Would you (still) recommend the Omnia i900?

[Guest add951]

I actually shortlisted a number of phones based on my budget and requirements and they are

*Acer F900

*i900

*TD2

*X1

My #1 choice was X1 until I read this thread.

I would prefer a phone that comes with a kb (just like my old Zinc) but then X1 is now out of the picture.

What I like about a WM device is the customisation, esp. customised os (I believe F900 is out here).

TD2 is out cos it's the most expensive in the list and I'm not willing to pay that premium.

Which leaves me with i900. I see the customised rom threads here and they make me salivate. :)

It's about USD138 a piece over here with 2-yr operator plan and I only pay USD9 monthly for the plan.

What do you guys say?

Just one thing, some ppl commented that Omnia is slow. I have a Touch Dual and it is slow with the default HTC WM6. It's only slightly better with customised rom. Is the Omnia this slow? My opinion is that HTC devices are generally not speedy and requires some amount of tweaking for lag minimisation.

Edited September 12, 2009 by add951

[Guest Marcys]

I have an Omnia. It exists different touch screens, mine was not good at all, so I ordered a new one from eBay. The touch screen is still not very good, and it is something thats bugs me a bit.. Therefore I would never buy an Omnia today. I don't know about Xperia but it would be nice to have a hardware keyboard, right? I do not think it is very slow with a custom ROM. Also, you shold not decide based on what a user posts on modaco ..

[Guest Darthlord]

Omnia isn't slow, just the samsumg default menu, a problem which you can despite with a mobile shell installation or a WM 6.5 rom.

I think that not even the nexts phones to be launched this year will be better than Omnia, personally i hate the fact that none of the latest phones have at least a 8GB internal Storage memo.

I'm just going to replace my Omnia with a WinMo 7/Nvidia Tegra phone ;x

[Guest Koofteh]

The Omnia isn't really slow... either in terms of specs or in practice.

And I would still recommend the Omnia to anyone, given the price isn't too expensive since it's an oldish phone now. I was just browsing GSM Arena for fun last night, and I remembered just how awesome the Omnia was when it was released last summer - its spec sheet leaves almost nothing to be desired (except maybe a higher resolution screen). It's pretty much the most 'packed' phone I've ever seen, and that's not just a gimmicky marketing thing, all the bells and whistles work as advertised.

I usually get a new mobile every year, but this year I'm going to stick with my Omnia since there's nothing really new on the market. I see phones like Omnia II and Touch Pro/Diamond 2 as offering nothing new over their last year counterparts... same camera resolution, same OS (since WM6.5 is available for the i900), same everything. I was eyeing the Omnia II, and aside from the cool AMOLED screen there's nothing really to set it apart from the i900 to justify an upgrade for me.

So I recommend you get an i900 for cheap now, and hold on to your cash until something new and exciting enters the world of Windows Mobile... hopefully WM7 and Tegra devices will come sometime in our lifetime. :)

Edit: You know what, I'll probably keep the Omnia even when I upgrade, that's how much I like it. Looks like manufactures are doing away with d-pads, and I'm really partial to them, even thought he Omnia has a 'virtual' d-pad only. I also like that the Omnia has built-in storage - looks like new phones are now only relying on microSD for storage.

Edited September 12, 2009 by Koofteh

[Guest mobilehappy]

Depends on price, if you get an i900 for a good price its still a very good device and with one of the new custom 6.5 roms its very fast.

[Guest Sea-Breeze]

i will recommend it for exhuatics only

most ppl today prefer iphones only for its capacitive screen

i will recommend Omnia HD ( capacitive screen ) then next to it omnia ..

waiting for a xenon winmo device !

[Guest Crispy 78]

I wouldn't recommend an Omnia to anyone.

I'm so dissapointed by the phone, that I wouldn't recommend any Samsung-phone.

I would recommend an HTC-phone to anyone, lots of updates, ROM's, etc.

BUT

MOST

OF

ALL

Solid hardware!!

With my first Omnia I recieved +/- 50% of all incomming calls.

The screen of my second and exchanged Omnia failed after a 1/2 year.

I use a phone so people can reach me, when I get textmessages that sais I've missed some calls, I couldn't be reached.

When using a touchscreen phone, it would be nice of te manufacturers the the last thing that breaks down would be the touchscreen.

And I'm one of those people who likes shoftware to change, try things that are new... With the HTC-phone I've had, whole communities where working on the ROM's, improving them, adding or removing items, creating software, etc.

So my next phone will be a HTC, never a Samsung again.

[Guest rigor.m]

I would definitely advise you to get the Omnia... Mine is a year old now and I can't find anything better to suit my needs ( Windows Mobile, good battery, optical mouse, and all the other goodies ).

I don't know about the other phones you mentioned there but right now I still enjoy my Omnia a lot.

As for user interfaces, try SPB Mobile Shell 3 and Inesoft Phone...

[Guest Mig-L - Bell]

I would definitely advise you to get the Omnia... Mine is a year old now and I can't find anything better to suit my needs ( Windows Mobile, good battery, optical mouse, and all the other goodies ).

I don't know about the other phones you mentioned there but right now I still enjoy my Omnia a lot.

As for user interfaces, try SPB Mobile Shell 3 and Inesoft Phone...

I have mine for 1 and a half years and I still consider it great... And now runing WM 6.5 it's even better... I still recomend it to everyone...

[Guest La Traviata]

If you like to customise and tweak your phone and flashing ROMS I would definitely recommend it. It has great specs and solid build and once you have set it up to suit your needs it is very usable. It doesn't work well straight out of the box though, mainly due to poor memory management and limitations of the UI, it really needs tweaking.

[Guest RobMac92]

The Omnia is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Mine does everything I want it to. I did have to replace the touchscreen for a tenner from ebay, but apart from that it is great. Large memory, good screen, amazing community here on Modaco, really customisable, half decent camera, just good all round. Only other phone I would consider getting at current would be the HTC hero, but im waiting til my Omnia dies first as I think this is still one of the best phones around. I have installed VITO Winteface, SMS chat and Fun Contact alongside a custom KC WM 6.1 ROM and my Omnia is an amzing little phone now :)

[Guest Jumba]

With my first Omnia I recieved +/- 50% of all incomming calls.

The screen of my second and exchanged Omnia failed after a 1/2 year.

I use a phone so people can reach me, when I get textmessages that sais I've missed some calls, I couldn't be reached.

When using a touchscreen phone, it would be nice of te manufacturers the the last thing that breaks down would be the touchscreen.

And I'm one of those people who likes shoftware to change, try things that are new... With the HTC-phone I've had, whole communities where working on the ROM's, improving them, adding or removing items, creating software, etc.

So my next phone will be a HTC, never a Samsung again.

It's a pity you had a bad experience, but in no way do your comments apply to all Omnias. Like numerous others, I have experienced none of the symptoms you have, and I've had mine for over a year now.

As to your last point, 95% of HTC software runs on the Omnia, and there are scores of people developing roms/software for our device too.

I don't understand your rant.

[Guest Koofteh]

As to your last point, 95% of HTC software runs on the Omnia, and there are scores of people developing roms/software for our device too.

Exactly... the first few months the i900 was out this place was slow and there was nothing going on for the Omnia. But after a few months people started developing and making things for our phones and now so many things work with it, including most of the HTC stuff from XDA-devs. So I think aside from TF3D (which can't be had on the Omnia due to hardware limitations) there's no software advantage to having an HTC device over a Samsung.

I could understand getting a lemon, but there really is no software shortage on the Omnia, especially given it has a weird screen resolution which makes many things not work natively. And as for not getting half the calls come through to your phone... maybe he's just on a poor network? I saw I had a less-than-perfect signal strength on my phone yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it was the first time ever my phone hasn't had all the signal bars in the year I have owned it.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Koofteh

[Guest La Traviata]

I would recommend an HTC-phone to anyone, lots of updates, ROM's, etc.

BUT

MOST

OF

ALL

Solid hardware!!

Actually, having just played with the HTC Touch Pro 2 at my local Vodafone store, I wouldn't subscribe to this statement either. Compared to my i900 the TP2 felt very plasticy and when the hardware keyboard was pulled out the screen was loose and wobbly. Fair enough, this was a demo unit, but I would expect to use the keyboard on a regular basis, so it didn't make a good impression.

Edited September 14, 2009 by La Traviata

[Guest Blobs]

I am still on a Vodafone ROM and have only hard reset once due to a problem. Since then I have only loaded useful programs instead of cramming it with all & sundry.

With regard to the touch screen, I have just tried the Resco beta photo viewer and it is like having a new improved touchscreen. Sooo sensitive and controllable. So it's as much to do with the software as the phone itself.

Having got all the accessories for my i900 and desired programs, I can't see a reason to change - I love it. Mobile Shell & Spam alert make this a really impressive phone and I have now stopped fiddling with it and just use it for what it is capable of.

[Guest Blobs]

Sorry - double post grrrrr

Edited September 15, 2009 by Blobs