Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II Pro Reviews

The affordable Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II is perfectly fine and will likely please keyboard lovers on Verizon, but it could have been a slam dunk.

Overall, we’re content with the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II. Not only is it more fashionable than the original model, but is quite faster with the dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. The full QWERTY keyboard is one of its main features, and we like how it is laid out and is easy to use for those of you that do a lot of typing. We do wish that the 4” screen was a little larger and higher resolution, but it still does a good job for a mid-range device. As it stands, the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II is currently priced by Verizon at $129 with a 2-year contract, while the Pantech Marauder is free, and the Motorola DROID 4 is $99. Between them, the Galaxy Stratosphere II and DROID 4 are the better choices, but the edge does go to the Samsung since it’s using a faster processor along with a Super AMOLED display.

If a QWERTY keyboard isn't your top priority, I suggest the Droid Razr HD or the HTC Droid DNA over the Stratosphere II. Yes, they're $20 and $70 bucks more, respectively, but the Razr HD is a speedy performer, has a beautiful screen, and a high-end design, while the latter is simply one of our favorite Android phones to date. However, if you're in the market for a Verizon handset with a physical keyboard, I'd choose the Stratosphere II over the Motorola Droid 4. Though it is indeed $50 cheaper, the Droid 4 is also an older phone, has the same size screen despite a bulkier construction, and while it does have a more powerful 8-megapixel camera, difference in photo quality isn't drastic.