Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 review: A whole new galaxy

11 October 2010
Though it might seem like a chicken-and-egg situation, the question in our case never was which one came first: Windows Phone 7 or the Samsung Omnia 7. We know you’re all adding two and two together. Our Windows Phone 7...

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  • S
  • Stuntman
  • NGf
  • 12 Oct 2010

My comments are probably more about Windows Phone 7 interface rather than the Omnia 7. I am more interested in the UI of the phone and how it is laid out. This review and others I have seen seem to have home screen using huge tiles. I'm wondering if you can have smaller icons instead of these big tiles. For instance, the IE tile seems unnecessarily big. For my personal preference, I would rather make better use out of the home screen space. I would for instance rather have the browser icon plus 3 other icons (like those for favourite games and other apps) in the same space as that huge IE tile. I'm trying to remember if I seen anything that would indicate I can resize tiles.

The apps list seem unorganised by default. I tend to organise all of my apps into folders. That way instead of having dozens of apps all together in one list, I would have several folders with each having only several apps.

So far, all WP7 images I have seen of the UI show the same huge tiles and an app list without folders. I would appreciate it if anyone can tell me if you can have smaller tiles and folders.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • niD
    • 12 Oct 2010

    Paolo_android, 12 Oct 2010im an android user, but i got to admite this year, the best... moreyes it have very good feature list but if you dont need those its better choose something else. Like some reviews have said "it's not fun to use" when i watched those wp7 videos it instantly give feeling it's fun to use, it works so smooth and effortlessly and i watched many many N8 videos and it doesnt give that feeling and that's nokia's problem.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 2Z6
      • 12 Oct 2010

      Sounds like a first generation iPhone. No copy/paste/ No multitasking. Windows Mobile is going backwards. Windows Mobile 6 performed like a desktop OS.

        • P
        • Paolo_android
        • Pue
        • 12 Oct 2010

        im an android user, but i got to admite this year, the best cellphone its the nokia n8, really cool features and hardware, well made OS , real multitasking, good battery life, im an owner of one and i compare it with my N1 and its verrry hard to decide wich one is the best, wp7 have fancy animations, and all thats stuffs, but too many unforgiven disadvantages we are in 2010 almost 2011 , u can't come to the market, without multitask, copy and paste, no flash, no usb mode, microsoft its not apple, apple have a hard fans to supported , and a market with 250.000 applications... thats why people love apple...

          • d
          • d4vd
          • wra
          • 12 Oct 2010

          the platform of W7 is interesting. Wanna try one of this w7

            • A
            • Android user
            • i5B
            • 12 Oct 2010


            I was very interested to see what WP7 would bring, I heard of all the limitations but I was still wanted to see.

            WM7 seems to fall in the middle of iOS and Android you have the closed door of Apple but the freedom to choose the handset you like. Yes there are glaring admissions like copy and paste something personally I have never used.

            I am an Android user but actually I have been seriously thinking of switching over to Apple. I am sick of bad battery life the lack of games and quality apps the rubbish multitasking that drains you battery to the point I have to carry my USB lead with me all the time. Yes I could turn some things off when I am work and I do but in all honesty why should I have to.

            The real reason for a lack of games in Android is not because it is not able to have them I have downloaded Gameloft games from there website the real reason is that Android is a nightmare to develop for yes the boring fragmented issue but it effect the end user. My desire still stalls. Flash for me is nothing to talk about it is really so what.

            I like Android but I would have but to me if you just add a load of features and they don’t work what is the point? Let’s take for instance voice commands on the desire which is decided by Google it plain and simply doesn’t work. And all the FORCE CLOSER that comes up on the phone. Well an open system means that will be part of the norm because everything is allowed in. I don’t care less that Android has 100,000 apps or that iOS has 2000,000 how many of those are truly great? and then shall I harp on about the fact there is only 3rd party places to buy music that look crap and the music player that I am sure most people have downloaded another one from the market place.

            I am not saying the WM7 will win converts and be great and change the mobile landscape as we know it but I am starting to understand the reason why Apple do things the way they do it.

            Who know if WM7 will fail can we tech heads really speak for the general public I don’t know how many apps they will have in the store but something tells me we might be surprised.

            I await the upgrade to Gingerbread and see if all the bugs are ironed out. I know I will be panned for this but I am looking at Apple and even giving WP7 a sideways glance for my next upgrade. Of course this time it will be trying before I buy

              • m
              • martoto
              • nEN
              • 12 Oct 2010

              Do we need any opinions from people who copy-pasted the whole cons section and ended with something like "WP7 is fail because I'm using symbian in the whole of my live and it rocks"? Please, do not fill the comments section with that crap. At least not before come out from the cave, where you are living.

                • k
                • kounamouta!
                • S7S
                • 12 Oct 2010

                I just read the limitations of WP7. Its worthless to continue reading the rest of the article since this operating system is not even a stone.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • smQ
                  • 12 Oct 2010

                  i agreee with some comments below,its a major worry that precious super amoled screens are being used on a system destined to failure. Admittedly Samsung wants the super amoleds beauty to try and make the blannd blue block ui to appear somehow attractive attractive but with super amoled shortages this is almost a crime.

                    • S
                    • Snake
                    • fn$
                    • 12 Oct 2010

                    Artix, 12 Oct 2010Yes GSMArena provides real good, unbiased reviews. I wou... moreWell it's not version 1 but 7. In my opinion it's not about is microsoft gonna fix those missing features. It's about are they gonna agree to fix them. Microsoft had all those features in their previous OSes. Android was lagging on cupcake maybe because they didn't have all these technical abilities or in other words they weren't a big OS. If you check the features each new android OS version adds to the previous one you will know how rapidly it develops.
                    Instead microsoft have decided to go backwards. They don't have technology limitations or limited abilities, they have decided to go that way.
                    You might say apple have the same OS limitations but that case is different. They have got the best apps on the apple store and a very good UI, functionality and support.
                    For now why should I buy an expensive phone with a good hardware but a very limited software. We are not out of choices. I own a galaxy S my self and I am very glad I do.

                      • A
                      • Alui
                      • Am9
                      • 12 Oct 2010

                      So you can pin contacts, favourite websites, apps only on the homescreen. What a mess! Finally, a phone OS worse than Symbian!

                        • A
                        • Alui
                        • Am9
                        • 12 Oct 2010

                        eka, 12 Oct 2010Remember, the update for winPhone7 will be receive by all w... moreJust that "all" old Windows phones do not meet the requirements for WP7:).

                          • e
                          • eka
                          • sSV
                          • 12 Oct 2010

                          Remember, the update for winPhone7 will be receive by all windows phones. this is very nice. unlike android where one model receive update for froyo , and most others are not. actually most of the time with android , to get new os update you need to buy a new phones!! that is SUCKS HUGE !!

                          Sure thing WinPhones7 is missing some features, but they will comes for ALL Windows Phones !!!

                            • R
                            • RIM Lover
                            • f3c
                            • 12 Oct 2010

                            Thank you GSM Arena for once again the best review of a Windows Phone 7 anywhere on the internet. The journalistic integrity of GSM Arena is world class, and your journalists are amazing.

                              • a
                              • aRg
                              • 9JL
                              • 12 Oct 2010


                              call quality, camera quality, audio and video quality.
                              Only these 4 would be different from mobile to mobile in future, coz all phones got same OS(either iOS, Android or Windows phone 7, so all devices with same OS has similar features.)

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • S6p
                                • 12 Oct 2010

                                sh1sh1, 12 Oct 2010Look, I used Symbian all my life. Nokia N-series were alway... moreUhh, you really went way off there. First of all, you mentioned 'hate' in your previous post, this is why I replied. There's is no hate, there are only people that evaluate the OS or reviews of it and decide whether they do or do not like it. It seems a majority on GSMA doesn't quite like WP7 as the other OS's. So that's the fact here. It has nothing to do with what criteria you use for your opinion. This just means that GSMA attracts a certain type of users that require more power features, connectivity and user-friendliness vs. simplicity, hubs and eyecandy. There's nothing wrong with that. We are all just expressing our opinions here, and your good opinion of WP7 is in no way more valid than my bad opinion of it. Right?
                                The success of this OS will depend in a large part on the support by MS (that means adding features, fixing bugs).
                                As far as the review goes, I think GSMA did a good job of highlighting all those positive things you're talking about.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • pXy
                                  • 12 Oct 2010

                                  No copy paste and no bluetooth files transfer its a big mistake from microsoft... How much time they would spend to implement those features? 2,3,4weeks? and even the icrapy have multitasking now! bahhh ;/

                                    • A
                                    • Artix
                                    • Iah
                                    • 12 Oct 2010

                                    Anonymous, 12 Oct 2010So in your opinion a review that puts the disadvantages int... moreYes GSMArena provides real good, unbiased reviews.

                                    I would agree that WP7 has disadvantages, but it's v1.0 right now, I'm sure there's ways Microsoft could handle all the problems (ok, I know Microsoft might suck at this). Wasn't Android not mature when it was still Cupcake?

                                    I understand that it's hard for Microsoft to stay competitive since they released a product that is viewed by many as immature when compared to the current builds of iOS and Android, but personally I think WP7 is a good start - it looks attractive and does things that 'normal people' do. But again, that can be my personal opinion.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • wgn
                                      • 12 Oct 2010

                                      Am dissapointed as was hoping for some nice new features but looks like WP7 has gone backwards..... !

                                        • s
                                        • sh1sh1
                                        • qPi
                                        • 12 Oct 2010

                                        Anonymous, 12 Oct 2010So in your opinion a review that puts the disadvantages int... moreLook, I used Symbian all my life. Nokia N-series were always the big dog as far as extensive laundry list of hardware specs. Then the iPhone came, lacking like 20 smartphones features. It mattered not - the thing sold like crazy. Then Android came, and it furthered changed the face of mobile computers. There I was with my slow, buggy, mediocre Internet experience of a Symbian. That's why I'm looking into modern UI, iOS experiences like those of WP7, iOS and Android. If as a reviewer I were to consider the "change of expectations" in the current mobile scene, the tauted N8 would get destroyed against a laundry list that includes lack of Hubs, good notifications, SPEED, LATENCY, etc, etc. The majority of those "fatal flaws" they list are irrelevant for the intended usage and target audience - didn't the iPhone show that already, that specs is not all that matters?