Samsung Galaxy S II ships, to hit 120 countries
updated 11:35 am EDT, Thu April 28, 2011
Samsung Galaxy S II gets massive 120-nation intro
Samsung on Thursday kicked off the official launch of the Galaxy S II we first tried at Mobile World Congress. Its 4.3-inch, range-topping Android phone is available in Korea immediately and should get one of Samsung's largest launches ever. Galaxy S IIs should reach 120 countries and 140 carriers, including the UK on May 1 and possibly the US.
American launch details haven't been given out, though a Verizon roadmap suggested that a CDMA version was in the works and could be on the carrier sometime in May. T-Mobile USA has been raised as a prospect; a version has shown up at the FCC with AT&T-ready 3G but might be destined for Canadian carriers.
The design is a major upgrade to the original and leaps from the original 1GHz, single-core chip to a dual-core 1.2GHz chip that should outperform most rivals by a wide margin. Its screen is one of the first shipping with a Super AMOLED Plus panel that's sharper and easier to see outside. Android 2.3 runs underneath and brings with it both a new TouchWiz 4.0 interface and NFC wireless.
An eight-megapixel back camera and a new front camera are new, but the phone is still thin enough that, at 8.9mm, it's both much thinner than the Galaxy S and 0.4mm thinner than the iPhone 4 that serves as some of its inspiration.
