HTC Touch Diamond vs. Samsung i900 Omnia: Head-to-Head

02 July 2008
It’s PocketPC playoffs and HTC are giving Samsung a match at the GSM Arena. With two of the stars of the season arriving in our office all at once, we thought it’s a heck of an opportunity for some Diamond-Omnia-Diamond-Omnia-Diamond-Omnia game-set-match. We got two aces up to the challenge, so sit back and stretch out. Ah well, get that six-pack too and join us for the kick-off...

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • nS9
  • 05 Jul 2008

There is certainly bias in the review but still great nonetheless. The comment about widescreen being much better for movies is absolutely right. No way is a 4:3 screen better with massive black borders.

The actual video/movies you watch on the Diamond will probably be about 2.2-2.4" because of the borders. Not to mention the poor battery life, limited storage, poorer speakers etc. How is this better for multimedia?

    • d
    • darkmax
    • TIE
    • 05 Jul 2008

    kostas, 05 Jul 2008about that touch flo thing ...mmmhh who said samsung can't ... moreThis is a must-read/must-see... where? Where can we read or see this in action?!!!!

      • d
      • darkmax
      • TIE
      • 05 Jul 2008

      Anonymous, 05 Jul 2008Guess alot of Diamond users don't know including the review... moresame as the Omnia. Except the zoom can be done just about anywhere, including web browser.

        • d
        • darkmax
        • TIE
        • 05 Jul 2008

        sms, 04 Jul 2008Network - Samsung i900, quad band - 1-0 Diamond dimensions... morevery nice comparison, short concise and sweet!

          • d
          • darkmax
          • TIE
          • 05 Jul 2008

          miro, 04 Jul 2008Excellent head-to-head, though I was already leaning toward... moreiPhone 3G will be about the same price as Omnia and Diamond at launch, This is already quite certain from a recent Apple announcement.

          The memory card can be removed, but it is not slotted on the side. the Micro-SD is lodged just above (below?) the battery underneath the back cover. With a little effort and leverage it can be removed without taking the battery out, however I do not recommend that as it is actually quite a tight fit. the Micro-SD is for additional storage space on the phone, not meant to be hot-swapped as the phone is already huge in internal capacity.

          The Omnia screen, although lower in resolution, is actually better for finger touch operations, as advertised by Samsung. A small screen means one would need a stylus. Moreover if you have a higher res but a considerable smaller screen, what is the point? Are we going to all wear specs from sequeezing our eyes looking at a smaller but higher res screen? No thanks, I've already had my cataracts removed and that proves a smaller screen is a pain.

          I just output a H264 file from the TV out cable to my 50" Plasma and 43" LCD yesterday..... Very very sharp.

            • Y
            • Yammy
            • wdA
            • 05 Jul 2008

            Did anyone know how GPS difference between both of them?

              • k
              • kostas
              • niV
              • 05 Jul 2008

              about that touch flo thing ...mmmhh who said samsung can't have that? i saw a video on youtube. A GUY INSTALLED TOUCH FLO IN OMNIA!!!!
              yessss
              kick some ass there sammy:D

                • s
                • sms
                • C54
                • 05 Jul 2008

                I don't think it will be appropriate to compare the Htc Diamond or Samsung i900 to the iphone 2G. Actually, they are in different classes. How can you compare with a cell phone that has a very classic camera to something that is 3.2 mp and 5mp? To me, the iphone is a cell phone for younger generation that cannot afford to spend money for a high end business/media phone that has everything. The Htc and i900 are higher in class comparing to the iphone. They both have shortcomings but certainly they are way better than the iphone in terms of specifications. With all the features, I personally am in favor with the i900 as it has way better battery life and bigger screen for video, pictures and office files.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 0vT
                  • 05 Jul 2008

                  GSMArena are you crazy ?

                  OMNIA so much better than Diamond .

                  NO COMPRE TO Diamond .

                    • N
                    • NewForce
                    • TIE
                    • 05 Jul 2008

                    Alright people, why are we constantly upgrade to, keep thiniking of or wanted to change to a new WM phone?

                    Simple, we all wanted an ALL-IN-ONE WM phone!
                    AND THATS'S IT, OMNIA THE WAY TO GO !!! well... at least for now and the near future.

                    Why OMNIA way to go? Simple again as below facts,

                    1. In the oldies, a 3.5" screen PDA phone too big size for an easy hold or everyone taste.

                    2. For the present, a 2.8" screen is way too common nowaday and getting old fashion already after O2 818 showed the way how a new small and handy PDA phone some 4years ago.

                    3. VGA on 2.8" screen? You're must be kidding.
                    I know it is good for picture viewing but nothing else, and we don't do this often.
                    It will not be good for video even quality is fine but 2.8" screen too small.

                    Internet browsing or Office tasking? Words on 2.8" VGA screen too small for any comfort viewing or editing, and the needed to frequent to zoom in-and-out was another trouble-some action to do.

                    4. And the weak, 1 day or less battery life, no photo light 3.2MP camera, the cut-off bass low sound quality (which cannot be solve y by 3rd party software equalizer enchance) was few others bad points that killing the Diamond.


                    So the REAL all-in-one OMNIA win them all in today life with,

                    1. Bigger and better 3.2" screen for better picture/video taking and viewing, office file editing, especially in landscape mode.

                    2. Excellent 5MP with photo light camera for picture/video taking.

                    3. Better bass sound quality, even better with 3rd party software like Pocket Music equalizer enchancement.

                    4. Excellent 3 days battery life for less worried mind for usage outside home or office.

                    5. And many more user friendly UI operation than the normal and old fashion WM phone UI.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • TIE
                      • 05 Jul 2008

                      seems like both have many drawbacks. I rather wait for n96 , symbian that i prefer.

                        • N
                        • NewForce
                        • TIE
                        • 05 Jul 2008

                        Anonymous, 05 Jul 2008Guess alot of Diamond users don't know including the review... moreJes... like you're doing these for the whole 7*24*365?

                        C'mon man get real, OMNIA is the only way to go for the 2 ! OK?

                          • N
                          • NewForce
                          • TIE
                          • 05 Jul 2008

                          The Diamound, 02 Jul 2008for God sakes they are just phones....Get a life everyone..... moreSound like you're doing nothing the whole 7*24*365 but just staring on the diamonD, VGA on the WRONG SIZE screen?

                            • P
                            • PHug
                            • 4bY
                            • 05 Jul 2008

                            Before this excellent review I wanted the Omnia.
                            If the Omnia cost too much (rumored at $800 - $1200)then i would get the 3G iPhone for $300.

                            After reading this review I am even more convinced.
                            --Diamond drawbacks--
                            1.How anyone would want a phone with a "pretty" screen that dies so fast is beyond me.

                            2.Explain how video playback is a plus for this phone when it holds less han 4GBs worth of video and AGAIN dies in about 1 movies time.

                            3. HTC dropped the ball on sceen size. Cutting the screen size for the unneeded hard controls at the bottom is horrid. If you need hard buttons to control your device then don't get a touch screen phone

                              • P
                              • Phil
                              • PDV
                              • 05 Jul 2008

                              I really appreciate the effort made in writing this VERY detailed review. But I do not like how the phones are often compared to the iPhone, like stating the similarities of both phone's contact lists to the new iPhone. The search bar at the top, and looking for contacts by choosing from the alphabet list at the right, is implemented by HTC far before iPhone.

                              The onscreen keyboards, all phones that want you to use the stylus less or even does not have a stylus have to make the onscreen keyboards bigger for the users to use it with ease! So iPhone is the really popular phone that does that, but it doesn't make the Diamond or Ominia resemble it! That's like saying you resemble me because you use legs to walk.

                              Audio quality tests, so many data from other PDA phones and music phones, but only one mediocore PMP (in terms of quality, and we don't even get to know what its generation is), and no dedicated portable audio players? What?

                              And I fail to realize how Opera 9.5 resembles or fails to provide the usability of the Mobile Safari browser. In fact Opera 9.5 provides true tabbed browsing, while Mobile Safari needs to use a Javascript hack and still take a few clicks just to get a link to open in a new tab.

                              Why-are-you-inserting-Apple-comparions-everywhere rant aside, I must state that, again, the review might be biased but it did provide a lot of information about both devices. It definitely helped me choose one between the two.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • TIE
                                • 05 Jul 2008

                                Guess alot of Diamond users don't know including the reviewer that you can pan in zoomed mode while viewing the photo.

                                You just need to press and hold on to the screen, a small window will appear on the top left showing your current position. Then WITHOUT lifting your finger, drag the photo... that's how you pan. ;-)

                                Of cse it is well-know that you can zoom in to any area of the photo by drawing clock-wise circle on the selected area and zoom out using anti-clockwise.

                                  • m
                                  • miro
                                  • js$
                                  • 05 Jul 2008

                                  albertocab, 04 Jul 2008$500.00 for which iphone. The 16gb 3G is only $300.00. Befo... moreThe prices for "early upgraders" (i.e. those that don't qualify for the $199/$299 pricing) are $400 for the 8gb and $500 for the 16gb. I should've specified. See the second bullet point note under the video.

                                  http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/01/atandt-announces-iphone-3g-pricing-plans/

                                    • S
                                    • Shou Ji
                                    • M@T
                                    • 05 Jul 2008

                                    albertocab, 04 Jul 2008$500.00 for which iphone. The 16gb 3G is only $300.00. Befo... moreWhen I buy Omnia after CommunicAsia, the price for without contract are US$820(16Gb) and US$580(8Gb). The price for Omnia 16Gb are similar with HTC Diamond. But now, some retailer in Singapore start sale US$650(16Gb) without contract. AT&T was planning sale iPhone 3G in price US$699(16Gb) without contract. For Nokia N96 I think in range US$800 for 1st release according my experience with N95 & E90.

                                    It will better if u comparing Omnia with Nokia 5800 XpressMusic(the 1st Nokia s60 touchphone), not N96.

                                      • M
                                      • M
                                      • TuJ
                                      • 05 Jul 2008

                                      The pictures taken by cameras are not compareable because they have taken in different hour !

                                        • a
                                        • albertocab
                                        • kR1
                                        • 04 Jul 2008

                                        miro, 04 Jul 2008Excellent head-to-head, though I was already leaning toward... more$500.00 for which iphone. The 16gb 3G is only $300.00. Before you start pointing fingers please do your google. The Samsung i900 Omnia goes for $500 - $600. An unlock version for the US (well for any GSM carrier) goes over $1000.00. Now mind you,the Samsung has a 5mp camera and most would say its worth it...but I would stick with the Nokia N96. A bit cheaper and better lens.

                                        Other then that, I like the Samsung for what it is...a windows version of an iphone. It does not pretend to be an iphone and it does not hide the fact it's running WM6. In fact that's good news for Mac users. Finally a full screen phone the Mac can hack and custom. Just next time if you going to throw blows...make sure the hit. Cause I hate read people that just blurb out info and they got no idea what they talking about.