Samsung’s Google Nexus S won’t be the first Android smartphone to see an outsider view of the earth. Google engineers sent the Nexus S to near-space in December last year, but I thought the device’s name just wasn’t apt for a space trip. But, in Samsung Galaxy S II, we have a device that is equally–if not more–capable than the Nexus S in space exploration.

And, that’s what Samsung Japan is intending to do this coming July 15, together with JP Aerospace. Part of its bag of tricks to promote the Samsung Galaxy S II in Japan, the company will be sending off the smartphone to near-space, about 30,000 meters high into the atmosphere (technically, the lower portion of the stratosphere).

The Samsung Galaxy S II will be attached to a Space Balloon. The event will be broadcast live on UStream. Here’s a video of the preparations for the upcoming launch:

Google did a similar launch in December last year using the Google Nexus S. Here’s the video of the “full story”:

Is this fun? Or cool? Or both?