Only the blue version of the phone is available now

Jan 29, 2013 01:01 GMT  ·  By

Unveiled earlier this month, Samsung Galaxy S II Plus has just hit shelves in Taiwan. This is the first country to get the upgraded version of the popular Galaxy S II smartphone, but it will come to other countries as well.

The folks at UnwiredView report that the smartphone is now available for customers in Taiwan for around 13,900 TWD outright, which is about $475 or €350.

Unlike its Galaxy S II predecessor, the Plus version comes with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box.

However, those who still own the old Galaxy S II will be happy to know that Samsung is readying a Jelly Bean upgrade for their devices as well. The update is expected to roll out in February, but an exact release date has yet to be unveiled.

Aside from the updated software, the Galaxy S II Plus does not come with anything new it terms of hardware.

Although it packs a similar 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Galaxy S II Plus’ CPU is manufactured by Broadcom, while the Galaxy S II is powered by a 1.2 GHz Exynos processor made by Samsung.

Furthermore, Samsung Galaxy S II Plus sports a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution, and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating.

On the back, the smartphone has an enhanced 8-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, while on the front there is a 2-megapixel camera for video calls.

It is also worth mentioning that Samsung Galaxy S II Plus embeds only 8GB of internal memory, unlike the Galaxy S II that packs 16GB storage.

The good news is that the former also features microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 64GB). The Galaxy S II Plus is powered by a 1650 mAh Li-Ion battery that has yet to be rated by the manufacturer.