One of the first things (the second, to be precise) I look for in the specs of smartphone when I want to decide on the best performing device is RAM memory, both total and ideally how much is available to the user after a soft reset.
Having enough RAM is the difference between a pleasurable user experience and an exercise in frustration: I would much rather have a phone with a little slower CPU than a RAM-starved device (and I know that from my personal experience). Given this fact alone, and when you take into account the RAM specs for the Galaxy S2 and the Sensation, 1GB vs. 768MB respectively, the decision is obvious, even more so given some reports that Sense 3.0 on the Sensation uses up half the RAM on the phone! Yet most people only look at the CPU when they compare two phones for performance, seemingly unaware of the significant slowdowns that occur when the OS has to start closing down apps in the background and then run the garbage collector due to lack of RAM memory.
So in the case of the Galaxy S2 and the Sensation, comparing CPUs is virtually pointless as far as day-to-day performance and usage is concerned. Any bottlenecks will much sooner be a result the amount of RAM available. And with the Galaxy’s RAM you can also be much more certain that your phone will be able to run future versions of Android, as it invariably grows and requires more demanding hardware (look no further than the HTC Desire and Gingerbread-update debacle, where HTC claimed that the Desire does not have the required hardware to run Gingerbread well).
Add to that the superior battery life on the Galaxy S2 and there is nothing to think about, really. And no, not even the Sensation’s qHD display nor HTC’s Watch video streaming service can make up for this.
In all, the Galaxy S2 is almost the perfect phone right now as far as the hardware goes (the only thing I would *desperately* add is a notification light!), and the other manufacturers should take note.
UPDATE:
I had heard about the so-called “death grip” on the Sensation but since I had not seen any evidence of it I did not include it. But then I came across this where you will be able to see it firsthand; if you still were not convinced that the Galaxy is the right choice then you should be after watching that video.
UPDATE 2:
I now have an SG2, coming from an iPhone 4 – i.e. I absolutely meant it when I said that the SG2 is the better phone compared to the HTC Sensation, and that it is the best phone currently on the market.
Wow! Simple yet direct to the point. You made it easy for us too! Thanks for this
Thanks ariel! It really is simple in this case!
I updated the post with a link that displays the Sensation’s “death grip” – that really should kill (small pun intended) any interest in the Sensation.
Wow! Another fan of the Galaxy!
How much do Samsung pays you?
I mean, for F sake, a phone is designed to give and receive PHONE calls, isn’t it? Any extra perk is welcome, but how in the world would I prefer the 1GB memory to the 768mb one for a freaking phone???
I am a graphic designer and don’t need (and can’t anyway) work on a 560×960 pixels POS smartphone…
Chill down mate
You’re the one cussing and accusing me of being paid by Samsung (I wish!), and you’re telling me to chill??
No, neither the Galaxy nor the Sensation are designed, in any shape or form, around phone calls being the primary function – if that’s your main usage then get yourself a basic Nokia phone, preferably one with a BW display to get the maximum battery life.
But if you want to use your smartphone for what it was designed, then you will absolutely want that extra RAM memory.
You also need to think ahead: we’ll soon get ICS, which will likely be accompanied by an overall increase in RAM usage, which means that the Galaxy, with its higher RAM, is in a better position than the Sensation to run ICS without any hiccups.
Great review. Very helpful. I dnt understand why assholes like harryposter get so wound up over it and need to leave useless remarks
[...] I’d like to see a new top-of-the-line device from HTC, which I expect will have learned from their mistake with the Sensation compared to the Galaxy S2 (only 768MB RAM vs 1GB) and pack everything they can [...]