In spite of the herculean efforts from the people who have contributed to this thread, I've decided to return my Omnia tomorrow.
Although the futzing around with various idiocyncracies and learning how to mess with registries and whatnot is a pain in the asss, I actually like learning new things - and I think the configurability of the phone is excellent. So, surprisingly that ain't the problem.
The problem is that I replaced my old LG flip phone with the Dare because of the camera and I replaced my Dare with the Omnia primarily for the camera. I take a lot of photos of my son when we go on adventures together (he's 3) and I often don't have my high quality Canon with me so the phone has become an important backup. But after side by side real world testing in environments we actually encounter, I have found the Dare lens is better than the Omnia - and lens is more important than megapixels. The Omnia camera is more adjustable which almost makes up for it (especially the saturation, contrast and sharpness settings!) but I can't get rid of the pink glow, the pictures are often fuzzy and the auto focus does not work well. Its like a cheap car with a huge engine.
I also like using the MP3 player when I'm hiking on the trails above my house and yet be able to recieve calls as needed. While you can put a far superior player on the Omnia, the phone does not seem to handle a blue tooth headset well. It skips badly. Maybe it can be fixed, but I don't have time to spend another 2 weeks trying to figure it out. The Omnia also changes the playing pitch of the music which I find utterly unacceptable. Again, maybe there is a way to fix it, but the Dare doesn't have either of these problems.
The Dare is also one hell of a lot easier to use as an actual phone. A huge advantage with the Dare is it's cheek sensor screen lock feature. I can enter data as needed but it will lock when I hold it to my cheek. Pull it away, and the screen unlocks again. And the Dare doesn't need a stylus - ever. None of the buttons are tiny. Some apps increase user friendliness of the device, but they are not all together so if you go from one to another or go into any setups, your out of luck. There is no reason for this since there is plenty of screen real estate. The Omnia is also very slow to respond so that when I dial, it has to catch up to my entries - especially if there are other programs running.
The fact that the Omnia has a real GPS is a very big plus for me. It could negate the need for me to carry my Megellan. However, who knows if big brother Verizon will actually allow me to use it or what restrictions they may place on it's use if they do. I am also a bit concerned I might destroy the phone if I used it as a GPS unless there were some really good waterproof armor I could put on it. I can throw my Magellan GPS into the ocean and not damage it.
The Omnia is superior in so many ways that I really hate to part with it. It has far superior Internet capabilities and the Dare can't even recieve Email attachments. You can watch movies & not just movie clips, it scrolls far better and the Internet browswer is 10X better. The Dare is also completely locked down and can only take the silly (and few) apps Verizon provides. But, it is stable, it doesn't constantly hang and I have not yet had to do a soft reset much less a hard reset. From my perspective the Omnia just isn't quite refined yet. It seem messy to me - almost like they threw it together as fast as they could without some basic testing. I also have to wonder how long it will be on top of the heap: Companies are now in a rush to come up with the ultimate "iphone killer". I expect this category of phone to advance rapidly and thus the Omnia to be obsolete faster than it's contemporaries in another year or two. It feels like it is close...but just not quite there yet.
Finally, I am unemployed and after our last $ count the other night, the extra 30 bucks/mo actually matters now. I would also have to buy an extended battery for the Omnia in order to continue using it - which means shelling out even more money I don't have. And in order to keep the Omnia I would have to sell my Dare on Ebay. Since it has a small scratch on one of the buttons, I would likely have to sell it at a discount. I will regain a bit of money if I take the Omnia back and save on the monthly.
Believe it or not, a big issue I have with taking it back is that I feel terribly guilty that I may have wasted your time since you have been incredibly patient and helpful. I do note, however, that this thread covers a lot of bases that I cannot find Googling anywhere else so I am confident it will render help for many others willing to sort through it. (It will at least be entertaining) I also hope it may have been a good mind exercise for some of you and that maybe knowledge of your own phones is even better now.
Thanks again for the wonderful help you have provided.
I guess its off to the Dare forum for me.......
Sincerely,
Chris