Samsung Omnia

Ok, out of the box this phone isn't all that great, but I didn't have any battery life problems then either. I got the Omnia mailed to me, I got it on the day it was released. I get around 50 emails a day,… 2-3 calendar reminders a day, it syncs with my exchange server at work. I also surf the internet a little here and there. I only charge the omnia every other night. I did that before I upgraded to 6.5, or what now they are calling 6.5.1... I have unlocked GPS, but its kind of weak. You probably void your warranty, though I had the phone replaced one because I fell into the lake with it. It had 6.5 they didn't say anything. I run SPB Mobile shell 3, default installation with my own background, and icon setup. I love this phone! Cons: I wish it had a bigger screen, I'm not carrying that stylus and the touch keyboards are too small on this screen. Bluetooth does drain the battery when using a2dp. But all phones drain quicker... The proprietary connector. You have to use a splitter in the car when charging and playing the output to the input on my stereo. It's not loud enough on my stereo. If I switch from aux to fm on my stereo, the fm is much, much louder. I have to max the stereo for this phone. Also the connector is on the side of the phone, and has a flip wiggle cover much like cheap phones. So while this phone has its weaknesses, I've yet to see a better verizon phone.

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I bought the omnia to replace an old smartphone and I really like the phone. It's very slim but sturdy in the hand. I thought the widget were cute but after a few months I got the SPB shell now I like the… phone a lot better. I did have lots of trouble getting the shell on and I read that others also had trouble. I wish the screen was bigger but the new version is going to have a larger screen. I thought I would miss a stylus and a keyboard but not really. You don't need the stylus with omnia's nifty mouse but typing is kind of hard. It seems to work better in portrait than landscape which I can't understand. I can't use two hands in landscape and I have to use my fingertip in portrait. I think the new bigger screen will help that too, I hope. I am getting pretty good battery life but you have to charge it everyday. The sun affects it a lot and I really hate that. You can't see the screen at all.Also wish they would stop putting the media card slot under the battery. It should be on the outside of the phone.

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I really wanted a new phone. The iPhone sounded like a great idea, except for the fact that Cingular service is terrible on my school campus. So I stuck to Verizon and got the Omnia. I've had this phone… for a month now and am completely in love with it. The phone is amazing; but it is a Windows Mobile phone so it comes with the pros/cons of Windows Mobile. Here are somethings you might find useful that other reviews may/may not cover. CONS: 1) User interface: It is hard not to compare phones completely touchscreen and shaped like iPhones to the iPhone. Compartively, the Windows Mobile interface is terrible. Basically, the WinMo interface was designed 10 years ago to be used with a stylus and not a finger (tiny buttons, little click areas). This phone on the other hand is intended to be used with a finger. Even the stylus that comes with the phone doesn't stay in the phone, unlike other WinMo devices. Instead, if you want to carry the stylus around, you'll have to leave it dangling from the side of the phone. While Samsung does try to replace a number of screens (such as the dial pad and keyboard) with more finger friendly versions, the WinMo interface does show from time to time unless you follow... ...My recommendation to get SPB Mobile Shell and don't even bother carrying the stylus around. A number of the high reviews on amazon have referred to this software. SPB mobile shell is an awesome finger friendly interface that once you install, you never have to interact with the WinMo ugliness. I would argue that SPB's interface is better than the iPhone since SPB actually needs to sell its software based on the interface alone and does consumer surveys from time to time on how to improve the interface. SPB's interface also isn't just skin deep (unlike say HTC's flo), it has a replacement for nearly every WinMo screen you'd want to interact with. You can download a demo of SPB mobile shell 3 from the SPB software house website. (Sorry to take up a whole para on software that's not part of the phone, but it was this software that I think let me really use this phone to its full potential) 2) End programs: WinMo has this tendency to leave programs running in the background. While this is great at times you want to multitask (eg. copy text from a browser/email to word), it is not so useful other times. I've basically gotten around this by setting one of the side buttons to "task switcher" so I can close whichever programs whenever I want to. 3) No "one app store". Unlike the iPhone, I haven't found a single great app store that has all the good apps for WinMo phones. This doesn't mean that great apps aren't out there, just that it takes longer to find them. Google "Omniahub" for a site that has a large list of fantastic apps for free. PROS: Now that we have that out of the way, lets get to the pros: 1) Preloaded software: is awesome. There's a) A "card reader". Take a picture of someone's business card, and it imports the details into your contacts. Works everytime! b) Office mobile. Read/edit Word/Powerpoint/Excel files. c) A great RSS reader to read your news. d) Podcast reader e) Picture viewer: Amazingly well done. f) Opera browser: This gives iPhone's Safari a run for its money. g) Verizon Visual Voicemail: You can scroll thru a list of voice mails and play ones you want to hear based on contacts, and delete/keep others. h) FM radio, Mobile IM, great media player, and video editor. 2) Hardware: is also amazing! a) The camera is 5MP with flash. And unlike most phones which don't autofocus properly (so you don't get the high resolutions feel), this phone does. Like a real camera- a half press to focus, camera beeps, followed by a full press of the camera button to take the picture. I've taken photos of my classroom board from a far when I was too slow in taking notes, and I can zoom in later and see the text crystal clear. b) Touchscreen. The touch screen is great and very responsive. (Don't blame WinMo's sluggishness here; take my word, get the demo of SPB mobile shell I mentioned above, and you'll see!) It does require a firmer press than the iPhone, since the touchscreen is resistive on the Omnia and capacitive on the iPhone, but the resistive screen allows for more precise touches. c) Overall this phone is sleek, light and sexy. d) Battery life: Ok so this is definitely not amazing. I do charge my phone every night. But it makes it fine during the day. If you surf the web/use bluetooth a lot (moderate use if fine), you may find yourself having to charge more often. I turned off auto-push down on my email (where an email is "pushed down" to your phone as soon as your mail server gets it), and instead set it to check for mail every 15 minutes, and this seemed to significantly improve battery life. e) Has wifi and bluetooth. Bluetooth is A2DP so you can listen to stereo headphones! For those who really want a comparison with the iPhone iPhone wins on - User interface UNLESS you get additional software like SPB mobile shell - One app store with lots of apps Omnia wins on - Camera - Preloaded software - Ability to multitask, although this may lead to occasions where you'll have to run task manager or task switcher to end programs. Basically, if you're looking for a new phone, don't want iPhone/AT&T get the Omnia + the SPB mobile shell software (to replace the un-fingerfriendly WinMo interface), and you're golden. I'm giving this phone 4 stars since the default WinMo interface is terrible. If this phone came with SPB mobile shell 3 installed (so I didn't have to pay extra), it would easily get a 5 from me.

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The Omnia does have a lot of nice features and is a slick phone, but there are several problems that will annoy any user to no end. First, the calibration often comes undone, causing your finger/stylus… presses to be way, way off. I've had to re-calibrate weekly (at least) and even then it is still way off at times. For example, I've had to press 2 letters right of my intended letter on many texts. That's the worst! Second, the hanging stylus is a real problem. It just dangles there, begging to be lost or caught up in something. It's a miracle I haven't lost mine yet. Finally, and worst of all, the memory is screwed up. Do a quick internet search on Samsung Omnia "memeory critically low" and you'll see. I have ZERO applications/data installed since getting the phone and yet I get a crippling error message all of the time. I try to clear it, and it just keeps coming up again and again. I've tried to delete everything I can from the file folders, but it just keeps happening. So, unless you want a buggy, serious headache of a phone, skip the Omnia.

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