Samsung GALAXY S II

Ok...so I am a bit of a snob when it comes to phones, but I am not a tech head. I like the latest and greatest! Since my first contract at 18, I found I quickly get bored of phones and constantly have two contracts going on because I have upgraded early to the next best thing. This makes my bank balance very unhappy.. Phones are bigger and better than when I first started out with my flashing Nokia 3220. (The one with the the dancing lights) The old favourite tetris was on there and the best game around was snake which would keep you entertained for hours. Ring tones were basic and very tinny 15 second clips of your favourite songs. The maximum text message memory was 100 and memory would be full and you'd have to manually delete..there was no room for lovey dovey keepsakes.

Well fast forward 7 years and your little hand held phone does everything!! Even the basic phones have camera's, can access the internet, download music and games and have enough memory to store plenty of data. My previous phone before this was a Blackberry curve (again, following the crowds)..Its not that I dislike the phone...but in the year I had it (before I upgraded early) my rollerball started sticking, my 'A' and 'call' button just wouldn't work for weeks on end, meaning texts were incomprehensible and I couldnt ring out or answer my phone. It crashed CONSTANTLY, the plastic was coming away and was almost 2 pieces. I was not impressed. And my friend was litterally getting her Blackberry replaced every couple of months due to faults. The camera was rubbish as it had no flash. However I loved the fact I didn't have to tap a button 4 times to get the letter I wanted, I could download Apps, transfer Music, it was my little mp3 at the the gym and had plenty of storage. So needless to say I wanted something different with my upgrade.

The Galaxy SII was new on the market, at the time the Iphone was EVERYWHERE and I didnt want to follow the crowd this time. Plus a typical Iphone contract would have set you back around £50 due to their high insurance and hidden charges. Plus the Apple apps can be quite expensive, for your music and games. I was shown the Galaxy SII by the Orange shop (although they weren't over enthusiastic about it) and had to pay 100 to upgrade early. I couldnt stand having my Blackberry for another year so thought it was a reasonable switch.

THE PHONE;
A really easy touch screen phone (with a whopping screen to allow easy reading) that glides and sweeps through it's menus so quickly thanks to its powerful dual core processor. It sports the sleek minimilist approach with One 'Homescreen' button in the bottom centre and two touch sensitive buttons either side. It's ultra slimline (less than 1 cm in thickness) and really really light, considering it's so powerful. This phone has had quite a few bashes and knocks but literally has no scratches or dents whatsoever. Its a pretty robust little beauty that just keeps on going.

FEATURES;
- It features an 8.0 megapixel camera with flash on the back which is brilliant for taking really good photos as it's autofocus and digital zoom.
- You also have WiFi and the usual 3G so accessing the internet is quick and painless. I often have 3 or 4 different website pages going on at the same time but it still remains really fast and responsive. It's actually very rare I get my PC out now as this does everything I need it to.
- The memory on it seems to be HUGE! I have hundreds of songs and photos on there, loads of Apps, and in the year I have had it never deleted my message inbox yet its still fast and apparantly only used a quarter of my avaliable memory. Plus if neccessary I can insert a memory card to generate more memory but I can't forsee the need for this any time soon.
- The screen is bright and vibrant with extremely good colour saturation. Much more than the fiance's iphone so adds to its sleekness. I can use it just as well in the bright sunshine as in the dark. (this isnt always the case for certain phones.

MY FAVOURITE BIT;
Definately the multi screens....You have 5 different desktop screens to organise your most important features that you can sweep between and a main home screen with everything all in one place. So for me I have literally stuffed my desktops full of shortcuts. I have a page for daily things, like messages, internet, camera, clock etc. Then a page dedicated to fitness apps and gym routines, a page full of my little boys games...and so on. This way you dont need to go into the Main home and search for everything it's just where you put it..You can switch this up easily too by just dragging the icon into the bin if you no longer want it on your desktop screens.

NEGTATIVES;
The battery on this is appauling...I know Smartphones tend to consume battery and I have now gotten into the habit of recharging every night but prior to this I would go a whole day without my phone as the battery had died. I'd look at in the morning and there would be a third of battery left, go to it a couble of hours later and it's dead. I even had a battery replacement as I genuinely though it was a faulty battery. The new one was fine for a few weeks, lasting two days maximum, then it started deteriorating again. I hardly even get a full day if I have been over phone friendly. Being untechnical I have no idea what I can do about this and what to suggest. Although Android market does have an app killer that shuts down apps that kill your battery life easily and effectively, so clicking this can save you a bit of battery life.

Bearing in mind I have this phone a year ago, it is still in reasonable condition. It never sticks or crashes. It hasnt slowed or lost its reliability and sensitivity. As mentioned already, its had lots of drops and is still robust as ever. Its interface is so simple my 4 year old often sneaks it and knows exactly what he is doing on it. Aside from the battery, I would highly recommend it, and proff of that is I am not yet on the lookout for my next one....although the SIII is very appealing :)