Samsung i900 Omnia review: The whole nine yards

25 July 2008
Now that the dust of the Diamond vs. Omnia PocketPC battle settles down, our up close and personal look at the rivals continues with Samsung i900 Omnia. Slick looks, great feature-pack and ingenious software solutions are things that hold true...

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  • l
  • leeenty
  • mpA
  • 17 Sep 2008

i had this phone and sent it back the following day . . As per most posts on this forum texting seems to be the main problem. Its really difficult . .You cannot see the full text your writing and with the screen not being very responsive its a nightmare. The build quality leaves a lot to be desired . . The case is all plastic sprayed silver. This phone is full of bells and whistles . . If you can find them and your sat at a desk with the pointer working the screen . . And you dont send text !!back to my battered n95 for the time being .

    • p
    • pdauser
    • M}9
    • 14 Sep 2008

    darkmax, 26 Jul 2008Finally a decent and justifiable review. The Diamond vs Omn... moreThe review is nice, but incomplete on gps.
    Tomtom does work on the Diamond but not on the Omnia.
    Skype also does not work on the Omnia.
    For USA-users who like garmin I would suggest the omnia as a serious candidate, but for tomtom-navigator lovers I think it is best to wait until Samsung/Tomtom take the many complaints on the internet seriously.

      • D
      • Daniel G
      • mqB
      • 12 Sep 2008

      DC, 11 Sep 2008Do anyone know if the responsiveness of the touch screen is... moreI did try everything to adjust its responsivness but this did not help at all. I believe it is not built very well in this respect

        • D
        • DC
        • MSM
        • 11 Sep 2008

        Daniel G, 08 Sep 2008I have been a HTC user for the past 4 years mainly due to w... moreDo anyone know if the responsiveness of the touch screen is a software or hardware issue, and if it is possible a change to the sensitivity may be changed or improved at some point???

          • D
          • DC
          • MSM
          • 11 Sep 2008

          There are loads of Problems banded aroud with the Omnia and Autoanswer (see Vodaphone Forum). This is a Vodaphone firmware issue only, don;t let it put you off! Vodaphone are looking at a firmware upgrade.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • mqJ
            • 11 Sep 2008

            Well, I returned my omnia back to vodafone and feel all the better for it. I was on an unlimited txt plan and can tell you I probably sent about 8 txts in total. If they could make the omnia the same thickness but with a slide out qwerty then it would be great but alas, it was a good idea but poorly concieved. I'm back on my tocco and it's way better than using the omnia. I'm waiting for the X1 or even the HTC HD, or maybe the next new handset after that. Anyone noticed that we are too scared to jump for new handsets because we know there'll be another new one along soon...?

              • B
              • Brummie
              • pY8
              • 08 Sep 2008

              I recently purchased i900 and after a couple of days I was confident with the use of the applications.
              Can anyone help on one problem?
              When sending a text message to many friends from the contact list the phone is only capable of sending to 8 people at a time, Is anyone else having this problem.

                • D
                • Daniel G
                • mqB
                • 08 Sep 2008

                I have been a HTC user for the past 4 years mainly due to wanting a windows phone.
                I went for the Omnia over the Diamond due to its better spec and have been using it for a week now.
                It does everyhting it says on the tin, and it's a great size and weight. However I use the phone and text very heavily, and for this reason am returning it today. The interface to send a txt takes 5 times longer to use than my SPV M3100 due to the lack of a stylus and keyboard, so if you need to quikly send a txt or look for a contact to call, forget it...!
                Basically as a gadget with all the whistles, its fantastic, but its useability as a phone/texting is very problematic.
                One other problem is that the touch screen is not very responsive, if you have played with the iphone, it is nowhere near as useable.
                I hope this helps.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • vGc
                  • 07 Sep 2008

                  i bought omnia and am facing problem to forward a message...pleae help...also is f 480 have similar messaging problems

                    • a
                    • andy
                    • Ycj
                    • 07 Sep 2008

                    they should make the omnia with a qwerty board =)

                      • O
                      • OrsonX
                      • m2p
                      • 06 Sep 2008

                      jack, 31 Jul 2008Hello GSMArena, Can you please review what "popeye" post... morethe best phone/life review I've ever read!... having read all the comments here and particularly this one, I'll now be giving the Omnia a wide berth.

                      Itching to buy the HTC Pro, but trying to hold out for the Xperia.

                        • C
                        • Confused person
                        • uEB
                        • 06 Sep 2008

                        Is it true that omnia can't be installed with application (like dictionary and other WiMo app) ?? And many people said Omnia is often hang without any reason, is it true?

                          • s
                          • studmuffinette69
                          • jMD
                          • 05 Sep 2008

                          i just got my phone in the mail today...and everything is going so far...BUT...the internet...can anybody tell me how to get this thing connected to the internet?!...whenever i try to connect it through wi-fi...it's all gravy...but not when it's just the regular internet...HELP!

                            • H
                            • Heinz
                            • ib2
                            • 05 Sep 2008

                            The Double, 31 Aug 2008I had my Omnia 2 days and keep having this problem. I have... moreHave occasionally the same problem: the sreen does not wake up (though the phone is obviously alive)and a restart of the phone is required.

                              • R
                              • Ramesh
                              • PFy
                              • 03 Sep 2008

                              Cheeky, 31 Aug 2008Got my Omnina a few weeks ago, had a hell of a time getting... moreCan you tell me how you have installed tomtom on ur omnia?

                                • R
                                • Ramesh
                                • PFy
                                • 03 Sep 2008

                                Cheeky, 31 Aug 2008Got my Omnina a few weeks ago, had a hell of a time getting... moreI have installed Mapking on Omnia. To install Mapking one has to install port splitter. In the port splitter I added com3 (input port, baud rate 9600). Output I selected com7,add,then start splitter. After that start Mapking. It works fine. We have to start Port splitter every time switch on your mobile.

                                  • D
                                  • Daymo
                                  • nEt
                                  • 31 Aug 2008

                                  Yasmine_Redditch, 29 Aug 2008Love my new Omnia, if like me you are getting a smart phone... moreAnswer for Yasmine on you naming Bluetooth. What you need to do is go to Settings - Owner Information - Personal and whatever you type in the name category is what people will see when Bluetoothing you. Hope that helps.

                                    • T
                                    • The Double
                                    • 3HL
                                    • 31 Aug 2008

                                    I had my Omnia 2 days and keep having this problem.
                                    I have the power settings set to turn screen off and when I press a button to wake i up and use it I hear a noise from the button, if i press the screen I get feedback but the screen itself does not come back on for me to see.

                                    The only thing I can do is turn the whole device off and back on again!!

                                    Anyone else had this issue?

                                      • C
                                      • Cheeky
                                      • wfD
                                      • 31 Aug 2008

                                      Got my Omnina a few weeks ago, had a hell of a time getting TomTom to work. I installed TomTom 7 and it works great. To get it to work you have to go to settings then system........open the Enhanced GPs...enable the xtra enable...click on xtra data download....I did that while using wireless internet....after you download check your TomTom GPs reception, if you dont get any blue bars or your blue bars are steady download again until you get blue bars and make sure they are moving up and down, I have done that and it works on mine, hope it will work on yours......I still cant get Mapking 2007 to see the inbuild GPs reviever not even my external bluetooth GPs reciever....

                                        • Y
                                        • Yasmine_Redditch
                                        • mWc
                                        • 29 Aug 2008

                                        Love my new Omnia, if like me you are getting a smart phone for the first time, it is quite strange seeing windows software loaded into your phone, I recommend you navigate around the menus and familiarise your self with the phone before making any rash descisions and I am sure you will love yours. 1 question if any one can help, how do I change the device name for bluetooth, my parrot is saying connected to SGH-i900!! I am stuck on this one and have exhusted the bluetooth settings.