decent phone, meh battery life, awful audio October 2, 2012

Reviewer:  JigglyWiggly "JigglyWiggly"  (Pleasanton, Ca United States) -

Very fast, yet not much support.
No jb for it yet, but on xda developers you can grab cyanogen nightly builds at the time of writing. They aren't 100% stable though, but I use it for my day to day.
My biggest complaint is that the audio is awful.
If you plug in headphones, you will instantly hear hissing, and this is with two of these phones. I've tried several different headphones, it just has a horrible SNR.

My old htc evo was much better.

Here is an easy way to test this:

Play a song, then pause it, you will hear static, and then it will cut off. You can still hear it when music is playing, but it's not as noticeable.

Awesome 4g Smart Phone September 26, 2012

Reviewer:  sludwig 

Android Galaxy S2
Awesome smart phone

Let me start off by saying, this is an awesome phone, and it's totally worth buying!
Yes the price is a little expensive, and the Android Galaxy S3 just came out, but it is huge and the Galaxy S2 is smaller, and great!
You could compare it to an iPhone, but its way better. Everything is HD! The displays on the screen, videos, apps, camera, and more are sharp, bright, colorful, clear, and perfect lighting!
Also, you can choose from varieties of creative locks, and wallpaper for your lock screen! (No more intruders!)
One of my favorite parts is picking out a moving, touch sensitive, live wallpaper! I should also mention how it multitasks perfectly, no freezing up!
There is also a bunch of free apps on the app store that Apple doesn't have! I just really wish it had Siri.
It connects to WIFI great and is 4g!
The camera on this phone has very great quality. It can focus on the smallest things and enhances the photo. And it also has a great front camera.
Sadly, I was sitting down by a river, when my shoe had fallen in. I bent down to grab it, regretfully, and this phone which had always been too big to fit into my pocket slips and bam, into the river. I quickly grabbed it and went back to my friend's house and put it into rice immediately. But it didn't help; my poor Android went straight to the afterlife. I wish the Android Galaxy S2 was pocket sized, and waterproof.
In conclusion, I think this phone is best for adults and teens. It would probably be too confusing for little kids and the elderly.

Galaxy S II Skyrocket, True 4G LTE. September 16, 2012

Reviewer:  Dempcine 

This is my sixth month owning this devise, and I can't say how much I love working with it. Yes, the screen resolution is not as high as SIII, but the price is ridiculously cheaper at $79 on amazon and $99 straight from AT%T! Everything is great once you break free from AT%T's evil realm of micromanaged, locked, unrooted android combined with Samsung's user interface. Even if you are not a crazy power user/developer like me, you would still enjoy Android 4.0.4 since AT%T lets you uninstall its bloatware really easily right from the app manager without rooting or any fancy term you don't care about. And also you get good battery life with the stock rom as well once you turn on the power recycling feature. You can set it at 50% and once your devices battery drops bellow that level it will automatically shutoff whatever feature you set it to shut off (like wifi, sync, ...) to conserve power. I installed android by CM9 and have been enjoying it ever since. If I have high reception in LTE areas I have experienced peak downloads about 79mbps and peak up loads of about 35mbps around downtown San Jose, CA, and houston, TX. With low LTE reception elsewhere it still peaks under 30 mbps download speeds. This is using Android 4.0.4 on CM9, Radio:I727UCLF6. Best of luck to you all and a stable 4.1.1 will be available around October 2012.

My Skyrocket! August 19, 2012

Reviewer:  Rob W. "Sounddude™"  (Florida) -

First, there are plenty of good reviews here that tell you all the details about this incredible mobile phone so I won't try to repeat them. I'll just tell of my experience and some of the things I like so far!

I've used the phone about three months now on an ATT corporate plan. What that means is the company buys a mass amount of services for it's dozens of phones at a highly reduced rate and we all share in those services. So in essence, I have unlimited usage, unlimited texts, unlimited data, etc. That's really the way to go if you can find a company plan to get on or a friend is on one and they resell to others.

I'm a holdout from iPhone. I had and used the 2.5 up until three months ago. I can't tell you how much I love the Skyrocket! I love the super bright and super clear screen. As has been mentioned before, this phone on the LTE system just screams! It is so fast connecting. I've used it across the country now and I've not had one slow connect or use of service. Your mileage may vary but so far, I'm extremely impressed and this truly is the best cell phone I've ever owned (and I've owned a dozen over the years all the way back to the Motorola brick).

There are hundreds...no...thousands of apps for this phone and you'll find yourself downloading too many, more than you'll ever use! Be aware that the more apps you install, the more will run in the background. I suspect that the few negative reviews that I've read are because folks downloaded a ton of free apps, installed them not knowing they run in the background. But I'll recommend two to have and use from the start.

The first is a widget that came already loaded in the phone. It just lets you know what apps are drawing power from the phone and gives you two options to stop them: 1) Stop All, or 2) Stop each one individually.

The second is Juice Defender. They have a free version and this really does turn things off as you set it up to, and keeps my phone battery to where I only have to charge it at night while I sleep and many times, still have juice to spare. Make sure you have the Android Active Applications widget and Juice Defender (free version) and you'll tame the battery usage that can easily get away from you.

I have my Skyrocket in an [[ASIN:B006BBK46M Otterbox Defender Case & Holster for Samsung Galaxy S II SkyRocket LTE SGH-I727 Black/Grey [AT&T Retail Packaging]]] and I'm completely happy with the phone and case. Since there are so many others who have gone into great detail, I won't be redundant. It's an awesome phone with awesome speed, a fantastic screen and thousands of free apps. No wonder it keeps getting voted as an Editor's Choice from so many sites and magazines.

Recommendation: If you are in the market for a new mobile phone, do consider the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. They are running some great deals on them right now!

after the 4.0 android update August 18, 2012

Reviewer:  anonymous 

I bought this before the 4.0 update came out and everything was working just fine now I updated and everything is sluggish and doesnt seem to work right my wifi keeps disconnecting and no matter how far away from my router I am i never get more than a 2 out of the 4 bars and then it constantly drops web pages will take for ever to load sometimes and others it will be lightning fast if you have this phone and haven't updated yet I wouldn't

Love this phone! June 1, 2012

Reviewer:  Practical and Quality "Jean"  (PA) -

Fast, seamless, and beautiful. I upgraded from a Captivate to the Skyrocket this month, and was hoping I was making a good decision. The raving reviews I researched were right - it really is a great phone! The Skyrocket is so much faster, the camera is better, the speakers are much better, and I could list many improvements. It also still has the high quality design of a Samsung smart phone that my Captivate had, as well. If you want a nice, well made, feature rich smartphone that has all the bells and whisltes and still makes a great sound quality call, get this one, you won't be sorry!

Love it! Try this if you have trouble with the MMS/SMS May 31, 2012

Reviewer:  Miss LovelyKC 

I love it! I did have some issues initially with the set up and not receiving or being able to send MMS or SMS messages at first. I had to get a new LTE SIM card and download an app called "Tweakker" (it's free) and it was off and running so if you have the same problem I had, please try that before getting upset with the customer service clerk (they've just got to do their job, too, ya' know). You do sometimes have to turn the wifi off to receive MMS messages because it disables your data, fyi.

The phone itself has a beautiful picture, is pretty simple to use and get started with. It is a lot bigger than other phones available and it took me a bit to get used to using two hands for it, but it's so nice to be able to see and read everything without feeling like you need a magnifying glass. I would recommend a good cover/case for it because it is pretty slippery and it would be heartbreaking to drop it and crack the screen the first day.

Very pleased! Hope you like it, too!

Great phone. May 15, 2012

Reviewer:  dan 

This phone is superb. Has LTE, dual core processor, a 4.5inch super amoled+, 8mp camera with a 2mp front facing camera, and a decent battery life. According to the specs, this machine is a monster. In reality, this machine is a monster. The limited LTE is At&T's fault, not the phone's. The 4.5 inch screen is bright and saturated (which i prefer). The camera is decent compared to the iphone or even the Nokia Lumnia 900, but it'll get the job done. The front facing camera is great in high-mid lighting condition.Time for the faults. It crashes (very few times), stutters, and even lags. The front facing camera is HORRIBLE in low lighting conditions. It makes EVERYTHING blue. Not even the ipod touch's front facing camera is that horrible. The battery life is decent/great. It really depends. Compared to iphone or many other 3g phone, its battery life is decent. Compared to other 4glte phones with a screen greater than 4.2 inches(excluding razermaxx and galaxy note, its great. I can last a whole day (6am-11 pm) with 20% battery. Keep in mind that I dont live in a LTE area. I usually text, play games, watch youtube, and browse the web daily. Another problem is ics (Ice Cream Sandwhich). It does not have an ICS update even though its been out for about 7 months. The ICS update can solve many of the issues this phone faces. Until then, a 4star is fair.

Not bad at all! May 15, 2012

Reviewer:  Derik 

So let's give a little back story first - I am an IT guy and previously had an iPhone that left a bad taste in my mouth, so I decided not to get another iPhone when it came time to upgrade. I walked into the AT&T store and they recommended this device, so that is what I got. So far I have been pretty happy.

Pros:
PHENOMENAL DATA SPEEDS! I have run the speed test app in Indianapolis and have gotten 30 Mbps download speeds.

Pretty responsive too, much better than my old iPhone.

Also, works great as a GPS using the Google Navigation app.

If you are technically inclined, you can easily root the device and make things run pretty much however you want.

Now for the cons:
Battery life is pretty good, but it could certainly be better. I need to charge it every night but it gets through the day most days. Typically around 10% by the time I plug it in after checking emails, texting quite a bit and talking a bit.

So much bloatware!!! Bloatware irritates me to no end, and I hate that is sits there and takes up space.

I am not sure if this is a common problem, but as the device is charging the touchscreen seems to respond erratically. It may not detect my touches and at the same time it may detect touches when my hand is nowhere near it.

Overall I would say it is a great device, especially for people who need to get a lot done on the internet.

iPhone devotees, fear not, this is an easy transition and a great one.. February 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Moody 

I am what you would call an Apple "fanboy." Come to my house, and you see a ridiculous amount of apple brand gadgets, from iMacs, mac minis, macbooks, ipads, apple TV, ipods, etc... the list goes on..

But after being first in line for the iphone 4, and then getting the 4s, I was starting to be a little leery, wanting something different, the 4s let me down, with all the usual apple hype and rumors, I, amongst others, was a little disappointed.

Poor battery life, little square heavy design, I wanted something different...

Enter in the samsung galaxy skyrocket. I have never owned an android product, always been against them and windows phones, so this was a big step for me. Now after using it for a week +, I can tell you one thing, I'm a convert.

Granted, I still choose mac OSX over windows, but this droid product is awesome. The screen is beautiful gorilla glass, the processor speeds and overall navigation is flawless, and ease of use and learning is very fast.

The battery life can be poor if you have a lot of push notifications and text alot, but not much different from what we got out of the iphone 4s.

I would recommend this phone to anyone that wants something different from the crowded market of iPhones. Samsung makes a great product, and I have always and will always support their company.

Try it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed. My wife is an iPhone user and already has her sights on the soon to come Samsung Note.

Pretty Nice with a few flaws February 1, 2012

Reviewer:  Thomas M. Taylor "runman"  (Phoenix, AZ) -

This is my 3rd Android phone. I started with the Atrix, and then the Infuse because of the larger screen and now I needed a faster phone. The Skyrocket is a great upgrade from the Samsung Infuse.

I use the GPS a lot in the cell phone. I like to use Google maps instead of a seperate GPS system in the car. I also use the GPS when walking for exercise. The Atrix has a great GPS, this is true for the Atrix and the Atrix 2. Both of the phones have faster GPS lock on than the Samsung phones do. The Infuse was the slowest of all The infuse GPS takes so longer that I would be done with a 3 mile walk and still be waiting for the GPS to lock on. The Skyrocket is fairly fast. Not as fast as the Atix 2, but it is pretty fast.

Processor Speed: The Skyrocket is a dual core processor with the addition of a GPU too. The phone is rather fast. For compare; the Infuse takes just over 1 minute from power button press to phone lock screen. The Skyrocket does the same thing but taking only 20 seconds or so. Olive Tree Bible read is about a 7.2mb sized program took 12 seconds to load on the Infuse and 4 seconds on the Skyrocket. The Infuse does turn off quicker than the Skyrocket.

Phone design: The Skyrocket is slick, as in slippery, the outer case is smooth and more prone to being dropped.

I am not that excited about the phone. I will be returning it and getting the Samsung Galaxy note in a few weeks when it comes out.

Better than iPhone 4 January 30, 2012

Reviewer:  Elijah James 

My wife has an iPhone 4. I have a Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. We both have AT&T. Now she wants to get an Android.

Call quality is magnificent on the Skyrocket. 4G LTE connectivity means that I get better reception than the iPhone 4. The speed of the Skyrocket is what is really impressive. It jumps from screen-to-screen so quickly! I upgraded to this phone from a iPhone 3G and am very happy with my decision. At first Android took some getting used to but I like how it can be customized.

The only downside is poor battery life. Also, there may be less game apps for it than the iPhone. I don't play many games on it so I'm not sure.

Great Phone ! December 21, 2011

Reviewer:  BlackBird 

This is just an awesome phone. I bought it recently(for 1 cent) and really loving it. Only thing I am not happy is the ear buds...I expected better sound quality from them. Other than that, everything is fine. Highly recommended.

got two so glad I did December 19, 2011

Reviewer:  Jina "Jina"  (Burnside ky) -

Bought these phones during thanksgiving sale along with 3 htc vivids. Got an unreal amount of technology for 5 cents way to go Amazon. The vivids are nice I was worried at first that the kids had gotten the better phones but the skyrocket put that fear to bed right awaqy. The screen is just awesome it does everything well. My other phone being 2 years old is not even in the same category. Its a computer basically you can load fullpage webpages faster than my laptop and click where you want. Its a great device.

Great phone... Good battery life... December 17, 2011

Reviewer:  NM 156 

Got mine on Amazon for $.01 on the BF deal... Phone is awesome... Battery life is great... Default setting goes to energy save mode when the battery hits 50% then it lasts till about 4AM... I wish AT&T had an unlimited data plan like Sprint does...

Better than iPhone December 15, 2011

Reviewer:  K. Chan "KC"  (california) -

This is the best smart phone I have owned. It's better than iPhone 4 & 4S, because: faster network speed, faster app load time, bigger screen, support flash, switching between apps are so much EASIER. you can even download bit torrent file on it! 4G LTE speed is incredible on AT&T network. hundreds of customization are available. I am very glad I chose this phone over the iPhone 4S.

Awesome Phone December 14, 2011

Reviewer:  Hadrian 

I was able to get my phone through Amazon during the Thanksgiving weekend sale for a penny. Yes a penny and is why i didn't purchase an iphone 4S.
I had my last phone since 2006 and had been due for a change, although I have bought Iphones for my college age twins. This phone is simply awesome,the LTE speed is blazing. The screen is vivid.
There is a tutorial for the phone at: [...], that allows you to walk through all of phone's features. I am still going through it. Everyday i am learning something new.
I truly believe that the Skyrocket will give Apple's Iphone a run for its money.

Very very nice phone... December 12, 2011

Reviewer:  Joe  (Miami, FL USA) -

I've had this phone for over a week now and I'm pretty impressed. The screen is crystal clear. I was concerned that other phones were coming out with higher resolution screens but the screen on this is gorgeous. The higher resolution on other phones seems to negatively effect battery performance. The battery on the skyrocket last me all day. I browse the internet a lot all day and can still make it home late without having to recharge. I've noticed that the important thing is to always have a strong data connection either through Wifi or mobile so the phone is not struggling. My only complaint is that the phone does not have a notification LED. If it had that it would be perfect.

Best on the market today December 2, 2011

Reviewer:  Anita Jolly "Atlanta Ace"  (Atlanta, ga) -

Lightening fast processor and network speed. Light, thin and all display. Compared to my iPhone 4 the amazing display seems more crisp and double in size. No LED like all BlackBerry's and some hot keys on the shell would be nice. But overall a fantastic buy if you are in a 4G area.

got this for my wife, she loves it November 29, 2011

Reviewer:  R. Vanderwerf  (Austin, TX United States) -

My wife resisted a smartphone (had a bbery pearl) for so long. She thought she wanted an iphone because other women have it - however I took her to the att store and they showed it to her and she liked it. She has figured it out very quickly, and I see her on it all the time now, using facebook and reading her celeb news apps. This phone also gets great reception - our house is a black hole, terrible service for all carriers, even on her old pearl. However this phone somehow gets 3 bars and is actually usable in our house. I'm amazed. My sprint EVO hardly works at all, even with their booster box I spent $100 on. Oh the screen, is so nice and even and rich in color. It blows away my evo's screen and it's so fast! I am jealous I cannot upgrade to this phone yet :)