Samsung Omnia
Pro Review

Phone
rating:

In a nutshell: The Samsung Omnia Pro is a Windows Mobile
device with a full QWERTY keyboard that can match a BlackBerry Bold.
We love it for its slimline design, office applications, large screen,
memory capacity and incredible battery life.
Best buy:
*Free* with half-price line rental from Mobiles.co.uk.

Review:
March 2010.

We’ve
been looking forward to reviewing Samsung’s flagship smartphone
for some time.
On paper it looks like a match for the BlackBerry
Bold 9700, so let’s put it through its paces and see how it
stacks up.

First,
let’s pick the device up and hold it in our hands. It’s a solid
phone, but lightweight for a smartphone, certainly lighter than
the BlackBerry. It’s narrower too and a lot slimmer, so it can slip
into pockets that the Bold can only dream of squeezing into. It’s
also easier to hold single-handedly.

One
of the key selling points of the Omnia Pro is the full QWERTY keyboard
– crucial for serious emailing or if you like to send grown-up texts
with spelling and punctuation. Although the keys are slightly smaller
than the BlackBerry, in use we found it to be just as responsive
and accurate, and we’d rate it on a par with the Bold
or the Nokia E72. It’s definitely a
better option than a virtual keyboard.

The
display is larger than the Bold’s, but frustratingly has a lower
resolution. In fact, the resolution is on a par with the entry-level
BlackBerry 8520. It means fewer
words on the screen and more scrolling up and down.

Now
let’s take a look inside. The operating system is Windows
Mobile 6.5 and you either love it or hate it. At Mobile-phones-uk.org.uk
we are self-confessed Windows Mobile fans, but we know that some
people find it fiddly. It’s the kind of operating system that gives
a lot of control to power users, but has a steeper learning curve
than the iPhone or a Symbian
phone. There are plenty of apps available for download, but they
tend to be more business-orientated than the amusing diversions
you can get for your iPhone. But that’s the kind of phone you’re
looking for if you’re considering the Omnia Pro, right? You get
some useful apps pre-installed, like Internet Explorer 6, a document
editor for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and Windows
Media Player so that you can sync your music collection with your
PC very easily indeed.

Another strength of the Omnia is the monster battery
that it manages to hide within its slimline interior. With a capacity
of 1500mAh, it matches the Bold for performance. Frankly, it matches
any phone out there. If you find that your Omnia pro has inadequate
battery life, you need to stop using it so much and get a life yourself.

Memory capacity is good too, with 256MB onboard
and up to 32GB from a microSD memory card. Connectivity options
include Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, USB 2.0, WiFi and
HSPA with download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps.

Other features worth noting are the rather lacklustre
camera, front-mounted video camera, GPS receiver and FM radio with
RDS.

So, do we have an answer for the Omnia Pro vs BlackBerry
Bold question? Well, partly it’s a matter of how well you get on
with Windows Mobile 6.5. Some folk do, some don’t. For power-hungry
users, there are lots of good apps and customisation options that
make the Omnia Pro a very desirable platform more like a portable
computer than a mobile phone. But if you don’t have the time or
the inclination to learn all this, the BlackBerry might be a better
choice. Apart from that, both devices do the same things. The Samsung
is more compact and has a slightly larger screen; the Bold has a
higher resolution screen and larger keys. Both are fabulous phones.

Features
of the Samsung B7330 Omnia Pro include:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, face and
  smile detection, 2x digital zoom
• Video camera: 320 x 240 pixels, 15 frames/sec,
  2x digital zoom, second camera for video calling
• Display: TFT, 320 x 320 pixels, (2.6 inches),
  65,000 colours
• GPS receiver
• Windows Media Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced
  AAC+, WMA formats) plus FM radio RDS, 3D sound
• Polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Voice memo recorder
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
• Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint document
  editor
• Java games
• Memory: 256 MB plus microSD memory card (up
  to 32GB)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, USB 2.0,
  Wi-fi
• Internet: Internet Explorer 6, WAP 2.0, GPRS,
  EDGE, 3G, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps
• Quadband (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G (UMTS
  1900 / 2100)
• Offline mode
• Size: 115 x 59 x 11 mm
• Weight: 109g
• Talktime: up to 4 hours
• Battery standby: up to 500 hours

Samsung Omnia
Pro Consumer Reviews

Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that’s best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don’t just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

Average
rating from 9 reviews:

Reviewed by Jeffers from UK on
1st Feb 2010
Cons: Looses a connection when other phones have no problem on same
network. Difficult to turn off data access for all apps when roaming
(luckily O2 sent me warning emails). Screen rotation unpredictable,
sometimes it changes to landscape other times not. My first Windows
mobile phone and probably my last, where are the decent games, Samsung
didnt even include anything with the Sim free phone. Call quality
quite poor, nothing compared to my old N95. Pros: Great screen,
great for texting, emailing, internet, battery life very good for
such a big screen, brilliant camera panorama function.
Rating:

Reviewed by mattas from london on
24th Jan 2010
looks sexiii still u no
Rating:

Reviewed by Chris from england on
6th Dec 2009
This Phone is amazing i got it as a early chrismas present i love
it texting is soo easy and i have dropped it about five times and
it hasnt made a different it is strong amazing and looks great what
more could you want. i just need a knew laptop now.
Rating:

Reviewed by sarah from uk on
5th Dec 2009
this phone is brilliant!!! although its a bit expensive its deffo
worth it!!!
Rating:

Reviewed by Mike from UK on 29th
Nov 2009
RUBBISH!!! MINE EXPLODED IN MY FACE!! [Editor's comment: Mike, you're
making this up!]
Rating:

Reviewed by jamo from England on
21st Nov 2009
A nice looking phone.
Rating:

Reviewed by japji from london on
14th Nov 2009
cool
Rating:

Reviewed by Tim from UK on 1st
Nov 2009
v.good phone but in my opinion i8910hd is better.
Rating:

Reviewed by Kelebe from Zimbabwe on
10th Oct 2009
I phone this good own. OMG! Best phone god made everest!!!
Rating:

Samsung Omnia
Pro links

Samsung
Omnia Pro B7610
Samsung
Omnia Pro B7330