Samsung Omnia begins landing at Verizon Stores, BGR readers begin drooling over live pics
Ok, so the BlackBerry Storm might not be the perfect handset for every touchscreen fiend out there but that doesn’t mean Verizon customers should despair just yet. Just lookie here – the big sexy Samsung Omnia decided to strike a pose for the camera and your pals at BGR felt compelled to give you a peak. We knew Omnia training was scheduled to begin on November 15th but no one expected handsets to start hitting stores so soon afterward. At least we know it’s dropping sometime soon, and we also know there will be a $70 rebate attached to it. Release timing and final pricing however, are still a bit of a mystery for the time being. Sure it might not click as you type but Verizon’s Windows Mobile 6.1-powered Omnia is definitely going to turn some heads and open some pocket books. Hit the jump for more shots.
Thanks, krazyVZW!
clearly this is not the t*omnia. anyone know if that one will be reaching US soil anytime soon?
I have a GSM Omnia and I have to say, after years of using WM I would not recommend this or any other WM phone till MS addresses a few issues, not least of which is the new PIE6 which, if the MS employee is to be believed will not be seen on devices like this.
I have defended WM for a long time but feel MS is really indifferent to its WM users and instead is concerned with assisting the carriers in gouging consumers as much as they can. I can tell you now that the widgets are useless, pretty but not very practical and will be discarded soon after purchase and you will wonder why the phone was ever touted to have them in the first place. Compare them to the widgets on the At&t Eternity or T-Mobile Behold and you will see how poorly they compare. Then you are left with WM 6.1 which will serve you well as long as you know what you are getting. Overall though, the Omnia could be so much more but it seems Samsung along with MS is apathetic towards the device and are just interested in selling as many as they can rather than focusing on realising the full potential of the device.
Buy it but dont expect any kind of “iphone killer” at all.
you would love it if you were a geek…
you could update your rom, add a custom rom that does exactly what YOU want it to do.
i know it kills the iphone already in that it has the second faster processor out!
8gb of space!
and winmo!!
if you know what your doing you wouldnt ever want an iphone. the iphone has the looks…but its like a pretty house with a crack in the foundation.
cause when you want to do business like things…forget it!
i can program my phone to do anything i want!
ANYTHING!
i have the xv6800 with a custom rom loaded, skyfire and i can watch live traffic cam feeds from Penndot (almost all PA highways) in real time!
the one thing verizon did cripple with the omnia is the video cam in the front
just noticed that today.
They “crippled” it cause CDMA phones cant do video calling lol
aleis….did you get the Omnia today from a Verizon store?
Checked out the storm today. Omnia still at the top of list. The guy I talked to said that Verizon usually doesn’t release new phones after Thanksgiving (who’s to say they won’t) so maybe it could be here as soon as next week!
it has a nice keyboard qwerty big keys in addition to an qwerty which is ugly. It also has some Samsung mods on top of an which makes it usable and actually enjoyable… Hand writing recognition and. Xt9 input. Pretty awesome.
Love the Omnia – camera resolution is awesome, both opera browser and ie pre-loaded, wifi, 8gb internal memory with up to 16gb external for combined 24gb, Samsung overlay the WM OS is a great way to introduce a non Windows lover to this device, optical mouse is killer, all around, great phone.
I played with the Storm today and was not impressed. Im gonna wait for the Omnia. I cant wait. I was giddy when I saw this page. I doubt it will be out in the next couple of weeks. My friend is a VZ sales manager and he knows nothing about this phone. They would need to have training before they release this phone. He says the Touch Pro is next coming out next week. Shucks.
OK, P-L-E-A-S-E someone tell me they have heard this phone is coming to Sprint too!!! I am a “Simply Everything” addict and their speeds here are the best for bandwidth so I dont want to jump ship ($99 vs $129 aint bad either) Someone tell me something hopeful puhleaze!
Ugh, just install Opera Mobile. It’s widely reputed to be the best mobile browser available, better than Safari Mobile which blows at rendering pages.
The Omnia has the lipstick dongle, but I leave that at home. You can use your finger for everything. As for resetting, you can map it to a hardware button, which is what I’ve done. Yes, WinMo isn’t a simplistic and dumbed down platform, so you need to customize it to get the most out of it. But once you do, it blows Apple into the abyss. Plus, you can install TouchFlo from HTC on the Omnia.
Until Android is mated to good hardware this is it for people with a brain.
The Omnia is going to be $319-$70 M.I.R. Saw it on the Equipment Guide page today at VZW
Just talked to a good Verizon rep today while I was looking at the Storm. I told him I did not like the Storm, and then told him I wanted the Omnia. He checked his computer, and advised me that it would be released on 12-8-08. He then gave me a “DUMMY” Omnia to look at, plus he said that he already had 5 working Omnia’s in-stock.
So keep your fingers crossed, and lets hope for a 12-8 release.
it would seem like i got an omnia today ha?
no, but i have been reading about it (GSM version) everyday for a week now
in my head i have it
I owned an Omnia in Europe during 2 months but I sold it this week :
negative – -
1/ the screen resolution is too small if you want to use it as an Internet device and mini office device. This is the VERY BIG problem of this phone.
2/ It’s Windows mobile 6.0. So, even if you get a touch green interface (no so great in fact) you will soon ending with windows mobile and its very small button. So say goodbye to fingers. You must use the stylus aans it’s annoying. It’s definitively not an touchsreen mobile and even I don’t like the iPhone I must recognise the big gap between the Omnia and the iPhone in terme of interface.
3/ despite its 5 megapixel the APN is not so good indoor.
positive + +
1/ The video recording quality is good for a mobile
2/ Anyway if you just need an ADSL modem, it’s a nice phone.
3/ it’s very easy to use it as an USB device and you got 16 Go (the version I owned)
4/ beyond average battery autonomy
Is it autofocus? I dont think so, any one knows?
Is it auto focus? may not be
@ Me
Opera Mobile is preloaded on the device.
I know, I have the GSM version.
I just don’t see what the guy was complaining about seeing as how Opera can be had for free even if you don’t have it.
IE is a lost cause on the PC, why should one count on the mobile versions being any good?
We should be thankful Microsoft, unlike a certain other company, doesn’t ban us from installing other browsers.
You’re right about the camera, despite the megapixels it’s not all that great.
But you definitely can use the Omnia with your finger, unless you really need to delve deep into the Windows menus. You can easily do all the normal stuff with your finger, most apps are optimized for touch.
No, the screen isn’t as responsive as an iPhone’s, but you don’t NEED to use the stylus all the time.
As i said “you will soon ending with the stylus”. Ok you can do some things with the fingers like listen movie and take pictures, but for mor me the basic Omnia touch interface was mostly useless for more serious usage, and it’s more a marketing gadget. When for exemple you want to use the organiser you need the stylus http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Samsung-OMNIA-Review-review-r_1981-p_3.html
If you want to scroll the windows verticaly, the aerea to dot that is too thin for a finger.
When you want to close a windows you have a very tiny button on top right. Surfing is OK with fingers but it becomes difficult to set the browser options. Software keypad is too small you have to carefull use nails and not fingers. It’s difficult to hide it even with nail. And as I said screen resolution is TOO SMALL (240×400 pixels) for a smartphone usage. iPhone, Google G1 and Storm’s screen are the minimum resolution for a average smartphone usage.
Perhaps you was happy with the Omnia, but for me definitively not (too small resolution, and you rapidely get into the not so touch friendly windows mobile 6.1)
If some people imagine here that the omnia will be the final answer, I think they will have some deceptions if they are looking for a real finger touchscreen phone. It’s a so-so mobile, powerful but half finish on numerous points.
you can tell that is has wifi by the second picture- the one that is a close up of the front of the box. See it has the wireless manager widget out and it says “Wi-fi off”. I am probably going to going to get this phone instead of the storm because i don’t like the storm’s click-screen thing and i have read a few bad reviews of it from sites like engadget. The omnia seems better anyways. Can’t Wait!
Optical mouse clears up the tiny X and menu problem. still no need for stylus
Hey does any one know if it has TV on it?
I know the european version does, and i hope this one does aswell. But I need to know.
If it does, Im going to get it.
If this is not the T*Omnia don’t bother with it. The screen resolution is crappy and does not support the faster network speeds (3G).
Screen resolution difference:
T*Omnia: 800 x 480
Omnia 400 x 240
http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-16961-Samsung+T*OMNIA%2C+an+Improved+WM6.1+OMNIA+for+the+Korean+Market.html