Samsung Omnia Review
Posted on | |
Samsung Omnia Review
Introduction
The Samsung i900 Omnia is the latest in a line of phones to rival the iPhone. Based on a touch screen interface with no keyboard, the Omnia uses the Windows Mobile operating system to its advantage, in an attempt to provide a great range of features all within one device. The name ‘Omnia’ in Greek literally means ‘everything’, so let’s see how the device fares compared to other mobile phone offerings.
Specifications
Dimensions: 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm
Weight: 122g
Screen: TFT touch screen, 256K colours
Memory: 8GB/ 16GB Internal Memory
128MB RAM
GPRS: Class 12, 32-48 kbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth: Yes
Infrared: No
USB: USB 2.0
OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Browser: WAP 2.0/HTML and RSS feeds
Messaging: SMS,MMS, Email, IM
Camera: 5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels, video, flash, secondary video call camera, autofocus.
Other Features: GPS receiver
FM Radio
3.5 mm audio jack
Pocket Office
MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/OGG/AMR Player
TV Out
Inbuilt hands free
Battery: Standby up to 500 hours
Talk up to 5 hours 50 minutes
Design and Quality Review
Screen: The display is a large 3.2 inches, making it a real rival to the iPhone. However, its resolution is not quite up to scratch and is one area in which Samsung could have done better. The screen is bright and good quality, but a little harder to use in bright daylight than other similar brands.
Usability: As always in any touch screen phone, the interface itself is extremely important. The icons themselves are large and stop users from accidently pressing the wrong buttons. Indeed the phone is extremely user friendly and extremely functional. Not only this, but the phone allows a selection of widgets displaying useful information on the main screen. There are many widgets to choose from, and even more can be downloaded. These prove extremely useful and makes it a lot easier to get around all the features the Samsung Omnia has to offer. However, the on-screen keyboard is slightly more compact, leaving less accuracy when typing using the phone.
Users will find the navigation easy to use, implementing factors such as flick gestures as well as an optical d-pad which can be used as traditional four-way navigation or as a mouse style pointer. This function may not be necessary to the device, but it may provide extremely useful for some users.
Quality/ Style: The Omnia not only has great specifications but its design really makes this a quality and stylish product. The design is uncomplicated using a minimal amount of buttons and leaving the rest up to touch navigation, this works and produces a sleek design. The design is one of its most attractive features, putting the Samsung Omnia well ahead of other Windows Mobile phone brands.
Camera Review
The Samsung Omnia is one of the first Windows Mobile phones to provide such a high quality camera, at 5 mega pixels. The features are standard of any decent camera phone, but they are extremely easy to use and integrated well. The GPS functions of the phone will allow users to tag their photographs with location data, which is becoming a regular feature seen on top camera phone devices.
In all the Samsung Omnia’s camera is one of the highlights of the many functions of this device. The quality means that users can choose to print high quality printouts, or take detailed shots. Settings may need to be played around with a little to perfect the images, but in general outdoor images are beautiful.
The camera also allows users to record videos in the MPEG4 format which is a plus. The sound on the videos is extremely good, and in general it is a great camera for any Windows Mobile device. There are not many brands that will outdo the Omnia in terms of its photography and video recording standards.
Multimedia Functions
The Multimedia functions are just as important as any other on a phone make that claims to provide everything. Viewing photographs is made easy by using the inbuilt software, and it also provides a separate media player to view videos or listen to music. When listening to music the sound is good quality, and the large storage space that comes included with the package allows users to store literally thousands of songs. The 3.5mm headphone socket is also a real plus for those who do not wish to use the provided headphones. Users will also benefit from an FM radio, and the completely revolutionary addition of DivX/XviD file support.
Connectivity and Other Features
Something that may bother many users is the fact that the Samsung Omnia does not support high-speed internet in the USA. However, for users who do not need this feature, they will find it useful to connect to the internet via WiFi with great browsing facilities and the ability to upload photographs to the internet. On top of this standard business functions are included, such as a detailed organizer, task manager, calendar, and a file explorer. Office Mobile is a welcome edition allowing users to edit files from Word, Excel and so on as well as viewing PDFs. The GPS system uses Google Maps.
Conclusion
The Samsung Omnia has a lot to offer. Whilst the screen and design may not outdo the iPhone, it uses Windows Mobile to its advantage. This version of the operating system is not seen in a huge number f phone at the moment, and Samsung have customized it in order to make it attractive to a wide range of users. The software and camera functions are the most attractive features of the device, and it may well be a popular choice amongst mobile phone users looking for an all-in-one solution.
Comments
Leave a Reply
