By Patrick Avenell (Follow me on Twitter)
SYDNEY, NSW: At RRP $899, the Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the more expensive smartphones on the market, but with anticipation for this device so high, Samsung and its telco partners have every reason to affix a premium price point to this premium handset.
The first launch partner is Optus, which has already opened pre-ordering, which a quasi-guarantee to start shipping on 1 June 2011. Telstra and Vodafone will also be selling the Galaxy S II, though nothing more than before the end of July is known.
For Australian consumers, Samsung has been working with Fairfax to produce an exclusive Good Food Guide app, which will come installed on the handset with a free 1-month trial.
With Samsung the most popular TV brand in the country, the Second TV application should prove tempting to consumers who have already invested in Samsung AV products. This app allows users to wireless stream programs from the TV to the handset, for viewing on the AMOLED screen. Users are even able to stream content on different channels than the one playing on the TV, and you can use the Galaxy S as the remote control.
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With so much sensitive content now being pushed to smartphones from enterprise servers, Samsung has responded, launching its Dive program in Australia. This feature enables users to control their handset remotely: Dive can find, lock and wipe the handset should it be lost.
Hubs are big part of Samsung’s overall story. In addition to its AV Hubs, it also has mobile hubs. There are four: Social, Readers, Game and Music. This last one has not yet launched in Australia, though the first three are ready to go with the Galaxy S. The Social Hub now has LinkedIn, as well as Facebook and Twitter; Readers Hub is powered by Kobo, with local magazine content provided by Pacific Magazine; and Game Hub has 9 free and 11 premium HD games (these games aren’t available on the Android Marketplace).
Selected Samsung Galaxy S II features:
-Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS
-4.3 WVGA Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen
-1.2GHz dual core processor
-8MP rear camera (with LED flash) and 2MP front camera
-Full HD video recording at 30fps
-Adobe 10.1 Flash support
-16GB memory, expandable up to 32GB via MicroSD
-Quoted dimensions (millimetres): 125×66.1×8.49
-Quoted weight: 116 grams