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"A surprising experience" on by Mafiul
Pros: 3.7-inch 65K-color resistive AMOLED touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
Windows Mobile 6.5
800MHz processor
256MB RAM
5 megapixel camera with LED flash
3.5mm audio jack
TV-out functionality
Office document editor
Full Flash support in the web browserCons: No xenon flash
No camera lens cover
65K color limitation of display results in banding in color gradients
microSD slot is under the back cover
Browser has issues with Flash supportSummary: The Samsung I8000 Omnia II is certainly a device that is hard to match, let alone beat and that much is clear with just a cursory glance at its specs. It also carries the aura of a new OS version pioneer, which in itself is enough to generate excitement. But that can hardly be a selling point as all recent HTC devices have also been promised free WinMo 6.5 updates one the things gets out.
The thing that caught our attention the most is that the handset has the performance to cash all the checks that its specs are writing for. Virtually every part of the once sluggish and boring looking WinMo interface has been overhauled: it is now pleasantly designed, fluid and responsive to such a degree that it might rival most of the other touch-centric platforms out there.
Now add the vast amount of software available, which has always been one of the strongest selling points of the devices powered by the Microsoft OS, and you get yourselves a really nice package. And let's not forget the smooth design, by no means a small issue in this handset's many features.
The closest that the market has to offer to the Samsung i8000 Omnia II is the HTC Touch HD. It packs a slightly larger screen but some users might still prefer the AMOLED charm of the Omnia II. Besides, the Touch HD runs on a slower 528 MHz CPU and it isn't yet cleared for a WinMo 6.5 update. And truth be told, the Samsung Omnia II is just on the verge of becoming the burden for single-handed usage that the Touch HD already is.
HTC Touch HD
No one should forget the HTC Touch Diamond2 either, though it doesn't even come close to a 3.7" AMOLED screen or an 800MHz CPU. However at this stage the HTC champ has a more attractive price tag and that combined with the time-tested TouchFLO 3D UI might be enough to keep users interested. HTC devices usually have a wide user base and there are some quite strong communities of HTC users always ready to give you a tip or help you tweak your gadget.
Another pretty interesting Windows Mobile offering is the Toshiba TG01. It packs an amazing 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and a huge 4.1" touchscreen. Yet somehow we feel that its dimensions (except for the thickness) have crossed a certain line and make usability a problem. The higher price and the relatively limited market availability are also hurting the TG01 chances in this battle.
Toshiba TG01
Looking outside the WinMo world for a moment shows us some more competitors to the Omnia II. The Symbian-powered Samsung i8910 Omnia HD offers an almost identically-sized screen, although of lower resolution, but makes up for it with impressive imaging and mostly video recording performance. However the touch experience provided by the Omnia II seems quite better than the one that of its Symbian cousin.
Samsung i8910 Omnia HD
Finally, we come to the omnipresent iPhone 3GS. Packing a less impressive camera and some peculiar limitations such as no Bluetooth file transfers, for instance, the Apple device still remains THE thing to beat when talking touchscreen experience. Its applications database is also pretty impressive.
Apple iPhone 3GS
We guess that once the Samsung Omnia II price settles down there will hardly be any serious contender to its looks and performance. Samsung are clearly targeting a large chunk of the HTC market share and from what we are seeing it might just have the resources to get it. The original Omnia was the first bullet in this war but now the South Korean company is bringing out the big guns.
The Samsung i8000 Omnia II and the Samsung B7610 OmniaPro match and even exceed what's out there right now, and along with their lower-end Omnia siblings look set to make the next step to achieving domination in a territory where Samsung traditionally didn't venture. Now we might not be the greatest of prophets but if the rapid improvement continues we cannot see anyone stopping them. -
"Excellent phone which needs some fine tuning" on by kashifmansoor
Pros: Display best I have ever seen
Battery life one of the best on WM
Processor very good and fast
Phone call quality excellent better than HTC touch pro, Nokia 6500 and comaprable to HTC TOuch HD, Toshiba TG01 if not betterCons: Touch screen generally good but some time does not register sigle tap and you enduup with 2 or 3 taps.
Summary: Good phone which needs fine tuning particularly regarding touch screen reliability. This however is the best WM device among HTC TOUCH HD< TOUCH PRO<TOSHIBA TG01 in my experience.
I hope WM6.5 and new updates will solve the touch screen sensitivity issue and make it better than competing devices.
If I compare with Iphone there is no doubt Iphone sofware is more fluent and now able to do what WINMO was doing 7 years ago. Iphone is more reliable after screen tap than any WINMO phone but not flexible, Also if you have used winmo with these kind of screens it will feel going back to 2003 screens if you use Iphone after using a device like Omnia II.
Aother thing is most of the reviers forget to mention if the screen resolution of WINMO devices was 480/360 like Iphone they will be atleast equaly responsive and infact much faster than Iphone. So when they review if they moan about slight unresponsiveness of WINMO devicces they should also tell how many more times the data WINMO processor is churning as compared to poor resolution Iphone. -
"Best Touch Phone on The Market But!!!" on by juici1
Pros: Windows Mobile 6.5,Touch Screen, Touch UI with feed Back, Pre-Installed Apps, Advanced features, Microsoft My Phone
Cons: Only available through Bell Canada exclusively.
Summary: I have owned this phone for 5 days and this is want I can tell you- Touch UI is amazing with vibration feed back, battery life is good, Key board is very accurate ans is to type on. Options and widgets that come pre-installed on the phone are amazing and it far surpasses blackberry and I phone in functionality.Windows mobile 6.5 works flawlessly with no lag on this phone. Phone also has video calling and second 5 mega pixel camera takes great pictures and camcorder quality video. I am a previous blackberry user and man compared to this phone I thought I was living in the dark ages. When people bash windows mobile 6.5 they haven't got a clue what they are talking about it works great.
There is a learning curve to this phone because it has so many advanced options. Also comes with Microsoft my phone which allows you to keep all of your phones info emails, text messages and data back up secured online you can also locate your phone from this account through GPS and backup all your data and it has advanced anti-theft features. Right now I have only one complaint about this phone there is a bug in the UI that prevents the keyboard from turning landscape when composing emails but turns landscape with text messaging and browsing perfectly. I have been informed by my carrier that Samsung is working on a firmware update to correct the glitch. -
"The Samsung OMNIA ll is a serious smart phone" on by ajakez
Pros: Wide 65K WVGA AMOLED Display (3.7-inch, 480 x 800
Video supported: DivX, XviD, H.263, H.264, WMV9, MPEG4
Video recording at 30fps@720x480
Productivity, not toying, applicationsCons: Runs WinMo which by a knee-jerk type of reaction will be automatically maligned by all
reviewers.Summary: Samsung is putting out three versions of the OMNIA ll phone: The OMNIA version coming to Verzon, an OMNIA Light, and an OMNIA with a keyboard destined for Europe.I got to see one of these OMNIA ll models while traveling in Taiwan. They are all pretty similar except for the PRO version which has a keyboard. The phone is a solid phone that puts just about all the available cell phone technologies to the test.
Bu when it comes to the US to Verizon prepare yourself for knee-jerk and non-objective reviews by the US reviewers who will review them for a couple of nights and who are in love with the Iphone interface and who think that that is the main and only important feature of a modern cell phone.
They will start their reviews with silly lines such as: Iphone killer, Iphone pretender, Iphone this or Iphone that which right away shows where their bias is. These are the same reviewers that don't seem to note that the only advantage that the Iphone has over other modern cell phones is that it is easier to maneuver. Other than that, it has always stayed behind with the advances of cell phone technology. It has had to play catch up in instituting basic tech features witch are very much part of what a cell phone is today. And because of the way it is marketed, it will continue to stay behind the tech curb. Pretty it will continue to be. Entertaining it will continue to be. A serious productivity phone it will not be. I always travel with a backup battery for my phone.
So, in making this general point the only recommendation that I can make is that you do your own research. -
"The best Samsung phone ever" on by zahmbee
Pros: This phone is really one of the easiest to operate and comprehend. This is one smooth operating phone. Windows Mobile 6.5 is a really wonderful operating system. i have not noticed any sluggishness during operations. The screen is a bright beauty.
Cons: not much. it's really nice.
Summary: Verizon is on top of things with their Droids and Omnia phones. I already had the first Omnia and I loved it so when Verizon released the Omnia 2 I knew it was also a winner. I love the bright screen and easy operation. This phone is packed with features. I have not noticed any slowness or kinks in this phone. The Verizon 3G network works beautifully too. I have friends that have iPhones and although the iPhone may be slick my friends can't receive a call from me even when I'm standing next to them. haha. It must be that nasty AT&T network. I paid $250 to break out of my AT&T contract and I'm glad that I did. I think that Apple should introduce an app that helps the iPhone to actually make a call. What's the use of having a phone if you can't make a call? Well, I am also impressed with the call clarity of the Omnia 2. It's vastly improved over the previous model. Geeez, I just can't say enough good things about this phone. If you get this phone you won't regret it. It's a winner!
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