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Samsung is chasing the title of “flagship Android phone” with its heavy-hitting Galaxy S II.It’s only a year since the Australian launch of the original Samsung Galaxy S, however the world of mobile gadgets changes so quickly that it feels like a lifetime. At that time the Galaxy S was fighting it out with the HTC Desire for the title of “flagship Android phone”. Both were impressive devices which raised the bar for Android, but eventually I awarded the fight to the HTC Desire - in a points decision or rather than a knockout. I favoured HTC’s Sense UI interface enhancements, plus I couldn’t stand the strong blue tinge of the Galaxy S’ Super AMOLED display.Twelve months later and the two Android superpowers are battling again. HTC has a few options on the table and I was quite impressed with the 4.3-inch HTC Desire HD. Just the same, the new Samsung Galaxy S II is breathtaking and I undoubtedly wouldn’t buy either without considering the other.The Galaxy S II is available from Optus from $42 per month and Vodafone from $44 per month. Telstra has confirmed that it will offer the phone in July. It’s available for $899 outright yet I’ve seen it around for $750-ish.Open the box and the Samsung Galaxy S II makes a great first impression. Screen technologies have always been a key weapon in the smartphone wars, and here the Galaxy S II doesn’t disappoint. It sports a 480x800, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display. It’s a big sucker, as you’d expect from any 4.3-inch phone, however the device is all in all amazingly light and thin. It of course doesn’t feel as chunky as competing 4+ inch phones, in fact it’s slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Truly the Galaxy S II is so thin and light that your second thought, afterwards the initial “wow”, is “man, I hope this thing doesn’t snap in half”.At 4.3-inches it’s a bigger display than the original 4-inch Galaxy S, even though it everything considered sports the same 480x800 resolution. This is because Super AMOLED Plus boosts the number of sub-pixels, to improve picture quality at the expense of pixel density. The Super AMOLED Plus supposedly brighter and more energy efficient than the Super AMOLED display found on the original Galaxy S. I can’t attest to that because I don’t have the original Galaxy S at hand, yet the blue tinge has truly improved compared to original. The screen stil isn’t as bright as my iPhone 4, nor are the whites as white, something I as well said about the Desire HD. The Galaxy S II’s colours are admittedly more vibrant than the Desire HD, which utilises a slightly washed-out LCD display. The Galaxy S II as well offers excellent contrast and viewing angles. The screen is so glossy that outdoor glare is an issue, however the very bright display helps compensate.Pursuant to this agreement the bonnet the Galaxy S II is packing some serious fire power. There’s a 1.2GHz dual-core processor accompanied by 1GB of RAM, which helps Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” run silky smooth. The rest of the spec sheet as well looks impressive, with highlights including;- 802.11 a/b/g/n wifi- HSPA+ 21Mbps

Big fan of Android 2

- TV out via optional cableRegular readers will know that I’m a big fan of Android 2.x I don’t want to cover too much old ground raving about features just as the dropdown notification bar, live widgets and tight integration with Facebook, Twitter and Skype which shows up iOS5’s Twitter integration for the token effort it is.The Galaxy S II is one of the first smartphones on the market to come with Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” pre-installed. Behind the scenes you’ve got better application and power management, along with integrated SIP for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls. From a usability perspective, notable Gingerbread improvements include a new onscreen keyboard, new copy and paste features and improved power management options.To be honest Gingerbread’s new default keyboard isn’t all that noticeable. Google has improved the key spacing slightly, however that’s never going to be a major issue when you’re working with a generous 4.3-inch display. You can always modify your keyboard definitely, using apps just as Better Keyboard. Swype comes pre-installed on the Galaxy S II, which is handy yet again probably not as important at this stage on sub-3.5-inch displays.The use of white-on-black for auto-correct and predictive text options like as not makes them easier to see, plus the pop-up displaying the character you’ve just pressed is easier to read. I have to admit that I all in all prefer the iOS auto-correct system. Android does offer more flexibility and customisation, nevertheless iOS is better at staying out of the way and seems to be more accurate so I can bash away faster. 

What are more impressive is Gingerbread’s new cut, copy and paste features, which not surprisingly have a similar feel to the improvements on Honeycomb tablets. Tap the text field and you’ll see a big handle attached to the cursor, so it’s easier to drag the cursor around more accurately. Pop-up options make it easier to select, cut, copy and paste text. These improvements on both Android smartphones and tablets have truly helped Android close the usability gap on Apple’s wundergadgets.So far the Galaxy S II comes across as a worth successor to the original Galaxy S, both in terms of hardware and the operating system. Clearly Samsung have thrown in plenty of software improvements to sweeten the deal, which I’ll examine at when I wrap up my look at the Galaxy S II later in the week.