Exit Review: Samsung S-II

Consumers tend to throw away old gadgets with little fanfare or thought. I think that’s a shame; all the knowledge and experience gained navigating the quirks of the old gadget are tossed as well. Thus, instead of raving about the latest greatest gadget, I like to jot down a few notes about my old gadgets when I retire them.

The third installment of my exit review series (previous installments were on the IBM T60p and the Blackberry 8700c) was done as a guest writer for medium.com; read it here.


16 Responses to “Exit Review: Samsung S-II”

  1. Kevin says:

    On medium.com; didn’t read.

    Post the review here instead of on a locked down platform.

  2. Morkl says:

    So, did you ever find that it smelled like dill? If so, do you have any idea why that may be?

  3. moser says:

    Can you just post it on your own site? Maybe i’m completely stupid, but i can’t get the full article on the external site.

    • bunnie says:

      Hrm…sorry about that. Next time I’ll keep the posts on this site. I thought it’d be easier/more convenient for people to read on a properly maintained blog, but it seems to have been more of a hassle than I had anticipated.

  4. Bruce says:

    Great article, I loved reading it as a former SII owner (had to give it back after leaving a job so I didn’t have it nearly as long as you did).

    One question, why couldn’t you fly with an extra battery? I’ve never encountered that rule before I don’t believe.

    • bunnie says:

      It was a new (at the time) rule introduced on Cathay Pacific about no spare lithium batteries in checked luggage. I had initially misread the rule to mean no spare lithium batteries at all, but it turns out they do allow “reasonable” (<100Wh or 20 pieces) amounts of spare lithium batteries for carry-on.

  5. Pixel_K says:

    Nice “exit review”, even if it’s the first I even read. My two year (or near that) old S2 is still working perfectly, and I plan to use it for as many years as I can (mostly due to the amount of compatible accessories I bought for it – cradles and car mounts). The only thing I replaced so far is the battery, for the beefier one Samsung sells with a slightly thicker cover. At the time of purchase I was amazed by the quality of the screen (color and brightness). Now I guess there are many screen as good as, or even better than it. I have it always in a pocket, unprotected, but I take care not to toss my keys in the same pocket. Only the paint varnish got stripped away on the edges, but apart from that, no scratches. Great phone, I like it and hope it survives many more years.

  6. zuul says:

    nice, which variant did you have? i have the sprint version…also for about two years

    I had to replace the battery, it still draws it down pretty fast if i’m using it a lot though

    before, it would shut off like you described and at one point i was unable to get into settings, the problem was solved when i went to the samsung website and updated the firmware, it also had a jelly bean update in a month or so prior which didn’t auto update on my phone, so maybe you could’ve tried that?

    for the gps, i find it works if you turn it on ~15 minutes before you want to leave somewhere..it should lock on a signal by then…it never seems to work if you’re moving and trying to get it to lock on (which is ironic because gps supposedly works better when you’re moving right?)

    i’m surprised my usb micro connection still works even though i can see how dusty it is in there

  7. J Altfas says:

    FWIW I had a similar problem with Li-ion batteries for a camera (Olympus OMD EM5). A year ago when the camera had just come out, spare OEM batteries weren’t available, so 3rd party batteries were the only option.

    I acquired a set of “clones”, but there were many reports of “swelling” of the clones such that they’d get stuck in the camera, requiring expensive repair. Eventually, all of the clones I owned began to show this defect, but fortunately I could extract them before they caused damage.

    Measuring battery thickness (per microcaliper), the clone was 15.55 on the top edge, and 15.88mm (center). The OEM is 15.33mm (top) and 15.02 (center). A “swollen” battery is <=0.5mm thicker at its center but it's not too hard to measure. BTW, the swollen clone didn't "spin" as described.

    I'm guessing the swelling results from heating up–possibly from device-generated heat or battery internal resistance during charge/discharge cycles. In any case, once swollen, I considered the battery a hazard–at least to the device it powers. By now, I've thrown out all but the one I measured, and it should be tossed as well.

  8. Kevin Phair says:

    That’s a really nice review and gives me some good tips on what NOT to do with my S2, thanks! The only real problem I’ve ever had (other than the glossy screen) is that it’s quite slippery, desipte the textured back – Ths was fixed by painting the rear cover and sides with Plasti-Dip and it hasn’t fallen since and feels much more like my old Siemens SX1.

  9. NTT says:

    Thanks for the great exit review. I love the idea of opening up failed gadgets to look inside and learn what might have happened. I think I’m going to try to do the same with a Nexus S I have which doesn’t seem to boot up..

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