cant update the new firmwear at my omnia to the latest g4 firmwear really

so fast got new firmware?

it seem the final product UI is not as shuck as i tot..

and now hand getting itchy..

^LOL hand itchy must find a cure...

Hi guys/gals,

Currently own a HTC Touch 2. Just got the latest Samsung Phone - 8G version. I played it for about 1 hour then bought it there and then. This is highly unusual of me - I usually will research a lot before I buy a phone. It took me 6 months of research before I bought my HTC Touch 2. I am mainly a business-music-photography user. Anyhow - here are some first impressions of the things I usually use:

1. GUI - Also known as the Samsung OS. There is 3 types of GUI / "OS" that you can use. One is like an iMac with widgets. The 2 others are variety of iphone meets vista type of interface. I must say the one with the iMAC (yes Imac not Iphone) widgets is very nice to use.

2. Windows 6.1 - Basically, No.1 above buried Windows pretty deep - so all my functions can be done with minimal fuss. So no issues.

3. Special things I liked - the headphone unit. It is connected right up to the microphone using the long thin pin charges. However - after that - it has the standard headphone jack. It means you can swap any headphones for music. So now I can use my Shure headphones - perfect! The mouse is also a very nice addition. You can disable it and it can act as a 4 way pointer. The best thing is you don't have to press it to go top-bottom-left-right. Just gently swipe your finger. Very good feature as sometimes we tend to press ENTER when we want to top-bottom-left-right instead. Another thing - who does not like a 18 month warranty? HTC only gave 1 year. However I've not tried Samsung customer service before - hopefully will be OK. HTC customer service is good - when you send in the phone to repair, if they say they will call you on next Wednesday - they will call you. Plus the parts that are repaired have 3 months warranty on them. This will prevent the company from swapping in refurbished parts into the phone. Hopefully Samsung's service will be good also.

4. Camera - The smile & face recognition works pretty well. Pictures are crisp. The layout of the menus are pretty simple and easy to access. The shutter speed & capture is much better than my HTC Touch - not lagging from time of pressing until capture. The camera can also do a half press focus before full press capture. This feature is very good. Of course there is the flash on the cam - but I did not get a chance to use it yet. After zooming into a taken shot - that's where I see the 5 megapixels win. Very clear and crisp pictures.

5. Processor speed - frankly I have not really heard of the processor before - maybe I am just ignorant. HTC has an Intel processor. You can see the difference when closing or opening applications. Running multiple applications will have a bit of a lag also. However - the lag is still acceptable. I don't find myself waiting frustrated for programs to close or open.

6. On screen buttons & menus - most of the on screen buttons and menus are big and easy to navigate without using the stylus. The Stylus itself comes as an accesory that you can hang next to the phone. I don't think I need it - but who knows? There a number of functions that can be done by swiping our fingers accross the screen. Some access menus - while others shortcut. I like it - the more options the better

7. Form factor & weight - both are pretty good in my book. Slim and light enough. Screen is a good size. Wide and long enough.

8. Connection - there is every conection available except infrared - well who needs it anyway? Quad Band, Bluetooh, Wifi, GPS, 3G, HSPDA, USB. I did see a Beam application though - could this be that Infrared is also included? Perhaps it's just a standard windows menu. A big plus point is TV out connection - you can show your pictures straight into TV without issues. Have not used it yet.

9. Things I did not really like:

The charger & headphones port is together (same as HTC). This means sometimes when I have long teleconferences - I can't charge and use headphones at the same time. I prefer not using bluetooth headsets - they emit radiation too Another thing is you need to open a flap to access the port. Feels a bit flimsy. I can see pretty much after a while the flap will koyak lah.

The change between landscape and potrait mode - via accelorator meter is slightly slow. Probably a 1.5-2 second lag. For my use - I would disable it - simply done through the menus. The accelorator meter seems a bit sensitive also - it keeps switching between modes when I am using the phone. *** Update - the accelorator sensitivity can be changed - a big plus point!***

The are some instances where the screen is not too responsive on the little [X] buttons for closing windows applications. Scrolling is a bit of an effort also. Perhaps I guess I am not used to fully using my hand only.

I would have liked the Stylus to be stored into the phone unit itself.

*TIP* - the text might look not as sharp - but disable the "cleartype" function in Windows and you'll see much better text. Somehow the cleartype fuction of smoothening out the edges seems to give the opposite desired effect. Perhaps I just don't know how to use it? The cleartype is by default "ON".


OK the most important question - the screen resolution - any problem? Frankly I can't notice a difference with My HTC Touch 2. I guess if I stare at both the screens long enough - I might see some difference. But who of us have so much time to stare at the screen and look for the missing pixels? Once again - I don't notice the difference.

This is my initial feel - as a business-music-photography user. I don't use push email - cause I don't want to be contacted by my office all the time This is as far of a review I can do - anyhow I think the review is really long. Some others may find it different cause you needs may differ. However - I think they really pack a LOT of stuff into it. My verdict? Well my last phone took 6 months researsh - this one - only 1 hour. You figure? Just go and try it out - I guess we can't really tell unless we have tried it ourselves. For me - so far I am happy with the phone. Price?

The distributor is having discount now - RM 2599 at Courts Mammoth (next to IKEA) for the 8 gig version. Extra Rm200 for 16GB version. Limited to first 10 customers everyday I think. Stocks are depleting fast. Comes with Original Case (worth 99) , Screen Protector, photo frame. Is it worth it? I don't know - I wasn't too bothered to look around anymore - cause I only looked at the phone only - not the other freebies. I thought it was. I am going to sell my case anyway - cause I don't need it. So those who want the Omnia Leather(?) case - email me at index7index@yahoo.com. I'll let it go at RM80. Save 19 bucks - brand new - can go and see movie for 2 people

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Added on August 9, 2008, 4:50 pmOh yes - please don't compare this to iphone. Firstly iphone is not legally available here - you can always buy underwater sets or straight from overseas. But if the iphone malfunctions or you drop it and it is spoilt - you're on your own. I wonder how many shops will be able to fix it? 4 options:

1. Probably none - as Apple will not have spare parts for it here.

2. There may be some clone spare parts - but I guess then why did we buy an original phone to have cloned spare parts in it?

3. Make a nice trip overseas to fix it - but can they fix it there and then? Else you will have an extended 1-2 week holiday overseas. Unless you come back and make another trip over. Nearest one is Singapore I believe.

4. Post it back and ask them to post it back to you. It might just come back with a different damage or worse still - lost.

Anyhow - I am sure the iphone is a good unit - but not having a local warranty has so much risks involved that I would rather not buy it. Don't think it will come anytime soon - as most mobile operators in the world are balking at Apple's terms & conditions to carry the iPhone as part of their package.

This post has been edited by index7: Aug 9 2008, 04:50 PM

Hmm, nobody here tried blackberry with Omnia ?

Hmm I really don't dare to buy it. Scared my money go down the drain.

so many freebies ar!! KL dun have ar? must go to C.M. ar? so far away

Played around with it for 2 more hours. This is a superb phone - my most noticable gripe with it is that the screen is not as responsive as it should be at times - when scrolling. Seems like the phone can't differenciate between opening programs and scrolling between programs. So sometimes programs open when you don't want it. However there are enough shortcut keys and combos to bury this type of issues under their GUI. A bit of a small issue - so test this out before you decide.

Oh yes - the battery is killer - in total, I've been playing with it for at least 3 hours - and the battery still seems like it's at 99%. I was watching slide shows, testing apps, listening music, taking photos with Flash. I must say I am pretty impressed. It has a talk time of 4-6 hours and I think a standby time of almost 16 - 20 days. It is indeed very battery saving!

ROM & RAM wise is both 128MB each.

thanks index7 for the posionreview about omnia

XD

Glad to help -if you all have question - I am willing to test out my phone and see how it responds.

wat about GPS software? default what software they give?

hey guys, just wondering whether this phone can view videos on youtube like touch diamond? Thanks..

can refer here for more info
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i900_omnia-review-267p6.php

it cannot play youtube straight out the box (but youtube mobile version, m.tube.com can), but u can install core player latest version n use it to watch youtube (same as desktop) coz this core player hv youtube client

gsmarena cover this matter in their review
can refer there bro

Had my hands-on with both HTC Diamond and Samsung Omnia at Penang PC Fair, for a few minutes.

First impression: Diamond is good looking, small and seems compact. UI is nice, but some what lag. When I ask the sales person, he said the ROM of the test unit is older version. The retail units have updated the firmware, and should perform better. Currently the price has dropped to RM2599, with free gifts.

First impression: Omnia is bigger/longer than Diamond, bigger screen. UI not as beautiful as Diamond but some what faster in respond. The build feels good. Tested the "Samsung Keyboard" to type an email, the keyboard is bigger enough for thumb operation (well, I don't have big fingers). However the test units is lack of a few things, no movies to watch, haptic function not working. Selling at 8GB RM2799 and 16GB RM2999.

I asked the SA at PDA Expert, which is better, Diamond or Omnia? His reply is Omnia, as expected. The reasons, more memory and memory expansion, bigger screen, faster processor.

BTW, HTC Cruise is currently at RM2299.

This post has been edited by jazzpg: Aug 10 2008, 08:33 AM

i will be buying this phone tomorrow...thanks all for the reviews

Well i've tested Omnia ystd at a "certain" place and here's my two cents at the pretext of buying it:

1. Firstly it's a solid build and perfectly be kept in pockets without fuss. It's not tad heavy too.

2. The touchwiz widgets requires u to apply a little pressure to drag n drop. This might be a little forceful for some especially those who are used to the smooth movements in Apple Iphone.

3. Scrolling using fingers can be a little challenge at times. it's not as responsive but hey it's feature packed and shares similar qualities mimicking the menus of apple iphone. And at every button press, there's a vibration.

4. The camera, well i can't agree more with the earlier reviews. Quite good i must say. Have not tested the video capturing sessions tho.

5. Auto-rotation: Well there's a slight lagm but hey it's a wonderful experience when watching movies. Did not have any chance to watch video clips in it. Wonder how the Matrix would fare on this?

6. Messsaging: Well the touchscreen keypad is straight forward but unlike Iphone, it falls back slightly whereby the iPhone is able to magnify the next characther you're abt to press when typing out a word. K, maybe there feature has to be activated in Omnia tho.

7. GPS: Did not test (That would be pushing my luck really!!). But it comes with preloaded software as mentioned earlier. Not sure on how fast it locks in the positions.

8. Audio: Did not test. Any comments on plain loudspeaker/Bluetooth?

9. Screen reso: Well again it's a bit hard to differentiate unless you look very closely and posses microscopic eye-sets.

Conclusion: An excellent phone (feature packed). A tad bit pricy at the moment. I'm definitely dissapointed it doesn't come with a built-in stylus that wud've given a slight competitive edge over Diamond. Still i'd recommend this phone over Diamond. Clearly it gives future expansion, loads of space, chic design, loads of win mobile app to play for. However,on the downside aside from the mentioned above, would be the rumoured ineffective after-support from Samsung and of course the second hand value.

So yeah if you're considering it for a good 2-3 yrs use and able to accept the touchwiz UI and not to be compared with Iphone's Multi-touch (Pretty much that's iPhone's stronghold aside the name itself) then by all means purchase one and enjoy it.

After all, you're definitely gonna have da iphone user ogling at this when u bring it out.

anyone know where got stock for this phone on penang?except for PC fair...

ah just bought this phone just now...feel good..muhahahah

i get the 16gb version cause onli 200 ringgit diff...

I'm so impressed with the the Omnia. Just bought mine in Penang PC Fair. But there's no stock there.....

I was expecting the stock to be ready stock when I purchased it.

Got to wait till this coming Wednesday or Thursday. Haih.

Hello Dennooze, you bought it from PDA Expert? 8 GB or 16 GB? How much?