Dum dum duuuum! Omnia 2 Vs Iphone 3GS

[Guest jonboyuk]

Guys/girls/plants,

I've been looking for some nudging in the right direction and hoping someone here can. I have an Omnia at the moment. I love it. I have been using windows phones since their inception (Orange SPV->SPV E200->SPV C500->SPV C600->XDA Orbit->XDA Orbit 2->Omnia) and now my contract's up it's upgrade time!

I generally dislike Apple and their beauty over funcationality. However, they've added some bits now that are useful to me. In the shape of cut/paste, A2DP, GPS Turn by turn navigation (CoPilot soon), and it's all housed in a capacitive screen! I do get fed up (even though I've changed the digitizer) with my Omnia, touch the screen and it doesn't register. It's not massively frequent, but enough to annoy me.

Someone talk me out of the iPhone 3GS please! I don't fancy moving to itunes! Omnia 2 is looking good but is it going to be better? (Aside from the technical gumph of 5pm cam/dual led flash, 800mhz processor etc)

Jon

[Guest necosino]

Baaaaah! Need I say more, sheeple?

Apps to cover the iPhone's slow processor, okay..

Having to pay for a lot of stuff, alright..

WinMo: Free or cracked just about everything! Customizable everything! You want a new phone? Just flash a new rom or install a new user interface!

[Guest epdm]

Guys/girls/plants,

I've been looking for some nudging in the right direction and hoping someone here can. I have an Omnia at the moment. I love it. I have been using windows phones since their inception (Orange SPV->SPV E200->SPV C500->SPV C600->XDA Orbit->XDA Orbit 2->Omnia) and now my contract's up it's upgrade time!

I generally dislike Apple and their beauty over funcationality. However, they've added some bits now that are useful to me. In the shape of cut/paste, A2DP, GPS Turn by turn navigation (CoPilot soon), and it's all housed in a capacitive screen! I do get fed up (even though I've changed the digitizer) with my Omnia, touch the screen and it doesn't register. It's not massively frequent, but enough to annoy me.

Someone talk me out of the iPhone 3GS please! I don't fancy moving to itunes! Omnia 2 is looking good but is it going to be better? (Aside from the technical gumph of 5pm cam/dual led flash, 800mhz processor etc)

Jon

Omnia 2 is the same technology as T-Omnia in Korea. They only added the FM-radio and ditched the TV-receiver, finger-mouse, made internal storgage a lot smaller and added that cube-thingy in the software. The T-Omnia also has 800x480 screen, 800MHz cpu etc...

I miss the optical pad/fingerprint mouse on the Omnia 2 (odd that nobody ever mentioned that?). And why did they remove that 8GB/16GB storage space?

So I doubt that Omnia 2 will have the same success as the Omnia 1. Since the technology is not that new at all.

In fact I'd rather want T-Omnia than Omnia 2. I think Omnia is fine as it is. That finger-mouse is great. It just need 3D-accelerator and bigger screen (and perhaps faster cpu). I'm not impressed with that cube-theme.

The same is true for HTC devices. I mean Touch Diamond pro has LED-flash that can be used as a light. Touch diamond 2 they removed the LED-light?!?!?!? WTF.

It seems only Apple took notice of what their customers wanted for a small part that is. Now supply a LED-light that we can use as a flashlight and I'd gone for the Iphone. As it is now. It's close but no sigar.

What's wrong with those manufacturors theses days. Don't they listen to their customers?

For now I stick with my Omnia 16GB

Cheers

Edited June 22, 2009 by epdm

[Guest necosino]

I like the 4-way D-pad on the Omnia II. Having it as a cube like that is innovative and sets it apart from others.

[Guest Rob V]

...they've added some bits now that are useful to me. In the shape of cut/paste, A2DP, GPS Turn by turn navigation (CoPilot soon)

All useful things, I agree -- and all things that your Omnia already has (or can easily be added). WM has always had cut/paste, one of the 'major innovations' Apple finally got around to adding. The Omnia has also had A2DP - again, something Apple finally got around to adding. And with your Omnia, take your choice of nav software: I use iGO8, and it's just great. Gives turn-by-turn voice guidance; works not only with autos but also with bicycles or even on foot; has tons of customization potential; etc. Honestly, there's nothing else I'd really want or need in that department. So why would I want to switch to Apple?

iPhone customers have complained for a long time about things that simply should have been there in the first place -- like the ones you mentioned -- so they finally added some of them. Yet from all the gushing from the press, you'd think it was some amazing breakthrough just because it's Apple.

Meanwhile, not only do we already have those items but also a few other useful things like a 5-megapixel camera, replaceable battery (sure nice to have a couple on a long trip!), true multi-tasking, and an open architecture where a monopoly manufacturer doesn't feel they alone should decide who gets to innovate and to what extent by keeping total control over a device you paid hard-earned dollars to purchase. And while it doesn't apply to you in the UK (consider yourself very lucky!), in the U.S. the iPhone also means you're stuck with the lousy AT&T service that I couldn't dump quickly enough after suffering with it for two years.

I do get fed up (even though I've changed the digitizer) with my Omnia, touch the screen and it doesn't register. It's not massively frequent, but enough to annoy me.

This is a complaint that resonates very strongly with me as well. Out of the box, my new Omnia (Verizon i910) with WM 6.1 really wasn't all that "finger friendly". It had a very unresponsive screen and lousy scrolling, despite Samsung's attempt to improve things with their own custom scrolling engine. As I've posted in several other topics, I've finally discovered a complete solution to the whole touch sensitivity and scrolling issue. It's a very simple 3-step solution -- and if you're still disappointed with yours, I have to believe you haven't yet done all of the following steps:

a) Upgrade to almost any WM 6.5 ROM. 6.1 is a lost cause when it comes to touch scrolling, so this is critical. Also, virtually all the custom 6.5 ROMs alter the pop-up menus so they become much larger and thus quite touch-friendly. Until you move up to 6.5 you will never find true happiness, grasshopper! (wax on, wax off...) ;)

b ) Install a copy of the latest version of FTouchSL (I think it's 2.10). There is no need to buy it, because you're never going to activate or actually use the product. Simply download and install a trial copy. Don't change any options; don't enable it -- just install it and forget all about it. By simply installing it, FTouchSL will completely neutralize the crummy Samsung-added scrolling, which lets the nice built-in scrolling that MS added in WM 6.5 (not in 6.1!) shine through in all its glory.

c) Use a registry editor to make one very critical change: Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\TOUCH, change the value of the key 'DownUp' to 150. The default for DownUp is 256, but there are tons of erroneous postings on many forums recommending that the value be increased to 750 or more. This is going in the wrong direction, and will actually make your screen less responsive! The value of DownUp is the time, in milliseconds, that your finger must rest on the panel before scrolling begins. So the last thing you'd want is to have to sit there pressing the screen for 3/4 of a second (750 ms) before anything happens. To make matters worse, some great ROM cookers have fallen prey to the bad advice and actually bake the 750 ms value into their ROMs instead of the default. :D (There's a companion key called 'Click', but I haven't figured out exactly what it does and find I'm happy just leaving it at the default value of 1280.)

Actually, if you've already done both (a) and (b ), the default DownUp value of 256 is not too horrible. But lowering it to 150 made an incredible difference: I have now truly reached the promised land of WM "scrolling nirvana"! Seriously - my Omnia now requires just the very lightest possible touch on the screen to start scrolling, and will track the movements of my finger perfectly at almost any speed and in any application. WM 6.5 really does have very smooth kinetic scrolling, and I can guarantee you that if you perform all three steps above, you will be absolutely blown away by the difference. I strongly urge you to at least try it before doing something rash that you might regret (like moving to the Dark Side!) The only thing will add is that the responsiveness and precision seem even better when I scroll with the tip of a fingernail (again, just ever so lightly) instead of the skin of my blunt fingertip.

For me, the poster child for the worst possible touch and scrolling sensitivity has always been tmail (aka Outlook). But after these changes, I'm happy to say that I can now effortlessly scroll through long emails and even switch forward and backward through the list of emails (using a light left or right swipe). And best of all, these changes will not have any ill effects on apps like Resco Explorer or Opera that contain their own built-in kinetic scrolling.

Apologies for the long post, but I really want to get the word out that everyone CAN enjoy wonderful touch scrolling on their Omnias. If you still want to switch to an iPhone, that's of course up to you -- but you'll have to find a different excuse than this one! :D

Edited June 23, 2009 by Rob V

[Guest bobobird]

Rob V

I have been ok with the default scrolling with the enhancements in the cooked roms but ............. just tried yours and WOW.

Thanks a lot of the great tip.

Edited June 23, 2009 by bobobird

[Guest bobobird]

Forgot to address the main topic.

What makes the iPhone stand-out is not what the OP has mentioned. It is more the concept that went behind its development and the weaknesses that it addressed. And apart from the screen, none of the other phones have done one bit to correct.

Namely

- the screen (not for much longer)

- a true world phone that works on all GSM and data frequencies.

- excellent wifi range

Apart from these 3, there is nothing in there that would compare even remotely to any other similarly priced phone out there atm.

Edited June 23, 2009 by bobobird

[Guest scoiattolo]

c) Use a registry editor to make one very critical change: Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\TOUCH, change the value of the key 'DownUp' to 150. The default for DownUp is 256, but there are tons of erroneous postings on many forums recommending that the value be increased to 750 or more. This is going in the wrong direction, and will actually make your screen less responsive! The value of DownUp is the time, in milliseconds, that your finger must rest on the panel before scrolling begins. So the last thing you'd want is to have to sit there pressing the screen for 3/4 of a second (750 ms) before anything happens. To make matters worse, some great ROM cookers have fallen prey to the bad advice and actually bake the 750 ms value into their ROMs instead of the default. :D

In fact most of the cooked 6.5 roms have the 750 ms value! :D ;)

Great tip, especially the FTouchSL part for disabling the Samsung scrolling !

[Guest necosino]

In fact most of the cooked 6.5 roms have the 750 ms value! :D ;)

Great tip, especially the FTouchSL part for disabling the Samsung scrolling !

I just tried it out too, and it does make a massive difference!

[Guest mapla]

Apple Iphone 3GS still lack of front camera, so it is not a true 3G phone. I'll keep my Omnia 1 and cooked it with Modaco ROM's if Samsung decide to dump it from future update to windows mobile 6.5. Probably i'll look forward for Omnia 3 with windows mobile 7 onboard and multi touch screen.

Edited June 23, 2009 by mapla

[Guest lastnikita]

I like the 4-way D-pad on the Omnia II. Having it as a cube like that is innovative and sets it apart from others.

did you see it acting as a dpad somewhere ?

I thought it was just a button..

[Guest shokka9]

In fact most of the cooked 6.5 roms have the 750 ms value!

Mine are 256 usually, but the 150 setting is nice :D

[Guest jonboyuk]

All useful things, I agree -- and all things that your Omnia already has (or can easily be added). WM has always had cut/paste, one of the 'major innovations' Apple finally got around to adding. The Omnia has also had A2DP - again, something Apple finally got around to adding. And with your Omnia, take your choice of nav software: I use iGO8, and it's just great. Gives turn-by-turn voice guidance; works not only with autos but also with bicycles or even on foot; has tons of customization potential; etc. Honestly, there's nothing else I'd really want or need in that department. So why would I want to switch to Apple?

Rob,

That was one hell of an awesome post!! Thank you! I am a self-confessed flash-a-holic. In fact, I have flashed my Omnia more times than I care to remember!! I am using 6.5 (Sector's V Build), and FTouchSL no longer works ;) For me that was a huge part of my omnia installation routine. Grrrrr! I hope someone can sort it out soon! I haven't tried option C however...thanks for this.

I am sold though. I will wait for the Omnia 2....September???? ish?

Thanks everyone in fact, I am not going to the dark side afterall. Back to my usual applie-hating self :D

Edited June 23, 2009 by jonboyuk

[Guest Bulldogs]

Two things I like about the iPhone. The zoom (using 2 fingers), and the games (unfortunately Winmo will never compete in the games department)

...but that's why I bought an iPod touch... who needs the phone part, long live Omnia!

[Guest dwallersv]

I like the 4-way D-pad on the Omnia II. Having it as a cube like that is innovative and sets it apart from others.

Yeah, that's the mode I have my optical mouse in 99% of the time anyway -- dpad. So it's no loss (to me) to have a dpad.

The only time I've found it useful to have the optical mouse in mouse mode was twice when I had screwed up the touch driver, so the screen no longer responded to touch. Through an awkward set of dpad moves, I could turn the optical mouse on and then use it to execute the point/click steps necessary to restore the driver. Worst case, without it, I would simply have to hard reset and restore from a backup.

So, the loss of the optical mouse is no big deal for me so long as there's a dpad, which there is.

[Guest Mr. B!]

The only reason I can think of getting an iphone over the Omnias is to have just one more excuse to go over to the creative department and talk to the hotties and compare wallpapers.

In reality though, the Omnia just does exactly what I need it to do better and easier than the iphone. My Omnia's just not as cool.

[Guest chokia]

[Guest msra6la2]

Omnia 2 is the same technology as T-Omnia in Korea. They only added the FM-radio and ditched the TV-receiver, finger-mouse, made internal storgage a lot smaller and added that cube-thingy in the software. The T-Omnia also has 800x480 screen, 800MHz cpu etc...

I miss the optical pad/fingerprint mouse on the Omnia 2 (odd that nobody ever mentioned that?). And why did they remove that 8GB/16GB storage space?

So I doubt that Omnia 2 will have the same success as the Omnia 1. Since the technology is not that new at all.

In fact I'd rather want T-Omnia than Omnia 2. I think Omnia is fine as it is. That finger-mouse is great. It just need 3D-accelerator and bigger screen (and perhaps faster cpu). I'm not impressed with that cube-theme.

The same is true for HTC devices. I mean Touch Diamond pro has LED-flash that can be used as a light. Touch diamond 2 they removed the LED-light?!?!?!? WTF.

It seems only Apple took notice of what their customers wanted for a small part that is. Now supply a LED-light that we can use as a flashlight and I'd gone for the Iphone. As it is now. It's close but no sigar.

What's wrong with those manufacturors theses days. Don't they listen to their customers?

For now I stick with my Omnia 16GB

Cheers

AMOLED is added to Omnia 2! Besides it's general asian attitude that they leave the best stuff for themselves.

oh btw, An average looking Japanese made phone has much better design than the iPhone 3Gs. So iPhone is pretty? I don't fxxking think so! It looks like a piece of curve shaped brick with s*** functionality (Omnia/ HTC touch series both are ugly but then again they have outstanding functionality)

[Guest msra6la2]

I am sure I found a digital compass app for WM somewhere on the web b4.

[Guest bpivk]

Number of apps in app store... well duh you can get the apps on the internet and don't need an app store even though I can think of a few program that give you this function. :D

Accelometer api... Samsung sdk anyone?

Other than that the list is fine but i really don't need a digital compass because it drains the battery (i have one on my gps).

[Guest pharao010]

choose wisely......., and remember, on the apple product is always says "design by apple" not produced by apple. all their stuff is full of hardware from other companies , if i think about it..... every phone has something of samsung in it (or a company owned by samsung), screens or internal electric stuff or battery or antena or........

pay for the image, follow the sheppard

[Guest jonboyuk]

It should be updated for wm6.5 not 6.1

[Guest somedude]

i think the omnia 2 is technically superior, but the iphone seems like it has "funner" apps, and the games they have for it(i heard ea is bringing madden to the iphone) look impressive as well.

Overall its seems like its just like a more entertaining phone to use.

Winmo has the its own marketplace coming soon, and i think it will give winmo a chance to catch up with much cooler apps.

Edited July 19, 2009 by somedude

[Guest awarner (MVP)]

"Cooler" apps have been around on WM devices long before the iPhone, it's just they have never been as well advertised and so are harder to find.

[Guest necosino]

It should be updated for wm6.5 not 6.1

WinMo 6.5 isn't officially on the market yet ;)