Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Hey guys,

My name is Kai from CareAce.net where we test applications (and devices) as well as providing news/tips for our news.

With the Samsung Omnia 2 set to launch in the U.S and already available in some Asian countries (Singapore), we would love to hear your opinion on the latest Samsung WinMo device that runs on Windows Mobile 6.5.

We have been gathering different views from various blogs/forums in hope of writing a comprehensive coverage on this question:

Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful? Why or why not?

Feel free to define successful in your own ways. Personally, I felt the Omnia did well, evidently from one of our latest polls. 50% of the users had chosen the Omnia over other Samsung WinMo devices.

Thank you very much for your participation, credits will certainly be given! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or CareAce.net.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Kai

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

neuteboomt, Good point!

The Samsung Omnia 2's defining feature seems to be focused on the AMOLED display and the platform running 6.5. But I agree with what you said about the amt of WM device, it may prove to be not enough.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

op, do we really need two of these threads?

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Probably not, just wasn't sure where I should be posting it. Shd I remove it from one?:)

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

if i recall correctly, the omnia 2 seems like a powerhouse phone. better camera, amoled screen, fm radio, faster processor and most importantly to me anyway, a substantial HTC competitor. There are quite a few ppl that are fairly unhappy with HTCs way of doing business, (driver issues,removing 1 feature for another, etc) but especially on sprint, there are too few alternatives. i think its a great phone that will sell big considering it doesnt seem to be holding anything back and feature to feature, surpasses the diamond 2 (closest competitor). this was typed on my phone so if i am not correctly remembering things, sry.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

p.s. mebbe this would be best in the phone comparison forum? or OT? not sure id rly classify this as News...

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

@No1ustad, we are in Seattle too! :)
Yes, the Omnia does have some feature that can make it rather competitive. I have personally tried it for abit and I do prefer UI engine that the Omnia 2 runs on (which increases its potential for better touch-screen applications).

Thanks for your response! :)

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

I agree that the Omnia 2 will be somewhat limited by carrier exclusivity, if it wasn't for that I think it would be a strong competitor. The people that want a physical keyboard are obviously gonna be turned off by this phone, I actually prefer the devices without the keyboard though and I'm already on Verizon so I'll be deciding between the Whitestone (Diamond 2) and the Omnia 2. Feature wise, the Omnia 2 is seems to be the better phone, but it's still a hard decision. I'm not too excited about having a stylus hanging from the side of the phone like some dangly mutation. The updates to 6.5 do at least make everything more finger friendly, so maybe I can live without a stylus. The one thing that REALLY keeps pulling me back to the HTC phones though is developer support, but it may not be enough this time.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

The big downfall I think is not having it on sprint or gsm, It's basically an upgrade of not only the omnia but also the diamond (or anyone using 6.5 on the diamond). I wish I could get the phone no way on sprint, it's better than anything sprint is coming out with any time soon. The omnia2 imo basically has everything I want in a ppc and the "success" will have to be determined by how many people get them, which should be a lot, at least those who don't get the diamond2, I don't know why vzw would release 2 of basically the same phone (omnia2 and diamond2), but overall its a great phone that should do pretty well.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

In addition to carrier restrictions, I think the ability to upgrade to WM 7 will be big.

If the Omnia is even released by Sept. Wm 7 may be coming in Summer/June. If its not upgradeable to 7.0 this means the phone will have a lifespan of less than a year.

That's a turnoff to me.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

it doesn't have the specs that wm7 requires

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

@orangekid, personally, I used to live in Singapore and find the idea of not having a sim card (sprint/verizon) rather senseless. Its as if i'm stuck with the carrier.

In terms of Sprint, I think Palm Pre is going to be their focus for awhile aside from many of other services that they provide. Thanks for your input though. :)

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

true, you get stuck with a carrier, but in the US there seem to be more cdma carriers than gsm, and sprint happens to kicks t mobil and att's asses in speed and coverage.

I don't know about them focusing on the pre, the tp2 coming out in less than a month, and if we get the diamond2 that will be comparable to the omnia2, not to mention if/when sprint gets the firestone which is better than both..

as for me id much rather winmo over wbos. So ill stick with my diamond for now.

the omnia2 really should have been released on us gsm though.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Most of us sign at least a 1 year contract (usually 2 year) to get a better price on the phone anyway, so we're essentially stuck with the carrier even if it does have a sim card. Verizon has an option that allows you to pay 20.00 after one year of your 2 year contract and renew early, making it where you can upgrade every year and I plan to take advantage of that. At the rate tech toys advance now I cant imagine keeping one device for more than a year, WiMax and snapdragon devices should be in full swing by this time next year and I'll be ready to ditch whatever I get this year by then :)

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

The success of this phone, IMO, depends on when it is released. If it's out on the 23rd which seems unlikely then I suspect that when people browse over to the smartphone sections and happen to activate the screen on the O2 and see the vivid colors they will immediately inquire about it, no phone has ever been released on VZW quite like this. If it hits market in December when other comparable phones are out or nearly out then the O2 will struggle for regonition as it's specs will no longer be the bomber that they are now.

We'll see. But right now this is first on my list, with the TP2 second. If the TP2 hits within a month and the O2 is still months away it's likely I'll got with the TP2.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

true, but on sprint I cant use a vzw phone, so I cant use an omnia, ir you're on ATT u can unlock and use phones from europse and tmobil, so you could get a Touch HD or be on t-mobil and use an iphone. that's the main difference. The only cdma comparison is flashing a diamond to cricket or something, but that's about it.

But within a year or so all networks will have snapdragon and tegra phones, so I will probably just stick with my diamond for now and wait for a tegra wm7 phone to come out instead of settling for a diamond2 or pro2, the only reason I would is bigger screen with better resolution.

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

@badchad, good point on WM7 upgrade. I'd like to think that it will be part of the package when it comes down to that.

@orangekid, yea, tegra phones/satellite phones are schedule for end of the year release. Omnia 2 has a period of opening to make its name, past that, it would be hard to say whether its going to be successful (popular to the mass audience) - as @Gulanowski pointed out.

Points taken guys! Thanks!

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Thats exactly what I was thinking at first also, then I thought about the fact that I could still be enjoying the Omnia 2 or Whitestone for almost a whole year until those new developments are released and widespread enough to actually use them. WiMax is supposed to start in my area next month, but it'll be at least a year before it covers enough area to be useable with a mobile handset, and probably just as long before a handset is released that can use it. Considering the trends on new releases with HTC I'm also betting we wont see the Snapdragon/Tegra devices till around this same time next year and it doesnt really matter when they release WM7 until those devices that can use it are available to us. If I upgrade now, worst case scenario is they release everything early summer and I have to wait a few months to get it, but I can live with waiting a few months if I'm still playing with the O2 or Whitestone :)

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

@breakmyfootoff, for some reason I didn't catch it when you said this

When you say developer support, I'm assuming 3rd party app developer devoted to HTC devices?

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

Somewhat, but most apps will work for any WM6.1/6.5 device as long as the screen resolution is the same. I was referring mostly to the great ROM chefs and Theme developers here at PPCGeeks and at XDA most of which seem to favor the HTC devices. One peek into the Omnia forum here compared to the Touch Pro or Diamond forums shows a heavy bias of support for the HTC phones. Besides themes and ROMS, more support from our local developers and hackers also means more along the lines of phone specific registry/phone tweaks. I think the real tests I'm waiting for is to try both phones in the store and see if the extra 300 or so MgHz processor in the O2 significantly improves the speed and smoothness of the UI, and to compare the quality of video playback between the two.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g.../Capture-3.jpg

Re: Do you think the Samsung Omnia 2 will be successful?
 

i have a feeling it should be successful...it has an amazing camera...takes better video then all HTC devices...has an amazing screen and The new UI is simple but perfect...i just wish it came to sprint so i could get rid of my TP....