Omio News Blog

Sony Ericsson Satio vs. Samsung Omnia 2 Comparison : Mobile Phone Face Off!

This week has seen a raft of new handsets flood the market, from Windows phones to budget blowers and everything in between.

However, Samsung’s Omnia 2 handset seems to fly the flag for Windows Mobile 6.5, equipped with a touchscreen interface and sleek form factor to lure smart phone converts. How does it weigh up against Sony Ericsson’s Satio, a Symbian-powered masterpiece that promises the total package? Let’s find out!

Size:

Both the Satio and Omnia are on the big side, as all that technical gubbins has to go somewhere!

Samsung’s device is a significantly larger in both width and height, with Sony’s Satio 6mm shorter, 4.6mm narrower but 2.1mm thicker than the smart phone sequel.

If size is a factor then the Satio is a shade smaller, but both would cause a bit of a bulge in the pocket.

Winner: Sony Ericsson Satio

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Weight:

Neither handset is stick thin, nor are they light as a feather. The Satio may weigh a substantial 126g, but the Samsung tips the scales at an even heftier 129g.

Winner: Sony Ericsson Satio

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Screen:

Ah, so this is why the Omnia is so big! A 3.7″ AMOLED resistive screen on the Omnia 2 makes up much of the phone’s real estate, dwarfing the Satio’s 3.5″ display.

It may be a higher resolution at 480 x 800 pixels versus the Satio’s 360 x 640 display, but the Omnia only shows 65,000 colours against the vibrant 16 million on Sony’s device.

The combination of a larger screen size and higher resolution gives the Omnia 2 the slight edge this round.

Winner: Samsung Omnia 2

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Camera:

Sony Ericsson’s Cybershot credentials are the multimedia phone’s strongest suit, with the Satio packing a 12 megapixel lens with xenon flash, geo-tagging, touch focus and smile detection.

The Omnia 2′s 5 megapixel affair is decent, with mobile blogging available in addition to the Satio’s features, but the image resolution pales in comparison to the professional effort on the rear of the Sony Ericsson’s powerhouse.

Both phones handle video, with the Omnia upgrade recording 30 frames per second at D1 whilst the Satio has a second LED flash for moving images.

The Sony Ericsson Satio has one of the best cameras in the mobile market, soundly beating the Omnia 2′s sophomoric effort. The Pixon12 definitely is the pick of Samsung’s litter as far as taking photos is concerned.

Winner: Sony Ericsson Satio

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Battery:

The battery life on the Satio and Omnia 2 are both very powerful to handle the suite of multimedia features, and run an impressive length on a single charge.

The Satio might have an impressive battery life of almost 5 hours 3G talktime and 340 hours standby, but the Samsung Omnia 2 thrashes it with an epic 10 hours and 430 hours of standby time.

Winner: Samsung Omnia 2

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Memory:

Both are ready for boosting the stock memory in both devices, with Sony Ericsson finally seeing sense and allowing for microSD support.

Just as well as the Satio’s meagre 128MB of internal memory needs a boost to make the most of that camera, not to mention showing movies on the near-HD screen. Thankfully the Satio has an 8GB memory card out of the box.

The Omnia 2, however, has a in-built storage of between 2 and 16GB depending on the model, with an extra potential 32GB with the card slot.

Winner: Samsung Omnia 2

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Connectivity:

Both are top-flight smart phones, with the expected raft of features like GPS, Wi-Fi, and 3G connectivity present and correct.

The Omnia supplements the Windows internet browser with the popular Opera, whilst the Satio is equipped with Google Maps to improve the GPS functionality.

A close one.

Winner: Draw

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Media:

First and foremost, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack on the Satio. WHY?!

The best multimedia phone from Sony Ericsson in ages, and they hobble it with such a strange omission. An even stranger decision considering the W995 did have one.

The wide array of supported video and audio formats, availability of apps with the Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Samsung Application Store and 3D interactive games see the Samsung Omnia 2 entirely dominate this category.

Despite a dedicated graphics chip, the lack of an app store and the omission of a 3.5mm audio jack see the Sony Ericsson Satio falter on a very important point.

Winner: Samsung Omnia 2

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Verdict:

The sheer all round strength of the Omnia 2 in so many departments makes it a tough phone to beat.

The combination of Windows Mobile’s versatility with Samsung’s strong handset feature list makes the Omnia 2 one of the best phones on the market.

The Sony Ericsson Satio is an impressive camera phone, but fails to tick a few of the boxes that one might have assumed as a necessity in this high-end price bracket.

The lack of an audio jack and a dedicated application store will be absences that will only continue to grate more as time goes on.

Samsung Reveals Range Of Omnia Smartphones

Samsung unpacked a lot more than the Jet last night, as a swathe of smartphones under the Omnia banner also broke cover.

Proving that its all about Microsoft when the Omnia brand is concerned, the three new devices are all rocking Windows Mobile 6.1, and targeting three distinct markets:-

The Samsung i8000 Omnia II is yet another landmark device from the Korean phone maker, boasting the world’s biggest AMOLED screen at 3.7 inches at WVGA resolution. It is still resistive rather than capacitive in terms of touch (a downside of Windows Mobile), but the addition of a revamped TouchWiz 2.0 user interface and 3D effects attempt to add both responsiveness and visual flair.

The rest of the specs are as correct as previous leaks suggested, with an 8.1 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, GPS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.

The Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO is their work/life balance solution as reported before, a QWERTY slider device replete with all manner of mail and messaging functionality. Microsoft Office suite allows for document management, whilst a 5 megapixel camera, AMOLED touchscreen and multimedia functionality makes this device a good all-rounder.

The baby of the group is the Samsung B7300 OmniaLITE, still a smartphone in the sense of running on Windows 6.1, but coming in at the lower end of the mobile spectrum.

That’s not to say it’s a pushover, as it handles the basics really well with Microsoft Office suite, GPS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, push mail, and a slick Opera browser for surfing.

The more extraneous features take a hit as the camera is ‘only’ a 3 megapixel affair, but retaining the same multimedia support and TouchWiz 2.0 interface, the OmniaLITE will certainly raise the bar for what constitutes an entry level smartphone.

No release windows have been opened for the Omnia gang, but we’re guessing sooner rather than later.

BONUS FACT: Bear in mind all of these handset are (kind of) future-proof by being upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5, so they can only get better when it finally comes out!

Samsung i8910 HD Now Available!

Yes, the first flagship handset for the Summer is now available on Orange courtesy of Mobiles.co.uk, as the Samsung i8910 HD makes its appearance!

The i8910 HD was also known in some circles as the Omnia HD, but the removal of the Omnia tag is purported to be due to the nature of the handset in fact being based on a completely different operating system to the original Samsung i900 Omnia.

The first Omnia ran on Windows Mobile whilst the i8910/Omnia HD is a Symbian S60 device, so the name was dropped to avoid confusion…except we’re still a little confused!

The huge 3.7″ AMOLED display is certain to be the most arresting feature of the i8910 HD, and a close second is the ability the device to record in 720p high definition video!

That being said, it is just as good at consuming as making media, which support for all the major video and music formats, including MP3, DivX, XviD, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, Windows Media and RealVideo formats!

With GPS, FM radio and 3G connectivity on board, the i8910 HD looks to be that all-in-one gadget that we have been waiting for! Whilst we’ll give you all a review in due course, there are currently a number of great Samsung i8910 HD deals available, even offering the handset for free on a £30 per month contract!

Now is as good a time as any to enter the next generation of HD mobile phones!

Emulator Brings PlayStation Gaming To Your Mobile Phone!

Good news! You no longer have to wait for Sony and Ericsson to become buddies again if you want to play the cream of console gaming on your mobile phone.

A clever developer by the name of ‘SchTruck’ has managed to make a Sony Playstation 1 emulator for Windows Mobile handsets!

Able to run from game file images as opposed to compact discs, the ‘FPSEce’ emulator allows you to take on Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7 on the bus, or scare yourself silly playing Resident Evil 2 on the toilet.

The quality of the gameplay seems impressive from online demos, with the emulator running most games at full speed and replicating the (then) cutting edge 3D graphics perfectly, using just a Samsung i900 Omnia!

Check out Gran Turismo 2 on an Omnia below! WARNING: Anyone under the age of 20 viewing the following, take into account that this game was amazing in the year 2000.

Controls? Well, it even has support for Bluetooth controllers, meaning all of the accuracy and timing required to play a fast-paced fighting game can be handled with ease, without poking at the screen with grubby mitts!

Where can you get it? Well, the emulator is apparently not quite ready for release just yet, but is getting lots of popularity from all of the YouTube videos posted up. Keep an eye on this MoDaCo forum thread for updates, hopefully it’ll be out for the Omnia as well as other Windows Mobile phones very soon!

LG Arena : 1 Million Pre-Orders Placed

The LG Arena is without a doubt the 2009 flagship handset for the Korean firm, and it seems like that all that marketing towards a focal point is paying off with a reported one million pre-orders placed already for the touchscreen device.

Armed with a combination of familiar stylings and a fresh user interface dubbed ‘S-Class’, the LG Arena is poised to wrest touch phone dominance in the market currently held by the Samsung Omnia and Tocco, as well as the warmly welcomed Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Obviously none of the above phones are doing iPhone numbers, but the ‘Number 2′ headband is still very much up for grabs…

This swell of interest is said to have spured LG to increase the number of European territories the Arena will be presented to. The Arena follows in the footsteps of the LG Prada and LG Viewty, both multi-million selling touch-based phones marrying looks with innovation to create highly coveted gadgets.

Judging by those pre-orders, the Arena could well be the next big one.

Samsung Booth Tour : Mobile World Congress 2009

We had a good look at everything Samsung had to offer at their booth at Mobile World Congress, and it was all about touchscreen handsets!

The Samsung Tocco Ultra was definitely their star device, and the guys were pushing it loads on their stand. It’s an impressive device and certainly holds it’s own, with the TouchWiz UI easy to use as well as fun.

This quick hands-on video shows off some of the more impressive features on the device, including multimedia playback and the huge screen.

The Tocco Ultra was good, but don’t underestimate the multimedia prowess of the Samsung Omnia HD! They were showing off the richness and clarity of the handset’s 3.7″ AMOLED screen in quite an impressive way…

Read more…

Samsung Gets Touchy With Ultra Touch, Omnia HD and Beat DJ

Samsung was in a positive mood, with a sweet selection of touch based handsets to sample at their sumptuous press conference.

First up was flying in the face of the current economic situation, confident that they will continue to increase their market share well into 2009.

What was their secret weapon? Touchscreens, and lots of them!

Based on the tenet of ‘one product does not fit all,’ Samsung’s new range of touch handsets cater to consumers’ needs in a variety of lifestyles.

First up, the Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch (or ‘Tocco Ultra‘, depending on who you ask!) combines the best full touch user experience and alphanumeric keypad. We’ve already covered this handset in detail with our Samsung Tocco Ultra announcement post, but it was still really nice to see the handset in the flesh! Available at the end of this month, we have some awesome pics and video of the Tocco Ultra to follow…

Next up was the Samsung Omnia HD, which was a very impressive handset in all respects! Able to shoot video in 720p, able to stream hi-def content to your television over DNLA and sporting a glorious 3.7″ touchscreen display, the Omnia HD was a welcome sequel to a popular phone.

Conspicuous in it’s absence was Windows Mobile on this new Omnia, with Samsung opting for a reskinned TouchWiz version of Symbian S60 Version 5. Was WinMo a little too sluggish to keep up with the HD, or just an amicable parting for the two? We’ll find out when we interview Samsung’s UK General Manager later in the week!

Anyway…the Omnia HD also comes equipped with an 8 megapixel camera, wi-fi, Bluetooth and USB support, and will be available in both 8GB and 16GB versions, just like the original.

The Omnia HD is earmarked for a Q2 2009 release.

The Samsung M7600 Beat DJ was…different. Reminiscent of a jukebox but functioning like a DJ’s decks (kind of), the M7600 grabs the ‘music functionality in a phone’ aspect with both hands and proceeds to autotune it to death!

With audio supplied by Bang & Olufsen ICEPower, you know the bass output is nice, but the extra scratching and vocals you can add onto the preset ‘beats’ are the most slammin’ feature!

The entire touch based interface, called Disc UI, operates on the same circular structure the phone is designed around making navigation a lot of fun, and just like using a fancy classic iPod!

The Samsung M7600 Beat DJ is no lazy remixer when it comes to specs, with a proximity sensor to turn the screen off when chatting to your peeps, a FM radio with RDS to listen to pirate grime stations, and of course a 3.5mm audio jack!

Look out for our video with me playing on the Ones and Twos with the Beat DJ, it makes for some pretty harrowing footage!

Alongside these three was much talk made of their green initiative, or rather ‘Blue Earth Initiative,’ complete with solar powered phone. All well and good to try and save the earth and cut emissions, but when asked about their methods for competing in the marketplace, a leading Samsung executive curtly replied “To launch lots of handsets.”

Not very planet conscious, is it? However, if they launch more like these, I think it’s a sacrifice worth making.

8 Megapixel Samsung Memoir: More Camera Than Phone!

Cementing the words ‘camera’ and ‘phone’ together is the new Samsung T929 Memoir, an 8 megapixel snapper with xenon flash makes this handset an exciting prospect!

A T-Mobile US exclusive at the moment, the Samsung Memoir is also a 3G compatible device to take advantage of their super fast networks. It is obviously a touchscreen phone, with a 3″ TFT screen and multimedia in mind.

The TouchWiz interface made famous on the Samsung F480 Tocco and the Samsung Omnia will turn up again on the Memoir, and allows for your super high resolution images to be looked at on the screen, as well as uploaded onto Flickr, Snapfish and all manner of social network-y photo places!

Downsides? Wi-Fi is nowhere to be found on the Samsung Memoir, much like the BlackBerry Storm requiring Vodafone/Verizon to get it’s browse on. Aside from the snazzy camera, there is little to distignuish this from the deluge of touchscreen mobiles coming throughout 2009…but it is a really snazzy camera.

Source: Electric Pig

LG KM900 Arena Breaks Cover, Shocking New Touchscreen Design!

Not really.

Phones continue to leak, this time LG have loose lips as the LG Arena KM900 has been splashed across the homepage of GSMArena.

Apparently an ovezealous Dutch phone retailer is to blame, as they have revealed the new touchscreen device in their new brochure slightly ahead of time.

It bears an uncanny resemblance to both the Samsung i900 Omnia and the newly announced Toshiba TG01, both of which have taken entire chapters from the design journal of The (i)Phone That Shall Not Be Named…

The LG KM900 Arena runs on a new UI (don’t they all?) called S-Class, which is meant to offer a more luxurious experience as the name implies, but it seems to translate to ‘like the iPhone,’ if the images are any indication…

LG KM900 Arena features a 5 megapixel camera, DivX media playback and the smartphone connectivity essentials of Wi-Fi, built-in GPS and Bluetooth.

It seems like all phones will be slabs of rectangular touch sensitive metal, if the releases of 2009 so far are any indication.

iClones…less of them, please!

Toshiba TG01 Mobile Phone Launched, Specs Better Than iPhone?

As you might be aware by now, the Mobile World Congress is happening in a couple of weeks, so all of the major manufacturers are releasing all manner of tidbits to get the journos excited.

Today is the turn of Toshiba, who have announced a new handset, the TG01, from out of nowhere!

Promising ‘a mobile revolution,’ the TG01 is a Windows Mobile powered-handset offering a jazzed-up user interface on top in the vein of the Samsung Omnia or the HTC Touch HD‘s TouchFLO 3D.

Actually, the TG01 has a lot in common with HTC’s latest, offering a slender 4.1″ wide handset that is a mere 9.9″ thick.

The VGA screen takes up most of that real estate on the front of the screen, whilst the new Qualcomm Snapdragon chip inside offers the kind of processing grunt to make the TG01 more than a match for the iPhone…on paper at least!

Med Jeewoth, Toshiba’s country manager for UK and Ireland, did the honours, claiming the company have taken their expertise in TV and applied it to mobiles, and they also “listened to what users want – great speed, and the interaction of a touchscreen, but more importantly you want it to look really slick, very slim and very sexy.”

3G connectivity and built-in GPS are all standard, as as support for both Flash and DivX for all your multimedia needs!

A very nice handset in both white and black (the standard post-iPhone smartphone colours), Toshiba’s TG01 is an unexpected but welcome surprise! Hands-on impressions as and when we can get them, promise to make it up with plenty of content when we go to the MWC!

Update: Now with moving pictograms, courtesy of Pocket Lint / Megawhat.tv!

Source: Electric Pig