Samsung Omnia II i920 review

Introduction:

When we reviewed the GSM Samsung Omnia II I8000 this summer, we were impressed by its features and have been eager to see if its CDMA cousin would be equally equipped. Now the time has come as the Samsung Omnia II i920 for Verizon Wireless has been released. Though a bit later than many had hoped, but it makes up for the delay as it comes with Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional already installed, making it the 2nd Verizon smartphone to offer it after the HTC Imagio. We are glad to see that the Omnia II for Verizon retains the impressive AMOLED display, TouchWiz 2.0 interface and 5MP camera that we saw on the GSM Omnia II, but with other smartphone rivals on the loose, such as the Motorola DROID and HTC Imagio, does the Omnia II have what it takes to get people excited, or has the smartphone ship already sailed, leaving it alone on the dock?
The retail package includes the Omnia II i920 smartphone with stylus, 1500mAh battery, detachable wall charger/microUSB cable, mic adapter with built-in FM antenna, software CDs and user manual.

Design:





You can compare the Samsung Omnia II i920 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

It will come as no surprise that the overall design of the Samsung Omnia II i920 is based on the Omnia II I8000 and Jet S8000, though there are some differences, as the front Main Menu key is no longer cube shaped and the dark-maroon colored back cover has a geometric pattern that almost looks 3D. The device is relatively large and is almost as thick as the Motorola DROID, though it lacks the physical keyboard, but comes in at about 1oz less since it is constructed out of plastic instead of metal. The Omnia II fits well in the hand and is comfortable to hold, thanks to the round corners, but it is slippery as it lacks any soft-touch coating. Overall, the device is quite attractive and professional looking as it stands out from other all-black smartphones.



Just like its GSM counterpart, the Omnia II for Verizon comes with a large 3.7-inch AMOLED display capable of 480x800 WVGA resolution, but now supports up to 16 million colors. What does this mean? Images and text look amazing on it, though the TFT display on the Motorola DROID isn’t terrible looking, as it is also WVGA and supports 16M colors. It’s just that with AMOLED, images have more “pop” as they have better contrast and colors are truer-to-life; making us whish that it was used on more phones. Unfortunately, the Omnia II still uses resistive-based touchscreen technology, which means that you’ll have to press a bit harder on the screen to get a response than you would with a capacitive screen, such as on the Motorola DROID and HTC DROID ERIS, though it doesn’t require as much pressure as the original Omnia i910, but a stylus is still included. Above the display is the earpiece, light sensor (to automatically adjust the display’s brightness), and proximity sensor (to turn the display off when it’s next to your face), and below it are the send, end, and main menu keys. Along the left side is the volume rocker, ok/back button, and 3.5mm headset jack; while on the right side is the camera button, lock button, and microUSB port, and the  5MP autofocus camera with LED flash and stereo speakers are on the back. You have to remove the battery cover to access the microSDHC memory card slot, which supports cards up to 16GB.