Product Description

Samsung Omnia i900 Mobile Phone 8GB (Silver).Main Features:Windows Mobile 6.1 ProfessionalFamiliar PC-like environmentSeamlessly integrates office and phoneContinually adds innovative software applicationsProfessional 5MP Auto Focus CameraAdvanecd smile shot and face detectionAuto-panorama shotvideo recording with Power LEDBusiness Card ReaderPremier Pocket Theater3.2 inch WQVGA TFT LCD displayMulti-Cofec (DivX, Xvid, MP4)Content sharing among devices with Samsung DLNA Certified SolutioInternal 8GB and exte...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66777 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: i900 S/F 8GB

Customer Reviews

The all singing, all dancing Samsung Omnia
Crafting a review for the Samsung i900 Omnia is quite a difficult task, not only because it's so jam-packed with features that it's difficult not to leave something out, but also because it's hard not to compare it to a certain offering from Apple. The two phones look so alike they could be siblings, but where Apple's baby (some would argue) is a triumph of marketing over substance, Samsung's latest smartphone is most definitely a case of packing in everything except the kitchen sink. With a feature list that includes not only the perennial Bluetooth but also Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, HSDPA, a GPS receiver (provided you have an always-on data connection and your own navigation package) and a 5-megapixel camera, the Omnia is perhaps the most equipped phone around at the moment.

Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the Omnia comes pre-packed with an absolute embarrassment of programs, ranging from Word and Excel editors to Opera and Explorer browsers. Also included are two media players (Windows Media and Samsung's very good Touch Player), a video editor, FM radio and Google Maps (for basic GPS use), plus many more. Samsung have doubled-up on some of the programs, providing their own where they perhaps feel the Windows version to be lacking. I've only briefly used the camera but first impressions are good, with a nice touch-screen interface, auto-focus, facial recognition, digital image stabiliser and smile detection. Image quality is good, perhaps not up there with the best of them but better than it has a right to be given everything else the phone is being asked to do.

The QVGA screen is well-lit with good colours and contrast although the relatively low resolution (240 x 400) does mean that text in documents and web pages isn't always as clear as it perhaps could be. In everyday use, though, the screen is more than adequate and the vast majority of users won't notice any difference between this screen and those with higher resolution. The screen uses resistive, rather than capacitive, technology to register touches so isn't quite as smooth or as quick to use as that on the `other' phone. The one trick the i900 does have up its sleeve is haptic feedback, which makes the phone vibrate slightly when the screen is touched - where this is used it really does prove very useful although not all the software on the Omnia uses it; hopefully this will be corrected in a future firmware update.

The one area that might cause some grief (particularly at first) is the menu system. Samsung have overlaid their own menus over the Windows Mobile OS, it seems partially to make the phone easier to use with just your fingers and partially to obscure the daunting behemoth that is Windows. This system is accessed via one of the two `soft' buttons at the bottom of the screen and looks very similar to that used on previous Samsung phones. Of course you don't have to use it as you can get to everything you need purely from the WM drop-down `Start' bar at the top of the front page, but this uses small icons and isn't particularly pleasing experience without using the included stylus (for which, as if to confirm that Samsung only want you using your fingers, no slot has been provided.) The main problem is that Samsung's menus only go so far and sooner or later you're going to have to use Mobile's own system, so keeping the stylus to hand is a good idea.

The screen that you're first greeted with when the phone starts is the Windows Mobile `Today' screen, a form of desktop on to which you can put notification areas like new messages and appointments, as well as icons giving access to a few of the phone's more commonly used features. Samsung also provide three of their own front pages which can be placed over the Today screen, effectively rendering it mute. These screens work in a similar way, but display the information differently, from a simple Apple-style front page, to Samsung's `Widget' bar - a Vista-like sidebar from which various items can be dragged to the main page. The problem for me is that none of these screens give immediate access to all of the features I use regularly and can only be customised so far, leaving me with no option but to trawl through the menus to find certain of the programs I use each day. Some of these programs are buried quite deep and, until you're familiar with where everything is, finding them can be a chore.

Although it might seem that I've focussed as much on its flaws as anything else, I really love this phone. It's extremely well-equipped, has a fast processor and a vast feature set courtesy of Windows Mobile 6.1. It loses a star because Microsoft continues to persevere in trying to squeeze software designed for a PC into a phone; WM 6.1, despite being arguably the best Windows Mobile software yet, is looking a little dated and just doesn't fit into a phone as well as a more proprietary operating system. It may make the Omnia extremely practical and allow access to an almost limitless amount of software, but it isn't particularly finger-friendly as evidenced by Samsung's fairly strong desire to cover it as much as possible with their home-grown menus. However, provided you understand both the pros and cons of Windows Mobile and accept that it has limitations as well as benefits, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Good phone -poor seller
This is a first rate smartphone, but be careful when buying from Pixmania. Despite claims that it is "UK Model, UK Warranty" and that English is supported, it's not and it isn't. It is a French model with no option to change language. I don't mind it not being a UK model, but without English it is close to useless. When I emailed them they told me to take it up with Samsung. Twice.

If you are fluent in French (schoolboy French is not enough), go ahead. Otherwise, avoid.

Fad Gadget or Invaluable 'organise your life' type thingy?..
Not being one to encourage this strange obsession people seem to have for mobile telephones, but I got this here phone about a week ago and yes, it seems to do rather a lot of stuff. It's not worth going on about what it can do as I'd be here for a while. Shortcomings though are: BBC iplayer only seems to work via wifi and not through phone network. Whether this is a network problem (not fast enough), I don't know. Irritating dangly pen thing....?
Generally, very solid and like an iPhone but appears to do more....a useful Fad Gadget I'd say....

Two months down the line however.. the userbuility is not as good as the iphone.. and the iphone will do most things this will do if you delve in and start tinkering with it..(hacking into its software).. ie camcorder.. the new Omnia HD may well be better.

Six months down the line.. Get an i-Phone.