Honest review needed please

[sjsjr]

I am considering buying an Omnia 2 and have yet to be able to find an honest review from enthusiasts like yourselves on the phone as it is out of the box. I have read every thread started in this category over the last 2 nights and still have a few questions on this device. Obviously I am new to this board and to Windows Mobile (or windows phone whatever they call it now) so I am a little "noobish" and apologize in advance.

I am coming over from a BlackBerry and don't know much about windows phones at all. Is this phone stable enough with the software it ships with that I will have time to learn the ins and outs before I need to flash it with something else?

I don't use my phones for videos or music much but how well does this device handle them? Will sites such as youtube play well? My Curve wouldn't play most of the videos even using the Opera mini browser. Is the screen easily viewable in direct sunlight?

Does wifi work well?

Are people having major issues with the hardware or is it just minor glitches that can be expected with a new device?

Obviously I am going to go to a store and try one for myself but I don't know if I will have enough time with it to get a good feel for these areas of concern. Also any opinions on swype, the GPS, the virtual keyboard itself, and must have accessories would be appreciated.

Thanks for any replies.

[Geebox]

Check out the post over on http://community.vzw.com/t5/PDA-Smar...-2/td-p/125259
It will bring you up to date with the good and the bad. To answer your questions above. There is no issues with the things you mentioned above, except for the Stock User Interface(UI) most dont like it including myself because it lacks customization and its slow to some. I didnt really find it slow. But I did changed the UI. A lot of people just disabled it and used the Windows Stock 6.5 UI. It is better than Samsungs. A lot of people also including myself have installed SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 UI. Cost about 30 bucks, but it makes this phone rock, in speed, looks and fully customization. No need to flash rom yet. Only reason one needs to change roms is to remove the the unneeded verizon apps. No stable roms exist yet anyway. I will be posting an indepth review in the next few days here and over at verizon forum. But this phone in my opinion is the best windows mobile device in the us to date.

[sjsjr]

Thank you (and thanked)for the reply. I have read your above post and your review and am now working on the site you posted a link to. Seems more and more that this may just be everything I had thought it would be and my next phone. I am considering others but the Omnia 2 is my top choice right now.

[Geebox]

No problem. Every phone on the market has it issues, but I think you will be pleased.

[OpenWave]

I currently have a Samsung Omnia 2 because I needed to change from a CDMA device to a HSPA one for fear that my provider might eventually decide that is no longer an option, sounds silly but I wanted to jump on board with the new network while I can.
The Omnia 2 is great and have had no issues so far but IMO I would wait for the HTC HD 2, it will be sooo worth it and should be coming out early this year.

[Starlson]

I've been using the Omnia 2 for about 1 month now after about 4 years on the BlackBerry. I'm far from an expert, but I've found some useful information in these types of forums. Some of my experiences:

- immediately out of the box, it crashed several times a day in the first few days. I turned off touchwiz and installed SPB Mobile Shell, and things improved drastically. I don't think I've had to remove the battery for a couple weeks now. I also installed SKTools and played around with it which seems to have helped a bit.

- I linked in 4 or 5 email accounts and set them to check for mail every few minutes. This killed my battery (which I didn't consider coming from a BlackBerry). I changed all my internet emails to check every few hours and now don't even lose half my battery during the day. My work email connects nicely through Outlook E-Mail which seems to push the emails through instantly, so that is the most important one anyway.

- The customizability is fantastic, particularly the home screens, and it's nice to be able to update the software as new versions come out. The I-Phone is slick, but I can't stand having only one button to press.

- The apps are currently lacking in number and quality. I'm assuming & hoping that this will change. They also tend to be on the pricy side compared to I-Phone apps.

- The touchscreen keyboard is much slower than a BlackBerry keypad. The USA Omnias seem to come with Swype software, but the Canadian versions don't. I've purchased and installed SlideIt which is similar to Swype, which makes typing things much nicer.

- The motion / landscape sensor seems a bit slow and tends to work when it wants to. I found a forum that told me how to manually rotate the screen which I assigned to one of the buttons. It will rotate any program (which isn't always a good thing).

- I'm still searching / waiting for a decent internet browser. I've tried Opera 9 & 10 (beta) as well as SkyFire (1.1), but I find myself going back to Internet Explorer Mobile which seems to be the most reliable / comfortable.

- My initial attempts to watch YouTube were disappointing (very poor quality), but I've heard there is a YouTube application somewhere that I'm intending to try to find.

- One of the key features for me was the 5 MP camera, but I haven't been able to take a clear picture unless the camera and the subject are perfectly still. There are quite a few settings, so if I knew more about cameras, there might be something I could do to improve this.

- I tried to install a program called "Zoomer" to allow pinch zooming, but it didn't seem to work. Still, most programs seem to have a reasonably simple zoom feature.

- The Wi-Fi seems to drain the batteries a bit quicker and is not much faster than 3G, so I would recommend only using it for heavy downloading while plugged in (depending on your data plan). The Bluetooth seems to work fine with the wireless in my car, and I can generally leave it on all day without much impact on my battery (the battery is obviously better when it is turned off, but I find it inconvenient to remember to turn it on and off when I use the car).

Overall, after a month of tweaking (and close to $100 in additional software), I'm finally reasonably happy with it. I'm still looking for a magic stash of apps and games as well as a better browser, but I now prefer it to my wife's I-Phone.