Samsung's Omnia II and its gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED screen is still without a Verizon release date, but don't let that stop you from enjoying Italian site HDBlog's ten-minute guided tour of the device. Hard to tell exactly how crisp is from the footage, and we also couldn't help but note a good bit of interface lag, especially when using the new cube menu. We're hopeful that'll get remedied before launch, and all in all, it's looking good, and the hardware definitely has some style. Grab some popcorn, video is after the break.

[Via Slashgear]

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!

Although not exactly the best kept secret (we first caught wind last week), Samsung's Verizon-bound Omnia II / I8000 is now one hundred percent official, along with even more official US confirmations for the Omnia Pro B760 (Louvre) slider, Omnia Pro B7320 candybar, and the Omnia Lite B7300. Specs for the Omnia II are just a little different than what we previously heard: 3.7-inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen with WVGA (480 x 800) resolution, 7.2Mbps HSPA (or EV-DO Rev. A for Verizon's version), 5 megapixel camera, 720 x 480 at 30fps video recording, 2GB to 16GB internal storage with microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, AGPS, and TouchWiz 2.0 UI. As for the Lite, we're looking at HSDPA, WiFi, 3 megapixel camera, AGPS, and just as the name suggests, a good likelihood it'll be overshadowed by its more feature-rich brother.

Update: We can't say it's unexpected, but just to be clear, Omnia II buyers shouldn't worry about living in the past. Yahoo! Tech reports its WinMo 6.1 underbelly will be later upgradeable to 6.5.

Samsung's being tight-lipped with the details, but at least it did us the solid of making its Omnia Pro B7610 (aka, B7610 Louvre) QWERTY slider official today at CommunicAsia. The phone on the right is the Omnia Pro B7320, which, if we're not mistaken, is just the Jack candybar already available to AT&T customers. Unfortunately, Samsung isn't giving out any detail on the B7610 so we'll have to go on believing in the rumored 3.5-inch AMOLED display with 800x480 pixel resolution, 5.1 megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA data, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 1GB built-in with microSDHC expansion, and 800MHz processor driving Windows Mobile until they tell us something different.

[Via Akihabara News]

We're actually surprised we didn't make the connection earlier, but word on the street today is the the rumored Samsung Omnia Pro will actually be a renamed Louvre B7610, a set that's been popping up a lot lately. Makes sense -- the Louvre's 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED screen, 800MHz processor, and 5.1 megapixel camera match up nicely with the Omnia line. It's running Windows Mobile 6.1 right now, but we wouldn't be too surprised if the rumored August release date is held back to September or October to coincide with WinMo 6.5. One more pic after the break, couple more at the read links.

[Via Unwired View]

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Oh look, something other than a Pre or iPhone... it's Samsung's GT-I8000, or Omnia II / Omnia 2 as it's expected to be known by the time it launches. Spec-counters will want to listen in close 'cause the GT-I8000 comes packing a 3.7-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) AMOLED display (presumably the same display just revealed by Samsung last week) with an 8.1 megapixel camera lit by dual-LEDs capable of recording VGA video at 30fps. The Lithuanian on-line retailer responsible for leaking the specs (which have now been removed) says we'll see a 1500mAh battery powering HSDPA data with a custom "cubic" UI (looking very similar to the UI on the S8000 Jet) riding atop Windows Mobile. With a superior spec-sheet it has to be a superior phone right?

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.

This is totally unsubstantiated, but also totally plausible -- likely, even -- so we wanted to pass along a hot rumor out of Italian site hdblog.it claiming that there'll be a QWERTY-equipped Omnia Pro hitting the market in the coming months, and they've even crafted a mockup looking like the offspring of an F700 and an original Omnia to illustrate their point. Specifically, the rumor suggests that the Omnia Pro will run Windows Mobile 6.1 upgradeable to 6.5 -- which might explain Sammy's decision to back off the OmniaHD branding for the Symbian-powered i8910 -- along with a 5 megapixel cam and sweet 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED display. Considering that the old Omnia is widely considered to be one of the company's better (and more successful) smartphones in recent memory, it certainly stands to reason that they'd want to carry on the legacy -- and slapping on a sliding landscape keyboard seems like a no-brainer way to do it. To top things off, gossip has this sucker launching this summer for something in the range of €500 ($662), which throws it face-first into this summer's superphone smackdown alongside the N97, the GSM Pre, and whatever Apple has up its sleeves. Fun time to be alive, isn't it?

[Via Slashphone]

Just how the Samsung OmniaHD's video could reach directly from phone to TV screen was a bit of a mystery until the Engadget Spanish crew spotted the WMG100. Don't already own one of Samsung's high end sets with WiFi and DLNA built in? This dongle bridges the gap with all the necessary tech built in, pushing a max 480p (whether HD streaming to other devices from the OmniaHD will work is unknown) from its mini HDMI or component outputs for around €160 ($200), and is already available in Korea with a European debut planned for this spring. The idea that we'd ever get tired of watching that sweet AMOLED display is a bit of a reach, but just in case check out the gallery for some hands on pics.

We're not sure if it's the 720p video or the simply breathtaking 3.5-inch display that does it for us, but one way or another, Samsung's ridiculously-spec'd OmniaHD is a sight to behold. The team at Engadget Spanish had a chance to swing by and check out the high-end handset's goodies today, and let's get right down to the point (and the main reason you'd buy this phone): the video that's getting shown off on the phone looks as good or better than anything we've ever seen before (it does have "HD" in its name, after all). Follow the break for the video!

We've already seen Samsung's OmniaHD via a massive MWC billboard, and now it looks like the gang at Samsung Central have managed to get their hands on an official shot of the handset. There's also an image of the BeatDisc, another entry into the company's new Beat series alongside the previously-spotted BeatDJ. Other than the appearance of widgets on the OmniaHD's screen, we've got no details on the pair. We're expecting all mysteries to be solved at Sammy's press event tomorrow.

Oh, the horror! You know, Samsung's Omnia isn't terribly unique, but we never thought we'd see it knocked off and disrespected like this. Clearly created for use on China Mobile (and by fools who don't actually inspect the devices they buy), the Sumsang Omnia is a GSM smartphone that sports a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, an MP3 player, a 13 megapixel camera (right...), USB connectivity, a couple of games, a microSD card slot and a sure-to-be-counterfeit version of Windows Mobile running the show. Of course, this abomination will only set you back a buck twenty, and hey -- at least this version comes with dual SIM slots!

[Thanks, Derek]

Without a doubt, 2009 is destined to be the year of The Android. Samsung just announced its ticket to the party with a Q2 launch of its Android phones on both Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in the US. Apparently, the touch-screen device will be an adaptation of the Omnia (Korea's 800 x 480 pixel version please) and Instinct. In other words, a rectangle with a full-screen display and minimal set of buttons just like every other touchscreen device out there. In case you missed it, this game is no longer about the hardware.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]