The Samsung OMNIA is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and comes packed with MS Office (PowerPoint, Excel, and Word). Even though the OMNIA is 100% touch screen, Samsung included an optical mouse for ease of navigation – the optical mouse is similar to what you’d find on laptops. Samsung OMNIA is possibly the best ever smartphone that Samsung has ever built. OMNIA is definitely a better name than SGH-i900, which means ‘everything’ in Latin and ‘wish’ in Arabic. The OMNIA is essentially everything that you can possibly wish for on a Windows Mobile 6.1 smart phone. It brings together high performance business content, high-end design mixed with a full bag of dynamic multimedia rich experience. The OMNIA is the first ever Windows Mobile smart phone featuring Capacitive technology touchscreen from Synaptics! Sorry folks, Samsung representative mispsoke earlier, and just now clarified that OMNIA DOES NOT HAVE CAPACITIVE technology. I repeat, it DOES NOT HAVE CAPACITIVE technology. Unfortunately, it’s the same old resistive touchscreen on every other smartphone on the market today.
The OMNIA also has a 5-megapixel CMOS camera with auto-focus (AF), face and smile detection and auto-panorama shot. OMNIA comes in 8 or 16GB memory configuration and additional storage can be added via extendable slot. Of course, a smart phone called OMNIA can’t go without having a GPS, including navigation and geo-tagging capabilities, so you’d never get lost wherever you are.
According to CNET Asia, “an orientation sensor is built into the OMNIA i900. When rotated, it does this fancy transition whereby the display shrinks and expands back to fill the screen in a different orientation. The 240 x 400 display does seem a little weird, but is not unheard of–we’ve seen it in the ASUS M930’s internal display. It makes sense, too, if you are to use it as a media player because the aspect ratio is much closer to the 16:9 aspect ratio commonly seen in movie files. To that end, the i900 also comes with a media application that supports DivX and Xvid out of the box.”
As I mentioned earlier, the OMNIA is primarily touch-based so it makes perfect sense for Samsung to include its patented TouchWiz user interface. The OMNIA is Samsung’s first ever Windows Mobile smart phone to feature TouchWiz. TouchWiz lets you personalize the home window with unique widgets. The high-resolution touch-sensitive screen uses intuitive tap, sweep, drag and drop operations as well as an on-screen QWERTY keyboard. It also facilitates easy and convenient calling and texting with a dedicated dome key for controlling communications.
The Samsung OMNIA is ultra-slim measuring 12.5mm and has a platinum look finish. Samsung added details such as elegant hairline patterns on the back of the phone to bring the “perfection in style.”
Geesung Choi, President of Samsung Telecommunication Business, said: “I am very excited to introduce Samsung , a mobile device that truly delivers the best possible features for today’s busy, connected consumer. Samsung demonstrates our vision for the Samsung mobile business, which is to provide premium phones for users who desire functionality, style, usability and entertainment in one innovative device. The mobile range will help users to be at the forefront of work and play and at the same time, to stay connected anytime, anywhere.”
The Samsung OMNIA will be unveiled at CommunicAsia, Singapore from June 17 to 20 and commercially launched in the Southeast Asian market starting from the same week. The phone will be available in the European market from July.
I just replaced my trusty i730 with an Omnia. I had the i730 for over two years, so it was a bit emotional to deactivate it
I skipped the i760 because of all the problems I’d heard people were having with that phone.
I got a free upgrade with a 2-yr contract through Verizon, and I’ll keep my i730 around for at least the next month, just in case the Omnia craps out. So far, I like the Omnia’s features. I’m getting used to the onscreen keyboard, which is the main feature I was concerned about having to adjust to after using the i730 for so long. I think the 5-mega pixel camera and the FM radio pushed me over the edge in my decision to go with this phone.
Not Ready for Prime Time: After living with the Samsung Omnia for 3 months I can tell you this is one phone you can pass up on – if only for our own sanity. The Omnia is a Pot Purie of dodads and gizmo’s tossed into the mix by a bunch of hardware engineers with no concept of the phrase “Human Interface Device” — and it shows.
One could compiile of tome of it’s quirky and maddening behaviors. For example, if your a road warrior, you will have to sign onto the security screen and find your way through a labrinth of menus in order to turn off the wake up alarm in the morning. Try doing that groggy in total darkness with the glaringly BRIGHT screen piecing blinding light into your pupils!
Again: Samsung indicates you can “lock” the device to prevent accidental operation of its preasure sensitive touch screen. What they forget to mention is that internal events (such as a “reminder” or e-mail alert) automatically defeat the lock, after which you are left wondering about the commotion of beeps, boinks, and braps going on in your pocket as the phone merrily places open-line calls and sends e-mails responses without you!
Believe me, I’m sparing you a LONG list of maddening quirks and incongruancies that will rapidly have you thinking homicidal thoughts about your new phone!
Technically, the transciever sensitivity is nothing to write home about either. On a purely seat of the pants basis – the Motorola 710 which I replaced with the Omnia was far superior in connecting in marginal signal areas and delivering clear sound.
Without going into wire-head tech talk of processors and chipsets, I can tell you this device is woefully underpowered and its operating system poorly organized. You discover this when you first enter your security code to unlock the phone and get a “failed password” warning. By the second attempt, you realize the phone simply does not register the numbers as quickly as you typed them. Sometimes, you have to punch the same key several times before it registers. The same is true when typing messages. This forces you to look away from the “keyboard” to confirm that each key you’ve pressed has actually registered a character. The same applies when dialing a telephone number, attempting to work the browser, or switching between applicatons. In all, extremely frustrating.
Don’t buy this phone thinking you are going to find Apple iPhone type apps, either. They don’t exist. You’ll spend your life combing the internet for Windows Mobile applications only to discover the dirth of anything useful.
Finally, speaking of WinMo and its included buggy-whip apps; has anyone ever really tried to view a PowerPoint presentation or work a 4 meg Budget workbook on a 1.5″ X 2.5″ screen? Do you really think this interface, with its 2-pixel icons and windows-style drop-down menu is suitable to finger fumbling? The iPod intgerface is specifically designed for finger operation. You’d better get ready to file your nails to “Fu Manchu” like styluses if you are going to have much success with the Omnia. WinMo is something a manufacturer throws into its devices when it’s to lazy to develop a true human-device interface. This too, stands out clearly in the Omnia.
This comment may be long, but believe me it only scratches the surface of everything wrong I’ve found with the new Samsung Omnia.
I saw the Samsung Omnia for FREE with 2yr contract on the Verizon site on Friday 2/20 and now it is advertised for $99… Did anyone get the phone for FREE with a 2yr contract? if so please give more info
Thanks!
i was on verizon wireless’s website all day friday becasue i was going to buy it on saturday and i never saw it for free, i saw it for $99 with a two year contract
You just have to be logged into your account to see it listed as FREE. I too was confused when I saw the Omnia listed as FREE with “New Every Two” one day and then saw it listed at $99 the next day. If you just go to Verizon’s Website and browse through the phones it will say $99, but if you log into “MyAccount” and click on “upgrade my phone” on the right side of the page you will see it’s still free.
I have to say Im very pleased wit the omnia so far! I have it for 3 months now and the orig. firmware is a bit corky and the battery just didnt last more than a day…, but now that I have updated the rom to my personal liking and I have nothing to complane about! and am very happy with the turnout! I can download torrents, watch tv, internet is preety smooth, watch divx, xvid, wmv preety much all the video files movies shows etc… fm radio, music players that have eqs plugins, camera is very nice, instant messagin, skype for no cost calls with my friends all over the world, email, WiFi, gps wit nav n go preety slick, flash player mobile, some tweaking utilities, iphone theme, today plugins that are very cool, and coze of the rom that installed almost with no internal memory I now have it only 30% occupied and ram also on 30% Its fast as s……. every thing opens so fast that it somethimes scares me coze I simply didnt expect the program blow up in my face
so if u can and know how to totaly personalize it than this is the phone for very cheap price for U!!!!!
The only one I would reather have is HTC Touch Storm or sth like that- better screen resolution… but the camera is only 5mp when it could as (easyli) easily be 8mp or more…
I just upgraded to the Omnia for free online. It’s listed as $99 for the 50% off sale that they have going on right now, but once you select to upgrade your existing phone for the 2 year free contract you’ll get the $99 cleared off. When you get your invoice in the mail with the new phone you’ll see that it will all go down to $0. I had a regular phone prior to upgrading to the Omnia and the only requirement that you’ll have to do is get the data plan. It’s required for all smartphones.
i want a new phone i have been looking at this one… any one have suggestions on what phone i should get i dont care how much to spend just want a new up to date phone???
oh one more question whats the update all about?/
Iam very happy because this my name.
I will buy one.
A free Omnia? You best do your homework or you’ll be disappointed. The phone costs $30/month to own after the mandatory data plan required by Verizon. I would love the phone to surf the Web with WiFi, but don’t need or want the data plan.
As a very busy executive I demand a lot from my phone and it must be reliable and worked when I need it. I had the 1760 and love the phone and was thinking I did not want to give it up at first but I wanted a powerful phone with all the latest features so when the OMINA came out I waited to here what people were saying and most of it was very good and only those not familiar or willing to spend time to learn how to use all the features would have something negative to say. Well I must say I am very happy with my new phone it is easy to use and the content delivery is very good and the ability have news stories appear larger while reading comes in very handy. I highly endorse the phone.
Phillip
CEO
Enterprise Software Sales Group.com
I love reading cell phone reviews from people who knock a product because it’s hard to handle while driving. Really? Why are you driving and using your phone in the first place? Anyone who uses their cell phone while driving is immediately my enemy, thus I listen to NOTHING they say.
Reading cell phone reviews is always such a confusing and frustrating activity for me. Everyone has a favorite carrier, a favorite plan, a favorite model, and it all makes for extremely biased, yet non-objective, reviews. So here are my two cents.
I don’t give a crap about who is a better cell phone carrier. I don’t give a crap about Windows or Mac, and who is better than the other. I’ve had Verizon for seven years. I’m happy with them. Never had a dropped call, never had a customer service issue…they are just fine for me. I absolutely love the iPhone, and wanted one for months. I know three people with iPhones, all of which drop calls on a consistent basis, and all have fuzzy phone connections when I do talk to them. I want an iPhone, but don’t really want ANY cell phone company that can’t get it together enough to offer a decent coverage area for a major metro area (I live in Portland, Oregon). Dropping carriers AND 200 bucks seemed drastic to me. I ended up getting the Omnia because I got it for free through Verizon because of my “new every two” discount. And more importantly, Verizon has excellent coverage throughout the city. This sort of thing is very important to me, thus I spend money on a reliable carrier. Let me just say that, for the average consumer who isn’t a complete dork and doesn’t spend every waking moment on their cell phone, this thing kicks serious butt. The things that matter to ME such as a solid camera, video capabilities, and assigning certain tones to callers AND text messages, are all present here with this phone, and NOT present with the iPhone. Oh, did I mention this phone was free? One thing I certainly do not like about this phone is the 30 dollar a month charge for the “data” plan, especially since it’s wifi capable. Why should I have to pay 30 bucks for some junk I don’t need (oh, that’s right, this is how ALL cell companies make their money)? But the iPhone has the same BS charge, so switching to AT&T seemed pointless to me. I like the graphics of the iPhone more than the Omnia, but not enough to really care too much about it. The far superior camera on the Omnia more than compensates for it.
If you’re a typical phone user who wants to actually use your phone to make phone calls (crazy, huh?), all of the extra stuff on here like the camera and the wifi and the video makes it more than worth it. If you already have Verizon, I would highly recommend it as it will be much cheaper for you. If you have AT&T, I guess I would recommend the iPhone. Why switch carriers to get the same experience? And more importantly, how often do you REALLY need to be using your phone as a computer device? How many people who use their phones as computers while their sipping coffee in a cafe really NEED to be doing that?
Everyone needs to calm down, take a deep breath, think about the things that really matter, and realize that if it’s important to you that your phone doesn’t have the ability to read your mind and have a discussion with you as you drive, it may be time to wake up and join reality.
If you’re an irretrievable dork, and talk about the differences of Linux and Windows and drive down the street while typing text messages and dream about finally getting laid, then by all means, throw your cell phones in the garbage and officially get a life!
I just upgraded to the Omnia and I love it. I was thinking about switching to AT&T for the IPhone but I liked the samsung better. I have a couple of friends who have the IPhone and they were impressed with the Omnia especially the amount of memory and fact that you can add memory.
I’m also a Windows Mobile user so the Omnia was a no-brainer. I recommend this phone.
I upgraded to the Omnia, and yes got it free with the 2year activation. I have had verizon for years and upgraded from the Samsung Alias Flip. If I could combine the two phones in one it would be great. I like the camera in the omnia and some of the other gadgets as well. As far as the phone and text capabilities, I hate it. It does not always register when you touch it, the phone and texts are too difficult to use. The key will press down and I assume it registered the number I pushed then find out it did not and I have to re-dial. When texting it constantly tries to assume your word and is usually wrong causing you to back up and try again, and again. I have been sent and have sent out many messages that were never received or recieved hours later. I switched back to my Alias and messages went through immediately. I probably would have no complaints if it had a flip out keyboard which I think it needs. There are very few apps available for this phone and isn’t user friendly in the way you would like as in the I-phone commercials you see. It would be a good phone after a few improvements. The beeping is annoying as well as the locking keypad. It may be worth buying if they make improvements, otherwise, I’d choose a different phone.
I’m hoping to upgrade to this phone soon. I would like to clarify that you do NOT have to have a data plan with a smartphone. I have a XV6800 at the moment, and I do not have a data plan. You can tell them to make the data plan, then cancel it. If you don’t use wifi or the internet on it you’ll be fine (I found out today that even with wifi it still incurs data charges) and save yourself about $50.
does anyone who upgraded from the alias to the omnia know if i will be able to use the same car charger or will i have to get a new one? i played with the phone in the verizon store today, where it was $200 but got it free online. cant wait to get it. i was told i did have to upgrade to the smartphone plans for another $29.99/month. would have had to do the same AND pay $200 if i got the iphone, so at least trying out the omnia was a no brainer.
My 2 year upgrade is tommoro, does anyone know if the Omnia is still free? It says it 99 but people on here say its free?
I just upgraded from a Palm Treo 700P to the Omnia. After a few days of fiddling, I think this phone is awesome!! The camera is the best available, the expandable MicroSD memory means lots of music,pictures, etc., and the FM tuner is a nice feature for tooling around the house/yard on the weekend.
I have used the wifi capability at home, but find the 3G service to be almost as fast…and I like the unlimited data package considering I link to my work outlook account.
All in all, it has been a little quirky to figure out all the applications and I am still learning…this device is not for the technically faint of heart. As a power texter and MMS user, I am not impressed with the touch screen qwerty. You really have to push for the touchscreen to register and believe the device could benefit from a slide out qwerty. The lack of a stylus holder is also goofy at best…
In short, if you want as much bang for buck on a solid and stable network, this is the phone for you. If you only want basic phone functionality or are an Apple lover, there are other devices to meet your needs…
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P.O.BOX KF 371
KOFORIDUA E/R
GHANA 00233
Samuel,
I just sent one of these phones to your address. Enjoy!
This is the first time I comment here and I must say you give genuine, and quality information for other bloggers! Great job.
p.s. You have an awesome template . Where did you find it?
phone looks nice, but text and menus are confusing and time consuming…
So…I posted on the 7th that the Omnia was on its way…it went back to Verizon today! I was getting text messages but when I’d go to check them, the phone said I had none. The earpiece sounds was really tinny. I was using mobile mail that seemed to update only when the phone felt like it. I would delete messages I read, sign on in an hour and the same messages would be there again…as unread messages. At times while reading emails the phone would cut back to the main screen. I’m not sure if it was a bad unit or if the phone was just baaaaaad. I still have a month until my contract with verizon is up, this week all of their online prices have gone up, my free omnia is now $50 the storm was $50 now it’s $100. I’m going to have to NOT recommend the omnia, great phone in theory but not in practice!
Having been with SE for a few years this was my first Samsung/Touchscreen/WM phone. Luckily, I like researching before I buy and it was a Touch Diamond or Omnia. No regrets on getting the Omnia as there is so much you can do with it. I don’t like the Samsung Keyboard but I’ve got the SPB keyboard and SPB MS now. Much easier and I don’t need to use the stylus anymore! Smiley Smiley Smiley
share your omnia experiences on http://www.Samsung-Omnia.org take care.
hi um i am upgrading to this phone on the 26th of march and i have played with it in stores and fell in love with it … i have been interested in it soo much becuz of the fact that it has so much memory and its pda i havent had a pda phone b 4 so this will be my first ! the only thing i dont understand is that when the home page comes up it sayd like turn phone of er on and blu tooth i got confused . It is probabll-e going to be a great phone i hope to comment on another great phone like this in the future!
o my god its like half the people wont stop complaining about it and others are saying how much they love idk what to do hahah
i read all of these reviews and decided to order.
if i dont like the phone..i will be upset and then….will come back here and blame you all for it.
man i really want this phone!!!!!!!! but now its $199
man i really want this phone!!!!!!!! but now its $199
In reference to this guy
“matt says:
March 2, 2009 at 8:10 pm”
I am not going to be grammatically correct whatsoever so flame me all you want, but to post on a review forum and then to cap it off with the classic “don’t be a geek and get laid speech” is probably worse then punching a newborn infant that has downs syndrome. Anyways this phone is quite exquisite. I have loved every individual feature it provides and the weight, camera, and in text calling feature makes it that much better then the iphone. the Only thing I have to complain about is the text messaging, sometimes it glitches to where you can’t see what your typing or the text that someone just sent you. Anyways if your not that into the features don’t get it…but if you care to have one of the most reliable networks with the fastest internet speeds least dropped calls and don’t care about the two year contract…pick it up…after all…its free?
ok the samsung omniia is only free if u upgrade your phone but i am a new verizon customer and i was gonna get it but it just went from $99 to $199
that’s a bummer b/c i really wanted it
Has anyone had memory issues with this phone? I’ve heard about upgrading the firmware but have no idea where to find it. Help!!
Has anyone had memory issues with this phone? I want to add Spb Mobile shell and need more space on the main memory. Considering I haven’t added a thing to the main memory this has become pretty annoying.
Is the Omnia a better pphone compared to the Nokia 96? I bought the phone and expected it to be the bomb but its cack…please adv before i spend money unwisely. And the guy that wanted to be able to work his phone while driving, are you that dangerous?
My wife and I just got OMNIAS two weeks ago. And WE ARE LOVING THEM more and more each day that goes by.
I see some people complaining, but since I have used pocket pcs/ WinMobile devices since they first became available I’m familiar with them and could not be limited to a smart phone like the Iphone.
I’ll admit I too looked long and hard at the IPHONE. Lots of my friends have them and they talk them up. But they have never owned a WinMo device. So I borrowed one and sure enough i tried to send a Multimedia message, well i found out you can’t. What? The only thing I liked on it was the navigation on the screen and the safari browser.
But the Omnia beats it IMHO. Navigation on the PPC has a learning curve. But that’s because there’s a world more this phone does and is capable of doing. Also the web browsing was awesome on the Omnia using the Opera browser and even the IE browser also worked surprisingly well on this phone.
The speed for browsing was very fast at least in my area, Los Angeles.
The Camera was the selling point for my wife. 5 megapixel’s yeah once you adjust the settings its a great camera you always have on you. We have been using it non stop. My wife said she wanted to start documenting our life with pictures
yeah were a young couple…
I would recommend for those with doubts to go try it out at the Verizon store, though a word of advice. Many times the screen was crowded by the awkward security straps they have on them. Also since people mess with them the desktop might be cluttered with icons or widgets. The screen touch alignment settings might need to be calibrated.
Again I love this phone
One last word of advice. Some have said that most people make reviews when they have problems and are upset. Rarely do people make an effort to comment when everything is well.
And yeah sometimes these problems might just be “user error”. I’m an IT professional and when I read some of these complainers reviews my radar picked up something LOL
Since the OMNIA’s OS is microsoft, whats the chance of it getting all the virus and bugs that are now associated microsoft?
Do not buy this phone. I bought it for 3 hours and brought it back. This phone requires using the stylus that is included but no place for concealing it. However, your are supposed to hook it to the outside of the phone and let it dangle while you place it up to your head. The Iphone is the perfect marrage of software and hardware. Anything else is generic hardware with generic software. THe lag time and quirkyness of this phone is awful.
I have to agree with Matt the Omnia is a peice of —- I too have tried to use this phone for over a month after being told it was fantastic by a salesperson who had no clues. A couple of my experiences.
Firstly the manual is just a list of the features they are not connected and there is no instruction on how to make ant things work. A call to the freindly Mumbie call person from 3 customer don’t care gave ne no help at all.
Battery life makes the most necessary acessory a long powercord. It is just an out right lie to claim 200 hours under any circumstances. If you try to use the GPS on would be lucky to get 3 hours that is if the battery does not melt.
The touch feature is negated by th inconceivably small scroll bars, making it impossible for a man or even my wife to use. I absolutely agree with matt and have seen the same observations myself.
Si I tried to use Microsoft voice command thinking this would get around the no touch feature and make the phone a bit usable only to find that all I could get to operate was the media player when the command was “Call ___”. I think it is meant to cheer me up when I cnnot get it to recognise any of my commands even numbers it finds difficult. I thought it was my voice but no it was the same with my wife.
This unit is a n outright FRAUD it is totally incapable of doing anything well. I am going to bin it and would recomend a class action suite against all the false reviews. It is obvious that all that is being written is a press release by the maufacturers.
I am really considering getting this phone. I am an Alltel user with the option to upgrade. If someone could help me out, it would really be appreciated. What are my options with upgrading with verizon now or in the future? Also, is it possible to use wifi for free? Some people are saying you have to upgrade to the data plan and some say you don’t.
compared to Iphone, I like Omnia more coz it has more functions and software which could be more useful for working people than Iphone which is only good in entertainment. the most obvious difference between them is that Iphone is good especially for its touch screen and responsive accelerometer. you will find Iphone much more responsive than Omnia mainly for games using accelerometer.
for the camera, I find out Iphone gives better performance though it only has 2 MP. when I compared the result between Iphone n Omnia, The result of Iphone is more vivid and sharper. but Omnia has more functions like real digital camera and is more detailed for it has 5 MP camera.
what u need to concern is what you need more, Entertainment or functions?
I purchased the Samsung Omnia on 3/20…got one for me and one for my husband…each one priced at $99 through VZW. I can sum up our rating of the phone in just four little words, “WE HATE THIS PHONE!”
Sound quality is HORRIBLE! Everyone tells me I sound like I’ve got a mouthfull of crap! I’ve tried recording my husbands business voice mail greeting and it sounds muffled and crackled. The touchscreen is a nightmare. On this phone, NOTHING IS EASY OR CONVENIENT!
Repeat: WE HATE THIS PHONE!!!
Windows Mobile 6.1 is sluggish, and it’s not WINMO, it’s the program. WINMO was the real attraction when we were researching phones prior to purchase. WINMO on this phone: not all it’s cracked up to.
The phone gets very HOT while in the navigational mode.
My husband will be returning to his Blackberry. And I’ll be purchasing another Motorola flip very soon. Yeah, I’ll eat the $198 the two Samsungs cost me, if necessary. Live and learn. Touchscreen phones are not for everyone!
After 30 days with the Omnia, here are valid reasons to buy a different phone:
1. Touchscreen – Menus small and difficult to manage without the stylus. Sending a simple text message is frustrating! Making a call should be simple…but, not on this phone…too many screen taps necessary just to get to the darned keypad.
2. Windows Mobile – Slow on this phone. Very disappointed, as this was one of the reasons I purchased the Omnia.
3. GPS/Navigation – The phone gets extremely hot during use of navigation app.
4. Battery Life – Not as long as they claimed in ads…and the phone gets very hot when left on charge for a bit.
5. Sound quality – the sound quality is really bad…it’s difficult for people to understand what you’re saying…have had several comments from people that they can’t understand what I’m saying…the say things like, “it sounds like your in a barrel”, or “sounds like you’ve got the phone IN your mouth”.
6. Other apps and software on phone – most are crap and make this phone a complete JOKE!
As the lady above said, there’s nothing easy or convenient about the Samsumg Omnia.
I signed up on 10-Apr.2009 and returned to Telus store on 13-Apr.2009 due to phone was keep freezing. 1. Slow touch response (compared to iPHONE) 2. difficult to type 3. Huge Battery comsumption ( 2hrs of usage result battery empty) Paid $50 for re-stocking charge to Telus store. Lost $50 cause of my stupid desicision making. Can not be compared to iPHONE!!
It was so interesting to read the several negative accounts regarding the Omnia. I could not have said it better. My Omnia was returned after 2 weeks of trying to live with it. The web browser was very slow and functions such as messaging were really annoying to negoatiate. On paper the Omnia looks and sounds great. But in actual operation, the Omnia is not the state of the art smartphone I was hoping for. I’m still looking for a upgrade on Verizon Wirless. I hope that the execs at Verizon Wireless who picked theOmnia and the Storm receive a pay cut and no bonus. You would think that by now a wireless company like Verizon would be able to choose great smartphones, but for some strange reason, they have not done so. Verizon Wirless: good phone service, lousy phones. Go figure.
Got this by FedEx on Tuesday afternoon from Verizon. Right away on Tuesday evening when activating the phone it would not program when I hit *228. Kept saying programming not successful and that the call was dropped midstream. Funny thing is that my prior Verizon phone got a strong EVDO signal, as does anyone’s phone who visits my house. Finally had to call tech support and after 30 minutes we got it programmed. HOWEVER…this phone has never shown a signal bar EVER, just the occasional basic weak “EV” designation or “extended” (I am not in the extended network area!) and only once was I able to connect a call but it dropped after a few seconds. Same with broadband, it never just “connected” but rather a bizarre screen pops up saying “dialing #777″ and then a weak broadband signal. Finally at work today I got a steady (but very weak) signal and tried to download my VZ-APPS software. As usual, net framework downloaded first, then the VZapp software. During installation it asked me for my zip code which I entered correctly only to get a warning “INVALID USER” no matter what I did. I finally canceled and removed the program completely after spending a half hour on the phone with a tech during my lunch break at work. The phone is as buggy as all get-out. I called Verizon support later today after work and we tried a hard reset and all we got was the Windows Mobile setup screen asking me to align my screen by tapping the crossbar as it traveled around. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap (10 minutes of tapping ha ha) and nothing. Just stays on the “align screen” mode. Turn off, turn on….”align screen” mode. Never went past that screen again. The verdict was a lemon phone with a new one coming FedEx by Monday. I don’t know if the next one will be any better, I’m hoping it is, but for my first encounter with an Omnia this has kind of soured my perception of my very first smartphone.
i dont see why you people want to live with a phone that doesnt work for you. those who deactivated or otherwise hate the way it works, just change the interface with SPB.
i am upgrading to this phone in a day or 2. i know i will like it because it is one everyone top phones list.
dont waist you money by deactivating your omnia, change it.
the truth about the lag though is that its still the fastest WM phone. it doesn’t compare to the iPhone in speed, but that’s just because Apple is a monopoly of itself. but this can still do more that the iPhone and has a better camera.
the biggest reason i am getting this is because its compatible with a plethora of different formats of music and has massive memory possibilities. i don’t know about most of you guys, but the majority of my music is in AAC format.
i cant wait to get and figure out this phone. im upgrading from the LG VX9600 and i will be missing the odd and still head turning swivel display and the comment “that’s the phone from ‘Iron Man’!” that i get every once in a while.
great phone
I purchased my first Pocket PC in 2002, the Toshiba E330, my second in 2004, the Dell Axim v51, however my first WM Phone was the Palm Treo 700wx, which I still have and use. People knock the WM system, yet I was watching movies on my Dell Axim 4 years ago, something that everyone raves the iphone can do. The amount of applications for the WM OS was staggering as well and helped me in many ways and I had a lot of money invested in these software programs and so I was highly considering the Samsung Omnia, by far, from a hardware perspective, it kicks butt over the iphone, however that being said the one thing that has stopped in my tracks is the lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Samsung really dropped the ball here. You see, I’ve had a Palm Treo 700wx for the last 2.5 years and have had to carry around an annoying adapter to listen to my music or plug into my car stereo. This has been annoying and I’ve lost it twice. I’m not sure why the phone manufacturers are coming out with there “own” connections, perhaps to make more money on the accessory? Samsung should have taken a lesson from Apple and placed a 3.5 mm jack in the phone as this is one of the reasons that Apple has such a large market share in the Mobile phone industry. Hence, I won’t be purchasing the Omnia, but will wait for something better, and perhaps migrate to the rumored new iphone this June.
Just brought this phone retail….but cant complain so far takes time to get it working the way you like, but once you do it’s good…have no problem so far, and like with everything in life nothing is perfect..thats when you get a back up plan…i have the storm as a back up…