Galaxy S2 - is it the right choice for me?

[Guest Richard Harnwell]

I've been happy with my San Francisco as my introductory Android device, but it's time for an upgrade. My employer pays for sim/contract so I just need the phone.

I'm very tempted by the Galaxy S2, but I'm not sure if it is the right fit for me. I won't be using it for much gaming - I have an iPad for gaming on the move and will probably also get a Vita when it comes out.

The things that are important to me are:

1. Clarity of the screen under all lighting conditions (my SF is very poor in sunlight)
2. Battery life (though I guess no decent smartphones last much more than a day...)
3. Good call audio quality (mic and speaker). A number of people have complained of a muffled call when I've called them from my SF. I like the idea of a second mic for noise cancellation.
4. Responsiveness. New ROMs have helped my SF a lot, but it still frequently struggles to react immediately.

High pixel density isn't particularly important to me. At 44, I'm holding my phone rather further from my eyes than I ever used to, so there's no way I'll be seeing individual pixels! This is also a reason to want a bigger screen (though I think the S2 screen size is as large as I'd like to go)

My main apps are Twitter, Google Reader, Google+, Instapaper Read it Later, email and web browsing. I've never had a decent camera/videocamera in a phone but I like to think I'd use it more if I had a good quality one. I tend to use an iPod nano for listening to Podcasts/music currently but would like to switch this to my phone. I read a very in-depth review of the S2 recently that marked the S2 down for sound quality due to interference caused by poor shielding - this is the only negative point I've seen on the S2 so I'd be interested to know owners' thoughts on that.

As I look at the list of requirements above I see I'm not exactly a power user, so think maybe I should save some money and get a lower-end phone (maybe the original S), but as I don't change phones often I'd like to feel I'm future proofed for as long as possible....

Re. cost, the S2 is currently around 375 on SimplyElectronics and I'd prefer not to pay any more than that. On hotukdeals I see it is currently possible (with some messing around) to get a new S2 for £312 (less with quidco), so thinking I should probably jump at the deal......

I'd be grateful for any thoughts!

Edited November 14, 2011 by Richard Harnwell

[Guest glossywhite]

Do you want a phone that gets hot and crashes a lot? If so, get the S2 :P

[Guest Richard Harnwell]

Do you want a phone that gets hot and crashes a lot? If so, get the S2 :P

Really? Do any S2 owners want to jump to its defence? I'm keen to hear all views / experiences - good and bad.

Plus alternative recommendations if appropriate....

Edited November 14, 2011 by Richard Harnwell

[Guest Richard Harnwell]

Any other advice / suggestions?

[Guest CodeThief]

I'm very happy with my "original" 'Galaxy S' overall. It could do with a little more RAM to allow it to keep apps open for longer and perhaps a slightly higher pixel density though ...

Does no-one here own an S2?

[Guest craigvib]

yes ..it is nice phone to buy...........