The Samsung Galaxy S2 is definitely Samsung’s flagship smartphone for 2011 and it is the first Samsung’s smartphone powered by a dual-core CPU. It runs the Gingerbread (Android 2.3) and an amazing 4.3” Super-AMOLED Plus display. Other major highlights are 8Mp camera and 1080p Full-HD video recording capability. Those who first saw a Samsung Galaxy S might think that it was the best Android handset ever and it couldn’t get much better. Well, you were wrong.

Samsung has introduced a load of enhancements over the first Galaxy S. It’s most obvious improvement is its incredible display, which grows slightly from 4” to 4.3”, making it the most spacious screen in the smartphone industry. The new phone boasts a more improved screen technology called the Super-AMOLED plus and it is eye-popping in its clarity and brightness. The original Super-AMOLD screen on earlier Samsung’s devices was leagues ahead other smartphones, which mean the leap is definitely impressive. Even if its resolution (480 x 800) isn’t the highest, it is certainly a match for iPhone’s Retina display.

Although Galaxy 2 has bigger display, due to its thinness, the handset still rests nicely in the hand. At just 8.5mm, it is arguably the thinnest in the smartphone market (iPhone 4 is slightly thicker at 9.3mm). The home button below the screen is flanked by a couple of touch sensitive button, Menu and Back. Despite the size, at just 116g, it’s also quite light as the phone uses plastic materials. You may be a little disappointed by the lack of solid metallic feel, but it may minimize the reception issue that plagued early iPhone 4 and HTC Desire S, at some extent. The display is also protected by the Gorilla Glass to resist scratches.

The phone uses Android 2.3 (Gingerbread ). There are more than 100,000 apps in the Android Market today and it is growing rapidly. The phone combines TouchWiz 4.0 with the Android 2.3, along with Swype text input and various home-screen customizations. Just like on previous Samsung handsets, the Social Hub brings together Facebook, Twitter, instant Messaging, email, calendar and contacts in one spot. Reader’s Hub is the reading tool for magazines and ebooks, in addition to more than 2000 newspapers in nearly 50 languages. Music Hub is a combination of Music Store and music player, while the Games Hub allows you to download high quality HD games that are optimized for Galaxy S2’s snappy dual-core CPU, crisp Super-AMOLED Plus display, gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometers. The phone is pre-installed with popular social games, including We City, We Rule and Safari and We Farm. Being an Android gadget, the Galaxy S2 is preinstalled with YouTube, Google Maps 5.0, Google Talk, Picasa and Google Calendar.

The dual-core CPU is definitely a huge attention grabbing, although S2 is not the first phone that uses the same processor. The original Galaxy S with single-core processor is instantaneous enough, so you may question whether the dual-core processor will worth the extra cost. However, the 1.2GHz dual-core CPU will open up new possibilities, such as Full-HD video recording and advanced mobile gaming experience The S2 is dramatically improved with an 8Mp sensor and LED flash, which was unavailable in the original Galaxy S. Just like other Samsung phones, the S2 is equipped with image stabilization, smile/face detection, touch focus and autofocus to ensure more detailed and sharper picture quality. The video recording is uprated with the Full-HD resolution that supports the 1080p format. At this moment only LG Optimus 2X has similar capability. The front-facing camera is available to make video calls.

The media player supports DivX and XviD formats, also the 5.1 surround sound. If you want to listen to music on the move, the FM radio has the RDS feature. Its 3.5mm headphone jack support many headphone models, while the DLNA allows you to connect the S2 to a Full-HD TV. Samsung takes a huge leap forward in the Internet connectivity, with the HSPA connection that reaches 21 Mbps, if your carrier supports 3G data access at this speed that would be faster than a typical home broadband connection. The S2 is definitely designed by speed junkies in Samsung’s R&D lab.

Call quality and signal strength are acceptable, while the battery life is impressively long. For a handset loaded with so many attractive features, you may find it hard to unglue the S2 from your hand, but luckily, Samsung understands the need for a powerful battery and have accordingly stepped up its capacity. The 1650mAH battery is definitely a monster power pack according to the today’s smartphone standard. Luckily, the battery doesn’t add too much weight. After charging the battery overnight, each day, for at least two months, it can last for nearly 3 days with normal usage, which is a pretty good going. You’ll be awed with the Samsung Galaxy S2 and it can be considered the best Android in the market today. In fact, we can safely assume that it is better than the iPhone 4 in many respects, although some would argue that the S2 should be compared with the upcoming iPhone 5, which will also use a dual-core processor.  Obviously, if you choose the Samsung Galaxy S2, there will be no regrets.