Considering purchasing the Samsung Omnia

**Darkjedi** · #1 (**permalink**) 03-15-2009, 07:47 PM

Hey guys,

I'm usually in the Touch Pro forum as that's the phone I have, but I was hoping you guys could help me out. My gf is looking to get either the Samsung Omnia or a Blackberry Curve. I've read a couple of reviews and skimmed some of the postings on this forum. I was hoping to hear some first hand accounts of how people feel about their phone.

Even though I love my Touch Pro, I find it extremely unstable. Though I put up with it because I consider it a tradeoff to increased customizability and flexibility to whatever I want to do with it. I'm afraid that the Omnia has similar stability issues because it's still based on Windows Mobile, which is inherently evil. She's played with my phone before and liked it, but she doesn't have to use the phone everyday like me and get utterly frustrated sometimes when it freezes or lags for no reason. I've flashed new radios and ROMs to try and stabilize the platform, but I doubt my gf would want to go through that trouble. I also definitely wouldn't recommend the Verizon version of my phone as if I have trouble with Sprint version which is twice as powerful, I wouldn't even want to know how terrible the Verizon version is.

She basically wants a phone more advanced than a normal flip-phone since she wants to be able to e-mail and surf the internet on occasion. She probably won't be a power user by any means, which is why I recommended for her to get the Curve, but she told me that she really liked the Omnia as well, so I looked into that phone as well and was hoping some of you folk can help! I'm hoping that the stability and smoothness is better on the Omnia as it seems like a pretty nice phone.

jimd144 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-15-2009, 08:15 PM

Consider the Palm Pre when it comes out. It may be very difficult to get though, as it is all the talk.

dbigdawg · #3 (**permalink**) 03-15-2009, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimd144

Consider the Palm Pre when it comes out. It may be very difficult to get though, as it is all the talk.

Keep in mind that the Palm Pre is going to be a WebOS system on a Linux platform and is not WM. It has a Microsoft Exchgange conduit but it does not even have ActiveSync as it stands today.

allmeta4 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009, 08:52 AM

I have a VZW 8330 Curve. It's my business phone and it uses the enterprise email system which is great.

The screen is NOT adequate for surfing. A real keyboard is nice though.

FWIW, I'm getting ready to change out my personal KRZR flip phone for an Omnia. I am looking forward to being able to sync Outlook with the Omnia.

**Darkjedi** · #5 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009, 09:48 AM

Thanks guys, unfortunately shes on a family plan so she's stuck with Verizon. From what I remember the Palm Pre is Sprint only.

I personally wouldn't want to use a blackberry unless I were required to carry one by work. The lack of touchscreen and proprietary OS without nifty programs turns me off from it. I do admit that for non-techy folk its an easy phone to use and definitely serves its purpose of an email platform quite well.

**syrguy1969** · #6 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009, 11:52 AM

I am not a Blackberry fan at all, but they are good at what they were designed for...mainly buisness. As for the Omnia, I have found it to be a very powerful device, and I go a week or so without having to do a reset (taking into consideration frequent cleanings and task management). The Omnia is highly customizable, easy to use, and realtively small (I slip mine into my shirt pocket at times, and even in a case forget it is there), and an overall fun phone to use. The down-side (to be fair) is the lack of a built-in stylus (I keep mine on my keychain, but haven't used it in months), and no physical keyboard (actually took less time to get used to than I anticipated).

My knowledge of Blackberry isn't that broad, so I won't bash, but point out it is not as customizable, or as flexible as a WM device. On the plus side, it is a very stable device for email (I have heard) and if you look at the Storm, you have a touch-screen device (in their own way).

aleis · #7 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009, 12:12 PM

my omnia is reliable.
i have a program called SPB mobile shell and its a beaut!
as is, its slow...still reliable but it can be better and MORE reliable.
i would def say omnia!

devinc · #8 (**permalink**) 03-16-2009, 11:14 PM

I have soft reset my Omnia once in the last month, and that only because I installed today the new dialer patch that requires a soft reset on installation.

Obviously, with WinMo it is your software not your hardware that often determines how often you must restart, so if you load any Winmo phone with unstable crap, you will have to restart. But my phone is definitely fairly loaded with stuff and it is stable as hell.

I have absolutely no complaints with the phone. I thought I would miss the built in stylus. I don't. I thought I would miss a hard keyboard. I don't.

The thing is fast, sleek, the camera kicks butt, and video is nice, the storage power is amazing (I have a 16 Gb micro SD on board). The accelerometer is great.

My ONLY complaint is really the lack of unlocked GPS and the very minor issue of the Samsung version of the keyboard not working with Google Maps.

Everything else is A-OK and I am constantly wowing iphone-heads when I show them what this baby can do.

Devin

**Darkjedi** · #9 (**permalink**) 03-17-2009, 09:41 AM

Thanks so much for the responses guys! It would be cool to spread the joy of Windows Mobile around, but I'm afraid some people just aren't ready for it, hahah. I'll let you know if she winds up choosing the Omnia. I must show her the ways of the touch screen windows mobile platform.