Review of Samsung OMNIA SGH-i900 5 mega pixel camera phone with 7.2mbps HSDPA
OCWorkbench team 16 Jun 2008

Do you still want to wait for the iPhone 3G ? The Samsung OMNIA has everything packed in one single smart device that works better. Based on Windows MObile 6.1, the Samsung OMNIA does away with the rigid interface with a 3.2” WQVGA TFT LCD (240 x 400) touch screen with haptics feedback. With a touch of the interface, you get into the various functions of the phone.

The phone also comes with a 5 mega pixel CMOS lens which performs the standard auto focus, image stabliser, face detection etc. It has added in some new features like Smile shot, auto-panorama. Bored with still images, how about spending some time doing a video recording, after which you can edit it by trimming. You can even be your own producer by doing Audio, Live dubbing and adding subtitles.

If you are those who loves to share your archived video compressed in DiVx or XviD, you are in luck. The i900 comes with all the necessary codecs that support the playback of the the movie files.

For the mobile worker, the phone itself comes with a high speed HSDPA at 7.2 Mbps unlike the iPhone 3G which will probably go as high as 1.8Mbps so far. Surf the net, upload your latest blog, check out stock pricing as you would with one device. HSDPA 7.2Mbps support is important as users in Singapore as Starhub already has a 7.2 Mbps mobile data plan using such technology. You might argue that it's unlikely you can reach that speed. In most cases, for HSDPA that we have tested before, it should be able to handle at least half the rated speed considering blind spots etc. Thus, enjoy all the fast speed of up to 7.2Mbps.

Bring your i900 to your overseas office. You could also use your MS office Document viewer, do some last minute changes on the plane. Get into office and present your ideas by connector the TV-out to the large screen projector. Lost in the city, the GPS will help you get your way through the concrete jungle.

The Samsung SGH-i900 comes built in with Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0 / Wi-Fi, 8GB / 16GB Flash + External Memory slot : microSDHC™ (up to 16GB) and has a dimension of 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm. It comes with a 1440mAh battery pack.

Specs

HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (2.1GHz)
EDGE / GPRS (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900)
Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
3.2” WQVGA TFT LCD (240 x 400)
5 Megapixel CMOS
Auto Focus, Image Stablizer, Geo-tagging, Auto-Panorama Shot, Smile Shot
Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), Face Detection
DivX / XviD / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / MP4
Video recording
Video Editing: Trim video, Audio dubbing, Live dubbing,
Add subtitle, Image capture
FM Radio with RDS
MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA / OGG / AMR
Bluetooth Stereo Headset (A2DP)
3.5 Ear Jack
GPS with Navigation
TouchWiz UI
MS Office Document Viewer, Advanced PIM Apps,
Push E-mail, Auto Rotation, TV Out
Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0 / Wi-Fi
8GB / 16GB Flash + External Memory slot : microSDHC™ (up to 16GB)
112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm
1440 mAh