Samsung Omnia i900 Review
Phone rating: 
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.
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
- Video recorder & 3G video calling
- Display: TFT, WQVGA, 240 x 400 pixels, (3.2 inches), 65,000 colours
- GPS navigation with geo-tagging
- 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 User 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 101 reviews: 
Reviewed by Paul smith from Nigeria on 8th Mar
2012
I just Love this phone, it has all i need in a phone ( thank u ) we
need more of this kind of phone.
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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!!!!!
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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.
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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!
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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?
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Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
9th Oct 2008
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.
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
10th Oct 2008
Thanks Mark!
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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Reviewed by Jo from UK on 6th Oct 2008
Too bad it is using the windows os. Very slow!
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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!
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Reviewed by Pete from UK on 4th Oct 2008
Outstanding!!! ***** 5ive stars
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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.
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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!
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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!!!!!!!!
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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.
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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..
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Reply by marky from UK 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.
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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: Reply
Reviewed by John from uk on 12th Sep 2008
5 star!!!
Rating:
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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: Reply
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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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!
Rating: Reply
Reply by Mobile Phones UK from UK on
8th Sep 2008
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.
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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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.
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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: Reply
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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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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:
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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: Reply
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:
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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:
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Reviewed by betty from uk on 1st Sep 2008
amazing!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Kitty from Scotland on 31st Aug 2008
This phone is the boy. :D
Rating:
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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:
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Reviewed by Saza from Australia on 31st Aug 2008
hello, i luv this fone
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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: Reply
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.
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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:
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Reviewed by Mr Sony Ericsson from Brazil on 27th
Aug 2008
This phone is a hit!
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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:
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Reviewed by ankit from uk on 25th Aug 2008
its no where in comparison of 3g iphone
Rating: Reply
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.
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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:
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Reviewed by Scott Watson from Spain on 24th Aug
2008
Hiyaa New Samsung LOVE IT HOT AND SLIM
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Reviewed by abdul ahath from sri lanka on 23rd
Aug 2008
samsung omnia i900 was beautiful.
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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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:
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