Samsung Galaxy S ll, Epic 4G Touch Review

So I came close to leaving the Android fold and joining Apple with an iPhone from Sprint. (Largely a result of how much I like the iPad.) Instead I opted for the longest named phone I could possibly find with the Samsung Galaxy S ll, Epic 4G Touch which since it isn’t named iPhone isn’t running on iOS.  This may come as a surprise since I already had an Android phone but the system took a couple of days to figure out. More than I would have expected but most of the changes/updates are really great and the overall speed of the phone is beyond impressive. Phones and Android operating system have come a long way since my Hero HTC.

First impression? It is really large – much larger than I thought I would like. That being said the graphics are unreal, the speed is great and the overall product is fun and easy to use. Added bonus? It does a great job as a phone. I’ve been able to do everything with I have wanted and have learned a lot about the limitations of my previous device.

The deciding factors – the iPhone has no free driving/GPS app, Siri – while cool isn’t exactly what I had hoped with in store testing, cost – the iPhone was more than I wanted to pay, the battery is replaceable (no battery lasts well after a year much less a two-year contract), memory is cheaper (I added 32GB for less than the jump from 8GB to 16GB on the iPhone and the phone started with 16GB internal memory) and full Google integration doesn’t really happen on iOS.

What I would like to fix – the phone will not let you turn off the shutter sound on the camera. Great camera but it is LOUD. Otherwise? Not much but I will report back as I use it more and experience more of what the phone does and doesn’t. The device didn’t ship with Ice Cream Sandwich and is running Gingerbread. I’m not sure if it will get or if it can handle the upgrade but I am happy with how it is running and don’t think ICS has significant enough changes to be a huge problem if it comes or a huge loss if it doesn’t get ported out to my phone.

Best line of the shopping experience (rough quote) “The iPhone is for people who don’t understand smart phones – an Android a is a smart phone for a smart user.” I don’t know that I agree 100% but I do think that the one thing you give up with an iPhone is anything that adjusts the system. You can’t change the keyboard to swype (which is awesome) and you can’t add a widget to the home screens (which is unfortunate). I don’t think you lose either way but am definitely happy with my purchase no matter how long Sprint makes the name.