Android and the Samsung Galaxy S II

The following post comes courtesy of Bridget Knapp a freelance writer specializing in the converging worlds of technology and education.

---

Something very important happened in 2008: the Google Android operating system for smartphones was launched. This open source platform promised a revolution in smartphone technology, and it has clearly delivered on that initial promise. As well as providing a really slick and efficient operating system, it also integrates well with many of Google’s other applications.

As smartphone manufacturers do not need to pay a license fee to Google in order to include Android in their products, and the fact that the technology is at least as good as the iOS that powers the iPhone, Android became an instant hit with smartphone manufacturers.

Before late 2010 the Symbian operating system that powers Nokia and other phones had been the most popular; but by the end of the year Symbian phone sales had been surpassed by Android. Android phones now own over 35% of the total smartphone market.

Android based smartphones are continually getting smarter, as is clearly demonstrated by the latest release from Samsung: the Samsung Galaxy S II. This machine now has a 1.2 GHz dual core processor plus HSPA+. This adds speedy downloads, along with super-fast processing power.

The display uses super AMOLED Plus technology, which has several advantages over previous display technologies. These include:

- a twofold improvement of color gamut compared to LCD displays
- increased sharpness
- better luminescence
- a response time of only 0.01 milliseconds compared with 25 milliseconds of LCDs
- a massively increased viewing angle and contrast ratio (up from 1,263 to 150,950)

Unlike other displays, super AMOLED Plus does not need a special additional touch panel as the display is considerably thinner. This means that the phone can be kept slim and that light transmission is much improved. The phone is only 8.49 mm thick.

Voice recognition features allow you to create and send a text message without touching the phone, ideal when you are driving or it is cold and you are wearing gloves!