Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 Review
At last behold it is within my grasp!!! Muahahaha
Since even only a few requested I do a review, I believe in the minority vote a lot of times too so therefore I am attempting to write a review that will suite my readers. There are ample techie reviews out there but I want to help you guys see why phone choices are important and how a phone can compliment the user in a very unique way.
Warning! This review is awfully detailed and has a long explanatory of everything. Please proceed if you can read without falling asleep 
When I got this phone, in the box we are given a charger, screen protector, the handset, headphones, sync cable, stylus, manual, cd for sync program, and warranty card. The headphones have rubber inserts in which they also provided replacements should it get dirty.
First Impressions
When I first picked up the handset, I was very happy to feel how solid it was. No shaking or moving parts and felt really sturdy. The weight though would be rather heavy compared to a standard phone. But I like it as I’m a guy and when it is too light it just doesn’t feel quite right. Also feeling it in my pocket helps me remember it is there and I like it that way so I won’t lose it. It does not feel heavy though in the pocket, just right (but you may not have children as Warwick says). I think it will not fit into ladies pockets that easily though but you all like to put it in the bag anyway. Oh and its lighter than the I-phone so if you can tolerate the I-phone because it’s beautiful and nice. Then this is easy since is lighter and beautiful also.
The looks are astonishing to me as I am a minimalist in most areas and like designs to be simple but elegant. The whole phone is astonishing in its design and it doesn’t leave fingerprints on as badly as I thought it would.
The Omnia sitting pretty…
It is sad that the phone does not have a hotswappable memory card slot (swappable port that is easy to access outside the phone) and you’ll have to take the phone apart before you can change the card. That being said so I changed the card after installing some stuff then took out the battery then I panicked! In some past windows mobile devices, you lose all your data if you do that! I took hours to set it up to the way I liked and ah!!!! I don’t want to do it again. But I didn’t lose my data hahaha, it works fine just like my Dopod. Although I would still not recommend that you take out the battery for a long period of time. I think 1-2minutes will be safe if you don’t want to lose anything. If in any case you lose all the data, you will be back to factory settings which means that it will be exactly as you got it out of the box.
Specifications
Now I would like to introduce the specs of this phone (specifications). I will give some tips on how to read specifications as the first step. Which is important to know and which isn’t.
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General |
2G Network |
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
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3G Network |
HSDPA 2100 for Europe/Asia |
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HSDPA 850 / 1900 for Americas |
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Size |
Dimensions |
112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm |
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Weight |
127 g |
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Display |
Type |
TFT touchscreen, 256K colors (65K effective) |
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Size |
240 x 400 pixels, 3.2 inches |
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- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate |
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Ringtones |
Type |
Polyphonic, MP3 |
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Customization |
Download |
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Vibration |
Yes |
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Memory |
Phonebook |
Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall |
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Call records |
Practically unlimited |
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Card slot |
microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB |
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- 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM |
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Data |
GPRS |
Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps |
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HSCSD |
No |
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EDGE |
Class 12 |
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3G |
HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps |
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WLAN |
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g |
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Bluetooth |
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP |
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Infrared port |
No |
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USB |
Yes, v2.0 |
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Features |
OS |
Microsoft Window Mobile 6.1 Professional |
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Messaging |
SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging |
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Browser |
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds |
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Games |
Yes + Java downloadable |
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Colors |
Silver |
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Camera |
5 MP, 2592—Ö1944 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash; secondary videocall camera |
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- Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support |
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Battery |
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Standard battery, Li-Ion 1440 mAh |
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Stand-by |
Up to 500 h |
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Talk time |
Up to 5 h 50 min |
Bands and Size
I think you don’t need to read the Bands and so on unless you are a frequent flyer to other countries. The phones you buy from Malaysia or Singapore can be used definitely. Size and dimensions are for those who are really particular about size. I think the more important part is weight as you buy your phones, remember their weights, you will find a range of weight that you prefer to hold in your hand and use to carry around. Generally phones today are made lighter and lighter and I don’t particularly like it that way. This weight is just nice for me.
The Omnia in the middle compared to the Iphone and HTC Diamond (I don’t have all 3 so have to borrow pictures haha)
Screen
Now you got to know what kind of screen the phone has. This is important. TFT screens are generally for touch screens and now you must take not about the screen colors. There are 3….65k, 256k and 16M (million). The higher the better and nicer to look at but still 65k is not bad and is the best a Windows Mobile Based PDA phone can handle at the moment or the phone gets laggy most of the time. As you see in these specs, the screen may support more colors but effectively the phone only projects 65k. So no matter what you do. You will only get 65k of colors. The more colors, the more processing power is needed and therefore it is generally slower and sucks more energy. Technology advancements are revolutionizing this though. This goes the same for LCD monitors for computers.
Now resolution of the screen again is important. On advertisements you always see them showing you the screen is 2.8 inches or 3 inches. But the bigger doesn’t really mean its better. For example the HTC Diamond has a 2.8 inch screen but has 480 X 640 resolution. The Samsung Omnia on the other hand has a 3.2 inch screen but a 240 X 400 resolution. That means there are more pixels on the HTC Diamond than The Samsung Omnia therefore making the HTC having much clearer and sharper images. The down side is that it takes much more processing and memory power therefore they have a 64 MB video card on the HTC to make it smooth. More processing power and more parts means more energy means less battery life. The main issue is that you would try to look for the better screen if you want to see movies and have better picture views. I must say I did both on the Omnia and it still look good to me. I can notice the difference but its barely noticeable to the common user.
The Omnia is Samsung’s attempt to fight with Apple’s I-phone therefore it has modified the user interface (UI) of this machine to handle most of its operations just on touch. Now the problem is that to be honest, it doesn’t impress me. In fact I think it is far from being close to what the I-Phone functions in terms of touch has been. They were so confident that they could get you to use their touch screen alone that the stylus given is an external pen like thing that has to be hung or brought along with you. I was disappointed that they not intergrate the stylus into the PDA itself but after some major tweaks. I got it to work nicely without the use of a stylus. I’m loving it now.
The original home screen After My Tweaking with SPB Pocket Plus
Menu Screen before Menu Screen after SPB Mobile Shell
Some other Screen Shots
I must commend that their text entry keyboard on the screen that is wonderful therefore making it possible to enter data without the use of a stylus.
Also noteworthy is their accelerometer that actually makes the screen change from portrait to landscape just by the turn of the PDA. Very nice! I found that this function is practically useless for those who like to lie on the bed to do work like me because the screen turns when I lie on my back. To get it back into the position I want lying down is rather tough.
What I like about the screen most that no other brands have done is the touch feel on the screen. Each time you touch the screen it vibrates with your touch. It makes the typing and touching feeling so realistic and nice. That is why I was so determined to make the PDA just function with touch. You can even adjust the intensity of the vibrations and off it if it is not your taste. I just like the feel of the touch. This is by far such a cool feature.
Shows you how I type a sms
Sometimes even like that
Memory
This is an important factor now in today’s usage. In getting a normal phone you will be looking at the storage space. That would mean the bigger the better. The Omnia comes with a whopping 16 GB!!! That is more than what I have on my EEEPC in total. Wonderful If you want to store loads of music and videos. I mean it even lets you expand with a memory card to a maximum of 8GB. You can hardly even find a memory card that size at the moment. That is 24GB of storage space. Its like heaven. This permits me to use it even as a HD to bring about to transfer files. Coolness!!
Besides that though one must look at the amount of RAM given because a pocket pc runs on RAM just like in a real full fledged computer. In this case, they gave 128MB which is good but not the most that is given out there in the market. It also provides 256MB in ROM that helps in having some programs that don’t run on storage card. Overall after tweaking everything and adding most of the best programs out there, I still have lots of space. Lack of RAM will make the PDA slow and unresponsive but in this case it didn’t seem laggy but nice. I think it also has to do with the fast 624MHZ processor that comes with it.
I had many problems with pocket PCs hanging and being totally unstable because of the lack of RAM and processor power but I must commend that the Omnia is both fast and responsive. I do not believe that it is the fastest out there but it sure is fast and benchmark tests have proved it to be a very good performer.
Data
Now this is a part in which most people don’t have much knowledge about and actually use. The geeky ones like me who want internet on the go tend to buy a phone based a lot on this section. As you see this phone supports data transfer of GPRS Class 12 which is equivalent to Dial-up modem speed. This is second generation(2G) mobile data speed. Then there is EDGE Class 12 which is 2.5G which is slightly below broadbands lowest speeds found today. The there is WCDMA/UMTS which is the 3G or third generation mobile phones that alow video conferencing and internet broadband speeds. But there are a 3.5G data transfer speeds now. Which is also known as HSPDA that can potentially go up to speeds of 14Mbps that is 7-14 times the speed of what common streamyx users have in the home. This phone however has speed of up to 7.2Mbps which is the fastest speeds that exist in the mainstream now. Even Malaysia cannot support such speeds and only Singapore has such speeds.
So I tried surfing the net just on my PDA and I must say it is a pleasure. The speed is amazing. The problem is that with all current PDA phones even the I-phone, surfing on the PDA is still not able to give users the same experience as in a real computer. It has though made improvements that are quite pleasant and I could see my blog on it quite well.
The Omnia also offers users the option of using WIFI and Bluetooth alternatively for networking and data transfer. What it lacked was an infared port which is quite obsolete nowadays just that I was kind of hoping to use my PDA phone as a remote control for the air-con like my Dopod. Oh well. That is something I can live without perhaps. Haha. I had no problems connecting with my V6 and my Dell through Bluetooth to sync and WIFI works like a charm too.
OS
I am not going in to the OS (Operating System) because there is too much to write about, but I will just say briefly that Windows Mobile is currently the PDA OS that has the most third party softwares. That means it has the most softwares written for it by other companies other than Microsoft. I would like to recommend certain MUST get softwares that are essential into making the Windows Mobile experience wonderful.
SPB Mobile Shell – Enhancing software for visual and extra plugins
SPB Pocket Plus - Helps improve the basic functions to a more usable level
Opera Browser – A better browser than the Internet Explorer in the PDA
Bejewelled 2 – An addictive game that entertains you when you are bored
SPB Finance – To manage all your accounts and money
E Wallet – To Remember all your Passwords and Important Information
E – Sword – The best free bible software with commentaries and bible dictionaries
Lexigoo – Dictionary and Thesaurus
Phone Tuner – A Chromatic Tuner I use to tune my guitar
There are loads of programs out there that can do so much more. Together with the Omnia is very good programs already like Microsoft Office Mobile, A video editor, unit converter, and so much more. These are those that really help me day to day.
I must remind you that this is a whole entirely different interface than just a normal phone therefore will take a huge amount of time to adjust to.
Imaging
I’m trying to improve my photography skills which is not really good at the moment
Now lets go on to an important feature in todays mobile phones. The camera! Problem is that I think most people fall into the gimmick of buying a camera based on the advertised megapixels. Let me tell you that more megapixels does not ensure the quality of your pictures. So unless the phone is tested and pictures are taken from it to be viewed and checked for quality, do not ever simply assume that your pictures will come out nice just because it has high megapixels. The more pixels you have the bigger the picture can be printed out therefore takes more memory as well.
This is by far one of the best PDA phone cameras around. The pictures are clear though grainy if really zoomed in as this is a problem with mobile phone cameras. But the quality of the picture is on par with the top picture phones out there like the Sony K850i, LG KU990 and the N95. What it lacks though is a real flash and that could be rather disappointing but the LED flash does help in taking pictures from short distances. Until now mobile phones are far away from being able to compete with the quality or real digital cameras but then this phone proves that they are getting closer to that. I took some pictures with the camera, you judge for yourself. Click on it for full size view.
This is a picture of my new office desk that I got a few days ago! Planning to decorate it. Any suggestions?
My artistic view of my lovely keyboard
There are even many real camera functions such as the latest smile detection photos that detects your smile and automatically takes the picture for you. It is not much of a use for me as I don’t smile much hahaha. But those who want to take pictures with friends and self portraits but do not have a photographer could use this function to have loads of fun.
I must say the camera on this phone supercedes my mental expectations. I hope to be taking more photos soon for blogging with this phone.
GPS
Now it’s time to talk about a feature I really wanted in my phone. GPS (Global Positioning Satellite). This was extremely difficult to use on this phone because somehow I needed an intermediate software to function the GPS. Mapking, Garmin MXT, and AGIS software’s just couldn’t detect the GPS until I used GPS Gate to detect the port. Then I could run all three softwares at one time. As soon as I set everything the GPS worked like a charm. It took a long time to get a lock on my position though. So I decided to use the A-GPS to help. Now for everyone to know, there is a huge difference between GPS and A-GPS. The 3G I-phone uses A-GPS which uses triangulation with the mobile phone towers to fix your position. This is extremely costly as you have to use you data/internet to constantly download your position. An authentic GPS receiver won’t cost you anything to get your position except the software and maps are costly for both haha.
As you can see in the specs, Omnia has both therefore because it was taking so long for it to fix my position, I downloaded my position one time with the A-GPS then used my GPS to continue streaming data. It worked like a charm. Within 3 seconds it locked my position and everything was perfect!
Sound quality
The ringtones are loud and therefore good for a person like me who has trouble hearing. Music sounds wonderful too on this unit. One thing I cannot rectify though is when I receive a call, for 2 secs the ringtone will be soft. Then after that it is ok‚Ķ..still puzzled. But that doesn’t affect anything much.
Battery
Battery life is the foundation of getting a phone. You do not want to get one that needs you to charge it everyday. Here always look at talk time not standby time. Talk time is the most essential. Measure that with your daily usage then you will generally see how often you have to charge. This phone’s battery lasted me 2 days before I need to charge and that is good. In fact other reviews mention the Diamond only perform to half the battery life. So if you don’t mind charging everyday, any phone will do. This phone sometimes last me 3 days depending on how busy I am.
Overall Conclusion
I am deeply satisfied with this phone and all its functions. I will not be able to get this with the I-phone I dreamed about. So this is better that I dreamt. The phone has not hanged at all although I constantly abuse it with too much work. That is very delightful as Pocket PCs always hang somehow. This one doesn’t which must be because Samsung did a great job in ensuring the phones compatibility with Windows Mobile. Would I recommend this phone to everyone? No, if you’re looking for just a phone I think it is not worth getting this because a full fledge phone would probably suite you more with all the hardware buttons. This requires you to entirely depend on software which is difficult for many.
If you are looking for a Windows Mobile device for work and organizing and fun, this is definitely the best out there. The HTC Diamond is the only competition the Omnia has and I think this one beats the HTC because the HTC camera is crappy. HTC has a nicer screen but seriously this is not bad. The touch screen to me is more important than the nice beautiful flashy 3D interface the Diamond has but again its up to a users priority.
This phone I must say is perfect for me and I hope by writing this review, you will get to know more about me. How I think, and choose and make decisions and you can probably see my priorities too. I hope this post will also help you look into technical stuff with more understanding and knowledge as you choose the right phone for yourself. I always believe in spending wisely and therefore choosing a phone to help enhanced your day to day is essential in modern living. If you just need to call and sms, please spend less money. Don’t buy phones that are above RM300. It is not necessary. Remember, needs first then only want but in this case I gratified both hahahaha.
Have fun with your choices!
UPDATE!:
There is a firmware update for the Omnia here. Using it sucessfully and it solves the GPS problem we previously had. It also makes the phone battery last much much longer somehow in my case. But the vibration for the screen is no longer present and only available on the phonepad screen.
I have not noticed any significant speed changes as some have mentioned. There are added widgets and functionality has improved slightly. Overall I thought the improvements were insignificant for my case. I should have used my previous setup as it was more stable. I have also encoutered certain programs that don’t anymore. Just two programs. I have no idea why they don’t work now yet.
Please know that this ROM update will wipe out your data on the main memory alone so please backup. This is also only available for Singapore at the moment. I would advice from using it in other countries.
im loving my samsung i900 omnia its the greatest phone ever i have. anyone knows a good website download anyting for the samsung i900 omnia thnx>>>
Leon said:
Hi you have to be more specific. You are looking for free downloads?
hi Leon, great review. i have had the Omnia for a month now and aside from a few problems i think it is a great phone that still needs a lil fine tunning. (through updates i hope!) do u know if it is possible to customize the samsung widgets? if so could u explain to me in as much detail as possible, how? thx
Leon said:
No I have not found a way to do that unfortunately. I also find that disappointing
Great review, also great you answer all these questions. Here is mine
, I want to use my own headphone. Does the omnia come with a adapter/cable for 3,5mm plug?
Leon said:
Yes there is a 3.5mm plug that comes with the headphones cable. It is not however located on the phone itself
Hi, great review thanks so much, very realistic compared to any other.
I must say you have single handedly confirmed my purchase decision.
Omnia here we come!!!
Its not out yet though
UK
JK
Leon said:
Really? Its not out in the UK? That is sad. I’m glad its out here.
also is the screen fairly scratch proof do you think, my old o2 xda seems to be doing ok, just wondering about this one?
Leon said:
Honestly I don’t know if its scratch proof. There is a screen protector that comes along so you can use that to ensure it doesn’t get scratch. I am using the protector. So far because I only use my fingers to use the phone, there isn’t a single scratch. I am not sure if the stylus after the long run would leave scars on the phone like my old Dopod
Thanks for the insightful tips about this phone. It has just been released here in Germany and I am drooling and chomping at the bit. Cant wait until October when my contract runs out!!!!
Leon said:
There will always be new ones that will make us drool
, Thanks for the comment
Does anyone know if the Samsung syncs with Outlook?
Leon said:
Hi, it is a windows mobile phone. By default it will sync. It has to. Or we will sue microsoft! Hahahha. Or maybe just not buy their products. A simple answer. Yes it syncs thats why I bought the phone hahaahah
hi leon.
Wow! This single review beat all(about 10) negative reviews on gsmarena. I ordered this phone and read those negative review made me really sad. But now i got this phone and read your review, i feel much better. There’s hope. I do have lots of questions for you though. Hope you’re kind enough to shed your knowledge on me.
1/ i have wireless set up at my house, but my Omnia cant connect?
2/ how do you tweak? Softwares?
3/GPS setup? I really need this. Just moved to a new city.
I live in Frisco,TX juat move here from seattle.
using at&t as carrier, not yet upgrade to their 3g package, but have a data plan.
I love this phone that’s why i bought 2, but not really used to it yet.
ANY help from you to make this phone more enjoyable, i’d sincerely appreciated. Thanks in advance bro. Much appreciate you help
Leon said:
Hi sorry for the late reply, I was out of the country. You have to get an intermediate GPS software that splits the port. I use GPS gate but there is a free one i think its called port splitter. Then the settings must be the same in the program and the intermediate program as well as in the settings. Baudrate and port. That should make it function. If you can’t get it. Google it. This also depends on what program you are using….
I do not have any problems connecting through wifi. What encryption do you use?
I like SPB Mobile Shell and SPB Pocket Plus to make the interface more userfriendly and quick to access. It is more finger friendly as well. You could also change the cache of the Opera browser to cache into the Storage Card or My Storage for better surfing capabilities. I googled that also
Hey leon, jus a question on something that i couldnt find in ur review, can it view streaming online videos like iphone (by using videohamster)??
And another question, can it load online streaming music playlist like imeem.com? Thanks alot dude!!
Leon said:
It can stream youtube mobile. Not the full version. Radio streaming seems to work well. Browser dependant streaming is not good I have to admit. If the streaming rely on things like flash…..I don’t think it works
I have a technical question for you about the back light function of this phone. Ive seen in some videos that it is bright and some where it is not so. Can you change or control the brightness on this phone? Have you noticed any display brightness problems??
Thanks for your support.
Leon said:
I have no problem with the brightness. There are two things I can think of. The powersave function of yours is it on? It probably could cause that. Yes you can control the brightness of the screen in the settings menu. Under backlight. You probably should choose manual adjustment.
Hi, Leon
Do you know How to set up TomTom navigator in samsung I900.I try to installed software but still searchng GPS signal and other hand HTC dimond straight way to find signal and works well.Please help me setup this
Regards
Jignesh
Leon said:
I mentioned before that you need and intermediate program like GPS gate or Port Splitter(freeware). Try them out. Silly thing is only Garmin XT seems to work without an intermediate program, I used the rest and they don’t work unless I have the intermediate program fixed up
I intend to use the GPS (not the A-GPS)function as much as possible when travelling in M’sia, S’pore & maybe, when overseas. But from your report it seems I need to install a third party GPS software to make things work. Any good recommendations or have you tried something good lately??
Leon said:
Using the GPS alone will take you a very long time to get a lock on your position. You have to install a third party software definately for the moment there are free ones. I updated the new ROM yet I still have the same problem.
Hello! I am planning to get the OMnia. Can someone tell me how easy/hard it is to text in different languages. I use a MOtorola V9 at the moment and I can just switch between 2 different language recognitions by pressing a keyboard key. It is SO practical! Would love to hear from someone. Thanks!
Leon said:
I don’t know about other languages I’m sorry. For chinese I know mine can switch by changing keyboards. Other languages I have no idea. Also you must keep in mind it is a pocket pc not a phone. Therefore your country probably would have an interface designed for a suitable language change like here is designed for mandarin through windows mobile. I would presume also that changing the region of the phone will automatically change the language as well like in windows. This is just my pressumption
Hi, i am pretty familiar with windows based PDA’s however, having looked through all the setings, i can’t seem to turn on the accellerometer? can you or anyone out there wisen me up on this one please? Thanks
Leon said:
Its under settings-> system -> motion sensor
Hi leon, i am just going to buy the samsung i900 today or tomorrow. I fiddled around with the insrument yesterday in one of the shown rooms in dubai. But I cud not find out to do the following. could you please clarify so that I will be comfortable in buying
1. The accelorometer to rotate between potrait and lanscape only worked for photos and vidoes display. The screen did not turn for any other lay out. Do we have to set it seperately for the screen to rotate for all screen layouts?????
2. The handwriting recognition with stylus, I tried and it was amazingly working, but i was not able to save what I transcribed with the handwriting. Also is the handwriting reconition option available on Notes, To do list etc also????? And how do you save what you wrote with the stylus???
Appreciate if you could clarify the above.
Leon said:
1. The accelerometer works on everything for me. Check your motion sensor settings.
2. It is recognised in notes and the to do list. To save what I write I use notes. Open it then write then save. Thats about it
Hi great review on a great phone job well done i have one problem i cannot get the phone to lock in the manual it says the end call button is used to do this but all the two seperate omnias ive had have done is flash a black screen and not lock i also tried using the seperate pin lock on the windows mobile side of the phone but have found out that it automatically answers calls when locked using this method without ringing CAN ANYONE HELP?
Leon said:
I use the lock function by switching the phone off. I am starting to feel my blog is becoming a forum rather than a blog hahaha also you can set it in settings-> buttons
hy.just got myself OMNIA with wm6.1 the problem is i cannot install my window mobile device centre either using cd(included) or from microsoft homepage. for info, im using vista home premium.help plsss
Leon said:
For vista you don’t even have to install anything. Just plug in your onmia and it will proceed to install your device centre. you don’t even need the cd
hey..need a help with my new omnia..was jst released here in dubai this week..i’ve realized that this kind of gadgets are a bit complicated..i’ve encountered problem bout low storage memory after downloading only 10 songs. thought this phone was supposed to have 16GB internal(i got this mobile phone mainly for my mp3 songs) ..been frustrated coz i cant figure out how to optimized the space..so could you help me out in this please?
Leon said:
The problem is simple. You are saving it into the my documents. That why there is no space. You are supposed to save it into My Storage
Great summary! My only real issue with it at the moment (having had it one day) is that I cannot get the music player to play with the phone on silent/vibrate?!?! Some reason it mutes the music too! Any ideas?!?!
Cheers,
Leon said:
One your top right hand side is the speaker icon. Click on it and you will see two seperate volume controls. Switching to vibrate offs them both, but just turning on the PDA icon volume bar instead of both will give you what you need to hear the music plus putting it into vibrate
So far, after using the phone for quite sometime, how is it?
Any major issue?
Thks.
Leon said:
GPS needs an intermediate program, other than that it works perfect for me
hi, very good comment indeed..
1 – do u able to play any video file on your Omnia? what type movie file?
2- Do u know where to download DivX movie file?
3-where to download flash player for Samsung Omnia? bcoz currently I can’t play any movie from youtube.com. can help??
4-I’m not clear with the installation and setting for OMNIA gps, can you guide me? what software have to be use? where to download? can provide the link?
really appreciate!! thank you so much! hope u can solve my problem. thank you
Leon said:
Most movie files can be played here but the Omnia supports Xvid codec also. About Divx movie I don’t know. Youtube you have to go the the mobile version and then it will work the full online version is not possible to run on opera mobile. You can download flash at adobe.com
I don’t think I can give you a detail process on how to setup the GPS as its rather long but you can find it if you google ‘omnia gps problem’ and find loads of help. Sorry I don’t know what problem you have exactly and I’m not a support forum. Hope you can find your answers there as I found mine
Thanks Leon – it was stupid question really!!
One thing that is REALLY bugging me is not being able to add an image to a contact… Can you?
Leon said:
Nah its ok I’m sure is because you are not a windows mobile use that’s why. I was like that also last time haha
Sorry – I figured it out – for anyone else with this problem, they have to be PHONE contacts, not SIM…
Leon said:
Correct! You’re getting good at it. Yup your contacts have to be in the phone before you can attach a picture to it
Soon you can help me answer all their questions too hahaha
hi
that’s one hell of a review, GREAT JOB MAN
i just have one enquiry about the SPB programs, do i have to pay money to get them? coz their website says that each is about 25$
thanxx
Leon said:
Yeah you will have to purchase them. I’m not sure what the prices are now but there are loads of online shops. You can get them at handago.com or pocketgear.com. I think you can find offers but these sites can be trusted. Thanks for you comment
hey there! thanks for the good review..
i have a few questions:
1) does the front secondary videocall camera allow self portrait? or the self portrait which u were saying is taken from the back camera?
2) are there any games in the phone?
3) is it user friendly?
please reply soon. thanks!!
Leon said:
Hi,
1) No there isn’t there self potrait thing that you desire. Also if there is the quality will be VGA which is practically too low for much usage. The self potrait smile thing is handy enough and gives you good pics once you adjust to it
2) From this question I think you will see this same answer in every windows mobile device. There are standard games. Not good games. But if you know, windows mobile has tonnes of available games
3) I am pretty sure now that you have not used a windows mobile device before. So let me advice that you take one and try first from your friend. It is not userfriendly, but once you know one they are all the same and better which each higher version.
>.< hehe thanks!
Leon said:
Hahaha welcome
don’t bother abt omnia, in your case. Samsung Pixon M880 and LG KC910 are coming in just a few weeks. so hang on
Leon said:
This is so odd getting a comment from ‘leon wannabe’……yeah Jas if you have money saved up you may consider waiting haha.
can onmia key chinese characters??
Leon said:
The Singapore version can, I’m not sure about the rest of the world
Hi there, i m a newbie using windows mobile and i just got my OMNIA days ago.
Just wana check with u on the battery life..
i dont know why seems sucks. i charged it full, oni played with music player for an hour.. press here and there for setting. then put my phone in sleep mode, when i get into bed. But next day it goes flat until i can even turn it on.. any idea what can be improved?
Still, if my phonejust gone flat like this.. would i lose my data like sms stuff in my phone? (currently havent put in any sim card yet) as if i take out the battery to change d sim card, would i hav my sms stuff lost like u said it happens to previous earlier window mobile phone u used? (am a malaysian who work in Singapore, need to change sim card always whenever i step back to homeland..)
Ur advise would be much appreciated
Thanks alot!
Leon said:
Update to the latest ROM. That will help battery life like it did for mine. Mind you that all data will be lost. But one day is really too short. Something is wrong somewhere. I took out my battery to change sim cards many times now. No issue of data loss like in my past windows mobile devices. But I thought I did mention if you read I wouldn’t risk taking it out too long
Thanks for ur sharing
I called up singtel and KPKB with them like any singaporean do. Hahaha.. and i got them to get me and 1 to 1 exchange for the whole set. will be deliver to my place in 2 days time. hopefully this time wont have something wrong..
BTW, i m sorry.. what is the ROM u mentioned? i m kinda noob still with all this gadgets stuff.. haha.. trying to pick up. pls advise me?
Let me noe where can i have the update and how should i install etc…?
Many many thanks!
Leon said:
Dear SY, please read my review la. I gave the link there la. Then please refer to the clear instructions they gave la, I am no pro either and it seems that people are taking this as some sort of forum to ask for help…. Yes I use my phone for up to 3 days now after the update
So after update the ROM u mentioned, how is the battery life perfomance? normal usage without online (just call, sms, mp3, camera etc) can tahan how long ah? 2 to 3 days possible?
ooOOOoooOOohh!!!! Aiseh~~ i see i see.. paiseh lah bro. I just didnt know ROM is refer to firmware.. haha sorry, i knew i m really noob! This noob do read ur review.. but losta thing dun understand then terus skip in my mind.. like what we used to taught by our parents
Anyway, thanks for ur time and guidance. U r just helpful
Thanks alot!
Leon said:
No problem SY
Thanks for reading…yeah selective listening and selective reading too 
Haha. Good luck and enjoy your phone. It is a wonderful phone to me 
Hi,
Brilliant review!!!
Just downloaded the SPB Mobile Shell, makes the phone look sooo much cooler so thanks!!!
Just a quick question, how can you change the widgets as I only use couple that are on there now?? again thank you
Malvina :-*
Leon said:
Hi, thanks. I’m not sure what you’re question means. You mean adding widgets? That is not possible. What you have in the list there is all there is. The new ROM update does give you a few more widgets though
Hi:
How to increase the memory stroage. It seems like i cannot transfer a big file like 50MB using bluetooth. Htey said (Memory critially low) to my phone. I using a 16GB
Leon said:
Hi hi, You have to change the bluetooth exchange folder to my storage. What is happening is those huge files are being transfered to your phone memory which is already full. You can do that in your bluetooth settings.
sorry give the wrong email. and adding on is my documents is empty
Leon said:
You should probably just leave your my documents on your phone empty all the time and create a my documents in your My Storage folder.
Leon,
It was a pretty nice review, told in a commoners language and the best part was the conclusion.
Great Job dear.
Keep it up.
PARAG
Leon said:
Thanks sooooooo much for your kind comment. It is very encouraging
Sad though that there is no Voice Tags facility (Voice dialing) Its so common for a long time on all other wonderfull phones
Leon said:
There is! I don’t know if there is a default one but I prefer using the program called Microsoft Voice Command. Superb program a must have for pocket pcs. You don’t even have to tag it, it recognizes speech very well
Hi Leon, great blog
I’ve got an Omnia and it seems to have a problem. Whenever I activate the pincode lock – when a call comes in, it answers automatically. Strange eh? Any ideas as I’ve had to disable the pin lock function
Leon said:
Sorry I tried to replicate that problem but i don’t have it. I think its really strange. Sorry I’m not sure why it is happening
Hi Leon, Great blogs. u r doing gr8 job as many people really dont have and idea to use is. I 2 just bought the Omnia phone from Dubai. i have a few questions
1) How do i set my mp3 as a ring tone
2) How do switch on the loudspeaker while talking.
3) how do i set the gps settings as somehow i m not able to get through.
4) how do i set my WIFI i tried somehow its shows no connectivity.
Many Thanks
Victor
Leon said:
1. Put it in your my documents then you can use it as a ringtone
2. Press your trackpad unlock your phone, then there is the speakerphone on button on the screen
3. I gave instructions on this in the comments earlier please read up ok
4. Wifi you have to make sure your settings is right. There are loads of possibilities why its not working for you. I’m not sure which one
Since right now almost everyone can’t live without watching YouTube videos atleast once a day it’s such quite dissappointment for me to figure that omnia can’t play any YouTube videos via wifi settings. Leon, do you have the slightest idea on how to do so with a wifi connection? Say, maybe I need to install a certain programs or something? I read that via GPRS omnia can only play a small percent of the whole video which kind of sucks and pointless. Any good advice?
Leon said:
You need to install flash and then you can access youtube from the youtube mobile site. Don’t go the the normal full fledge normal youtube. It won’t function.
I don’t know about the small percentage. But what you should do is google how to change the cache directory to your storage card or my storage and you shouldn’t have an issue
Hi there – excellent review on the Omnia, the best I’ve found on the web.
You mentioned the ring is “soft” at first, then gets louder. That’s a setting you can select in the menus – if you haven’t found it yet, let me know and I’ll send you a more detailed explanation. I’ve only had my phone for a few days, but have been exploring menus the whole time.
-Mike
Leon said:
Thanks Mike for the kind comment. But I have not solved that nor found anything in menu that helps haha. Help me !!
Leon, this works for me:
1) Go to TODAY
2) click “start”
3) click “settings”
4) click “phone”
5) The “Phone” tab starts out with “Sounds”.
On the top is “Ring Type”.
The first box shows the following options when you click on the “down-arrow” to show the selections:
Ring
Increasing ring
Ring once
Vibrate
Vibrate and ring
Vibrate then ring
None
I haven’t tested this yet, but I’m guessing your phone is set to “Increasing ring”. I’ll know more once I start using the phone a bit more. I don’t have time right now, and my Sim card is in my Nokia phone which I need to keep using for the next week or so.
Having read perhaps 20 reviews on the Omnia on the web, yours is without question the one that tells the ordinary user the most about what the phone is like. There’s a lot more I now need to read about, knowing so little about Windows Mobile, but I’ll be able to start doing that in a week or so.
Thanks again, and while I hope the above helps you, I suspect you’ve already tried this.
Leon said:
Sobs, I’ve tried this…mine has been set to vibrate and ring from the start. No difference
Thanks though. Yeah because I believe we all need help somehow. I hope this post helps you
YOU ARE THE MAN !!!
I really wanted a user review for this master piece .. ! .. i am getting it this week .. but i want to know about the music player .. and the music quality, the outer speaker and the headset .. and is it comforty ? loud ? clear ? could u get a nice bass sound , as u said u tune ur guitar i am sure ur into music .. so does it satisfy ur needs ? .. i am a music freak and i really need to know .. thanks for u time man
Leon said:
The music player is a modified version of the windows media player. It has some preset Eqs that are pretty average. The quality of playback is good though. I plug it to my studio monitors and put it flat eq and it sounds great. The headphones aren’t too impressive. So I would advise you to get your own. But they are not too bad la and comfy. Bass is not impressive on the headphones.
My advice is get a third party music player. with Eq so you can do what you like with it. There are tonnes of players for windows mobile. Get your own earphones and plug them in since it is possible to do that
Leon you are the MAN. best review i’ve found. My question is about the music player. Which is the best site to download music from for the omnia?
Leon said:
I’m a musician. Quality matters. I’m not a fan of MP3s so I still buy Cds hahaha. Sorry can’t help you here.
Leon,
I’ve now been using the phone for a fairly short time, but I think what I need to do is download the “shell” you referred to. The standard user interface is nice, but I find it much more difficult to use than my Nokia n95.
It’s easy to do things, once you get the hang of it all, but it’s still pretty limited – or maybe I just haven’t learned enough. For example, if you go to “Contacts” from the “today” screen, you get what seems to be a useless page with large boxes and minimal information, but if you go to “Contacts” as a program, you get a much better screen, smaller boxes, more information, a scroll bar, and it’s easier to find the selection you might want to click on. Again, maybe I haven’t learned the “easy way” to do this.
I’m also wondering about the sync with Microsoft Outlook. Most of my Outlook information came from my Nokia, and I do that “sync” all the time. The Nokia seems to have all the information I’ve entered, but maybe it’s not all being copied properly to the PC. At any rate, doing a “sync” with the Omnia got me some of my information from the Nokia, but not all of it. For example, I have lots of different phone numbers entered in the Nokia for some contacts, which may or may not be copied to Outlook. I’ll need to check that later when I have time. I’m beginning to think what I really need to do is pick just one of these (probably Outlook on the PC), make sure THAT is complete the way I want it, and then do the sync to both phones.
I’ve never had an iphone for any length of time, just played with it in the Apple store, and looked at one owned by a relative. Very nice, very complete, very thorough, and everything works in a nice well-polished manner. My Nokia is far from being this refined, but by adding programs I thought would be helpful, my Nokia for me is just about perfect right now. The Omnia I don’t yet know about… I probably need to find a good site that lists downloadable software, and get the things I’m missing. As a “stock” phone running just the way it came from Samsung, it just doesn’t seem very complete. Of course, like I said, I’m still just learning, and I’ve had a year to work with the Nokia.
I haven’t even started to work on getting the GPS going yet, but for the Nokia it came complete with the phone.
The stylus – I can’t imagine that the designers didn’t think users would object to having to carry around a loose stylus, and that seems to be a big “annoyance”. The phone can mostly be used without it, but I’ve found it helps with text entry, so it’s now attached the way Samsung expected it to be.
Screen is just fine. Controls seem limited though. For example, with the Nokia, I can either set the time manually, or have the phone set it automatically. Perhaps there’s a way to do that on the Omnia, but I haven’t found it yet.
I bought one of the leather cases that are made for the Omnia, but I don’t trust the plastic belt clip. Seems like it’s a good way to lose your phone. It will protect it while traveling though. I’ll probably have a custom one made up for the Omnia, just as I did for the n95, as I didn’t like the commercial cases for that phone either.
In a week or two, I’ll check what Zedge has available for the phone. It was a good source of things for my Nokia. I’m also hoping I can find a website similar to http://sjc-123.blogspot.com/ but for the Omnia – lots of good information there!!
Leon said:
I don’t know of any websites…didn’t search. Waaa have fun having a pouch…just out of curiosty, how much will the custom made one cost?
The stylus? I don’t like stylus last time also la. I just keep losing it. Now I can function everything with my fingers I’m actually happy cause I just don’t think I’ll lose my fingers. No No I pray I’ll never lose them hahaha.
About your contacts. You have to resolve why your Nokia doesn’t sync all the info. The Omnia syncs all the info in outlook exactly. I have been using windows mobile for some time so everything I get must sync with outlook well. There must be a way somehow to get the info. If there is a nokia software maybe you could sync with that then export to outlook. That may help
The contacts you are seeing that is huge is Samsung’s version, I don’t like it too. There are loads of PIM programs that make management of calendar and contacts easier. Download the trials and see which you like. You will have fucntionality for 30 days then you can purchase if it really helps.
I get these programs from handago.com or pocketgear.com.
Oh the Shell program is very helpful to me. I use it 90 percent of the time.
A few quick answers,
The stylus may not be needed, but maybe my fingers are just too big, or my aim not good enough. With the stylus, I can “type” much better, and faster than I can on the n95 (but I now can use the n95 keypad one-handed, almost blindfolded).
The case I bought was 200 baht in Bangkok, about US $6 or so. If nothing else, it’s to protect the screen when I’m traveling, but I sort of like it anyway. The custom made case I had made for the n95 cost me 750 baht, about US $20 or so.
I bought a CD in Bangkok which supposedly has ALL the available software that runs on Windows Mobile. If I really like something, I’ll buy the “real” version, but this is likely to be a quick way to try things out. The shell program is the first thing I need to get going.
For the sync, as long as I’ve been using the Nokia n95 and doing a ‘sync’ with Outlook, I thought everything was working fine, but now when I did the sync from the same computer to the Omnia, I’ve found that the data didn’t come through correctly. So, I went back, and apparently Nokia has different “fields” than Outlook. Actually, I like the way Nokia does it better, but I figure if I standardize on Outlook and make everything THERE the way it should be, both my Nokia and my Omnia should be fine with the sync.
I’m now in India, and need to get caught up on a lot of stuff in the next few days. The first thing I’ll probably try on the phone is the Shell program.
Gee, I know you just wanted to do a report on the phone, but now you’ve got a “mini-forum” going. Maybe you should expand on this, and do it for real? You’ve got the best “viewpoint” on things, as you write from a “user” point of view, which makes the information more useful that a lot of (useless?) statistics and comparisons…
Leon said:
Thanks for your reply. You travel a lot. That must be so fun! I guess you have loads of contacts and rearranging them is a hassle. I too had to find time to just really put it all in outlook once and for all.
Yeah I’ve got a forum here unexpectedly. Wanted to help people and ending up really helping. The comment after this also asks me to do this for real. Hmmm. It would be fun I guess. Perhaps, just perhaps someone will offer me something here haha. At the mean time not looking into it just yet
Hey leon!
thanks for ur reply for my question, and here i got u some more
1. do u face any wifi problems, like u need to be sooo close to the hotspot .. or does the device produce ALOT of heat when the wifi is on?
2. does the camera really shoot slow motion vedios? cause they are all over youtube, while the specs says max 35frames per sec -if i am not wrong- .. if i am please correct me
3. did the music sound better when u used a third part program ? and other headset ? or still so flat ? .. in compare to iphone or SE W-series … what does it rank ?
4. which framewire are u using now ? did u upgrade ?
5. WHY DON’T YOU MAKE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND START ADDING VEDIOS !! U WILL GET PAID .. AND GET FREE CELLPHONES AND LOADS OF GREAT STUFF !!!!!!!!
finally , leon , i dunno how can we live without u !!
Leon said:
1. Reception for Wifi is good. I put it side by side to compare with the reception of my notebook and it is good. Latency is an issue though. The further it is there is a slight latency issue. Not a big deal actually
2. Video quality is not impressive to be honest. Its just really just normal handphone like. I would say don’t even think about using it for anything other than videoing memorable moments when you don’t have your vid cam with you. I wouldn’t even use the video for presentations.
3. When you have a program with EQ and a good headphones it sounds great. Like I said I even plugged it to my studio monitors and they sound good.
4. Yeah I did upgrade to the firmware and there is no turning back after that haha. I liked the old one. So if it works fine for you, you don’t need to upgrade actually. But battery life is significantly better
5. Hmmmm I don’t know how to do that. Doing videos is not the problem. How to I get the sponsors? Never looked into that before haha. Oh well, I’m happy that I get to help you guys.
Have fun. It looks like you haven’t got it. The price is dropping. I think is worth the money even when I got it a premium price. Still it fits my personality. I hope it will work for you
Lots of thoughts, and a couple of questions. First, something basic.
The phone is capable of connecting to the internet for viewing web pages two ways. There’s the GPRS connection (if I’ve got the name right) which allows you to do so via your cell phone service provider, and there’s WiFI. If you connect someplace, let’s say to a website or maybe to Google Earth (the google utility to connect there or to gmail came with my phone) how do you know if you’re connected to your free WiFI connection, or if it’s using up your balance from your service provider? Is there something on the web page screen that shows you how you’re connected?
(I made this mistake with my n95 a long time back, and used up a LOT of money before I realized I had the wrong connection going. Called AT&T and they took away the charge, since I hadn’t meant to have done it, but they said next time it happened the charges would remain. Since then I learned my lesson, and have been very careful about what my phones are doing, but while I know how to check what the n95 is going to do, the Omnia just seem so “do it” in the background, without telling me what it’s doing.)
For a second, and really basic question, let’s say you type in the name of a website you want to go look at. How do you then “click” on the name to tell the phone to go there?
For that matter, I’m still trying to figure out how you do “copy and paste” without a “right-side mouse button”. How do you get text highlighted, such that you can then “copy” it?
Leon said:
I use a program called SPB GPRS monitor to make sure when I’m using data or wifi. Usually wifi there is the symbol and so will the 3G connection show but sometimes when both is connected then you don’t know which its using. GPRS monitor only tracks the data connection
I don’t understand your second question sorry
You need to highlight then hold your stylus to the highlighted section until a pop up menu appears to cut and paste
Leon, which version of GPSGate did you install on your phone? Do you remember where you downloaded it from?
Leon said:
Mine is version 2.5 i think. I downloaded it from the GPS gate website lor. But its not free. You can get a free one that functions the same. I think I mentioned it in one of the earlier comment.
hey man !!! i found u something LOVELY !!!
http://mysamsungomnia.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/boost-your-omnias-default-volume-settings/
CHECK THAT AND TELL ME WHAT U THINK !!! it’s a volume booster , a windows mobile command to help u set the default volume !!
here is another link .. for u to change the frameware as much as u want .. and to the lastest and newest ones
tell me which will u use if u decide on upgrading , and is it nice or no, it’s a forum i know .. but u will find all what u need
http://www.modaco.com/content/i900-omnia-rom-discussion/274737/update-24-nov-08-custom-rom-manilla2d-with-alternate-landscape-dxhk1-m2d04/
hope these help all the OMNIA lovers ,
and does anyone got any idea about what is this “ANYCALL” phone called T*OMNIA , i feel i hate samsung for that !!
Leon said:
Whoa thank a huge lots bro. Really helpful sites!!! Man I can’t decide if I want to change the ROM since everything is working fine. Sighs. I will however do that soon
No need to waste your energy getting pissed with companies that have money and profit in mind. Thats the bottom line to them. It is not use. So we as consumers just have to be as wise as possible with the knowledge and choices we have
leon, i am very new to the windows mobile world and that kept me from buying this phone. i am waiting for nokia 5800, then choose b/w these 2 phones.
i am from m’sia and if i buy the omnia, does it come with the latest ROM? how do i check it has the latest rom where all the bugs (eg. weak battery) are not there.
i read the above that the loudspeaker can be tweaked and i love a loud ringtone when the phone rings. have u tried that loudspeaker tweaking? how high is considered high when tweaking the loudspeaker? if i don’t tweak, it the ringtone still loud?
Leon said:
I have tried. The loudspeaker is already loud already. So you don’t have to tweak. That is for certain movies that are soft.
I’m not sure if it comes with the latest rom i wouldn’t know. You can check in settings i think its in about