The inevitable is going to happen. I will get myself an iPhone. On one hand I want one (let’s face facts, it’s a very very good product), on the other hand I don’t want fall into the Steve Jobs reality distortion field.
I was holding out hope for the Samsung Omnia II (Omnia Icon in some markets). It sounded like the Windows Mobile to have (aside from coming preloaded with WinMo 6.1). I recently had an opportunity to play with one in a Telstra T[life] shop and I was very disappointed. Samsung’s TouchWiz UI shell didn’t impress me (in fact it just made me think I was using their low-end F480 which everyone who’s had one seems to hate). And compared to the other smartphones around it, it’s AMOLED screen didn’t look special at all. I played with it for all of 2 minutes, got depressed, and went to see what other toys I could play with in the shop.
For comparison’s sake I also played with a HTC Touch Diamond2 which seemed to be running bog-standard WinMo 6.5 (IE without HTC’s TouchFLO UI). This is the first time I’ve played with a 6.5 powered device (although I have played with it in the emulator) and even though I know that clunky old Windows Mobile lurks just under the surface, I was pleasantly surprised as to how the new welcome and start screens worked (smooth, responsive, easy). There may be some hope for WinMo 7 after all (if MS and their OEM partners can get it right).
For now it looks like I’ll lock into an iPhone for 24 months. By then WinMo 7 will be mature and maybe the Marketplace for Mobile will have (almost) as many apps as Apple’s App Store. Or maybe Android will have taken over as mobile king-of-the-hill.
Random : a blog by Neil Nuttall 
Macfag detected.
dohohoh, STEVE JOBS STEVE JOBS APPLE!!! who the #### starts a review like this?
Unlike the iPhone you can just load a custom rom onto this device, you know this about WinMo dont you?… Dont like TouchFlo you can use ordinary WinMo or even HTC TOUCH FLO (SENSE UI) beats the shit out of the iPhone.
Your ##### all retarded.
LikeLike
Wow the other guys in the office will sure get a laugh out of knowing that I’ve been branded a Macfag. Around these parts I’m often refered to as PC because of my (softish) anti-Mac stance.
And really, you would elevate my ramblings to the lofty status of review? No, no, a review would be if Samsung had sent me a demo unit to play with for a week or two (happy to oblige any manufacturer). This was mearly me expressing my disappointment at how the Omnia II didn’t meet my personal expectations (given how good it’s specs look on paper).
Thanks for reminder, but yes I do know that you can load up custom roms on WinMo devices, and that I don’t have to use the custom shell that the like of Samsung & HTC put on top of WinMo. In fact I did mention how pleasantly surprised I was with the standard WinMo 6.5 shell on the Diamond2 (it was excellent).
One final note, please refrain from using profanities in your comments. They are not welcome on this blog.
LikeLike
“The inevitable is going to happen. I will get myself an iPhone.”
Stopped reading.
LikeLike
Guess someone forgot to tell you that if you want a WinMo handset to run fast you need to tweak it?
Disable touchjizz, go to MoDaCo.com and download the registry tweaks, and watch the Omnia2 fly. Install SPB mobile shell and use the HTC Sense UI FFS…there are so many options for WinMo but for iPhone and lame ass Android handsets you’re stuck with what they give you out of the box. And if you DO say, want to, uhm…I don’t know…tweak and modify a device that you paid for with your own money, you have to exploit a security flaw in the OS and root it, and break your warranty. And yes, Android requires this too. Android is not “open” at all..unless you have a developer’s model phone. Does anyone else besides me have an issue with that? I would hope so…
Think of it this way — Every WM phone is a developer’s model..you can do what you wish with it…that’s the entire point of windows mobile imho.
Since you were so dismissive of the device, I thought you should see what it is capable of — read the first few pages on this thread, and keep an open mind…you may see something you like:
http://www.modaco.com/content/i8000-verizon-sch-i920-omnia-ii-http-i8000-modaco-com/294803/show-your-display/
Sorg’s post on page 2 is probably my favorite.
LikeLike
Thanks for helping me keep my options on Surge. Good stuff.
I’m now waiting till I can get a look at a HD2 (hello HTC, if you’re reading…)
LikeLike
[…] I like gadgets and I’d been holding out hope that the Samsung Omnia II would be the Windows Mobile uber-phone (and iPhone beater) that, on paper, it looked like it should be. Once I got to play with one, my hopes didn’t quite match reality. This post was by far the most popular, getting twice as many hits as No. 2 and some of the comments are classic. Read the post here […]
LikeLike