Remember the teaser here? We’ve had the opportunity to review the LG Optimus 7 and the HTC HD7 Windows Phone 7 devices till now, so we didn’t expect any surprises when Samsung Omnia 7 came up. Turns out that this is not yet another WP7 smartphone, but one that’s actually a hit. We were very impressed by the quality of its display and its camera, but more about that in the review below.
Samsung Omnia 7 packs 8GB of storage in the version I tested and it comes with the usual specs for a Windows Phone 7 device: 8GB storage, HSDPA, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 5 megapixel camera and 1GHz CPU. We were particularly impressed by the camera, that has much more options than we found on the HTC HD7 or LG Optimus 7.
Believe it or not, even HDR found its way on the device, while the video capture it does is 720p HD and it really looks like it. Once again, the Super AMOLED 4 inch display was amazing, which you’ll notice especially when viewing video content or playing games. Guitar Hero 5 may have tried to look 3D on it, but it’s surpassed by the iPhone’s Rock Band, right now.
As far as Samsung’s customization of the device is concerned, there’s a Now Hub, that includes weather updates, the latest news and a Stocks section. You can choose the area of interest for the news feed displayed and view the weather for up to 6 days in advance. Samsung Omnia 7 also comes with a Photo Sharing feature preinstalled, allowing you to share your pics immediately after taking them via Flickr, Facebook, MySpace and Picasa.
The battery on the smartphone is supposed to provide 5 hours and 40 minutes of 2G talk time, but after some dozens of minutes of WiFi + 3G + web browsing, music playing and gaming, the Omnia 7 was in dire need for recharging. As usual, I was bugged by the fact that I had to download a special app in order for YouTube for work, but I liked the fact that I had to use the IMDB app to access it, instead of the site.
This has got to be one of the best mobile apps I’ve seen lately, especially when it comes to interface and ease of use. The desktop site has really got nothing on the mobile app version. The phone’s design is elegant, with a rounded back and a front side with straight edges. Just like the Nexus S, you don’t feel you’re using a 4 inch smartphone, even if this is the case.
Overall, the Samsung Omnia 7 is a very good phone, one that stands out from the WP7 crowd and a solid purchase if you’re only now getting into the Windows Phone universe.
