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Jon1984
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Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:59 am

Hello.

As the title says, I would like you to recommend me between those 2 phones, I'm divided because they are both priced equally at this time and I would like a more experienced advice. Both are 4G LTE, the specs are similar. At the time of purchase, the Express has Android Jelly Bean as for the S2 only ICS.

So what do you say?

Comparison link:
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3621&idPhone2=5271
Couldn't find the 4G version of the S2...
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Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 4:46 am

bump
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killadark
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:56 am

Galaxy express is what you want the s2 is outdated now but I would also suggest you check out nexus 4
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Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:23 am

killadark wrote:
Galaxy express is what you want the s2 is outdated now but I would also suggest you check out nexus 4


Can't find the new nexus 4 anywhere at a good price in my country :\ Thanks for the reply :)
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:27 am

Outdated as is it is, the S2 is still better than any phone in its price range. Especially now that it has received the JB update. Unless we're talking about weird US variants.

@Jon: Please give us a link the S2 variant that you wish to purchase. Not necessarily from gsmarena.
 
Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 7:40 am

Geo2160 wrote:
Outdated as is it is, the S2 is still better than any phone in its price range. Especially now that it has received the JB update. Unless we're talking about weird US variants.

@Jon: Please give us a link the S2 variant that you wish to purchase. Not necessarily from gsmarena.


This: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_ii_lte_i9210-4124.php

Here in Portugal it's still only upgradable to ICS.
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Jigar
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:02 am

Does Express have gorilla glass ? I couldn't find it.
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:28 am

It probably does have gorilla glass. All of samsung's mid and high range phones have it.

Jon, now that I look at the variant of the S2 that you want to buy, I think you'll be better off with the Galaxy Express. The chipset is newer and it will probably get its updates faster than the LTE version of the S2.
 
Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:33 am

Jigar wrote:
Does Express have gorilla glass ? I couldn't find it.


I have seen it mentioned in some review site, not sure were though :-? But I believe it has, my old Samsung Galaxy S had and I guess all Galaxy mid-high range models have it...

Geo2160 wrote:
It probably does have gorilla glass. All of samsung's mid and high range phones have it.

Jon, now that I look at the variant of the S2 that you want to buy, I think you'll be better off with the Galaxy Express. The chipset is newer and it will probably get its updates faster than the LTE version of the S2.


Yes that was what I thought. The S2 is still waiting for jelly bean here in Portugal, it's a long time :-?
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PenGun
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:20 pm

Just get the S2 and root the puppy. Sansung is fine with it and puts nothing in your way. Then you can put a variety of versions of the OS on your phone. Cyanogenmod works very well. Worth doing the initial setup so ROM Manager works then it will do all the work for you when you want to change your version etc.
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Thu Apr 11, 2013 11:36 pm

PenGun wrote:
Just get the S2 and root the puppy. Sansung is fine with it and puts nothing in your way. Then you can put a variety of versions of the OS on your phone. Cyanogenmod works very well. Worth doing the initial setup so ROM Manager works then it will do all the work for you when you want to change your version etc.


X2, Express might get the official update but S2 has a lot of support of community and the mods that you will get will blow your mind.
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:25 am

Another factor to consider is that since the Galaxy S2 has been such a popular phone, there are a ton third-party accessories (like cases, screen protectors, batteries, cases with screen protectors & built in batteries, ect and so on), so customizing your phone to fit your preferences will be easier. This goes along with the greater community software support mentioned above.

I will also note that I have a Galaxy S2, albeit the Sprint Epic 4g Touch version; it has been working quite well for me.
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lilbuddhaman
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:08 am

The S4 is out soon, which means the S3 could be dropping significantly in price if you can wait 1-3 months.
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sat Apr 13, 2013 7:20 am

Actually, since the variant of the S2 that Jon mentioned is not the international one (the one with the Exynos chipset), he won't have much community support. It doesn't have cyanogenmod support, nor a dedicated section on XDA and I doubt it even has an easy rooting method. The same goes with accesories since the design is a little different.
 
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:33 pm

Geo2160 wrote:
Actually, since the variant of the S2 that Jon mentioned is not the international one (the one with the Exynos chipset), he won't have much community support. It doesn't have cyanogenmod support, nor a dedicated section on XDA and I doubt it even has an easy rooting method. The same goes with accesories since the design is a little different.


Actually the first one he linked is an Exynos chipset:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_g ... i-3621.php

There is support for 5 different S2s at Cyanogenmod in any case and this one should do the trick for the second one he linked:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Skyrocket_Info
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sun Apr 14, 2013 3:06 am

PenGun wrote:
Actually the first one he linked is an Exynos chipset:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_g ... i-3621.php

There is support for 5 different S2s at Cyanogenmod in any case and this one should do the trick for the second one he linked:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Skyrocket_Info


He specifically linked the variant that he could buy, and that's not the Skyrocket nor the international one. The one that he linked doesn't have almost anything in terms of community support and you just can't crossflash stuff from another phone just because their specs look similar. Heck, sometimes you can't crossflash even if they're identical.
 
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sun Apr 14, 2013 12:34 pm

Geo2160 wrote:
PenGun wrote:
Actually the first one he linked is an Exynos chipset:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_g ... i-3621.php

There is support for 5 different S2s at Cyanogenmod in any case and this one should do the trick for the second one he linked:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Skyrocket_Info


He specifically linked the variant that he could buy, and that's not the Skyrocket nor the international one. The one that he linked doesn't have almost anything in terms of community support and you just can't crossflash stuff from another phone just because their specs look similar. Heck, sometimes you can't crossflash even if they're identical.


The Skyrocket at Cyanogenmd is the same as the one he linked. Same chipset, processor and GPU. I would certainly ask about his exact model on the forums at both Cyanogenmod and XDA before I did anything but that one will probably work.
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:44 pm

PenGun wrote:
The Skyrocket at Cyanogenmd is the same as the one he linked. Same chipset, processor and GPU. I would certainly ask about his exact model on the forums at both Cyanogenmod and XDA before I did anything but that one will probably work.


Please understand that it won't work. The chipset is different. It probably wouldn't work even if the hardware was exactly the same due to the fact that the operators like to mess with partitioning.
 
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:55 pm

Geo2160 wrote:
PenGun wrote:
The Skyrocket at Cyanogenmd is the same as the one he linked. Same chipset, processor and GPU. I would certainly ask about his exact model on the forums at both Cyanogenmod and XDA before I did anything but that one will probably work.


Please understand that it won't work. The chipset is different. It probably wouldn't work even if the hardware was exactly the same due to the fact that the operators like to mess with partitioning.


What? They are both Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon chipsets with the same Dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion although the OP's choice could be slightly faster, possibly a 1.7 GHz, it's not specified. They both run the Adreno 220 and although it may not work it's not 'cause the hardware is different.

Have you ever flashed a phone? You should have backup and a Samsung does a good job of allowing many screw ups to be fixed and the first thing you do for a major change is wipe the phone. Otherwise operator partitions can be a problem.

After putting my S2 into many situations screwing up images and several times spending a few hours in limbo I am fairly confident I can get my phone back from almost any situation. Running bone stock Bell Andy 4.0.3 from the official image now.
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Geo2160
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:46 am

PenGun wrote:
What? They are both Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon chipsets with the same Dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion although the OP's choice could be slightly faster, possibly a 1.7 GHz, it's not specified. They both run the Adreno 220 and although it may not work it's not 'cause the hardware is different.

Have you ever flashed a phone? You should have backup and a Samsung does a good job of allowing many screw ups to be fixed and the first thing you do for a major change is wipe the phone. Otherwise operator partitions can be a problem.

After putting my S2 into many situations screwing up images and several times spending a few hours in limbo I am fairly confident I can get my phone back from almost any situation. Running bone stock Bell Andy 4.0.3 from the official image now.


http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4124&idPhone2=4303

Take a look at the "chipset" section. And even if those were the same, this doesn't mean that the rest of the hardware is. They could have camera sensors from another OEM or different radios which are optimised for different frequency bands. If that's the case, flashing a Skyrocket ROM on the I9210 could cause a hard-brick. Just because you flashed a phone once in a while doesn't mean you understand the development process completely. Take a look at the Xperia T and TX. They're virtually the same, down to the camera sensors, yet you can't cross-flash ROMS from the T to the TX.
 
Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:48 pm

I appreciate your rooting suggestions but I wont buy a new phone to root it, at least in the first year or so... I had a galaxy s with cyanogen and it was nice, but now i want something to be nice out of the box clean and simple.

My thoughts are now turning to the galaxy s3, the nice deal on those 2 is gone....
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:56 pm

Geo2160 wrote:
PenGun wrote:
What? They are both Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon chipsets with the same Dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion although the OP's choice could be slightly faster, possibly a 1.7 GHz, it's not specified. They both run the Adreno 220 and although it may not work it's not 'cause the hardware is different.

Have you ever flashed a phone? You should have backup and a Samsung does a good job of allowing many screw ups to be fixed and the first thing you do for a major change is wipe the phone. Otherwise operator partitions can be a problem.

After putting my S2 into many situations screwing up images and several times spending a few hours in limbo I am fairly confident I can get my phone back from almost any situation. Running bone stock Bell Andy 4.0.3 from the official image now.


http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4124&idPhone2=4303

Take a look at the "chipset" section. And even if those were the same, this doesn't mean that the rest of the hardware is. They could have camera sensors from another OEM or different radios which are optimised for different frequency bands. If that's the case, flashing a Skyrocket ROM on the I9210 could cause a hard-brick. Just because you flashed a phone once in a while doesn't mean you understand the development process completely. Take a look at the Xperia T and TX. They're virtually the same, down to the camera sensors, yet you can't cross-flash ROMS from the T to the TX.


The chipset the Cyanogenmod Skyrocket addresses is the same as the on he linked. As you have found, there are Skyrockets with a slightly different one. The entire first part of any procedure is to set up recovery and if the flash fails that takes over. It is very reliable in my experience and in many others too.

Still it's moot now.
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Jon1984
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Re: Samsung Galaxy Express vs Galaxy S2

Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:26 am

Well, I've acquired a different phone, bought a Lumia 620, reticent at first because of the app market but... what an incredible phone! So fast and visual appealing! I haven't had a Nokia phone for years, its good to see that they continue to produce amazing phones!
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