[Samsung Infuse 4G] DesElms:
So, then, you're asking, basically, if the Infuse is worth a penny... or, no... wait... you said "$.1" which is ten cents; but I know it's on sale on the AT&T web site for one penny, which is "$.01," which is I think what you meant, no? In either case, though, the answer is "unquestionably, yes, it's worth at least that."

But, in fact, what you're actually asking, I realize, is whether it's worth having, at any price, instead of an S2, at whatever is being asked for it.

The Infuse is quite a phone, all things considered. We all wish its processor were dual-core, like the Galaxy S2, but it's still pretty nice. And in head-to-head testing, the Infuse is typically only precious few milliseconds behind the S2 in most things; and as fast as, or in some cases even faster than, the S2 on some things. Given the difference in price between the two, the Infuse is a generally better deal, all things considered.

Many consider the Infuse to be little more than a Captivate, but with a 200Mhz faster processor, and an 11% larger screen. And that's pretty much the case (other than the Infuse also comes with a 2GB SD card in its SD card slot, whereas the Captivate does not; aned the Infuse has a better rear camera then the Captivate, and a front camera which the Captivate doesn't have, and the Infuse's rear camera also has a flash which the Captivate's camera doesn't have). Pretty much all other things are about the same between the two (Captivate and Infuse) phones, other than some minor differences in stock apps, some performance and firmware tweaks, and that's kinda' it.

The Galaxy S2, on the other hand, is a decidedly different breed of phone. It's not light years better, or anything like that, but its dual-core processor, alone, makes it a technically different animal.

That said, the Infuse competes... and well. It, by and large, needs make few apologies to anyone, generally speaking... and certainly not to an S2! It hangs-in there sufficiently well that one would not be shooting oneself in the foot -- especially at either "$.1" or "$.01" -- to get an Infuse.

I don't like rooting any phone unless there's a darned good reason; and I don't recommend that others do it unless they're up for the nearly-constant tweaking and fiddling and screwing around with the phone and its OS in order to keep it running right, over time. Most end-users don't want to become techno-geeks just to keep their phones running. Their phones are commodities, like fax machines, or their cars; and just as only a small percentage of all car drivers enjoys getting all greasy and tinkering under the hood, only a small percentage of phone end-users want to become as techno-geeky as they need to be in order to root a phone and then keep it working right, over time.

That said, the Infuse is, obviously, an older phone than the S2 Skyrocket; and so more is known -- and there's more stuff to help -- root and install ROMs. Which way to do it is best, I'll leave to others.

Yes, I noticed you were Sprint, and so I presume you're ready/willing to move over to AT&T because the Infuse isn't a Sprint phone.

It's also not a 4G LTE phone, as is the Skyrocket. The Infuse is a 4G HSPA+ phone; and HSPA+ is darned fast, but AT&T seems to be heading more down the LTE road, now. Oh, don't get me wrong, it still has HSPA infrastructure to build out, and it will do so; but if you want to travel down the road that AT&T's clearly now traveling, you might want to make sure that whatever phone you get is LTE-capable; and the Infuse is not. The Skyrocket, on the other hand, is both HSPA+ and LTE capable. Something to consider.

Only you know whether the difference between either "$.1" or "$.01," and the price of the Skyrocket, is worth it to you. For the average end-user who's not looking for bleeding-edge performance, the Infuse is more than adequate; and more-than-adequately performs as a 4.5-inch-screened phone. And LTE is far from ubiquitous, so HSPA+ capability, for another year or two, is more-than-adequate in most parts of the country, too. Most Infuse end-users will, quite frankly, never miss not having a Skyrocket.

But you seem performance conscious, and so, who knows, you may think the Skyrocket is well worth it. I don't, but that's just me.

Hope that helps!

_______________________________

Gregg DesElms

Napa, California USA

gregg at greggdeselms dot com