I have had the Samsung Galaxy SII for over a year now, and I am very impressed to say the least. After having many a Sony Ericcson, and only having had one Samsung before, I decided to choose this in white instead of the latest Sony Ericsson.

The first thing you notice about this phone is the size. If you are going from the Galaxy S onto this one you will be familiar with its shape and button configuration. It is very very slim, and lightweight, which is great although you may drop it when you do your first text! There is one central home button and two touch sensitive back and menu buttons. The key lock is on the top right hand side, and the volume buttons are on the opposite. There is a universal jack input, meaning you can use ANY headphones (which is a must if you like your music!). There is an 8MP camera in the back, and a VG camera on the front for video calling and self photos. There is also a proper flash as well (something my last Xperia lacked, it just had a torch!) which takes photos in the darkest of places.

Going onto the inside workings...The layout is very easy to take command of, the usual tile based, swipe left and right config. Colours are vibrant and vivid, with the ability to change brightness or make it automatic. The automatic brightness is okay, although is awkward as sometimes it changes to a darker screen when you are outside, and therefore can't see anything! So I just use manual. There is an app store, so you can download loads of free apps, games, books and widgets. This is particularly useful for downloading apps to help with battery life, wifi etc etc. I find its sometimes hard to get a signal for internet, which may be a carrier problem more than a hardware one. The browser is good, and apps like Facebook and Twitter are already installed. I found the amount of apps is perfect. Its has an e-mail app where you can sync multiple e-mail accounts, and also it has Gmail.

Only negatives I have experienced with the handset is that when I turn off my phone at night, I turn it on in the morning to find it lost 20% battery...which you recover over the day as it creeps up. The unlocking swipe can be a little clunky, and you really do have to spend a lot of time setting your handset up to how you want it.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone. Much better and more reliable than a iphone, and my screen hasn't got a big crack in it like most iphones do!