Switched to Galaxy S II

[LaTuFu]

Well, it's been a good run in this forum for the last 2 years or so.

The Mesmerize was a good phone for me. It had a lot of potential, I thought. It just didn't quite seem to reach that potential for a few reasons, but in the end it was one of the best smartphones I've ever used.

I upgraded mine to a Galaxy S II this morning. I'm still in the process of transferring data, downloading apps, etc. but so far it looks like a great transition.

I'm critical of US Cellular's "always a year behind the market" technology and telephone selection, but I can't complain about the phone itself. Yes, it's a year old by current market standards. It's 3G, it is about to be replaced in 5 months by the Galaxy S III, but whatever. That just means USCC won't get it until July, 2013.

See you guys in another forum.

 

[Zebulon]

I'm curious... Are you in one of USCC's 4G areas? If so, what made you decided to go with the GSII over the Aviator? I'm going back and forth between the GSII and the Aviator when it comes out. I am in an LTE area, so the added speed is really appealing, but the mediocre hardware and dismal (from what I can tell) battery life worry me.

 

[LaTuFu]

My area isn't scheduled to get 4G until "2Q" but no specific date has been given. There was no 4G phone with any appeal to me on the horizon, so that told me it would likely be closer to the end of the year before there was 4G in my market AND a phone I would be interested in.

So I went ahead with the GS II, mainly because my Mez was becoming so unreliable.

I'm not all that concerned about 4G, to be honest. I'm around WiFi enough during the day that I can rely on that if necessary.

 

[Zebulon]

Fair enough, thanks for the input. I'm rarely on wifi (in fact, I don't even have internet at my house - I have mostly unrestricted access at work, and I use wireless tethering at home if I need it) so the 4G would be really nice. That GSII is pretty dang sharp, though...

 

[LaTuFu]

So far, I really like it. I am trying to resist the temptation to root it. The only reason I want to root it at this point is to get rid of all of the ridiculous bloatware.

There is even more bloatware on the GS II than on the Mez. It rivals a Verizon Wireless phone.

The "big" negative on this phone is the WiFi tethering is disabled on the stock phone. USCC wants you to buy their tethering package, and they finally figured out how to make it happen.

I don't need to use it, so it's not a big deal to me. If I did, it would be another reason to root.

So far, battery life is light years better than the Mez. I can go an entire day without needing to be near a charger.

It is also far more stable. I haven't found it necessary to do a battery pull yet.

I really like the stock touchwiz on this phone. I hated TW on the Mez. So far, I am content to use the stock TW and messaging app on the GS II. We'll see as I keep going forward.

Overall, the much faster process and larger RAM is very noticeable. Apps fire up fast, browser takes no time at all to load pages.

If you're not worried about getting 4G for a while, and want to get rid of the Mez, this is definitely a phone worth considering. As another benefit, you won't have to "relearn" another phone. Most of the functionality of the Mez is similar on the GS II. Many things are identical.

 

[Zebulon]

Have you tried FoxFi for tethering? It should work on the GSII.

 

[Bloomy6]

LaTuFu, which S2 forum are reading now?

 

[LaTuFu]

So far I've been glancing at the S2 Sprint forum. The USCC phone is essentially that phone.

 

[Bloomy6]

Thanks. Just got mine yesterday

 

[tritiumman]

I was upgraded (by is cellular) to the Galaxy II. At no costs to me after having 5 mesmerizes. I like the phone has anyone noticed signal strength issues?

 

[Bloomy6]

Not different from my mez. Same signal strength

 

[tritiumman]

On my Mesmerize (in my office) I had between 2-4 bars. On the SG2 I have 0-2 bars.

 

[LaTuFu]

I have not noticed any signal strength issues. After having it for a few months now, I can say I am still very satisfied with the upgrade. Yes, I would rather have the GS3 that is about to come out, but USCC has been rolling out "last year's phone" for as long as I have been associated with them, so I guess I have to learn to deal with it.

The battery life has gone back to being so-so. It's still better than the SG1, but there are times that I wonder. I've had days where its been off charger and its still at 60% at 6PM. And there have been a couple of days where it was at 40% at 11:30 AM. It has settled into a routine that seems to be approx 40% by the time I leave work, if I leave it off charger all day.

It is much more stable than my Mez ever was. I have done maybe one or two battery pulls or reboots, certainly not more than 5, since I have gotten this phone. It stays on 24/7 and is plugged into a charger overnight while I sleep.

It has been very stable, very reliable, and a great upgrade from the Mez. No complaints from me at all.

 

[Slug]

Guys,

Please keep on-topic. If you feel the need to discuss network providers/carriers, please start a new topic in the appropriate sub-forum.

Thanks!