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

[Jen Edwards]

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket is one of the few smartphones available that can connect to AT&T's 4G LTE service. It has a 4.3-inch touchscreen, and runs Android on a dual-core processor with 16GB of storage. You'll find all of the standard features like an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash plus a front-facing 2 megapixel camera for videoconferencing, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Mobile Hotspot, and a speakerphone in a compact package.

It is currently available from AT&T for $200 with a new two-year service contract and a minimum $15 per month data plan.

If anyone is feeling a touch of deja vu, it might be because AT&T released a very similar device called simply the Samsung Galaxy S II a bit earlier. The previous model has a 4.2-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, a slimmer shape, and no LTE support. 

Read the full content of this Article: Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Review: 4G LTE for AT&T

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[weegie]

I thought this version came with a 4.52" screen?

When referencing the exynos version, you forgot the .07" in the 4.2 Jen

[Radon222]

yes,

The Skyrocket has the larger 4.5" screen, but does not have an exynos processor. Exynos and AT&T LTE do not play nice together yet, so at the moment all of the AT&T LTE phones are running Snapdragon processors.

We upgraded my wife's Iphone 3GS to the Skyrocket for Christmas and she's still adapting, but liking the phone so far.

[Drillbit]

Our local Docomo dealer finally brought the Skyrocket in. Which is a surprise because its rather redundant, since they already have the international Galaxy S2, the white S2, the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Nexus, not the least the international GSM RAZR. But they may have brought the Skyrocket in because they might actually be running out of the three or one or two of the three has already ran out. Its also a surprise because they also don't have a 4G network.

What surprised me about the Skyrocket is that it is only slightly larger than the S2 but you can see the screen goes all the way down lower on the front, so it uses the frontal real estate more efficiently than the international version. That's because its easier to push the four buttons down on the phone and the international version has to leave more room for the center home button, which is mechanical. The overall effect is that the screen occupies more of the front in the Skyrocket than in the generic S2.

Another surprise is that the Skyrocket feels heavier, and overall the back feels much better finished and less cheap than the generic S2. The plastic is a different one from the S2, but also different from the one used on the Infuse and Galaxy Nexus. It has this faux aluminum brush finish to it. The weight increase is probably due to the bigger battery and the LTE antenna. Since the phone will only operate in 3G mode in the island, the benefit of the bigger battery will show in a longer battery life than the S2. (1850mah vs. 1650mah). Though I wonder how much of that difference will be neutralized by the larger screen and faster clocking processor.

Turns out the phone doesn't have 2100 band for 3G, which does not make it very useful for overseas trips. The 2100 band has been reserved for LTE use.

The Skyrocket is very fast but the international version has this sense of authority behind every scroll and swipe. The Android four buttons vs. the Samsung center button is a debate about taste and preference. The Skyrocket has all the AT&T bundleware, which really isn't as intriguing as the bundleware on the generic version like Samsung Store and the Games Hub.