Adding to the line of Samsung’s Windows phone smartphones is the Samsung Omnia W. If you have been keeping to up to date with the new phones released in the US then you might have mistaken this phone for AT&T’s Samsung Focus Flash as they look the same if not for some minor differences. Given that this is a mid-range smartphone the specs are therefore not your dual core processors or your giant sized screens but rather a decent offering. So would this Samsung Focus Flash look alike be able to woo the crowd just like its US counterpart? Let’s find out.>
Design
Samsung Omnia W measures in at 4.57 x 2.31 x 0.43 inches and with these dimensions it really proves to be another one of Samsung’s compact and slim phones. Tipping the scales at just 115 grams even with the cool looking metal element on the back cover, this phone is definitely one of the lighter phones out there. Thanks to its size and also the tapered edges on the phone, you will be able to handle the Samsung Omnia W with just one hand with ease. Of late we have been flooded with Windows Phone operated Samsung phones that have the Super AMOLED Plus screen. However, the Samsung Omnia W sports a 3.7 inch Super AMOLED screen making it a little different from the rest of the pack. The three customary Windows Phone navigational keys are found under the screen with the Home button made to be a physical one.
It is common practice among phone manufacturers to let the camera interface to do the job rather than providing a dedicated camera button for snapping pictures. Nevertheless, with the Samsung Omnia W, you will find a dedicated camera key on the right side of the phone. Completing the right side is the power button. Meanwhile, on the left side sits the volume rocker while on top is your standard audio jack. At the bottom is the microUSB port. Turn the phone around and on the back is your 5MP camera which comes with LED flash.
Features
As stated earlier, this is no high end phone, so you can forget about that dual-core processor or anything of the like. Nevertheless, the Samsung Omnia W has a 1.4GHz single-core CPU that is more than adequate to do the job. You need to test it to believe it as we were amazed as well that we experienced such smooth navigation on this phone. The response you get from every click is simply brilliant.
Samsung Omnia W runs on the Windows Phone Mango which means there is a lot to love about this phone. For starters, you can perform multitasking, get deeper integration for your social network accounts and also get Internet Explorer 9 out of the box. Just like switching between tabs on a web browser, you can now change between apps just as easily on this phone. All you have to do is hold down the Back button and in your screen you will see a snapshot of all the running applications arranged side-by-side and from here you are free to jump to the application that you wish to use. Jumping between Windows app are a breeze but sadly Windows still has not fixed the lag issues that you face when you want to jump to a third-party software when using this feature.
People hub has not only maintained the previous feature of showing all the recent social networking updates from a contact but it has not added this thing called the History tab. What this tab does is that it compiles your previous communications with that contact, be it emails or calls or anything else for that matter. Some may say that using a virtual keyboard on a 3.7 inch screen might be a pain, but with the Samsung Omnia W, things are different. The keyboard is designed to be simple but at the same time effective in getting the job done.
The Samsung Omnia W sports a 3.7 inch Super AMOLED display and it offers a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels which as a result churns out a very decent 252ppi pixel density. The screen also performs well outdoors as it is bright enough. The colors are well saturated and it produces some sharp images too. Sadly though, since it is using the PenTile matrix, you find that there is some effect on the screen’s sharpness. We also get the pitch blacks and high contrast that we are used to getting from AMOLED screens. The viewing angles were also great making this one complete package.
They say numbers aren’t always the best indicator but is that the case with Samsung Omnia W’s 5MP camera? Truth be told, it is definitely not an 8MP shooter but it does a pretty good job if you ask us. The amount of detail you get from your pictures was good and you also don’t get too much digital noise in your photos. However, it’s not all rosy as there was in issue with moving objects as they appeared a little blurred. The LED flash which also doubles as the video light actually does a decent job in lighting up your pictures enabling us to get some good details from the camera. The camcorder records at 720p HD resolutions at a rate of 30fps. The results obtained had good details and we liked the fact that there were some preset scene modes for you to choose from too.
Browsing the internet was fund with the Internet Explorer 9 mobile browser as things loaded in a jiffy always. All you navigational functions like zooming and panning around the page felt smooth and easy to do. However, there is still no support for Flash. The available connectivity options on the Samsung Omnia W are Wi-Fi, Blueetooth and A-GPS. Sadly though there is no HDMI port to allow you to connect to larger screens.
Call quality on the Samsung Omnia W was also quite good as the voices sound loud and clear on both ends with just a little bit of digitizing that may actually go unnoticed too. Onboard this phone is a 1500mAh battery to provide all the juice this baby needs. It is a decent offering and it will take you through a day with average use.
The major downer with this phone is the inability to expand storage.Pros and Cons
The Samsung Omnia W is a compact and lightweight phone that is bound to be loved by many. The phone also is very fast and smooth in operation plus it has some good in-call audio quality.
Conclusion
Albeit being a mid range phone, in our opinion the Samsung Omnia W is a truly good phone that does the job with amazing speeds. Given it’s affordable price tag, this in one solid phone.
