Getting a S2

[cougar214]

Ok guys. I have had a Droid X for the last year and I love the phone. I'm well experianced with rooting it, flashing Roms, etc. but the phone being locked down is just taking its toll on me and i'm gonna get a galaxy S2.

I of course checked out the specs online for the phone but I would like you real world users to tell me what you think of this phone. How does it perform, How easy it is to root and Rom it, etc.

I see there are MANY versions of the S2 out such as the Epic 4g and so on. What are the differences in performance among them? My main reason for wanting to get an S2 is because it's getting ICS 4.0 where as the Droid X will never get it.

And of course having the freedom of an unlocked bootloader, at least I think it's unlocked, is refreshing. Thanks for all the info you guys can give. Oh and with there being so many different S2's out let me know which one you think I should get and the one to stay away from.

 

[CrimsonPride]

as far as which version, i wouldnt get the skyrocket, which is the same as the gs2 on tmobile. it has a faster clock speed and bigger screen but i havent heard very good stuff about it. i have the regular att gs2 and i love the phone, best phone on the market besides the galaxy nexus in my opinion

but as far as rooting, its very easy, roms are also very easy. the only downside is there is a flash counter, which increments on the phone everytime you flash a rom, which will void the warranty. there are ways to get around it, which actually end up being quite easy as well, there is a very good writeup about it on the i777 section on xda. i have a rom on mine and my flash counter still reads 0. ive actually had 2 roms, miui and now icscrewd.

i was stock for probably 5 months on the phone because i wanted to know more about the flash counter, didnt want to void the warranty as i thought the top of my screen may have been just alittle darker than the rest, and in case something went wrong i wanted to be able to send it back. and not rooting was big for me, as i came from the captivate and flashed dozens of roms on it. so it performs very well stock, roms make it better.

this phone is as close as you get to iphone "smoothness" with android awesomeness

 

[astral trekker]

Same here, I got the AT&T version of the S2 and I rooted mine, only took about 5 minutes, though I haven't flashed a ROM yet. it's still really smooth and I have my processor underclocked

 

[cougar214]

Crimson can you explain a little more about this flash counter? I'm sure it's a way for your carrier to see if your phone has been flashed/rooted but what Exactly does it do to the phone?

No need to explain really just throw me a good link and i'll do some reading. I was told to stick with the At&T version of the S2 by my carrier(I have a prepaid carrier so no bias there) because it's the best one out. So I guess hearing you say the same thing kinda makes up my mind which one to go with.

Thanks for the info.

 

[CrimsonPride]

Crimson can you explain a little more about this flash counter? I'm sure it's a way for your carrier to see if your phone has been flashed/rooted but what Exactly does it do to the phone?

No need to explain really just throw me a good link and i'll do some reading. I was told to stick with the At&T version of the S2 by my carrier(I have a prepaid carrier so no bias there) because it's the best one out. So I guess hearing you say the same thing kinda makes up my mind which one to go with.

Thanks for the info.

well all the gs2's have the flash counter, its just a way for samsung to tell if you messed up your phone and try sending it in for repair, it shouldnt matter if there is a hardware problem but i dont know.

anyway here is alot of info on it and how not to increment it when flashing, its what i used
[GUIDE] How to Flash Custom Binaries Without Ever Incrementing the Flash Counter!! - xda-developers

i would take a good read through their general and development sections though, just to get a feel of what to do if things do go wrong

 

[DopestSoldier]

I have the AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S2. It's my first Android based phone and I'm a fan already. I've never even heard of rooting a phone before until a couple weeks ago. I was interested, so I did my research, found the right video tutorial and files, and boom, I've rooted my first cell phone. Very easy as long as you read carefully and make sure of your next move.
I can play Gta 3 on my phone with a Ps3 controller, only more great games to come if you're into them.
The phone runs smooth, it's attractive, and keeps me entertained all around. It's like a light PC mixed with a PlayStation 1 & 2 mixed with a cell phone. I suggest it to anyone.