Which is Better My Samsung Galaxy S2 or a San Diego

[Guest Androidlover287]

My Parents are deciding weather to get me this phone or not, but i would have to give up my beloved S2, my question is, is it worth it for this phone? It wouldn't matter anyway as they have said, I can have it for 2 weeks, if i don't like it i can go back to my S2, I would still like to know though

Specs wise: I think it is worth it

Build quality wise/screen size: Not so sure

EDIT 1: I know the phone is unlockable :)

But I use Root apps on a daily basis, so i would have to wait for root, I mean even my app restorer needs root, lol

Edited July 2, 2012 by Androidlover287

[Guest]

I don't have an s2 or even used one so cannot compare, however, this is a very good device, excellent screen which is crystal clear and has reasonable viewing angles. The build quality is surprisingly good too, feels very solid in the hand, no creaks from the plastic chassis, and, as you would expect from an intel atom chip, it is fast, no lag anywhere. The camera is not the best but takes reasonably good snaps with the nice addition of burst mode, giving upto 10 per second at full resolution, HD video is good too, but, both camera & video struggle a bit with low light, which the bright led flash overcomes.

If you like gaming, then the osd is a good choice, not the best for gaming, but it does well, even with gta 3 with highest settings turned on, and the hdmi output works well for games & video.

[Guest Frankish]

I've had an S2. Prefer the screen size and res on my OSD... However you have to give up root and ICS.

[Guest Androidlover287]

Giving up ICS is fine (for now) as there will be custom roms as soon as root is available (COME ON WE CAN DO IT) I used gingerbread Modaco Rom GR8 on my S2 for a long time (8 months), I suppose i could live without root for a while.

Thanks for you're replies

[Guest]

I think root will not solve the roms problem, that will depend upon the bootloader being unlocked, but root would be good as this rom is not bad at all, basically stock with a few orange apps which having root will enable us to freeze them out.

[Guest Androidlover287]

I think root will not solve the roms problem, that will depend upon the bootloader being unlocked, but root would be good as this rom is not bad at all, basically stock with a few orange apps which having root will enable us to freeze them out.

You will need to unlock the bootloader before root can be achieved don't you? As you will need to run some sort of modified kernel? I am not where by means a developer but i do have a very good Intrest for Hacking and Technology in General

EDIT 1: Looking at some sample pictures taken with the OSD, It looks to me to be comparable to my S2, Does the OSD have a LED flash, I can't seem to find one?

Edited July 2, 2012 by Androidlover287

[Guest]

Yes it has a led flash, which is very effective and gives good shots in dark scenes

[Guest captainkremmen]

Although I haven't owned an S2 one of my close friends does, and I've had a good play around with her phone quite a few times.

To be honest, in terms of speed and performance there doesn't seem to be much between them. The San Diego seems to load most apps a bit faster. The San Diego has a higher screen resolution which shows when browsing the web, reading text etc. Which screen is better depends on your preferences, the S2's Amoled screen is better outdoors in bright light but to be honest, there isn't actually that much in it. The Amoled screen of the S2 is a bit brighter overall, but the trade off seems to be that colours in photos etc. don't seem to be quite as accurate, almost very slightly cartoonish giving an overprocessed look at times. The S2 has better viewing angles, so I suppose if you're always showing off photos and videos to a crowd of people it's better. Personally I preferred the higher resolution of the SD and the more natural colours, so for me personally it's a win for the San Diego.

I was quite surprised by the fact that there didn't seem to be much difference in photos taken with both phones. When downloaded to a PC they both looked decent, but not a patch on even a decent budget compact digital camera. Good enough for snapshot use, Facebook and the like though. The S2 produced slightly better results in low light though and when zoomed in, images were a tad sharper too. The S2 was slightly better too with HD video shot at 1080p/30. Colours looked a bit more vivid, although the sound quality from the San Diego was better in my opinion (apart from that annoying clicking from the autofocus that doesn't affect the S2. This can be overcome it seems by downloading LGCamera and using it instead of the built in camera application). Although surprisingly there wasn't that much in it as I thought there would be, personally it would be a win for the S2.

I tried a bit of multitasking on both phones, basically had music playing while browsing the web (via wifi) and a download from the Play store all running. Neither phone missed a beat, no lag and no stuttering from either phone. The fact the Atom processor is a single core doesn't seem to be noticeable for us average, everyday users. Real power users may still prefer to go for the S2 with it's dual core processor. So I guess that would be a draw.

In terms of video performance I watched a couple of clips on YouTube, and downloaded a couple of HD trailers (720p). They looked good on both phones, but the San Diego in my opinion had the edge here. The HD trailer for Avatar looked magnificent on the San Diego, with the S2 looking ever so slightly unnatural again (but again, that's a matter of personal preference). Moboplayer was used as the video player on both phones (although the x86 build of course was used on the SD. Although the Arm build worked on the SD it stuttered it's way through HD video, but no such issues when the x86 build was used). Sound from the built in speakers was better on the San Diego too, but through headphones both were very good. So for me personally, a win for the San Diego in terms of video playback.

Entirely my opinions of course, and maybe I am a bit biased as I had just spent £200 on the San Diego, but I really did want to see how it compared with the S2 and was very pleasantly surprised.

However, when I got to play with another friends S3 on Saturday that was in a completely different class.

[Guest Androidlover287]

I would not be able to afford a S3 myself, Personally you're comparison between the S2 and SD, I will miss my S2 ofcourse (It would be going to my mum, I can always have it back :P) I think i'd like to try the SD for myself, I personally like the NFC feature, but Bluetooth 2.1 in a 2012 smartphone? My S2 is from 2011 and that has Bluetooth 3.0, Obviously there's not really any differences but i want to be sure.

Thank you for you're reply 'captainkremmen'

[Guest]

You wont be disappointed at all!

When you hold the osd, you would think you was holding a flagship device, it feels premium.

[Guest captainkremmen]

You wont be disappointed at all!

When you hold the osd, you would think you was holding a flagship device, it feels premium.

Yeah that was another thing I was impressed with. Being essentially a mid range/budget device I was expecting build quality to be a little lacking, but the San Diego feels solid, doesn't creak or flex and feels good in the hand. It also looks better in person than it does in photos, and although no root or custom mods yet (if at all) with a different launcher installed it looks even better.

If you're used to the S2 the button layout on the San Diego may take a bit of getting used, to but you'll pick up the changes quick enough.

[Guest glossywhite]

San Diego doesn't overheat, and is a year newer. Also, it has Intel in its' spec.

[Guest captainkremmen]

I would also say a couple of the reviews I have read slating the camera seemed to be suggesting their photos were quite blurry. It seems this can be the case when using the San Diego's dedicated camera button. It requires quite a firm press so can result in blurred photos if you don't hold it still. Using the onscreen software button showed no such problems when I was testing it, so if your photos are always blurred try using the software button instead of the physical button.

[Guest]

Exactly the same conclusion I came to, the button is a little hard so it causes the photo to blur but I have mastered it now so no blur with the dedicated button.

@glossywhite,

Yes correct, the OSD does not overheat, I just played an hour of modern combat 2 through the hdmi output, no overheat, and, smooth as butter! In fact I have not found any game that it is not smooth, the intel atom processor is very powerful for a single core.

[Guest Androidlover287]

Thank you guys, I will be getting this phone, sometime, maybe tomorrow to a few weeks time, I am sorry that I won't be able to help with the root problem, as I said, I am not a developer, I am just a person who has a keen intrest in Technology :P

Thanks again guys for the replies!

[Guest the juggernaut]

i think you should have a look at the osd as i have used both the osd does have a very good ppi

[Guest glossywhite]

Which is "better" - my preference or someone else's? Do you see how silly that sounds? I hope so :)

[Guest Androidlover287]

I do Glossy, It was a general question really, I have gave up on the OSD for now since i don't have a Job yet in order to buy the device.

[Guest grizzlyflea]

cant wait till intel release their very own dual core phones. those are gonna be real beasts