It may no longer be the first to launch in North America (that distinct honor now
belongs to Bell), but we can finally say with some confidence that Verizon's version of the Samsung
Omnia II isn't that far off. No, seriously: we've managed to get a peek at the carrier's launch pack for the phone, and the big details here are that it'll be launching in all channels (meaning telesales, online, and in-store) on December 2 for $199.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate. That pricing puts it solidly in the upper echelon of Verizon's offerings these days, yes -- but when you consider that it's got a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 8GB of internal storage plus microSD expansion, 5 megapixel cam, and WinMo 6.5 Professional (allaying earlier concerns that
6.1 would be on shipping units), we think they can justify the outlay. Especially if you can resist the pull of a
Droid Eris for a Benjamin cheaper once you set foot in the store, of course.
[Thanks, WC]
posted November 20th 2009 6:22AM
oh my this sounds incredibly appealing even though it doesnt have a physical keyboard
@jopher
btw engadget when is the hd2 review coming
@jopher
Don't kid yourself, it's still a Windows Mobile phone and we all know what that means.
@Ainkor
well i have the tp2 and i LOVE it more than the iphone 2g had before it.
i honestly dont get why people hate winmo so much
@(Unverified) lol
This would have been great news back in the July when I was waiting for it endlessly, but its days are long since numbered. A resistive touchscreen just won't cut it now that Droids have landed.
@Steve : Really resistive touch? What a joke.
@Steve
I don't think resistive is a joke. It's a matter of preference. Some other factors come in to play as well..
Take Nokia's for example. A lot of people in Scandinavia wear gloves, where a capacitive touch screen just wouldn't work. It would work, but it would go something like this:
Take gloves off.
Type text message.
Put gloves on.
Repeat.
Yea, really, resistive touch screens are dead technology.
What does that mean exactly. I mean how does it work. Do you just pay $200 dollars and the phone is yours or do you have to pay for a monthly contract too. For example here in the UK the Iphone cost £150ish plus you have to sign a 2 year deal. Basically a total cost of are £1000. Is this the case in the USA.
If you have to pay $200 dollars for a samsung device plus sign a 2 year contract than that does not seem like good value to me.
Basically signing a lengthly contract and paying for the phone is pointless because a device drops in value quicker than . So why would I pay for a device on a long contract.
@zainuluk: You'd be paying for a contract as well. That's just the way the phone market works in the states. Mid-Range to High End phones are never free on contract here.
If you just wanted the phone contract free, the price you'd pay would be a hell of a lot more. :(
@zainuluk
Sadly we pay $200 for the phone (after rebate...) AND that ties us to a 2 year contract (which for a Verizon smart phone with unlimited text/data and around 450 minutes is close to $100 a month or so) that, now Verizon has enacted their new ETF rates, is something in the $300 range if you want out of the contract before the two years is up.
Yeah. Its pretty messed up here cell contract wise.
You are apparently forgetting that you can buy the phone at the unsubsidized price and just go month-to-month with the carrier. Or are one of those people who thinks that everything should be free and you should have absolutely no obligations?
Shit it with Android or I'll forget samsung phones...
I really wanted a WVGA OLED Android phone, but as soon as a good ARM Corten A8 WVGA land around, I'll be happy enough with an LCD.
@mike A WVGA Cortex A8 phone like... the Motorola Droid?
@MegaZone unfortunately it's not available in EU, and I would prefer a slim device without moving parts (phisical keyboard).
I was eagerly awaiting this phone since July, but then when the date kept getting pushed back and back, I could not wait any longer, so I got the Imagio and am happy with it.
Now, maybe if this phone is perfect in every way, then I'll consider giving this phone to a family member, and getting the Omnia... but I'll wait for the reviews. It's too bad its as thick as physical-keyboard phones. The specs of the GSM version were a lot more appealing.
What does the Euro version offer this does not, besides a slightly better look?
wonder when the Toshiba TG01 is releasing. It showed up on the Verizon cellbrite units last week.
You know, I thought this was really cool a year ago too. Now, it doesn't spark my interest as much, with HTC's Imagio and Touch Pro2. (I really like physical keyboards.) I notice it is a higher clock speed, but I'm not sure if it's all too much faster.
I really appreciate what HTC did with TouchFlo though, and the interface seems sweet, so I'm leaning towards HTC. Add in the superb speakerphone, world capabilities, and awesome physical qwerty, and there would have to be a significant speed difference for me to choose the Omnia II.
Now, if HTC made an Android phone to rival the Droid, that would make me salivate... And wouldn't it be great if it was built like the Touch Pro2? (**Hint!) I've got a few months yet before my contract ends, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed...
When this thing was announced, it would have flown off the shelves. Now... it is an also ran. The price may put it in the "upper end" of Verizon Smart Phones, but the specs (other than the AMOLED) do not. Top that off with the VZ "Suite of tools" thrown in (forced in) for V Cast Music, V Cast Video, VZNav, etc to bog you down... eh... no longer interesting.
Well it does have 8gb of space with a microsd card slot so you can have a total of 40gb of space, which no other CDMA phone offers, so that is a nice plus. Also, if this is like Samsung's audio player line the sound quality should on the better side.
seriously, these phone guys need to rethink their pricing. $200 for a resistive touch screen device, in almost 2010? This should be free on contract at the least. Of course then that throws off the $25 pixies, who would then have to match or go better. Not to mention the the $10 dumbphones.
This whole phone pricing thing is getting pretty screwed up lately with so much competition in the high end, forcing prices down into the low end market. I guess the only reason for going with a $10 dumbphone these days is to get a cheaper plan (for those not interested in data)
This was an amazing phone a couple months ago when everyone wanted this. Now with the release of the droid and droid eris this phone is not going to sell well.
The phone that cried wolf... I am a verizon customer and have been waiting for this phone to come out since summer because my contract had been up since June. But now it's a dollar short and a day late. When the Droid came out, I made the jump and haven't look back since - it's a great phone! If this would have come out in the summer as expected, it would be in my pocket now instead of the Droid. Oh well...now I'm kind of glad that I didn't get stuck with a resistive touch screen for 2 years.
You guys hit the nail on the head.
Does anyone remember when this launched in Singapore, IN JULY!?
Then engadget and other sites said it would come to Verizon in AUGUST, then SEPTEMBER, then OCTOBER, then Mid NOVEMBER, and now we finally have a FIFTH release date of December 2nd. What a joke. Verizon obviously hates windows mobile, but come on...this could have been the best winmo phone of 2009, but they took so god damn long in releasing it that there are much better options out there now. I am switching to verizon soon, but I'm not sure I will take the bait on this one. Despite "Theoneandonly's" comment about this being equal to the Imagio or TP2, it's not. It's much faster. I've personally compared all three phones (with the GSM \ Euro verzion of the Omnia 2 and the Verizon versions of the TP2 and Imagio) and the Omnia2 blows it out of the water, provided that touchjizz is disabled. Install SPB mobile shell or just use the standard WM6.5 interface, and this baby FLIES. I would say it's 2-3 times faster than Imagio\TP2, and it comes with Xvid\Divx\x264 support out of the box, unlike HTC's craptacular quallcomm cpu sporting wares. I believe this phone actually runs a Samsung made Arm11 based cpu.
Conclusion --- still not sure about this. If the HTC passion comes out on verizon before the Omnia 2 -- then forget it...I will go HTC all the way. By the way, even though this has a resistive screen, it's not very noticable. The responsiveness is very quick (on gsm version, first hand experience not quoting some review site :P).
Wow, it's about time Verizon released this info. Dear God ...
I'll just leave this here:
"$350 ETF"
Which means nothing if you aren't going anywhere. ETFs suck. This is true, and I am not defending it, but if that is your argument for every phone, then why bother carrying on the conversation. I have been with Verizon for 14 years. ETF is not an issue. Others have lower ETF fees, but don't drop them on a monthly basis. None of them are innocent in this regard.
There's so much to like here, but the best thing is that Verizon finally has a respectable line-up of smart phones.
OMG It has SWYPE!!!! The most innovative touch data-entry process to date! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCWwuIXxBuI
It was initially a race between this and the MotoDroid. If the Droid was able to properly snyc to Outlook, I wouldn't be having an issue, I'd have one now. But the fact of the matter is, there is no tried and true method to sync contact and calendar...yet. Now that this thing is on its way, I'm back to thinking about it.
It was initially a race between this and the MotoDroid. If the Droid was able to properly snyc to Outlook, I wouldn't be having an issue, I'd have one now. But the fact of the matter is, there is no tried and true method to sync contact and calendar...yet. Now that this thing is on its way, I'm back to thinking about it.
It was initially a race between this and the MotoDroid. If the Droid was able to properly snyc to Outlook, I wouldn't be having an issue, I'd have one now. But the fact of the matter is, there is no tried and true method to sync contact and calendar...yet. Now that this thing is on its way, I'm back to thinking about it.
Sorry about the triple post.
Too bad i'm stuck with the Omnia i910 until next August. Maybe by then we'll be reading teasers about the Droid II :)
Or the Omnia III. I have to wait till 10/2010 for my new every two. Man I can't wait. I am goign to have to skip this one and get the Omnia III.
I realize I am a little old fashioned in this regard, but I am more worried about my phone being a good PHONE first... not a music player. That plus, how good can the sound be? The dirty little secret of MP3 players is they are all basically equal... It is the headphone (speakers) that really make the difference. But I digress. Resistive Screen, WinMo, and if one of your top highlighted reasons for buying your phone is "one touch access to Facebook, Myspace, YouTube" (better known as 3 preloaded shortcuts) then you really don't have much of a story to tell. Especially not at a price tag in the same ballpark as the Droid.
Go use the same headphones and compare the ipod classic or touch, to a Sony mp3 player, the Zune, and Samsung mp3 and you will soon notice its not only the headphones but the device itself also.
I'm using the Omnia HD, not available in the US, unlocked with ATT. Why isn't this available in the US? This is my first smartphone, purchased only when my old phone failed. I never thought I'd find a smartphone necessary, then went ahead and paid $700 for it because it has 8 mp camera, HD video, drove me around Ireland with an internal gps (I purchased maps). I'm using it as a wifi hub for my computer, even in my car while driving. The hub provides 4 - 5 times the speed of my home dsl, cost E20 with no fees, tho special offers make it much cheaper now. I don't know the politics of why one phone is available and another is not, but I think this phone would find a market here.
thanks for dragging your feet on this, Samsung! you kept me waiting so long, you lost my business. good thing, too, because I love my DROID!
I, too, waiting far too long for this and opted to settle for the Moto Droid.
Not that I'm complaining, however, I was looking forward to the OM2 and the AMOLED technology.
What the hell happened to the Omnia HD or i8910? Thats the phone I wanted not this crap. with 8Mpixel camera. Lame, very lame.
I used to want this phone sooo bad.but too little too late. on the win mo side you have touch pro 2 and the on the more open source/fun side you have the droids...i just cant see this phone selling very well add in the fact the all of vzw's marketing up until early next year will focus on mostly the droids...this will not be a big hit