Samsung just pulled a bit of a "Samsung" and completely blew out its Omnia lineup. We just got some face time with the new
Omnia II,
Omnia Pro,
Omnia Lite and the
Omnia-inspired Jet, along with the
Pixon 12 -- which runs the same in-house Samsung OS as the Jet, but packs a 12 megapixel camera. It's hard not to notice the stunning AMOLED screens on these phones, especially up against the dull-by-comparison Omnia Lite with its petty LCD. Unfortunately, while the build quality is good and the specs are certainly all there, all the phones were fairly slow in regular operation. The Jet and Pixon were passable (and the Jet certainly ought to be, with an 800MHz "application processor"), but we can't imagine anybody finding any pleasure in the molasses Windows Mobile 6.1 experiences on the Omnia trio. The Jet has a fun little 3D UI "cube" gimmick, which involves the pointless spinning of a cube to access different media apps, but most of what we saw was pretty standard TouchWiz. We did like the speed of Pixon's camera, which does a Pre-style trick of sending photo processing duties to the background so you can snap another photo with little delay in between -- it's also pretty good at auto focus and color accuracy for a phone, but we won't be trading in our regular point and shoot in the near term. None of the phones we looked at had network access, so we weren't able to test out the WebKit browsers, but it sounds like a major win for the Jet and Pixon. Let's just work on that Omnia responsiveness a bit, yeah Samsung? Perhaps Windows Mobile 6.5 (the Omnia II and Omnia Pro are 6.5-ready) will help.
Update: we added a video of the Omnia II and Omnia Pro after the break!
posted Jun 15th 2009 1:28PM
I feel the same way 6.5 better offer some snappysnappyness or these phones are just expensive hardware
Its not about OS, its about user interface, which is the result of the work of group of software engineers. And their work will only be snappy-snappy-snappy on the device its made for. Since each device has its own hardware, each device maker will need to make custom UI and make it snappy on each device, which means
Its expensive to make the OS snappy if there is more than one iPhone in the family of products, hardware-wise. As for the famous phone and its snappy-ness (never tried myself) - its hella lots easier to make games run with same fps on all PS3s than on all PCs - because all PS3s are the same hardware-wise, unlike PCs. Same goes for WinMo and iPhone.
To make it short: don't expect Windows Mobile to become snappy unless it has Nvidia Tegra Inside xD
@Shinigami:
But these are running the latest processors and a sizable amount of RAM, and Winmo 6.0 and 6.1 were made a while back. They should run like XP on netbooks. Personally, I think they do a good job, and I'm more than happy with my Omnia (i900) and the winmo6.1 on it. But it should be noted that the OS can be made better by enabling it to be scalable over various platforms/configurations. What is the point of making one OS for all, when it does not work in may instances?!
not to mention new OS improvments can optimize how memory is utilized and how proccesses impact performance. Its more complex than just basic UI design. If the UI, under optimal conditions, run perfectly effective and snappy, the only thing holding it back is hardware and a proper OS platform to run it on. Granted if the UI is crap, nothing can help it but i dont feel that is the issue with Touchwiz.
Personally I am pummped for the Omnia II on Verizon. I was holding out to see what the HTC Whitestone produced this fall but Im sick of my current phone. Not saying i am entirely sold but ill definitely give it some attention.
cellphone orgy?
no Touch-Phone orgy.
YOU GUYS ARE SICK! THEY'RE ALL SAMSUNG PHONES! THAT MEANS AN "ORGY" BETWEEN THEM IS INCEST!
THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
A la izquierdo del barco podemos ver los 'fanny bandits'
Looks like another disappointing lineup. I was expecting so much more from Samsung. Sigh... and all they do was an Apple.
Minus the worthless 3.0 MP camera, non AMOLED screen and measly 600 mHz you mean?
Those are fairly normal evolution in terms of Samsung devices.
@darkmax..
What were you expecting? a new smartphone OS a la Pre? a 24mega pixel pixon? a world domination button?
at least a 8mpx. 5 mpx is so last eyar for Samsung.
Fellow iPhone owners... don't you feel betrayed (by Apple that we are stuck with the same 'ol design for another 12 mths!) with the release of these spec-rich phones??? Grrrrrrrrrrr!
Yeah, I sure wish I could have "TouchWiz" on my iPhone.
*snicker*
Yeah, because Springboard sounds SO cool. :/
TouchWiz? 'Looks more like CheezeWiz.
In the age of full-sized touch screens, who really cares? The only physical options that really matter anymore are the inclusion/exclusion of a keyboard, and the over-all thickness.
The iPhone is a tiny, minimalist slab with a big screen. If you really want to change it, the most effective place to start is the GUI, which people seem to like from what I hear.
@jorvay -
Who really cares?
How about people who want a better screen (like the OLEDs on these), or a front facing camera, or a flash for the camera, or expandable memory, or maybe just something different after 3 years.
Make that 7 years and counting considering everyone else (ok, except for Android and webOS) have had videocall function since 2002... plus, EVEN Nokia is now making 8MP phones!!! Apple has a lot to catch up to...
Think I am going to ditch my iPhone and use it for app store only.... knew I should have bought an iPod Touch instead!!!
Any idea what the processors on the Omnia II and Pro are? Pro is supposed to have an 800 MHz chip, but any idea if it's just a standard ARM11 at 800 MHz or if it's a Cortex-type chip (found in TI OMAP3 (in Pre), iPhone 3GS, Snapdragon, etc.), or what the GPU is?
This is what i want to know. Maybe the sluggishness thats occurring right now has to do with unoptimized software and not bad software, so theres still hope!
I got an Omnia within a month or so of its launch, and it that is anything to go by, then they did release it half-baked (in Singapore). There were 3-4 versions of update (which is a clunky process). Now, the phone runs MUCH better. It has kept up to date with the trends by doing away with the bugs and adding functionality.
BTW, the homescreen that is the most publicized is the one shown above, but there are two others that you can choose from! They are much more useful and organized (IMHO)
Wow, it looks like lg's S-classe cube
And don't forget the Omnia HD (also known as i8910 HD)... the 8MP camera is not something to joke around! :)
If this will be upgradable to win mobile 6.5 then I will sell my Samsung i900 Omnia & upgrade to this phone, the only thing missing is Xenon flash, but lets hope the i8000 is better than the i900 at taking photos in low light.
My Next Upgrade
Why no mention about i8910 aka "Omnia HD"?
It has been renamed to i8910 because Samsung doesn't consider it a part of the omnia family.
The difference is that omnias have windows mobile and the i8910 has symbian.
all the things you me and everyone else wants in a phone right now:
good 10mpix camera with hd video recording
high rez oled screen
1ghz processor that can handle hd video
good keyboard
fast next gen OS (take your own pick)
wimax lte 4g and all the conneting options
.............(add whatever i missed here)
is not going to be available for at the very least 2 more years possibly 3 or more at the rate upgrades are happening.
so all you people who complain with the release of every new device just relax and be patient a couple of more years. i'm as frustrated as you but the manufacturers are going to milk this thing for as long as possible and take us all for a long and boring ride.
wow 4 iphonekillers?
I have a question.....can we just run Android instead on any of these phones (asking bc of the rumored i7500)....I want the slider!
I wish, unfortunately porting android over to other phones hasn't been very successful.
Why getting so many new phones when the samsung omnia hd/i8910 is still not available? People seem to forget about the Omnia i8910
It is available in most parts of europe, I have an unlocked version standing right beside my keyboard atm..
test
What are you doing, Engadget? Trying to get me fired? I can't be looking at pictures like this at work.
But it is hot.
Shaking head... 4 phones, nice hardware and not a decent OS amongst them... why no Android Samsung? Why? Yeah the i7500 if it ever appears runs it by why not that nice slider?
i think everyone forgets the one thing that is great about windows mobile. you can do anything you want to it! dont like touchwiz.. remove it, dont like 6.1... remove it and flash it with something else... i'm still running 6.0 took off all the bloatware that att put on it... i have 62mb available to run anything i want. which makes it run very fast. dont like windows mobile ui? dont use it.. i use mobile shell 3.0. works and flows like a charm. .. so it makes me very very very horny when i see these specs considering i'm on only 400mhz.. inset non glass screen...3 megapixel camera that doesn't shoot fast enough ....etc...
I CAN'T WAIT!!!
This could also be said for Linux-based distros, such as Android. In fact, being able to do anything you want is one of the fundemental values of Linux. The difference is that WinMo is so innefficient at it's core that you actually NEED to do that much work to make it efficient.
I think you forgot that’s why noone likes them. We are all geeks here on engadget but your average person is not going to want to install hacked ROMS or customize/replace the ui on the phone, its just not going to happen. What the average person is going to get with a winmo phone, is daily lockups and a huge pain in the ass.
don't call me shirley but, could any of these phones be the that samsung haptic any call ?
Windows mobile crap...crap crap crap I say! I want to see more android phones. I hope HTC has something to show in the next few weeks. Faster hardware, larger camera and Android would be great!
Obviously you don't have a job better than retail sales or food service. Most people prefer exchange integration. Get a Samsung Sway if you want a toy.
"Jughead @ Jun 15th 2009 3:09PM
Obviously you don't have a job better than retail sales or food service. Most people prefer exchange integration. Get a Samsung Sway if you want a toy."
Wow, no need to be an ass there Jughead, assuming will do that to you. I hate my blackberry and love my iPhone (but really hate AT&T and Apple). I don't need email the instant it is sent, I'm fine with checking it when I want to. If it's an emergency, then that's what the PHONE is for.
Assuming that everyone wants exchange integration and if you don't then you must be in the "retail or food service." Besides, what is wrong with those industries? I'm sure you eat out and shop, but you look down your nose at those individuals and treat them like children with comments like that. You must be one stand up individual.
My response was to you saying "Windows mobile crap...crap crap crap I say! I want to see more android phones." Seeing how you can do *ANYTHING* you want on a WinMo phone and people are like "whooaaa they hacked tethering on the iPhone and Pre" which has been available to do for years on a WinMo phone yet you call it crap crap crap while a co-worker of mine had to purchase touchdown (which sucks ass) to get exchange support on her G1. Also having a laundry list of browsers to choose from is pretty nice as well.
My point is stupid comments deserve stupid replies.
I just don't think people realize how great the Exchange integration works on a WinMo phone. I have been waiting for more of them to come out because I'd like to upgrade from my Treo 700w.
Exchange integration works like this though. You punch in your exchange server information on a brand new phone and you are done. All of your contacts, all of your e-mails, all of your calendar items and all of your tasks. Five minutes and you are done. That is what I love of about it that integration. Every contact, e-mail, calendar item sync seamlessly with my phone and Outlook client. It works well for me and what I need. Some of us actually like WinMo phones and their functionality. Trust me I'd love a sexier interface by default without having to hack it but its hands down more functional for me than any other phone out there.
I sure do wish the gallery had captions to the photos...
WinMo 7 cause me to switch instantly...
Those look awesome.
How about android on one of these phones. Come on Samsung lets get a high spec android phone please.
FFS SAMSUNG. I was afraid this would happen. Samsung just keep releasing craploads of phones everyday. my 8910 HD is great and all but it has a lot of silly bugs.
instead of updating the firmware, all samsung does is release new flipping devices!
TouchWiz seems so unrefined and half assed compared to TouchFlo. Samsung's got the hardware down, but they're UI's for dumb and (touch) smartphones still blow hard.
So whatever happened to the HD?
Check out this review I always hated Samsungs touchwiz but I love what they have done here & still under construction..
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8000_omnia_2-review-362.php
are any of these phones the samsung haptic any call or is that phone only available overseas ?
Do they have handwriting input?
@ Garst
All of the windows mobile phones have handwritting recognition.
Based on all of these models from Samsung, it is obvious that they are really leveraging windows mobile and that is fantastic. Between Samsung and HTC we are seeing some very incredible new devices hit the market and I can't wait to see these in action.
first 7 pictures show the jet
I'm confused. So which one out of these is Samsungs flagship phone, aka the best?