Samsung Omnia

What would it take to knock of a certified hit, at least amongst its core target market? It would take classy styling, seamless integration of features, and yes, applications that can make the phone much more than what it is.

First, without a doubt, the Omnia is a looker. In the realm of sexy gadgets, the Omnia is definitely up there. The form factor is nice. It feels good in your hand; it's neither too big nor too small. There are a few more buttons than its Apple counterpart but then that's what you would expect from a mobile phone.

Second, we go to memory capacity. There is 8 GB and the 16 GB, and even additional memory via a non hot-swappable micro SD card beside the battery.

Feature-wise, the Omnia is truly threatening. It packs Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro OS, 3G and HSDPA speeds, Wi-Fi, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 5-megapixel camera with video recording, zoom, auto-focus, smile detection, and geo-tagging, FM Radio, Optical joystick with virtual mouse functionality, built in accelerometer, TV-out, DivX support, and a headset with a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Well, don't forget, this is a touch screen phone, so there's no physical keypad. But interestingly, Samsung has given the Omnia numerous input options, the most interesting and ones would be the QWERTY and the phone keypad. The full keyboard however is a bit tough to use with just your fingers. A stylus comes with the unit, but there's no built-in slot – you'll have to tie it to the side of phone. The keypad mode seems easier to adapt to… a virtual keypad similar to what you find in any candy bar phone.

There is also some sort of a skin over the usual "desktop" of the Windows Mobile where you can drag and drop "widgets" from the sidebar to launch applications.

Surfing on the Omnia is ok, but it does not blow you away, even when you're on Wi-Fi. A plus is that it does use the whole 3.2" screen and comes loaded with pocket explorer and Opera mobile.

Mobile Office comes built in with a full version that lets you create, view, and edit office documents that you can also email as attachments.

In the middle of 2 buttons that function as the Menu/Call/End Call buttons is an optical joystick that is about the size of an M&M and works like a laptop track pad.

The camera looks great, the 5mp looks smooth on screen and auto focus with the zoom is quick to respond. And oh yes, you can shoot in the dark cause it has a real flash.

All in all the Omnia is one great solid device. If you are a loyal fan of the Windows Mobile platform and you do not demand a tactile feel of real keyboard, you will quickly learn to love the touch screen interface of the Omnia.