Samsung's T*Omnia praised by Ballmer in Korea, older Omnia coming to US this month?

Steve Ballmer definitely gets around, last month taking a trip to the UK just to mock Android, this month heading all the way to Korea to praise Samsung's new T*Omnia. He says it's "at the forefront of this new generation of mobile devices," and digs how it "brings together communications, productivity, multimedia, and entertainment in a way that meets the needs of both consumers and mobile professionals." We think he's most fond of its operating system (WinMo 6.1), but must admit we're smitten by the handset too -- especially its 800 x 480 screen. That's more than twice the resolution of the older Omnia, which by the sounds of it will be released in the US sometime this month. Samsung didn't actually say which Omnia, but since it's the older one that's been FCC approved don't go holding your breath for WVGA goodness. Lucky Koreans, meanwhile, can expect the T*Omnia to start being served up by SK Telecom on November 20.

[bart @ Nov 5th 2008 10:35AM]

omnia is boring, touch HD is the way to go

[Khattab @ Nov 5th 2008 10:41AM]

Yep, it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OddxxxXUuNk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks6Fz7PqCcw

[Ike Turner @ Nov 5th 2008 11:02AM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo7I6K8U7L4

W00t!!!

[Emailacar @ Nov 5th 2008 10:40AM]

I assume "praised by Ballmer" means he jumped around like a loon roaring and gesticulating like a baboon on heat to a bunch of fanboys. No, I haven't forgotten THAT video. Tool.

[who? @ Nov 5th 2008 10:40AM]

Wow guys. I've never heard such exciting and interesting news. Ballman [sic] promoting a WinMo phone... If Steve Jobs came out and said he thought the iPhone was great, would that make the news too?

More space and robots, less cell phones and idiots. This is soooo not news. Even on a Wednesday.

[Emailacar @ Nov 5th 2008 10:44AM]

TOTALLY AGREE!

[iEye @ Nov 5th 2008 10:49AM]

I concur, the iPhone is great!

long live the Apple iPhone!

[fh @ Nov 5th 2008 12:11PM]

It's not about whether or not "Steve talking about how great the iPhone is" would also make the news.

It's about whether or not you would meet that kind of article (non-news about the iPhone) with the same kind of disdain.

If you would use it as an opportunity to spam comments with how much you agree with Steve, then that's pretty hypocritical of you. And you don't really have a reputation that lends you credibility, so I would prescribe a healthy dose of stfu.

[happy_penguin @ Nov 5th 2008 10:44AM]

Well, it looks cool. I'd have to play with it a bit to know if I'd like it.

[Matt @ Nov 5th 2008 10:58AM]

That's...what...she said?

[Jack @ Nov 5th 2008 11:55AM]

oh you bastard, I was going to say that!

[fieldcar @ Nov 5th 2008 10:44AM]

The Anycall label is lame, but so is everything now that obama got elected. I'm in a world of SUCK right now.

[iEye @ Nov 5th 2008 10:50AM]

No one is stopping you from leaving...

[Chad @ Nov 5th 2008 10:52AM]

@iEye

Actually, if he doesn't have a passport then border agents will indeed keep him from leaving.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Nov 5th 2008 10:54AM]

At least you'll be welcomed overseas now :)

[fred @ Nov 5th 2008 10:58AM]

"At least you'll be welcomed overseas now :)"

Now that we have a "leader" as weak as the ones in Europe-Arabia, I'm sure they will "love" us now.

[Emailacar @ Nov 5th 2008 11:01AM]

Yeah - democracy sucks when it isn't getting rigged by some guys brother. Get back to Russia

[fred @ Nov 5th 2008 11:14AM]

"Yeah - democracy sucks when it isn't getting rigged by some guys brother. Get back to Russia"

It's better when it's done by ACORN.

[fieldcar @ Nov 5th 2008 11:17AM]

I may be a whiny little bitch about our new presidents reckless disregard for capitalism, but I'm still a proud American Marine that could never desert my country.

[iEye @ Nov 5th 2008 11:18AM]

No, I meant leave the planet...

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/28/virgin-galactics-white-knight-2-spaceship-carrier-gets-unveiled/

[fieldcar @ Nov 5th 2008 11:22AM]

@ieye: Pigs in spaaaaaaceeeee!

[gyubok @ Nov 5th 2008 3:34PM]

what iEye actually meant was. leave the world. fastest way = suicide. his choice

[MediumSizedRob @ Nov 5th 2008 1:00PM]

That's right, our new president was the mastermind behind the bailout plan. Oh wait, that was our old president who disregarded capitalism.

[Chad @ Nov 5th 2008 10:51AM]

I thought it was bag of hurt?

[Corey O @ Nov 5th 2008 10:58AM]

Those lucky Koreans get everything. Cute picture....and the phone's alright.

http://www.worldgonemobile.com

[y3k.nik @ Nov 5th 2008 11:04AM]

I didnt realize iPhone had 800 by 480 resolution screen in it...

[European @ Nov 5th 2008 11:04AM]

Dude, cant you just shut the F up? Every comment from you is plain stupid! Your life is a waste of air and everything else!

[Ike Turner @ Nov 5th 2008 11:06AM]

Besides the WVGA screen (and bigger 3.3") it also has a fucking DVB TV tuner! (and 5M cam with face detection, 16gb mem..)

[eggothewaffle @ Nov 5th 2008 11:09AM]

What we really need right now is the Samsung Obamnia :D

[jefffaucher @ Nov 5th 2008 11:09AM]

Am I wrong, or is (800 x 480) FOUR times the resolution of a (400 x 240) screen? It is twice the resolution in each of two dimensions, so you get 4 times the number of pixels.

[fh @ Nov 5th 2008 12:15PM]

Been over this before.

Displays are measured in linear resolution (20", 24" display; not 180in², 260in² display).
Sensors are measured in areal resolution (5mp, 10mp sensor; not xxxx by yyyy sensor).

Ergo the T*Omnia has twice the (linear) resolution (at 290dpi) of the i900 (at 145dpi).

[jay @ Nov 5th 2008 11:12AM]

hey cool...no one said anything about the girl...



oops!

[bob sakamano @ Nov 5th 2008 11:17AM]

she should stop smoking... her teeth match her shirt!

[Ian @ Nov 5th 2008 9:08PM]

I was surprised as well. She's very pretty, so I figured one of the first 3 comments would have been Korean girl related.

[Cal @ Nov 5th 2008 9:32PM]

shes very pretty?? well i guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion...

[mike @ Nov 5th 2008 11:19AM]

Twice the res? from 400x240 to 800x480 that's 4x the amount of pixels... isnt it?

[Brett @ Nov 5th 2008 11:26AM]

Doubled in each direction. Semantics.

If you had a box that was 2'x2'x2' and another box that was 4'x4'x4', would you consider the larger box to be 2x or 8x the size of the smaller?

[soulsaber @ Nov 5th 2008 11:42AM]

its 4x duh

[initialxy @ Nov 5th 2008 12:13PM]

No offense, but according to my grade 4 math text book, it is defined as 2x larger (2x in each dimension). Engadget + Brett is right.

[jefffaucher @ Nov 5th 2008 12:55PM]

@initialxy:

You had to dig out your 4th grade mathbook? Wow.

My point was that when I look at a screen, the number of pixels is what i notice, not how long and wide it is.
No one is right or wrong, but calling it twice the resolution sort of undermines how great this screen is.

And I would consider a 4'x4'x4' box to be 8 times larger than a 2'x2'x2' box, since you can put 8 times the stuff into it. I don't really care that it is twice as big in each dimension.

[Mike @ Nov 5th 2008 1:04PM]

Yeah its just the way they worded it... but then they do say that it's more than twice the resolution which is like saying my laptop's 1920x1200 display is more then twice the resolution of the original Omnia :)

[Major4Play @ Nov 5th 2008 11:47AM]

Very nice phone, I found the original Omnia a little cramped.
As much as i hate WinMo's default UI I still think it beats the iPhone simply for the usual Win Vs Mac debate choice, I can install at least 4 or 5 different UIs for WinMo so i never get bored.
I love the iPhone for it's UI, I think it looks amazing I just like being able to customise to my hearts content.

[David @ Nov 5th 2008 12:39PM]

Still no omnia for at&t?

[GON @ Nov 5th 2008 1:21PM]

"I hate my yellow teeth!"

[Mike @ Nov 5th 2008 6:35PM]

I'm so disgusted with Verizon for having 2nd rate pda type phones. I'm also disgusted with Samsung. I've got the i730.
I was hoping this would be the time to upgrade. If Samsung and Verizon don't give us the new Omnia (or the iphone), the only way I can protest is to not buy it. Maybe I can protest more by switching carriers and buying some other phone.