Review: Samsung Omnia Pro B7330

Samsung Omnia Pro Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Samsung Omnia Pro is a Windows Mobile device with a full QWERTY keyboard that can match a BlackBerry Bold. We love it for its slimline design, office applications, large screen, memory capacity and incredible battery life.
Best buy: *Free* with half-price line rental from Mobiles.co.uk.

Review: March 2010.

We've been looking forward to reviewing Samsung's flagship smartphone for some time. On paper it looks like a match for the BlackBerry Bold 9700, so let's put it through its paces and see how it stacks up.

First, let's pick the device up and hold it in our hands. It's a solid phone, but lightweight for a smartphone, certainly lighter than the BlackBerry. It's narrower too and a lot slimmer, so it can slip into pockets that the Bold can only dream of squeezing into. It's also easier to hold single-handedly.

One of the key selling points of the Omnia Pro is the full QWERTY keyboard - crucial for serious emailing or if you like to send grown-up texts with spelling and punctuation. Although the keys are slightly smaller than the BlackBerry, in use we found it to be just as responsive and accurate, and we'd rate it on a par with the Bold or the Nokia E72. It's definitely a better option than a virtual keyboard.

The display is larger than the Bold's, but frustratingly has a lower resolution. In fact, the resolution is on a par with the entry-level BlackBerry 8520. It means fewer words on the screen and more scrolling up and down.

Now let's take a look inside. The operating system is Windows Mobile 6.5 and you either love it or hate it. At Mobile-phones-uk.org.uk we are self-confessed Windows Mobile fans, but we know that some people find it fiddly. It's the kind of operating system that gives a lot of control to power users, but has a steeper learning curve than the iPhone or a Symbian phone. There are plenty of apps available for download, but they tend to be more business-orientated than the amusing diversions you can get for your iPhone. But that's the kind of phone you're looking for if you're considering the Omnia Pro, right? You get some useful apps pre-installed, like Internet Explorer 6, a document editor for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and Windows Media Player so that you can sync your music collection with your PC very easily indeed.

Another strength of the Omnia is the monster battery that it manages to hide within its slimline interior. With a capacity of 1500mAh, it matches the Bold for performance. Frankly, it matches any phone out there. If you find that your Omnia pro has inadequate battery life, you need to stop using it so much and get a life yourself.

Memory capacity is good too, with 256MB onboard and up to 32GB from a microSD memory card. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, USB 2.0, WiFi and HSPA with download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps.

Other features worth noting are the rather lacklustre camera, front-mounted video camera, GPS receiver and FM radio with RDS.

So, do we have an answer for the Omnia Pro vs BlackBerry Bold question? Well, partly it's a matter of how well you get on with Windows Mobile 6.5. Some folk do, some don't. For power-hungry users, there are lots of good apps and customisation options that make the Omnia Pro a very desirable platform more like a portable computer than a mobile phone. But if you don't have the time or the inclination to learn all this, the BlackBerry might be a better choice. Apart from that, both devices do the same things. The Samsung is more compact and has a slightly larger screen; the Bold has a higher resolution screen and larger keys. Both are fabulous phones.

Features of the Samsung B7330 Omnia Pro include:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, face and smile detection, 2x digital zoom
• Video camera: 320 x 240 pixels, 15 frames/sec, 2x digital zoom, second camera for video calling
• Display: TFT, 320 x 320 pixels, (2.6 inches), 65,000 colours
• GPS receiver
• Windows Media Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA formats) plus FM radio RDS, 3D sound
• Polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Voice memo recorder
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
• Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint document editor
• Java games
• Memory: 256 MB plus microSD memory card (up to 32GB)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, USB 2.0, Wi-fi
• Internet: Internet Explorer 6, WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps
• Quadband (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G (UMTS 1900 / 2100)
• Offline mode
• Size: 115 x 59 x 11 mm
• Weight: 109g
• Talktime: up to 4 hours
• Battery standby: up to 500 hours

Samsung Omnia Pro 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!

Average rating from 9 reviews:

Reviewed by Jeffers from UK on 1st Feb 2010
Cons: Looses a connection when other phones have no problem on same network. Difficult to turn off data access for all apps when roaming (luckily O2 sent me warning emails). Screen rotation unpredictable, sometimes it changes to landscape other times not. My first Windows mobile phone and probably my last, where are the decent games, Samsung didnt even include anything with the Sim free phone. Call quality quite poor, nothing compared to my old N95. Pros: Great screen, great for texting, emailing, internet, battery life very good for such a big screen, brilliant camera panorama function.
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Reviewed by mattas from london on 24th Jan 2010
looks sexiii still u no
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Reviewed by Chris from england on 6th Dec 2009
This Phone is amazing i got it as a early chrismas present i love it texting is soo easy and i have dropped it about five times and it hasnt made a different it is strong amazing and looks great what more could you want. i just need a knew laptop now.
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Reviewed by sarah from uk on 5th Dec 2009
this phone is brilliant!!! although its a bit expensive its deffo worth it!!!
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Reviewed by Mike from UK on 29th Nov 2009
RUBBISH!!! MINE EXPLODED IN MY FACE!! [Editor's comment: Mike, you're making this up!]
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Reviewed by jamo from England on 21st Nov 2009
A nice looking phone.
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Reviewed by japji from london on 14th Nov 2009
cool
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Reviewed by Tim from UK on 1st Nov 2009
v.good phone but in my opinion i8910hd is better.
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Reviewed by Kelebe from Zimbabwe on 10th Oct 2009
I phone this good own. OMG! Best phone god made everest!!!
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