Review: 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket for AT&T

Amidst much palaver and celebration, the much awaited Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket has been finally unveiled by AT&T in the United States. For those who have missed the party (for long), the original Samsung Galaxy S II was revealed by the Korean giant back in February of this year at the World Mobile Congress. Already touted as the thinnest smartphone available in the market (8.49 mm thick), this Android beauty was a deliberate challenge to a certain iPhone by Apple. As a matter of fact, after a zillion of rave reviews and a whopping 10 million in S II sales (by September), Samsung actually overtook Apple in smartphone sales during the third quarter of 2011. And now, after six months, the Skyrocket variant of the Galaxy S II has finally skyrocketed into the commercial scheme of things - with its better processor and much better web connectivity features. Read on, to find out more.

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket

What is itNow, many of you who are just late for the party, maybe wondering what is so different about this newest mobile device. Well, in terms of both design and hardware specs, the Skyrocket variant actually does not fall far from its parent - the original Samsung Galaxy S II. But what makes it special is the fact that it will have full support for 4G LTE. The announcement can be called timely, because AT&T just moved on the 4G LTE network only last September. Now, going back to the phone, other slightly altered factors are directly related to its display and processor (which we are going to talk about in the 'key features' section of the article).

Key features

In simple terms, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket features a more powerful processor and a slightly larger display, in comparison to its predecessor. So basically, the handset will come with 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display (as opposed to 4.2 inch in the original) with a resolution of 480x800 pixels.

Coming to the 'power-train', the device will have a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (as compared to the 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos processor of the original), though the processor itself is unspecified. As for the operating system, the 1GB (RAM) machine will be sporting Android Gingerbread 2.3.5. Now, fans of Ice Cream Sandwich shouldn't get too disappointed, because the OS is slated to be upgraded to ICS by early 2012.

Other attributes of the phone remain completely unchanged. So, the Skyrocket will have the same 8 MP rear camera, which allows video capturing capability in 1080p, while up front there will be a 2 MP secondary unit. As for snapping images, user friendly features are included such as auto-focus, LED flash and geo-tagging. Finally, moving on to its memory capacity, the unit will come with 16GB of on-board memory, and it can be expanded by 32GB with a microSD card.

What’s innovative

As already mentioned, the Skyrocket variant will be better in both its processing capacity and a larger display. But the most important feature of the Skyrocket will obviously be its 4G LTE support. This connectivity attribute eluded the Samsung Galaxy S II for a long time.

Price and availability

The AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket will make its commercial debut in the US on 6 November. This date is also significant for AT&T for another reason, as the exalted carrier company is about to expand its LTE network to nine additional markets (starting from Boston to Atlanta). As for pricing, the Skyrocket comes with a tag of $249.99 with a two year contract.

Accessories

The slew of accessories that will 'improve' upon the whole package (though, of course not incorporated within the package) will include HDTV smart adapter, in-car power charger, travel charger, a micro-USB charging data cable and a standard T-Mobile t989 battery.

The up-side

A dual core processor (and that too with a higher capability than its predecessor) is certainly essential for multitasking and apps related interactivity. The Super AMOLED Plus display is also good, especially when combined with features such as the TouchWiz 4.0. In combination to all of these, the Galaxy S II does exhibit a healthy battery life of ten hours (for heavy usage).

But the attribute to take the limelight will be the much awaited 4G LTE support. This network will make enhancements over the older 4G HSPA+.

The downside

For people who were waiting for the ICS powered Galaxy Nexus, can certainly forget the possibility of AT&T carrying the device, as they have their hands full with the two similar Galaxy S II smartphones. Moreover, the HTC Vivid is also 4G LTE enabled, but it will come with a lower price contract of $199.99.

The bottomline

The Samsung Galaxy S II has been touted as the finest Android phone ever to hit the markets. Now, the Skyrocket improves upon this aura with its even more advanced features. So, the bottomline is - Apple should better start working on the connectivity features of iPhone 5!