Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II Review

Camera:

There has been very little change in regards to the camera and its features on the Galaxy Stratosphere II, as it still allows for numerous settings and adjustments, such as image resolution, ISO, metering, scene modes, and effects.


When using the 5MP autofocus camera outside during the day, images produced nice details with good color, though bright areas did tend to be overexposed. Inside images weren’t spectacular, as there was plenty of grain visible as light-levels decreased, but the LED Flash does a modest job of illuminating dark environments.


Thankfully, this time around videos can be recorded at 1280x720 resolution at 30 frames-per-second. With the higher resolution and smooth framte-rate, videos captured with the Galaxy Stratosphere II look better and more detailed than the 720x480 videos recorded by the original Stratosphere, as well as the 1280x720 videos recorded by the Pantech Marauder.

Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II Sample Video:




Multimedia:

The included music player on the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II is pretty much a duplicate of the one on the Galaxy S III, which is a good thing. It is easy to navigate with multiple tabs on the top for playlists, albums, artists, music square, folders, and nearby devices. When the music player is used in the background, you can still access it by pulling down the notification bar. Music playback though the rear speaker was quite good and loud; pretty much identical to what we experienced with the first Stratosphere. The extra equalization settings are also a nice touch.


Ditching the stock Android 3D gallery, this time around the Galaxy Stratosphere II uses the Samsung Gallery for displaying your images and videos, just like on other Galaxy phones. Even though watching a full-length movie can be daunting on a 4” screen, the Super AMOLED display has bright and fully saturated colors to help make up for its small size. We had no problems playing back a wide variety of formats, including MP4 H.264/263, DivX and XviD up to 720p resolution.