by Brian Klug on 8/30/2011 7:07:00 PM
Posted in smartphones , Galaxy S II , Samsung , Exynos

Right on schedule, Samsung Mobile announced variants of the already-popular Samsung Galaxy S II destined for T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. As rumored, there was no word of a Verizon-bound variant at this point, but we now have official details on the devices headed to the other major carriers.

Left to right: AT&T SGS2, T-Mobile SGS2, Sprint SGS2 Epic 4G Touch (not to scale)

We've put together a small table based on what information Samsung has made available at this point, and our own Jason Inofuentes is on the ground in New York at the launch event getting a hands-on look. There's information out about Sprint and AT&T versions, but T-Mobile is being relatively light on detail about their SGS2 variant. It goes without saying, but all three versions are running Android 2.3.

USA Samsung Galaxy S II Variants
Carrier T-Mobile Sprint AT&T
Name Samsung Galaxy S II on T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Samsung Galaxy S II
SoC Dual-Core Snapdragon 1.2 GHz (?) Exynos 4210 1.2 GHz Exynos 4210 1.2 GHz
Network Support DC-HSPA+ (MDM8220?) WiMAX + CDMA2000 1x/EVDO HSPA+
GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz)
UMTS Tri-band (850/1900/2100MHz)
Display Size 4.52" SAMOLED+ WVGA 4.52" SAMOLED+ WVGA 4.3" SAMOLED+ WVGA
Size ? 2.7" x 5.1" x 0.38" ? x ? x 8.89 mm
Storage 16 GB Internal, up to 32 GB microSD
Cameras 8 MP Rear Facing w/LED,AF, 2 MP Front Facing, 1080p30 H.264 High Profile
WiFi/BT ? 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 3.0 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 3.0
Battery ? 1800 mAh 1650 mAh

All three of the variants get names which differ from the previously leaked codenames, though surprisingly enough T-Mobile and AT&T have gone with fairly sane ones this time. Sprint is the odd man out, continuing its Epic 4G branding which it with the original SGS variant. 

The T-Mobile SGS2 remains something of an enigma, and the carrier has released close to nothing about the device beyond simple specifications and the name, and notably no word of it carrying an Exynos SoC.  It remains very likely the device uses a dual-core snapdragon SoC and MDM8220 DC-HSPA+ (dual-carrier) baseband, which would make it T-Mobile's first HSDPA Cat. 24 (42 Mbps) smartphone.

white galaxy s2 by DavidoFoo on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
when are the white variants going to be announced? or is it going to be by provider
DavidoFoo
RE: white galaxy s2 by Brian Klug on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
You mean variants for other carriers inside the USA/outside the USA?

Honestly I have no idea, I'd expect word of those to come at a later date.

-Brian
Brian Klug
T-Mobile variant 8260? by mythun.chandra on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Are you sure the TMo variant is running an 8260?
mythun.chandra
RE: T-Mobile variant 8260? by Brian Klug on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The device is being kept in a sealed glass box (nobody can touch it), and Samsung/T-Mobile alike are being silent about what SoC is inside the phone - I think that's pretty interesting, to say the least :)

T-Mobile wants a DC-HSPA+ smartphone, and based on what I've heard likely uses MDM8220 to do so. Of course, MDM8220 is not natively voice enabled, except through "SoC Fusion" with, of course, a QCT SoC. Hence the reason for it not being Exynos.

-Brian
Brian Klug
Windows? by sigmatau on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I was hoping to see phones like this for Microsoft's OS. Any word of anything like this coming out with Mango?
sigmatau
RE: T-Mobile variant 8260? by mythun.chandra on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Makes sense. Plus, PCMag ran benchies on the ATT and Sprint versions but weren't allowed to do so on the TMo unit. This would make sense if it does in fact run off of a QCom 8260.

Thanks Brian! :)
mythun.chandra
RE: T-Mobile variant 8260? by Brian Klug on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Yep, nobody was allowed to touch the T-Mobile variant. Hmm, I wonder why... :P

-Brian
Brian Klug
Why all the variants?? by B3an on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
This is a mess. Glad i dont live in the U.S. Not only is this amazing phone released late, but it comes in 3 different versions with different specs, looks AND names? (confusing much?) and each looking worse than the original GSII design.
4 buttons on the front is one button too many as well IMO. Most people dont need a dedicated search button. Should have been kept at 3. I also hate how american carriers always have to stick there names all over a phone, looks really tacky.

All these things have pretty much messed up the U.S. SGII. This is only going to hurt the Galaxy SII perception in the US and confuse people. It's always better to just have one product that always looks the same which people can recognise.
B3an
RE: Why all the variants?? by Johnmcl7 on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Having used a 7in Galaxy Tab (with dedicated search button), a UK Galaxy S2 (without search button) and currently on a UK HTC Sensation (with search button) I disagree as the lack of search button on the S2 was a surprising annoyance. A lot of applications support the functionality but they don't tend to have the search button in a convenient place. For example, if you've scrolled down a list in the Android market you have to scroll back to the top then reach your thumb/finger to the top of the screen to hit the search button away from their resting spot at the bottom of the phone. By contrast wherever you are in the market you can hit the search button and immediately enter your search term.

Secondly and less obviously, on the UK S2 it's easy to catch the bottom right corner as you turn it round, using the camera or various other actions. On the Tab when you do this you just catch the dedicated search button which pops up a search bar which is easily cancelled. On the S2 though you hit the back button and quit the screen you're on which depending on the application can mean having to re-run the application and wait for it to get going again, it's easily possibly to lose worrk this way.

On an aeshetic note I think the four buttons make it look like an Android device rather than an Iphone replica which is a definite bonus in my book.

John
Johnmcl7
RE: Why all the variants?? by mlj11 on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
@Johnmcl7

Just long press the menu button on your UK SGS2, and the search function will be activated.

Works just like the US variants' dedicated search button, in any app.
mlj11
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