Omnia HD (i8910) Preview - GPS, Touchwiz, S60 and Conclusions

Oh, now I can post a comment. Weird.

As I said a couple minutes ago in part two, not long now since it passed FCC testing. 😎

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/04/08/samsung-omniahd-scores-fcc-approval/

Thanks for the review, Rafe.

i8910 futures "Predictive Text" and from another preview:"You can actually choose the response time depending on your own typing speed.".
Did you test these implentations?

according to mobile crunch samsung is dropping omniahd name and the phone will be called only samsung i8910

I don't recall seeing those text entry options (and I'm fairly sure we checked). Predictive, as in T9, is there - not sure if that is what the other preview was referring too? But obviously worth checking both of these in the future. Its probably fairly obvious from the preview that there's a lot more to look at in the future in terms of nitty gritty details, but hopefully you'll have a good overview of the device now.

I saw the Mobile Crunch question, but haven't been able to confirm it. I think it might just be mis-communication about the dual nature of the name (it always had had two names). Seems late in the day to make this change (more so as the Omnia HD looks set to be one Samsung's big three). Its not like most consumers gives two hoots about the platform. Like the Innov8 / I8510 its quite likely that it could be marketed under a different name in different countries. As I recall the I8510 was used in the UK, but Innov8 was used in Asia - or was it the other way round? The original Omnia also had a dual name - i900 / Omnia. I think this could apply to the US (where the 'other' Omnia is strong) maybe? Maybe the Omnia HD in Europe, but we'll have to wait see!

Oh, I thought that the predictive text was for typing using qwerty. It's probably only T9 like you said.
But I really do hope that samsung could implement predictive text for qwerty-typing.

Hey Rafe,

Off topic, did you know the comments section is taking you to AANGage instead of AAS? I guess it happened with the forum update you mentioned but obviously means anyone clicking Home goes to AAN instead of AAS.

You're probably already aware but thought I'd mention 😊

Great article, looking forward for this phone.

Theres some news up on Gizmodo saying that samsung is calling this i8910 instead of Omnia HD to avoid confusion. is this true? The codenumbers are way tooo boring. I thought we already got over that =o

PaulyLaw wrote:Hey Rafe,

Off topic, did you know the comments section is taking you to AANGage instead of AAS? I guess it happened with the forum update you mentioned but obviously means anyone clicking Home goes to AAN instead of AAS.

You're probably already aware but thought I'd mention 😊

That happens when you have the AAN forum style applied. There's a link at the top that says AAS Forum Style which will switch you back... or you can use this link:

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/?styleid=22

It's not a perfect system at the moment. I need to improve it, but thinking about redoing the comment system entirely.

Rafe wrote:That happens when you have the AAN forum style applied. There's a link at the top that says AAS Forum Style which will switch you back...

Yep, that got it. Thx 😊

Rafe wrote:It's not a perfect system at the moment. I need to improve it, but thinking about redoing the comment system entirely.

haha .. good luck! I'm right in the middle of a complete rebuild of our media company's comment and forum engine and its definitely a "why did I ever start this" day today!

is it only A-GPS that needs a subscription or is it the whole GPS?

Geat review

mCrem wrote:Great article, looking forward for this phone.

Theres some news up on Gizmodo saying that samsung is calling this i8910 instead of Omnia HD to avoid confusion. is this true? The codenumbers are way tooo boring. I thought we already got over that =o

See my comment above on this. But I think it may be miscommunication. The Omnia HD has always been the I8910 too. Or it could just apply to some markets.

PaulyLaw wrote:Yep, that got it. Thx 😊

haha .. good luck! I'm right in the middle of a complete rebuild of our media company's comment and forum engine and its definitely a "why did I ever start this" day today!

Thanks for the sympathy 😊 Finding time might the issue. Its tempting just to use one of the Javascript drop in systems such as Disquz, but that has its own set of problems!

Maisics wrote:is it only A-GPS that needs a subscription or is it the whole GPS?

Geat review

A-GPS will be free, but it does need a data connection (generally only a few kb). The required subscription is for the Navigator application (Route 66) and this will vary by market.

Ah sorry, missed that. Speaking of R66, is there any page which shows the supported countries? I know for sure that Nokia maps doesnt have full support for Maltese maps ( they only have non-navigable maps available). Google maps and garmin GPS modules support the island though..

wow, this is really a great phone!

and, it will not drop its name, samsung omniahd will be still samsung omniahd.. =D
here: omniahdmobile.blogspot.com

RAFE wrote: In a general sense the Omnia HD faces a number of competitors, including the Apple iPhone v3, Palm Pre, HTC Touch Pro 2, and the Nokia N97.

Yes. Most of those are on my potential purchase list. Along with the Toshiba TG01 or even the 5800.

My Take:

Omnia HD

Screen - Big AMOLED - Yes please. My daughter has an iPod Nano. Not sure if it's OLED, but when first looked at the screen, I thought it was fake or something. It just seamed to have so much more vibrancy. Picture felt more 'solid' if that makes sense.

Resolution - Would have liked a higher resolution. I crave 800 x 480. Especially on a big screen.

Camera/Video - What's to say. Simply the best...

Input - 5800 is ok, so hope this is at least as good. Capacitive on apple was nice, but lack of accuracy is a concern.

Power - Looks snappy.

OS/UI - Played quite a lot with the 5800. I'm quite happy with it. Not sure why people complain. Yes there is room for improvement. But cool factor aside, it works fine.

A bit worried about TouchWiz. I like having a good home screen. With appointments, shortcuts etc. visible. Did not see any widgets that would act like that. Do like the idea of 3 screens.

Really like the WinMo customizable options here (touch flow looks more eye candy than useful). Higher res. screen would allow for so much more info to be displayed.

Support - Will Samsung pull their finger out or not. Particularly with Nokia focusing so much on services for users. Will App Store be any good. Hard to tell, don't see as much activity (yet) as the others...

Nokia N97

Screen - Will it be 'Good enough' after I've seen the OmniaHD. Otherwise great.

Resolution - As per OmniaHD. Give me more...

Camera/Video - Would shine brightly if it had not been overshadowed by the OmniaHD.

Input - I was happy enough with the 5800 screen sensitivity. This also adds a keyboard. Probably best option here (along with HTC perhaps).

Power - Shame they did not jump to next gen./add acceleration.

OS/UI - as with HD, but Widgets and home screen look more capable.

Support - Nokia seam fairly good at providing firmware updates and they are really making a big push on services. Lots of potential, but will it be realized.

iPhone 3rd Gen.

Screen - Don�t know. Existing models have a good screen.

Resolution - As per OmniaHD. Give me more...

Camera/Video - Rumor is, it will be better than current. But still not very good.

Power - Current hardware seams snappy. But no multitasking. I really like jumping between apps half way through something.

OS/UI - Nice interface. Though novelty factor has worn off. I don�t miss it after switching over to the 5800 (both devices belong(ed) to the wife).
Lots of features missing. Many look like they will be patched soon with new rev. But still feels like catch up. Still no �proper� GPS solution out there.

Support - Love the App Store, but hate Apple. Way too much control over what I can/can�t do. Also hate the way they try and squeeze every penny they can out of you. You have to pay extra to have a track you already have, made into a ring tone. They take the piss sometimes (I put Sony in the same camp). Shame they come up with such nice stuff sometimes... Makes life complicated.

But I�m not getting one unless I can get it without a contract, choose my own network and still have a warranty.

Palm Pre

Actually, this isn�t really on my list. I suspect it will take forever reaching the UK and the company may not survive long enough for it to do so. Not enough independent hands on yet to know what you are really getting. Has the potential to make me change my mind though.

Toshiba TG01

Screen - 4.1 inches, nice. About as big as you can get while still getting it in your pocket. Now if it was AMOLED, that really would have finished it off nicely. They mention something about REGZA technology from the TVs etc. but it does not look �that� good in the YouTube videos. A little washed out even.

Resolution - 800 x 480. Thank you. Though I don�t see why they can�t do full colour.
Camera/Video - 3.2 Megapixel and QVGA video but no Flash/LED. Come on guys. I can live with a (good) 3.2 megapixel. But why no LED and no VGA Video. With so much cpu power, it can�t be that hard.

Power � 1 GHz processor. Seen some of the demos. Most capable here.

OS/UI - �Should� be upgradable to WinMo 6.5. From what I�ve seen on some YouTube videos, it looks quite nice. Used WinMo before and it did need a refresh. Looks like 6.5 will do nicely. Looking good. As long as they manage to get it to ring the phone ASAP. I�ve had no end of troubles with WinMo phones where it actually takes forever to actually ring after some has called you. By the time you get to the phone, they�ve gone. You can hack and improve it etc. but you should not have to�

Support � Toshiba has a rather poor support history, but they look like they are trying really hard with this one. WinMo with 6.5 and Microsoft�s new App Store, should attract devs back to platform. I just wish the XDA Developers site supported non HTC hardware. They do some fantastic stuff with cooked ROMs etc.

Nokia 5800

Already out. Wife already has one. Costs half what all these will cost. Does most of the same, though perhaps not quite as well.

Is it worth all the waiting and extra cash? I do wonder sometimes. The 5800 really is exceptional value.

Just my thoughts (sometimes writing them down helps decide...) I think I�m swaying towards the Toshiba at the moment.

Zuber

So, I have a quick question on video performance. I owned the e90 for a short bit but returned it because the video performance was too slow. Meaning that when I saw something I wanted to record, I would pop out my phone click this and then that and then the other and then finally click the record button (as if all that clicking nonsense wasn't enough) and now I have to wait 5-10 seconds for the video camera to start. Add it all up and I'm like 10-15 seconds after I have the phone out to start recording.

How quickly can you start recording with the Omnia HD? and how many clicks does it take to actually start recording?

Thanks guys!
Gery

now we know that omnia hd...(i8910) has a symbian os 5th edition.. with its touchwiz...but i wanna confirm that,,,,can we install themes by 3rd part and can all the apps for 5800 can be installed on samsung...if this is possible then trust me...its have gonna huge effect for this phone and definitely...we could have a chance of buying this phone...

pls confirm it....

THANK U

A little late for this review but I've been wondering about this for a couple days now.

Did Samsung manage to figure out the problem with the Log application, or does even the OmniaHD still display all calls with the mobile symbol?

would the omnia hd b able to use other gps software such as copilot ? I already have a version for my present winows based xda

It's a great phone by the review, and I'm looking forward to ordering one if 2 things can be answered:

1) What is the Call quality like? Some phone are notoriously bad for this.

2) What is the "real" battery life like - that is, normal use: a few calls a day, watching a video or two, taking a few shots with the camera...?

Hi,

Considering this phone vs the N97. I do like both phones, N97 tops it in some respects, this in other.

First question, does anyone know if this phone supports SIP/VoIP connectivity?

I would imagine the N97 like the N95 would, so really hoping the i8910 does.

Secondly, does anyone know whether the phone might support using Nokias SportsTracker?

Thirdly, I see this phone is supposed to come with Route 66? Does anyone have any feedback of compability of Route 66 with Nokia 5800, N97 and i8910? This article seems to suggest that it will work - could be a beta, I don't know, but I just had a response from Route 66 saying that it's not compatible and there is no news yet.

Frustrating.

Very few GPS software out there for these devices.

Cheers
Simon

this phone is a nightmare to have on orange. whatever you do do not get it on an Orange contract as you cant install any apps. see user comments for the phone on http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8910_omnia_hd-reviews-2691.php.

Life is too short to live with regrets and 18 months or even 24 months is an eternity to spend with a phone u can't use to its full extent.

I already Pre-order both and I have to cancel one of them before June 25th at least, because it supposedly ships out, and I can't afford both to be charge on my debit.

For Now, My Vote Is The Omnia HD, why because it's something new to S60; 3D effects, TouchWiz Home screen, Camera Interface, Music player/ Album Covers, Menu Icons. Also the HD Video Recording Which I Know the audio sucks for now (I Hope), and The Oled Screen. (Think I'm Missing another New Feature). I'm tired of the plain old S60 to be honest with you, but at least Samsung Tweaked it a little. The N97 However has the same interface besides the N97 Live Widgets which was a good idea, and the web browsing which I now heard has Kinetic scrolling (I Now I'm really confuse which to pick.)
Also the N97 has the Full Hardware keyboard which was very smart, but everything else is basically the same. (Correct me if i'm wrong i Might have forgotten a New feature at the moment.

Overall You Get The Idea, so I'm confuse which to pick.

Pro's:

Omnia HD, Oled Screen, 720p HD Recording, Tweaked S60 Interface, Touchwiz, 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound...etc

N97- Full Hardware Keyboard, Live Widgets, 48 GB Max Storage (32 GB Onboard memory, Kinetic Scrolling, and Nokias Full Software Support (Firmware Updates)

Con's:

Omnia HD- No Hardware Keyboard, Video Recording Audio Sucks (For Now I Hope), No Kinetic Scrolling, and Bad Samsung support for Firmware Updates.

Nokia N97- Low Processor, No HD Recording, Same S60 Interface.\

What do you guys think is the better go? Besides the Hardware keyboard If It's a Needed Feature To You. ( I don't mind Not having a hardware keyboard)
What do you think it's the better phone? Pro's & Con's Please.

Ps. Do you think Samsung will support the Omnia HD Via Firmwares as Much as Nokia Does? Be Honest. This is what I'm afraid of in terms of the audio from the Video recording, the feature of the Kinetic scrolling, and other added features to improve the device, or Any bugs the device might have when shipped?

Please be detailed; Thanks. I really Appreciate it.
😎

The i8910 GPS chip is the Atheros AR1511 which it's performance is about same par with the SIRF Star III GPS chip (only a bit slower, but with all those GPS+ and A-GPS technic it sure will surpass the StarIII chip where mostly only utilising the offline mode), that's why the GPS signal tracking is far more fast and better then those Navilink 5.0 GPS chip which use by mostly all the Nokia phone (included N97/N97Mini/X6 maybe even the N900)... :icon14: