Review: Samsung Omnia Lite B7300

Samsung Omnia Lite Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Samsung Omnia Lite is a cut-down version of the Omnia 2. Running Windows Mobile 6.5, the Omnia Lite has plenty to offer, including a good web browser, fast internet access, aGPS and WiFi. On the other hand, the screen is relatively small for a Windows smartphone, the camera is poor and there isn't really enough memory either. The Omnia Lite seems to be more expensive than it ought to be, and it isn't our first choice of smartphone.
Best buy: *Free* with half-price line rental from Mobiles.co.uk.

Review: November 2009.

The Samsung Omnia Lite B7300 is a cut-down version of the Omnia 2. We're not going to spend a lot of time reviewing this one, as it seems destined not to be be a big seller. The reasons for this are that Samsung have cut too much from the spec, but the price hasn't been cut sufficiently. The result is an under-powered smartphone that costs pretty much the same as the Omnia 2.

Take the screen for starters, Windows smartphones need big screens. The Omnia Lite hasn't got one. The screen is too small, at 3 inches across and has a low resolution. There's just not enough space there to make this a truly satisfying Windows Mobile experience. We don't think much of the camera either. It's very basic for a modern smartphone. The memory is decidedly Scrooge-like too, with just 150 MB available to the user, although there is a microSD card slot available for expansion.

Musically, the Omnia Lite does the job well, with the excellent digital music player and FM radio with RDS.

We can't complain about the connectivity either, as the Omnia Lite has Bluetooth, WiFi and USB, as well as HSDPA-enabled 3G. It has has aGPS available.

In conclusion then, the Omnia Lite isn't a bad phone at all. It's got a lot of great features, and it's a relatively compact smartphone phone too. We like the operating system, which offers power, customisation and robustness. It's just that Samsung have cut back on too many of the goodies that we liked in the Omnia 2, without a significant cut in the cost. Strictly speaking, this is not down to Samsung. If you compare the sim-free costs of the two phones, you'll find that the Omnia Lite is much cheaper than the Omnia 2. The problem seems to be that the networks are choosing not to subsidise the Omnia Lite, so buying it on contract makes no sense. Surprise, surprise, no-one is buying it. Watch out for price falls, because if this thing becomes available for around £20 per month, which is what we think it should be, then it will be a good phone for those who can't afford the Omnia 2. As it stands, you can buy the Samsung Jet for less than the Omnia Lite, and the Jet is a better phone in many ways.

Features of the Samsung Omnia Lite include:

• 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, 4x digital zoom
• CIF/ QCIF/ QVGA video recording
• Display: TFT, 240 x 400 pixels, (3.0 inches), 65,000 colours
• AGPS navigation with geo-tagging
• Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA formats) plus FM radio RDS
• 40-voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Voice memo recorder
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
• Document viewer
• Java games
• Memory: 150MB, plus microSD memory card slot
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, Wi-fi
• Internet: WAP 2.0, Opera 9.5 web browser, GPRS, EDGE, 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps)
• Quadband (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G (UMTS 900 / 2100)
• Offline mode
• Size: 107 x 51 x 13.3 mm
• Weight: 109g
• Talktime: up to 11 hours (2.5G) up to 6.5 hours (3G)
• Battery standby: up to 610 hours

Samsung Omnia Lite Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 8 reviews:

Reviewed by Shirley from Scotland on 12th Jan 2010
My husband bought me this phone for my bd/xmas. It is the worst phone iv ever had, it stalls & freezes all the time & its a total nightmare for txt, it cost nearly £300, wot ever u do peeps DONT buy this phone
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Reviewed by prem from india on 31st Dec 2009
good
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Reviewed by Crowley from UK on 10th Dec 2009
I was on the market for a phone that (a) synchronises with Outlook (b) does not have small buttons (my fingers are not blackberry-proof) (c) makes phonecalls. Picked the Omnia lite on grounds that this one MUST easily link with Outlook. Tried yesterday for two hours to link u, got error message after error message, then got two guys from my company's Tech support involved, they tried for an hour, no luck. Returned it, bought an iPhone, put in my email address and password, and it synched on the first go. Still don't know why a windows phone did not sync with a windows programme, I am sure others found it easy to link up, and found it really very useful, but sadly, not for me.
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Reviewed by Andrew from UK on 20th Nov 2009
Everything works brilliantly except for the text messaging, which I have to agree with Mark. I get error messages, it stalls, etc Luckily I got it for free on my contract, but am taking it back to see if I can get the text thing sorted, because otherwise its a really good phone.
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Reviewed by sabir jetha from UK on 4th Nov 2009
sikkk phone defooo worth buying blad
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Reviewed by Bub from Canada on 15th Oct 2009
Love it! Really simple to use, and cheaper than the Omnia HD, with similar features! BTW, to Rex, doubt you even bought it.
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Reviewed by Mark from UK on 14th Oct 2009
Stalls all the time, keeps on coming with error messages, freezes when sending a text, not worth the money.
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Reviewed by Rex from UK on 14th Oct 2009
Rubbish!
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