In a nutshell: The Samsung Omnia is the hottest phone of
2008. It's a touchscreen smartphone and, unlike the iPhone, it does
everything that a high-spec phone ought to do. The Omnia has everything:
a 5 megapixel camera, 3G video calling, a music player & FM
radio, fast web browsing, the most memory ever seen on a mobile
phone, and it connects to any device you can think of via Bluetooth,
USB or Wi-Fi. Best buy: *Free* with half-price line rental from Mobiles.co.uk
(Black).
Review:
August 2008.
Wow!
While Apple have been hyping their iPhone
3G for the best part of a year, the Samsung Omnia has come from
nowhere, and is the phone that the iPhone should have been. Whereas
the iPhone misses out on all kinds of essential features, the Omnia
does almost everything that you could want from a phone, and does
it very well.
The
Omnia looks super-cool too. The sleek platinum finish and the slim
body give the phone wow! factor, even before you start using it.
Samsung
have been churning out touchscreen phones since the beginning of
2008. First
the Armani, then the Nerva,
then the Tocco, each time refining
the design and getting closer to the perfect phone. Now the Omnia
looks like it could be "the one". Samsung's touchscreen
user interface has improved a little with each release, although
we criticised the Tocco for having a smaller screen. There is no
problem with the Omnia however, which has a massive WQVGA 3.2 inch
screen - that's even bigger than the LG
Viewty and only slightly smaller than the iPhone 3G. The TouchWiz
user interface is an excellent implementation of a touchscreen phone.
TouchWiz
uses
a variety of intuitive touch controls, e.g. tap, sweep, drag and
drop operations as well as an on-screen qwerty keyboard. The screen
uses tactile feedback to help you feel your way around the menus
and controls, and even hard-core texters should be happy with the
result. The iPhone may have paved the way in touchscreen UI design,
but Samsung have followed very well.
The
Omnia is a smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1. This has a number
of advantages. Firstly, the user interface will be familiar to PC
users, even including a mobile version of Internet Explorer for
web browsing. Secondly, the system enables convenient access to
Office documents such as PowerPoint, Excel and Word (for editing
as well as viewing). Thirdly, you can download third-party applications
and install them on your phone. The phone comes pre-installed with
very comprehensive personal organiser functions. The touchscreen
user interface can sometimes be a little slow and more complicated
to use than conventional phones, but we've got to say just how impressed
we are by its robustness. Most smart phones crash and freeze regularly,
but not the Omnia.
Let's
take a look at the multimedia capabilities of the phone now. Summarising
in three words: it does everything! Really! Let's consider the spec:
A 5 megapixel camera with face-detection autofocus, smile detection
(takes a shot when everyone is smiling), auto-panorama, LED flash
and digital zoom. It may not have the optical zoom of the Samsung
G800, the optics of the Nokia N95,
or the xenon flash of the Sony
Ericsson K800i, but we would rate it in the top 10 of current
camera phones. In any case, it walks all over the feeble camera
in the iPhone
3G.
The camera can be used as a business card reader too. It also has
an excellent video camera (with image stabilisation), and the
video playback capability includes Divx support. Of course it's
a 3G phone with video calling too. The music player is very good
and supports nearly all formats, and an FM radio is included too.
Web browsing is also an enjoyable experience on the Omnia, with
fast HSDPA downloads, the large touchscreen, and advanced Opera
browser all working together to provide a good experience. The Omnia
also comes with GPS navigation built in.
One
of the outstanding features of the Omnia is the absolutely huge
memory that it supports. Available in a choice of 8 or 16 Gbytes,
it also has a microSD
memory card slot, enabling an additional 8 Gbytes to be added.
This means that you can store a huge amount of music or video (around
8,000 songs or 23 DVD-quality films) and you can even store up to
120 Mbytes worth of text or MMS messages.
The
battery life is very good too, which is quite a surprise for a touchscreen
phone with so much functionality. We doubt Samsung's official figures
of 450 hours standby however.
Connectivity
is unbeatable, with a choice of Bluetooth, USB and Wi-Fi.
Really,
the Omnia is an amazing phone, and it's no surprise that it's moved
right to the top of the best seller charts at launch. Touchscreen
phones are the hottest product in 2008, and the Omnia is arguably
the best so far. If you fancied the new iPhone or the LG Viewty,
you should really be looking at the Omnia instead. The only issue
is the Windows Mobile operating system, which is very powerful,
but makes the menus on the Omnia more complex than a conventional
phone. But even so, this is definitely a 5 star phone!!!
Features
of the Samsung Omnia include:
5 megapixel camera with face detection autofocus,
smile detector, auto-panorama, 4x digital zoom and power LED flash
Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+,
WMA formats) plus FM radio RDS
Music Recognition (Shazam)
40-voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone
Voice memo recorder
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
Document viewer
Java games
Memory: 8 Gbytes or 16 Gbytes plus microSD memory
card slot (up to 8 Gbytes)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, WI-Fi
Internet: WAP 2.0, Internet Explorer / Opera
web browsers, GPRS, EDGE, 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps)
Quadband (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G (UMTS
2.1GHz)
Offline mode
Size: 112 x 57 x 12.5 mm
Weight: 125g
Talktime: up to 10 hours (2.5G) up to 6.5 hours
(3G)
Battery standby: up to 430 hours (2.5G) up to
450 hours (3G)
Samsung Omnia
i900 Consumer Reviews
Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Reviewed by ads from uk on 12th
Oct 2008
This is the best phone i have ever owned, and orange is a great
network, the phone itself is a great size and has excellent software
programs on it, it gives you every thing you need for a smart phone,
the touch screen is very responsive and works very well, GO BUY
THIS PHONE!!!!! Rating:
Reviewed by somerz from england on
12th Oct 2008
Re: Camera problems - Before using camera go to task manager and
end task for all programs. Also just trying out spb shell and like
it so far. thanks Shokka-UK for ur input, you have hit the nail
right on the head. Not sure about updating the rom though as i fall
into the category of Newbie. Rating:
Reviewed by somerz from england on
10th Oct 2008
Have had the phone for nearly a wk now and think its awesome. Theres
so much to play with my girlfriend is getting extremely jealous.
Camera keeps crashing though and repeatedly get error403's (y anyone?)
when using browser. As i see it though these r little creases that
need ironing out and i like a challenge so what the hell! Rating:
Reviewed by James from UK on
9th Oct 2008
Amazing phone, had it for a week and already falling in love with
it. Just wondering how do i update the ROM? please help me? [Editor's
comment: I bet lots of people are wondering about this. If someome
can submit a review explaining in detail what to do, we will happily
publish this.] [Reply by Mark from Scotland on 10th Oct 2008: In
response to the query about updating the ROM there's two things
to bear in mind - firstly it's entirely at your own risk, secondly
you will invalidate your warranty if you install unapproved firmware.
Rather than go into details I would refer people to the MoDaCo.com
i900 site where there are pretty comprehensive guides on how to
flash the ROM plus where the ROMs themselves are located. In addition
there's a lot of advice on how to tweak the Omnia and what apps
to install. Hope this helps.] [Editor's reply: Thanks Mark!] Rating:
Reviewed by Tim from N.Ireland on
9th Oct 2008
Have the phone now 3 weeks, only starting now to appreciate it,
updated to DXHI1 and really do see the benefits. A few problems
have still remained, the odd time the camera crashes even though
no other applications are open, and when viewing the call log it
may take a number of touches to open a call from the log. The other
thing i still can't work out is how do you sync your camera pictures,
which i save to my storage card,with your pc using media player.
I'm able to sync from the pc to phone in that direction only. If
anyone can help i'd appreciate it. All said a great phone and would
thoroughly recommend. Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from Scotland on
8th Oct 2008
Me again. I thought I'd give a further update. Like others I've
installed the HI2 firmware and it runs even more beautifully now.
The touch screen is fast and responsive with only some slight slowdown
in loading on a few applications - the alarm function and notifications
in settings being noted examples. I've also skinned the today screen
with FlatBlack which gives a nice black glossy background (I alternate
between this and the Chrome skin from T-Mobile) and currently have
this set up on Today 1 with the usual icons on it plus my six favourite
apps - currently Messenger, Windows Live Search, vTap, Google Launcher,
Touch Player and Shozu. The clock also links to the Samsung suite
rather than the WinMo suite which is a lot easier to use. Of course,
it's just one tap and a swipe away to get to my main program menu
- which has dozens of apps in it - or my shortcuts which gives me
one tap access to my next favourite 11. There is so much software
out there it's mindboggling - even sites that offer freeware for
the Pocket PC have about 5,000 apps listed! I can also type at a
respectable 50-60 WPM on the selection of keyboards - I had to recentre
the screen a few times until I got it 'just so' for me - and use
the standards - I did flirt with a few downloaded keyboards but
they weren't really any better. I'm really glad I stuck with the
device, learned how to use it, what it can offer and what's available
for it because it's just so damn versatile. This phone impresses
me more and more each week as I uncover some new feature or application.
The only slight gripe remains the non-standard adapter but even
then I bought a wallet sized dongle which solves that problem. This
phone is class - it's like having a new device every week! Rating:
Reviewed by Qasid from UK on
7th Oct 2008
This phone is lovely. I have owned Samsung phones, including the
D900, and G600, but this! WOW! It has so many features, that you
cannot complain about anything it has not got for the average person.
I would say it is better than the iphone, but I have not actually
used the iphone, but in terms of features, and the quality of these
features: amazing. If you're an ipod user, buy the iphone, otherwise
for the rest, (pc users, etc), definately buy this...although it
takes time getting used to. Nevertheless, best phone I've had so
far! Rating:
Reviewed by SHOKKA from UK on
7th Oct 2008
For the users that say that Windows OS is slow are completely wrong.
This phone, is very quick. Albeit it takes a few weeks for the phone
to get used to the user and vice versa. When you have mastered the
techniques required, you will realise how much power you have in
the palm of your hand. To be honest battery life is awful, until
you update your ROM (don't try it if you don't know what you are
doing!!). For new owners, get SPB Shell and some skins and show
your phone off to it's full potential. The touchscreen is very responsive
despit what other users might say. Again, after updating the ROM,
the responsiveness is fantastic and very accurate. The screen brightness
in the daylight can be an issue, all i can say is ensure your device
isn't locked as the resolution is less when locked. When you unlock
the device, the screen brightens and is more than enough to carry
out the tasks required. This is no better or worse than other handsets
that are on the market at the moment. For further advice try Modaco.com,
or google Samsung Omnia and see what sites are out there. It is
worth getting to know the phone early on, we all have at least a
12month contract maybe 18, so the quicker you understand your phone,
the quicker you will realise what you have. Rating:
Reviewed by steven from United Kingdom
on 6th Oct 2008
I really like this phone. I have to say i origionally wasnt a big
fan of the windows mobile operating system because it isn't very
finger friendly at times but samsung have tweaked it quite a bit
to make it that extra bit more managable. It honestly has everything
i need and more. the only thing i found not as pleasant was the
screen brightness as i can hardly see it when i'm outside and the
quality of the camera lens is a bit mediocre but adequet for a mobile
phone. On the brightside it actually has amazing battery life for
a phone with gps,3g,bluetooth,wifi and a huge screen. had it for
a few weeks now and i can truly say its amazing. i highly recomend
it. best iphone alternative. Rating:
Reviewed by Jo from UK on 6th
Oct 2008
Too bad it is using the windows os. Very slow! Rating:
Reviewed by SHOKKA from Manchester,
UK on 6th Oct 2008
Me again. Just a quick update. I have sucessfully flashed my Omnia
with the DXHI2 Rom. I can also say that it is worth it, i have longer
battery life, together with added screen rotation animations. Also,
the phone is now debranded and how Samsung would of wanted it to
be. These phones are the best thing on the market right now, they
are so customisable and make excellent media players, web browsers
and ultimately a great phone. What are you doing....Go and buy one
now! Rating:
Reviewed by Pete from UK on 4th
Oct 2008
Outstanding!!! ***** 5ive stars Rating:
Reviewed by VJ from UK on 2nd
Oct 2008
I read all the review sand was really excited when I ordered this
phone. However I have to say that I am diappointed. The phone has
great specs on paper but the reality is little different. The phone
i really slow, frustrating at times.Touchscreen is Sluggish, unresponsive
many times. The speaker is too loud, no matter how much u lower
the volume ppl around u can still hear the other person on the phone.
it keeps dropping calls. One slot for everything is too frustrating.
for this kind of phone one would expect a really powerful battery
but I am afraid that not the case, I am a very moderate user but
I still have to charge the phone every night to get through the
day. The camera is gud but the flash is just too bright. The only
thing I find good abt this phone is the ease of messaging. Ovreall,
if ur looking for a phone and peace of mind, this phone is not for
u and its not for me as well. Going to return it and look for a
one thats easy to use. Rating:
Reviewed by Pete from England on
2nd Oct 2008
This is the best phone I've ever had. I used to use a TyTN phone
because I needed the web browsing, big screen and push email for
my business, but I found it was too heavy. When I put it in my pocket,
my trousers fell down! I've been patiently waiting for something
to come along that's as good as the TyTN but that doesn't weigh
as much - I found it at last! The Omnia does everything the TyTN
does and it does it better in my opinion. Websites snap into place
quickly and it handles some sites that the TyTn couldn't handle
due, (I think) to javascript issues. The touch screen is very responsive,
and I don't need to use the supplied stylus even with my fat fingers.
The predictive text works very well, and there are several keyboard
layouts to choose from with different sized keys. Although it's
possible to scroll up and down pages with the scroll bar, I find
it's much quicker to grab the screen and pull it where I want it.
The screen is very sharp and easy to read in any light. I used to
struggle to read the screen of my old phone in bright sunlight but
it's no problem with the Omnia. Battery life is vastly superior
to that of my old phone. I find the layout of the screens is very
intuitive, making the phone very easy to use. Sound quality is superb,
and I got brilliant, crystal clear FM reception on the built in
radio. The camera takes sharp photos and the flash is useeful in
low light conditions. I can't fault this phone, so it's a 5 star
for me! Rating:
Reviewed by SHOKKA from Manchester,
UK on 1st Oct 2008
I have had this little baby for about 3 weeks, just got back from
Amsterdam with it over the weekend. The phone is superb. I haven't
updated my firmware but will be tomorrow in the Vodafone shop for
free (after backing it up 1st!). Everything it says it can do, it
does. It beats the iPhone hands down. I know plenty of people with
the iPhone, and they cannot do what i can with mine (or as quick
as mine). You need to be running SPB Shell with SPB Skins (QVGW)
to reap the full benefits out of this phone. Googlemaps is fantastic
on satelite view and works a treat. Use the following Engineer's
code to unlock your volume controls of the handset. Take Caution,
loud volumes can harm your hearing. If you need more info on this
engineers code, google it and take time out to read about it before
you start messing with your settings. The code is *#0002*28346#
you can now amend your interanl speaker volumes and the like. ENJOY!!
Buy this phone, so iPhone users will end up binning their handsets!!
You cannot deny that this phone is great, fair enough it is finnicky
to set up and requires a lot of attention to detail, but when you
have it running how you want. It doesn't let you down, ever. BUY
ONE NOW!!!!!!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from England on
1st Oct 2008
This phone is generally great... Battery life seems good as is camera
and the massive amount of memory(which is expandable). I do have
a couple of gripes though, the main one being the sending of text
messages. The positioning of the send button, with no ability to
get the phone to confirm sending of messagers, has led me to send
numerous messages by accident, this could be costly. Rating:
Reviewed by m2007 from uk on
30th Sep 2008
to keith, marky or anyone that has the HH1 version, i have a 16gb
omnia from orange running the hg5 version. how do u download the
new version? and is there any chance of bricking the phone since
i will be updating from a non samsung site? i have noticed after
putting movies and music on it, it has slowed down a bit... anyways,
if your looking for a phone, buy an omnia now!! best phone out there!!
beats the iphone in almost every way.. [Reply by marky on 1st Oct
2008: You need to check out the MoDaCo Omnia forum. This tells you
all you need to know. There is a chance you may brick your phone
but if you follow the instructions to the letter you should be ok.
Keith, myself and many happy others have had no problems.] Rating:
Reviewed by marky from UK on
30th Sep 2008
Completely agree with Keith, you MUST update the firmware to DXHI1
or later. Painless and free process once you've downloaded the right
stuff from the MoDaCo forum. Not had a single freeze or problem
since updating. Love my Omnia but you do need to be prepared to
really play with it and tweak it to your own personal preferences.
If you want a simple phone don't buy this. If you love to get your
hands dirty so to speak then the Omnia is excellent. Rating:
Reviewed by Keith from UK on
30th Sep 2008
I have had the Omnia now for several weeks after returning my iPhone.
Initially I was not pleased at all with the performance of the Omnia,
it felt slow and unresponsive in comparison to the iPhone despite
being a more powerful device. The battery life was appalling, the
wifi wouldn't work on anything but an open network and it crashed
frequently. However after updating the firmware to DXHI1 everything
changed. The phone is now much faster and responsive, faster than
the iPhone. The battery last longer than I thought possible and
everything works the way I expected in the first place. After adding
spb mobile shell it is now a much better device than the iPhone.
The only thing the iPhone does better is the screen is easier to
read in sunlight and the multi-touch feature which is really only
a gimmick at this point in time, oh and the headphone jack being
an adapter on the omnia is slightly disappointing but not a deal
breaker as it has A2DP and a stereo bluetooth headset is the way
to go. I would recommend this phone to anyone confident enough to
update the firmware or if you can get a phone with a firmware later
than DXHI1 pre loaded. Add spb mobile shell and you have a phone
that is what the iPhone 3G should have been without being tied into
the app store for software. Anyone having issues with the Omnia
should update the firmware immediately. Rating:
Reviewed by Ben from UK on 29th
Sep 2008
An outstanding phone that for me beats the Apple iphone. Mind you
this phone isnt for the eveyday user. it is mor of a business phone.
I am very impressed with the touchscreen and the 5mp camera is also
impresive. i would definatly buy this phone if i was looking for
a touchscreen phone. I am also impressed with the memory with the
phone. A MUST BUY PHONE! Rating:
Reviewed by phil from uk on 29th
Sep 2008
Had the phone about a week now and it's taken that long to work
it out. One thing that annoys me is having to press the action key
all the time when using the key pad, does anyone know how to switch
this annoying feature off. Also the Internet does not work tried
downloading the settings but it still does not work, been on the
phone to Orange for 3 hours what a nightmare. Other than that i
like the phone. Rating:
Reviewed by Scot boy from UK on
28th Sep 2008
This is not a phone for the faint hearted. You need to persevere.
Had mine for two weeks and only just begining to get the hang of
it. That said, it is actually quite brilliant. Does everything and
more that you could want BUT would you believe it is not very easy
to make or receive a phone call (yep, it does those too). Unless
I am being stupid, speed dial is three clicks away from the home
screen. Hardly speedy! I give ti 5 stars for being brilliant and
only 1 star for being user unfriendly. Probably a bit like playing
The Price is Right with Einstein. Rating:
Reviewed by TROVER from Türkiye on
25th Sep 2008
I would say how wonderful this phone is only if it was released
before iphone. because if you have used iphone the feeling of having
the copycat of iphone in your hands it makes me sick (usually samsung
do this often, copying another brands phone and putting some more
settings in it). Instead of being a copycat the phone is good really
5mp autofocus and flashed cam is good, 3g, wifi, mp3 etc. but touchscreen
would be a lot better. You have to push it hard in order to use
it and that makes you slow down while writing something with the
phone. Rating:
Reviewed by Nathan from UK on
25th Sep 2008
Using this phone on a daily basis is an absolute nightmare. it just
doesnt work as well as a phone that has all these specifications
should. ive never been a fan of samsung phones and always stayed
clear of all the 'sliders' that they've churned out but i thought
this would be different. Slow, quiet, strange resolution. If all
you care about is a good camera then buy a Nokia, if you want excel/powerpoint
buy a laptop. if you want a phone, dont buy this. Rating:
Reviewed by Steve from uk on
25th Sep 2008
Well i have flashed and unbranded my omina and after a few days
im getting it how i like it. Thats the key to this phone you gota
tweak the hell out of it so i would forget this phone if you could
never set the timer on your old vhs video recorder.Computer geek
will love this phone to bits, but if my wife had this phone she
would give up and say its the worst phone ever. Rating:
Reviewed by Rick from UK on 22nd
Sep 2008
Had this phone a week now and i am very disappointed. For a starter,
one of the phones main features, the widgets, are very limited.
No messaging widget and you can only fit around three on the screen.
Maybe the lack of messaging widget could be solved if you could
change the buttons at the bottom of the screen, but no. Next is
the poor quality of the music player, its unbelievably quiet with
or without the headphones. Also its very annoying to scroll down
the songs, it is done very similar to the ipods scroll system, but
here it is slow and laggy and i often press the wrong song when
trying to scroll down. Another little niggle is when sending messages,
the send button is directly under the delete button, this has caused
me to send many unwanted texts, luckily i have unlimited texts but
to someone on pay as you go, this could become quite costly. Any
small knock to my phone will turn it off, if i hit my hand against
my pocket, off. Putting it on the table without the most care, off.
I had a Nokia N73 before this and i am seriously considering using
it again. Very very disappointed with this phone. Rating:
Reviewed by SH from UK on 22nd
Sep 2008
Generally I love this phone. Just upgraded from an SE P990 which
I'd had for ages and which was an old friend, so stepping into a
brand new relatoinship straight away was always likely to feel strange
and just a little wrong. However after a couple of weeks we're getting
along much better. I do however have 2 main gripes (which I'm hoping
someone here can help me with). 1) Keylock. I have figured out how
to use this without too much difficulty, but one problem I do have
is that when I get incoming calls and the phone is in my pocket,
they seem to be answered automatically (maybe as the phone presses
against my leg or something) so the person on the otehr end can
hear a muffled version of me and my mates in the pub. 2) Haven't
quite got to grips with the zoom stuff on opera, to the extent that
I actually prefer I.E. (yes yes, flame me now everyone). I know
how to zoom in / out deliberately, but find it too prone to doing
so accidentally when I double tap etc. Plus, in order to hit buttons
on web pages, you seem to have to zoom in till they're a certain
size. Other than that, 4/5 for me. Only these issues, plus the stupid
dangly external stylus have prevented me from going for 5/5. Oh,
and Vodafone - for gods sake pull your finger out and roll out the
GPS facility. You gave it all the hard sell and I'm sure I wasnt
the only one whose thinking was in part influenced by this. SH Rating:
Reviewed by Nick from UK on 21st
Sep 2008
potentially the best phone on earth, except the battery life is
abysmal. if you want wifi, music nad gps on all at the same time,
it wouldn;t last the day Rating:
Reviewed by J77 from England on
20th Sep 2008
Only had the phone a few hours but like it so far. Still trying
to figure out how to do things, one of my main problems is the memory.
I know there is a huge memory on there but I can't figure out how
to access it. One of the posts below starts to explain how you can
do this: 'Device sees the '8gb' as a storage card and you have store
stuff there and direct all applications to that location." - Yep
by default it's set to install stuff to your phone memory which
is only a hundred meg or so. However this can be easily changed
to point to the storage card. Again it's just a poor bit of design
how they did that. Not sure why but easily fixable' Can someone
expand on this with an 'idiots guide to...' maybe. I would appreciate
the help. Thankyou Rating:
Reviewed by ippimale from Wales on
19th Sep 2008
I have to agree with Mark (great review, btw). I'm still getting
used to it, but having had/used iPaqs/WMob before, I agree that
it's what you do with it that counts, almost as much as the device
itself (which is flawed - do Samsung have a clock fetish? - but
still excellent). One thing, where are all the handy aps (like the
appl-esque 'slide to unlock', that would solve the 'sun too bright
to see to unlock' problem? I'm on ippimail, if anyone can help (name
above). I've not searched yet and it may become blindingly obvious
where all the sites are, but for other interested parties, perhaps
someone could post here and/or let me know. All in all, it's a smart
phone, with the emphasis on computer, not phone; if you don't know
your way around the back of a pc, be very very wary or go for the
simpler apple device. Thanks also, to those who stuck with it and
provided reviews, rather than reactions. Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from Scotland on
19th Sep 2008
Having used this phone for four weeks now I think I can give an
honest review. First of all it's very important that people understand
this is not a phone for everyone. It's a proper, grown up smartphone
and if you're not prepared to get to know it or get your hands a
little dirty then it's not for you. However, if you are then it's
an intensely rewarding experience. Secondly, the phone has a number
of different firmware variations depending on whom you get it from.
If you want the best out of it do not accept anything older than
the HH1 version because the HG5 version is slow, unresponsive and
buggy. HH1 and later versions fix these problems. You can, of course,
flash the new firmware to your phone if you wish. The phone itself
manages to feel light yet robust at the same time. Build quality
isn't as good as the iPhone's but it doesn't feel as fat an unwieldy
in the hand. Overall it's a nice size. The screen is also more than
big enough to comfortably browse, construct messages or documents
or watch video on. The keyboards are adequate for purpose but could
be a little better, however you can choose which method to use.
I prefer T9 Phonepad for texting and QWERTY for landscape e-mails
and docs. That said, if it bothers you then just install a third
party keyboard from the many available for WinMo devices. Responsiveness
is excellent. I compared this to an iPhone which I had for a while
and there isn't really any difference - one thing I did notice is
that the iPhone tends to bring up the screen quicker but then lags
slightly before you can use it whereas the Omnia can have slight
lag before presenting the screen but you can use it straight away.
Six and two threes here really. There has been much made about the
external stylus but to be honest you will never use it because the
touch icons are comfortable enough to use with your finger and the
Omnia has a built in optical mouse which is great when you need
to delve into WinMo's innards (which most users actually won't)
and brilliant for use in the browser. It's a total non-issue as
anyone who has used the Omnia for a while will tell you. The browser
is excellent - I would say that Opera 9.5 is the current king of
mobile browsers. It takes a little more getting used to than the
iPhone's Safari but it renders pages more accurately and once you're
used to it it's brilliant. I honestly wouldn't want to use anything
else to browse on a hand-held device ever again. You also get the
choice of mobile IE but don't. Seriously. Multimedia playback is
OK. The touchplayer isn't as good as the iPhone's for music although
it's good enough. The video player is, however, better because it
supports more formats straight out of the box and it allows TV-out.
Once again, if you don't like the player you have the choice of
using WMP or downloading another player like Core. The camera again
is OK. It's not as good as the N95's which was excellent but it's
definitely a step up from previous WinMo cameras. The picture quality
is good and I'm sure this will improve as further firmware is released.
Video is acceptable but should have been 30 FPS. Again this may
be fixed with future releases. The Omnia also comes with the full
gamut of connectivity options. It's fast and I've had no issues
with any of them from Bluetooth through 3G and GPS to Wi-fi. Signal
strength and call quality is good where I am and the browser loading
speed is pleasantly quick. On the hardware side the battery life
is good for a 3G phone - you'll get about two to three days moderate
use out of it, more if you fiddle with the connectivity and power
management options. Finally, like all WinMo devices, there are thousands
of applications out there to download and install. Sure, it's not
as intuitive a process as the iPhone's but then it's not as locked
in either - you can install any application no matter how silly
or contrary to your vendor's policy it is. So is the Omnia an iPhone
killer? Yes and no. If you want a simple phone you can bung music
on through iTunes, do a bit of browsing and download the odd fun
application then get an iPhone. If you want a phone that requires
a little more thought but delivers much more functionality, freedom
and versatility then get the Omnia. The longer I've had this phone
the more I've grown to love it. It's a truly remarkable device. Rating:
Reviewed by curtis from wales on
17th Sep 2008
nice phone but just dont have the time to play with all the gadgets
on this computer/ phone. if you have got the time you will love
this phone but like most people i have talked to all they want to
do is text, take photos, and answer the phone when it rings.my laptop
can do the rest for me and when driving i,ll use my sat nav. Rating:
Reviewed by john from england on
16th Sep 2008
1 star reviews, are some people not used to 21st century technology.
It beats the pants of my old sagem ( mind you, a tin can & string
could do that). seriously, i am well impressed with my i900 Rating:
Reviewed by Kel from UK on 16th
Sep 2008
Sent mine back after a week. Very annoying and slow to use, if you
are outside and there is any sunlight whatsoever then you'll be
unable to see the screen. So unresponsive as well, it took me ages
to scroll through my contacts/txt messages. I couldnt have possibly
used it everyday without throwing it into a lake. Having said that
i think one star is harsh seein as it does hav really good specs Rating:
Reviewed by ahmed from uk on
16th Sep 2008
nice touch screen gadget, does everything well except for making
and receiving calls. if you need a phone that does what a real phone
should do, stay away from this one. Rating:
Reviewed by taiyub from scotland on
15th Sep 2008
best phone ive ever had beats my old n95 hands down takes a bit
of getting used to though Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from UK on
15th Sep 2008
I was waiting for the Xperia to come out on orange but got bored
of waiting so I got this instead. I'm no technophobe but having
moved from the SE P1 I can say that this is a LOT harder to use.
It should be so good and yet so many programs required a lot of
faff to get working such as Garmin GPS. I had to install a GPS gate
app to get it to work properly. The SE phones just load and work
straight away and a far more user friendly. I hate having to store
the stylus on the side also. That said once you overcome a lot of
frustration the phone is actually very fast and powerful and capable
of running loads of apps at the same time. On balance I should have
waited for the SE X1 though. Rating:
Reviewed by Mick from England on
15th Sep 2008
Got the Omnia delivered on Saturday, sent it back today (Monday)!
Needless to say I'm not impressed, the phone is unbearably slow
and the touch screen is poor (you can't really use it without the
stylus - which incidently, ruins the look of the phone when dangling
from the side). Also, when the phone is locked it is nigh on impossible
to see the screen when outside which is a shame when you have to
be able to see it to unlock it. I'm sure this phone will be ideal
for a lot of people but if you want to make calls and send messages
quickly it won't be for you. Rating:
Reviewed by Rick from Ireland on
15th Sep 2008
The phone is good, not outstanding. Everythin that has been said
about the poor touch screen, dodgy scrolling, plain menu, strange
screen resolution, stupid stylus are correct. People givin it 5
stars must surely see that the phone could have been better? Rating:
Reviewed by Tom from UK on 15th
Sep 2008
@ bill gates below - you took ur phone back after 4 days? no wonder
u gave it this phone an unreasonable 1 star. i honestly do not believe
4 days is enough to get used to a new phone, especially for a phone
of this calibre. this is a phone that u customize to ur own needs
not to mention stuff such as the battery life is significantly improved
on most phones after around 3-4 cycles (just mentioning that as
im sure a lot of people on this site complain about the battery
life of phones) Rating:
Reviewed by Tom from UK on 15th
Sep 2008
great phone, had it for about 2 weeks now. can't say any phone is
perfect as the omnia has minor bugs, but nothing that outweighs
the positives & i am confident it will be fixed with the next rom
update. apart from that it is totally living up to its hype, there
is nothing this phone can't do!if you do not get on with computers
stay clear from this phone, however if u know ur way round then
this is what u want! this phone is like a PC, in that if u know
how to get the best out of ur computer through 3rd party programmes
then it is in my opinion the best phone out in the market. however,
if u prefer something that does not need any tweeks then go for
something like an iphone which will be ready straight out of the
box. Best phone of the year for me Rating:
Reviewed by Richard from UK on
14th Sep 2008
I read many reviews on this phone. Some good, some bad. Nokia has
never disappointed me in the past, even though I had tried other
brands such as Sony & Panasonic to name but a few. Nokia has never
failed to impress. Being an owner of an N95 I couldn't see a better
upgrade and thought about the N96. All I can say is that I should
have waited. Whilst having an impressive spec (on paper), the real
test of actually using the i900 is another story. I've never know
such a hyped phone to be so bad. For a start the stylus could have
been built into the side of the casing. I'm male and getting comments
from girls about the mascara attached to the phone, which would
not be so bad if I could get away without having to use the stylus.
Unlike the Toca, there are various screens where you can't but help
have to use the stylus. All I can say is that I'm going back to
good old trusty Nokia. This is probably the reason Nokia haven't
brought a touch screen out yet! They are waiting for the competition
to fall on their faces and mop up! Rating:
Reviewed by Tcol from UK on 13th
Sep 2008
Read many many reviews on this phone including all the ones on here
before buying. Also went and played with one in a shop. Had it for
a week. I'm not a techno wiz but I do know my way round a computer
and I have to say this phone really is not as difficult to comprehend
as some are making out. I find windows mobile intuitive, opera for
web access is great (having used iphone, omnia is at least as good
for this) and the camera is again easy to use and good quality.
The touch screen does take some getting used to but its fine for
finger use with the in-built mouse for anything particularly fiddly.
Best to try one first if you have overly large fingers. Texting
is easy, the only drawback is that backspace is next to 'send' so
you can accidentally send a half-finished message if you're not
careful, may be a way round this I've not figured yet. Benefit nobody
i think has mentioned is that this phone appears cheaper than the
iphone available free on very reasonable contracts on several networks.
Have to admit I'm no fan of itunes etc. and for windows mobile there's
got to be so much more freeware available. Battery life is surprisingly
good for this phone, lasted 2+days after first charge with average
use. Reception seems fine, sound quality good. My network assures
me the free GPS satnav software will be up and running in the next
week - watch this space. My mate has just bought an iphone, will
be interesting to compare after a week's use for both of us. Overall
this phone really blows away any other phone I've owned but realistically
unless you're really into this kind of thing there's probably not
a great deal in my opinion between this and the iphone, just personal
preference. The better deals and camera swayed it for me. Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from UK on 12th
Sep 2008
This website needs to seriously consider downgrading the rating
of this phone based on the user reviews - very very poor handset Rating:
Reviewed by John from uk on 12th
Sep 2008
5 star!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from England on
11th Sep 2008
Just had to add a couple of further comments after reading some
of the more recent reviews since my original one. Firstly, to correct
Faz, I am certainly NOT an Iphone lover. I am also not a "techno
retard". The key reason I was keen on this phone was specifically
because it ISNT an Iphone. As I said before my guess is that if
you want/need/are used to a Windows smart phone, you'll love it.
The problem is that most people dont/arent and I think alot of those
people will find it very frustrating to use (which seems to be backed
up by alot of the reviews here). Secondly I think I've found why
the screen is so unresponsive, and it isnt something that can be
fixed by a firmware update. The problem is that the Omnia uses a
resistive touch screen instead of a capacitive one. Resistive screens
allow you to use a stylus or other devise to point with, but are
far less responsive (all Windows mobile devised use resistive screens).
Capacitive screens will only work by contact with your finger but
are far more responsive (I believe that only the Iphone and Tocco
use capacitive screens?). Also capacitive screens generally give
a slightly crisper image so anyone finding the display not quite
as crisp as theyd hoped for, this might be why. The trouble is though,
that its obviously not something that can change, so again, unless
your happy using the stylus you will probably struggle. My issue
with this phone is that it's been squarely marketed almost as a
high tech fashion phone to the general phone market, and I'd guess
that most people who are used to a normal phone, like a are going
to be very disappointed. Rating:
Reviewed by bill gates from uk on
11th Sep 2008
I sent my phone back today after having it for 4 days. I think I
was a bit taken in by all the hype as really I have no need for/
couldn't use most of the features and so for me the negative points
about this phone are too much of a compromise for me. At the end
of the day this is presumably supposed to be first and foremost
a PHONE, and in that respect for me it is sub standard. Far too
complicated and fiddly to use- not sure if that is a phone or operating
system issue, but as a whole package I found it extremely frustrating
to use. If you are a mac user (which I must admit I am) and are
looking to buy this phone as an alternative to the iPhone (I did
as it seemed a reasonable alternative on paper and one available
at much less cost for me on Orange than the iPhone on O2) my advice
would be DO NOT BOTHER. I couldn't get this thing to connect tp
my mac book, it wouldn't accept any of my music files that I sent
to it on bluetooth saying that it did not support the file type
( this included .mp3 files) and so I was never going to get the
full potential out of this phone. If you are unable to use the phone
to its full potential then personally think that the negative points
of this phone are not worth living with. Rating:
Reviewed by Gav from Scotland on
10th Sep 2008
Hi all, there seems to be some bad reviews of the phone, from techno
retards, I have had the phone since Friday and to be honest I have
always went for Nokia's till now, about the only gripes i have with
the phone is you need to attach an adapter to the phone to use head
phones and the camera the quality is alright but not as sharp as
my n95, but thats it, it took a few hours of tinkering to find my
way around phone once that was done though i have found that the
interface is about as easy to use as my nokia, i have not had any
problems with the touch screen at all, if i am texting i use the
letter recognizer and the stylus because i find that the simplest
way i also use it if i am having to check back my emails but, if
its just to make a call i will use my finger to key in the number
since the only way you could possibly have difficulties pressing
wrong numbers is by not having the the screen properly aligned,
the gps is spot on however i had to download windows live (free)
i will get a lock in under 2 min which with the n95 i would take
a dogs age to get a lock, as stated in previous reviews there are
a massive amount of functions with in the phone to use, i am really
happy with the phone and glad i have switched from nokia because
the omnia is a joy to use thats why i would rate it with 4.1/2 stars.
If you are looking for a phone just to make calls only buy a nokia
but if you are looking for a something really new, exciting and
easy to use i would buy the omnia you wouldn't be dissapointed Rating:
Reviewed by Cat from London on
10th Sep 2008
Hi! Just got the Omnia today. It seems to be a good phone that needs
a LOT of getting used to. I am someone quite techy, but having played
with the Iphone, I was expecting something as easy to use. It is
NOT. My major concern in texting. I had just sent back the Sony
Ericson C902, because texting on such a small keyboard was not easy
and the battery was dead after one day. I think I can get used to
the Omnia, however, can someone tell me if I can change texting
language very quickly. IE on a Razr Motorola, you can just set two
languages to choose from by pressing the T9 key. Is something like
this possible here without going all the way back to settings and
changing the language EACH time I am texting in English or then
in another language?? That would really be unpractical. With the
C902, I was complaining about having to change the writing setting
language, but it took 3 clicks only. Here... well, it is quite disappointing
so far. Can someone help?? Rating:
Reviewed by easternstar from Europe
on 10th Sep 2008
Yet another failure a la Samsung, in fact i can't remember the last
time one of their models wasn't one. unreliable, buggy and crashing
phones is all samsung is currently capable of producing. it's painfully
obvious that it is the very same samsung everyone was laughing at
in the 80s and 90s, the only thing they've was replace the designer
and marketing teams. the engineers are the same, the programmers
are the same, and it's one huge failure. Stay away. Rating:
Reviewed by Dave from UK on 10th
Sep 2008
I think this phone on paper is great, but you need to try and live
with it. I think that you need to go to cambridge uni to get a degree
in how to use the phone. I had the phone for about a week and have
now sent it back, it's so unuser friendly. If you are a gen phone
user this aint for you. Get a phone not a mini computer. everything
with this phone is hard work and seems to send you around the house's.
I now have the iphone with is much beeter for me as its more user
friendly. Rating:
Reviewed by mark from scotland on
10th Sep 2008
I recieved this fone a few days ago and first impressions were that
it was complicated and difficult to get to grips with, however after
much button pressing and perseverance i realised that this is a
fantastis fone which will do almost anything you ask it to! touchscreen
takes a bit of getting used to but that is a small price to pay
for such a great fone. texting however is a bit of an art with this
fone but as i fone most people it didnt bother me too much. all
in all it takes a bit of getting used to and their are so many functions
to get your head round,but worth it!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Kosh from NI on 10th
Sep 2008
OK I usually don't like posting twice but I feel I have to in this
case to clarify some of the negative stuff being written about the
omnia and help others out if I can. I know lots of people will be
wanting to buy this phone expecting it to work great out of the
box but this is not the case with a lot of smart phone / pda type
devices, however things can be tweaked to how you like them if you're
willing to take a little time at the start to get it the way you
want. If you don't want to do this then (a) buy an iPhone or (b)
buy a normal phone that requires no, and wont let you, tweak it.
OK this is mainly in response to Steff's post but should hopefully
help anyone else when deciding if they want this type of device.
(1) WM is a slow OS (NOT A SECRET!), this is known; as is the Symbian
OS on nokias. Apple's OS is faster but they wouldn't put it on a
decent bit of hardware so you have to decide what's really important
to you before you buy this!! (2) "Screen is unresponsive" - A few
people have said this but I cant say i've noticed this. The screen
has always responded to any of my presses. It lags a little at times
however but this is what the current state of touchscreens and mobile
OS' are. Again not a big secret! Read any of the reviews on these
types of phones including the one above! (3) "And it does crash
quite regularly!" - It's Windows what do you expect. :oD Seriously
though, i've experienced this a couple of times. But then I also
had this with my K800i. Again this is the deal with most mobile
OS'. Maybe android will be better but as of yet it's not on any
device I can get. (4) "Items do not actually close when you press
the little X" - Yep this is by design as explained in my post below.
Get magic button app (FREE) and all your issues will be solved.
(5) "no confirmation that message has been sent" - the notification
is available but has just been turned off by default in the registry.
Search google or xda developers forum for how to turn this on. Not
sure of the reason for this being off by default but there are a
few things like this turned off by default. I'm sure there are people
who would prefer it off so it's one less notification to worry about
closing but each to their own. (6) "The received and sent messages
are grouped" - This is called message threading and is a feature
now available on many phones and even being used in email servers
like hotmail and gmail. It's designed to help you organise messages
into conversations to make it easier when viewing them so you dont
ahve to go to inbox and sent items to see a conversation with someone.
Some people prefer it this way but others, including myself don't.
But again as this is WM you can turn that feature off and just have
them displaying normally as single messages. Again Google it! You'll
find info on the ways to do it in less than 5 minutes. Just make
sure you change the correct registry entry as there are a couple
of ways to turn it off but a couple will also disable other things
you may want to leave on so choose the one you like best. (I Don't
want to post links in case it's against site rules) (7) "screen
doesn't like daylight" - Personally I have not had this issue. I've
been able to read it in all daylight so far. If anything is brighter
than my old K800i. Each to their own though so I'd recommend people
try the phone from a store before buying if this might be an issue.
(8) "Ah, the battery, it lasts about two hours" - My battery lasts
2 days with normal usage (1-2 hrs calls, 2-10 txts, 30mins web browsing
and 2hrs bluetooth connected in my car) which for a touchscreen
phone is extremely good. Did you charge it completely before use???
(9) SMS notification popup - Not really sure what you mean here
as on mine if a new one comes in while i'm typing a new message
I get the notification fine, to which i press "MENU" softkey, then
dismiss and then go back to my text or just tap somewhere outside
the notificatio n and it disappears and I can type the rest of my
message. By any chance are you tapping outside the notification
and then tapping the left softkey (initally "Reply" when the notification
pops up) before the notification dismisses properly and is replaced
by the SEND key and then because of the delay registers the tap
against the SEND action?? (10) Predictive text isn't great on default
keyboards. Yep but then most aren't. I've never used them on any
of my previous mobiles cos they never did what I wanted. However
there are other keyboards you can get that have great predictive
text. One of the advantages of this type of device is you can look
for the keyboard you like the best and use it. I use once called
TouchPal. It not only predicts the word I want but I can teach it
any other word I want even short hand versions like "nite" and "ure",
assign priorities to words so it gets things right even more often
as it learns how I speak and it even has context searching so it
looks at the word you just typed and then can use this to determine
the next word you want and with a couple of letters it usually gets
it right 99% of the time. It also has automatic mistyping correct
so if you hit a wrong letter it will try to figure out what you
mean and it works quite well for me. It's not free (but there are
others) but was well worth the money as I can now type faster on
this device than any other phone I have ever used as I have so fewer
keys to press before i gets the word right. Again this is not on
the default model so you have to go out and do it for yourself so
if you don't want to entertain this then you really need to ask
yourself if this is the type of phone you want. (11) Charger connector
- Samsung have done this on a lot of phones as do LG. It helps keep
water and dust out of the port but the trade off is it sticks out.
If you don't like it and it snaps off then so what. It will be off
and you wont have the issue, so isn't that WIN WIN?? (12) To field
issues - these seem to be bugs that affect some users and not others.
Clicking the to field allows me to enter text straight away. You
seem to have a lot of unresponsive touch screen issues not sure
if this is a defective screen or just software bugs. The "only being
able to enter numbers" issue seems to only happen for some people
and depends on the keyboard you're using and your settings. Try
changing the keyboard options and using the default and the samsung
keyboards installed to see if this helps. I had the same issue when
I first got mine but I was messing with the settings cos I didn't
like the predictive text and while doing this the issue disappeared.
Try turning off/on autocomplete and other options and see if this
resolves. Also for mine when I enter text e.g. 1 or more characters
I get a drop down list of matching contacts from my phone book that
reduce the more I type. I don't have to specify a full name. Check
your keyboard settings as well for this as well. It also works for
typing names or numbers however it should be noted that for contacts
on your phone it uses the "file as" field in the contact to display
/ search the contact and by default outlook sets this to surname,
forename. There are ways you can change this. I have mine set to
forename surname so it woks properly for me. (13) No screen lock
- Of course the phone has a screen lock!! Press and hold the "End/Hangup"
key (Right Hard Key) and the phone will lock. To unlock you tap
the unlock soft key and then the unlock button halfway up the screen.
I prefer the free S2U2 app to do this myself but the phone can do
it by default. One word of warning though if the phone does not
do this by default please check the following; go to "start>settings"
and under the "personal" tab tap the "buttons" icon and select the
"end key" tab at the bottom. Make sure the end key setting is set
to lock device. Also in same section under the "wake up" tab you
can set the device to lock on wake up so pressing a hard key to
wake the device will make it lock anyway. Also in same section in
the "Up/Down Control" tab make sure the repeat rate slider is not
set too low or none of the hard keys including the keys on the right
hand side of the device, e.g. camera key, will do their press and
hold function properly if this is set too low. (14) SPB today screen
and WM today screen issues - lots of people use SPB and have no
issues. My advice is to do a bit of research and see if there are
any other people having this issue. I don't use SPB, I prefer free
apps that skin the device to what i want and they don't have those
issues and can even be set to run at startup so i never get the
windows today screen. again this will depend on your phone, its
version of Windows Mobile and the applications it uses. Every OS
(computer and phone) has compatibility issues with some software
and of course most mobile OS' have these because of the number of
apps about and that anyone can create apps for it whether they're
stable or not. I've had a few java apps for my K800i that crashed
the phone regularly. Apples model for dealing with 3rd party apps
is simple. They have to approve them before they'll make them available.
While this is good for compatibility and stability it relies on
apples control which I can not tolerate for many reasons. Still
each to their own. You have to be prepared to find and test the
apps you want that best serve your needs and leave your phone stable.
If this is not something you want to do then stay away from smart
phones (well for the moment anyway) (15) The camera. It's not the
best compared to the high end SEs and Nokias (N95 etc) and it never
pretends to be but it's the best i've seen on a touchscreen smart
phone/pda and a lot better than many other mobiles. It's also not
the first phone to not have a lens cover. At the moment it seems
that a lot of recent phones don't have a lens cover. While it would
be nice I've had p hones without lens covers in the past (kept in
pocket with keys / pens) and had no issues. If your going to keep
it somewhere where it can get scratched then do what everyone else
who has a phone without a lens cover does; get a case! CONCLUSION
- Well if you've managed to stay awake and read this then thanks.
Apologies for the length but I want people to know more about the
(apparent) issues so they can decide for themselves if they really
are issues that will stop them from enjoying this phone. For me
the tweakability of the WM OS, availability of freeware apps and
phone hardware features meant I was willing to put up with initial
issues and do a little research to find out how to solve my issues
and get the device the way I want it especially getting it to behave
like a normal phone in some areas. If you are not prepared to do
this then ask yourself why do you want this type of phone? If you
just want a touchscreen then there are other devices out there that
do this witho ut all the advanced options you get with a smart phone
/ pocket PC type device of which this is. Rating:
Reviewed by ADAM from LONDON, UK on
9th Sep 2008
If you want a phone that is simply a phone to make calls and text
then stay away from this. Biggest piece of complicated junk I have
ever had the displeasure of owning! This is the most complicated
phone I have ever come across, the touchscreen is lousy and after
2 weeks I still cant work out how to do the basics such as texting
or saving a phone number. My fingers are regular size but the touch
screen is so innaccurate when using your fingers that I have resorted
to using the stylus and even with that it frequently gets it wrong.
Plus what kind of phone is this which cannot accomodate a stylus
inside? Instead the geniuses at Samsung decided to let it hang off
the side of the phone so it swings about which is really annoying
and gets in the way. Ive used this website several times over the
past couple of years and the reviews have always been spot on but
you really have got it wrong with this phone with your 5 star rating.
The only 5 stars this should get is in the useless phones award. Rating:
Reviewed by A.J from England on
9th Sep 2008
I was quite excited about this phone and upon first glance i was
quite impressed. The phone feels solid however i think they should
have used a better quality finish since the back cover is flimsy
plastic, I dont understand why they didnt use a metal or harder
plastic. Anyway the phone has many great features but the main problem
is that they all look good on paper and cant really back it up.
I dont really like the iphone but the user friendliness of it walks
all over the omnia that has a really bad touch screen that takes
some getting use to. I dont know if anyone else has experienced
problems but my Orange 16gb omnia sometimes switches its screen
off and you cant switch it back on without resetting it. Sometimes
the phone gets buggy and slow or locks up aswell. The camera quality
is excellent and beats my k8001 even without a xenon flash. The
video is supreme. The stylus is really annoying, i just took mine
off completely, it kept bashing around everywhere. Bascially if
you like to do things quickly, e.g. quickly make calls, send txt
messages, then this phone is no good for you. Even the web browsers
are buggy , and the resizing of pages is poor. By the way the zoom
on web pages and ability to scroll around is very bad and hard to
do on this phone ..... far from near the iphone. No one mentioned
anything about the accessories so here it goes. The hands free is
kack and bulges a mile put from ur ears, so if u like chatting to
ur girl friend at night lying in ur bed u cant because these creatures
are growing out of your ears and if you try lying on your cheeks
it hurts ur ears. I`m comparing these to my old k800 phones that
were much more comfy and proudced a much higher sound quality. Samsung
have become cheap skates it seems because unlike the tocco that
comes with a nice case this doesnt come with anything which means
its going to be easy to scratch it. This phone is good but dont
believe the hype ... i recommend you try it before you buy, I will
be sending mine back and waiting for the i8510. Rating:
Reviewed by John Le from UK on
9th Sep 2008
I ordered it from Vodafone less than a week, after 3 days I have
mixed feelings for this phone. It's certainly a nice phone, it has
very big and clear screen, nice fancy widgets and internet surfing.
Apart from this everything else seems to be a down fall on the Omnia.
The touch screen isn't responsive as I would like, therefore writing
an email/sms would be tricky especially if not using the stylus.
Maybe it's me that I have never owned an PDA-phone before which
finding it quite difficult to use. Anyway I have returned the to
Vodaphone and ordered Nokia 85 8GB, something I felt comfortable
with (as previously owned N95 1). Rating:
Reviewed by Dan from UK on 9th
Sep 2008
I sent my phone back today after having it for 4 days. I think I
was a bit taken in by all the hype as really I have no need for/
couldn't use most of the features and so for me the negative points
about this phone are too much of a compromise for me. At the end
of the day this is presumably supposed to be first and foremost
a PHONE, and in that respect for me it is sub standard. Far too
complicated and fiddly to use- not sure if that is a phone or operating
system issue, but as a whole package I found it extremely frustrating
to use. If you are a mac user (which I must admit I am) and are
looking to buy this phone as an alternative to the iPhone (I did
as it seemed a reasonable alternative on paper and one available
at much less cost for me on Orange than the iPhone on O2) my advice
would be DO NOT BOTHER. I couldn't get this thing to connect tp
my mac book, it wouldn't accept any of my music files that I sent
to it on bluetooth saying that it did not support the file type
(this included .mp3 files) and so I was never going to get the full
potential out of this phone. If you are unable to use the phone
to its full potential then personally think that the negative points
of this phone are not worth living with. Rating:
Reviewed by Lance from England on
8th Sep 2008
I have always regarded your reviews as reliable to the extent of
being able to purchase a phone blind. But did you actually try the
Omnia before you wrote it? It's a difficult phone to use and Nuala,
BuyerRemorse and Mark are absolutely correct in their statements.
I don't want an iPhone but I do want a phone that is easy to use
for everyday tasks like making a call or texting - things which
are very difficult to do on the Omnia! It's partly the OS (WM is
not meant for a phone!) and partly the touch screen (which is very
unresponsive). I have had the Vodafone version for over a week and
I'm going to return it. Perhaps the Orange 16gb version is different.
However, I'm giving it one star as I just spent more than five minutes
trying to scroll down to read a text and it kept zooming in. In
the end I gave up and phoned the person! I've now put my sim card
back in my old phone! Maybe future firmware releases will fix the
bugs and make it the phone it should have been but at the moment
it is simply a toy to give geeks immense pleasure while they try
to fix the bugs themselves (like the XDA community). I'd certainly
avoid it if you like to text - you'll be down to your GP asking
for something to lower your blood pressure after a few days with
it! [Editor's reply: I think that we tried to indicate in our review
that the Windows Mobile UI might not be to everyone's taste. Touchscreen
phones are still in their infancy, however most user reviews seem
to be positive about the Omnia. We're sorry that you didn't get
on with it.] Rating:
Reviewed by Ash from UK on 8th
Sep 2008
I've had this phone for about 2/3 weeks now. Haven't really had
any problems. It is a great phone. Still getting used to the touch
screen facilities. Some icons are really small and hard to get to
but they have an optical mouse which can be enabled. They've truly
covered all bases. I'm surprised it hasn't been marketed as much
as the iphone but i'm sure the sheep will follow soon enough. Rating:
Reviewed by Md from Uk on 8th
Sep 2008
I think its mint dont understand all the moans and groans. Ive not
tried the 3g but wifi works fine menus are easy and movie play back
is v.good quality. Had mine for about a week and cannot see any
reason for complaint. Someone mentioned issues with storage when
you drag and drop you need to do this to my storage as this is where
the bulk of available space is kept. My only issue was when texting
I occasionally hit the wrong digit but you quickly adapt to avoiding
this. Rating:
Reviewed by John from UK on 7th
Sep 2008
I had to add this bit. When you are using the web browser and put
the phone down for any period of time without closing the browser
the phone will ring silently and automatically answer. I missed
12 calls over the weekend due to this. Common sense to shut the
browser down when you put the phone down? Maybe but this is a pain
in the backside. Rating:
Reviewed by Phil from UK on 7th
Sep 2008
Well lets start really if this is so much better than the iphone
how come the 3g iphone sales have not dropped at all and it still
sells for more than the omnia on paper this phone is the best phone
one can wish for in you're hands its a different story. It might
have 5.0mp camera and the other better features, but the speed the
time it takes to load the touchscreen its all not very good my last
phone was hp hw6915 and that worked better. The omnia is ot worth
the price wait 3-4 months and buy it for £100 it is worth for £100
and as far as Sony Xperia i think thats an even worst option to
go for!! Rating:
Reviewed by Arun from UK on 7th
Sep 2008
The Best Samsung phone ever. But still the touch sensitivity is
not like the iphone. And the internet browser is not easy to use
or as fast as iphone. But the good thing is you can install other
browsers, media players etc..Go for this phone, if you are getting
it on contract. But never buy it for a bulk amount of £500. Rating:
Reviewed by Steff from UK on
7th Sep 2008
My N95 has been playing up for a while now and I was due an upgrade
so after having a look at what's available I thought the Omnia seemed
like the perfect candidate. It is not! I've had it for five days
now and I'm sick of it. I was annoyed at how slow the N95 was compared
to a normal phone but this is worse, far worse! It is the first
Windows Mobile device I've used so maybe that's the problem - perhaps
it would be better with another OS like OSX or Linux or the new
one Google is developing, I don't know! - but it is incredibly slow
to do anything, the menus are awkward to navigate and the screen
is incredibly unresponsive - so much so that you'll think it's crashed!
And it does crash quite regularly! You'll also start wishing your
fingernails were slightly longer so you can select the correct item
from the drop down start menu! Items do not actually close when
you press the little X in the top right corner; yes, the screen
closes and you find yourself back at the Today Screen, but the program
is still running in the background taking up all the memory, and
then the phone tells you it cannot complete a task like send an
SMS as it's run out of memory! Speaking of texts, there is no confirmation
that your message has been sent, and I don't mean a receipt - it
doesn't show anything to indicate it's sending or sent! The received
and sent messages are grouped according to contact so you end up
with a long stream of text that is difficult to navigate (that screen
again!) and when you do get to the point you want it suddenly goes
back to the top! Arrgh! Another major flaw is that the screen doesn't
like daylight; take it outside and try and read it - you can't!
My N95 darkens the backlight and increases the contrast in daylight
but the screen of the Omnia seems to, well actually I'm not sure
- it seems to resemble a solar panel so maybe it's recharging the
battery! Ah, the battery, it lasts about two hours if you actually
use the phone to make a call or do a bit of surfing; start using
the GPS and you're doomed! You can forget using it as a SatNav unless
you've plugged it into the lighter socket! I'm sure there was something
else! Oh yes, if you're typing an SMS and another comes through
a little notification screen pops up and shows you the contents
of the new message which sounds very good doesn't it? No, because
the SMS you were just tying is now non-responsive and then you realize
it's sent half a message! Either that or it's gone and you have
to start typing again. And who programmed the predictive text? Honestly,
it gives you every other word but the one you want! The Omnia also
uses Samsung's proprietary connector to charge the phone and connect
other devices such as headphones. OK, lots of manufacturers do this
(i.e. SonyEricsson) but they put the connectors at the bottom of
the phone and they don't cover them up. The port in the Omnia is
not only on the side but it is covered up and when you insert the
headphone connector (to which you can put your own headphones) the
little cover is left sticking out and it IS going to snap off! Going
back to that screen again (can't you tell by now that the screen
is truly awful?), it makes navigating through the contacts list
a thing to be dread. I'll illustrate: You want to send an SMS so
you click on the SMS icon on the Today screen and up pops your recent
messages. You click on 'To' and nothing! You select the keypad from
the bottom toolbar and you try to enter a name. You can't - it will
only let you type numbers! You select the message body pane and
then you can access the alpha keypad so you start to type a name
(very slow and prone to mistakes) and you would expect a list of
recipients to appear for you to select one from. No. You have to
type an entire name first! OK that's one way but there's another:
you select 'contacts' from the bottom toolbar of the Today screen
and all your contacts appear for you to scroll through. You start
to scroll but nothing happens so you press harder and then it opens
a contact, the wrong contact! You go back and try again and it does
the same thing. It's so awkward to navigate that you dread it and
by the time you do get the contact you want you have forgotten what
you were going to say! You begin to hope that all your contacts
would send you a text so that you can send them one by replying
to theirs! Finally, and I'm sure this appears obvious to everyone
so it should have been at the top of the developers list, the phone
appears to have no screen lock! It's a touch screen and it's in
your pocket, it's gonna get pressed! The screen is not responsive
when the backlight goes off but the buttons are and they revive
it! I had to download a keylock from a third party 'hobbyist' developer!
I was advised to install some software (SPB Mobile Shell and Pocket
Plus) to make it smoother. They do not. They are quite nice but
they simply add a skin and you have to load them up once you have
turned the phone on because the Windows today screen takes priority.
It also switches between the Windows and SPB today screens at random!
So, I think you get the message: it's a dog of a phone and to be
avoided! The only reason I bought it is that it has a five megapixel
camera and after my N95 I didn't want to step down to something
with fewer pixels. However, the camera isn't a patch on the N95
and as there's no lens cover it's gonna get scratched! I am no fan
of the iPhone - in fact I laughed when I read the specs - but it
works a hell of a lot better than this! I'm seriously thinking of
returning it under the 14 day returns policy but I have no idea
if I can as I upgraded. I don't want an iPhone as I simply don't
like it and I want a relatively good camera (I use my N95's a lot)
so I have no idea what to replace it with! AVOID THE OMNIA - IT'S
NOT A COMPUTER AND IT'S BARELY A PHONE! Rating:
Reviewed by Faz from England on
6th Sep 2008
Outstanding and all them 1 star reviews you see are iphone users
who never had this phone but just rated the Omnia 1 star here cuz
they are jealous. Omnia the One n Only, takr my words for it. I
wish i could rate it more than 5 cuz it worth more. Rating:
Reviewed by Kosh from NI on 6th
Sep 2008
I have to disagree with BuyerRemorse as well. You have to understand
what you are buying with this phone. The hardware is excellent but
it's build on Windows Mobile which really isn't. In terms of usability
WM is no where near as good as Apple's interface but once you accept
this you can move on. For me I knew this before I bought the phone
but I was interested more in what I could do with the phone and
not just having a fancy interface and no features. Something my
mate who bought the iPhone is finding out! Ok so first I'll give
more info on BuyerRemorse's comments: (1) "The widgetbar" - Yep
so far this is just fancy frills. You have a set list and thats
it. No idea if Samsung will allow you to add any more or will let
other develop widgets for it but in essence I found little use for
this. There are also 2 Samsung Today screens to replace the widget
bar and while they have their uses too I'm not really happy with
them either. (but then what phone screen have I ever been happy
with!) However this is a windows mobile device so I don't need to
be. There are paid for and freeware programs about that let you
design your own today screen so you can have whatever icons you
want on your device's main screen. I've seen a few skins that are
free to download that will make your today screen look like the
iPhone if you really want that! So in this respect anything is possible
but the drawback is you have to spend the time researching and getting
what you want. The upside to this is that you can basically design
your own interface "IF" you're willin g. (2) "WM and the Stylus"
- Yep annoying because the WM buttons are small but tbh I no longer
use the stylus. My fingernails aren't long by any means but I am
able to use my fingers to get round most of the system so I no longer
use the stylus. Yes the touchscreen is not as responsive as it could
be but I think this is more to do with the OS as I've found some
programs are very responsive and others need a few presses. All
in all I knew what I was buying so I can't complain too much. (3)
"Any program you open, will remain open unless you close them in
Task Manager." - Yep this is the default behaviour of Windows Mobile
OS. It's so that when you open programs esp 3rd party ones you install
that you can just hit the x and they effectively get minimised which
means they will open faster the next time or for the like of an
alarm application, they need to be running all the time to work
anyway. But yes this is annoying on some apps that you want to close
when you're no longer using them. However the solution is simple
and has been about for ages. It's freeware apps again. I use one
called "Magic Button". Very small app you get for free and it replaces
the x with it's own x and you can specify the behaviour you want
it to have i.e. close rather than minimise and even specify certain
apps that you dont want close even if you hit the x (you can still
close them from it's little tray icon without any hassle). So again
not built it but very easy to get and easy to use. (4) "Device sees
the '8gb' as a storage card and you have store stuff there and direct
all applications to that location." - Yep by default it's set to
install stuff to your phone memory which is only a hundred meg or
so. However this can be easily changed to point to the storage card.
Again it's just a poor bit of design how they did that. Not sure
why but easily fixable. (5) "MicroSD" - Yep you have to remove the
battery to get at the microSD card. Not the best design again it's
not limited to the onmia and not the first time manufacturers have
made devices with hard to get at parts or even non removable parts
that should be removable (Apple and battery springs to mind) but
to me anyway it's not a big thing as with 16GB on the phone (well
on my model anyway) and the microSD storage I've never found the
need to be removing the card that often for it to be an issue. I
just fired everything i wanted on the card to being with and that's
been it. Anything else I've just plugged the phone into my computer
and I can send it through activesync or just browse the phone like
a removable drive (didn't have to set this up like that either,
just installed the software on my laptop and voila!) Each to their
own though. (6) Headphones. Yep i'm guessing to save on space samsung
decided to use just the one port for everything. Doesn't SE and
others do that on their phones as well??? So you have a little extra
connector to stick on the end of your headphones, big deal. It's
nice they bothered to include it in the pack as other manufacturers
in the past have just included their own headphones and you've had
to buy the adapter as an extra accessory! (7) "You can't use the
FM radio unless this cable is connected." - As with many other phones,
like every SE phone I've owned. Never had the need to listen to
radio without the headphones anyway. Would usually annoy everyone
around me if they had to listen to my radio stations anyway. (8)
"The connector jack is different" - Yep it is. Again not the first
time a manufacturer has changed designs. SE for instance. I think
it's the same design as on the G800 though. Again annoying but not
isolated practice in the industry is it. (9) "You can't change the
text message sound to anything else" - WHAT??? You can change the
sound to whatever you want. It's a WM device not a Samsung OS! It's
configurable in all alerts. The only issue is where you put the
music files you want to use. 5 mins research on google would have
told you this! The sound files for SMS by default are placed in
the Windows directory. Put yours in there and it will show up. Ringtones
need to be put in the My DocumentsMy Ringtones folder and then you
can select them as well. I'm not sure off hand of all the acceptable
file types for each type of sound, i.e. mp3, wav, wma but I know
you can definately use mp3s for ringtones and wav for sms/alarm
sounds. In conclusion I have to say if you want a phone to be completely
setup and ready for you so you have to do nothing then don't buy
this phone and tbh don't buy any smart phone. That's not what they're
for. And with regards to speed issues, well most smart phones all
suffer from this. Whether its symbian or WM they're all flakey in
this area. Maybe one day they'll get the interface working like
apple but until them just accept it. If you want the features that
the iphone lacks then there's a compromise. With regards to WM well
to make this phone work well you'll have to spend a little time
get some 3rd party paid or freeware apps (all mine are free) to
do things how you want. There are free task managers, battery /
cpu managers, file explorers, alarm programs, today screen apps/skins
all ready for you to get and setup they way you want. Why leave
it to any mobile manufacturer to tell you how you should have your
phone behaving! Some people already share their own skins so you
don't even have to design your own; if you like theirs you just
use it. xda developers forum is one of the best places to get all
this and more info on what you can really do with your device. The
last app I got was called S2U2 which is a little app that gives
you the iphone like slide unlocking of your phone. No more fiddly
tap unlock button and then tap here on the other side of the screen
to unlock. I just slide my finger across the bottom of the screen
and it unlocks, answers a call etc. It's quite configurable. You
can even get it to run certain programs when you unlock which is
very handy. And most of my freeware apps have faster bug fixes /
feature additions that i've ever had with SE, Samsung. You also
get direct access to the developers who will usually be only to
happy to fix issues for you and add extra feature to their app for
free. It's all part of the great open source community spirit. Oh
and the reason I gave the phone 4 starts is actually because of
the little annoyances with the phone e.g the opera zoom in when
you're trying to scroll down. It's no reflection on samsung it's
just the package as a whole. But then i've never been able to give
any phone 5 stars yet! Rating:
Reviewed by Jules from UK on
6th Sep 2008
Nice looking phone however the FONT IS TOO SMALL..SORRY.It can support
alot of programmes if thats what you are looking for. Links E-mails
and word docs etc. I'll be returning it back to orange. It's too
high tech for me. I'm disappointed with the touchscreens thats available
at the moment. The only phone i would consider to be a CLASS ABOVE
THE REST IS THE LG KU990. THE FONT AND PROGRAMMES EASY TO USE. STICKING
WITH IT FOR NOW. Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from UK on 5th
Sep 2008
This phone is ok if you want something that looks very high tech,
however, look beyond the very nice touch screen and good looking
exterior and what you have is a very average phone with a very unstable
operating system that regularly crashes. I am returning mine to
O2 tomorrow. Rating:
Reviewed by Danny from Britain on
5th Sep 2008
I have had a fare few PDA's in my time but not any of them have
been as bad as the Omnia.Slow,massively complicated and the UI a
nightmare!! A stylyus now come on they went out with the Arc!!!
It kept telling me my 16Gb(in total)memory was full when I had only
used 2Gb!! I hated the cut and paste way on getting things from
phone onto memory card. Mobile of the year!!! no way!! turkey for
christmas more like!!! Rating:
Reviewed by PhoneMaxUK from UK on
4th Sep 2008
Dont be sucked in by the 'iphone killer' hype. it certainly isnt.
it should have been so so so much better. why is it so slow and
aukward to use???? samsung you've thrown it all away!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Pritesh from England on
4th Sep 2008
The phone looks and sounds the business. I waited for this for about
4 months to be released in the UK... But using it now i have to
admit im not impressed (id go as far to say disappointed) unresponsive
touchscreen, boring menu screen, windows mobile is very slow. i
used my friends iphone the other day and even tho i think they are
probably the most over-rated phone ever, i have to admit that it
was much more pleasing and responsive to use. Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from UK on
4th Sep 2008
A very poor user interface. If youre not a business man who uses
excel/ powerpoint then there is no point having one of these phones.
The scroll system isnt nearly as good as the iphone and these are
the things you have to live with every day. On paper it offered
so much. Rating:
Reviewed by Max from UK on 4th
Sep 2008
I couldn't disagree more with Mark and Buyerremorse below. I have
had this phone about 2 weeks now and although it isn't instantly
useable like many phones, I think that is because in order to have
high performance and numerous features, there is inevitably a degree
of complexity to the functionality. Ok, so I do have 2 major gripes:
1 the stylus - it is basically essential in that for some menus
the buttons are too small to use your finger (in fact as I get more
used to the phone I am finding work arounds but still, not ideal
and so far incomplete). This means that you have to carry the stylus
which would be fine if it slotted into the body of the machine a
la blackberry but no it hangs off a bit of string from the side
of the machine. It doesn't cause me any problems but it's a bit
like buying a ducati and fitting a sidecar. My other gripe is that
Vodafone's GPS service is not up and running though this is obviously
not an issue with the phone. However, other than the stylus I love
the phone: The first thing to say is that as with the iphone this
phone has a screen which suddenly makes the idea of a mobile device
make sense- the screen is large enough to browse the internet, look
at photos/ videos etc without thinking, "I can't wait to download
this to my PC when I get home". Internet - the opera broswer works
brilliantly, so surfing the web is a pleasure. I have linked up
the phone to my google account so docs, photos, email etc instantly,
as well as youtube, facebook etc etc. If you just want a phone as
a gadget then it is the best phone-gadget you can get - 8MB internal
memory makes it a fully functional music player (my one gripe being
that the volume could go higher). The 5MP pixel camera/ videocamera
is brilliant and very easy to use and with that huge memory you
can take and store long videos - again these are functions that
you actually finally find yourself using on this phone because it
does them properly. The other big thing for me is being able to
write notes, articles etc on the move and Samsung provide you with
6 alternative mechanisms for typing from using the stylus to a standard
keyboard layout, text layout etc. I have 3 that I can use to type
almost as quickly as I can on a standard keyboard. In conclusion,
you have to accept that this phone is like a mini PC - you may have
to spend some time setting it up and working out the features -
but that is because you have them. Once you have got going, this
phone becomes your good MP3 player, your good camera/ vidocamera,
your good mobile internet, your good mobile office all rolled into
one. The iphone may have an interface that is marginally easier
to get used to but it isn't the first all in one media device -
this is. However, as per Mark and buyerremorse, if you are technically
illiterate youo shouldn't even be thinking about a smartphone, I
believe Nokia are making a phone with extra large keys along the
lines you may find appropriate. Rating:
Reviewed by John from UK on 4th
Sep 2008
I have had the phone 24 hours and I am 'satisfied with it' It looks
good, the interface is quite good but I've had problems with the
Camera not working as I've run out of memory (a quick reboot (how
Windows!) or closing down all the apps fixes that. I do however
find the internet experience very frustrating. I can't navigate
easily, I keep zooming in when I want to move down the page and
it is driving me mad. However I am now wireless and using 3G so
all the connectivity is good. Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 2nd
Sep 2008
Hmmmm. I really wanted to like this phone, and have been keenly
waiting until it came out. I was even ready to stump up the £500
to buy one sim free (something I'd never normally do)because it
looked so good. However, after spending some time with it in an
Orange store, what a dissapointment. I'd pretty much agree with
everything Buyerremorse says below. I found the interface slow and
very fiddly (though not quite as bad as the HTC diamond). The touchscreen
was unresponsive, regularly needing firm presses to make anything
happen (I'd guess you would end up HAVING to use the stylus alot
and as mentioned theres nowhere to store it). Trying to scroll through
the contacts was nothing like the fast smooth process you get on
the iphone (and I'm NOT an Apple fan BTW). Having spent alot of
time with the Tocco, it was far quicker and the screen far more
responsive than the Omnia. Whilst its obviously not a smart phone,
for day to day performance it would win hands down. Im therefore
guessing that alot of the problems are down to Winmo. I'd suggest
anyone thinking seriously about this phone should go and try one
out. If your used to windows smart phones you probably wont be dissapointed,
however if it's your first touch screen/smart phone you might well
be. I will be waiting for a while to see what else comes on the
market. Maybe the Sony Xperia will do a better job. I'd give it
two stars as the specs are good. However because of the hype, I'm
giving it one! Rating:
Reviewed by Ben from UK on 2nd
Sep 2008
Loves it, puts the iPhone to shame. Windows Mobile is working great
for me so far. Impressed with the battery life too! Rating:
Reviewed by Mottie from Kent on
2nd Sep 2008
This is an amazing phone overall; I simply love it! There are a
few things to get used to and there are a few glitches.. For instance
the auto lock that appears when you're making a call which is fine
and generally understandable as it is a touch screen phone, but
annoying when calling a call centre that prompts you to "press 1
to speak to someone, press 2 to..." I also agree with 'buyeremorse'
regarding the widget bar and the clock. This phone also seems to
have 2 different alarm settings?!? It's confusing and the manual
doesn't help. However I think for me, these are annoying, but minor
compared to what the phone can do and what I need it to do. All
in all, I think it's great!! Rating:
Reviewed by betty from uk on
1st Sep 2008
amazing! Rating:
Reviewed by Kitty from Scotland on
31st Aug 2008
This phone is the boy. :D Rating:
Reviewed by BuyerRemorse from UK on
31st Aug 2008
The Windows Mobile OS was a bad choice by Samsung. If rubbish is
sprinkled in icing sugar, it's still rubbish underneath. That's
what Samsung have done here, and it's not as sweet as icing sugar.
The Widget bar for example, how many clocks do you need? 3? An analogue,
a digital and a dual time zone? I can't find out anywhere how to
add or remove stuff from the Wdiget bar (Task Manger would have
been good). With out the ability to add and remove, the Widget bar
is useless. Once you get underneath the Samsung OS sprinkle, the
WinMo OS just frustrates unless you have a long nail to use and
point with. Sure, it comes supplied with a stylus, but it doesn't
slide into the phone. Instead you have a tiny thread of a tether
which will snap if you pull it hard enough, which you have to do
to get the top off. The stylus extends when you pull (with some
force) the top off, but it feels slippy and difficult to grip. It
dangles off the phone uncomfortably like a posh haemorrhoid. When
you make a phonecall it'll dangle by your ear like an earring. Any
program you open, will remain open unless you close them in Task
Manager from withing System, typical WinMo a la iPaq. The MITs software
that's on the supplied software is half English, half Russian! When
connecting it to your PC, you have to change in the USB settings
how you want the phone to act - activesync or usb mass storage (should
be auto). When connected to calls are possible. When you transfer
music to My Music, it runs out of phone memory. That's because it's
default is the phone memory - it sees the '8gb' as a storage card
and you have store stuff there and direct all applications to that
location. Want to add more memory? You have to take a battery out
before you can insert a microSD card. The phone also comes supplied
with 3.5mm jack headphones, but since the connector jack is the
universal power/usb, you need to use the cable supplied to use the
headphones. You can't use the FM radio unless this cable is connected.
The connector jack is different from my other Samsund (D900) so
I can't use the spare charger. You can't change the text message
sound to anything else (wtf Samsung, don't you listen?). If Samsung
had spent as much time on the software as they did on the hardware,
this phone would have been much better. All show, no go. Rating:
Reviewed by Saza from Australia on
31st Aug 2008
hello, i luv this fone Rating:
Reviewed by BubbyTupper from England
on 29th Aug 2008
Absolute PANTS! Sent it back and got an iPhone. It's muddled all
over the place, far to finniky, keeps crashing. Wouldnt recomend
this to my worst enemy. I nearly threw the thing at the wall within
an hour. It looks fantastic and the promo's are amazing. DO NOT
BE MISLED! Rating:
Reviewed by rover from UK on
28th Aug 2008
Best phone to date. Had it a week now and it's one of those things
that you can't stop playing with. I have the 16gb unbranded. Rating:
Reviewed by Tim from London on
27th Aug 2008
Just played with it in the shop, loved it! I got a free upgrade
about three weeks ago and got the iphone 3G as I couldn't wait...
Nuala in Ireland... Wanna swap??? Rating:
Reviewed by Mr Sony Ericsson from Brazil
on 27th Aug 2008
This phone is a hit! Rating:
Reviewed by Babe. from englaaaand on
26th Aug 2008
oooft what a sexual phone! im getting the 16 gb as soon as it comes
to payg. if it ever does lols. Totally like outstanding ;) x Rating:
Reviewed by ankit from uk on
25th Aug 2008
its no where in comparison of 3g iphone Rating:
Reviewed by dd from uk on 26th
Aug 2008
I thought Windows Mobile was designed for touchscreen? It runs pretty
well on my iPAQ. I think the problem with this is that the WMobile
GUI (interface) hasn't been updated since year dot and so Samsung
and others have had to layer their own icons/screens on top of it
and it looks & feels a little muddled. Some things flow and look
great, others seem messy. Looking forward to getting my long term
example to really test out. Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 24th
Aug 2008
It was this or the iPhone and the Omnia won because it's just so
much better and more versatile. The keyboard takes a bit of getting
used too (as does the iPhone's) but you fly with it once done -
I use the QWERTY for e-mail and T9 for SMS. Works brilliantly. Much
better and cheaper than Apple's offering. Rating:
Reviewed by Scott Watson from Spain
on 24th Aug 2008
Hiyaa New Samsung LOVE IT HOT AND SLIM Rating:
Reviewed by abdul ahath from sri lanka
on 23rd Aug 2008
samsung omnia i900 was beautiful. Rating:
Reviewed by Francesco Mastellone from
Italy on 22nd Aug 2008
Great piece of hardware. It's a pity that it runs Windows Mobile,
which was obviously not made to be a touch screen OS. Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from UK on
22nd Aug 2008
The specs on this phone are unbeatable. However, i find that scrolling
through my contacts/music is much more difficult than on for example
an iphone- it doesnt flow as smoothly as it should Plus i agree
that writing text messages is very fiddly- god knows how id do it
after a couple of beers!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Scott Watson from England
on 22nd Aug 2008
Samsung have now beaten Nokia thats hard to do but well done Samsung
16GB/8Gb Internal Memory 5.0Mega Pixel Sms MMs Email all that in
106Grams 3GAnd Wi-Fi Java Games Quadband Probaly the best phone
until the Samsung i8510 Rating:
Reviewed by daisy from uk on
21st Aug 2008
WOW WOW WOW..... the omnia is superb my friend bought the iphone
3g a couple of weeks ago and i thought the omnia would never be
as sleek and user friendly as that but i was wrong and i am truly
in love with the samsung omnia..... the camera is fantastic and
it looks the bizz..... it truly is a must have!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Nuala from Ireland on
21st Aug 2008
I hate to put a dampener on the brilliant reviews from other users,
but I have to say I really don't like this phone. I just got it
today and find it so frustrating. I don't consider myself to have
particularly sausage-like fingers but I find it really hard to write
any text with the small keyboard. I don't know why this should be
so awkward - it's not as if the screen isn't big enough. I also
find the touch screen very unresponsive. I am really disappointed
'cos on paper it looks amazing, but I am seriously considering taking
it back to the shop. Maybe my fingers are just too stumpy... Rating:
Reviewed by Leonie from England on
20th Aug 2008
Oh my gosh this phone is amazing! i bought it yesterday and haven't
put it down since. Samsung have created a true masterpiece, i am
officially in love with this phone!!! It has everything you could
hope for in a phone and the camera is absolutely magnificent! And
the response on the touchscreen is good too... not like many others
out at the moment. My friend has just bought an iPhone and she is
jealous of my Omnia!! Proves just how good this phone is :) Rating:
Reviewed by Nick from England on
20th Aug 2008
Have had this phone for about 2 weeks now, an import from Singapore...
Its work the price, and well the price i got it for was even better.
Features wise this wipes the floor with most phones and is defently
a step up from my previous. Fast HSDPA download. Push email capabilities,
and i like how they put the texts into converstations like MSN.
Camera could be better but considering the size of the unit its
brilliant.. when i first was looking at getting this i thought it
would be bigger but was pleasently suprised when opening the box
and holding it in my hands! Battery took about a week to kick in
which is kind of odd but now it lasts a day n half with about 30-1h
talk time bit of web browsing and 2 hours of commuting music :)
As the review said this is the phone to get for 2008! Highly recommended Rating:
Reviewed by Adrián from Costa Rica on
20th Aug 2008
Really amazing phone! I would've liked a WVGA screen, like in Xperia
X1, but this one is pretty amazing, too... I thought I was in love
with Tocco, but this one seems to have everything the Tocco has
and more!!! (except for the music recognition) I'm really glad that
a serious competitor came to put a fight to HTC Touch Diamond...
Even though, I adore this one & the Omnia. Now I just need the money!
Ha ha... Rating:
Reviewed by declan from england on
20th Aug 2008
what can i say , this phone certainly ticks all the boxes, and it
really annoys me , i work in a phone shop and because apple spent
so much money promoting the iphone everyone belives its brilliant
when frankly it is rubbish and this is the phone you should be buying
, (from orange right now)any way this phone is the best ever Rating:
