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Samsung Omnia

By Joseph Hanlon on 30 October 2008

In terms of features, the Omnia stands out as one of the best smartphones to date. It's a shame this doesn't translate into a phone we'd enjoy using from day to day.

Editor's rating:7.0 User rating:7.1

• 

  David Eales gave 3/10 on 26/02/2009 19:53 Report abuse

  An expensive toy.... I have had my omnia since October and after 3 months it overheated and broke. As the warranty is not international (I bought in in Singapore) it cost me US$280 to get fixed in Thailand and took 2 weeks. Reception quailty is very poor which, after extensive comparisons, I now know is not to do with my service provider, but with the phone itself.

  • Good: Pretty to look at
  • Bad: too much to go wrong (and does!)
    weak reception
• 

  GRWATTY gave 2/10 on 14/02/2009 02:52 Report abuse

  If you want to use your phone to make calls or send txts then please DO NOT buy this phone.
  I am gutted to have got this phone with my contract, there are a few good applications but nothing that another internet enabled phone could provide.
  The touch screen is unbelievably poor and almost impossible to use without the stylus...that does not fit in the phone.

  • Good: GOOD CAMERA
    RECEIVE EMAILS LIKE TXTS
  • Bad: LAUGHABLE BATTEERY LIFE
    TERRIBLE TOUCH SCREEN
    OVER COMPLICATED
    YOU CANNOT STREAM ANY VIDEO FROM ANY WEBSITE INCLUDING YOUTUBE.
    TRYING TO USE THE PHONEBOOK TO CALL SOMEONE IS A JOKE AS SCROLLING IS USELESS.
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  0819 gave 10/10 on 08/02/2009 16:46 Report abuse

  its been 3 weeks since i lost my omnia.I bought another touch screen one from LG, but its not as god as this one. i simply love samsung omnia.its one of the best phone i have ever come across. gonna buy it again 4 sure.

  • Good: every features are excellent
  • Bad: haven't come upon one yet
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  duncandmcintosh gave 8/10 on 02/02/2009 11:12 Report abuse

  I love my Omnia I just wish I had done my homework as it will not run on Telstra Next G only on 3 G so limited coverage.

  • Good: great diary email works well for me being windows there are loads of applications for it
  • Bad: no internal stylus holder and only works on 3G network even if you are with Telstra Next G
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  subtlerebuttle gave 8/10 on 29/01/2009 23:08 Report abuse

  I've had this phone for a month and whilst I love it, there are time when I hate it.
  Texting is a challenge on the touchscreen (i used to be able to text without looking at what I'm pressing and it is super sensitive - the amount of times i've accidentally sent incomplete messages is rediculous).
  I love the functions on this phone. I'm finding it hard to stay away from my phone during down time just to check emails, send texts, GPS even though I know where I am, taking random pictures because I can, playing bubble and facebook at work (since it's a barred site at work).
  The baterry life - 21 days my a** (as per the Samsng website). I'm recharging the phone every second day. I know I'm constantly on this phone, but I've tested not using it for a couple of days and it only lasted 3 days. Extremely disappointing.
  ....but I love it. It's like the bad boy that everyone warns you about but you just keep going back for more!

  • Good: Plenty of features to keep you occupied
  • Bad: Battery life is dismal to say the least
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  MichaelC gave 9/10 on 29/01/2009 13:49 Report abuse

  Very happy with the Omnia. Changed over from Imate's and very happy with reliability. It hasn't frozen on me once after 3 weeks. Slow speed doesn't worry me too much when you consider how much this little device can do.

  • Good: Reliability
  • Bad: Stylus - wich it could fit into the case not swing by a cord. Letter Recogniser seems less reliable than I have had with previous WiMo pda phones.
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  TechSteph gave 10/10 on 28/01/2009 12:06 Report abuse

  I agree with the previous comment on the stylus. They did give you a stylus to use. This phone is great and grows on you. The camera is good and it has a lot of features.

  • Good: Camera, Smart reader, stylus, Windows Mobile 6.1 ... the list goes on.
  • Bad: A little bit complicated and battery tends to run out quickly. Nonetheless an excellent phone.
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  mish gave 8/10 on 21/01/2009 11:52 Report abuse

  So far so good. Anyone had any problems loading GMAIL onto messaging? I can access through internet, but can't seem to get it to set up (without a sync error)

  • Good: Stylus! And funky screen. Huge memory for music, video and photos.
  • Bad: Can't get my gmail to work. My work email is fine....
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  yamum gave 8/10 on 16/01/2009 01:41 Report abuse

  I just bought one today, paid $950 AUD for it, and its not too bad. was going to buy a X1, but they have'nt come out yet !

  • Good: Excellent Video quality,
    fast web browsing,
    responsive GPS,
    great touch interface,
    desktop widgets,
    easy to use.
  • Bad: tiny touch keys, sometimes hard to close stuff with your fingers,
    cannot customise the background on the menu-list, always white ! ! !
• 

  1337c4mp3r gave 9/10 on 12/01/2009 23:15 Report abuse

  Is this the right place to say this?
  
  But Joseph Hanlon is one of the best reviewers I reckon.
  
  Im thinking of getting Omnia off Optus this February. WiMo is awesome for customisability, work and play. The optical mouse seems like a marketing gimmick, but I'm sucked into it, and it seems like a pretty damn cool feature.
  
  The camera isnt too excellent, but what can you expect from a phone? This probably has one of the best cameras found in WiMo devices, maybe beaten only by the Touch HD and one or two others.
  
  The problem I tend to think about is that wouldn't TouchWIZ interface tend to become redundant with the original WiMo interface, apart from the today screen?
  
  Still... great stuff.

  • Good: - Windows Mobile (versatility)
    - Feature packed 5mp camera
    - 1440mAh battery
    - Decent in-box earphones
    - Stacks of features
    - Nice styling
    - Finger-friendly TouchWIZ
  • Bad: - Windows Mobile (sluggishness)
    - Average photo quality
    - No stylus slot
    - (apparently) Poor sound quality
    - Not-so-attractive plastic back cover
    - Two separate alarm applications