[Desire HD General] lynxboy:
I posted this in my ROM thread but thought it may be worth moving it to the General section, as I've noticed users asking what the SGS2 is like coming from the DHD.

These are just some initial thoughts, but feel free to ask me anything about the phone that would influence your decision. Just to be clear, don't turn the thread into a Sensation vs SGS2 thread please!! That said, I have had a good play with the Sensation so can answer some questions about it.

Being a HTC Fan for the best part of a decade, I was apprehensive of making the move to Samsung. Their previous Android offerings all had major flaws and didn't cut it for me. I used to laugh at the original SGS with it's lag/GPS/lack of camera flash issues. I upgrade my phones often and naturally assumed that my next phone would be the Sensation but the whole issue with the bootloader turned my head. Even though HTC have now backtracked, I'm grateful they turned my head because the SGS2 is unbelievably good!

The battery life is a major improvement, with similar usage I now find myself with 20-30% more battery at the end of the day and no longer dread the "15% Remaining" notification.

Although my N1 is an AMOLED model, nothing prepared me for the SAMOLED+ which is just unbelievable. The blacks, colours and clarity are on another level and I know I will really struggle going back to LCD after seeing this.

The speed of the device is just insane. Coming from the N1 to DHD, there wasn't any major improvements in speed as such, just the bigger screen. You'd think that it wouldn't be very noticeable coming from a 1.3Ghz OC DHD to SGS2 but side by side, the SGS2 just chews through everything almost 2x as fast. The browser, as many have shown is buttery smooth and makes for an awesome browsing experience.

The camera is much better and the 1080p recording looks stunning on my 42" 1080p TV with the increased bitrate mod. The main improvement is in low light conditions where the DHD would always give grainy distorted images and videos. I can actually leave my digicam at home now and use the phone for most of my quick picture taking.

Build quality is awesome. People always say that it feels cheap and plastic, but if you are like me and use a case, it "feels" the same just so much lighter. I can now read longer in bed and watch videos without feeling my arm aching! My DHD used to creak slightly when pressing on the touchscreen (the SIM cover) and I have no problems like this and don't forsee any the way the phone is built.

Sound quality through headphones is not as good as the DHD which is a shame. I've had to fiddle with DSPManager and PowerAmp to make it sound good. The stock player sounds horrible and the included 5.1 mode is garbage. I can cope now with my adjustments but really I was disappointed with this. The speaker is much better though and is much clearer than the DHD, so voices are easier to hear on podcasts and radio.

TouchWiz is rubbish. They may have improved it but I HATE the iPhone wannabe look and although I tried my best to use it, I had LP back up and running after an hour or two. I prefer stock Android anyway but can use Sense if I had to. I cannot use TouchWiz.

Phonecall quality is OK. Sounded slightly better on DHD, but people can hear me clearer on the GS2. They sometimes think I have hung up because the line is so clear from background noise.

Overall I can't recommend the phone enough to any DHD users who are not reliant on SENSE UI and want to upgrade to Dual Core.

Regards.