With the new 4G LTE addition to the AT&T network the network welcomes a new handset to the lineup, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. The Skyrocket is very similar to the original Galaxy S II but the main difference, obviously, is the fact that the Skyrocket can run on the LTE Network (you can check out our comparison here).
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket
Before you dive right in and buy the new Skyrocket, let’s examine what exactly makes this thing tick and if it’s worth the $249.99 (with a two-year contract) price tag.
Design
The Skyrocket is 5.15” tall, 2.75” wide, and 0.37” thin to help contain its large 4.5” display. Because of its size, it feels slightly awkward at first when holding it and having it placed in your pocket, but after a while the strangeness goes away. It’s a light phone weighing in at only 4.71 ounces which is quite nice, but at the same time the lightweight feel is derived from the fact that it is in a completely plastic casing. Compared to other phones, the plastic shell can feel cheap.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Screen
As previously stated, the device sports a nice, large 4.5” display. It also features a beautiful Super AMOLED Plus screen to provided crisp, clear images and vibrant colors. One of the only problems with the display is that, even though the size of the screen increased from the previous AT&T version, the resolution remained at 800x480px. Not very noticeable by most, but to the discerning eye it could be a slight issue.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Touch Sensor
The smartphone has four touch-sensor controls below the screen designated for the search function, back button, menu button, and a home button.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 3.5mm Jack
The left side of the phone has the volume controls and on the opposite side you will find the lock and power button. If you wish to attach your headphones, the 3.5mm jack is found at the top of the device while the USB ports are on the bottom. The rear-facing camera is a very nice 8 MP quality camera with LED flash and autofocus while the front-facing camera can handle nice quality video chatting with the inclusion of its 2 MP lens.
User interface
Samsung once again added TouchWiz overlay to the interface sitting on top of Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features the availability of seven different homescreens as well as a pull down notification menu.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Lock Screen
Not a lot of changes have been made to the UI on this release but a few bug fixes and performance changes have happened making browsing and maneuvering on the phone much quicker and smooth.
Features
With the Skyrocket all of the features of the Galaxy S II devices are available including Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, GPS, conference calling and voice dialing. The Skyrocket also has NFC capabilities so you can read and share RFID tags with your smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Messenger Apps
In addition to the Google services such as Google Talk, Google Maps, and Youtube, AT&T services are also pre-installed on the device (these include the AT&T Code Scanner, AT&T Navigator and AT&T Live TV).
The Skyrocket also comes with the Media Hub app which allows users to download TV shows or movies (as rentals or to own).
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Camera
The camera features are nice as well which allow you to change the white-balance, add color effects, crop photos and even change ISO settings. The camera is one of the best to be equipped on a phone and takes great pictures in any environment. With the LED flash it can even take vibrant photos in low-light places. If video is your thing, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket can shoot high definition 1080p video as well.
Performance
When it comes to call quality, the Skyrocket performs as well as most phones without any unusual drop calls or buzzing. At times the device can hiss slightly but no more than any other device on the market.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket LTE Speed
When it comes to network performance the Skyrocket does really well, as expected, if you are on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. The only problem, though, is that the LTE network is only available in a select few areas:
- Boston
- Baltimore
- Athens, GA
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Houston
- San Antonio
- Washington, DC
When running the 3G network, the Skyrocket still does quite well, actually. It supports the HSPA+ 21 network from AT&T which boasts download speeds that can reach up to 21Mbps (hence the name) though it’s not often that speeds that quick are actually reached.
AT&T’s Galaxy S II Skyrocket features a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor which provides decent speed for the device without any real noticeable lag or glitches when navigating or changing apps.
Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket Battery
With the Skyrocket’s 1650 mAh battery it has an expected battery life of 7 hours of talk time.
Summary
With the release of AT&T’s new network, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket fits perfectly. It has decent speeds, NFC support, a nice dual core 1.5 GHz processor and an amazing camera.
While it only has Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it is slated to receive an upgrade Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future so if that’s on your checklist you won’t miss out on the device.
While the phone isn’t lacking in any particular area, the network currently is. So if you don’t live in a city with AT&T’s 4G LGE support you can save a little money by going with a different handset. For a two year contract price of $249.99, though, this device is a good deal.
The camera features are nice as well which allow you to change the white-balance, add color effects, crop photos and even change ISO settings. The camera is one of the best to be equipped on a phone and takes great pictures in any environment. With the LED flash it can even take vibrant photos in low-light places. If video is your thing, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket can shoot high definition 1080p video as well.
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