Samsung has realised the importance of keeping its phones up to date, and that promise is upheld on the Samsung Galaxy S2, running Android 2.3.3 from the outset. It's also packing TouchWiz 4.0, the latest version from the Korean firm, and it's a real upgrade.
The TouchWiz interface is overhauled again, and to good effect in our eyes. The Samsung Galaxy S2 has a WVGA screen, which is actually a little lower-res than its competitors these days, but it can still pack a load of widgets all over the place. The same Android system is in place on the Samsung Galaxy S2, but there are loads more widgets on offer to chuck around the home screen, and like the Motorola Defy, these are all easy to resize by dragging the corner to increase the functionality.
With a dual core phone, you'd expect a plethora of messaging options, and once again we're not disappointed with the Samsung Galaxy S2. I'll list the options I've got just to show you: POP/IMAP email, Gmail, Exchange, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, SMS, Text, Twitter and Facebook.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 has an 8MP sensor with single LED flash and a multitude of shooting options. The camera application fires up in just over a second (sadly there's no physical shutter button, so i recommend putting the application on your home screen) and is ready to take pictures instantly.
For the connectivity, the main connections are already present and correct: Wi-Fi to b/g/n standard (although it's not the strongest even next to the router it will only display two bars of signal, but it holds connection fine enough) Bluetooth. This is a relatively new one to us, but thankfully it's not too hard to explain think Bluetooth but using Wi-Fi, and running faster.
The 3.5mm headphone jack lives on the top of the phone, bucking the lower placement on other 4.3-inch screen phones, and the microUSB slot (which also doubles as an HDMI out port) lives on the bottom. Not so much that it disrupts the Samsung Galaxy S2 when you're placing it on a table, thanks to a rear lip to help you hold the phone.
