Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO preview: First look

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO 360-degree spin

At only 114.9 x 59 x 10.8 mm, the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO certainly is compact (considering its full QWERTY keyboard, of course). It is visibly wider and slightly taller than a “normal” bar-shaped phone, but compared to other phones sharing the same market space, the B7330 OmniaPRO’s measurements are just about perfect.

The weight of 107 grams won’t add much to your pocket and - by way of comparison - the smartphone weighs a good 20 percent less than the metal-clad E71. However, the Korean doesn’t look any cheaper due to its great build quality and design.

Design and construction

Considering the success of devices like Nokia E71 and recent BlackBerry smartphones, it seems the young Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO can hope for a bright future – though of course it needs to prepare for tough competition. We think it has what it takes to be part of the group of powerful business smartphones and even adds something many of them overlook – charm.

Its round edges and quality materials make it look much more expensive than it is expected to be. The same goes for the features. And this combination of sleek design and top notch technology sounds like a good formula to us.

The front panel of the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO is pretty standard for the class. The buttons and the display above them are surrounded by glossy grey plastic while the back uses a similar material but colored in black.

The 2.62” TFT display on the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO has a resolution of 320 x 320 and really is good. It’s not a touchscreen, nor does it have the resolution of a say, BlackBerry Bold, but there is something very important here, namely improved sunlight legibility. Samsung are known for their less than stellar marks in terms of sunlight performance but the B7330 is among the few exceptions, managing to keep all the information visible no matter how bright the sun is shining. And it gets as close as possible to Nokia screens.

Right above the display are placed the earpiece (dead center), ambient light sensor (on the left) and secondary video-call camera (on the right).

Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO has a very good display

Below the screen we find the D-pad surrounded by 6 other keys (3 on each side) – two soft buttons, Home and Back keys, as well as Call and End buttons. All of them are very comfortable and despite all us guys at the office having larger than average fingers, we had no problems getting used to them.

The buttons under the screen are very comfy

Next up is the four-row full QWERTY keyboard which is another strong point of the B7330 OmniaPRO. It is quite reminiscent of the one found on the Nokia E71 – down to the size, shape and even the color of each button. And, in fact, that’s something to be thankful for. What we said about the buttons below the screen goes doubly for the QWERTY keyboard. All keys provide nice tactile feedback and make typing a pleasure on the phone.

The QWERTY keyboard is a pleasure to use

A few of the QWERTY keyboard buttons allow direct access to some of the most useful features of the handset. There are dedicated Lock and Messaging keys, the Space bar can also be used to turn off the ringer, while the Symbol key can access the web browser.

The left side of the B7330 OmniaPRO hosts the volume rocker and the microUSB port (covered by a plastic protective cap). The latter serves not only as a charger connector but also as a USB data port and headphone jack. Sadly, the B7330 OmniaPRO lacks a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

The volume rocker and the microUSB port are on the left

On the right-hand side we find the dedicated Camera key and the microSD card slot (verified to accommodate cards of up to 16GB and claimed to support up to 32GB when those become available) which is sealed with plastic cap to hold off dust and keep the contours of the handset intact.

The right hand-side hosts a camera button and a microSD card slot

On top of the phone are placed the loudspeaker grill and the lanyard eyelet while at the bottom there is only the mouthpiece.

Loudspeaker grill and lanyard eyelet positioned on top * the mouthpiece is at the bottom

OK, now, B7330, turn around! As mentioned, the back of the smartphone is all plastic but the surface – though glossy – looks quite nice. The only problem here (unlike the front) is that the materials used are really fingerprint prone. Luckily, the rear is quite easy to clean. In terms of build quality, we didn’t experience any creaks while handling the device.

The back is where we find the 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera. Unfortunately it lacks both a flash and a self-portrait mirror.

The 3.2 megapixel camera has no flash, nor self-portrait mirror

To remove the battery cover you only have to slide it downwards. If you do so, you’ll find a 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery. Its high capacity promises good battery life, however, due to the limited preview time, we’re unable to share any impressions regarding that. Underneath lies the SIM card slot.

The high capacity 1500 mAh battery should guarantee a long battery life

Before we go on with the user interface of the Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO, we have to say once again that despite lacking the metal housing of competitors like the Nokia E71, the Windows Mobile powered smartphone managed to impress us with its commendable build quality and materials. It feels robust and at the same time is compact and light enough to wear even in a shirt pocket.

The Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO held in hand