T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy S2 Vs. Sprint’s Vs. AT&T’s

So we know there are three Samsung Galaxy S2 variants. One of which has already been released (Sprint’s Epic Touch 4g). AT&T’s SGS2 is going to be released very soon with T-Mobile’s Galaxy S II following shortly thereafter. But even though these phones are all made by Samsung and all carry the Galaxy S2 moniker, they have significant differences.
There are two major differences between these phones: The screen size and the processor. Both T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s version of the SGS2 have massive 4.5 inch displays, with AT&T’s sticking with the European SGS2′s 4.3 inch display. If you like a bigger screen, then you’d probably prefer Sprint’s or T-Mobile’s version. But if 4.5 inches is a little too big for you, you might want to opt for AT&T’s SGS2 which packs the same amount of pixels into the smaller screen giving it a bit of an advantage in clarity.
But screen size can come down to personal preference. One really can’t be proven superior to another. But that isn’t the case when it comes to the processors. T-Mobile Galaxy S2 is packing a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, while Sprint’s and AT&T’s has the 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos processor. Just by looking at the clock speeds, you’d assume that T-Mobile’s processor is the best. But in reality, from a processor performance standpoint it is just the opposite.
While the Snapdragon processor gives T-Mobile users the ability to take advantage of the theoretical 42 Mbps speeds of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, it gives the phone worse processor performance overall. Sure, the clock speed is higher so the benchmarks you do may not reflect that big of a difference between the Snapdragon and the Exynos.
But even at 1.2 GHz, the Exynos outperforms the Snapdragon. This is especially true when you consider the GPU’s of the processors. The Snapdragon sports the Adreno 220 GPU, while the Exynos sports the Mali-4oo GPU. This means that the 3D performance with the Exynos will be far superior than that of the Snapdragon.
And remember, it won’t be long before the people at XDA Developers create a custom kernel that is capable of overclocking the Exynos up to 1.5 GHz (probably even higher). The Exynos processor clocked at 1.5 GHz will make the comparison between the Exynos and the Snapdragon just unfair. Now, let me emphasize that I am saying all this from a processor performance based standpoint. I am not considering the faster data speeds, and the better battery life the Snapdragon will offer.
So at the end, just like the screen size the processor can come down to personal preference. But our personal preference, and the one of most enthusiasts are about getting the best performance out of our phones. And the Sprint and AT&T variants give you the best performance. But don’t let that make you think that the T-Mobile SGS2 is a slouch. It is still going to be the fastest phone available on T-Mobile when it comes out.
1st place: Sprint’s Epic Touch 4G. I place Sprint’s variant at the top of the pack because the larger screen size, the 4G data speeds, and most importantly the Exynos processor.
2nd place: AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II. This is a close second to Sprint’s variant. The only thing that really kept this variant from being first is the lack of true 4G data speeds. Though the screen size is a tad bit smaller, it actually delivers the same amount of pixels in the smaller display making it look a bit better.
3rd place: It does this phone more justice saying it came in 3rd place than last place. Though this phone doesn’t pack the processing power of the other two, it does support T-Mobiles “4G” speeds and gives you better battery life.