Calm down, Samsung Galaxy S II won't change the universe

But is it an Apple iPhone crusher? Unlikely. It comes down to your religion: Android or Apple iOS. It comes to aesthetics versus weight. It comes down to intuitiveness. It comes to down to having a fiddle with the Galaxy S II and seeing how it feels.

Our expert on this, Ross Catanzariti at PC World, swears the Galaxy S II is bloody brilliant - perhaps even the best smartphone ever nevertheless, you know, when I first picked it up, I went 'oh, that's light', at that time I went 'oh, that's plasticy', then and there I went 'oh, the screen is actually really good'. At that time I fiddled and decided I didn't like the interface. All this in a few minutes, mind you.

I should declare here and now: I own an iPhone 4 - and I wanted to hate it when I got it a few months ago. My wife has been attached to her iPhone 3GS for a year or so and everybody else around me has been oozing iPhone lurve. It was an absolutely irrational case of being ornery, particularly as - tech-wise - we're an all Apple family.

The iPhone 4

So I tried to hate the iPhone 4. And I failed. It's bloody awesome. I'm no technical guru however even I could work out how to use it, the apps are fantastic, and bugger the heaviness - it looks and feels great. I'm hooked.

Next week and the month afterwards and the week afterwards that a new bunch of smartphones is going to rollout, some better than others, nevertheless at least one or two are going to be greeted with the same kind of hype until in the long run iPhone 5 is released. When? How? Pick your rumour. Definitely, it will probably sell 10 billion in its first week and that will be the end of the story.

Let's face it, stats wise, Samsung's aim to sell 10 million Galaxy S II's by the end of the year, during laudable, is hardly rocking the boat when Apple flogs off 14.1 million iPhones in a quarter. And the Android apps range just doesn't compete with Apple's mighty Apps Store - selection- or safety-wise.

Game in effect

It's a game in effect. Your job is picking the winner that suits you or your company. However don't be swayed by all the hyperbole. Go out and just play with half-a-dozen smartphones for 10 minutes each. You'll in the near future work out what suits your purposes and tastes.

ARN's Hafizah Osman summed it up perfectly - she owns an iPhone 4 nevertheless has been road-testing the Samsung: "It feels like I'm cheating on my iPhone," she said, guilt choking her voice.