Hi Guys,

I am planning to get a Samsung Galaxy S2 as a camera replacement phone. The ability to bring a couple of batteries along has sold me on this one. Does anyone have any experience with this phone?

Thanks!

Jeremy.

bar none.
I'd suggest the Nexus Prime, but the camera's not supposed to be so great on it.

I agree, best phone on the market at the moment

I have used the camera feature a little bit and find it very impressive, for what it is

Jeremy,
I want to do the same thing and have been doing a lot of research on so called "outdoor" phones. Although the Samsung Galaxy is a great phone and has a lot of features it is not water proof or dust proof. If outdoor use is your primary use I would look for a more robust phone.
I am personally leaning towards a Motorola Defy that is not only water and dust proof, can be used with extra batteries and is much cheaper.
Christine

The Galaxy S2 is likely a great phone in terms of the camera, and certainly in terms of the display, but there's a potential glitch: its predecessor the "Galaxy" is intentionally crippled by Samsung so that it cannot possibly update to Android 2.3. Although some folks that have rooted their phones have done it, the official word from Samsung for the last several months has been..."working on it, but you can buy our new product instead".

The display is amazing when compared to competing products and the camera is pretty good! The potential you can't update the phone to use newer software, and that it will be planned that way to ensure 2013 phone models sell, is something to be cautious of.

On the dura-phone front, I have the Casio Commando, which can swap batteries, is waterproof, shock-resistant and etc... but the camera is terrible.

I have this phone. I just switch over from an old iphone. I REALLY like it a lot. Its fast and pretty easy to use. The camera is good. The selling point for me, though, is the screen size. I hate to admit, but my close vision is not quite what it used to be. The big screen helps a lot. I am a lot more likely to use my phone now and not have to g over to the ipad.

I got one recently.
Impressions so far:
GPS seems to work well. I haven't downloaded a topo map app yet.
Phone signal reception seems quite good in weak signal areas.
It's screen is good enough to read kindle books even with my old eyes, but the larger screen of a real kindle is better.
The camera surprised me -- it seems decent. I've yet to do a comparison to my real camera.

What I don't like:
My old dumb phone was more convenient as a phone.
Texting/typing is very awkward for me; I miss having a full size keyboard. I am getting better at it.

From what I've read, at least on ATT there will eventually be an upgrade of the Android OS to the new version.

This phone is pretty fantastic and I would recommend it. I've brought mine on a trip since I got it a few weeks ago and have used it as a camera multiple times. I'll upload a few pics if I get the chance.

I usually leave it on flight mode while on the trail so I can leave it on to get quick snapshots and the battery will last multiple days.

Edited by ForestCrunk on 12/07/2011 08:35:34 MST.

Have you considered the S II from Credo Mobile?

We have had ZERO returns on that phone since we started selling it. NO COMPLAINTS. I personally use a My Touch 4G slide, I love it...but I am going to switch to a Galaxy II.

Enjoy.

ernie the eyeball

Hi Guys,

Thanks a bunch for all of the advice. I bought the phone and am super impressed with it!!

To follow on, do you guys have a lightweight case/ screen protector on yours? I have been looking at the tactical and otterbox ones and man they look heavy!

Thanks again,

Jeremy.

Casemate Barely There is my choice. It's not going to offer much drop protection, but it's thin, light, and will prevent scratches.
http://www.case-mate.com/Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-Cases/Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-Cases.asp

My choice for screen protectors is Steinhall Ultra Crystals.