samsung: galaxy s ii smartphone

the ‘galaxy s ii’ smartphone by samsung

long rumoured but officially announced at mobile world congress 2011, samsung‘s ‘galaxy s ii‘ smartphone joins the company’s ‘galaxy’ family of phones and tablets, differentiating itself from other new models at the global exhibition in employing a dual core processor behind in-house software interfaces. at 8.5mm in depth, the ‘galaxy s ii’ is also the slimmest smartphone in production.

‘galaxy s ii’ runs android gingerbread under samsung’s ‘touch wiz’ user interface. its dual core application processor is expected in early releases to be a NVIDIA tegra, which will be eventually replaced by samsung’s own ‘exynos’ CPU. the phone’s 4.3″ super AMOLED plus screen improves resolution, colour quality, and battery efficiency, while additional hardware includes an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 1080p full HD capabilities and a 2MP front camera.

‘readers hub’ is one of four software centers built in to the device as alternatives to marketplace applications image courtesy engadget

with its ‘readers hub’ and ‘social hub’, the smartphone consolidates common user functions, in the former combining one’s personal e-library with an electronic book, magazine, and newspaper shop, and the latter streamlining e-mail, SMS, and other contacts into a single inbox. gaming and music centers fill out the built-in proprietary applications, with developers noting that the ‘gaming hub’ bypasses the download limits of the android marketplace, permitting entire games to be downloaded in one click.

at 8.5mm in depth, the ‘galaxy s ii’ is the slimmest smartphone in production image courtesy engadget

wi-fi direct offers device-to-device wireless connectivity without need for a hotspot, while several ‘galaxy s ii’ software modules provide integration syncing the device to computers or HD file streaming to media devices. in certain markets, the phone is further equipped with ‘near field communication’, the technology permitting in-person credit card payments and ticketing to be completed wirelessly via smartphone.

the phone was also designed for corporate use, with a suite of business functions including VPN connectivity, microsoft’s activesync for managing employee phone accounts, and cisco webex software, facilitating digital meetings and remote desktop access.

the 8-megapixel rear camera can take 1080p full HD video, displayable on the phone high-resolution super AMOLED plus screen

in certain markets the device comes equipped with ‘near field communications’ technology, permitting the phone to be used to make credit card purchases

the ‘galaxy s ii’ is expected to be released in europe and asia by march, although no announcement has yet been made regarding its availability in north america.

engadget editors preview the device at MWC 2011 video courtesy of engadget