So you’ve already heard that the Samsung Galaxy S 2 is official in the U.S. For the most part, the devices are pretty much the same except for a few minor differences. Here’s our hands-on with AT&T’s version: the Attain.
Design
iPhone 4 (left) vs. Attain (right)
The Attain is the most faithful of the trio of Galaxy S 2 U.S. family. It sports the squared off corners of the international version that was released in April and the rear still has that nice texturized feeling for extra grip. Thin and light is the name of the game and AT&T’s not breaking what works.
The squarish design on the Attain coupled with the large 4.3-inch display could easily make this one a mini-tablet. Oh, and it absolutely fits in a pair of skinny jeans, if you must know.
The Attain is just a hair thinner than the iPhone 4.
Display
Overall, the display on the AT&T Attain is fantastic. It might have smallest screen out of all three U.S. Galaxy S 2 smartphones, but it’s every bit as sharp and crisp. Colors pop, photos look spectacular, blacks are incredibly deep and browsing web pages and watching videos on this thing look superb. I’d be hard pressed to find a better display than the Super AMOLED Plus on a smartphone.
Bar none, you will be pulled directly into the phone’s massive crystal clear screen.
Camera
Samsung’s pushing this thing as a beast. Our test shots in indoor lighting suggest otherwise. At 8-megapixels, photos look fuzzy when zoomed in – not exactly the monster shooter Samsung is advertising it as. The LED flash is alright, but not great, leaving images washed out.
The same goes for the “1080p HD video recording.” It’s OK, but won’t blow your head off. I was expecting sharper video recording, but what I see is footage comparable to a cheap $200 video camera. The low quality video is exacerbated by the fact that footage is so clearly visible on the Attain’s large 4.3-inch display. You can literally see the sub-par video recordings. I’ve shot with the iPhone 4 and its 720p camera for over a year now on a daily basis and I would say the video coming out of that phone is still clearer than from the Attain.
Performance
Two words: Zippy and fast. Thanks to a dual-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, the Attain flies. Apps open with lightning fast response time and managing multiple apps doesn’t even seem to bog down the smartphone. The geekier parts of us will care to snoop further to see what kind of optimization Samsung’s managed to pull off with these phones, but the other part of us is shrugging its shoulders. Maybe it’s “magic,” like the iPad.
As far as 4G goes, it’ll be on HSPA+. We didn’t get to test the 4G speeds here, as all the models were running on Wi-Fi, but Samsung reps tell us it’s really fast. We’ll take there word for it based on our 4G experiences in NYC so far.
Samsung is touting a 10 percent higher rated battery over the (now old) international Galaxy S 2 model. We’ll see what kind of boost that means when we get to play with it for a longer time.
Specs
4.3″, 800×480 Super AMOLED Plus Display
1.2GHz dual-core processor (Samsung Exynos)
3G/4G HSPA+
Android 2.3
8-megapixel Camera with LED flash, HD 1080p video recording
2-megapixel Front Camera
16GB (expandable to 32GB via microSD)
Conclusion
HD video looks superb on the Attain's 4.3-inch screen
AT&T’s Attain isn’t inventing the wheel. Hardware-wise it’s the same device as Samsung’s international Galaxy S 2 models, but with a different button arrangement on the front. Instead of the Home button flanked by the Menu and Back button, you get the stock Android buttons. Nothing fancy, the Attain is thin, light and fast. And that’s the only thing that really matters.
