The Galaxy R will be available for less than the price of the premium Samsung Galaxy SII. The Galaxy SII is Samsung’s top end phone with cutting edge technology, and the Galaxy R only has a few minor differences with its screen and processor. So is it worth saving money purchasing a cheaper Samsung Galaxy R contract or do these changes make it significantly less desirable than the SII?
The Galaxy R is nearly as powerful as the larger SII, with a 1GHz dual core processor as opposed to a 1.2GHz dual core. This means that both phones are very quick and can handle multitasking as well as complex media tasks with ease. The Galaxy SII is slightly faster but it really is hard to notice unless you measure them with complex technology.
A dual core 1GHz chip is still pretty powerful and top of the food chain, although it is likely to age quicker than the SII. Samsung has also switched from the Exynos chipset in the SII to a Tegra 2, and there is some debate about which offers the best performance. Either way, the Galaxy R remains a high powered device in its own right.
The devices also look slightly different and there is nearly a full 1mm of a difference between them in width. The Galaxy SII also has a larger screen and is also a little longer. The shape however is fundamentally the same, with a home button and a slim bezel – there is no doubt they are part of the same family. The home button does come with a slightly different design but with just a cursory glance you would be forgiven for confusing the two phones.
The two phones also have different screens. The SII has the famous Super AMOLED Plus screen which has tech geeks across the world salivating, whereas the R has the Super Clear LCD that uses Samsung’s TV engine, the digital natural image engine. This software creates a wonderful picture and once again image wise the phone is just as good as the SII’s.
It should be pointed out as well that while the screen is 0.1 inches smaller than the SII’s, it still comes with a WVGA resolution. Because of this it has a higher pixel per inch (PPI) density offering sharper images. So the trade-off here appears to be sharper visuals instead of vibrant colours, as found on the Galaxy SII.
Both devices also come with Android Gingerbread and both also have the Samsung TouchWiz interface on top. This interface is excellent and comes complete with Samsung features like the Games Hub, Media Hub and Social Hub, which combines various social networks into an easy to manage app. In terms of software the two phones are pretty much the same.
The phones have different cameras and the SII’s is noticeably better offering 1080p recording and 8mp for stills.The Galaxy R is more austere and has a 5mp camera with a 720p recording ability. This gives the more expensive Samsung an advantage and this is clear to see when taking photos. There is no problem with the Galaxy R’s camera; it just doesn’t have the hardware to compete with the more expensive phone.
So it seems that while the Samsung Galaxy R on contract and SIM Free will most likely be quite a bit cheaper than the SII it won’t actually offer any serious reduction in quality. The processor is a little slower but at present the Galaxy R will still not struggle with anything thrown in its direction. Physical changes are minimal and the only real differences are with the screen and the camera, which are still both of the utmost quality. In answer to the original question then, it may very well be worth considering the Galaxy R as a more affordable version of the Galaxy SII, without feeling that you have gypped yourself in any way with the phone deals on offer.