Hands on Review of the Samsung i900 Omnia




More info on this review and others are on facebook. If you are already a facebook user, just go to H.O.T.S. and join in. If you are not on facebook, just click on Facebook and register (it's free). Goto groups (on left column) and search for H.O.T.S. and join in or simply click this link. You will be alerted each time a new item is posted.

you can read my review at se central or just get my posts below


m1 finally started selling the samsung omnia i900

i was there this afternoon
and am amazed how thin/fast/clear it was

here are some shots
taken by htc diamond
compared to my samsung f700
which is twice as thick









hmmm... friends told me that

1. battery life is so-so
2. camera is not that great
3. gps takes a while to get a fix

well, battery so far so good
will have to report on this later

camera is really very nice
comes with very good and bright led flash (not xexon)
video also good
plays back mp4 too

it comes with free agis map
will install it after church today


after another day with the omnia
i found the battery life pretty ok
and learning more about it

do you believe it?
samsung released the omnia
without a manual?
not on the disk
not on the web

c'me on guys
what's so hard in putting together a manual?

1. omnia is really overwhelming - 16gig!
the biggest i ever had on a phone is 2gig
it's like upgrading to a new notebook
than just another phone

2. there is a agis unlock card in the package
so today, i'll see if it is on the disk or what
already got mapking installed

3. more setting up on the omnia today
but so far, 'i'm loving it'



ah, found agis hiding in the 1 gig card
that i almost gave away
as i have no use for it


it installs fast
but how to activiate the code?
no wonder i never use such a sloppy software!


here's a quick comparison with the htc diamond

1. form factor
diamond is really nice, slips into the shirt pocket
omnia is more macho, still not too fat or big

2. speed
diamond has a lag, even after the upgrade
omnia just keeps moving along

3. sound
methinks diamond too soft
omnia is loud and clear

4. power
omnia has faster processor

5. interface
diamond's 3d flo is really sexy
omnia's widgets is just eye candy - gimmicky

6. storage
omnia went wild with 16g + micro sd

7. features
omnia reads more formats than diamond
esp all important video mp4 (from my iphone)


here are some home page shots

first the gimmicky widgets by samsung




next, disabling the widgets
with normal win mob's today




already missing the nice weather in diamond,
but not to worry, spb travel/weather comes to the rescue
what the heck, lets go for the total sbp experice




omnia + spb = nice


i must eat up my words
and take back all i said about agis

there is a helpful leaflet in the box
that explained how to get the activation code
i didnt read it
spent the better part of the hour scouting the agis' site
then left an angry message

customer support replied within 24 hours
agis was up and running since yesterday
today i had many calls and sms in the morning
then used agis all the way to sim lim and macpherson and back
battery still at 70%
fix was instant
even when i shut down the phone for lunch

now i'm a believer


finally got my omnia configured the way i wanted
here are my impressions

1. it is the most powerful phone currently available
nokia e90 got the title when it was released
htc diamond packs a lot of power on a small device
but omnia has it all and more

2. battery life is pretty good
after playing it the whole morning
gps for an hour or more
still 70% battery

3. sound is loud and clear
i would have kept my diamond
but missed too many important calls

4. can use fingers
but stylus provides best experience
fingers may work
with spb suite installed
and resco keyboard

5. agis + enhanced gps = instant fix
really a good gps device, this omnia


now let the games begin...

installed quite a number of pdamill's games

today got some from astraware

POCKET PC: BIG BOX OF BLOX - now free
POCKET PC: ASTRAWARE CASINO - i like slots
POCKET PC: ASTRAWARE FIREWORKS - this is also free; nothing much
POCKET PC: ULTIMATE BOWLING FIGHTER VGA - like palm's bowling; more complicated
POCKET PC: CHAINZ - my all-time fav puzzle game
POCKET PC: BEJEWELED - a must have

this lot sets me back by a hundred bucks


i got these new games
because the sensor is causing havoc to my pdamill games
it keeps changing orientation as i move my hands
then takes up to a minute to refresh

but now that i turned the sensor to manual
all is working well
and my programs seemed to run more speedily

happy at last


ok, here's a dummy's guide to get the best out of the omnia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
after having your fun playing with it

1. disable the gimmicky drag and drop interface
start > setting > personal >today > items > unmark widgets

2. change the sensor from automatic to manual
start > setting > system > motion sensor > check manual

3. install spb shell + traveller + weather
now you have a really great device
perhaps the most powerful mobile phone currently available



ok, something on the negative side...

you tube is not as great an experience with the omnia
as it is with the htc diamond

also the 12mp picture that diamond displays so well
cant be opened with the omnia
or at least i dont have the patience to wait

maybe i havent configured it rightly
wi fi is also not as seamless as the diamond
keep showing hsdpa

btw as nice as the touch pad is
i really liked the option to use it as a mouse
(see pic below - next to messaging)

in this way, i can do without the stylus!





turning off the motion sensor
really increases the performance of the omnia
esp in games

however when it comes to pics
you really want it to be in landscape
so without having to figure with the config
just use the digital photo frame

for videos, using the windows media player
you can also do landscape videos
without having to turn the motion sensor on

ok... my battery level did drop to 80% at the end of the day
which i'm really pleased about
since my omnia is still working ok
and battery life is really good

today, i played with the camera a bit
and will post 2 original pics below
one a scenery and another a night indoor shot


i will post the super landscape panorama shot
and close up shot next time
here goes...







ok
in case you want to see what the above pic looks like




to see the original,
goto previous post
just right click and save


here's the panorama shot
8 pics in one
but resolution is low




and the close-up shot




both pics resized from original


actually, you just take the first shot
then move to the right or left
and it will automaticially click and stich for you

be careful to hold camera on the same height
and pan slowly and smoothly


nothing to it


after asking around
and posting on several forums
i have finally discovered how to do group sms

it is so simple
i am surprised i didnt think of it first
and was amazed
when some even replied that win mob doesnt do group sms

here's how
1 select all the contacts (choose select > several) you want in your group from sim
(my sim only has 2 fields - name and number)
2. copy to contacts
3 go to each, select category (then create new category if needed)

btw i took out my sim card to do item 3
so i dont have to search for these people
as i get only phone contacts that i have just copied

now my cup runneth over


here's a shot of add recipents on the omnia's sms




and out pops the category




somehow this didnt work on the htc diamond
so have to use freeware group sms for diamond


ok, after a week or so with the omnia
here's my executive summary

1. powerful, fast device that does everything
- to make it better
a. disable the widgets
b. install the spb shell c. while at it, also the spb travel
d. replace the keyboard with resco keyboard (comes with a calculator)
e. use the main menu button for contacts (like a real phone)
- hold main menu button for messaging
f. disable the motion sensor

2. sound is loud, battery life is good
ie if you deplete it before using and then charge for 9 hours

3. agis gps working with enhanced gps app
is fast to get a fix, and a joy to use

4. since this is a touch screen, choose games that is easy to play with fingers
eg slot machine, bejewel, card games

5. camera is really good, flash is quite powerful