Goodbye Omnia & ROMS - thanks for the experience...

[Guest le.bouch]

I've waited nearly two months to write this. Let me start by saying I am no Apple fan. I hate their locked-in paranoia and take-it-or-leave-it attitude. I hate iTunes. I hated the iPhone (no MMS, rubbish Bluetooth, crap camera -what a joke!) - but I wanted a touch screen phone and after much research bought an Omnia.

I persevered with my Omnia for 6 months. I really, really wanted to like it. Out of the box (originally on branded, Vodafone firmware) it was awful. The Samsung veneer over Windows Mobile was clunky and Windows Mobile itself was buggy and fiddly. The touch screen was inconsistent and too dim in daylight. The camera was only worth having in daylight.

Then I found this brilliant forum and was introduced to ROMS. If I only knew what I had let myself in for..

I think it's fantastic that so many obviously talented people choose to spend hours if not days making ROMS for the Omnia. They have without doubt taken it leaps and bounds further than Samsung did.

I've lost count of the number of ROMS I've downloaded and installed, always quietly terrified that I would brick the phone - although I never did. I ended up running one of the WinMo 6.5 variants. But somehow, it never, ever felt quite.. right. Bugs remained. Sometimes Bluetooth would work, sometimes not. Sometimes the WLAN connection would disappear. Many of the apps I couldn't work well without the stylus. Oh that bloody, dangly stylus!

The screen scratched just by looking at it. I could never fix that maddening increasing volume ring-tone. By the time I'd heard the phone ring the call had gone to Voicemail! The volumes for incoming and outgoing sounds were all over the place - even after fiddling with the app that fixes it.

Whenever I found problems with it I thought 'maybe I should try a different ROM?' - I'd download another and then the problems would start all over again, some old ones fixed - some not. But yet another learning curve, having to suss out the new 'issues'. I definitely got 'new version' addiction. Even when the Omnia was working well I'd feel I was missing out if I didn't try the latest ROM - 'maybe this one is the Holy Grail?'

I know that some find the whole ROM part exciting and interesting - in the end I found it exhausting and slightly depressing. Too much time spent in front of the computer, essentially achieving nothing.

Then I tried the iPhone 3GS. What a total revelation, albeit with a struggle to put aside my life-long aversion to anything Apple. The touch screen works perfectly, every time. It's beautifully bright and clear - but dims when it needs to - automatically.

It's simplicity and form blow me away - even after having had it for two months now. I now know exactly what people mean by 'tyranny of choice'. Even something as daft a ring-tones - on the Omnia I wasted hours downloading, experimenting, choosing. On the iPhone you choose from a dozen or whatever, and that's it. Done.

I know it sounds like I'm a luddite and I'm promoting limited choice. But actually I'm not. I'm a musician and I think you can draw parallells. Sometimes I can get more done with a mono synth and a drum machine than I can with a room full of synths, computers and effects. Tyranny of choice...

With the iPhone, all the things that I need to do with a phone are intuitive and work brilliantly. Email, internet, camera (no flash but the Omnia was useless in anything but daylight anyway) and... oh yeah, phone calls! Having spent time with it, the Apps Store is excellent and I'm even warming to iTunes!

I'm still a PC - definitely not a Mac. I wrote this for anyone interested in jumping ship from the Omnia, or maybe anyone who's only tried the original iPhone. You may recognise yourself in some of what I've described.. I'm NOT slagging the Omnia or ROM chefs or anyone who loves all that stuff. I'm probably saying more about me and my limitations than the Omnia's.

For me though, the iPhone is miles ahead - and ultimately my 6 months with the Omnia was wasted. YMMV..

Edited July 27, 2009 by le.bouch

[Guest GodsGift]

For me though, the iPhone is miles ahead - and ultimately my 6 months with the Omnia was wasted. YMMV..

An interesting piece. I can understand your choice and opinion. There is no doubt that the iphone UI is way above anything else at the mo. WinMo desperately tries but natively is no good. Skinned it is better.

I have spent the last year vehemently defending the Omnia. A colleague bought one on my recommendation and hates it.. I am always explaining that if he installs free windows apps then there can be problems.

The whole WinMo OS does seem buggy and unstable and believe me I have flashed almost daily (I blame sector for being so efficient) and I am addicted to ROMs

But whilst I am fond of my Omnia, I find it harder and harder to defend it, even though it is gradually getting closer and closer to what I want.

I had really hoped that SPB MS 3 would be fully comprehensive and integrate into the OS but I still have to use the crappy WinMo interface in the background.

I doubt I will ever have an iPhone, mostly because I have spent the last year saying wot it cant do, although I have been leaning towards it over the last few months.

But, the new Android OS and S-Class UI seems nice and I am still waiting for the graphical UI that blows me away.

The iPhone is closest at the mo but i need a camera and I really doubt that the 3.15 MP on the iPhone is anywhere near the old 3.2 MP on the SE K800 which was excellent.

Just the ramblings of a fool.... but why isnt there a gorgeous graphical interface which integrates completely in WinMo... that would make me smile... and pay.

Cheers anyway,

GG

[Guest necosino]

See: The Omnia II :)

[Guest le.bouch]

A colleague bought one on my recommendation and hates it..

I doubt I will ever have an iPhone, mostly because I have spent the last year saying wot it cant do, although I have been leaning towards it over the last few months.

I really doubt that the 3.15 MP on the iPhone is anywhere near the old 3.2 MP on the SE K800

Me too! A mate bought one because of me and curses me every time I see him :-)

Although I am by no means an iPhone expert I get the impression that the 3GS is a different beast. Maybe try it?

I too had a SE K800i and remember the camera fondly, although I found the N95 8GB better still. I have yet to see a better camera app on a phone.

The iPhone camera is OK and actually rather good in natural light. The video is miles better than the Omnia.

[Guest le.bouch]

See: The Omnia II :)

It's true, I haven't see the Omnia II. I didn't even consider it after the Omnia. Does it still run WinMo underneath?

[Guest GodsGift]

Me too! A mate bought one because of me and curses me every time I see him :-)

Although I am by no means an iPhone expert I get the impression that the 3GS is a different beast. Maybe try it?

I too had a SE K800i and remember the camera fondly, although I found the N95 8GB better still. I have yet to see a better camera app on a phone.

The iPhone camera is OK and actually rather good in natural light. The video is miles better than the Omnia.

N95 was good although the best camera phone I have seen is my wife's C905. a joy to use and every shot is crisp and perfect (no bleaching)

I have a colleague who has the iPhone 3GS and said that its "boring" coz the upgrade didnt change much. Guess apple could sell ice to the eskimo's!

Have to say though that the apps downloaded that I've seen from the iStore do look nice and polished unlike the freeware garbage I regularly download on my omnia.

GG

[Guest le.bouch]

I have a colleague who has the iPhone 3GS and said that its "boring" coz the upgrade didnt change much. Guess apple could sell ice to the eskimo's!

Have to say though that the apps downloaded that I've seen from the iStore do look nice and polished unlike the freeware garbage I regularly download on my omnia.

Maybe he had a 3G? As far as I know the 3GS hasn't had an upgrade yet. If he only upgraded a 3G to the new OS he wouldn't have the video, better camera, compass or increased hardware and video speed. The compass is surprisingly useful. Load Google maps and it rotates to the north automatically - the map moves as you do. Brilliant when you get off the tube and don't know which exit you've come out of / which way you're facing :-)

The App Store has some absolute tosh in it, albeit beautifully presented. What is great though is that each one is reviewed by normals so you can sort through the garbage easily. With Winmo it was Googling and finding comments left by users on disparate forums..

This is a good example of how the locked-in approach can actually work OK - it's all there, and it all works without fuss.

[Guest GodsGift]

Maybe he had a 3G? As far as I know the 3GS hasn't had an upgrade yet. If he only upgraded a 3G to the new OS he wouldn't have the video, better camera, compass or increased hardware and video speed. The compass is surprisingly useful. Load Google maps and it rotates to the north automatically - the map moves as you do. Brilliant when you get off the tube and don't know which exit you've come out of / which way you're facing :-)

He did have a 3G then upgraded to the 3GS... not sure wot he expected but he thought it would be amazing. The 3GS advert makes me laugh "Cut and Paste... blah blah...well you get the idea" yeah been cutting and pasting for about 20 years!

The App Store has some absolute tosh in it, albeit beautifully presented. What is great though is that each one is reviewed by normals so you can sort through the garbage easily. With Winmo it was Googling and finding comments left by users on disparate forums..

This is a good example of how the locked-in approach can actually work OK - it's all there, and it all works without fuss.

Yeah it does seem to work. Much like iTunes. Annoying but easy.

Thats what really annoys me about the omnia. I love it (ish) but I am always listening to colleagues and friends saying how amazing their iphone is and I wanna correct (flame) them and say how good the omnia is, as technically it is, but then they open their weather app (eg) and it looks amazing compared to SPB Weather. I'm not just talking weather apps btw (not that sad). But for the layman (most of the iPhone users I know arent that techy) using an omnia isnt intuitive. I keep finding myself saying no no click there or the old "use your nail" - that was sooo annoying.

Anyway, looking forward to my next phone but no idea wot it will be ...

N97 (surely not a nokia!)

Omnia II (is it still winmo?)

Omnia HD (and the difference is...)

Something Android (and pretty)

Just dont know yet. Although I have been tempted by the LG Crystal but its not a big enough player for me.

(Am aware I am rambling and have hijacked someone elses thread so will shut up now!)

Cheers,

GG

[Guest le.bouch]

It's good to ramble sometimes :)

[Guest necosino]

It's true, I haven't see the Omnia II. I didn't even consider it after the Omnia. Does it still run WinMo underneath?

Yes, but you will barely see it! :)

[Guest shokka9]

i have to agree with the OP and GodsGift

The Omnia is very good, but its like we are covering the cracks with ROMs...(says a chef). I would still cook for Omnia II also, but i dont think we would have to do as much...

As Omnia II seems to be what Omnia I wanted to be, but Samsung released the handsets far too early without much testing and feedback.

Looks like they have listened to us this time....

I dont know what to get next either. I really want Omnia II, HTC Firestone and maybe a few others. I have also been looking at HTC Leo....Google it!

So long Omnia user, and see you on the other side (if i ever get an iPhone :))

[Guest GodsGift]

Yes, but you will barely see it! :)

The UI looks nice and finger friendly but its not the prettiest is it .... wonder wot sort of customization will be possible.

Shokka9 - HTC Leo .... (but its just a rumour!)

GG

Edited July 27, 2009 by GodsGift

[Guest le.bouch]

The UI looks nice and finger friendly but its not the prettiest is it .... wonder wot sort of customization will be possible.

Just watched that Omnia II video. Acknowledging that it's probably version 1 firmware, I didn't see one thing which made me wish I'd waited for that to come out!

Nice big screen size but on that evidence still nowhere near the iPhone for resolution, clarity and effectiveness - I saw a good few failed or delayed finger presses. Also, look at the delay when flipping the keyboard to landscape?

As Shokka9 mentioned a couple of posts above, looks like more papering over the cracks to me. Look at the MP3 manager on it - could it want to be iTunes anymore?

That Leo looks nice though :-)

Edited July 27, 2009 by le.bouch

[Guest necosino]

That's not what he meant at all, Le Bouch. He was saying that our custom ROMs are covering the cracks, not the Omnia II.

The Omnia II is faster, more stable, and more usable than the Omnia, it blows it out of the water. (I've been using one for the past week and a half now, but you didn't hear that). As for functionality (finger presses), the video doesn't do it justice by any means, the response has been great, and being able to change the touch sensitivity is a HUGE plus, especially if you have different people using the phone, each person can find their own touch and change it to suit them. Once it is released, try it, you will love it, and forget all about the Omnia..

[Guest GodsGift]

Very true. If you're gonna make a graphical interface make sure the processor can cope.

The Idou (Saito) from SE has got a 1GHz processor and Samsung have just announced theirs in conjunction with Intrinsity.

Now that should sort the men out from the boys.

The delays in WinMo when trying to send a text or rotating the screen are unacceptable, but I guess the OS is ported to so many disperate devices there isnt a standard config.

I know we've all seen them before but these guys can do decent smooth interfaces with existing hardware.

Why oh why havent they released anything?

The Astonishing Tribe

GG

[Guest GodsGift]

That's not what he meant at all, Le Bouch. He was saying that our custom ROMs are covering the cracks, not the Omnia II.

The Omnia II is faster, more stable, and more usable than the Omnia, it blows it out of the water. (I've been using one for the past week and a half now, but you didn't hear that). As for functionality (finger presses), the video doesn't do it justice by any means, the response has been great, and being able to change the touch sensitivity is a HUGE plus, especially if you have different people using the phone, each person can find their own touch and change it to suit them. Once it is released, try it, you will love it, and forget all about the Omnia..

ok now if you've used it and its better than that video then I'm interested ... but really considering some of the next gen graphic designers out there (remember the one for the omnia on here whose project stalled and unfortuneately stopped) surely they can do better

GG

[Guest le.bouch]

That's not what he meant at all, Le Bouch. He was saying that our custom ROMs are covering the cracks, not the Omnia II.

I stand corrected - you're quite right

As for functionality (finger presses), the video doesn't do it justice by any means, the response has been great, and being able to change the touch sensitivity is a HUGE plus, especially if you have different people using the phone, each person can find their own touch and change it to suit them.

I think that's a good illustration of the elegance of form and function of the iPhone - I could give mine to a dozen people and there wouldn't be any need to go into a hidden menu to adjust anything to optimise it. It just works.

I never intended this thread to be a "iPhone is better than everything" deal - just wanted to reach out to people who were maybe like me - mentally closed to the idea of anything Apple and perhaps stubbornly clinging to WinMo?

[Guest shokka9]

those videos are sick man...

seen a few of the TAT vids before, the one on the Omnia is good, just to rub it in, that we could of had something great instead of TouchWiz (LOL) :)

Hopefully end of this year, next year, we will start to see really fluid UI on WinMo phones...they can do it now and thats with old hardware.

Hopefully soon.

Has anyone clocked this vid?

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/02/19/s...rface-on-video/

Multitouch, wait for the vids to load and enjoy ;)

[Guest BrianPick]

I stand corrected - you're quite right

I think that's a good illustration of the elegance of form and function of the iPhone - I could give mine to a dozen people and there wouldn't be any need to go into a hidden menu to adjust anything to optimize it. It just works.

I never intended this thread to be a "iPhone is better than everything" deal - just wanted to reach out to people who were maybe like me - mentally closed to the idea of anything Apple and perhaps stubbornly clinging to WinMo?

I have a few iPhones in my microcosm. My younger Sister and Mother in Law carry one. I just want to put forth a cautionary statement, the performance does degrade over time and the iPhone is susceptible to getting gummed up by too many app installs. Don't get me wrong. They are slick and I may have even bought one if not for work. But I have seen batteries go south and I have personally witnessed delayed response to key presses and the like. Point is they act like any other computer and use takes its' toll on the device. Just don't be disappointed when it happens to you. I am indeed speaking from experience and I own Mac computers as well. I also have reset a Mac many times because it is frozen. I guess folks just need to realize a computer is a computer is a computer. You may prefer one over the other but they all have very similar traits.

As far as "Tyranny of Choice" is concerned. For some of us here (maybe most) what goes on internally is of great interest and we like the ability to manipulate the environment come what may. So if you don't fit that category then like I told my in law. Get an iPhone if you don't want to worry with options !

Juts my 2cents.

Edited July 27, 2009 by BrianPick

[Guest Tulius]

You know guys that 2 folks in the office, they bought Omnia because they saw me using the very nice SPBMMS 3 and found it AMAZING. IN fact, I like the Omnia more due to this shelle because Samsung UI is VERY UGLY, SLOW and NOT FRIENDLY.

Another came to me and told me: hey, show me what the Omnia is....and The best I could found him to tell was: YOU CAN SEE IT, this is the phone. IF you want to look the UI, you won't see Omnia, you'll see what I want from my phone. If we install SPB MS 3 on a Diamond, Touch Pro, Omnia, or whatever the WinMo 6.1 Touch based mobile phone, in all of them YOU'LL SEE THE SAME PHONE!!

So you have to care only about how it looks from the Outside, look for a good processor and 3d accelerator and then GO AND BUY, so you will always have the same device.

That is why people NOT TECHIE, doesn't like WinMos adn preffers for miles and miles the iPhone.

At first I said that I would never, but if Apple makes is smaller and open bluetooth for headsets, I'll try one for sure and like the owner of this thread, will say BYE BYE to the OMnia, which I have from OCtober 2008 and I0m still looking for a new phone to buy, probabbly the N97.

[Guest Tulius]

You know guys that 2 folks in the office, they bought Omnia because they saw me using the very nice SPBMMS 3 and found it AMAZING. IN fact, I like the Omnia more due to this shelle because Samsung UI is VERY UGLY, SLOW and NOT FRIENDLY.

Another came to me and told me: hey, show me what the Omnia is....and The best I could found him to tell was: YOU CAN SEE IT, this is the phone. IF you want to look the UI, you won't see Omnia, you'll see what I want from my phone. If we install SPB MS 3 on a Diamond, Touch Pro, Omnia, or whatever the WinMo 6.1 Touch based mobile phone, in all of them YOU'LL SEE THE SAME PHONE!!

So you have to care only about how it looks from the Outside, look for a good processor and 3d accelerator and then GO AND BUY, so you will always have the same device.

That is why people NOT TECHIE, doesn't like WinMos adn preffers for miles and miles the iPhone.

At first I said that I would never, but if Apple makes is smaller and open bluetooth for headsets, I'll try one for sure and like the owner of this thread, will say BYE BYE to the OMnia, which I have from OCtober 2008 and I0m still looking for a new phone to buy, probabbly the N97.

[Guest MrCapcom]

I usually only read these debate and im probally going to forget about it after I make this reply.

But umm I love my omnia coming from the LG Dare its the same phone but with everything I thought the Dare should have done. I like the Winmo6.5 interface I barely have problems I make my own roms now which is pretty fun. Only thing that would tear me away from my Omnia is a phone with a higher mp for the camera more space better mem and processor and has to be on Verizon. So I guess ill be waiting for the new omnia's thats coming out :)

[Guest le.bouch]

As far as "Tyranny of Choice" is concerned. For some of us here (maybe most) what goes on internally is of great interest and we like the ability to manipulate the environment come what may. So if you don't fit that category then like I told my in law. Get an iPhone if you don't want to worry with options !

Juts my 2cents.

Absolutely. Totally agree. I'm quite techie myself and have a fair few gadgety interests. What I got fed up with was forever fiddling with the Omnia and ultimately not getting anywhere worthwhile. Tried some shells, etc., but was always left... dissatisfied

[Guest le.bouch]

At first I said that I would never, but if Apple makes is smaller and open bluetooth for headsets, I'll try one for sure and like the owner of this thread, will say BYE BYE to the OMnia .

The Bluetooth is still not very good on the iPhone. It does pair with headsets and my Sony car stereo, allowing A2DP (but not track selection). What it won't do is any kind of file transfer over Bluetooth, so no sending photos to a Bluetooth printer, for example. A good example of Apple's closed system paranoia...

[Guest BrianPick]

Absolutely. Totally agree. I'm quite techie myself and have a fair few gadgety interests. What I got fed up with was forever fiddling with the Omnia and ultimately not getting anywhere worthwhile. Tried some shells, etc., but was always left... dissatisfied

I certainly can see your point and I understand (much to the frustration of the old lady) the constant "if only" feeling that drives us to flash, flash and flash again. If the iPhone does all you need it to then that is great. Since you are a techie and tolerant to the idea that you have to..........dare I say it...........reset your device from time to time you will porbably have few issues. Plus they do have some pretty cool apps. There is one the allows you to use your iPhone as a siting aid for your rifle...now that's versatility.