Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO review: Pro toolbox

Introduction

Now that we have the B7610 OmniaPRO running on the much-awaited Windows Mobile 6.5, we're finally up to speed. Omnia smartphones have a pretty wide reach already and they are known for their WinMo customizations and feature-rich specs sheets. The B7610 OmniaPRO however was the first family member to sport a full hardware keyboard and by the looks of it, Samsung have done a great job.

Side-sliding or not, the B7610 OmniaPRO is definitely a capable device in both hardware and software equipment. The QWERTY keyboard however is a convenience tool usually reserved for the competition's high-end offerings, so you can bet the OmniaPRO will have to tackle some really capable contenders. But you can easily tell, it a tough nut to crack as well.

     
Samsung B7610 Omnia Pro official photos

Key features:

• Quad-band GSM support and 3G with HSDPA
• 3.5" 16M-color (65K effective) AMOLED display of 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• Work & Life mode switch key
• Full side sliding QWERTY keyboard
• 800 MHz processor with dedicated graphics accelerator
• 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash and D1 video recording at 30 fps
• Windows Mobile 6.5 fully skinned with TouchWiz UI
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack
• 2GB built-in storage, 256 MB RAM, microSD (up to 32GB), 8GB card included
• Wi-Fi with DLNA
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotate and turn-to-mute
• TV out functionality
• Nice audio output quality
• Large capacity Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery

Main disadvantages:

• Bulky and heavy
• 65K color limitation of display has color gradients banding
• Poor sunlight legibility
• Comes with OmniaLITE-grade HSDPA speed, and no HSUPA support
• microSD card slot under the battery cover
• The display and back pannel are finger print magnets
• Performance under WinMo 6.5 not a good as it was under 6.1
• No preinstalled SatNav software
• No voice dialing
• No web Flash support
• No stereo speakers

    
Samung B7610 OmniaPRO at ours

Who is the OmniaPRO is a multiple choice question. And there is more than one correct answer. The original Omnia has produced such an offspring choosing names became a problem. They even had to name one of the kids after the uncle. If you've been keeping track, you'd know the OmniaPRO has an Armani-branded alter-ego - the B7620. But well, Giorgio was lucky. The B7610 OmniaPRO less so.

Now, there's nothing wrong with the name except that there are another couple of Pros in the family. And perhaps too many of them in other houses.

We've never had a doubt about the quality of the Omnia genes but such a strong and versatile lineup perhaps exceeds the most optimistic scenarios. Samsung are obviously not only trying to update their portfolio but confront their key market rivals by matching competing devices spec for spec.

The B7610 OmniaPRO will be engaging the enemy on the high end of the performance and pricing scale. And that's where even the smallest details count. The B7610 doesn't have a unique defining feature like the Omnia HD to give it an edge against some unforgiving rivals. So, it will have to squeeze every bit of performance out of its system. It can count though on Samsung's solid record in multimedia and interface customization.

Speaking of which, the custom-made TouchWiz looks and feels better than ever. So much that it's worth the spoiler. And the mode switch for toggling Work and Leisure is keen to make a point that this here Pro knows good fun too.

So, the B7610 OmniaPRO will be trying to make its mark. And so will be Windows Mobile yet again. Because the OmniaPRO is certainly not running against PocketPCs only - the competition's finest will stand on its way. That's Symbian, and Android, and Maemo.

source 

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Samsung S7070 Diva preview: First look

Introduction

The Samsung S7070 Diva is a style-conscious phone with a fairly standard front but with a very distinct 3D quilted pattern shape on the back panel. It marks the start of a new product family of female oriented style-driven phones in Samsung portfolio. The signature back pattern is complemented by the diamond back key dead center below the display.

The phone has been obviously designed with young women in mind and offers Facebook and MySpace integration and other social network applications. Other features such as the stereo FM radio and a 3 MP fixed-focus camera with smile shot and up to ISO 800 sensitivity will keep active young people entertained all day long.

   
Samsung S7070 Diva official photos

Samsung S7070 Diva at a glance

• General: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS/EDGE class 12
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar, no keypad
• Dimensions: 101.0 x 54.8 x 13.4 mm, 94 g
• Display: 2.8-inch resistive TFT touchscreen, QVGA resolution (240 x 320 pixels)
• Platform: Latest TouchWiz UI
• Memory: 40MB, Non-hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 8GB)
• Camera: 3 megapixel fixed focus camera with Smile shot, face detection, blink detection, Beauty Effect and Lomo Effect
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB v.2.0
• Misc: Accelerometer sensor for turn to mute, FM radio with RDS and broadcast recording, DNSe sound effect, Gesture lock, Pop-up SNS for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter integration, Wish list
• Battery: 960 mAh battery

The Samsung S7070 is certainly not your ordinary handset. The pearly white paint job and the 3D quilted back are two things that do a lot to set it apart - not to mention the gem-inspired Back key below the screen. It's certainly a treat for the ladies - an attempt to liven up things in the lower range of the touchscreen market.

   
Samsung S7070 Diva all over

Now we did have a sneak peek of the Samsung S7070 some 10 days ago before it was even announced but now that Samsung officially unveiled it, it's time for a proper introduction. Join us on the next page for a full body inspection of this sizzling hot babe.

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Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani preview: First look

Introduction

Well, here's for the next phone courtesy of the joint efforts of Giorgio Armani and Samsung. Third in line, it's meant to be the perfect companion for Armani's suits and more importantly, for the executives that wear them. Let's face it, a high-street fashion label phone is all about the statement and a little less about the functionality. The Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani phones however, delivers on both and it does that with a charm of its own.

Honestly, when we first welcomed the review sample in our office, we were a bit put off by the large size, which seemed to make the golden highlights design even louder aesthetically. However we guess that in the fashion accessories worlds, being loud is the best way to attract the much sought-after attention.

After all, the B7620 is not tacky, it's just plain golden to our taste. And as you probably remember, our fearless editors don't mind dipping their feet in stores full of gold mobiles. So here goes, our quick preview of the Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani as we briefly took it out for a spin.

   
Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani held in hand

Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, EDGE class 10, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Slide-and-tilt full QWERTY touch phone
• Dimensions: 118.5 x 58.3 x 16.4 mm, weight 164 grams
• Display: 3.5" 16M color (65K effective) resistive AMOLED touchscreen of WVGA resolution
• OS: Windows Mobile 6.5, TouchWiz 2.0 UI, Work&Leisure mode switch key
• Memory: 8GB built-in storage, 192 MB RAM, hot-swappable microSD (up to 16GB)
• CPU: 800 MHz processor with dedicated graphics accelerator
• Camera: 5 megapixel auto-focus, with dual LED flash and VGA video at 30 fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, TV out
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD video support
• Battery: 1500mAh Li-Ion battery

You can easily tell - just by looking at the Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani model name - that's it's a really close relative to the already available Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO. Well, there are some hardware differences, of course. The new Armani phone can tilt its screen and has 8 gigs worth of internal storage, but it comes with a slightly larger footprint and doesn't have the 3.5mm audio jack of the OmniaPRO. Still, as you can see, they're almost like twin brothers.

    
Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani next to Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO

But let's have a nice look of the new Armani phone by Samsung on its own, after all, it's the start of today's show.

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Samsung I7500 Galaxy review: A hitchhiker's guide

Introduction

Android is set on grabbing the number two spot in the smartphone market by 2012 and the Samsung I7500 Galaxy might be the type of phone to get it there. Perhaps less for the Galaxy at this point, and more for the Samsung, but we'll see about that.

  
Samsung I7500 Galaxy official photos

The I7500 Galaxy is a "Google experience" phone, and has the intrinsic advantage of having the search giant's infrastructure behind its back. For one, YouTube and Picasa integration sure add value to the 5-megapixel camera.

And as to people who spend their time digging around the Internet for oft hard to find information, we really appreciate the improved search widget. And that thingy is about to get better - Android is a bit like Google's other projects, a perpetual work in progress that keeps getting new features and polishes the occasional rough edges.

The I7500 Galaxy is the company's first take on Android but if we put the OS aside, it should be a solid Samsung touchscreen with all the gadgetry we've got used to in smartphones. Of course, the Android platform still has a few issues to address and get some annoying limitations out of the way. Let's see what this here Android by Samsung can do for you and where it might fail.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 5.76Mbps
• Android OS v1.5 (codenamed Cupcake) without customizations
• 3.2" capacitive AMOLED touchscreen of HVGA resolution
• Qualcomm MSM72000A 528MHz CPU, 128MB RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, YouTube and Picasa integration
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and GPS receiver
• Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and turn-to-mute
• Digital compass for automatic navigation of maps
• Standard microUSB port for charging and data
• microSD card slot with microSDHC support
• 8GB internal storage
• Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
• 3.5 mm audio jack

Main disadvantages

• No smart dialing
• Camera features are a bit outdated
• No videocalling
• No multi-touch gestures
• No Flash support in the web browser (coming soon via the Open Screen Project)
• No DivX/XviD video support or a third-party application to play that
• No FM radio
• No TV-out port
• No voice dialing
• Somewhat limited 3rd party software availability
• No Bluetooth file transfers (not without rooting)
• No tethering (not without a custom ROM)

   
Samsung I7500 Galaxy live shots

Samsung have established a strong presence in the touchscreen market. Their usual weapon of choice is TouchWiz, which brings PocketPCs and feature phones closer together, projecting a consistent brand image.

With the Galaxy, they're stepping out of their comfort zone - a new OS and a new interface. TouchWiz for Android is yet to come (and in the case of I7500 never is more likely than later).

To make sure it does well, Samsung have equipped the Galaxy to match to specs of the top Android phones available on the market. And it sure needs every bit of ammo if it's going to challenge the well-entrenched HTC Hero. The I7500 Galaxy can take it on spec for spec and even win a few rounds.

But that's on paper, and we guess you're curious to see the real deal. Jump to the next page for this Einstein's worth of a question: what is the Galaxy made of?

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Satio vs. Pixon12: 12MP shootout teaser

Introduction

It took cameraphones exactly one year to take the next step in their evolution, closing the gap on dedicated digicams even more. As usual we are here, carefully tracking the progress and checking out if it's going in the right direction.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 and the Sony Ericsson Satio are easily two of the most interesting phones in our database and their appeal is in no small part due to the 12 megapixel shooters that are mounted on their backs.

  
Sony Ericsson Satio • Samsung M8910 Pixon12

Back in the day, Samsung INNOV8 was first to exceed even the most optimistic expectations producing photos of quality unknown to the GSM world before. We are now curious if the Satio and the Pixon12 will take another leap forward, to virtually null the difference in image quality between cameraphones and digicams.

Of course the answer to that question will come in the form of one of our trademark full-blown shootouts but until that's finished we decided to give you some food for thought. We've posted several camera samples that we took with the retail units of Samsung M8910 Pixon12 and Sony Ericsson Satio for you to enjoy and compare.

    
The two competitors

For now we will refrain from passing any judgment on the image quality, leaving the stage to you instead. Feel free to drop a line in the comment section about which of the two cameras you like better.

So take a comfortable seat and prepare to meet the future of cameraphones. A host of 12 megapixel samples awaits after the jump.

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Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO pops up, old Omnias get WinMo 6.5

Samsung has been playing around with the "Upgrade" magic wand - the new Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO is an upgrade of the B7320 OmniaPRO. Also, the proud owners of the Windows Mobile side of the current Omnia lineup rejoice - you're getting the update to WinMo 6.5.

The new Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO brings a slightly bigger, square-shaped screen with 320 x 320 resolution (B7320 OmniaPROhas a QVGA screen). The 3G capabilities have also been updated with the addition of HSUPA 2Mbps and faster HSDPA at 7.2Mbps (versus the 3.2 of the B7320).

The rest of the Omnia lineup will be re-launched, with the "new" devices running Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box. Sounds like an excuse to throw a party, but it's also a good way to promote your products.

The Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO is the premium device in the OmniaPRO series, with B7320 and B7330 serving as the mid-range. The upcoming Samsung B7300 OmniaLITE will be the entry-level Omnia device though don't underestimate it. In short it offers- WinMo 6.5, 667MHz CPU, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, VGA@30 fps video recording and then some.

The B7330 is coming in October along with the Samsung B7300 OmniaLITE and as for the update to Windows Mobile for current owners of an Omnia handset - Samsung was a little vague, saying just that it will be after the release of 6.5.

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Samsung B7330 OmniaPRO

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
	Announced	2009, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2009, October

SIZE	Dimensions	114.9 x 59 x 10.8 mm
	Weight	107 g

DISPLAY	Type	TFT, 65K colors
	Size	320 x 320 pixels, 2.62 inches
		- Full QWERTY keyboard

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
	Speakerphone	Yes

MEMORY	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photo call
	Call records	Practically unlimited
	Internal	270 MB storage, 256 MB RAM
	Card slot	microSD (TransFlash) up to 32GB

DATA	GPRS	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	HSCSD	Yes
	EDGE	Class 10, 236.8 kbps
	3G	HSDPA 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No
	USB	Yes, v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus
	Features	Geo-tagging
	Video	Yes, QVGA@30fps
	Secondary	Yes

FEATURES	OS	Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard
	CPU	528 MHz processor
	Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, IM
	Browser	WAP 2.0 / xHTML, HTML
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	Games	Yes
	Colors	Yes
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Java	Yes, MIDP 2.0
		- MP3/WMA/WAV/AAC+ player - MP4/WMV9/H.263/H.264 player - Windows Live, Yahoo!, AOL - Adobe Flash Lite - Microsoft Outlook Mobile - Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF viewer) - Voice memo - T9

BATTERY		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
	Stand-by	-
	Talk time	-

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