Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Prepaid Android Phone, Titanium (Virgin Mobile) Review

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Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Prepaid Android Phone, Titanium (Virgin Mobile)

Virgin Mobile has always been a great value, delivering acceptable phones and service at a far lower total cost of ownership than the big contract carriers. Low cost coupled with much more flexible terms, from being contract-free, makes these carriers worthy of consideration for all cell phone consumers.

The downside to Virgin Mobile, is that the phones that they offer are always about a year behind the current, cutting edge offerings. This remains true, however being a year behind is mattering less and less now that smart phone technology is reaching a plateau. I'm not saying that the iPhone 5 is not better than the iPhone 4S, that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is not better than the Samsung Galaxy S2, or that 2012 HTC Evo 4G is not better than the 2010 version of the same phone. What I'm saying is that the improvements are far more nuanced now, in 2012, than they were in 2010 or earlier. Getting a phone with last year's technology is not as big of a deal now as it once was, especially when you look at the cost difference.

This phone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 4G is obviously not the newest version of this phone available. If you want the very newest and best, you won't get that on Virgin Mobile or any other budget priced contract free carrier. It is however very adequate, and by far the best phone ever offered for this low of a total cost of ownership.

I have had six different Android phones on Virgin Mobile, including the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Triumph, Optimus, etcetera. I bought this phone in November 2012 at Radio Shack, the day that it became available. I still have an HTC Evo 4G in our family, but personally have been using this phone for over a month now, quite heavily.

This Samsung Galaxy S2 4G runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is currently (at the time of this review) one version behind the newest versions of Android (Jelly Bean 4.1 & 4.2). It has a fast dual core processor, good 8MP camera, is 4G capable, has great battery life, and has overall great performance. Although it has been out for over a year on Sprint, it is not nearly as far behind the mainstream as previous Virgin Mobile offerings have been.

Size. This phone is more similar in size to the Motorola Triumph than it is to the bulkier HTC EVO V 4G. With a 4.52" AMOLED touch screen and a thin body, it is the most compact phone for the screen size that Virgin has ever had available. I really like the form factor. After using it for about a week without a case, I put an Otterbox Defender on it. That case bulks the phone up quite a bit, but it is still comfortable. I like it with or without the case, but got the case because of my clumsiness and lifestyle.

Cases. Since this phone is identical to the one that has been on Sprint for over a year, there are plenty of great cases available for it, including ones from top of the line companies like Otter Box. There are many times more accessories available for it than for previous Virgin Mobile phones, except for the HTC Evo V 4G which also had a lot of cases to choose from.

Screen. I love the 4.52" screen size, and this one is even sharper and more vivid than the one on the HTC Evo 4G, which was better than the Motorola Triumph. It is great.

Touch Screen. The touch screen is very responsive, accurate, and precise. By far the best touch screen I've ever used. Even better (or equal to) the one on the Apple Ipod Touch. I use that comparison because I've always felt that the Touch was better than the Android phones I'd had in the past. The HTC Evo V 4G is the same in this regard. Both phones have excellent touch screens.

Keyboard. The touch screen keyboard on this phone is awesome. The touchscreen keyboard on the HTC EVO V 4G was far better than any of the previous Virgin Mobile offerings, and this one on the Samsung Galaxy S2 is even better.

Battery. The battery life on this phone is incredible because of its increased size and better power management and network management. It lasts 3 times longer than the battery on the Motorola Triumph, and about twice as long as the one on the HTC EVO V 4G. I like that this phone gives you an actual percentage reading for the battery instead of just the imprecise icon.

Network management. This phone is great at making seamless transitions between 3G, 4G, and Wifi, always switching to the best available choice. The HTC Evo V 4G used to give me some problems in this area. The S2 is flawless at this.

Camera. The 8MP camera on this phone is far better than any cell phone I've ever had. I think that it rivals the iPhone and in most conditions can fully replace your compact point and shoot camera. The video camera shoots 1080p video and is also very good.

4G. Having 4G is great, especially since the Virgin Mobile 3G network is a little slow sometimes.

Internet Sharing. The ability to share this phone's internet connection is awesome and works really well. It works great on both 3G and especially 4G. It is simple to use, and at $15 a month is a much better value than a Mifi card.

Call Quality. The call quality is great on this phone, and is much better than the Motorola Triumph which sometimes sounded muffled, and slightly better than the HTC EVO V 4G which wasn't bad. It is clear for both you and the person you are talking to.

Bluetooth. The Bluetooth on this phone works great both with a headset and with my car. I love how it seamlessly transitions from my Podcast Application (Doggcatcher), Navigation, and phone calls.

Processor. This phone is snappy and doesn't seem to have any processor induced lag at all. No matter what I run or play, it works the way it is supposed to, even when I'm multi-tasking. The processor seems to be more than adequate.

Durability. This phone is no more or less durable than any of the other plastic smart phones out there. I personally wish that more phones were available with unibody metal housings. I used to wish the same things about laptops and they are finally moving that way. Hopefully more phones will be more durable in the future. Anyway, this phone is adequate in this area.

Reliability. So far, I have had no issues with applications or functions crashing on this phone. It works consistently and flawlessly. I will update this review if I find anything getting hung-up or crashing. I have had the phone since they first released it, and still haven't had any problems. My experience in this area was the same on the HTC EVO V 4G.

If there are any topics that you wanted me to address that I failed to, please let me know in the comments and I will update this review for you.

Key Features

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Get Android Apps on Google Play
• Dual Mode 3G/4G
• 4.52 inch Super AMOLED Plus Touchscreen
• 8MP Camera (2MP Front Facing) wtih 1080P Full HD Video
• Dual Core 1.2GHZ Processor
• 16 GB Internal Memory
• 8.7 Hours Talk Time
• Wi-Fi/Mobile Hotspot Capability*
• Dual Mode: CDMA 3G EVDO Rev A/4G WiMAX
• Processor: 1200 MHz processor
• Memory: 16GB (ROM)/1GB (RAM)
• External memory card supported up to 32GB
• Bluetooth: Yes (3.0)
• Headsets: 3.5 mm
• Speakerphone