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This is the second installment in the review of the Samsung Omnia 2, the “new” Windows Mobile smartphone from Samsung which has become its Windows Mobile flagship smartphone.  Part 1, dealing with the hardware is here, in case you are interested. TouchWiz These days, manufacturers are beginning to differentiate their phones by adding an additional layer on top of the mobile operating system, and this layer may consist of both a user interface enhancement (ie. the “look-and-feel”) as well as additional or custom applications to replace the ones that come standard with the mobile operating system.  In Samsung’s case, this layer is called TouchWiz, and is present on their Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android smartphones.  In fact, TouchWiz looks almost identical on these platforms, so if you are transitioning from one mobile platform to another, so long as it is a relatively high end Samsung smartphone with TouchWiz installed, you can get up to speed relatively faster. TouchWiz consists of three elements:

1. the 3 homescreens – what the user sees when he/she turns on the phone.
2. categorised application tabs when the user presses the “Tab” key.
3. Cube user interface, a fancy 3D interface which the user can “spin around” to quickly locate and launch commonly accessed applications such as viewing photos/images on the phone, viewing/playing media (songs/videos) on the phone, opening the contacts (ie. phonebook) application, etc.

Homescreens

There are 3 customisable homescreens.  By customising, Samsung means dragging and dropping widgets which are sometimes “live” applications picking data up from the internet (for example, the weather widget) or application shortcut widgets, for example, to launch the Facebook application.  The size of these widgets are not standard, some are larger than others, so a screen may only be able to fit two large widgets in some instances.  You can of course lay widgets on top of one another but this defeats the purpose as it would not be very usable. The widget drawer at the left of the screen opens up when tapped, allowing the user to drag and drop a widget on to a home screen to add it, or the user can drag a widget from the homescreen back to the drawer to remove it from the homescreen.  Additional widgets can be downloaded from the internet.

Out of the box, there are widgets for the most common applications – these number around 23.  Once a widget appears on a homescreen, the same widget cannot be placed on another homescreen. To navigate between homescreens, swipe the screen left or right, on an empty area.  There are three horizontal bars, coloured white, at the top of the screen, to show the user which homescreen is active.  The wallpaper, ie. background image, of each homescreen can be customised.  Obviously a lot of thought has gone into designing this part of TouchWiz so that it is as “personalisable” as possible. Below are examples of the homescreens on my review unit, with some random widgets:

Application tabs

When the centre hardware button is pressed, this launches the TouchWiz application tabs.  It organises the applications on the phone into convenient tabs which the user can rename.  Additional tabs are created as required when the other tabs are full.  The contents of the tabs can be edited as well.  Again, there are horizontal bars at the top of the screen, coloured light yellow, to indicate which tab is active, and how many tabs there are in the entire collection. The Cube UI (covered later) can also be launched from the application tabs screen.

Here are the application tabs on my review unit.  All the applications are standard applications that came with the phone, with the exception of the Shake and Save, My Mobiler, Screen Capture, Garmin Mobile XT and MyPhoneBook (this came as part of the DiGi SIM) applications.

Whatever cannot be categorised is simply lumped into the “Others” screen as you can see above.

Cube user interface

The Cube UI, as described above, is simply a fancy resource consuming user interface which helps the user locate and launch the most commonly accessed applications on the phone.  One can also navigate using the soft buttons at the bottom of the screen.  With the Cube UI open, one cannot navigate to the “standard” Windows Mobile functions – the Cube UI has to be closed first to return to TouchWiz. Once the user selects an application, the bottom bar will show context sensitive menu items specific to that particular application.

Start button

Pressing the “start” button at the top left of the screen will bring up the familiar Windows Mobile 6.5 honeycomb application screen.  This is the non-categorised view of the “applications tab” screens mentioned above.  Here’s what’s on my review unit – the same comment pertaining to the non-standard applications apply as above.  No matter how hard or fast the user swipes the screen, it will only move up or down one screen length at a time – this is the “standard” WinMo 6.5 behaviour.

The TouchWiz interface can be turned off in the settings – simply deselect the “Samsung WidgetPlus” item.  When TouchWiz is deselected, the standard “Today” screen of Windows Mobile appears, and the user can further configure what shows up on the Today screen, an example of which is shown below.  There is only one “homescreen” in the Today screen, however.  Turning off TouchWiz does save on system resources and makes the entire phone “feel faster”.  This is not surprising considering that TouchWiz is rather complicated and will consume precious system RAM, of which the Omnia 2 does not have a tremendous lot of.

With that covered, let’s move on to the standard applications on the Omnia 2.

Personal information management applications

These consist of applications such as contacts/phonebook, calendar, memo/notes and tasks/to-do.

The phonebook application is the standard one, not tremendously different in features and functionality compared to other smartphones.  You can view all contacts, view categories (what Samsung calls categories is actually “groups”, since I cannot seem to find an option to create “groups” on the Omnia 2!), speed dial and to reject/accept calls.  The amount of information you can enter for a contact seems to cover all bases – instant messaging ID, email, website, etc.

Calendar shows the appointments created by the user and can be filtered to show only appointments tagged with certain categories.  Month, week, day and entire agenda views are available.

Notes can be a combination of typewritten notes or freehand drawings/text, or one or the other.

Tasks are strangely not integrated into the calendar or schedule, as it is known in WinMo.

Messaging (email and SMS/MMS)

The email application is the standard WinMo outlook client.  It supports rich email, ie. HTML email.  One annoyance I found when using the application is that it will not download the images in an email – I have to click the “Internet pictures blocked…” link, then click the “Download Internet pictures” link to get the images to load.  Further, when the email is wider than the screen width whether in portrait or landscape mode, I have to click the link that says “Tap to scroll right” before I can scroll to the right, and then turn it off again, if I want to scroll the default way.

The SMS application supports threaded SMS, which is a nice feature.  It’s a part of WinMo and not a customised Samsung application.

Dialer

The dialer supports smart dialling – press a number and the phone will highlight contacts with numbers matching the number pressed, or with alphabets matching the pressed number – for example, if “1″ was pressed, it will also highlight contacts whose names have “a/b/c” in them.  The dialer provides shortcuts to the call log, SMS application and phonebook.

Call quality

I used the Omnia 2 as my main phone for a few days and made more than 15 calls with it (I don’t talk much!).  I never experienced dropped calls, and calls were clear for me, as well as the receiving party.  No crackles, hisses nor other disturbances.  The volume through the earpiece was fine, and the other party never asked me to speak louder nor softer, so the microphone was doing its job well.

Camera and video recorder

Samples of the photos taken with the Omnia 2’s camera can be seen in this Picasa web folder.  I took identical shots with the HTC HD2 which I also reviewed recently for comparison purposes, which are located in this Picasa web folder.  The camera has more functions and features compared to the competition – proof that Samsung has deep experience in manufacturing dedicated digital cameras.  Features such as scene mode, shooting modes and more configurable camera settings set the Omnia 2 apart from the competition.

I also shot one sample video – see below.  The video recorder can record up to 720 x 480 pixel resolution.

Here’s an identical scene shot using the HTC HD2’s video recorder application for comparison purposes.  See the HTC HD2 review posts for another video shot using the Apple iPod Nano 5th generation’s video recording application.

Media player

Video playback

Video playback was generally good, with no stuttering nor skipping nor freezing.  Based on my limited testing, audio and video appeared to be in synchronisation.  The built-in media player played back MP4 files with no problems.  However, it encountered difficulties in playing back the following files:

1. AVI – 624 x 352 pixel resolution, 23 frames per second, mpga audio codec, xvid video codec.  The media player tried to “process” the file, showing the WinMo equivalent of the hourglass “I’m-thinking” icon without actually achieving anything.
2. MP4 – 852 x 362 pixel resolution, 24 frames per second, mp4a audio codec, avc1 video codec.  The audio played, but the media player complained that the video’s resolution was too high for the phone.  See error message below.

When video played, the sound was very clear, even at 50% volume, surprising indeed for a single speaker phone.  In fact, the sound from the Omnia 2 was louder than the HTC HD2 using the same video file, with both having the same clarity.

To fix the unplayable video files, I installed the commercial CorePlayer software and attempted to play both files again.  The AVI file played without problems.  So did the MP4 file above.  However, attempting to play back the MOV file which I also tested using the HTC HD2 in my review resulted in the audio playing fine on the Omnia 2 using CorePlayer, but the video was unwatchable – it would freeze for long periods of time, and only refresh the picture for a split second before freezing again.  Finally, attempting to play back an MP4 file of 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 30 frames per second, mp4a audio codec and avc1 video codec resulted in the audio playing back fine, but the video was unwatchable – less freezing than the MOV file, but still unwatchable.  It has to be mentioned that both the MOV and this MP4 file played back fine on the HTC HD2, so I’m guessing the processor does make a difference.  I can post both the problematic MOV and MP4 files if anyone is interested to test the files on their own WinMo devices.

Audio playback

As usual, the media player supports album art, and music playback was generally loud enough even at 50% system volume.  Again, the sound was louder using the same audio file compared to the HTC HD2.  There is an equaliser mode, as well as audio enhancement modes such as SRS.

Photo browser

The photo browser supports slideshow mode, and can show the image file’s information/properties.  To zoom in, touch anywhere on the screen until a “+” and “-” symbol appears on the screen – simply slide up to zoom in, and slide downwards to zoom out.  This tap-hold-slide motion to zoom in/out is standard on the newer Samsung phones and is not as intuitive and user-friendly as the multi-gesture pinch zooming in the iPhone and HTC HD2, for instance.

Web browser

Both Opera Mobile 9.5 and Internet Explorer Mobile are included.  As no one on this earth likes using Internet Explorer Mobile, I shall not mention it here.  The latest version of Opera Mobile is 10, currently in Beta.  The one I reviewed on the HTC HD2 was version 9.7, customised by HTC to include multi-touch, aka pinch zooming support, so as you can imagine, version 9.5 on the Omnia 2 pales in comparison.

However, with version 9.7 installed, the difference becomes narrower with the HD2 winning only in the multi touch aspect.  Generally, Opera Mobile 9.7 is smoother, and faster than version 9.5.  Websites generally rendered properly, see below.  In my testing, the engadget website loaded slower on the Omnia 2 compared to the HD2, although this could be explained by the different timing of the test, different cellular networks used, etc, but I have a feeling it is because of the slower processor on the Omnia 2, which means that on “heavy” sites, webpages will load slower on smartphones with slower processors.  For what it’s worth, the engadget website loaded at least twice slower on the Omnia 2 than it did on the HD2.

During my testing, there was an occasion where the entire device hung/froze while I was loading my website, and only a “battery-pull” could remedy the situation.  I am suspecting that the slower processor, low RAM and “heavy” website are the reasons for this.  Finally, the version of Opera Mobile I tested, version 9.7 Beta, did not have support for g-sensor/accelerometer support, ie. when I turn the phone into landscape mode, Opera Mobile did not re-orient its display.

Office productivity applications

Microsoft Office Mobile 6.1 and the Adobe PDF Reader are bundled with the Omnia 2.  The Office Mobile suite has editing capabilities, and supports Microsoft Office 2007 file formats.

The Adobe LE reader has poorer functionality than the one on the HD2 – I could not find a function to rotate the view to force it to display PDF files in landscape mode.  And just like its sibling on the HD2, there is no text re-flow feature when the user zooms in and out – resulting in a very painful and frustrating reading experience for the user who will have to pan left and right, up and down, just to read a single page!

Task switcher/manager Pressing the middle hard button which is shaped like a 3D cube triggers the task manager/switcher.  It displays a list of open applications to switch to, and the user can terminate selected or all open applications to free up memory.  There are two views – an icon view of open applications, or a more fancy stacked larger icons view – see below.

Other applications and features

1. etiquette pause – activating this will mute whatever the phone is playing back through its speakers by turning the phone face down on a flat surface.
2. file explorer – browse folders and files on the Omnia 2 and perform common operations such as copy, delete, etc.
3. smart reader – business card scanning and optical character recognition software integrating with address book – scan a business card, and the contact details can automatically create a phonebook entry.
4. FM radio – self explanatory!
5. Arcsoft video editor – limited functionality video creator/editor to manipulate images/videos on the phone to create some basic customised videos.
6. Midomi – search for music by humming a part of a song, or identify song that is playing on the radio.
7. connected home – play media from other connected devices (connected wirelessly or via USB to the Omnia 2).
8. Arcsoft streaming player – stream music from the internet or a locally connected device on the same network.
9. Aplix JBlend – download, install and run J2ME applications.
10. qik – stream live or recorded videos on to the internet using the Omnia 2 – “live videocasting”.
11. podcast – player which plays podcasts the user subscribes to.
12. communities – allows posting of photos to websites (Facebook, Flickr, Friendster, MySpace, etc) and blogs.
13. smart search – search the content of the Omnia 2 except applications.
14. unit converter – converts between different measurement units, tip calculator, etc.
15. calculator.
16. recorder – audio recorder.
17. digital frame – digital photo frame application which cycles through images on the phone while displaying the clock and calendar, as well as other important phone functions such as signal strength, unread emails, etc.
18. MSN Messenger – instant messaging client for MSN.
19. Microsoft My Phone – free phone backup service from Microsoft, introduced in WinMo 6.5.
20. Marketplace – search for, download and install additional WinMo applications for the phone from one convenient location.
21. internet sharing – share the Omnia 2’s 3G/internet connection with other connected devices.
22. MSN Money – shows stock market information, etc.
23. MSN Weather.
24. search widget – launches the Microsoft Bing search widget.
25. YouTube.
26. Facebook.
27. remote desktop mobile – a program that allows the Omnia 2 to connect to a networked PC/notebook to “remotely control” that PC/notebook.
28. games – there are 5 bundled games.
29. RSS reader – read RSS feeds from the internet.  Unfortunately does not support Google Reader integration.  There are some pre-defined feeds to get the user started on using the application.
30. Windows Live – synchronise email and contacts on the phone with what is in the user’s Windows Live account.

Soft keyboard

I generally found the performance of the soft/virtual keyboard satisfactory.  It is not as good as the HTC custom soft keyboard on the HTC HD2 however, and most certainly not as good as the one on the iPhone.  While the layout of the keyboard is more “intuitive” in portrait mode, typing is a little difficult, at times, due mainly to two factors:

1. size of the screen in portrait mode.
2. resistive screen.

I believe that the Omnia 2 uses the standard WinMo keyboard and not a Samsung custom keyboard.  In landscape mode, the keys are larger, but some of the keys are positioned slightly differently, so if you like to mix it up, you will make mistakes during typing, which may make for a frustrating and slow typing experience, which is what I encountered!  In particular, the location and size of the space bar is an issue for me, in landscape mode.  Very often, when in landscape mode, I would inadvertently hit the button which hides the keyboard when all I wanted was to hit the space bar, resulting in moments of frustration when I tried to figure out why the keyboard disappeared!  I just don’t like the keyboard in landscape mode at all.

My typing speed on the Omnia 2’s keyboard, whether in portrait or landscape mode, was slower than the HTC HD2, and most certainly a lot slower than my typing on the iPhone’s keyboard.

Conclusion

If I had to name one thing that I did not enjoy the most while using the Omnia 2, it would have to be the speed.  The slower processor on the Omnia 2, compared to the one on the HD2, made for a trying time.  Performance, especially with TouchWiz enabled, was sluggish and laggy.  Granted, this has as much to do with the slow dog called WinMo than the processor, but on the HD2, HTC showed how it can be made faster and a lot more pleasant by using a much faster processor.

Widgets, especially widgets which picked up information from the internet, made homescreen refreshes (when moving from homescreen to homescreen) slow.

Generally, there isn’t an area where the Omnia 2 excels in.  Its only advantages, from my personal viewpoint was its AMOLED screen, better camera features and louder speaker compared to the HD2.  You can only do so much with WinMo 6.5, and with TouchWiz and the hardware specifications on the Omnia 2, Samsung unfortunately missed the mark.  And this is precisely the reason why HTC had to do a makeover of their own with the HD2.

There is of course a large RM500 difference in RRP (recommended retail price) between the Samsung Omnia 2 and the HTC HD2.  Both have their share of drawbacks, and in the end, it’s you – the buyer, who has to decide whether the premium is worth it.

To conclude, here are the annoyances I encountered on the Omnia 2:

1. slow unlocking of the phone from standby state – it can take a second for the slide-to-unlock screen to appear when the dedicated hardware unlock key is pressed, and up to 3 seconds until the phone is totally unlocked for use by continuing to press the hardware unlock key.  To be fair, this also affected the HTC HD2 so it must be a WinMo problem!
2. when pressing the hardware menu (centre) button, the screen will initially show only three tabs, then refresh to show the actual number of tabs to fit all the applications on the phone – it does this everytime the button is pressed, and can be a disconcerting experience!
3. g-sensor/accelerometer support is patchy throughout the phone – in fact, there are many more applications which do not have accelerometer support compared to those that do.
4. no special assisted GPS application to cache GPS data for a faster GPS lock for use in applications.
5. soft keyboard performance and key placement; inconsistencies and not very intuitive key placement especially in landscape mode.
6. resistive screen sensitivity – I found that I had to do tap more times on the Omnia 2 compared to the HD2, because the screen somehow sometimes missed my tapping.  Perhaps I did not whack the screen hard enough, or perhaps it was due to the screen protector on the review unit of the Omnia 2 which reduced the sensitivity of the touchscreen (the HD2 review unit did not come with a screen protector).

Finally, do read the comments in part 1 of this review series on the hardware – current users and readers of this blog, namely Jack Lee and skeelee/espskeelee have contributed their thoughts there while waiting for this installment of the review to appear.  Thanks to them for sharing their thoughts, and if you’re interested in the Omnia 2, then do drop a comment here and I am certain they will weigh in with their thoughts.

I hope you found the review useful.  I had fun using the phone and reviewing it over the course of two and a half weeks or so that I had it.

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