Samsung Galaxy S II: Two Models, Different Processors

Samsung's top-selling Galaxy S II smartphone is apparently sold in two different versions, one of which uses a lower-performance processor. It's not exactly easy to tell the two version apart either!

What if the Samsung Galaxy S II you just bought wasn't quite the phone you thought it was? After panel switching in TVs and monitors, it now seems that the Galaxy S II is embroiled in a case of processor switching!

The information first came to light in Asia in December last year, and was picked up be French website PC INpact, which clams the manufacturer switched the Exynos 4210 processor supposed to come in the S II for the OMAP 4430 made by Texas Instruments.

Although the processors have identical clock speeds (1.2 GHz) their architecture is totally different, leading to a drop in performance. The processors' graphics processing units are different too.

One Letter Makes A Big Difference

So how can you tell which chip is in your Galaxy S II? When you buy the phone, there'll be a product reference name on the box—'GT i9100' for models with the Exynos processor but 'GT i9100G' for models with the OMAP 4430 processor.

PC Inpact has, however, pointed out that many resellers don't bother changing the model reference numbers. The site also suggests that all handsets sold since the beginning of the year use the Texas Instruments chip.

In fact, one of our readers has already been in touch to tell us they've received an i9100G when they thought they were getting an i9100, as was confirmed on the product invoice.

We've contacted Samsung to find out what the firm has to say on the matter. We'll be sure to keep you posted as soon as we find out more.


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