Yippee! Finally, we have someone else who has had a look at the OmniaHD. We were posting so many impressions on the Omnia HD from All About Symbian (AAS) that some have mistakenly thought we were an affiliate site! Anyway, phoneArena have managed to get hands-on with a prototype unit and came away impressed. They believe the device may raise the ball-game for phones at this level and could put some of its rivals in hot water.

From reading their preview, there were a few things that stick out. Firstly, it seems that the unit they played with did not have a camera lens cover (I have attached a large picture after the break that puts this beyond doubt). Now I know that AAS said that the final retail unit will not feature a lens cover, but I’m still secretly hoping Samsung change their minds. For such a high-end imaging device and for the cost involved, I would not want to see dust getting into the lens.

Secondly, it looks like that back of the phone will be glossy plastic. So unfortunately it will probably be a fingerprint magnet. Like AAS, phoneArena were very impressed with the video playback (especially on that 3.7-inch screen) with it playing a number of plays smoothly and without problems. This is one area of the phone that has me very excited. I detest converting my video files so to play these files natively on the Omnia HD would be ideal.

On the video recording side they found that it did skip and stutter when recording in HD. The same thing happened with AAS, so I’m hoping this will be fixed in the final release. The software for the 8MP camera was found to be fast and easy to use. The preview also has some sample videos and photos (including 360 degree flash) of the device which are worth checking out. I have attached the summary points from the preview after the break (including their thoughts on the software side). Read the rest of this entry »

All About Symbian has posted the second part of a three part preview on the Omnia HD. In the first preview, AAS discussed the general design and hardware. This time round, AAS is taking us through all parts related to the imaging (camera and HD video) and multimedia side. The last part of the preview, published shortly, will cover the other software elements of the phone.

Overall, they found that it was one of the best camera phones on the market. Whilst the HD video recording provides the wow factor for the phone, there still seems to be some issues with audio sync and frame rate dropping. Hopefully, these will be fixed in time for the retail release. The Sharepix service application sounds like it could be a killer app for the phone. It allows videos to be directly uploaded to YouTube straight from the phone as well as other web services. All of this combined with a versatile music and audio software package, makes it one of the best multimedia devices on a Samsung S60 phone.

If you are interested in the phone then we recommend you have a read for yourself. It is a very thorough piece and also includes some sample photos and videos. We have posted the key points of this second preview after the break for the time constrained amongst you. Read the rest of this entry »

Once again, All About Symbian seems to be one of the few sites actually giving us any updates on the Omnia HD. This time round they have the first of a three part preview on the phone discussing the general design and hardware. Some of the points we found most interesting is a quoted battery time of 4.3 hours when watching HD video, easily enough time to watch a whole film. Also, AAS are talking about a late-April release, whereas I thought it would be a late May release. It is quite lengthy preview and we’ve posted some of the key points after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

We have already posted about All About Symbian’s play with final hardware. I thought that I would give you a quick heads-up regarding a video that AAS have posted from the same hands on. We get to see the phone and UI in action and is well worth the six-minute runtime. Check out the video after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

All About Symbian (AAS) spent a day with the Samsung Omnia HD and came back with impressions. They noted that the unit that played with was final hardware and recent (though not final) firmware. They plan to post a number of articles on different aspects of the phone in the coming days/weeks, however this time round they talk about the device itself, form-factor and interface. Having read the article there are a few things that really excite me but also a few things that have me concerned. Read the rest of this entry »

Engadget managed to get hands-on with the OmniaHD’s interface (video below) giving an indication as to what to expect. It is the first time that Samsung has implemented Touchwiz on the S60 symbian platform and from the video it can be seen that on some occasions a double-press is needed to activate the command. As a pre-beta unit though this is to be expected.

What else comes across is how vibrant the 3.7-inch AMOLED is. This is something that I imagine is even more impressive in your hands than what we can tell from videos seen through a computer monitor. Have a look at the video after the jump, it certainly whets our appetite. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the biggest marketing points of the Samsung OmniaHD will be its HD video recording, one of the first phones to enable this. GSM Arena gave an example of what the OmniaHD is capable of by posting a couple of videos. Whilst the videos are very short (<10 seconds) they gave an idea of what to expect. However, it is worth pointing out that they would have been recompressed.

GSM Arena were impressed with the phone when they had a first look last month, saying that it has the potential to become the “potential to become the N95 of touchscreen“. Hit through the link to see the videos. Read the rest of this entry »

Mobile Review posted up a detailed preview of the OmniaHD (i8910) last month with quite a few pictures of the phones itself as well as its interface. It’s worth remembering that the version they played with was only a prototype, but it gives a good idea of what is to be expected.

Their basic conclusions were that this is a phone that will mainly appeal to hardware geeks, given the price tag. I imagine it will come down to marketing more than anything else. For example the last tech heavy phone that Samsung released, Samsung i8510, was not marketed as much as the the original Omnia was (certainly here in the in the UK anyway). Therefore it did not gain the kind of exposure that other Samsung lines got. Also, there were a few mobile networks that the i8510 were just not on (T-Mobile being a major one). It’s all to be seen how much Samsung want to push this one.