Whether you call it OmniaHD, i8910 HD, or even "Timmy Tim" (hey, it could happen), Samsung's AMOLED--infused smartphone is a winner, if the fine lads at Phone Arena are to be believed. Points go to its HD video recording and playback, a surprisingly good battery life, and a form factor that's not too hard on the pocket, measuring in at just a wee bit taller and thicker than the HTC Touch HD. Not everything's sunshine and rainbows, though, as trying to use it in direct sunlight's a lost cause and the phone is a magnet for fingerprints. Still, those are pretty minor in comparison, and this is sounding more and more like a solid smartphone. Hit up the read link for a more thorough review, or after the break for the moving pictures version.
Is there still no kinetic (flick) Scrolling on Symbian s60 v5 menu's, contacts, photos, if not then this phone is not for us, come on samsung if Symbian will not enable it (LAZY) WHY dont you???? Lazy Nokia labs a releasing programs with flick scrolling???
N97 at least got kinetic scrolling on web pages, but dunno if they will make it to all menus(don't think so).
I don't think there's much of reason to wait for big or any updates to 5th edition or 9.4 becuse all work is done for Symbian Foundation and for the release of Symbian^2 in summer. If Nokia did enable kinetic scrolling i wonder why Samsung didn't considering they got 600mhz proc on OMAP3 platform, so that shouldn't be a problem. Then this MIGHT be a problem with many Samsung Symbian phones that they dont support their phones in the same manner as Nokia have been doing for past 3-4 years, but maybe that will change as Samsung seems to be taking strong approuch to Symbian as is SE with it's future phones. Plus of course this isn't still final product and it will only improve(it already looks damn good).
You are totally correct. Although I give them props for the attempt, the old-looking S60 interface is cluttered and a pain to use.
This phone has some of the BEST HARDWARE of any device on the market. Besides the huge (capacitive right?) OLED screen, It uses T.I.s new OMAP 3430 which is a 45nm version of the OMAP3, with a 600Mhz ARM Cortex-A8 (faster than ARM11), PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, and 300 MHz C64x+ DSP.
Man if this thing ran Android and was heavily optimized for the hardware, it would be one of the technically best smartphones on the market period.
Symbian is the most advanced operating system? Where did this nugget of knowledge come from? Did Nokia's CEO Olli-Pekka (nice name) pass this down to the legions after mentioning that they were going to retrench and go chasing after the iPhone. I think they meant chase after the iPhone from behind. Well Symbian OS is up to version 9.5, so it better have something going for it. I heard some tech pundit claiming that Palm's first version WebOS is better than Symbian, but maybe that's just one man's personal opinion.
Doesn't look like it would be very useful to business-like users... Great video though, that's definitely a plus, and the screen real estate is awesome, but this phone seems like a pass if you're not strictly looking for a multimedia phone, and want something a little more well rounded.
It's a bit odd that they don't have kinetic scrolling in menus. It would be ideal since S60 ui uses focus-activate style in menus so it would be virtually impossible to activate thing by accident. It shouldn't be hard to implement and I hope that they will add this in newer firmware releases.
I agree. I have a phone now that sucks in daylight, and I refuse to get another phone that's not outdoor suitable. That's a huge flaw for a phone these days... the thing takes videos at 720p, what, of bats in a cave at night?
Actually, even in a cloudy day the Samsung screen SUCKS and is totally washed out (I have the 910 Omnia) yes, indoors it looks cool but outdoors is a BAG of FAIL. WTF? You can't use your MOBILE phone outdoors? and they didn't fix it for the Omnia HD?
The specs are nice, not so sure about the OS though. Symbian OS still has some way to go before it matches WebOS or iPhone OS in terms of usability. Also considering the fact it has a capacitive screen, it doesn't look very responsive either. I believe the better choice for this phone would have been Android OS.
This conclusion is inconsistent. One of the advantages of OLED is how well they perform in direct sunlight. I don't know how you'd choose an OLED screen and not make sure it had this quality shared with its brethren.
Not really... you see, History happens whether you bothered to record it or not. So, recorded history is just that. Unrecorded history represents either unknown historic events or communicated in means other than those considered relatively permanent, e.g. aural tradition.
"Points go to its HD video recording and playback, a surprisingly good battery life, and a form factor that's not too hard on the pocket"
Right, but what about the OS, which is any products most important feature? The first Omnia wasn't exactly a bad phone hardware-wise, but the operating system was incredibly sluggish - nay, useless - and there is no word if this has been improved, although it seems a little snappier.
they replaced Windows Mobile with Symbian so the OS is completely different from the original Omnia. Hopefully the responsiveness has improved as a result.
Looks like it takes great pictures and video but...
How does the screen hold up to scratches?
Is the virtual keyboard any good?
Looks like the menus underneath TouchWiz are almost the same as the 5800 which got pretty bad reviews for usability from this site.
Other than those gripes, this phone looks gorgeous. It's still in contention for my next phone purchase because I like to take pictures/video on the go.
One thing I'm kind of surprised by is the huge variety of devices that *don't* run Android. I kind of had the idea that all the awesome hardware crippled by WM would have Android rapidly ported to it soon after the OS was released, giving a wide range of Android devices. Instead, the G1 was alone for ages :S And still not many out-of-the-box alternatives.
That's true Symbian^2 is more like service pack 1 for the current 5th edition. While Symbian^3 brings example "Integrated support for seamless composition of hardware-accelerated content into UI elements (this incorporates “Screenplay” technology)" so it will be much more eye candyed and probally Symbian UI as how it works might have changed a bit. Much thanks to Screenplay that was already in Symbian 9.5 announced in 2007, but never got released because Symbian Foundation.
Symbian^4 will then be something totally different with LOTS of changes, but there's still time for that.
I've owned a flagship device for almost all major mobile platforms (WM, Symbian, iPhoneOS, Blackberry) and even a couple not so major platform (Motorola Linux phone), in my mind nothing is nicer than Symbian. It may not be as flashly as the iPhone, or have as many apps as wm, or have the email capabilities of a blackberry, but its the second best in every category and was rock stable for the lifetime i owned it, gave me the fewest problems and was generally just a pleasure to use. I see this being just a perfect device. Well almost, I would have a keyboard ala the n97, but wow just wow.
I think most iPhone competitors have it wrong when it comes to an iPhone rival. It's all about the software and what the phone can do than it is to screen and iPhone look-a-likeness. The Instict showed some promise, but with no real open code in order to create applications other than those already pre-installed the Samsung Instinct just falls short.
So will many other phones, big deal, it is still down converted by the phone for the screen, and it is still misleading for those who have not idea what the real difference is.
The point I am trying to make is they should not say it has HD playback.
It is like the SD TVs that say they support 1080i. I have never met anyone who realized that all it really meant was it could take 1080i on the input and downconvert for the 640x480 screen. I have saved several people from buying these "cheap HDTVs".
Name ONE other phone that can play HD files (1280x720 resolution). You can't, because there aren't any (yet). Right now the Omnia HD is the only one. Decoding those files requires alot of processor power.
Are you really that stupid or is this just some sort of joke?
Of course it supports 720p playback, but just because it's screen doens't have that resolution doesn't mean that it can't do it... Think about it, how could it do this... Oh, that's right! It can output it to a screen that does have that resolution! Whoa! Isn't that mind-boggling! (Because, following your logic, Blu-Ray players don't have HD playback either, since those don't have a screen at all)
No, most phones will refuse to play any HD video on their screens because of the power it takes to down-scale it. And if you think that HD is worthwhile on a screen as small as that one, I have a bridge in Alaska I'd like to sell you...
I'd like to you see try to play a 720P file on any phone out on the market right now. Even the 1st gen Atom processors couldn't play a 720P file. I'd agree that there isn't much value in playing a 720P file on nHD screen, but that's why this thing comes with HDMI connection. The real value on this device is the 720P video camcorder. Even most cameras that say they are capable of HD recording only record at D1 resolution.
I am aware it has HDMI out, and I know it can play back HD to a HDTV, I was simply stating that the screen was not HD, as they made it out to be in their review.
I don't feel that I need to be called stupid, and that you all needed to Highest rank the person who felt it was nice to call me stupid. I really don't appreciate this, as I feel my obtaining a bachelors in electronic engineering, (3.89GPA BTW) has proven I am not stupid.
I am also aware that having a screen with HD resolution is useless, as a human eye is unlikely to be able to tell the difference at normal distances on a screen this small. Did I ever once, say that this phone wouldn't look awesome? No, I did not. It will likely be one of the best looking phones out there as far as that goes. I do think 8MP is useless though on a sensor that size.
You should just bow out instead of trying to act like you're right and people didn't prove you wrong. It is capable of playing HD files, it's capable of HD playback with an HDMI cable and it's capable of HD recording. There's no lies or stretches here. If this doesn't deserve the HD branding than neither does your Blu Ray player.
That's one hell of a handset. Screw the fingerprints. No shame to whip that handset out and compare it to any other on the market. Anyone who's got a grievance against this baby is just nit-picking. It's a steal for $600.
When are they going to learn that any touchscreen device is going to be a finger print magnet! I really hate it when they make really dumb and stupid comments like this. It is like describing using car and complaining that its wheels will get dirty. WTF?!
Please use all your journalistic brain and tell me which touchscreen device isn't a fingerprint magnet? Or maybe everyone who owns one should use the device with a glove! Damn no-brainer!
I think they're talking about the casing being a fingerprint magnet. The screen on my G1 gets fingerprints but the casing is matte and looks clean as a whistle at the end of the day.
+1 I used to like the symbian on the regular smartphones, but the touch version is very very inconsistent. Needs cart loads of improvement to bring it to smartphone UI levels. H/W is mindblowing though.
Looks good, except for the OS. It should have been Android. I'd even prefer WM, where you have a large array of developer apps to add. But Symbian? Come on.
You guys have swallowed Android lure totally. It would have ruined the phone, it's by far inferior to Symbian in terms of features and amount of applications. WinMo? That crap does not even support capacitive screens nor 16M color displays plus the WinMo usability is just pure torture. I bet that you guys have never ever tried Symbian S60 phones or even seen S60 5th edition phone live.
This cell phone looks really cool. I would buy it right now if i could. Does anybody know when it will be coming to the U.S.? How much it will coast? And which cell phone carrier will sell it? I am hoping for AT&T :) But if the next Iphone (3rd generation) is a lot better then Omnia HD. I will maybe buy the next Iphone over the Omnia HD :)
Not fond of the idea of it being useless in sunlight, definitely not liking the very low screen resolution (compared to, say, the HTC Touch HD) and the Symbian OS looks pretty darn ugly and has the typical slowdowns that you so often see on Symbian (and on Windows Mobile too, of course, but that's another story.)
HD video capture is the only attractive thing with it, and the novelty of AMOLED.
If you need HD video capture it makes a lot more sense to buy a proper HD video camera and some other phone to do all the other stuff better, imho. Blah phone.
Uh, so whats the battery life on this thing if you use it for anything other then a phone, which they skipped in the review... Wait it still lets me call people right?
This will probably be my next smartphone purchase. I'm using a Symbian S60 3rd Edition one right now - Samsung G810 - and really like it. It's feature rich, highly customizable and very well supported by third party developers.
I know Symbian isn't that popular in the US. However, in Europe, and Asia, it's very popular for the exact reasons I mentioned above.
Android is too new for a flagship device of the OmniaHD's nature. And, WinMo is too bloated and function-limited.
- Would like to see android on it. - Would like to see a hardware keyboard, I have large fingers, and it's just so annoying to text on a soft keyboard. - A little more curvature? It looks great from the top, but from the sides, it just looks too boxed.
Why isn't it Android? Because the OmniaHD is all about HD video recording and Android has only just added basic video recording support.
Why isn't it WinMo? Because it's a consumer phone and WinMo's built-in apps (WMP, IE) are all ass. Not every consumer knows or wants to install 3rd party apps.
Symbian is the obvious choice here. Symbian has a long track record of the best and most cutting edge multimedia features.
What about the WinMo phones that come with Opera pre-loaded? Look at the recent HTC devices - no need for third party apps for most consumers. Plus the interface looks much, much nicer than anything Samsung is offering on their S60 devices, Omnia HD included.
I don't understand these manufacturers. Everyone's screaming for a decent Android phone and they keep paying to develop their own OSs. It's like they're spending money to turn off customers.
Actually, I don't think the general public is screaming for an Android phone. Ask your non-tech friends about android. You'll be explaining. Time will tell if Symbian was the right choice.
Here's what I want to know: You know on devices that try to look seamless, how even if the device is black, you can tell where the screen ends and the bezel begins? Not to bring up the love/hate iPhone, but you can totally see the screen when it's off, right? Well, does AMOLED provide the ability to put the same material behind the screen, so it looks a lot more like there's no screen until you turn it on? Or are these AMOLEDs used with phones and portable devices not clear when off?
It's obvious you can see LCD's when they are off, because they have a distinct color. I know this is a small anticipation, but I have been hoping for a device with one of these screens where the material behind the screen is the same as the outer casing, and is completely visible through the screen when it is off. I mean, how cool would it be if you really can't see the screen until you turn it on?? We could have displays that are basically invisible while they are off! :)
What is up with no xenon flash? Damn! Almost 2 years ago Samsung bought out the G800 with 5mp, xenon flash and unbelievably a 3x optical zoom!!! This phone only has an LED camera light. LG Arena is also bad like this, their old Renoir phone has Xenon flash and same for the Nokia 5800, no reason why it could not have xenon like some other old Nokia's.
Why aren't phones coming out with optical zoom and zenon, pathetic cheap $hit. We want it all dammit and these phones cost enough, some people are making too much profit for too little features.
Because both Optical Zoom and Xenon Flash massively increase the thickness of phones. Samsung learned from their "mistake", because the G800 didn't sell very well at all.
Sorry but i just have to go back to the whole "it's not an HD screen" argument, HD is not just the resolution, its the screen size, which translates into pixels-per-inch and the dot pitch (basically how big each pixel physically is. you can have a 1280x720 resolution but if its on a movie theater size screen and you sit too close you will see pixels. PPI plus proximity define what "resolution" you are seeing. so for idiot's sake take a 42" tv at 1280x720 has about 35 pixels per inch translating into a dot pitch of about 0.73 the omnia HD on the other hand, has nearly 198PPI and a dot pitch of about 0.128 .... the higher the PPI and the lower the pitch, the higher the perceived "resolution" is.
in simple terms, if you can't see pixels at your viewing distance, its perceptibly HD (assuming the source file is of equal or higher resolution)
“Apart from the fact that it's got a bit of infamy to outgrow, the old model was a pretty sharp-looking handset and the Storm2 refines that look in all the right ways.”
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posted May 2nd 2009 5:44AM
Is there still no kinetic (flick) Scrolling on Symbian s60 v5 menu's, contacts, photos, if not then this phone is not for us, come on samsung if Symbian will not enable it (LAZY) WHY dont you???? Lazy Nokia labs a releasing programs with flick scrolling???
I think Opera Mobile for Symbian has it.
At least the UIQ version does.
N97 at least got kinetic scrolling on web pages, but dunno if they will make it to all menus(don't think so).
I don't think there's much of reason to wait for big or any updates to 5th edition or 9.4 becuse all work is done for Symbian Foundation and for the release of Symbian^2 in summer. If Nokia did enable kinetic scrolling i wonder why Samsung didn't considering they got 600mhz proc on OMAP3 platform, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Then this MIGHT be a problem with many Samsung Symbian phones that they dont support their phones in the same manner as Nokia have been doing for past 3-4 years, but maybe that will change as Samsung seems to be taking strong approuch to Symbian as is SE with it's future phones. Plus of course this isn't still final product and it will only improve(it already looks damn good).
the menu looks kinda childish and I'm not too fond of the design. But it seems like a good phone.
You are totally correct. Although I give them props for the attempt, the old-looking S60 interface is cluttered and a pain to use.
This phone has some of the BEST HARDWARE of any device on the market. Besides the huge (capacitive right?) OLED screen, It uses T.I.s new OMAP 3430 which is a 45nm version of the OMAP3, with a 600Mhz ARM Cortex-A8 (faster than ARM11), PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, and 300 MHz C64x+ DSP.
Man if this thing ran Android and was heavily optimized for the hardware, it would be one of the technically best smartphones on the market period.
-said the guy who is named after a pokemon
Borat's doin' the review? ;)
The HD lacks 2 things - a proper OS and GUI. Let's wait für Symbian S60^2 or WinMo7.
Symbian is most advanced mobile operating system. However, UI might need some tweaks. Don't merge things that are not the same.
Forgot to say that things will change radically in Symbian^4 when they implement new Qt-based Orbit UI.
Symbian is the most advanced operating system? Where did this nugget of knowledge come from? Did Nokia's CEO Olli-Pekka (nice name) pass this down to the legions after mentioning that they were going to retrench and go chasing after the iPhone. I think they meant chase after the iPhone from behind. Well Symbian OS is up to version 9.5, so it better have something going for it. I heard some tech pundit claiming that Palm's first version WebOS is better than Symbian, but maybe that's just one man's personal opinion.
Doesn't look like it would be very useful to business-like users... Great video though, that's definitely a plus, and the screen real estate is awesome, but this phone seems like a pass if you're not strictly looking for a multimedia phone, and want something a little more well rounded.
It's a bit odd that they don't have kinetic scrolling in menus. It would be ideal since S60 ui uses focus-activate style in menus so it would be virtually impossible to activate thing by accident. It shouldn't be hard to implement and I hope that they will add this in newer firmware releases.
Haha, Samsung and (regular) firmware updates .. Just look at what they've done with the Innov8, which also runs S60 - nothing.
That's the problem. ;)
I'm sorry but how is:-
"trying to use it in direct sunlight's a lost cause"
"pretty minor "
Possibly because most of us live and work indoors?
......hopefully the reply system will work this time....
@ Mark Anderson
If you're happy to only use the phone indoors and at night time fine.
I just don't want a phone with a such an obvious design floor.
I agree. I have a phone now that sucks in daylight, and I refuse to get another phone that's not outdoor suitable. That's a huge flaw for a phone these days... the thing takes videos at 720p, what, of bats in a cave at night?
Hey, I live in Scotland. Too much sunshine isn't really an issue here.
Actually, even in a cloudy day the Samsung screen SUCKS and is totally washed out (I have the 910 Omnia) yes, indoors it looks cool but outdoors is a BAG of FAIL. WTF? You can't use your MOBILE phone outdoors? and they didn't fix it for the Omnia HD?
The specs are nice, not so sure about the OS though. Symbian OS still has some way to go before it matches WebOS or iPhone OS in terms of usability. Also considering the fact it has a capacitive screen, it doesn't look very responsive either. I believe the better choice for this phone would have been Android OS.
Amen! This phone needed to be Samsung's first Android phone... Hopefully it'll be third or fourth! :)
"the largest (3.7-inch) AMOLED screen to have ever been integrated on a cell phone in recorded history."
Because everyone knows cavemen had even larger AMOLED screen their phone but they never wrote how big they were.
actually it's a fair point, for all we know there have been civilisations that have had this tech before and it was just lost. Unlikely, but possible.
This conclusion is inconsistent. One of the advantages of OLED is how well they perform in direct sunlight. I don't know how you'd choose an OLED screen and not make sure it had this quality shared with its brethren.
the term "recorded history" is actually redundant
Not really... you see, History happens whether you bothered to record it or not. So, recorded history is just that. Unrecorded history represents either unknown historic events or communicated in means other than those considered relatively permanent, e.g. aural tradition.
See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history
Thanks for the review, Borat.
"Points go to its HD video recording and playback, a surprisingly good battery life, and a form factor that's not too hard on the pocket"
Right, but what about the OS, which is any products most important feature? The first Omnia wasn't exactly a bad phone hardware-wise, but the operating system was incredibly sluggish - nay, useless - and there is no word if this has been improved, although it seems a little snappier.
they replaced Windows Mobile with Symbian so the OS is completely different from the original Omnia. Hopefully the responsiveness has improved as a result.
Looks like it takes great pictures and video but...
How does the screen hold up to scratches?
Is the virtual keyboard any good?
Looks like the menus underneath TouchWiz are almost the same as the 5800 which got pretty bad reviews for usability from this site.
Other than those gripes, this phone looks gorgeous. It's still in contention for my next phone purchase because I like to take pictures/video on the go.
maybe you should read the review they did not just watch the summary video review if you want answers to those questions
I did read it and they do not answer those questions.
One thing I'm kind of surprised by is the huge variety of devices that *don't* run Android. I kind of had the idea that all the awesome hardware crippled by WM would have Android rapidly ported to it soon after the OS was released, giving a wide range of Android devices. Instead, the G1 was alone for ages :S And still not many out-of-the-box alternatives.
Your first mistake is thinking a phone is "crippled" by WM.
Windows Mobile is still by far the best mobile OS for me. Not because I'm a fanboy, but becuase I need the feature set and open flexibilty.
That's true Symbian^2 is more like service pack 1 for the current 5th edition. While Symbian^3 brings example "Integrated support for seamless composition of hardware-accelerated content into UI elements (this incorporates “Screenplay” technology)" so it will be much more eye candyed and probally Symbian UI as how it works might have changed a bit. Much thanks to Screenplay that was already in Symbian 9.5 announced in 2007, but never got released because Symbian Foundation.
Symbian^4 will then be something totally different with LOTS of changes, but there's still time for that.
I've owned a flagship device for almost all major mobile platforms (WM, Symbian, iPhoneOS, Blackberry) and even a couple not so major platform (Motorola Linux phone), in my mind nothing is nicer than Symbian. It may not be as flashly as the iPhone, or have as many apps as wm, or have the email capabilities of a blackberry, but its the second best in every category and was rock stable for the lifetime i owned it, gave me the fewest problems and was generally just a pleasure to use. I see this being just a perfect device. Well almost, I would have a keyboard ala the n97, but wow just wow.
Symbian. WHY? WinMobile is far from perfect, but still better for device like this.
No it isn't. S60 is better than WinMo for consumer phones.
I would say that it is better for everything.
I think most iPhone competitors have it wrong when it comes to an iPhone rival. It's all about the software and what the phone can do than it is to screen and iPhone look-a-likeness. The Instict showed some promise, but with no real open code in order to create applications other than those already pre-installed the Samsung Instinct just falls short.
What blew me away:
- Video playback
- AMOLED screen
- Camera quality
What I liked:
- The flash in the browser
- S60 enormous library of 3rd party apps available
What I hated:
- S60 clutter
- S60 ugliness
- S60 dated UI
- Slow
This phone makes me look forward to my Tegra phone purchase!
In all honesty, this OS might just be that much better than the laggy WinMo used in the original Omnia.
I am not really sure how you can call a phone with a 360x640 screen capable of "HD playback". Capture, yes (if you call 720p HD), playback, NO.
Maybe I am just a little old fashioned, but back in my day we called 640x480 standard definition.
They mean the phone can play HD videos without down-conversion. Drag and drop the video and it will play it.
It's capable of playing HD videos. It's about the resolution of the video file, not the screen. Hence it has HD playback.
So will many other phones, big deal, it is still down converted by the phone for the screen, and it is still misleading for those who have not idea what the real difference is.
The point I am trying to make is they should not say it has HD playback.
It is like the SD TVs that say they support 1080i.
I have never met anyone who realized that all it really meant was it could take 1080i on the input and downconvert for the 640x480 screen. I have saved several people from buying these "cheap HDTVs".
And there is on more thing - HDMI output, so you can play those videos on your HD TV.
@Jeff:
Name ONE other phone that can play HD files (1280x720 resolution). You can't, because there aren't any (yet). Right now the Omnia HD is the only one. Decoding those files requires alot of processor power.
i think the HD is there because of the video recording, this is the only phone that can record 720p video.
Are you really that stupid or is this just some sort of joke?
Of course it supports 720p playback, but just because it's screen doens't have that resolution doesn't mean that it can't do it...
Think about it, how could it do this...
Oh, that's right!
It can output it to a screen that does have that resolution!
Whoa! Isn't that mind-boggling!
(Because, following your logic, Blu-Ray players don't have HD playback either, since those don't have a screen at all)
Oh, and one more thing 640x360 is nHD (ninth High Definition), 640x480 is VGA, and SD is anywhere from 704x480 to 720×576.
No, most phones will refuse to play any HD video on their screens because of the power it takes to down-scale it. And if you think that HD is worthwhile on a screen as small as that one, I have a bridge in Alaska I'd like to sell you...
I'd like to you see try to play a 720P file on any phone out on the market right now. Even the 1st gen Atom processors couldn't play a 720P file. I'd agree that there isn't much value in playing a 720P file on nHD screen, but that's why this thing comes with HDMI connection. The real value on this device is the 720P video camcorder. Even most cameras that say they are capable of HD recording only record at D1 resolution.
I am aware it has HDMI out, and I know it can play back HD to a HDTV, I was simply stating that the screen was not HD, as they made it out to be in their review.
I don't feel that I need to be called stupid, and that you all needed to Highest rank the person who felt it was nice to call me stupid.
I really don't appreciate this, as I feel my obtaining a bachelors in electronic engineering, (3.89GPA BTW) has proven I am not stupid.
As far as "HD playback" on a phone, I was assuming this,
http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/13/texas-instruments-demos-first-720p-playback-from-a-mobile-phone/
had come to fruition, as it had stated early 2008 for capable handsets. Notice the date on the article.
I am also aware that having a screen with HD resolution is useless, as a human eye is unlikely to be able to tell the difference at normal distances on a screen this small. Did I ever once, say that this phone wouldn't look awesome? No, I did not. It will likely be one of the best looking phones out there as far as that goes. I do think 8MP is useless though on a sensor that size.
You should just bow out instead of trying to act like you're right and people didn't prove you wrong. It is capable of playing HD files, it's capable of HD playback with an HDMI cable and it's capable of HD recording. There's no lies or stretches here. If this doesn't deserve the HD branding than neither does your Blu Ray player.
I'd call it "Tim Tom", but only if it was murderously moppet-like.
-that or "Kevin"
"F-ing knife!"
That's one hell of a handset. Screw the fingerprints. No shame to whip that handset out and compare it to any other on the market. Anyone who's got a grievance against this baby is just nit-picking. It's a steal for $600.
When are they going to learn that any touchscreen device is going to be a finger print magnet! I really hate it when they make really dumb and stupid comments like this. It is like describing using car and complaining that its wheels will get dirty. WTF?!
Please use all your journalistic brain and tell me which touchscreen device isn't a fingerprint magnet? Or maybe everyone who owns one should use the device with a glove! Damn no-brainer!
A stylus-dependent device, like the Palm Centro, won't be a fingerprint magnet... but then they'd just whine about the stylus instead.
They need some point to nitpick on.. Don't they..
I think they're talking about the casing being a fingerprint magnet. The screen on my G1 gets fingerprints but the casing is matte and looks clean as a whistle at the end of the day.
His Voice Always Owns
why is it symbian?
Would be much better for me if it is with WinMo
+1
I used to like the symbian on the regular smartphones, but the touch version is very very inconsistent. Needs cart loads of improvement to bring it to smartphone UI levels. H/W is mindblowing though.
Well for 500 euros ($660) I think that this phone is the way to go if you want a new all in one smartphone.
Looks good, except for the OS. It should have been Android. I'd even prefer WM, where you have a large array of developer apps to add. But Symbian? Come on.
That's all I could think of, while watching him wade through that clunky UI. This should have been Samsung's Android phone. What a waste.
You guys have swallowed Android lure totally. It would have ruined the phone, it's by far inferior to Symbian in terms of features and amount of applications. WinMo? That crap does not even support capacitive screens nor 16M color displays plus the WinMo usability is just pure torture. I bet that you guys have never ever tried Symbian S60 phones or even seen S60 5th edition phone live.
Wait for the Android Tegra phone...
I will.
This cell phone looks really cool. I would buy it right now if i could. Does anybody know when it will be coming to the U.S.? How much it will coast? And which cell phone carrier will sell it? I am hoping for AT&T :) But if the next Iphone (3rd generation) is a lot better then Omnia HD. I will maybe buy the next Iphone over the Omnia HD :)
Look HTC!!! LOOK!! A 3.5mm audio jack!!!
Not fond of the idea of it being useless in sunlight, definitely not liking the very low screen resolution (compared to, say, the HTC Touch HD) and the Symbian OS looks pretty darn ugly and has the typical slowdowns that you so often see on Symbian (and on Windows Mobile too, of course, but that's another story.)
HD video capture is the only attractive thing with it, and the novelty of AMOLED.
If you need HD video capture it makes a lot more sense to buy a proper HD video camera and some other phone to do all the other stuff better, imho. Blah phone.
The best camera is the one you always have on you.
This would rock, if only it kept using WinMo. Why did they switch to Symbian?
Uh, so whats the battery life on this thing if you use it for anything other then a phone, which they skipped in the review... Wait it still lets me call people right?
Timmy Tim is catchin' on
This will probably be my next smartphone purchase. I'm using a Symbian S60 3rd Edition one right now - Samsung G810 - and really like it. It's feature rich, highly customizable and very well supported by third party developers.
I know Symbian isn't that popular in the US. However, in Europe, and Asia, it's very popular for the exact reasons I mentioned above.
Android is too new for a flagship device of the OmniaHD's nature. And, WinMo is too bloated and function-limited.
It's a nice phone but...
- Would like to see android on it.
- Would like to see a hardware keyboard, I have large fingers, and it's just so annoying to text on a soft keyboard.
- A little more curvature? It looks great from the top, but from the sides, it just looks too boxed.
Why isn't it Android? Because the OmniaHD is all about HD video recording and Android has only just added basic video recording support.
Why isn't it WinMo? Because it's a consumer phone and WinMo's built-in apps (WMP, IE) are all ass. Not every consumer knows or wants to install 3rd party apps.
Symbian is the obvious choice here. Symbian has a long track record of the best and most cutting edge multimedia features.
What about the WinMo phones that come with Opera pre-loaded? Look at the recent HTC devices - no need for third party apps for most consumers. Plus the interface looks much, much nicer than anything Samsung is offering on their S60 devices, Omnia HD included.
Samsung could replace PIE with Opera, WMP with TCPMP, add in all of the missing features, etc. but that's only going to add to the price of the phone.
Why not go with an OS that offers everything built-in?
waited for him to be like "say hello to my lil friend... the omnia hd"
I don't understand these manufacturers. Everyone's screaming for a decent Android phone and they keep paying to develop their own OSs. It's like they're spending money to turn off customers.
If this phone had android on it+high resolution, I would buy that shit in an instant
So its like a nokia but better, DO WANT , i shall own this phone if it kills me
im guessing it's going to verizon? ::fingers crossed::
...like the previous omnia
no its unlocked GSM
Actually, I don't think the general public is screaming for an Android phone. Ask your non-tech friends about android. You'll be explaining. Time will tell if Symbian was the right choice.
ya know i want it.
BUT I KNOW once i get it, i'll want more.
the dice app is cool, but i need more!!!!!
Here's what I want to know: You know on devices that try to look seamless, how even if the device is black, you can tell where the screen ends and the bezel begins? Not to bring up the love/hate iPhone, but you can totally see the screen when it's off, right? Well, does AMOLED provide the ability to put the same material behind the screen, so it looks a lot more like there's no screen until you turn it on? Or are these AMOLEDs used with phones and portable devices not clear when off?
It's obvious you can see LCD's when they are off, because they have a distinct color. I know this is a small anticipation, but I have been hoping for a device with one of these screens where the material behind the screen is the same as the outer casing, and is completely visible through the screen when it is off. I mean, how cool would it be if you really can't see the screen until you turn it on?? We could have displays that are basically invisible while they are off! :)
if i could run webOS on this Id be interested
Nice but I still want something like the HTC HD with Android on it..
What is up with no xenon flash? Damn! Almost 2 years ago Samsung bought out the G800 with 5mp, xenon flash and unbelievably a 3x optical zoom!!! This phone only has an LED camera light. LG Arena is also bad like this, their old Renoir phone has Xenon flash and same for the Nokia 5800, no reason why it could not have xenon like some other old Nokia's.
Why aren't phones coming out with optical zoom and zenon, pathetic cheap $hit. We want it all dammit and these phones cost enough, some people are making too much profit for too little features.
Because both Optical Zoom and Xenon Flash massively increase the thickness of phones.
Samsung learned from their "mistake", because the G800 didn't sell very well at all.
Sorry but i just have to go back to the whole "it's not an HD screen" argument, HD is not just the resolution, its the screen size, which translates into pixels-per-inch and the dot pitch (basically how big each pixel physically is. you can have a 1280x720 resolution but if its on a movie theater size screen and you sit too close you will see pixels. PPI plus proximity define what "resolution" you are seeing. so for idiot's sake take a 42" tv at 1280x720 has about 35 pixels per inch translating into a dot pitch of about 0.73 the omnia HD on the other hand, has nearly 198PPI and a dot pitch of about 0.128 .... the higher the PPI and the lower the pitch, the higher the perceived "resolution" is.
in simple terms, if you can't see pixels at your viewing distance, its perceptibly HD (assuming the source file is of equal or higher resolution)
i know this has been released already. but any idea when the unlocked version will be released? i see it here to come soon but no price uodated yet. http://www.puremobile.com/Samsung/Samsung-i8910-Omnia-HD-Black-GSM-Phone--/ please inform me on this.
thank you.