"If a phone's worth doing properly, it's worth doing in white" is probably as valid a start to this hands-on article as "anything Apple can do Samsung can do too", but we'll leave the EU patent lawyers to work out that one.

In case you've been living down a Wi-Fi-less hole for the last few months, you must surely be aware of the Galaxy S II. It is an absolute beast of a handset that has sold 5 million units already - and that's without US availability.

Not only is it packing a 1.2GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1GB of RAM and a 4.3-inch 800x480 Super AMOLED display, it also runs Android 2.3 complete with Samsung's TouchWiz UI 4.0.

white samsung galaxy s ii pictures and hands on image 2

Plus, there's an 8-megapixel camera on the rear, with 1080p video recording prowess and a 2-megapixel one on the front for high-quality video calling.

It's probably the number one Android handset available right now. Oh, apart from the new LTE version of the handset that is. Dual core 1.5GHz and a 4.5-inch screen? Don't mind if we do.

Back to the original en blanc, and we have to say it looks bloomin' gorgeous. So much so that we've taken the Tipp-Ex to our current S II handset - although the effect isn't the same. You just can't get that shiny finish.

The white Samsung Galaxy S II is available now.