The T-Mobile Galaxy S II and Amaze 4G run the same 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and as expected they perform much alike. Sitting with the phones side by side, I opened apps, browsed the web, played music, sent messages, and more; the phones performed virtually identically, trading which was eye-blink faster almost on every operation. Oddly, the devices’ test scores were very different — I got Quadrant scores between 1,900 and 2,500 on the Amaze, which is far below the Galaxy S’s over-3,000 scores. We don’t put too much stock into any single benchmark, though, and this phone is the perfect reason why: in everyday use, the Amaze functioned every bit as well as the Galaxy S II.
There’s one score on which the Amaze really stands out, and it’s browser performance. The Amaze 4G browsed the web, especially complex and graphically intense sites like ESPN.com, a little more smoothly than the Galaxy S II. It’s extremely fast, especially in places with HSPA+ 42 coverage, and smoothly handled all the web apps and games I threw at it. Our SunSpider scores mirrored that too, with much higher scores for the Amaze 4G, and while the difference between the two wasn’t as pronounced in my every day experience it was definitely there.
Speaking of that HSPA+ 42 network, it’s super fast — if you catch it just right. I got speeds as high as 19 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up in midtown Manhattan, but then an hour later (during peak evening hours), from virtually the same spot, got speeds like 0.38 Mbps down and 0.43 Mbps up. I tested other T-Mobile phones as well, and the problem persisted, so it’s clearly more network than handset that’s at fault here, but still — if you want super-fast connections and tethering (the Amaze has a hotspot mode, which can be activated for $15 / month), you’ll get them, but only if you’re an insomniac.
Battery life was surprisingly dismal on the Amaze. I never once got a full day of use from the phone, and even after charging it fully it would lose its charge after only a few hours of normal use — web browsing, a few phone calls, and some camera use. Part of the problem is certainly due to T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which is a battery drain on any phone, but it’s among the worst I’ve seen on recent smartphones.
Call quality was solid on the Amaze 4G, with loud max volume for both the earpiece and speakerphone and minimal distortion. I was told I sounded good, but people I talked to occasionally sounded as if they were inside a tin can. I got a few complaints about background noise, too, even while doing things like opening an envelope. Speakerphone was better than most phones I’ve used — only about half the time could callers tell I’d switched over, and we could both hear each other fine even from a few feet away.
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