Samsung Omnia Smarthone Review
The Samsung pulled out a heavyweight last year when they revealed the Omnia, which has reportedly seen good sales through the year and hit top spot in Krusell's list for top 10 selling phones in November 2008. Combining high performance business content, great design and rich multimedia experience, the Samsung Omnia is the first 5 megapixel camera Windows Mobile smartphone and truly its best points would be its excellent design and multitude of features.
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As mentioned, design has to be the Omnia's greatest strength. It got a slick platinum front, big and easy to press call buttons, and most of all large display which is a great bonus when using GPS. The phone fits right in the palm of user so the grip feels comfortable. Plus, the Omnia is slim and lightweight, making it very comfortable to carry around without having to feel a bulky bulge in your pockets. Overall, the Omnia has a very polished look to it and this will certainly please consumers who go for style.
The Samsung Omnia's other major strong point is it is many offering in term of functions and features. One of the major features of the Omnia is the 5 megapixel camera. Not only does it have flash built-in and auto focus but also a "Wide Dynamic Range" mode which makes full use of the display of the phone. In addition, the camera has functions such as face tracking, smile detection, digital image stabilizer, auto-panorama shot and geotagging. The phone has an internal memory capacity of 8GB and up to 16GB, which can be increased via microSD cards (maximum 16GB) for a total capacity of 32GB.
The Omnia also features a built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support and since it is A-GPS the satellite lockdown is faster than regular GPS. Although there's no GPS navigation software, users can always use the Google Maps application that is preinstalled. One more major feature is the accelerometer.
Moving on, the Samsung Omnia has great multimedia playback capabilities; it is the first DivX certified Windows Mobile PDA so you get DivX playback right from the get go. Overall, multimedia playback was very satisfactory overall for both video and audio. Other multimedia features include the FM radio and image browser. Connectivity wise, the Omnia has everything except for infrared, which nobody uses anymore these days.
There is much to talk about the usability, especially in terms of the responsiveness. The Omnia is slightly sluggish, which I believe is due to the Widgets meaning that removing it from the GUI will likely result in a superior phone. The Omnia also doesn't come with a stylus so you have to use the magnetic version between the two call buttons. This take a bit of time getting used to but users can always use their fingers as well or better yet if they have their own spare stylus.
The Omnia has its deficiencies and its price can be a bit scary, reflecting the premium you need to pay, but overall the Samsung Omnia is a great phone. It oozes class and style as well as possessing great features and functionalities, making it suitable for both business and entertainment.
Pros: Huge screen, fast processor, large memory, superb camera
Cons: Homeless stylus
Ratings:
Performance: 5/5
Features: 5/5
Design: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Samsung Omnia Specifications:
Processor: Marvell PXA312 @ 624MHz
Memory: 8GB/16GB built in storage
Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with TouchWiz UI
Frequency: HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), GSM 850/900/1800/1900, GPRS, EDGE
Screen: 3.2" WQVGA TFT LCD (240 x 400)
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB2.0, Wi-Fi, HSDPA
Others: 5.0 megapixel CMOS, microSD card slot, GPS
Dimensions: 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm
Weight: 122g