up a Samsung Galaxy S II, which looks and feels like an iPhone but isn't.

And it's just as fun to use as a shotgun.

The Samsung Galaxy S II looks like a minimalist iPhone sharing a similar touch screen and color scheme. For what it's worth, they both feel functionally similar. Buttons and scrolling respond to my touch well. Calls actually go through and various apps distract me from productivity.

But the devil is in the details, and the Galaxy S II must have made a pact with him.

The Galaxy S II has a several features that trump the iPhone. The screen is brighter so that I can actually see what the heck I'm supposed to see on the phone. The dual-core processor gives the phone some extra power when running apps. The 8MP camera is just as powerful as my own point and shoot camera, which shows how obsolete those cameras will become soon. The phone features video chat but that requires others to have a similar device to actually use. Given how the Galaxy S II currently doesn't have an official carrier, my girlfriend was able to use her T-Mobile account and SIM card to get that phone of hers working. The battery is satisfactory. The 3.5mm Ear Jack makes it easier to use my existing earbuds to listen to music instead of looking for a specific set for it. And it has blue tooth to boot.

Probably the best concept of the Galaxy S II is how it handles apps. One peeve of the iPhone was how sorting apps was a manual process that people usually ignored when they handed their phones to me. But from the looks of the Galaxy S II, it comes presorted with four different hubs for social, music, reading, and gaming. It's a lot easier to navigate through.

Price is a little hard to determine given that the phone officially does not exist currently in the US until it gets a carrier, but with some bargaining and eBay savvy shopping, the Samsung Galaxy S II does make for a potential iPhone killer. Or at least decent competition.