A Closer Look At New Android Update For The Samsung Galaxy S2

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has become one of the biggest selling smartphones of all time achieving record breaking sales globally. The phone runs on the popular Google Android operating system and comes supplied with the Gingerbread version of the platform installed on the device. There is now a software update available for this model which upgrades the OS to the new Ice Cream Sandwich version. We take a look at how this new software works on the phone.

Android ICS promises a number of improvements to the Samsung Galaxy S2 including enhanced performance and improved battery life. When using this new software for the first time the first thing you notice is the improved lock screen. This screen is the same as the one used by the Samsung Galaxy Note and requires the user to place their finger on any point of the screen. When users perform this action a circle appears on the display and the finger simply needs to be dragged outside of this to unlock the phone. This basically means that the user can can perform shorter swipes to unlock the phone which is a welcome improvement. If you prefer you can also chose to activate the face recognition option which means that the handset can be unlocked by simply looking into the front facing camera. The main menus on the device have also been tweaked and rather than presenting the user with a number of icons the phone now uses an improved list format. This allows the phone to offer more options to the user. A vertically scrolling task list can also be accessed which lists all of the applications that are currently running. This is a great new feature which allows users to take full advantage of the multi tasking features that the phone offers.

The new ICS software for the Samsung Galaxy S2features a new data usage monitor feature that enables users to keep track on the performance of the handset. This function keeps tabs on both mobile data and data used over WiFi. Users can set limits so that they receive a warning when the model is approaching the specified data limit. Some of the native applications that are installed on the phone now boast some minor improvements thanks to this update. The music player for example now offers an option for users to view the lyrics of the song that they are listening to. The web browser now features an incognito mode so no browsing history is stored and users can also save web pages that are of interest to them. The photo gallery has been overhauled with an attractive new interface and some new editing features have also been added to enable consumers to change the appearance of their shots.

These are just some of the improvements that the new ICS Android platform delivers to the Samsung Galaxy S2. The new interface is visually more appealing and the updates to a number of native applications are another impressive aspect of this new software.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Sony Xperia S are available now.