One Phone to Do Them All - A Review of the Samsung Omnia

Yes, that's what it's name actually means. "Omnia" is the Latin plural of "all". After a few days of tinkering with its hardware and software, I have a few words to say 'bout it. For this review, I will be using my iPod Touch as the software benchmark in lieu of the iPhone.

Firstly, it does live up to its name. The feature-packed handheld can accomplish virtually any task you throw at it (from a smartphone's perspective, that is). With its touchscreen capabilities and Windows OS, it's the unmistakable iPhone and Palm rolled into one.

With that said, it's certainly not the 'One Phone to Rule Them All.' Even though I do see it's functionality capabilities, it does have its flaws.

Samsung's efforts to hide the unfriendly-to-the-touch Windows mobile, which was designed to be used with a stylus at hand, is evidently shown. But it still seems that the pervasive Windows oriented interface is everywhere to be seen. Yes, Samsung's own TouchWiz interface does make the phone more touch-friendly. But when you rummage through the phone's programs, you are bound to bump into bothersome tiny icons, scrolling bars and drop-down menus. That indeed is the crux to the phone's downfall.

Samsung's engineers made the phone so touch-oriented (or at least, they have tried to make it so) that they relinquished the need for a stylus by not including a stylus slot on the phone; though a stylus is included. The stylus looks atrocious too--more on this later. Needless to say, you'll need one. So the only way to attach a stylus is by dangling it on at the phone's side, or by simply putting one in your pocket. If you haven't got one, fret not. A mouse pointer makes up for it as a temporary solution. In fact, it works better than expected. The button between the 'call' and 'end call' buttons is actually an optical pad (it doubles up as a D-pad as well). It tracks finger movements and the mouse pointer moves as directed. It's similar to a trackpad of a notebook, only smaller. Much smaller.

As for the stylus, it surely doesn't look like one. It looks to me like a lipstick tube. See for yourself:


However, the phone excels at its primary purpose: making calls. Reception is unbeatable and call quality is top-notch. Build quality is also superb with a brushed metal look-a-like back and slight chrome accents at the edges. The in-built camera is best in its class. The phone packs a 5MP shooter (a first for its class) and like the rest of Samsung's product line, it produces absolutely stunning images. Most importantly, the phone's battery life is way above average and it features a user-replaceable battery - a must-need for me.

My experience with the phone is generally positive (due to time constraints, I left out some of its promising features in this review: GPS, Bluetooth, DivX video, Opera browser etc). Ultimately, the Samsung Omnia outclasses the iPhone in terms of hardware quality. But due to its software's shortcomings, it still falls short of the market leader. However, till Apple releases an iPhone with a removable battery and sells it sans contract here in Canada, I might as well stick to the Omnia.

'Nuff said,
T'ang


(all images from GSMArena.com)