Please help. Samsung Galaxy S2 or Sony Xperia SL. Which one to buy?

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xksb

Disciple
Hey guys,
I've been searching a replacement for my age old BB Curve 8520 and have zeroed on these two (Galaxy S2 & Xperia SL). This is going to be my first android phone so I'm in a bit of fix.
Budget: around 25k
Can you guys please suggest which one of these two would suit me better?
The only thing that's keeping me from buying Sony is that it doesn't have a SD card slot. Would 32 GB would be enough to suffice my needs. Is 2GB app space enough? Sorry, I've no idea about this as this will be my first android device.
Also, apparently S2 have more custom rom's than any other phone. This is one more thing which makes me fall more for S2 than Xperia.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
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If custom ROMs is what you seek, go for the S2. I'm an S2 owner and I still don't see any reason to upgrade my phone. It's running better than ever before on the latest CM 10.1 (Android 4.2.1) build.
The only thing I really wish it had is a higher resolution display, at least qHD.

If you're looking for a higher resolution display and an arguably better camera, go for the Xperia SL. 32GB should suffice for most smartphone users unless you shoot a lot of 1080p videos and have a large collection of FLAC files on the phone.
 
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Thanks for quick reply guys!

I can live with an inferior camera, as i'm not a compulsive photographer. One thing i'm looking forward to make this leap is that i'd love to phase out my iPod with getting all my music on the device and modding the device to my liking. This means with a 32GB microSD card combined with 16 GB internal memory of S2, that should do the trick for me. But from what i've heard, Xperia SL is much more better in terms of audio output, battery life & such. But just 26 GB of user accessible memory won't cut it for me i guess. Also as stated by you guys, S2 is leaps & bounds ahead of any android device when it comes to modding.

Also in actual usage, what is the battery life like for both of these devices? Not the standby time or anything, but from the actual usage.
 
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xksb said:
Thanks for quick reply guys!

I can live with an inferior camera, as i'm not a compulsive photographer. One thing i'm looking forward to make this leap is that i'd love to phase out my iPod with getting all my music on the device and modding the device to my liking. This means with a 32GB microSD card combined with 16 GB internal memory of S2, that should do the trick for me. But from what i've heard, Xperia SL is much more better in terms of audio output, battery life & such. But just 26 GB of user accessible memory won't cut it for me i guess.
Click to expand...

Since you're looking to root+customise your phone, there are several audio mods which vastly improve the audio quality of the S2. My only experience with the Xperia S/SL has been a 5 minute random browsing through menus, thus I'm not sure if it's audio quality is significantly superior. Maybe @randomuser111 can help you by shedding some light on this.

xksb said:
Also as stated by you guys, S2 is leaps & bounds ahead of any android device when it comes to modding.
Click to expand...
The Galaxy Nexus says Hi! The only reason I did not recommend the Galaxy Nexus is that it is even more crippled in the storage department and maxes out at 16GB. Other than that, I would personally pick it over the S2 and the Xperia SL solely for its great custom modding scene and the beautiful way in which Nexus phones integrate with the software, since they are basically built around it.

xksb said:
Also in actual usage, what is the battery life like for both of these devices? Not the standby time or anything, but from the actual usage.
Click to expand...
Most Android phones will give you around 3.5-5.5 hours of screen time with ~ 50% brightness and moderate use of Wifi/3G. Of course there are other factors which affect battery life but I get around 4.5 hours of screen time, thanks to the battery saving steps that I take once I flash a new ROM.

Also, I agree with @dexBG. You should take a look at the market where you may get some great deals within your budget.
 
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xksb said:
Thanks for quick reply guys!

But from what i've heard, Xperia SL is much more better in terms of audio output, battery life & such. But just 26 GB of user accessible memory won't cut it for me i guess. Also as stated by you guys, S2 is leaps & bounds ahead of any android device when it comes to modding.
Click to expand...
Sony Xperia's sound quality is obvious only if you use the external speakers of the phone. Having extensively used Galaxy S2 for music, I feel its as good as any if you pair it with a good headphone. The difference in sound output between the two is nothing to agonize over, you wont notice it if you have a good headphone.
xksb said:
Also in actual usage, what is the battery life like for both of these devices? Not the standby time or anything, but from the actual usage.
Click to expand...
You ll have to recharge it atleast once everyday. Twice for heavy usage. Wi-Fi, 3g and Bluetooth are the biggest battery drainer.
 
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If you want more space and support for custom ROMs then SGS2 i9100 (non g) is better than Sony Xperia SL and as @GrimReaper said just purchase a nice Headphones, other than that you can also purchase Poweramp from playstore. Some customized Audio Mods also will help.
SGS2 surely has more support than Sony SL.

If you are into used devices then you can get SGS3 (as suggested by @dexBG) with some warranty left
 
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Xavier said:
Since you're looking to root+customise your phone, there are several audio mods which vastly improve the audio quality of the S2. My only experience with the Xperia S/SL has been a 5 minute random browsing through menus, thus I'm not sure if it's audio quality is significantly superior. Maybe randomuser111 can help you by shedding some light on this.
Click to expand...

Which audio mods for S2 are you talking about?
Something like Awesome Beats, DSP manager, etc?
Or some script or flashable zip?
 
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Thanks guys.

I guess i'll go with an S2 only, given my requirements. Or a pre-owned S3 (though i highly doubt it) if it happens to be in good condition.
Thanks again for the sincere replies!
 
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I think I'm late. I own a Galaxy S2 as well and the audio quality is pretty unspectacular, a good earphone helps but it still sounds average. S2 is a better supported phone than SL. Like everyone else, I would suggest you to get a pre-owned galaxy S3. you can find one in mint condition if you look around carefully.
 
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Neither, just check Lenovo k860 at par with s3 or as some argue krait is faster than eynos, better graphics adreno I think 5inch ips panel

both s2 is more than year old technology should not command such a price
Available as low as 23k via ongoing online offers,

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Just to clear above post lenovo does not have krait or adreno gpu, its mali-exynos, krait/adreno are suppose to be fastest.
 
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Op - you got to be insane to get a S2 now. Get an SL or the nexus. Else a pre owned note, s3. You can get the new LG hd quadcore for 25k too.
Xperia S/SL kills the s2 in almost all departments. The non removable battery though is a pain.
 
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